USA > Indiana > Greene County > Biographical memoirs of Greene County, Ind. : with reminiscences of pioneer days, Volume I > Part 15
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badly lacerating it. He then ran back, and bruin left, seemingly as glad to escape as he was.
John Haddon was an experienced hunter and trap- per, and he is said to have caught some half dozen or more otters on the creeks near his cabin. He was a noted deer hunter, and but three men in the county are said to have killed more than he in the first year after his arrival. He was one of the very first settlers in the county, if not the first, as his date of settlement may have been as early as 1815 for aught any one now living knows to the contrary. He killed as high as ten deer in one day, and is said to have confessed that he often tried to exceed that number, but could not do it. In one winter he is said to have killed one hundred and twenty deer. The hides were worth from fifty cents to one dollar. He caught large num- bers of minks, raccoons, opossums, etc., and always had on hand many valuable furs, which were regularly purchased by the traders from Vincennes, who, visited his cabin for that purpose. One day he killed two deer at one shot, and without leaving his tracks loaded his rifle and shot an- other. He killed panthers and bears in this county. He went out near his cabin one morning, so the story goes, long before daylight, to watch at a deer lick, and while there, just as daylight was breaking, saw a panther ap- proaching, which he shot dead at the first fire. One of its paws hung in his cabin for many years, and was remark- ably large, with claws two inches in length. The Indians
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GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA.
were numerous when he first came to the township, and often visited his cabin for warmth or to beg food or to- bacco and ammunition. He secured many valuable furs from them for a comparative trifle, for which he received a handsome sum from the French traders. He hunted with the Indians and could beat them shooting at a mark.
THE INDIAN CHIEF AND THE WHISKY.
It is related that on one occasion an old chief named Met-a-quah came to his cabin just at meal time and was invited to eat with the family, which invitation was ac- cepted. He had no sooner sat down to the rude table, upon which was wild turkey, potatoes, cornbread, etc., than he took from his clothing a bottle half full of whisky, and placing the nozzle to his mouth took a long swig, smacked his lips and passel the vessel to Mr. Haddon. The latter was nothing loath, and followed the example set by his guest. The bottle passed around and returned to the owner empty. The Indian then took from his clothing a deer bladder containing a fresh supply, and filling his mouth squirted the contents into the bottle, to the intense amusement of all present, and repeated this act until the bottle was again full, when he handed it out to be again passed around, but this was refused. All had had enough. Henry Collins was also a hunter of skill and courage. He could bring down all kinds of aquatic fowls on the wing
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offhand with his rifle. In one day he is said to have killed forty wild geese in and around the Goose pond in Stafford township. While hunting in the woods one day he found two bear cubs in a hollow tree which he took home and kept until they were large enough to be trou- blesome, when they were killed. One of the Collins men had at his home a pet deer which had been captured as a fawn and had grown up with the family. It wore a bell on its neck and would pasture with the cattle. At last it became missing, and after a few weeks it was learned that the truant animal had been killed for a wild one by a hunter. Many other incidents similar to the above might be related.
OTHER INTERESTING EVENTS.
Buck creek is said to have received its name from a circumstance which occurred on its bank at a very early day. A large buck frequented the neighborhood, and was seen there on several successive seasons, and was an enor- mous old fellow, with a remarkable spread of antlers, and was so shy and so alert that no hunter could approach within shooting distance of him. Emanuel Hatfield and others in the eastern part of the county came there to hunt and succeeded in heading the old fellow and killing him. He is said to have weighed two hundred and sixty pounds. This creek was a famous resort for the deer, as there were numerous brackish springs and a succession of dense -
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GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA.
undergrowth which favored their escape when pursued. Alexander Plummer was another famous deer hunter. He is said to have killed more deer than any other hunter in Greene county except Emanuel Hatfield. He had as high as a dozen dead ones lying in his dooryard in cold weather at one time. The skins and hams were usually saved, but the remainder, except the tenderloin, was fed to the hogs. In later years the wolves became so troublesome that a small crowd of citizens surrounded a portion of the town- ship and moved in toward a common center to hem those inclosed in the circle to smaller limits and shoot them. Not a single wolf was killed.
BANKING INSTITUTIONS OF LINTON.
The financial institutions of a city are the fortress of its commercial life. The banking interests of Linton vie with any other city of similar importance in Indiana in point of strength and stability of their resources and the personnel of their officers.
The oldest of these institutions is the Linton Bank, which was organized in 1895 and chartered as a state bank, January 1, 1906. The capital stock is fifty thou- sand dollars. The officers of this bank are: Joe Moss, president ; D. J. Terhune, vice president ; James H. Hum- phreys, cashier. The directors are: W. A. Craig, Peter Schloot, John L. Cravens, Webster V. Moffett, Joe Moss,
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D. J. Terhune and James H. Humphreys. The following is a condensed statement of the condition of the Linton Bank at the close of business May 4, 1908:
Resources.
Loans and discounts $187,236.78
Overdrafts 960.14
Furniture and fixtures 2,000.00
Cash on hand and due from banks 1 36,994.69
Current expenses and taxes paid. 2,276.36
Interest paid
923.65
Cash items
110.90
Profit and loss
52.43
Total $330,554.95
Liabilities.
Capital stock paid in. $ 50,000.00
Surplus and undivided profits. 8,327.82
Deposits, time and demand $267,817.99
Due to banks. 3.89
Interest and exchange. 4,405.25
Total.
$330,554.95
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GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA.
THE LINTON TRUST COMPANY.
The Linton Trust Company is the youngest of Lin- ton's financial institutions, being organized in January, 1906. It has a capital stock of twenty-five thousand dol- lars, and in addition to doing a general banking busi- ness it acts as administrator, receiver, guardian, or un- der appointment of court in any trust capacity. They also loan funds on either real estate or collateral. An- other feature of their business is their savings depart- ment, where accounts from one dollar up are received. The officers of the Linton Trust Company are: W. A. Craig, president ; D. J. Terhune, vice president ; David D. Terhune, secretary and treasurer; J. J. Mitchell, as- sistant secretary and treasurer; directors, Joe Moss, D. J. Terhune, W. V. Moffett, David D. Terhune, E. L. Wol- ford, Levi M. Price, W. A. Craig. A condensed state- ment of its condition shows :
Deposits $100,000.00
Surplus
5,000.00
Loans 70,000.00
The trust company has occupied its present magnifi- cent building since January 1, 1908. The building is one of the finest in southern Indiana. The exterior is of a rough concrete, with the first story front of red Syenite granite and Verde des Alps marble. The interior is mod- ern renaissance adapted from the old renaissance
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style. The interior finish and decorations will compare favorably with any bank in the state. The fixtures and woodwork are solid mahogany. The wall decorations are by Albert Gall, of Indianapolis. A massive concrete vault encases a Mosley safe, of late design, equipped with a triple time lock. The equipment in this respect is sec- ond to none. The safety deposit boxes are contained in this vault, and these are equipped with a double key locking arrangement.
FIRST NATIONAL BANK OF LINTON.
This institution was organized as a state bank in 1903 and chartered as a national bank in 1904. The of- ficers of this institution are: W. J. Hamilton, president ; B. A. Rose, vice president ; William Bolten, cashier; di- rectors, W. J. Hamilton, William Bolten, B. A. Rose, N. G. Dixon, David R. Scott, J. W. Newsom, J. L. Morgan.
Report of the condition of the First National Bank at Linton, in th state of Indiana, at the close of business on February 14, 1908:
Resources.
Loans and discounts. $103,541.56
Overdrafts secured and unsecured. 5,641.81
United States bonds to secure circulation. 12,500.00 Premiums on United States bonds 250.00
Bonds, securities, etc. 12,238.21
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GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 277
Banking house, furniture and fixtures. 24,690.00
Other real estate owned old banking house .. 4,500.00
Due from national banks (not reserve agents). 31,019.10
Due from approved reserve agents 19,039.58
Notes of other national banks 5,590.00
Fractional paper currency, nickels and cents
225.08
Lawful money reserve in bank, viz :
Specie $12.000
Legal tender notes 5,000 17,000.00
Redemption fund with United States Treas-
urer (5 per cent. of circulation) 625.00
Total $236,860.34
Liabilities.
Capital stock paid in
.
50,000.00
Surplus fund
10,000.00
Undivided profits, less expenses and taxes paid. 838.13
National bank notes outstanding.
11,900.00
Dividends unpaid
72.00
Deposits
163,905.21
Certified checks 145.00
Total
236,860.34
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THE FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS OF BLOOMFIELD.
BLOOMFIELD STATE BANK.
The Bloomfield State Bank is probably the oldest bank in Greene county. It was not, however, the first bank in the county, as the Richland Bank existed prior to this. The Bloomfield Bank was organized as a private bank in 1873, with the following officers : M. H. Shryer, president ; O. W. Shryer, cashier. In 1887 W. M. Haig became assistant cashier.
This bank was reorganized as the Bloomfield State Bank, August 1, 1907, with the following officers: E. E. Neal, president ; C. E. Davis, vice president ; W. M. Haig, cashier ; A. D. Haig, assistant cashier ; board of directors, E. E. Neal, C. E. Davis, W. M. Haig. A. D. Haig. C. L. Slinkard.
The following is a condensed statement of business May 14, 1908:
Resources.
Loans and dicounts $113,791.48 Overdrafts 94.34
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 279
Banking house
3,500.00
Furniture and fixtures 2,875.00
Due from banks and trust companies
92,489.06
Cash and cash items
12,760.16
Current expenses
2,537.10
$228,047.14
Liabilities.
Capital stock
$ 30,000.00
Interest, exchange, etc.
7,380.95
Deposits
190,666.19
$228,047.14 .
CITIZENS' STATE BANK.
The Citizens' State Bank was chartered January 25, 1900. The following officers have served since its or- ganization : Francis M. Dugger, president ; C. C. Bal- lard, vice president ; Otto F. Herold, cashier. These gen- tlemen also form the board of directors.
The following statement of business was issued Feb- ruary 14, 1908:
Resources.
Loans and discounts
$ 93,194.89
Overdrafts 358.89
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Banking house and fixtures
5,000.00
Due from banks
71,416.85
Cash
14,491.12
Expenses and dividends
3,729.18
$188,190.93
Liabilities.
Capital stock
$ 30,000.00
Surplus
6,000.00 .
Interest and undivided profits.
10,394.19
Deposits
141,796.74
$188,190:93
IRON ORES OF GREENE COUNTY.
BY CHARLES W. SHANNON.
This chapter, with slight variations, is taken from the report of the state geologist, to whom the proper and customary acknowledgment is hereby tendered. This report, prepared by Mr. Shannon, could be added to, but it would require months of costly labor, and as it stands is fairly complete, and while the showing made in this line is at present not altogether what we should like to see, yet we predict great development in this county in the iron industry in the near future.
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GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA.
Greene county, ranking second in the state as to ex- tent and value of its iron ore deposits, is situated as fol- lows in reference to the other counties of the same ore · area : On the north it is bounded by Clay and Owen; on the east by Monroe and Lawrence; on the south by Mar- tin, Daviess and Knox counties, and on the west by Sul- livan county.
The west fork of White river, which runs in a south- western course through the county, dividing it into two almost equal parts, is the principal stream of water. The main tributaries of White river in the county are: Eel river, Lotta's creek and Black creek, on the west side ; and Richland creek, Doan's creek and First creek on the east side. The southeastern portion of the county is drained by Indian creek, which empties into the east fork of White river.
The topography of the part of the county to the east of the river is more rugged than that to the west. Hills rise from one hundred feet to three hundred feet in height, whereas to the west of the river, with the exception of a ridge running from Eel river on the north to White river on the south, in Fair Play township, and passing a short distance to the west of Worthington, the county is gen- erally level, or slightly undulating, a considerable part of it being prairie. This western portion is the great coal producing area of the county, and it is also the chief agri- cultural district. The valuable resources of the eastern
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part are more limited. Thin bedded coals are found; the limestones and sandstones are of little economic impor- tance except for local use. There are extensive beds of shale, which may prove of value for the making of ce- ment and other products of shale. Most of the fire clays are rendered worthless by the large percentage of iron which they contain. The chief interest at the present time is in the iron ore deposits of this part of the county.
DEVELOPMENTS.
From 1840-1860 the iron ore deposits of the county were worked in a limited way and utilized in two blast furnaces built expressly for smelting these ores. Previous to the autumn of 1869, the time of the completion of the Indianapolis & Vincennes Railroad, this county was with- out a direct practicable means of communication with the distant centers of trade. Consequently up to that time there was no incentive or inducement offered to its citi- zens to attempt any development of its resources, and for the same reason any works that were put in operation soon came to a standstill. Geologists and prospectors had but little to guide their investigations beyond the obscure natural outcrops. of the strata, and a few im- perfect openings of coal and iron mines-the former of which were only worked to supply the limited wants of the immediate neighborhood.
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GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA.
Various attempts have been made to revive an inter- est in the iron ores of the county, but it was not until 1902 that any real prospecting began. In that year the pro- moters of the Indianapolis Southern Railroad secured op- tions on several thousand acres, and, securing the serv- ices of an expert mineralogist and geologist, began pros- pecting for ore. The surface outcrops were investigated and excavations and cuts were made. Many prospect holes were put down with the core-drill, and although the company will give out no information, they claim to have found deposits of rich ore and pyrites apparently of great extent.
While there are considerable deposits of workable iron ore in Greene county, the actual extent of the depos- its has at times been greatly exaggerated. In some cases large deposits of red shale have been classed as rich de- posits of ore. Any one familiar with the geology of the region will not expect to find large and continuous de- posits. Nevertheless the ores that are found show a fairly high percentage of iron as compared with other Indiana ores, and since some of the outcrops show a thickness of several feet, it is to be hoped that the core drill records will show the existence of other deposits and depth to the outcropping bodies of sufficient importance to justify greater developments at an early date.
THE RICIILAND FURNACE.
The Richland furnace was built by Andrew Downey
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and went into the blast about 1841. It was located in sec- tion 25, township 7 north, range 4 west, near where Ore branch empties into Richland creek.
The furnace stack was about forty-five feet high and nine feet across the boshes. Charcoal was used as fuel and about nine tons of pig iron were produced daily. Some of the iron was made into hollow wares, stoves, ma- chinery, etc., but most of the pig iron was marketed åt Louisville. The iron had to be hauled to Mitchell and be shipped to Louisville, or else hauled all the way in wagons, the latter being more economical. Although the iron sold for twenty-six dollars per ton, about twenty dol- lars was used in the transportation. Hence the cause as- signed for the blowing out of the old furnace was the want of a suitable and economical means of getting the pig iron to market. It went out of blast in 1858 or 1859.
The other furnace using the Greene county ores was the old Virginia furnace, located in the western edge of Monroe county, and was long maintained. The pig iron from this furnace was also hauled to Louisville. The furnace was poorly constructed and "the only won- der is that it made pig iron at all." There are to be found as relics in the homes of some of the citizens a few bars of the pig iron made from these bars. In appearance it was a very good quality of iron.
The following from the report of Professor E. T. Cox (1869) on the iron ores of Greene county is here
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GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA.
copied for comparison of analysis, location of deposits, value and uses of the ore and the origin of the deposits :
"It is at the junction of the conglomerate with the sub-carboniferous limestone that we find the great repos- itory of limonite ore in this county, and, in fact, it forms the common horizon of this variety of iron in most of the western states. The ore lies in pockets of various dimen- sions, and owes its origin in most cases to a metamor- phism of the surrounding rocks, produced by the perme- ating of mineral waters that are strongly charged with protoxide of iron.
"On Ore branch, section 22, township 7, range 4 west, on Mr. Heaton's land, the base of the conglomerate has been completely changed by this process into a sili- ceous ore that is rich in iron to the depth of ten or twelve feet. Similar ores are seen on sections 21 and 28 of the same township and range; also in the greatest abundance at Mr. Law's place, on sections 4 and 9, township 7, range 6, where it cannot be less than twenty-five or thirty feet in thickness, and great blocks lie scattered over the side of the ridge; it is in abundance also on section 12, of the same township and range, and in the neighborhood of Owensboro in the southeast part of the county.
"The principal ore used at the Richland blast fur- nace, near Bloomfield, from Ore branch of Plummer's creek, forms a bench on each side of the ravine, and ap- pears to lie between the massive ore and the subcarbon-
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iferous limestone which shows itself in the bottom near by. An excavation was made during my stay in the county to show the thickness of the ore bed, which went to the depth of six feet, at which point the work was stopped without reaching the bottom of the deposit.
"Captain M. H. Shryer, of Bloomfield, who fre- quently saw this bed of ore at the time it was being worked for the blast furnace, assures me that the deposit is fully nine . feet in thickness. It lies in kidney-shaped masses in a matrix of ferruginous clay, and contains less silica than the massive ore. Characteristic samples of this kidney ore and of the massive siliceous block ore from the Richland furnace ore banks were analyzed and the following results were obtained :
'Kidney Ore' (limonite), specific gravity 2.583.
Loss by ignition, water and organic matter, mostly
water 11.50
Insoluble silicates
17.00
Sesquioxide of iron, with some protoxite and a trace of manganese
56.00
Alumina 2.00
Carbonate of lime. 10.00
Magnesia 3.50
100.00
Giving 39.20 per cent. of iron.
This ore contains a large amount of lime, and will make
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GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA.
an excellent quality of metal, and when roasted the per- centage of metal will be increased to 45.42 per cent. Spec- imens of pig iron made from this ore were found at the furnace and have every appearance of being the best qual- ity of mill iron.
"An analysis of the siliceous 'block ore' gave the fol- lowing result :
Specific gravity, 2.585-2.694.
Loss by ignition, water 7.50
Insoluble silicates 34.00
Sesquioxide of iron 54.73
Alumina 2.50
Manganese
1.14
Lime
.12
Magnesia
.03
100.02
Giving 38.31 per cent. of iron.
It was tested for sulphur and phosphorus, but found no trace. Two hundred grains of this siliceous ore, mixed with fifty grains of limestone, were fused in a Hessian' crucible, and a button of iron was obtained that weighed seventy-six grains, equal to thirty-eight per cent .; very nearly the same result is obtained by the humid analysis. The button indicated a very good quality of iron, slightly malleable, and gave a semi-crystalline fracture. The roasted ore would yield fully forty per cent. of iron in the
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blast furnace, and on account of the manganese which it contains it is admirably adapted for the manufacture of steel, either by the Bessemer process or in the puddling furnace. Iron made from these ores alone will possess cold-short properties, but by mixing them in the proper proportions, with the red-short specular and magnetic ores from Missouri and Lake Superior, a neutral iron may be made."
THE ORE MAP.
The ore map, which can be seen in the thirty-first annual geological report, shows the area over which the most careful investigation was made. It is not to be understood from the map that the entire area under the ore markings is covered by workable ore deposits. The area includes the chief deposits, which in most cases are noted on the map by special markings, and it also includes the area over which more or less iron ore is scattered, showing the possibility of a deposit near by. The map then is more of a guide to lead to the finding of deposits than a real index of known depos- its. The existence of deposits outside of the area mapped may have been found in the core-drilling. A few small deposits are known farther west and south along the river, and the surface in many places shows very good indications of iron and developments may show the pres-
GREENE COUNTY, INDIANA. 289
ence of some workable deposits. The area mapped cov- ers the chief iron bearing localities.
THE ORE DEPOSITS.
In Greene county the known workable deposits of iron ore are to be found chiefly along Ore branch, Rich- land creek, Plummer's creek and in the vicinity of Cin- cinnati. Some of these deposits will be described and the analysis appended.
Richland Furnace Ore Bank No. I .-- This deposit lies along the slope of the ridge just south of the old fur- nace location, on Ore branch. The deposit is of kidney ore intermixed with much clay and broken sandstone. The total thickness is twenty to twenty-five feet, but the ore would aggregate but a few feet. This would now hardly be considered workable, although considerable ore from the bank was used in the Richland furnace. The samples analyzed show an average iron content of thirty-seven and sixty-five hundredths per cent. This of course does not include any of the impurities imbedded with the ore. In the table of analysis the sample marks are No. 6 and No. 11. The complete analyses are given in the table, and they would be a fair average for most of the kidney ores of the county.
Furnace Bank No. 2 .- Located in the southwest quarter, section 25, township 7 north, range 5 west, about
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forty rods southwest of old furnace site. It is sixty-five feet above drainage. Elevation five hundred and sixty- five feet. At the creek level is the outcrop of a thin bed of coal.
This iron ore is very siliceous. It is in a massive deposit but is very porous. The excavation, which did not reach the bottom, shows five feet of ore; it is prob- ably six feet or more in thickness on the outcrop. The first drilling was made near the edge of the deposit, then two more were put down, one about fifteen rods to the southwest, the third about the same distance to the south- cast, and the fourth was near the first and was drilled at an angle-i. e., the drill was set perpendicular to the slope of the hill. The order of succession of these borings would indicate that the deposit was of small dimensions and as it thinned out back in the ridge it raised with the slope of the ridge. The deposit probably does not have a backward extent of more than fifty feet of workable ore. This deposit would yield about eight thousand tons of ore. It shows an iron content of forty and thirty-six hundredths per cent. In the table of analysis the sample marks are No. 7 and No. 12.
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