USA > Illinois > Henderson County > History of Mercer County : together with biographical matter, statistics, etc., gathered from mattter furnished by the Mercer County Historical Society, interviews with old settlers, county, township and other records, and extracts from files of papers, pamphlets, and such other sources as have been available : containing also a short history of Henderson County > Part 3
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MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE INDIANS.
The Indians inhabiting this portion of the state at the time of the advent of the white settler, and for many years previous, were the Sac and Fox nations, and consisted of the Ottawa, Kickapoo, Chippewa, Shawnee, Mascoutin, Piankeshaw aud Pottawottamie tribes. They had obtained possession of this part of the State by conquest from other tribes who had lived here before the occupation by these nations. The Saes and Foxes were at the beginning of the present century indeed but one nation in reality, intermarrying, living, hunting and fighting together as an individual nation. As their history is so closely connected with this section, doubtless many of our younger readers, whose fathers and mothers and elderly friends have recollec- tions reaching back to the closing scenes of the Indian's last years on the east side of the Mississippi and their final departure, will be inter- ested to read something relating to their modes of life.
Before the arrival of the Europeans and their intercourse with them, their manners, implements of agriculture, hunting and war, were much more rude than after contact with the more enlightened whites. They were at first found in possession of the most simple utensils ; the flint. dart, of which many have been found along the timber lands of the streams, were the points for the arrows, which, shot from the bow, brought down the game which was their principal subsistence. The
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MANNERS AND CUSTOMS OF THE INDIANS.
boys as soon as they were strong enough were given this instrument, and their education consisted in its use and the knowledge of the habits of the animals it was designed to destroy.
This, too, was their instrument of warfare. For the different pur- poses different shaped points were used. Some were fashioned with barbs at the base, so that the arrows having entered the object would not be easily withdrawn, which, possibly were used for shooting fish ; some were made broad at the base, and were no doubt designed to
make a large wound, and were perhaps used for the slaying of the larger animals and in war ; and yet others were evidently intended for small game, and where it was not desirable to injure the flesh more than
absolutely necessary. Of these three principal varieties cuts are here given, but there were numerous modifications of these. as can be seen by reference to the collections in the possession of a number of persons
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HISTORY OF MERCER AND HENDERSON COUNTIES.
in this section. For knives and axes they also used flint and granite stones fashioned into proper shapes.
Mr. Tyler McWhorter has in his valuable and extensive cabinet a very large number of these and other implements used by these people.
These rude implements were, after the fur trade was established, gradually superseded by knives and guns procured from the traders in exchange for furs, and many of the Indians soon became as skillful in the use of the rifle as the white men, and afterward made effectual and savage use of it against the race by whom it had been supplied. However, when our fathers and grandfathers found these people here they were still anything but cultured in their ways.
Their honses consisted of a few poles ten or fifteen feet in length, planted in the ground in circular form and approaching each other at the top, and covered with the skins of animals. In the winter the fire was kindled in the middle of the area inside and the smoke found its. way out at the top, where an opening had been left. At this fire they cooked their food by roasting animal's flesh held on the ends of sharp- ened sticks, and by baking cakes of meal that had been made by breaking the grains with stones on flat, heated stones. A common food was made by boiling the carcass of an animal with kernels of corn and such vegetables as they could find. Abraham Miller, an early settler at the town of Millersburg, relates that he saw Black Hawk and a few of his friends regale themselves on a stew prepared from a polecat thrown into the kettle without any dressing whatever. Skins of ani- mals taken in the chase constituted their beds, and around the smoul- dering embers of the camp-fire they smoked their pipes and recounted there the incidents of the chase or war, and slept the long winter nights upon these primitive couches.
The business of the Indian was to kill game and spear fish, while that of the wife was to till the soil in summer, gather and chop the wood for the fires and do the drudgery for the simple household.
Cleanliness was by no means essential to respectability, neither did the clothing nor the person of the Indian receive so many ablutions but that all these events in his life could be easily remembered.
Marriage with them was not even a matter of form, unless it be considered in the light of a bargain and sale, for such it really was, ponies, and bear and deer skins being almost always given in exchange for wives. In general they had but few children. The women were treated as slaves and were subject in consequence of exposure to many and severe attacks of sickness.
The stories found in novels of the wooing of the dusky maiden by the noble warrior or daring hunter, and of their tender attachment for
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DESCRIPTION.
their wives and children, are in the main very much overdrawn. A few rare exceptions are known. It is said that Black Hawk was a most devoted husband, and was, throughout his long life, true to his marital relations.
The amusements of the Indians were the war dance, athletic sports, and the narration of their hunting and war experiences, but in none of these did the females take any part.
Though filthy in their habits to the extreme they were nevertheless proud, and were fond of decorating their dirty bodies with paint, feathers, and such bits of ribbons and beads as they could obtain.
After its introduction by the whites the Indians grew very fond of whisky, and drunkenness became much more common with them than with their pale brethren. Sometimes when a fresh supply of liquor was obtained. a whole band, with the exception of two or three, who were required to remain sober for the purpose of keeping the rest from murdering each other, would get on a grand big drunk, which would not end until the whisky was all gone or they got beyond the power of locomotion.
DESCRIPTION.
Mercer county lies on the northwestern border of the state and em- braces a little more than fifteen townships, or about 550 square miles. It is bounded on the north by Rock Island county, on the east by Henry and Knox, on the south by Warren and Henderson, and on the west by the middle of the Mississippi river. The fourth principal meridian passes along the eastern border, and it embraces townships 13, 14 and 15 north, and ranges 1, 2, 3, 4, and a part of 5 and 6 west. It is inter- sected from the east to the west, through the northern portion, by Edwards river, which, near the western border, changes its course, and running in a southwesterly direction, empties into the Mississippi about a mile and a half below New Boston. A few miles south of the Edwards is Pope creek, which passes through the county in the same direction, and enters the Mississippi at Keithsburg. In addition to these there are in the northwest, Eliza creek, which empties into Swan lake, and Camp creek, a tributary of the Edwards. South of these is North Pope, a tributary of Pope creek, and in the southeast are North Henderson and Duck creeks. These, together with some smaller streams, furnish an abundant supply of water.
A large portion of the county is prairie, while along the borders of the streams are the so-called barrens. The soil of the prairie is a deep black or chocolate colored loam, with a yellow or dark brown clay subsoil. The soil of the barrens is similar to that of the prairie, only lighter colored and of
-
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HISTORY OF MERCER AND HENDERSON COUNTIES.
less depth, while along the upper part of the slope it is of a light brown or yellowish color, owing to the character of the subsoil, which comes near the surface. In some portions of the barrens there is but a thin covering of the soil, and in these places it is quite light colored. The most extensive alluvial deposit is along the Mississippi bottom. This extends along the whole western border of the county, with a varied width of from two to five miles. Of this, that portion which is situated on the northwest and extends as far south as New Boston, is much cut up by swamps, lakes and bays. Through a large portion of these bottom lands there are one or more low ridges of sand. The soil of this sandy portion is of but little value, there being but few seasons when it is wet enough to produce. In other portions the soil is a deep black loam and very productive. Narrow alluvial belts are also found along nearly all the water-courses, the soil of which is very dark colored, but more or less intermingled with sand and peb- bles. Coal of a good quality is found in various parts ; the veins are from three to five feet thick. The mines furnish a large amount of good coal. The seam furnishing the largest portion of the coal of this county extends over most of the northeastern half of the county, but is most extensively mined in the townships of Greene, Rivoli, Rich- land Grove and Preemption. In the township sketches, devoted to these townships, will be found more extended notices of these mines.
The soil of this county is well adapted to agricultural purposes, and is in nearly every part of the county productive of large crops of corn, oats and hay. Wheat is not much raised. Formerly, spring wheat was grown to a considerable extent, but of late years its cultivation has greatly decreased. Recently, considerable attention has been given to producing winter wheat. The land along or near the water-courses, though of a lighter character, is valuable for the production of fruit. Nearly all the lands along the streams were formerly heavily timbered, but here the first settlers built their cabins, and in consequence of habits acquired in their eastern and southern homes, much of the orig- inal forest has disappeared. In the early times coal was not used for fuel ; indeed it was scarcely known to exist, and its value as a fuel was overlooked for a number of years. Fencing and house-building also required much timber, and so the once heavily timbered portions of the county now resemble much more than formerly the open prairies which lie beside them. The kinds of timber most abundant are white, burr, black, red and laurel oak, red and white elm, blue and white ash, hickory, maple, wild cherry, and occasionally a black walnut. In the bottoms are also locust, sycamore, cottonwood, box alder, wild plum
WILLIAM DRURY.
35
A SCRAP OF ANCIENT HISTORY.
and crab-apple, and occasionally pecans and buckeyes. Grape vines and other climbers are abundant. In later years the hand of man has added many varieties of fruit and ornamental trees, which thrive apparently as though in their native soil. The osage orange grows well here, and many of the most tasty farms are now fenced with this shrub. The climate is rather cold for it, however, and its fruit scarcely ever comes to perfection.
In the larger rivers, especially near their mouths, are abundant supplies of fish, and formerly in the timber along their banks were found many wild animals, such as deer, squirrels, raccoons, turkeys and chickens. The game has almost all vanished from before the face of the white man. The description of the county will be given more in detail in the several township sketches.
A SCRAP OF ANCIENT HISTORY.
The following, written nearly half a century ago, by a visitor to this section, will doubtless prove interesting to many readers. It is from Augustus Mitchell's description of Illinois in 1837.
"Mercer county is situated in the northern part of the Military Bounty tract. It lies north of Warren, south of Rock Island, west of Henry, and east of Louisa and Musquitine counties, *Wisconsin terri- tory, from which it is separated by the Mississippi river. . The town of Mercer is located in the exact geographical center and with the express view of becoming the county seat of Mercer county. It is situated midway between Pope and Edwards rivers, which run through the county parallel to each other, and at this point are not more than five miles apart. The site is healthy and elevated, com- manding a beautiful view of the surrounding country, which is as rich and as well adapted to the culture of wheat, and indeed of all kinds of grain, as any in the state. The county is settling rapidly with a moral, industrious and enterprising population. The water-power afforded by Pope and Edwards rivers is equal to that of any county in the state : a circumstance of much importance, not only for fur- nishing lumber for building, but for the erection of grain and flouring mills. There is one saw mill now in operation within two and one- half miles of Mercer, and several others will be built the approaching season, also within a few miles of the town. The situation of Mercer admits of the convenient access to the timber, stone and stone coal of both Pope and Edwards rivers and their branches. Mercer is situa- ted about fourteen miles from New Boston, on the Mississippi, at which there is an excellent landing. It is also on the direct route from the
* Now Iowa.
3
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HISTORY OF MERCER AND HENDERSON COUNTIES.
latter place to Hennepin. and from Oquawka to Rock Island. New Boston. the seat of justice. is the only other town in the county, and is situated at the upper Yellow bank. just above Edwards river. nearly opposite the mouth of the Lower Iowa. a considerable stream of the Wisconsin territory. This place has a good landing and a fine harbor. and when the opposite territory becomes settled it cannot fail to become a town of considerable importance. as it will be the commercial entre- pot of a large extent of fertile country."
HABITS AND CUSTOMS OF THE PIONEERS.
Perhaps most of the grown people of this section have some knowl- edge. either by actual observation or from the lips of the few worthy pioneers who still linger on the shores of time. of the early modes of life which obtained during most of the first quarter of a century of its history. But the last original settler will soon have left us, and then these things. but for the historian's pen. would become but matters of tradition. Even now. amongst the younger class. the stories of the early hardships, trials and triumphs of this worthy class of heroic men and women. are not so very fully realized. and in the near future an account of what were once considered "afflictions grievous to be borne." will. without doubt. prove interesting reading to the grand- children of those whose voices will have been hushed. and whose weary bodies will have been lain away in the soil they first turned to the sun.
How they came .- A single instance would almost answer for the history of the emigration of all of the early settlers to this section. We will give it in substance. though not exactly in the words of one who came to this country in 1838 :
Far across the dense woodlands of Indiana, near where Ohio's broad waters roll onward to join the Mississippi in its course to the great ocean. among the graceful forest trees. and gushing springs and fertile fields of Ohio, rests in quiet beauty a shady hillside. a bright green valley. and a dancing water-brook. Near the lane which passes this spot and crosses the little stream of water just beyond. may be seen a fine old farm house surrounded with towering elms and fronted with evergreens of different varieties. But not with this place, as it exists to-day. has our narrative to do. True. the surroundings have changed but little in half a century. The trees are much larger, and the house has been so metamorphosed that its former occupant would not recognize it : but the hillside and the brook, the valley and the forest. present the same appearance as when forty-odd years ago the scene which we are about to describe might have been witnessed.
,
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HABITS AND CUSTOMS OF THE PIONEERS.
It was no uncommon occurrence that was taking place there. but because of its being a usual circumstance it becomes of the greater importance and is described the more minutely. To the parties con- cerned. however. it was a matter of the greatest moment. The family who had for years occupied this place had caught a glimpse of the wonderful country in the Bounty tract, one of the number having the year before made a trip to the new State of Illinois and brought back glowing accounts of the broad prairies. the fine belts of timber. the richness of the soil. the abundance of game. and the many other real and fancied advantages to the emigrant bold enough to face the dan- gers and privations incident to a pioneer life. The matter had been talked over for many months. The children talked it over and won- dered at the length of the journey. the exciting incidents of the trip. and the novel scenes that awaited them in their new home. little com- prehending the hardships to which they would be subjected. The mother and wife had said but little. but naturally shrank from the trial of leaving relatives, friends and home. and taking up her abode in the wilderness. She could scarcely reconcile herself to the life of priva- tion. and perhaps danger. that awaited her and those she loved. But the father argued that the little farm on which they lived. and rented by the year. but barely gave them a support : that the prospect. as much as he liked his neighbors. and much as he prized the social and other privileges, was very feeble for an independence. He was advanc- ing in years, and the children would soon arrive at manhood and wom- anhood with no provision for old age for himself and wife. and with nothing for the young folks with which to begin life. And so it was decided to remove to what seemed to be the land of promise.
Accordingly. their plans had been announced to their neighbors. a sale had been made of what they found to be superfluous articles. though perhaps with a view to realize a little ready money, with which to make a substantial start in their new location and to liquidate a few debts that had been contracted at the stores. and all was ready for the journey.
The wagon had been backed to the front door the evening before. and the cows. and a few sheep. that they had concluded to take with them. and which had been reserved from the sale. had been penned up. that they might not stray away before the hour at which they were wanted to begin the journey. The morning had arrived. the candles were lighted. the fire in the fireplace was crackling, and the kettle boil- ing. preparatory to taking the last meal in the house. The breakfast was dispatched in an unusually short time. and then commenced the exciting process of packing up. Bedsteads were knocked to pieces.
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HISTORY OF MERCER AND HENDERSON COUNTIES.
bed-clothes were thrown in all directions, and things in general pre- sented a confused appearance. The children seemed to enjoy the ex- citement, the mother hastened about, but on her face was a look of dejection ; but the father and husband moved around with a firm gait, attending to the work of preparation with no sign that betrayed the feeling of reluctance with which he was leaving the place that he had for so many years called home, though doubtless much of his cheerfulness was assumed for the effect that his demeanor might have on the other members of the family.
Soon the household effects and the simpler class of farming uten- sils were stowed away in the wagon, the bows to support the wagon cover were put in their staples, and the white cover stretched on and tied. Then the oxen were hitched to the wagon, the sheep and cows turned into the road, and all were ready to start.
Numerous relatives and friends by this time had gathered to bid them good-by, looking on in the meantime with mingled feelings of sorrow and wonder. When at last the moment for starting came, the wife broke into weeping ; and though the husband showed no outward signs of regret, when he bid his nearest friends farewell his hand shook a little and his voice was husky.
Such a trip as lay before these adventurers would now be consid- ered comparatively a trivial undertaking, but at the time of which we write it was of a more serions nature. It would well compare with the embarkation of the hundred pilgrims, who left their native shores two hundred years earlier to make their way across the boundless deep, to find a home in the new world. Indeed, the hardships of the wilder- ness road which lay before were greater than those experienced by the emigrants of the Mayflower. The length of time required to complete the journey was almost as great.
The mother and the youngest children rode in the wagon, while the father and oldest boy trndged along on foot to guide the oxen and attend to the stock. It would be interesting to listen to the account of all the incidents of their long and tedious journey, but time and space forbids more than brief allusions. The roads, even in Ohio and Indi- ana, were but poor, and after crossing the Wabash, consisted of mere trails across prairies, through sloughs, fording creeks and ferrying rivers. There were but few bridges across the streams then, especially on this side of the Wabash, and after some days out'some of the streams were found to be so swollen by recent rains that the emigrants were compelled to go into camp for several days to wait for the flood to subside. On one such occasion they became so impatient that, put- ting into the stream before it had fallen sufficiently, they all came near
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HABITS AND CUSTOMS OF THE PIONEERS.
losing their lives. At another place, where there was a prospect of having to stay several days, a raft was constructed of timbers cut and prepared on the spot, and lashed together with bed cords. On this they crossed to the other side, bringing over the last wheel of the wagon after a whole day's work. thus camping only a few hundred feet from their camping place of the night before. Their little stock of provisions soon gave ont, but they did not suffer for lack of food, as the timber was full of game and the rifle supplied them with plenty of meat. The cattle easily subsisted upon the grass that grew along the road. However, the journey was a wearisome one, and all were well pleased when at length it was completed.
Finally, at the close of a weary day, the company came to a halt, not with a design of locating at this stopping place, but, knowing that they must be in the vicinity of the point toward which they had been traveling. they concluded to camp a few days and look around. Accordingly, arrangements for more than an ordinary stop were made, and our pioneer the next day started out on foot to select a location for his future home, leaving his family in camp. After a few day's search, he had fully made up his mind, and the camp was removed to the spot selected for the future home, provided the land was not already the property of some one else. It was yet early spring and they at once set about planting some corn and other vegetables, even before the land they were breaking had been secured, living in the meantime in the now empty box of the wagon.
After the crop was planted, the father made his way to the land office, and secured the quarter on which he had pitched his tent. By fall, a cabin was erected, and thus began the new life of one of the many brave families who at that early date came to this country to seek an independence and a home.
Doubtless many of the earliest settlers will recognize the expe- riences of this family thus far as that of their own, and many of the younger people will imagine they have heard the story before, as told by father or mother, who may long since have been laid to rest in the little cemetery at Sugar Grove or the Yellow Banks, near the . great river.
The experiences of the first emigrants were so similar that a rep- etition of them destroys the novelty ; but it could never destroy the charm or lose the interest, while at the same time it renders the faith- ful description the more valable, applying as it does, to so many cases. With the change of the name of the state from which the family came, and the addition or suppression of a few more details which marked their journey, no doubt the narrative might be made to fit the emigra-
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HISTORY OF MERCER AND HENDERSON COUNTIES.
tion to this section of a majority of its early occupants. A few brought horses, which drew the great prairie schooner wagon, and not infre- quently a horse and an ox did duty in the same team. A single ox or a single horse has drawn to this country all of the worldly wealth pos- sessed by some of what have proved its most worthy citizens.
The First Dwellings .- Judge Gilmore, whose recollection of the early features of the country are probably as correct as any, gives us the pen picture of the pioneer cabin which follows. The pioneer cabins were nearly all built after the same pattern, the plans and specifications being very simple indeed. The building site was a spot in the edge of the grove, so as to be near the patch of prairie designed to be cultivated, and within the shelter of the grove for the protection of themselves and stock from the cold winds of winter. This was considered a colder climate than that from which most of them had come, and protection from its inclemencies was a matter for serious consideration.
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