USA > Indiana > DeKalb County > History of DeKalb County, Indiana : together with sketches of its cities, villages and towns and biographies of representative citizens : Also a condensed history of Indiana > Part 23
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THE DEVONIAN FORMATION .*
So named by Sedgwick and Murchison from Devonshire, Eng- land, where it occurs well developed and abounds in fossils, and its age, the Age of Fishes, so called because in it the first known fishes are found, is in no part of the county exposed to view, neither has it been reached in the sinking of wells; hence all our knowledge of it must be gained from exposed areas and sections in other localities. Omitting the rock formation, because completely hidden from view, we come to the study of that which is apparent to all, that in which the farmer plows, upon which our wagon roads and railroads are builded, and upon which we all depend for our daily bread-the immense superincumbent mass of soil known as
DRIFT.
The farmer boy, as he walks over the meadow with its carpet of
* For a description of the rocks of this age, and also of its Life-System, both animal and vegetable, the reader is referred to the three excellent works of Prof. Dana, the "Geological Story," the "Text-Book," and the "Manual," the masterly work of Prof. Le Conte, and to the many and valuable Geological Reports of Ohio and Indiana.
VERTICAL SECTION OF THE ROCKS
OF THE GLOBE.
AGES.
ROCKS.
PERIODS.
OF DE KALB COUNTY. ROCKS.
QUATERNARY.
25 Recent.
24 Champlain.
23 Glacial.
TERTIARY
22 Pliocene.
21 Miocene.
20 Alabama.
19 Lignitic.
18 Cretaceous.
17 Jurassic.
16 Triassic.
15 Permian.
14 Carboniferous,
13 Sub. Carboniferous
12 Catskill.
11 Chemung.
10 Hamilton.
Old Red Sand Stone
of Scotland and Wales.
9 Corniferous.
8 Oriskany.
7 Lower Helderberg.
6 Salina.
5 Niagara.
4 Trenton
3 Canadian.
CARBONIFEROUS.
DEVONIAN.
UPPER.
SILURIAN
LOWER.
REPTILIAN.
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HISTORY OF DE KALB COUNTY.
green and wanders beside the babbling brook, or, as with sturdy hand he turns the grassy sward, uncultured though he be, askd himself the question, "From whence came all this that is spreas ont so beautifully around me? These huge stones which I see ly- ing upon the surface or imbedded within the soil, how came they here! Do they grow? 'The hills, rock-ribbed and ancient as the sun,' how were they formed ? and what is their history?" Ah ! If they could speak and tell us what scenes they have witnessed, the story would be of far more interest than that of Belzoni's mummy, for it could tell us of the world not merely as it was "three thousand years ago," but stretching far back into the illim- itable past, they could tell much of the Creator's plans in fitting up the earth as the abode of man.
All soil, with the trifling exception of the thin stratum of vege- table mold that covers the ground in many localities, is formed from the disintegration of rocks. Now, there are two great classes of soil, to one of which every kind of soil may be referred, that is, soil formed in situ-in the place where found-and that which has been transported, when formed, to places more or less remote from the parent rock. It is to the latter of these that our soil belongs and hence that which we wish to treat.
Strewed all over the northern part of North America, over hill and dale, over field and plain, covering alike, in places, all the country rock to a depth of thirty to three hundred feet, thus largely concealing them from view, and extending in general from the Rocky Mountains eastward, and sonth ward to the fortieth parallel of latitude, is found this peculiar surface soil or deposit. It consists of a heterogeneous mixture of clay, sand, gravel, pebbles, snb-angular stones of all sizes, unsorted, unsifted, unfossiliferons. The lowest part lying in immediate contact with the subjacent rock is often a stiff clay including sub-angular stones; hence this is often called the boulder clay or hard pan. "These included boulders," says Prof. Geikie, "are scattered higgledy-piggledy, pell-mell, through the clay so as to give the whole deposit a highly confused and tumultuons appearance." On examining many of these stones, they will be found to be angular in shape, but the sharp corners and edges are invariably smoothed away, their faces will be smoothed and frequently grooved with parallel scratches. Indeed in concretionary stones and others having an egg shape, often one whole end has been ground off, showing conclusively its history. On the other hand, lying all over this drift soil, in clusters, in isolated rocks, and
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HISTORY OF DE KALB COUNTY.
in belts varying in width from a single line to two or three miles, are found many boulders of all sizes; in some localitics they are of huge dimensions and weigh hundreds of tons. These unscratched, or erratic blocks, as they are sometimes called, have attracted the attention and excited the wonder of those in the humblest walks of life, and since they are composed of materials foreign to the local geology, were regarded by them as foreigners which had been brought from a distance and strewed over the surface or perched upon declivities in some incomprehensible way. It is now very ap- propriate to investigate the causes for all this phenomena spread out before us.
Whenever the underlying rock is of sufficient hardness to retain an impression, and for any canse is exposed to view, it is always found to be plowed and planed and grooved with long parallel striæ and ruts. Thus, these scratches, with the superincumbent drift, the boulder-clay, and the surface boulders, furnish for us phe- nomena, the exact counterpart of which is found on a smaller scale in all the glaciated regions of the world to-day-Alaska, Greenland, Switzerland, the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and the Antarctic con- tinent. Given ideutical phenomena, we must conclude there was an identical canse. Given identical phenomena in the one case on a much larger and grander scale, we must conclude there was a cause of far greater and grander proportions. There was, then, a time in the past, when for hundreds of years the winters grew steadily both longer and colder; the equatorial current, being pressed southward at Cape St. Roque, was ponring more and more of its waters into the South Atlantic. The moisture was all precip- itated as snow, and these all mutually reacting upon each other so that each effect strengthened the cause, brought about the period known as the great Ice Age, and formed an immense continental ice-sheet or Polar Ice Cap which extended in general to the fortieth degree of latitude, with local extensions of its icy fingers down river valleys far to the southward.
In the beginning of the Archæan Age, at the time of the first known continental emergence in the history of the world, there was formed a high mountain range north of the great lakes, extending from Labrador to the Lake of the Woods and thence northward to the Arctic Ocean, the degradation of which has furnished the ma- terial for the stratified rocks that surround it, and, being especially active in the glacial period, it also furnished the greater part of our drift material. Thus through the lapse of countless ages down to
255
HISTORY OF DE KALB COUNTY.
the present time, all the mountain peaks and chains of this Lauren- tian continent, as it is frequently called, have been removed and car- ried into the sea, and, as a result, there remain only the truncated bases of the various arches and folds to testify to their former ex- istence and magnitude. Thus we see that these archæan mount- ains are the means, and the Ice Cap, together with what follows, the melting of the ice, are the agents in performing the final work in fitting up this part of our earth-lio me. For with its ponderous mass of ice a mile in thickness and constantly increasing as it ap- proaches the pole, moving southward, it ground the softer rocks to powder, brought hither our soil, scooped out the great lakes and the multitude of smaller ones in their latitude, and by the retreating of the glacier, the immense floods and the consequent hosts of icebergs, the river valleys were hollowed out, the hills and the gravel beds formed, and the surface boulders were dropped by the river's side and over the fields and plains.
The glacier in forming the Erie basin, as is indicated by the fur- rows made at different points, moved from east to west along the line of its way or axis. It plowed up the Huron and Erie sholes. in the east end, to a great depth, but moving westward it came upon the hard floor of corniferous limestone and but a shallow basin was formed. Here the many beautiful and fertile islands particu- larly testify to the unyielding hardness of the rocks. Thence pass- ing southwest to New Haven and Fort Wayne, and from New Haven on down the Wabash Valley, it determined the valleys of two rivers which would, in turn, one day, through long periods of time, drain the waters of Lake Erie to the gulf and convey to itself all of the waters of the great Maume e basin. Now, by a process the exact reverse of that which produced the glacial epoch, there was brought about a period of much warmer climate known as the
CHAMPLAIN.
This was characterized by melting of ice and snow, a far more extended and higher condition of the great lakes, by multitudes of icebergs floating south ward over these inland seas and dropping their loads of earth, sand, gravel, and boulders, by numerous floods which broadened and deepened the river valleys and the pell-mell dumping of gravel and stones over hills and valleys, with the strat- ification of whatever was deposited by the water.
As proof of the greater extent a nd elevation of the lakes, we have. for example, about Lake Erie five successive margins up to the
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256
HISTORY OF DE KALB COUNTY.
elevation of 250 feet above its present level. Of these, the first and highest passes from Adrian, Mich., through Fayette, Ohio, Hamar, West Unity, Pulaski, Bryan, and Farmer Center. From the latter place it passes into Defiance County and is divided into two nearly parallel lines west of Farmer Center, and continues its course southwesterly through Hicksville into the southeast corner of DeKalb County, thence on to New Haven and Fort Wayne. Here it forms parallel lines on the opposite sides of that old river which never had a name and no man ever saw; thence it passes eastward through Van Wert, Delphos and Findley.
A higher and equally continnous ridge lies back of this, passing from Hudson, Mich., on the left bank of the St. Joseph River, through Pioneer, Montpelier, and Edgerton to Fort Wayne, and on the right bank of the St. Mary's running sontheasterly to Lima and Kenton.
This is not usually regarded as an old lake beach, but rather a s a swell of the Erie clay determined by a buried moraine .*
This ridge, commonly called the St. Mary's Ridge, though it seems to me it would better be called the St. Joseph and St. Mary's Ridge, exerts a very controlling influence over the drainage of the county; for it determines the basin of the two noble rivers, the St. Joseph and the St. Mary's.
These properly have tributaries flowing into them from one di- rection only, in the St. Joseph from the right, and in the St. Mary's from the left, and by their confluence at Fort Wayne, the one flow- ing in a southwesterly course, the other, in a north westerly course, they form the Maumee, which flows back to Toledo, Ohio-not the resultant of the two forces, but directly the opposite of it. Thus this system of drainage, of which De Kalb County furnishes an honor- able part, has two most interesting features, the like of which, except the Tiffin and Auglaize and the second lake beach, so far as we know, is not to be found elsewhere upon theglobe. Now, if the reader will refer to the section, he will be able to see our place more clearly. Far beneath us is the original or crust rock. Superimposed upon this we have formed chiefly by the degradation of the Laurentian
*The formation of the lake beaches and ridges constitute the last scenes in the great geological drams; nor should we look upon them ss taking place in rapid succession, but slowly through long peroids of time, just as in the near fut- ure, geologically speaking, the present margins of Lake Erie will be left far inland by the wearing away of Niagara's rocky bed and the retreating of the Falls.
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HISTORY OF DE KALB COUNTY.
mountains, the many and diverse strata that constitute the periods of the Silurian and Devonian ages. At the close of the last-named age, our county arose from beneath the ancient sea and its rock formation was at an end. It will also be observed, that simul- taneous with these formations there were formed in Scotland and Wales the strata of the Old Red Sandstone, by the study of which, with chisel and hammer, Hugh Miller rendered both then and himself immortal. Thus, with the long blanks before us, it would be idle to look for coal or any of the interesting and useful formations of the Carboniferous, Reptilian and Tertiary ages; but while these phenomena were taking place, our county, with its head above the waves, like a silent and lonely sentinel, gazed upon these wonderful transformations, including the emergence of the continent southward and the gradual yet wonderful formation of the Appalachian and Rocky Mountains. After all this was ac- complished, the ponderous and mighty glacier, moving southward with grandeur and irresistible force, brought hither our 300 feet of drift-soil, rich in the elements of the old granitic rocks, and consisting of alternate layers of yellow and blue clay, sand and gravel of varying thickness. Thus there is formed for us the best of conditions for obtaining good water. There are three strata of sand with impervious clay on either side, having an average depth of twelve, twenty-five, and forty-five feet. This is known by the many excellent wells all over the county, the greater number and best of which are generally obtained by sinking the tube to the second stratum of sand, having an average depth of twenty-five feet. On the retiring of the glacier, there was left upon the surface in the northwestern part of the county numerous boulders which may be traced northward through Stenben County and the State of Michigan, increasing both in size and number to the place of their origin,-the region beyond the lakes. Abont this time, or just subsequent to it, was formed the St. Joseph, and, for the first time in its history, the waters of this phenomenal river are coursing south ward, not yet to Lake Erie, but through the channel of the Wabash on to the Gulf. Following this began the deposition of the alluvial bottom lands on either side of the river and its tributaries, of which are formed our most beautiful and fertile farms. Now, the margins of Lake Erie crossing the southeastern part of the county, through the action of winds and waves, formed those beautiful ridges pre- vionsly described. These, " being composed chiefly of sand and
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258
HISTORY OF DE KALB COUNTY.
fine gravel with sufficient clay to pack well, and yet sufficiently porous to drain well," have from the first afforded the people in their vicinity the best of roads known here and wherever found as the " Ridge Roads."
Proceeding from below upward in our investigations, we arrive at last at the thin stratum of vegetable mold, covering the drift, which has been formed by the annual coating of leaves for untold years. This, together with the pulverized and partially decom- posed granitic rock, the enormous drift covering, furnishes for the farmer a soil that is at once fertile and inexhaustible; for if he will but " plow deep, while sluggards sleep, he will have plenty of corn to sell and keep."
Thus, thongh we are not blessed with mines of the precions metals, nor coal, nor iron, nor copper, yet we have in our soil an inexhaustible mine of true wealth, the foundation of a nation's true greatness, the basis, the hidden spring that sets in motion the wheels of trade and commerce throughout the world. And the farmer, in his high and time-honored calling, holds in his hand the electric key, by means of which he sends the thrill of life-giving pulsations throughout the whole world of human in - dustry and sets in motion its countless spindles and wheels the sweet music of whose hum is heard in every clime.
ZOOLOGY.
Although no large body of water exists within or near the bor ders of De Kalb County it formerly had a respectable number of both species and individuals of the animal kingdom. It afforded the Indian and the pioneer an abundance of wholesome wild meats, and in great variety, as well as a plentiful supply of use- less or mischievous animals. According to the rule the world over, the larger animals disappeared first before the advancing tread of human occupation, and then the next in size, and so on, down to the raccoon, opossum, etc., which still exist, though in dimin- ishing numbers. The buffalo and elk were the largest, and they disappeared on the very first approach of the white man, with his deadly rifle and indefatigable hound.
ANIMALS.
The common deer, which was abundant in pioneer times, is now very scarce in Indiana, being occasionally seen in some of the wildest portions of the State. The last one known to be in De Kalb County was killed as much as twenty years ago.
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HISTORY OF DE KALB COUNTY.
The panther (Felix concolor) and two species of wild cat (Lynx Canadensis and rufus) used to infest the woods, and render trav- eling somewhat dangerous to the early settler, but the last seen in the county were about a third of a century ago.
The black bear, porcupine and beaver have not been seen here for a still longer period.
Minks, weasels and skunks, once common, are diminishing. Twenty to thirty years ago there was a brisk trade here in their furs and other peltry which perceptibly thinned out the fur-bearing animals.
Fox and gray squirrels keep up their proportion with the dimin- ishing forest. The gray species is the most numerous, among which a black specimen is occasionally met with. Flying squirrels are still here, but as they are entirely nocturnal in their habits they are seldom seen. There are also ground squirrels in abundance.
Moles, rabbits and bats are of course still common.
No others have been seen for many years, though they were frequent in early days. There are still a good many muskrats.
Occasionally there is a gray fox met with, but no red foxes have been seen for a long time.
Wolves, of the large gray or "timber" species, were plentiful in early times, and more annoying and mischievous than all other and imals put together; but they are now, of course, extinct.
Ground hogs, or " woodchucks," were never plentiful, and are so scarce now that seldom can one be found.
" Wild hogs," or domestic hogs escaped and running wild, were abundant in pioneer times. In a few generations these animals became as furious and dangerous as wolves.
BIRDS.
Of the 250 species of birds found in De Kalb County, either con- stantly or occasionally in emigration, the group of singers exceeds in number all others, though the really excellent musicians among them number but fifteen or twenty. The most numerously repre- sented division, the wood warblers (Tanagridæ) are not fine sing- ers. The best songsters of the forest belong to the thrush and mocking-bird family.
Thrush Family .- The superior singing bird of De Kalb County is the superior singer of all the world, namely, the wood-thrush. It is really more entertaining than the famous nightingale of Europe. lts melodious, flute-like tones are altogether " too sweet" for de-
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HISTORY OF DE KALB COUNTY.
scription. They are grouped into short tunes of eight, ten or twelve notes each. and there are six or eight tunes sung by this bird, with intervals of five to six or seven seconds between them. Next to this prima donna of the forest are the olive-backed (or Swainson's) thrush, Wilson's thrush, the northern mocking-bird (or cat-bird), the brown thrush and the robin. These are all migra- tory birds, spending the summer here but the winter in the South. The robin sometimes remains all winter. The hermit and the olive-backed thirushes are more common in the spring and fall The robin and the cat-bird frequent the orchards and gardens, nest- ing about the door-yards, and prefer these places to the woods, probably because of greater security from birds or other animals of prey. The brown thrush is found in the thickets of hazel-brush, briers, etc., which skirt old fences and the edge of woods, and gen- erally nests in brush heaps. The remainder of this family is con- fined to the woodland. Their food consists of beetles, grasshoppers, snails, spiders, caterpillars, etc., together with small fruits and berries.
Bluebird Family .- The bluebird is the only representative of this family in the county. It is common from spring to fall, nest- ing in bird-honses, fence-posts, decayed trees, and feeds on winged insects, worms, grasshoppers, spiders and a scant proportion of berries.
Kinglets .- The ruby-crowned and the golden-crowned kinglets and the blue-gray gnat-catcher are all common during the spring and fall. The first-mentioned is frequently found in winter, and the gnat-catcher is abundant during the summer. These are con- fined to the woods. The kinglets nest in the lake region, but the gnat-catcher nests here, building a wonderful structure high up on the oaks. It is somewhat purse-shaped, and often at the extrem- ity of a bough, so as to sway with the wind, secure from enemies. It is placed in a concealed situation, and artistically, as well as substantially, finished.
Chickadee .- The titmouse, or black-capped chickadee, the only member of this family here, feeds upon insects, seeds, berries, crumbs, meat, etc., and generally nests in the woods, where it makes its home most of the year, but during the winter it is seen near the house, feeding upon sweepings from the table.
Nuthatches .- The white-bellied and the red-bellied nuthatch are common, especially the former. These birds are found in wood. lands and orchards. Their nests are built in lioles in trees. Food -ants, eggs of insects and seeds.
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HISTORY OF DE KALB COUNTY.
· Brown Creeper .- A common spring, fall and winter resident, and a woodland bird, is to be mentioned in this connection.
Wren Family .- The Carolina wren is a very rare straggler from the South. The house wren is common locally. The winter wren is a common spring and fall visitor, often remaining during the open winters. The long-billed marsh wren is a common summer resident of the marshes, building a large globular nest of coarse sand-grass, suspended to reeds or flag stems. The short-billed marsh wren is a common summer resident, generally found on low meadow lands. The wrens feed on insects only.
Lark Family .- The horned lark is a winter resident, but some- times breeds here. It frequents barren and gravelly fields, feeding on seeds and insects. When the ground is covered with snow they may be seen feeding upon the droppings of stock about the farm.
The Titlark is an abundant migrant in late fall and early spring, frequenting the same localities and subsisting on the same food as the preceding. There are sometimes large flocks of this species of bird.
Warblers .- These are numerous. The black and white creeper is a common summer resident, nesting on the ground, generally beside a fallen log. The blue yellow-backed warbler, a rare mi- gratory bird, is sometimes found in the tree-tops of the wild forest. The blue-winged yellow warbler is rare. The blue golden-winged warbler is common in spring and fall. The Nashville and Tennes- see warblers are very common. The orange-crowned warbler is rare. The yellow, the black-throated green, the black-throated blue, the blue, the yellow-rumped, the blackburnian, the black- poll, the yellow red-poll, and the chestnut-sided warblers are all common-some of them abundant; all migrants. The bay-breasted, the Cape May, the prairie, the yellow-throated and Kirtland's war- blers are rare. The golden-crowned thrush (Sciurus auricapillus) is a common summer resident, frequenting low, open woods. The water thrush (S. naevius) is rare, but breeds here. The large- billed water thrush is common in swampy timber lands. The Con- necticut warbler is rare, but may become common. It is a fine songster. The Maryland yellow-throat is found occasionally. The black-capped fly-catching warbler is common during the spring and autumn. Canada fly-catching warbler, common. Red start, very common.
Tanagers .- The scarlet tanager is common, and the summer red- . 17
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HISTORY OF DE KALB COUNTY.
bird (sometimes kept in cages) rare, accidentally straying from the Sonth.
Swallow Family .- The barn, cliff or eave, white-bellied, and the bank or sand swallows are common. The purple martin, for- merly common, is being driven out by the English sparrow. The swallows feed exclusively upon winged insects.
Wax-wings .- The Carolina wax-wing or cherry bird is a com- mon resident, breeding in August and September, and feeding on the cultivated fruits.
Vireos .- There are a half-dozen species of these in this section of the country, inhabiting woodlands, some of them common, some of them rare.
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