USA > Illinois > McLean County > The good old times in McLean County, Illinois : containing two hundred and sixty-one sketches of old settlers, a complete historical sketch of the Black Hawk war and descriptions of all matters of interest relating to McLean County > Part 50
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asked the reason, said he remembered the fight and laughed to see Captain John ride that big Indian.
James Bishop went to school in Ohio. There he assisted in barring out the schoolmaster on Christmas days, as this was the common practice. At one time they barred out the schoolmaster and, after a long and severe contest, baptized him in a spring. The schoolmaster afterwards brought suit and recovered ten dol- lars apiece from four of the boys, who took a prominent part in this transaction. At one time they had a schoolmaster named Peleg Whitridge, who rather got the start of them. He climbed on the roof, covered the chimney and smoked out the scholars. After that they provided themselves with poles to push off the obstruetion, when the schoolmaster covered the chimney.
James Bishop came West in May, 1831, the spring after the deep snow. He came first to Lafayette, Indiana, then went to Fort Clark (now Peoria) and to Pekin, then down to the Missis- sippi bottom, where he bought cattle, and finally returned to Ohio. He came back every year until 1837, when he was mar- ried, and that, of course, settled him.
Mr. Bishop has often had wolf hunts. At one time he ran down a wolf and tried to capture it alive as it held down its head so piteously ; but when he tried to take hold of it the treacherous animal sprang at him and attempted to bite. Mr. Bishop killed it with his stirrup, and never again felt merciful towards a wolf. The fountains of his sympathy ran completely dry. He had great difficulty in protecting his little pigs from the wolves. The latter would come up and steal the pigs, even though the pen was fairly against the house.
One morning, when about to rise, he heard an ominous squeal, and he knew what it meant. He ran out without waiting to dress, and saw a vicious wolf dragging off one of his darling pigs by the ear. He prided himself on his speed as a foot-racer, and he went after that wolf across the field, through the corn- stalks and over a fence. When the wolf came to the second fence, it saw that Mr. Bishop, scantily dressed as he was, traveled rather too swiftly, and it dropped the pig, which Mr. Bishop car- ried home in triumph. When the race was ended Mr. Bishop noticed for the first time that the rough cornstalks had bruised the cuticle on his legs so much that the blood was streaming
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down : but his joy at the recovery of the pig was so great that he cared little for bruises. The settlers all over the country were annoyed very much by this same troublesome wolf, and were anxious to catch him. Joshua Hale had a large dog, called Rover, big enough to pick up a wolf and run off with it. Joshua was always bragging of his dog, and said if only Rover could get hold of that wolf, it would be the last of him. The settlers all turned out on horseback to hunt the troublesome wolf, and finally cornered him in a fence and sent one of their number for Joshua Hale and Rover. The dog came up on the opposite side; the settlers let out the wolf and Hale said : "Seek him, Rover !" and it would be supposed that Rover killed that wolf in fine style. Nothing of the kind; the big dog put his tail be- tween his legs and ran for home with the little wolf after him, and the disappointed settlers after them both; the big dog ran into the house and upset the baby's cradle, but the wolf ran past the door into the brush and escaped. Then those settlers were "wrathy," and were going to kill the dog then and there; but Joshua Ilale turned towards them, and his eyes were filled with tears as he puckered up his month and said : "Boys, Rover never saw a wolf before. Now, 'spose you was in an Injin country and had never seen an Injin before, and should suddenly see an Injin coming at you for the first time, wouldn't you run to a place of safety, wher' you know'd you'd be safe ?" It was impossible to resist such a plea, and the hunters agreed that under such cir- cumstances they would "run to a place of safety, wher' they know'd they'd be safe."
The settlers often had difficulty with prairie fires. At one time James Bishop and his brother Malon were obliged to get into a creek to escape from a fire that came rolling over the prairie. At another time he was driving some cattle across the prairie when a fire overtook him. He drove his horse directly through it, and came out safe, though somewhat burnt. ITis cat- tle tried to run away from the fire, but it swept over them and left them scattered and crazy, with their eyebrows and hair and the brushes of their tails burnt off. He collected them together, and none were lost.
The town of Leroy was laid out by Samuel Durley and Mer- ritt Covel. They wished to lay it out at Buckles' Grove on land
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belonging to James Bishop, but Malon Bishop opposed it, and said he did not wish to live in a town, and it was finally located about half a mile from the grove.
A great many funny stories are told of James Bishop, and one of the best is a story relating to a vicious bull. While taking items for the sketches in this volume, the author was repeatedly asked if he had heard this famous story, and it was told with many variations. It seems that Mr. Bishop once purchased a fine bull and put it in his pasture. It was a very tame, inoffen- sive animal ; but some ill-disposed persons were accustomed to tease it, and it became vicious and dangerous, and Mr. Bishop's men were afraid to enter the pasture and bring up his cows. This made Mr. Bishop angry, and he protested that the animal was perfectly inoffensive. His men told him to try the animal himself, and he said : "come on." He walked into the pasture. while the men stood outside to see the fun. He walked up to the animal boldly and confidently, but, contrary to his expectations, when it saw him it elevated its tail, put down its head, uttered a bellow and started for him. He was too close to retreat, so he set up a bellow, which perfectly astonished the bull. It stopped, looked around, pawed the ground and appeared bewildered. At last, by a sudden flank movement, Bishop managed to get the animal by the tail, and it started to run. They went back and forth across the pasture, crosswise, lengthwise and cornerwise, while the men outside gave both parties encouraging words. The fierce animal at last became exhausted and gave up; and that is the story of Bishop and the bull.
James Bishop is a little less than the medium stature. His eyes are small, dark and expressive of fun. Humorous ideas come to him as naturally as his breath. He is slightly bent with age, but tough and hardy. He is lightly built, but very sinewy, and wonderfully quick. He seems at times careless and uncon- scious of danger, but whenever he gets into difficulty his resolu- tion and his marvelously quick motions bring him safely out. He has accumulated a fortune by farming and buying and selling cattle, and is reputed the wealthiest man in Empire township.
James Bishop married Margaret Cannaday, March 9, 1837. He has had five children, all of whom are living. They are :
Caroline, born June 26, 1838, wife of Thomas Campbell, of Old Town timber.
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John Allen Bishop, born May 3, 1840, lives one half a mile west of his father's.
Emily, born August 30, 1843, is the widow of William Evans.
Rachel, wife of Nathaniel Beckman, was born May 23, 1846, and lives four miles southeast of her father's.
James Quitman Bishop is married and lives at home. He was born November 24, 1848, the day when General Scott took the City of Mexico and made General Quitman the Governor therof.
THOMAS JEFFERSON BARNETT.
T. J. Barnett was born January 22, 1818, in Bourbon County, Kentucky. His father's name was Moses Barnett, and his moth- er's name before her marriage was Catherine Ellis. His parents were of English and German descent.
In April, 1832, the family came to Illinois. They came by steamboat from Maysville down the Ohio River and up the Wa- bash to Filson's, near the town of Newport, Indiana. There the family were met by an elder brother of T. J. Barnett, and were transported by an ox-team to McLean County, Illinois, to the present township of Empire, within two miles of where Leroy now stands.
Mr. Barnett there worked as a farmer, at which he continued until 1852, when he went into mercantile business. He has been a merchant ever since and has succeeded well.
Mr. Barnett drove stock to Chicago, when that city was sim- ply a trading post of French and Indians. He has also driven stock to Wisconsin. He was in Chicago when the Indians were paid off, and there saw great quantities of hard money. The Indi- ans seemed to be very careless with their money, and one of them carried around a pail-full as indifferently as if it were molasses. Mr. Barnett found quite a number of coins in the sand. The Indians were many of them intoxicated, as they usually are, when they can obtain " fire water." One of the party, with whom Mr. Barnett was walking, placed a barrel over an intoxicated squaw, who was sitting in the sand. She appreciated the favor and said "good chemokoman" (good whiteman). She wanted to enjoy her goodnatos (whisky) in peace. Mr. Barnett went out on Fox River and broke prairie for the emigrants as they came in. There
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he saw many Indians, and his opinion of them was not favorable. He did not feel the charm of romance coming over him, as he gazed upon the "children of the forest;" on the contrary, he considered them a " dirty, nasty set," who never invested money in boot-blacking or toilet soap. They are incorrigibly lazy, but can hunt and fish and have some very pretty ponies. But that which provoked Mr. Barnett most particularly was the disposi- tion of the Indians to steal. When Mr. Barnett went up to Fox River, the party, in whose company he traveled, crossed the Illi- nois River on a ferry-boat. When a part of their teams were across, the remainder stood unprotected on the southern bank waiting for the return of the boat. While the teams were stand- ing unprotected, the Indians came up and took out of the wagons a lot of bacon and provisions, before the eyes of the angry drivers on the opposite bank. The redskins ran off with their plunder, and it was of no use to chase them. He remembers one other provoking incident. While he was ploughing on Fox River, some Indians came to him, riding their ponies on the keen run, and whooping with their loudest voices. They frightened his oxen out of the furrow, and this so angered him that he hit one of them on the bare back with his ox-whip, with such force that it brought the blood, and they left him. Mr. Barnett often visited the Indians and saw their curious performances. Their wigwams were thick on Fox River, after the Indians had left the other parts of the State. He saw one tribe (the Kickapoos, he thinks) bury a corpse and go through the ceremony of whipping a ball in various directions. This was called whipping the devil away. Mr. Barnett sometimes ran races with the Indians, but was un- fortunately beaten. This, however, was not the cause of his aversion to the redskins.
Mr. Barnett remembers clearly the first deer he ever killed, as most hunters do. He borrowed a gun of his uncle and walked five miles to get it. His uncle directed him to shoot the deer just behind the shoulders. While hunting through the woods a large, fine buck jumped up and stood within fifty or sixty steps in front of him. He carefully took a rest on a large log, took aim behind the shoulder and fired. The deer went tearing through the brush with the blood flowing on both sides. After running a short distance it fell, and the youthful hunter took out his
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butcher-knife to bleed it, when he saw that the bullet had cut the deer's throat, passing through both veins. In taking aim he had been affected with the " buck ague," but his wild aim was better than the one he intended. He never again had the " buek ague." Mr. Barnett has had great sport in chasing wolves and hunting turkeys. He chased one wolf twenty miles. He hunted deer with a horse, sharp shod, upon the ice, after the sudden change, which occurred in December, 1836. When the deer sprang upon the ice, their feet slipped from under them and stretched out in all directions.
Mr. Barnett took some observations concerning the price of land, and says that before the land came into market the claims would frequently sell for more than the land would bring after it was pre-empted.
Mr. Barnett appreciates a joke, and particularly enjoys one on James Bishop. He says that Mr. Bishop was occasionally a little absent minded. The latter once attended a dance and neglected to remove the enormous spurs, which he had worn while driving cattle, and they created much merriment as he went hopping over the floor. He says that Mr. Bishop was afflicted with a slight impediment in his speech, and that he once met a stranger, simi- larly affected, who was riding on a load of corn. Mr. Bishop wished to buy cattle, and, in their conversation, each thought himself mimicked by the other and they came to blows !
Mr. Barnett is rather above the average stature and somewhat slim. His countenance is rather pale, but is full of intelligence. His features are prominent, and his general appearance is that of a successful merchant. He has the reputation of being a most excellent man of business, and seems to understand it thoroughly. He is a man, who prefers not to interfere in the affairs of his neighbors, thinking his own business sufficient to occupy his attention. In politics he was an " old line" Whig, and after- wards a Republican, and has always taken a lively interest in such matters, though he has never held an office or been a seeker for one.
Mr. Barnett married, February 18, 1845, Miss Emeline Gibbs. This lady is a graduate from Oberlin College. They have had six children, five of whom are living. They are :
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Alice, wife of Jolm S. Young, born August 19, 1846, lives at Leroy.
Emma, wife of Denton Young, born July 1, 1848, lives at Leroy.
Orwin Barnett, born June 21, 1851, died December, 30, 1852.
Orrin Barnett, born October 13, 1853, Jives at home. He is a remarkably fine musician.
Lewra Barnett, born May 16, 1856, is married to William Brown, and lives at Leroy.
George Barnett, born July 17, 1858, lives at home.
ABRAM BUCKLES.
Abram Buckles was born June 28, 1800, in Holston County, Virginia. He was one of eleven children, having seven brothers and three sisters. His father was raised in Virginia. They moved to White County, Illinois, in about the year 1810. When they started on their journey, they went first to the Clinch River fifty or sixty miles distant, and there took a keel-boat, Mr. Buckles, sr., who was an old boatman, acting as his own pilot. They came down the Tennessee, into which the Clinch River flows, and over the Muscle Shoals. It was the custom to employ the Indians as pilots over these shoals, but Mr. Buckles employed himself. They came up the Ohio River and the Wabash to what is now White County. Here they found a pretty good country for farming ; but the fever and ague lurked behind every stump, and it required three years to become seasoned to the climate. Mr. Buckles was so discouraged that he sold out everything and started to return to Virginia, but after going fifteen miles through Indiana he stopped, changed his mind, went to work for a man named Livingston, raised a crop, and in the fall returned to White County, Illinois.
During the war of 1812, the settlers felt themselves in a dan- gerous situation on the frontier, and much of the time were col- lected in forts. Abram Buckles helped to build a fort in White County, and the family sometimes lived in it when signs of Indi- ans became alarming. Mr. Buckles, sr., belonged to the rangers. From sixty to a hundred scouts were kept out all the time. Abram Buckles, then a lad, clearly remembers the gathering of the Indians as they passed by on their way to Tippecanoe. They
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then professed warm friendship for the whites, and did not attempt to molest the settlers. One of the squaws cured Mr. Buckles, sr., of rheumatism in the arm, and it was, indeed, a very remarkable cure, though it required six days to bring it about. The Indians passed on to Tippecanoe, and there their professions of friendship were changed into active hostilities. The battle began at daybreak, and was fought with the greatest fury; but the Indians were at last defeated, and this broke their power during the remainder of the contest. It was the successful management of the forces of the whites in this battle, which made General Harrison president of the United States.
In 1819, Mr. Buckles married Miss Mary Williams. He has five sons and five daughters living.
In 1832 he came with his family to Buckles' Grove. His experience in the West has been somewhat varied. He has ocea- sionally done a little hunting, as all the old settlers have. He has had some fun while chasing wolves and running them down. This sport is not at all dangerous on account of the wolves, but in the excitement the horses were sometimes liable to stumble and fall. The wolves, when caught, were usually killed with a stirrup. He chased one wolf fifteen miles before catching it .. Abram Buckles may almost be said to have inherited a love for hunting wolves. His father hunted them in Virginia. At one time the old gentleman caught a wolf in a pen and put a bell around its neck, in order that people might know when wolves were around. The wolf cautiously kept still, in the daytime, but at night his bell was often heard. Nevertheless, this did not pre- vent the ravages of the wolves among the sheep and pigs; the latter disappeared quite as often as before, and the next time the wolf fell into the trap he was killed.
Mr. Buckles has often had trouble with prairie fires which burned stacks and fences. His brother Peter once had a lively time while crossing the prairie with an ox-team and wagon, in which was his wife. He saw the blaze coming at a great distance, and immediately jumped from his wagon and fired his gun through the dry grass. It blazed up quickly and soon a burnt place was made upon which he drove his oxen, and he managed to hold them until the fire passed on. The heat was terrible, and seemed almost unbearable, for the hot air passes ahead of the fire
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for some distance. His wife covered herself up in the blankets and suffered little. Abram Buckles tells of a party of bee-hunters who came up from Sangamon County in search of honey. They were quite successful and started on their return. When they had gone a few miles south of where Bloomington now stands, one of the hunters started a fire for the fun of seeing it burn. It came on them closer and closer, until they started up their team ; then it went faster and faster, until they jumped from the wagon into the ereck to save themselves. Their wagon and load of honey were burnt; and this was the result of building a fire " for the fun of it."
Mr. Buckles' experience with the sudden change in the weather in December, 1836, is this. He was husking corn about a mile from the house on that mild winter's day, when the ground was covered with water and snow. The west wind came, and he hastened home, but long before he arrived there the frozen shush bore his weight. He tells of a terrible event connected with this sudden change. A man, whose name, he thinks, was MeHildreth, and his companion, were returning on horseback from the East, where they had been selling cattle, and were within a few miles of the Little Vermilion Creek, when the west wind struck them. They hastened to the creek, but it was high and filled with moving ice. The nearest dwelling on their side of the creek was twelve miles distant, and they had their choice to wait for the creek to freeze over or ride twelve miles. On the opposite side they asked a man to cut down a tree to let them across, but he refused, because of the cold, or in order to get their money when they should freeze. He directed them to a grove about four miles distant, where he said they would find a house, but no house was there. At last they determined to kill their horses, cut them open, crawl into them and keep warm. Mr. MeHildreth struck at his horse's throat with his knife, but the animal drew up quickly, jerked away and disappeared. His companion killed the other horse, eut it open and crawled in, but instead of keeping warm was frozen to death. Mr. McHildreth remained by the creek until it was frozen over, when he crossed it and found assistance, but his hands and feet were frozen, and his fingers and toes afterwards dropped off. We have heard this incident related by several other settlers.
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The stories and incidents related of this sudden change are never ending, and are more curious and strange even than those of the deep snow.
Mr. Buckles attended the land sales in 1835, at Vandalia. At these sales no speculator was allowed to come near, until the settlers had attended to their elaims and bid off their lands.
The first camp-meeting in Empire township was held in 1835 or '36, on Dickerson's farm, abont a mile from where Leroy now is. Mr. Buckles was absent at the time, but his recollection of the matter is made lively by the fact that his oxen were taken to haul wood, and in felling a tree one of them was killed.
Mr. Buckles has taken some interest in politics, has always been a Democrat, and kept himself informed on the current topics of the day. He says that one of the most exciting questions of old days was the one relating to the Mormons. The excitement was highest in 1841, '42 and '43. The Mormons sent out preachers to make converts, and the people could examine into the beauties of the Mormon faith. Mr. Buckles listened to one preacher, who told of a terrible contest which would one day come, but was very indefinite as to the nature of the grand affair, or who the parties to it were; nevertheless, he was successful in making an impression on some ignorant people.
Abram Buckles is rather a tall man and quite fleshy. He always wears a smile, and is ever ready with an old-fashioned welcome. He is a very quiet man, but decided in his views. His disposition is pretty well shown by a circumstance which hap- pened during the late campaign, when Horace Greeley and Gene- ral Grant were candidates for the presidency. Mr. Buckles' friends wished him to go for Mr. Greeley, and reasoned the mat- ter again and again. At one time two gentlemen, who were particularly enthusiastic, talked to Mr. Buckles for an hour or more, and explained to him the whole situation. He listened to them without a word of opposition, and with a kind smile on his countenance, and finally they asked him if the matter was not plain. "Yes," said Mr. Buckles, " it is plain that he is the same old Horace !"
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JAMES KIMLER.
James Kimler was born August 16, 1811, in Loudon County, Virginia. He is of German and Welch descent. In 1813 the family went to Kentucky, and in 1823 they came to Crawfords- ville, Montgomery County, Indiana. During the year previous he went with his father on a visit to Indiana, and in 1823 the family moved there to settle. In those days the militia were obliged to turn out to muster. James Kimler remembers one circumstance, which happened when his brother Richard was riding to muster on a fractious horse. Just before reaching a creek, the party with whom he was riding began to beat the drum and make music, and Richard's horse took fright and pitched the young man into the creek.
At that time a wild root, called ginseng, was in great de- mand, and people hunted for it through the woods, and many made their living by digging it. It was very useful for medical purposes. On Deer Creek, about fifty miles from Crawfords- ville, was a ginseng factory for drying and preparing this root for use. It was bought at the factory for six cents per pound. At one time Mr. Kimler went on an expedition for hunting gin- seng. The party went up to nearly the mouth of Eel River, which was then a wild Indian country. Many curious incidents occurred on their journey. They started about the first of Sep- tember, and went to Wildcat Creek. There they found a fish trap, where a wagon-load of fish was caught in a single night .. This trap was arranged at the fall of the stream, and when the fish went over the fall they could not return ; neither could they go forward, for some stakes were placed below to stop them, though the water flowed through. The party went up to the Wabash. One evening when they went to water their horses, they began to sink in quicksand. All turned around and went out except an uncle of James'. The old gentleman was deeply in the quicksand, and saw that an attempt to turn around would sink his horse so deep as to make it impossible to get out. He therefore went ahead into the river, and his horse swam around in the water and came back safely. The old gentleman could not swim, but said he knew "Old Charley" would bring him out. The party went up near the battle ground of Tippecanoe
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