USA > Illinois > Stephenson County > History of Stephenson County, Illinois : a record of its settlement, organization, and three-quarters of a century of progress > Part 20
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A Mr. Kent, the first settler at Rockford, had experience with Indians. Re- turning from a visit to his brother at Galena, he had secured a canoe and, laden with potatoes ; paddled down the Pecatonica to Baker's cabin, now Freeport. Here he tied up his canoe and went ashore. When he returned to his canoe he found it surrounded by a mob of squaws and young Indians, who were busy as squir- rels carrying away his potatoes. What remained he took with him to Rockford and planted some of them, raising a good crop. More hard luck was in store for Mr. Kent and his potatoes, for one night the Indians came to his clearing and dug up and carried away all of his potatoes.
On one occasion Indians entered the cabin of a "Widow" Brown and carried away her stock of provisions. A party of "Freeporters," William Baker, M. Brown, Jake Goodheart and "Wild Gunner" Murphy set out after the thieving redskins with William Baker, who had acquired a certain mastery of the Winne- bago tongue, as interpreter. The party came up with the Indians in camp in Rock Run Township. The Indians were intoxicated and their fury frightened away the first one of the pursuers who came upon them suddenly and alone. Baker and the remainder of the party then came up. The Indians asked Baker why the white man ran away. Baker's diplomacy again saved the day as he replied that the man was running to bring up a party of one hundred whites not far away. He made a bold stand and told the Indians that if they did not turn over the widow's property at once, the entire party of Indians would be killed and scalped. After a parley, the matter was adjusted. The Indians agreed to restore what had not been consumed of Mrs. Brown's stores, and gave Baker a horse to guide them out of the community and away from the "hundred volun-
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teers" who were bent on destruction of the Indians. Fred Baker was also paid four coon skins for his services as interpreter-one instance of the practical value of the study of a foreign language.
Mr. Charles Graves, the venerable postmaster at McConnell, remembers, the wigwams left along the Pecatonica by the Winnebagoes. He and other children used them as playhouses. They played Indian just as children do today who read Indian stories. The early children had the advantage of seeing real Indians, war paints and feathers and heard stories told at first hand. The wigwams were ideal "playhouses," and the children added a touch of realism by painting their faces and dressing in Indian fashion. They divided into squads, Indians in one and whites in the other, and fought sham battles in which warwhoop and hatchet were put into play.
Chief Winneshiek, or "Coming Thunder," had his village on the Pecatonica, at the foot of Stephenson Street, Freeport, where the Illinois Central Station now stands. Here were the wigwams of his braves and squaws. Here about their campfires they held their pow-wows and war dances. While not a trouble- some band, yet they looked with distrust upon the steady approach of the white settlements. In what is now Taylor's Park, the squaws in a rude way cultiavted the cornfields with clam shells. The first settlers saw the peculiar burial methods of the Winnebagoes. Four strong poles were planted in the ground on which a platform was constructed. The body of a dead Indian with his bow and ar- rows and trinkets was placed upon the platform, with such savage rites as were customary among the Winnebagoes. When the first settlers built their cabins in Freeport these burial grounds still held many of the skeletons of departed red men, whose spirits had gone to the happy hunting grounds and whose bodies had been destroyed by exposure to the elements.
While the Indians were not exceedingly troublesome during the earlier pi- oneer days, yet their presence, their strange manners and dress and withal the everpresent uncertainty of their attitude, added a certain touch of daring and romance that always accompanies dangerous situations to the life of the first settlers. People from the east who knew the Indian only from books could not fail to be impressed by the presence of real red men. It was no place for "mollycoddles." Girls and women were trained in the use of the rifle, the un- failing arbiter of early disputes. Neither were these girls and women ignorant. Many of them had been educated in eastern academies and colleges and had come from homes of plenty and culture and refinement. They were a brave and noble band of women, inspired by the spirit of the great west, enlivened by ro- mance of danger and made strong by the hardships and privations of the fron- tier.
A MURDER-TRADITION OR FACT.
Whatever the truth may be, tradition has persistently maintained a story of a murder at Kellog's Grove during the summer of 1833. It seems that two young men of Virginia had heard glowing reports of the wealth of the lead mine district about Galena. They decided to leave the Old Dominion to seek their fortunes in the great West. A "Prairie Schooner" was fitted out in
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elaborate style, fully equipped to make the long journey over the Virginia hills, across Kentucky, over the Ohio, and finally to Peoria when they struck the Kellog Trail for Galena. After a long and tiresome journey with an ox team, the young planters encamped for the night in the cabins at Kellog's Grove. Tired from the hard trip they ate supper, secured the oxen for the night and retired to enjoy the sound sleep that comes to him who has journeyed long in the open air.
When the young adventurers awoke in the morning, they found that their oxen had broken loose and had wandered away from the camp. It was mutually agreed that one was to prepare the breakfast while the other was to find the missing oxen and return them to camp.
Evidently the long journey from Virginia had for some reason made the men quarrelsome. After several hours, the one who had gone in search of the oxen returned with them to camp. The other had, however, made no headway in the task of the preparation of the breakfast. The delay led to a quarrel and finally the blows. During the fight, one of the men seized an ox yoke or some other weapon and struck his antagonist over the head causing almost instant death.
But the victor quickly realized the awfulness of his crime. They had started out from the old home in full harmony and high spirits. Fortunes and a bright future awaited them, gaining which, they no doubt hoped to return prosperous and happy to the homes they had left behind. But now one lay dead at the hands of the other. The survivor at once felt the sting of the conscience stricken murderer. To get away from the scene of this crime he punged at once into the trackless forests. But he found that even in the wilds of a western wilder- ness, he could not lose the consciousness of guilt. It haunted him at every turn, till driven to desperation, he returned to the scene of his crime and looked with horrified soul upon the dead body of his comrade. Joy had gone from his life and hope fled, as with heavy heart he made a grave in the hillside and laid away as best he could the remains of his victim.
In about a week the dejected traveler arrived at Apple River and sadly told the settlers the above story. The settlers placed no restraint upon the man but not long after, haunted still by a remorseless conscience, he again plunged into the wilds in a vain attempt to find relief.
He was heard from no more by the settlers of Apple River. Years later, in the woods of Jo Daviess County there was found the skeleton of a human being whose identity could not be fixed. However, it may be, the Apple River settlers believed this to be the body of the conscience stricken Virginian, who, they believed, finding he could not gain peace of mind in life, sought relief in death at his own hands.
THE PRAIRIE PIRATES.
Stephenson County did not suffer as much as the surrounding counties from the Prairie Pirates, or the "Banditta of the Prairies." This was because the settlement was held back till the close of the War with Black Hawk, after which it was rapidly settled up. Yet many a fine horse was swiftly ridden
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out of the county to the secret headquarters of the gang of thieves that preyed upon the unorganized community. No less dreaded than the Indians were these Pirates, whose organizations spread out all over the frontier settlements of Ohio, Indiana and Illinois. They worked in no fear of the law. They were the overflow of the criminal class of the East which, driven from the older settlements by organized law, hovered over the sparsely settled new communi- ties, to live without working, by stealing from their more industrious neighbors.
Stables were doubly locked and good horses were not to be left unguarded, unless a faithful watch dog slept in the barn. Most men never thought of going to the stable or to the wood pile after night without his gun. A man often slept with the horses with his trusty rifle at his side.
The leaders about Rock River were John Driscoll, John Brodie, Samuel Ai- kens and their sons. They had a secret society and had stations scattered about the country. Signals and pass-words perfected the organization of plunderers which operated from Wisconsin to Texas, preying on the means of honest toilers.
John Driscoll came from Ohio in 1835 and settled on Killbuck Creek in Ogle County. It is said that he came from the Columbus Penitentiary. In physique, courage and intellect he was a remarkable man. He was upwards of six feet and weighed 200 pounds. Part of his nose had been bitten off in a fight with a human ghoul. His hair was iron gray and coarse. He did many acts of kind- ness, once finishing the crop of a woman whose husband had died. The Dris- colls were sly, secretive, cunning and revengeful.
John Brodie settled in Dement township, Ogle County, at Brodie's, Grove. He was a small man, with a low forehead, stiff black hair and deep set eyes,-a typical prairie pirate. His sons were dare-devils both despised and feared.
The Log Tavern at Inlet Grove, Lee County, was the distributing point for counterfeiters, and a directing point from which the movements of stolen horses were controlled as they passed from station to station. The "Pirates" when ap- prehended always got bail and were always able to prove an alibi.
The Ogle County Regulators organized in a school house determined to fight the pirates. They numbered from 15 to several hundred and determined to do what they law could not do. They called on John Hurd, a horse thief, at night, ordered him to strip, tied his hands behind his back and gave him thirty- six lashes with a rawhide. He stood the ordeal without flinching. When the flogging ceased, he said, "Now, to prove that I am an honest man, I will join your company."
A former Baptist preacher had stolen four horses between Freeport and Rockford. He was "tried" by the Regulators, found guilty, and sentenced to re- ceive 50 lashes on the bare back. The trial was held at his house, and he was stripped for the ordeal, when his daughter, a prepossessing girl of 16, rushed to his side and plead with the Regulators to spare her father. With much mur- muring, the majority decided to let the preacher off on his promise to flee the country. Several hours later, a part of the band returned, tied the reverend horse- thief to a Burroak tree and gave him ninety-six lashes on the bare back.
Driscoll's meanness ran deep. At one time, having decided to burn an enemy's barn, he determined at the same time to square off an old account with his own
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son. He secretly took his son's horse from his stable, rode to the barn and set fire to it, riding the horse back and tieing it in his son's barn. The young man was sent to the penitentiary.
When Driscoll's son murdered Campbell, a leader of the Regulators, the frontier was thoroughly aroused. One hundred and eleven stern men tried the Driscolls and sentenced them to die like dogs. The notorious thieves made only one request, and that was to be shot, and not to be hanged. They were given one hour to prepare for death. Some of the Regulators begged that the Driscolls be turned over to the courts, but hot speeches, recounting the losses sustained by the surrounding counties and casting doubt on the proposition of leaving the fate of the men to the courts, prevailed. Death squads, fifty-five and fifty-six, were de- tailed to shoot the men. Old John Driscoll was the first to kneel and fifty-six bullets riddled his body. A tradition is handed down that William Driscoll's hair turned almost white as fifty-five rifles ended the life of a man who had confessed to seven murders. . Aikens died from sickness while hiding day and night from the "Regulators."
One leader of the horse thieves who operated in Clinton County, Iowa, and through Carroll. Jo Daviess and Stephenson Counties, was a special terror to horse owners. After stealing a fine animal, he would knock some of his teeth out, paint him a different color and in this way make sure his escape. He had a secret hiding place, where he kept his stolen horses till the hunt subsided when he would take them into market. This leader, whose name was Warren, was finally rounded up by the Regulators and hanged. His wife took the event calmly saying that that was the third husband of hers that had been hung.
Charles Graves, the present postmaster at McConnell, remembers several in- cidents of pioneer life that occurred while his father was the first Sheriff of Stephenson County. A report came to him one day that some horses had been stolen. Sheriff Graves followed their trail all day. Finally he came upon them in camp and captured them. About dark that evening he returned with them in a wagon. They were not hand-cuffed. It was then too late to take them to Freeport, and Mr. Graves said to the men, after supper had been prepared by Mrs. Graves, "Boys, I don't know what to do with you fellows but shut you up in my root house," "Allright," said the men, and supplying them with bedding Mr. Graves locked them up in the temporary jail. Next morning they were still there, and the Sheriff took them in a wagon to Freeport where they were placed in the old log jail. The old log bastile in Freeport was not very secure and they soon escaped.
An old history of Stephenson County, in the possession of Mr. A. C. Martin, of McConnell, tells a good story of the horsethief pest and how relentless the pioneer was in dealing with it. A farmer awoke one morning to find one of his horses stolen. He immediately mounted another horse and armed with his rifle set out on the trail. When he had about lost hope and was riding along the river, he suddenly saw a horseman riding along the opposite bank of the stream. He saw at once that it was his horse and without ceremony or chal- lenge he leveled his rifle at the thief and fired, the rogue tumbling off the stolen mount dead. The horse ridden by the owner in pursuit neighed, and the stolen horse, recognizing his mate, plunged into the river and swam across to its owner.
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It was necessary to take up the pursuit of a stolen horse at once, because if they ever crossed the Mississippi there was no chance for recovery. Besides, there was such a perfect organization among the thieves that concealment in caves and other out of the way places would soon put the stolen, animals beyond the reach of the owner.
Horse stealing was a profitable "business." Escape was not difficult and the property could usually be converted into cash. But if caught, the thieves were summarily dealt with. The trials were brief and the criminals were either sent to Alton or driven out of the county with death as a reward if they returned. At times, the Block House which stood where the First Ward School now is was filled with rioters and horse thieves.
Horse thieves were particularly active in 1838 to 40. The gang of thieves was so well organized that it was difficult to catch' or to recapture the stolen animals. An early experience of Conrad Van Brocklin in Florence Township gives an idea of the excitement and dangers connected with the operation of the band of thieves. During an afternoon, he suddenly saw thieves making away with two of his blooded horses. Assisted by Mason Dimmick, he gave pursuit. The thieves had a good start and the chase was desperate. The thieves had no bridles and were getting away with the booty easily when they suddenly came upon a stream of water. One of the horses had a dread of crossing water and could not be forced to enter it by the thieves. While the pirates were making heroic afforts to get the horse across, Van Brocklin and Dimmick came up sud- denly and the men ran into a nearby swamp. The horses were regained but the thieves escaped.
About the same time, thieves secured the horses of Samuel Smith in Lan- caster township and piloted them safely across the Mississippi and sold them. Mutual Aid Societies, Regulators and Vigilance Committees were the most ef- fective means of fighting the horse thieves in the earlier years. Later, vigorous prosecution by such fearless men as States Attorney Thomas J. Turner, broke up the operations of the band. Thomas Hotchkiss, Erin Township, was connected with the band. He sold his farm to John Manlove in 1845.
PRAIRIE PIRATES.
Charles Waterman who came to Freeport in 1840, later settled in Loran Township, where he built a mill and a distillery. He first lived in De Kalb County and aided in putting an end to the "Driscolls." Bill Driscoll had sworn to kill Waterman. Later Waterman overtook Driscoll on the road on horse- back, both being heavily armed. Waterman watched the notorious bandit and was prepared to shoot at any instant if attacked. While they were riding along, a body of settlers came up and captured Driscoll.
PIONEER ADVERTISING, NEWS, AND BUSINESS.
The following advertisements, news items and business statements give an idea of business and advertising of the period 1847 to 1855:
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HISTORY OF STEPHENSON COUNTY
A copy of the Prairie Democrat, Vol. I, No. 10, Jan. 26, 1848, is the earliest copy of this paper extant. No files were preserved and this copy and a few later ones are highly valued. Below the title line was printed the paper's motto, "Be Sure You're Right-Then Go-Ahead." The first item in the paper was a suggestion, in rhyme, to subscribers to pay up. The last para- graph follows :
"Your other bills you promptly pay, Wherever you do go, sir- The butcher for his meat is paid, For sundries is the grocer, The tailor and the shoemaker The hatter and the vinter,
All get their pay,-then why neglect To settle with the printer."
The poem was introduced by the editor with the pertinent remark, "A hint to the wise is sufficient."
Almost all the front page was given over to a continued story, entitled, "The Three Festivals." About four columns of the second page contained a letter by Hon. Lewis Cass, explaining his sentiments in regard to the Wilmot Proviso.
The paper has an editorial on Thomas J. Turner, the member of Con- gress from this district, speaking of him as "One who was the artificer of his own fortune. Who is equally at home in Congress or at the plow." A letter from Washington praises Mr. Turner and says the best speech of the session was made by Mr. Lincoln, who heretofore had been perfectly mute and took Congress by surprise. An editorial lashes the whigs for being "in eternal hostility to slavery and willing to nominate a man (General Zachary Taylor) who owns the flesh and blood of hundreds of human beings! Beautiful Consist- ency !" "Henry Clay and Tom Cornin," an editorial says, "are in fact the greatest of all Mexican heroes." Page 4 with the exception of one column "The Farmer's Column," is devoted to advertising. In the Farmer's column is an article on "Rotation of Crops," recommending the following order: Corn, oats, barley or both with three parts of clover to one of timothy; third and fourth years; mow and pasture; fourth year wheat, then corn again.
The paper contained a notice of the meeting of the literary association which met at the Red Schoolhouse every Tuesday evening. The subject for de- bate was, "Resolved : That war is justifiable." The disputants were T. F. Good- hue, M. P. Sweet, C. A. Clark and others. There was also to be a lecture by Dr. Hazlit on Phreno-Magnetism.
The editor inserted the following ad: "Wanted immediately at the office of the Prairie Democrat, wood, 5,000 subscribers, grain, butter, lard, potatoes, eggs, flour, honey, cash, etc.
The winter of 1847-8 is described as follows: "This is a curious winter. To see a prairie on fire every night, the dust flying in the streets, the boys on the common playing ball and clear beautiful days and nights, with a smoky at- mosphere resembling the most exquisite Indian summer, is not what we have been accustomed to."
O. II. Wright
George Purinton
P. Manny
Jared Sheetz
John H. Addams
M. Hettinger
A. A. Krape
Horatio C. Burchard
PROMINENT CITIZENS OF STEPHENSON COUNTY
LIL RARY OF THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
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HISTORY OF STEPHENSON COUNTY
PIONEER ADVERTISING AND BUSINESS.
The advertising pages of the early paper are as interesting and significant as the news and editorial columns. There was little display advertising. Most of the ads were written full, with much rhyme and humor.
Mr. O. H. Wright advertised: Wanted, in exchange for goods, 100,000 feet of lumber, 10,000 bushels oats and corn, 20,000 bushels wheat, hides, furs and skins. He also advised delinquents to pay up at once if they wished to save the "costs." Leonard, the jeweler, next door south of O. H. Wright's store, had a half column ad with four paragraphs of "poetry" of which the following is a sample.
"Yet for my bounty and your sake, Good bank notes in pay I'll take, So bring your clocks and watches too, And I'll make them run, as well as you."
Jacob Smith wanted 35,000 barrel staves at once, $6 per thousand for pork barrel staves and $4 per thousand for flour barrel staves. D. A. Knowlton's ad states that no great battle or poetry is necessary to inform the citizens of Stephenson County that his store is filled with dry goods, groceries, crockery, hardware, etc. O. H. Wright lists groceries, hardware, crockery, queensware, foreign and domestic dry goods, hats, caps, boots and shoes, ready-made coats, drugs, medicines, paints, oils, iron, steel, etc., and all kinds of produce wanted. He thanks the public for trade for the past eleven years.
J. M. Baker advertised the "Eagle Saloon" opposite courthouse. Besides all kinds of wines, liquors and tobacco, he offered for sale fresh oysters, sar- dines and "various articles in the grocery line." Mr. L. W. Guiteau, then school commissioner, advertised a sale of school lands.
The following tailors advertised: Smith and Johnson, one door east of Knowlton's old store; M. L. Shook, northeast of postoffice; Geo. W. New- comer, opposite Jackson's grocery; John F. Baker, first door northwest of O. Taylor's store; S. Sweeley, over Knowlton's new store.
Mr. Knowlton advertised tea, warranted good, at 75 cents a pound, and tea, warranted not good, at 121/2 cents. He offered 65 cents for good winter wheat and 60 cents for spring wheat. He states that good men owe him over $15,000, and if they do not pay up he will leave the accounts with Major Howe for collection. E. H. Hyde advertised to sell sugar at 9 to 121/2 pounds for $1.
Mr. Oscar Taylor's ad of patent medicines is interesting as an ad and as history. It is as follows :
PATENT MEDICINES.
Allen's Balsam of Hoarhound, for consumption and liver complaints; Nerve and Bone Liniment, and Indian Vegetable Elixir, for rheumatic affections, Dr. Lin's Strengthening Plaster and Comstock & Co.'s Liquid Extract of Sarsa- parilla ; Oldridge's Balm of Columbia, a restorative of the hair; Hay's Lini- ment; Expectorant Syrup; Dr. Spohn's Headache Remedy, either nervous or
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bilious ; Kline's Tooth Drops; Dr. McNair's Accoustic Oil for Deafness; Long- ley's Great Western Indian Panacea, the best family cathartic, and the best remedy for asthma, dyspepsia, liver complaints, and all bilious obstructions which the combination of medicine affords. Bed Bug Bane; Indian Hair Dye, warranted to color the hair brown or black without injury to it or coloring the skin; Kolnstock's Vermifuge for worms; stove varnish; cough lozenges; Thomp- son's Eyewater; Mother's Relief, which richly deserves its name; Mack Ken- zie's Tonic Febrifuge, the best remedy for fever and ague extant. Oil of Tannan, unequaled as a preserver and restorer of leather; Liquid Opodeldoc; Elmore's, Wright's & Soule's Pills; together with divers other articles in that line can be found genuine, and at the lowest prices, at the "Stephenson County Cash Store," corner of Exchange and Galena streets. Freeport, January, '47.
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