USA > Illinois > Bureau County > Reminiscences of Bureau county [Illinois] in two parts > Part 15
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done it, and could do it again. Jones wore a long- tailed Jackson overcoat, which reached to his heels, and a coon skin cap, with the tail hanging down over his shoulders, the weather at the time being quite cool. He drove his oxen into the river, taking the tail of one of them in his mouth, when they started for the oppo- site shore. Away went the steers, and so went Dave Jones, his long hair and long-tailed overcoat floating on the water, his teeth tightly fastened to the steer's tail. while with his hands and feet he paddled with all his might. Everything went on swimmingly, until they came near the middle of the river, where the waters from each side of the island come together; here the current was too strong for the steers-they turned down stream, and put back for the Hennepin side. Jones could not open his mouth to say gee or haw, without losing his hold on the steer's tail, and was therefore obliged to go where the steers led him, but all were safely landed some distance below the starting place. Jones was in a terrible rage at his failure to cross the river-beat his cattle, and cursed the bystanders for laughing at his misfortune. After taking a big dram of whisky, he tried it again, but with no better success. Three different times Jones tried this experiment, each time whipping his cattle and taking a fresh dram of whisky. At last he was obliged to give it up as a bad job, and submit to paying the ferryman the exorbitant price of twenty-five cents to be ferried over.
CHAPTER VII.
THIRD INDIAN WAR.
During the latter part of the winter and spring of 1833, the settlers on Bureau were alarmed at the hostile appearance of the Indians. Rumors were in circulation that the Pottawatamies and Winnebagoes were about to unite for the purpose of making war on the frontier settlements, and for that purpose held councils and war dances. In the latter part of February, a council was held between these tribes, on Green river, near the present site of New Bedford, and a large number of warriors from the Rock river country were in attendance. It is said that a Winnebago chief, by the name of Naw- wa-see, who had a village near the present site of Rockford, was wounded, and his squaw, with an infant in her arms, killed the year before by the troops in pursuit of Black Hawk, mistaking them for Sacs and Foxes. This chief, in order to avenge himself on the whites for injuries received, visited, it is said, almost every village between the lake and Mississippi, to
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induce the Indians to make war on the settlers, to expel them from the country, and thereby retain their homes and hunting grounds. Indians were frequently seen riding at full gallop across the country, who were supposed to be conveying news from place to place, and at different times large bodies of them were known to have been collected together, as though in consultation. At Devil's Grove, a large number of warriors collected, and here they held a feast and war dance, which lasted two days.
The Indians no longer visited the cabins of settlers, but appeared shy and unfriendly; confidence between the white and red man no longer existed, each regarding the other with distrust. It was noticed that the Indians did not return to their village after their winter hunt, and were planting no corn, as formerly; their furs and pelts were exchanged for munitions of war, instead of the necessaries of life. The settlers, at these indications of war, became alarmed, and were undecided what to do. A meeting was called at the residence of Dr. N. Chamberlain, for the purpose of consultation, when Major Chamberlain, with others, was appointed a com- mittee to visit Rock river, to ascertain, if possible, the intentions of the Winnebagoes, but they returned without obtaining any important facts.
While people were in a state of feverish excitement, not knowing at what moment, hostilities would com- mence. Mrs. Dixon, of Dixon's ferry, with her children, fled to the south in great haste, telling people
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on West Bureau, as she passed, that the Winnebagoes. on Rock river, were collecting their warriors together, and in all probability would attack the settlement within a few days. At this announcement, the panic became general, and people fled from the country -- some going to Peoria, and others east of the river. Many cabins on Bureau remained vacant all summer, and fields uncultivated, grew up to weeds. Three years in succession the settlers had been driven from their homes, many of them were sick of the country, and left it forever; others would have done so if their means would have permitted. A number of settlers, on the Princeton prairie, joined together, and built a fort, so they could remain in the country. Joel Doolittle's cabin was selected as the proper place to build this fort, and around it they erected barricades, composed of split puncheons, about fifteen feet in height, using the former for a block house.
Although this affair passed off without bloodshed, it prevented the settlers from improving their claims or raising a full crop. Many of the settlers did not return until the next year, while others abandoned their claims, and settled elsewhere, so that the settlement on Bureau had materially decreased in consequence of this trouble.
Almost forty years have now passed away since this affair took place; nothing is positively known with regard to the intentions of the Indians; and in all probability it will remain a secret. Some people believe
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that the Indians intended to make war on the settlers ; but others think different, as they made no hostile demonstrations.
This affair is sometimes called Mrs. Dixon's war, as it was the report which she brought to Bureau, that scared the settlers away from their homes.
FALSE ALARM.
In the winter of 1832-3, Capt. Brown, with a com- pany of rangers, spent some time on Bureau, in order to protect the settlers, in case hostilities should again commence. On New Year's day, these rangers were encamped on the Hoskins' prairie, near the present residence of Mrs. Brown Searl, and as the day was warm and balmy, they amused themselves in fighting a sham battle. The sun was about one hour high when the firing commenced, and owing to the peculiar state of the atmosphere, the report of their guns were heard at a distance of fifteen miles, frightening both whites and Indians.
Sylvester Brigham, with his two sisters, both of whom were young women, were living on the Forristall farm, about two miles north of Dover. At that time they were the only persons in the neighborhood, all others having left through fear of the Indians. On hearing the firing of guns in the distance, they concluded that fighting between the whites and Indians had already commenced, and they were greatly alarmed, knowing
SYLVESTER BRIGILAJL
THE NEW YORK PUBLICLIBRARY
ASTUH NOX TILDER F
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FALSE ALARM.
their unprotected situation. Believing that their only means of safety was in flight, they hastily left for the settlement below. It was near sundown when Mr. Brigham and his two sisters left their cabin, with the intention of going to Eli Smith's, six miles distant. In the cabin were three rifles, and each of them carried one on their shoulder, and on foot they commenced their journey for Smith's residence. Keeping out on the prairie, some distance from the timber, to avoid falling into an ambuscade of lurking savages, whom they were fearful of encountering along the edge of the timber. After traveling about one mile, they saw an Indian on horseback, who appeared to be looking at some object in the distance, but on seeing Brigham and his sisters, he jumped from his horse, and hid himself in the dead grass near by. On going a short distance further, they saw a number of Indians come out of the timber, who stood for some time looking at them. It appears the Indians had also heard the firing, became frightened, and had come out on the prairie to make observations.
As Brigham and his sisters came nigh Smith's cabin, they were afraid to enter the timber, as they had seen Indians going in that direction ; so they changed their course for Epperson's. It was now quite dark, and as they entered the timber, near Epperson's run, two Indians crossed their path, a few rods in advance of them. Believing that the woods were full of Indians, and the settlers in all probability already massacred.
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they turned about, and again fled for the prairie, and made their way southward, in the direction of the Moseley settlement.
It was late at night when the fugitives arrived at Mr. Musgrove's cabin, and not knowing whether it contained friends or foes, Mr. Brigham left his sisters behind, while he reconnoitred the situation. On his approach, the dog barked furiously, and Mr. Musgrove, thinking that some wild animal or robber was about the premises, urged him on, when Mr. Brigham shouted and let himself be known. The girls were then brought to the house to rest for the night, after walking twelve miles, and carrying guns on their shoulders.
JERRO AND HIS FRIENDS SAVED FROM STARVATION.
The winter of 1830-31 was very cold; snow fell about three feet deep, and drifted badly on the prairies. The weather was so excessively cold that calves, pigs, and chickens, in a number of instance, froze to death. As the settlers were unprepared for such a severe winter, much suffering was the consequence. Part of the time the snow was so deep, and the weather so cold, that the Indians could not hunt, causing much suffering among them on account of scarcity of food; some of them were obliged to kill their dogs for subsistence, and many of their ponies died from starvation.
During the snow and cold weather, a party of Win- nebago Indians, from Rock river, were encamped in
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West Bureau timber, near the residence of John M. Gay, Jerro, their chief, having made Gay's acquaint- ance the year before, while he was engaged at Ogee's ferry (now Dixon). The Indians finding no game in West Bureau timber, went over to Main Bureau to
hunt, but met with no better success. The hunters were absent three days, wading through the deep snow in search of game, while their squaws and pappooses were a part of the time without food, and no means of
obtaining any until their return.
Many times during
the second and third days, the squaws were seen to go out to the edge of the prairie to look for the returning hunters, and then with sorrowful hearts go back to their little ones, who were crying for food. It was after dark, of the third day, when the hunters returned to camp, with their feet badly frozen, and nearly starved, as they had killed no game during their absence. Jerro. their chief, went to Gay's cabin, and told him of their suffering condition, saying that they would all perish unless assisted. Mr. Gay, although short of provisions himself, opened his potato hole and divided with them his scanty supply of potatoes and corn. For many days these Indians were kept from starvation, by con- tributions from Gay, Henry and Ezekiel Thomas. As soon as the weather moderated, Jerro and his band of followers left for their own country, saying to their benefactors that they should never again come to Bureau to hunt.
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LITTLE JOHNNY, THE INDIAN CAPTIVE .*
In the fall of 1833, the Peoria and Galena road was changed so as to pass through Indiantown and Princeton, and among the first travelers that passed over it, were three families, with ox teams, moving from Morgan county to the lead mines. The emigrants encamped in the timber, near the present residence of Alex. Holbrook, and their cattle, with bells on, were turned out in the timber to feed. The weather being fine, the emigrants remained over here one day, in order to wash and bake before proceeding any further on their journey. Next morning two Indians were seen skulk- ing around the camp, as though they intended to steal something, and when they found themselves discovered they fled into the woods. In the afternoon the men went off deer hunting-the women were engaged in washing and baking, while the children were playing along the creek, some distance below the encampment. Among these children, was a beautiful little boy of four summers, called Johnny, who was a pet and favorite of this party of emigrants. This boy was left by the water's edge, playing with pebbles, while the larger
* For the following story, the writer is indebted to Eli Leonard, who was at the time living near where the incident occurred, Although Leonard's story is not confirmed by other early settlers on Bureau, who ought to have heard of this incident, nevertheless, it might have occurred without their knowledge. The sequel to the story, which must be familiar to many of the readers, goes far to confirm Leonard's statement, or at least render it quite probable.
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children were off gathering hickory nuts, and when they returned he was missing. Search was made for the lost child, but without effect ; his hat and one shoe were found, and near by stains of blood were discovered on the leaves. The night before the cries of a panther had been heard in the timber, and it was believed the boy had been killed by it, and carried off. After searching two days for little Johnny, the emigrants were obliged to give him up as lost, and they proceeded on their journey.
It was a cold, windy November morning, the sky overcast by gray clouds, the dry leaves were being blown hither and thither by the chilly winds, and every thing appeared dreary and cheerless to the emigrants, as they resumed their journey towards the lead mines. The mother of the lost boy, almost frantic with grief, continued to wring her hands and cry, " Where is little Johny ? Oh how can I ever leave him here in these wild woods."
It was afterwards ascertained that a party of Indians. who lived west of the Mississippi, and were visiting friends at Indiantown, had stolen the boy, and carried him off with them. These Indians were met by two travelers, on the Sacs and Fox trail, going westward with their little captive, who was tied on a pony behind some camp equipage. On seeing white people, little Johnny, with tears rolling down his checks, reached his hands out towards them, crying "I want my ma." The travelers suspected something was wrong, and
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inquired of the Indians how they came in possession of a white child, and in reply they said the boy was " half missionary" (that is a son of a missionary), and his mother was dead.
A sequel to this story went the rounds of newspapers in 1848, which ran as follows: "In the fall of 1833, a family named Cooper, while moving from Morgan county, to the lead mines, had a boy of four years of age stolen by the Indians. The boy remained with the Indians in the wilds of the west, until he arrived to manhood, when he was informed by one of his captives where his people would be likely to be found. After a long search, the captive found his parents, who were living in Wisconsin, and the long lost boy was at last restored to his parents and friends, after being absent fifteen years."
CHAPTER VIII.
WILD ANIMALS.
At one time buffalo roamed at large over the prairies of Bureau county, but at what period they left the country is not positively known. In the year 1778, Antonia Deschamps, then a lad eight years of age, came to Fort Clark (now Peoria), where he continued to live until his death, which occurred more than seventy years afterwards. Deschamps said for some years after he came to the country, buffalo were plenty along the Illinois river, and at different times he saw large herds of them, and on one occasion, a canoe which he was in came nigh being swamped by them swimming the stream. In the early settlement of the country, buffalo bones were plenty on the prairies, and at three different places in this county, acres of ground were covered with them, showing where large herds had perished. Skulls of buffaloes, with the horns still on, were fre- quently found, and their trail leading to and from watering places, were still to be seen.
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Thirty-six years ago, an old Indian of near four score years, who had spent his youthful days on Bureau, said to the writer, "When a boy, buffalo were quite plenty throughout the country, and large herds of them were seen almost every day feeding on the prairies." He continued, "While yet a boy (which must have been previous to the year 1790), there came a big snow, as high as a man's head, and so hard that people walked on the top of it, and nearly all the buffalo perished." Next spring a few buffalo, poor and haggard in appear- ance, were seen making their way westward from the east. part of the state. As they approached the carcasses of the dead buffaloes, which were lying on the prairie in great numbers, they would stop, commence pawing and lowing, then start off again on a lope for the west. From that time buffalo no longer lived in this country, and they were seldom seen east of the Mississippi river. Mr. Hubbard, of the American Fur Company, says small herds of buffalo were occasionally seen roaming through the country as late as 1818, and in 1815 the Indians killed two between Bureau and Green river.
An account of the killing of the last buffalo on Bureau, supposed to be the same spoken of by Mr. Hubbard, was communicated to Peter Demott by some of the Indians who participated in the sport. Early in the morning, a small herd of buffalo, consisting of fifty or sixty, were seen on the prairie near Black Walnut Grove, and were traveling northward, feeding as they went. The Indians had secreted themselves in a point
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of timber, supposed to be French Grove, awaiting their coming, and attacked them as they came along. These Indians were mounted on ponies, and armed with guns. spears, bows and arrows, &c., attacked the herd and succeeded in killing two, and wounding a number of others, that made their escape. In the fall of 1831, a large buffalo bull was seen on the prairie, north of Dad Joe Grove, going in a southwest direction. Two travelers on horseback, carrying rifles, took after this buffalo, and followed him a number of miles along Green river timber, shooting at him several times, but he succeeded in making his escape.
Elk at one time were plenty on Bureau, and as late as 1818, their skins were sold in large numbers to the American Fur Company. Each year after that date, they became more scarce, and in the year 1826 the trade in them entirely ceased. A few bear and panther skins were sold at the trading house opposite the mouth of Bureau creek, but according to the statement of Mr. Hubbard, these animals were never plenty in this section of country. During the summer of 1836, a very large panther lived in Bureau timber, principally in the town of Dover, and it was frequently seen and heard by the settlers. The writer, one night, came suddenly upon its lair, when it appeared more inelined to fight than run. This panther came one night to the barn yard of James G. Forristall, killed and carried off a calf. Mr. Forristall was not at home at the time, but his wife hearing the calf bawl, ran out, and urged on
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the dog, but the panther, regardless of their presence, killed the calf, and dragged it off some distance, where the remains were found next morning. People turned out en masse one day to hunt this panther, searching Bureau timber for miles in extent, but without success.
In the fall of 1836, Daniel Greeley killed a large bear in the town of Dover, and two bears were seen a few miles north of Princeton in the spring of 1837.
The large black and gray wolf were occasionally seen on Bureau, but the greatest pest of the early settlers was the prairie wolf, which lived on the prairie, and would come forth at night to kill sheep, pigs, poultry, &c. The state paid a bounty on wolf scalps, which
done much toward their extermination. Hezekiah Epperson, of Dover, once shot a wolf in the head, and to all appearance killed it instantly. He commenced skining the wolf, and after completing one side he turned it over to skin the other, when all of a sudden it came to life again, jumped up and ran off, with the skin flopping in the air. In this way the wolf ran about two miles, when it was overtaken by the dogs, and captured.
Deer were plenty on Bureau until the year 1843, when a large number of them were killed during a deep snow. Elial Long killed, during the winter of 1842-3, seventy-eight deer, and other hunters from from forty to fifty each. During the summer of 1839, a large white deer was frequently seen north of Princeton, which attracted much attention among the
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people. Some thought this deer was of a different species, others a freak of nature; the latter conclusion was the most probable, as it was always seen in com- pany with other deer. In the early settlement of the county, Mr. Perkins found the skulls of two bucks, with their horns entangled in such a way, that they could not be separated without breaking the prongs, evidently having caught while fighting, and in this way they both perished. Jacob G. Spangler, of the town of Gold, while hunting deer one day, came across two bucks, which had their horns fastened together while fighting, and not being able to get out of his way, he shot both of them.
Lynx, otter, catamounts, badgers, raccoon, and skunks were plenty in the early settlement of the country, but like the larger game have almost disappeared.
In the winter of 1828, John and Jacob Funk, of McLean county, drove a lot of fat and stock hogs to the lead mines, and for ten days these hogs were on the road without food. While Funks were encamped on Bureau, some of these hogs strayed off, became wild, and from them wild hogs were found on Bureau and Green river many years afterwards. These wild hog's were hunted in the groves the same as deer, and from them some of the carly settlers obtained their supply of pork. Late in the fall of 1836, Franklin Marple. who lived five miles north of Princeton, killed two of these hogs, and taking out the entrails, he laid them in one corner of his stable, where they lay in a frozen
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condition until spring, when they were skinned, and salted down for family use.
Two large wild boars, one black and the other blue, with enormous tusks, which showed them to be very old, were frequently seen on Green river, and for some time were a terror to hunters in that locality. One night these hogs followed a dog into the camp of two hunters, and they escaped with their lives by climbing a tree, while their supply of provision was devoured, and their camp kit damaged by these brutes. During a deep snow, these two boars came into West Bureau timber, and with their large tusks they crippled many of the tame hogs, causing the settlers to believe that their hogs had been attacked by a panther. These wild hogs were afterwards hunted down and killed by Nicholas Smith; thus the country was rid of these brutes, which had been feared by the settlers as though they were tigers.
MIRAGE AND SOUNDS.
In the early settlement of the country, mirage or optical illusions, some of which were so remarkable as to astonish the beholder, were of frequent occurrence. At sunrise, in a certain state of the atmosphere, objects at a distance would appear many times their actual size. A house would look to be two hundred feet or more high, and a grove of timber as though it was suspended in the air. People were frequently surprised on getting
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up in the morning to see a grove of timber, or houses, off on the prairie, where none were ever seen before. This phenomenon is said to be caused by refraction. and is seldom seen since the settlement of the country.
Before the country was settled, sounds could be heard at a great distance. The report of a gun or cow-bell was frequently heard ten or twelve miles. Mr. Epper- son's cow-bell could be plainly heard at Henry Thomas', a distance of seven miles. On the first of January, 1833, the firing of the rangers guns in the Hall settlement, were heard along Main Bureau timber, a distance of twelve or fifteen miles. In the summer of 1831, when Gen. Gains removed the Indians from Rock Island, the report of his cannon were heard on Bureau. at Dad Joe and Boyd's Grove.
Was it owing to the stillness of the surroundings which caused these sounds to be heard at a remarkable distance, or has the settlement of the country produced a change in the atmosphere, impeding the transmission of sounds. This is a subject worthy of reflection.
MURDER OF REV. JOHN WILLIAMS.
One of the many conspicuous land marks in the early settlement of the county, was Black Walnut Grove. which is situated in the town of Macon, near the southern limits of the county. This grove originally contained several hundred acres of good timber, and as it occupied high land, could be seen for miles away. Most all of
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