USA > Indiana > Hendricks County > History of Hendricks County, Indiana > Part 24
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Tanagers .- The scarlet tanager is common, and the summer red- bird (sometimes kept in cages) rare, accidentally straying from the South.
Swallow Family .- The barn, cliff or eave, white-bellied, and the bank or sand swallows are common. The purple martin, formerly common, is being driven out by the English sparrow. The swal- lows feed exclusively upon winged insects.
Was wings .- The Carolina wax-wing or cherry bird is a common 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.
Shrikes, or Butcher Birds .- The great Northern shrike is rare ; the logger-head shrike, two varieties, is common. These form a small but interesting family of bold and spirited birds, quarrel- some among themselves. They form a kind of connecting link between insect-eating birds and birds of prey. Their food consists of large insects, mice and small birds and snakes. They are noted for impaling their prey on thorns or sharp twigs and leaving them there-for what purpose is not yet known.
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HISTORY OF HENDRICKS COUNTY.
Finch and Sparrow Family .- Numerous; pine grosbeak, an occasional winter visitor; purple finch, a common migrant; white- winged and red cross-bills, rare winter visitors; red-poll linnet, an irregular winter visitor; pine linnet, a rare winter visitor from the north; goldfinch, or yellow bird, common and well known; has the appearance of a canary ; snow-bunting, a common but irregular winter visitor; Lapland long-spur, a common winter visitor; Savan- nah sparrow, a common migrant; bay-winged bunting, very com- mon from spring to fall; yellow-winged Henslow's and Lincoln's sparrows are summer residents ; swamp and song sparrows, com- mon, the latter abundant all the warm season; snow-bird, common in winter ; mountain sparrow, common in winter; chipping and field sparrows, common in summer ; white-throated and white- crowned sparrows, common migrants; English sparrow, abundant in the towns, driving out our native song-birds; fox sparrow, a very common spring and fall visitor; black-throated bunting, grow- ing common; rose-breasted grosbeak, a common summer resident; breeds along the water-courses in low trees and shrubs; indigo bird, abundant in summer, frequenting low woodlands overrun with briers; towhee bunting or chewink, abundant.
Birds of this family feed entirely upon seeds except during the breeding season. Those which are residents all the year and those which are summer residents only subsist during the breeding sea- son and feed their young almost exclusively upon insects. At other times their food consists of the seeds of grass and weeds. The rose-breasted grosbeak is the only bird known to feed on the potato bug, and the white-crowned sparrow feeds on the grape-vine flea-beetle. The common yellow bird, or goldfinch, prefers the seeds of the thistle and lettuce. The fox sparrow and chewink scratch the ground for hibernating insects and snails. The cross- bills feed on the seeds in pine cones, and the English sparrow feeds on the seeds contained in the droppings of animals.
Blackbird Family .- Bobolink, common and well-known; a fine and cheerful songster ; cow-bird, or cow blackbird, a summer visitor, frequenting old pasture land and the edge of woods; like the European cuckoo, it builds no nest, but lays its eggs in the nests of smaller birds, such as warblers, vireos and sparrows. Red- winged blackbird, abundant in summer; meadow lark, well known; orchard and Baltimore orioles are very common; rusty blackbird, or grackle, is common for a week or two in spring; crow blackbird, common and well known.
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268 HISTORY OF HENDRICKS COUNTY.
With the exception of one or two species this family is decidedly gregarious. Insects and grains constitute their food. The cow- bird destroys the eggs and young of other birds. The orioles feed largely on hairy caterpillars and also on some of the small fruits, green peas, etc.
Crow Family .- The raven was common, but is now rare. The common crow, well known, emigrates southward during the cold- est weather. Blue jay is the gayest plumaged and harshest-voiced bird of the American forests. Birds of this family are omnivorous.
Fly-catcher Family .- The king-bird is abundant in summer, frequenting orchards and the edge of the woods; great crested fly- catcher, abundant in the forest ; uses snake skins as a part of its nest material; pewee, or Phoebe bird, common ; wood pewee, a common bird of the orchard and woodland; least fly-catcher, com- mon in summer; yellow-bellied fly-catcher, a common migrant, but rare summer resident. The king-bird and pewee frequent open places; the others of this family dwell in the forest. They all sub- sist upon winged insects.
Goatsucker Family .- Whippoorwill and night-hawk, well-known and common. These birds are nocturnal in their habits and feed upon insects.
The Chimney Swallow is the only member of the family Cypse- lido that is found in this latitude. It is sometimes seen in large flocks, roosting in unused chimneys, barns and hollow trees.
Hummingbird Family .- The ruby-throated is the only species found here. It feeds upon insects, which it captures within flowers.
King-fisher Family .- The belted king-fisher is a common sum- mer resident in suitable localities. It feeds upon small fish.
Cuckoo Family .- The black-billed species is common; has been called "rain crow." The yellow-billed cuckoo is not common. Omnivorous.
Woodpecker Family .- There are half a dozen species of wood- pecker found in this locality, all common, viz .: The hairy, downy, yellow-bellied, red-bellied, red-headed and golden-winged. Omniv- orous.
Owl Family .- The great horned, the mottled, the screech, the long-eared and the short-eared are abundant. The barn owl is a rare straggler from the South. Possibly one or two other species may occasionally be found here.
Hawk Family .- The marsh hawk, the sharp shinned, Cooper's, the sparrow, the red-tailed, the red-shouldered, the broad-winged,
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HISTORY OF HENDRICKS COUNTY.
the rough-legged or black, and the fish hawks are all common. The white-tailed kite, the goshawk, the pigeon hawk, Swainson's hawk and the bald eagle are more rare.
The Turkey Buzzard, belonging to a distinct family, is rare.
Pigeon Family .- The wild pigeon, an abundant migrant, some- times breeds here. The Carolina dove, a common resident here most of the year, is common.
The Wild Turkey, once abundant, but now rare, is the only member of its family native to this region.
Grouse Family .- Prairie chicken, once occasional, none now; ruffed grouse, or partridge, occasional; quail, common.
Plover Family .- The golden plover, the killdeer and the semi- palmated are common abont unfrequented ponds. The black- bellied plover is rare, if ever seen at all.
Sandpiper Family .- The most common species of this family are the semi-palmated, least, pectoral, red-breasted, Willst, soli- tary, spotted and upland sandpipers, the snipe and the woodcock. Less common are the buff-breasted and red-backed sandpipers, long- billed curlew and perhaps occasionally two or three other unim- portant species.
Heron Family .- The green and night herons, the bittern and the least bittern are common residents. The great blue heron is a common migrant and the great white heron a rare summer visitor. '
Cranes .- The whooping and sand-hill cranes are sometimes seen in migration.
Rail Family .- The Virginia and Carolina rails and the coot are often seen in the vicinity of the streams and in the margin of ponds; the clapper, king, yellow and black rails, very rarely ; the Florida gallinale, occasional.
Duck Family .- The common species are the mallard, black, big black-head, little black-head, ring-necked, red-head (or pochard), golden-eye, butter ball, ruddy and fish (gosander) ducks, the brant and Canada geese, widgeon, golden-winged and blue-winged teal and the hooded merganser. Rarely are seen the pintail, gadwall shoveler, wood duck, canvas-back duck, long-tailed duck and red breasted merganser. All the duck family are migratory.
Gull Family .- About ten species; may rarely be seen in passing.
Loon .- One species sometimes strays into this locality from the North.
Grebes .- The horned and the pied-bill grebes are occasional. One or two other species very rare.
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HISTORY OF HENDRICKS COUNTY.
FISHES.
As there are no large lakes or streams in Hendricks County, the number and variety of fishes are limited, especially in these days of mill-dams and city sewage.
Stickleback Family .- This furnishes the chief game fish, as bass and sun fish. The local names of these fish are so various that we scarcely know how to refer to them; but we may venture to name the black bass, the green or Osage bass, the big black sun-fish or rock bass, goggle-eye and the two. common sun-fish, all of which have materially diminished within the last five years.
Perch Family .- There are no perch, or "jack salmon," in the county. They were once common throughout the State, but now are only to be found occasionally in some of the most favored places. They are among the finest fishes, and ought to be culti- vated. The salmon sometimes attains a weight of forty pounds.
Pike Family .- The larger pike, sometimes called "grass pike," used to be met with, especially in draining off the marshes. The pickerel was also native here, but none are to be found at the present day. Nor have gar pike ("gars") existed here since the advent of mill-dams.
Sucker Family .- To this family belong the buffalo (rare) red- horse (occasional) and the white sucker (also occasional). Black suckers and mullets still thrive in some parts of Indiana, but not here.
Catfish Family .- Fish of this family are still common, but are small, weighing only a pound or two. We can scarcely name the species in English. Perhaps we may say the channel, or mud catfish, the blue and the yellow, the bull-head and one or two other small species are found here. The yellow are the most common.
Minor Sorts .- Besides the above, there are several varieties of chubs, silver sides, and large numbers of other species denomi- nated minnows, which are found in the smallest spring branches as well as the larger streams.
Fish planting has not yet been introduced into this county.
REPTILES.
Of the twenty-three species of Snakes that have existed in this State, and probably in this county, several of the largest have been about exterminated. Only two of them are venomous, namely,
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HISTORY OF HENDRICKS COUNTY.
the copperhead and the massassanga. Very few of these are to be found at the present day. The smaller species are useful animals like toads, in destroying mice, moles and other vermin, and are preserved by intelligent farmers on this account.
Of Lizards there are very few in this section. Those creatures which resemble them are innocent salamanders, and are really as useful as toads in the destruction of flies and other insects. There are eighteen species of these animals in Indiana. The largest at- tains a length of eight inches, and is black, with large, irregular yellow spots. Another large species is entirely yellow; another of a brilliant vermilion haunts cold springs. The second in size is the "mud alligator," or " water dog," a frequent annoyance to fishermen. Still another species has external gills, for respiration in water, thus resembling pollywogs.
Of Frogs there are five species, and of toads five. Four are tree toads. One species of frog is subterranean, excavating its burrows backward with its hind feet, which are shovel formed. It comes to the surface early to breed, after thunder showers in April, in the evening, when it is easily recognized by its loud, discordant notes.
POPULATION.
The population of Hendricks County, at the ratio of increase made during the last census decade, is in the spring of 1885, 24,- 500, or about fifty-eight persons on each square mile.
The increase of population may be seen from the following table:
White.
Colored.
Total.
Incr'se in
10 years.
Census of 1830.
3,975
3,975
.
1840.
11,264
11,264|
7,284
1850
14,048
41
14,083
3,819
1880.
16,896
57 16,953
2,870
"
1870.
20,086
191 20,277
3,324
1880.
22,577/
404 22,981
2,704
..
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CHAPTER III.
EARLY HISTORY.
LAND PURCHASED FROM THE ABORIGINES .- GOVERNMENT SURVEYS. -REMOVAL OF THE RED MEN .- FIRST SETTLEMENT BY WHITE MEN .- PARTS OF COUNTY FIRST SETTLED .- HARD TIMES IN 1837. -"FIRST THINGS. "-ORGANIZATION OF COUNTY .- AOT OF THE LEGISLATURE .- LOCATION OF COUNTY SEAT .- FIRST COMMISSION- ERS. - SITE FOR COURT-HOUSE .- SELLING TOWN LOTS. - FIRST CIR- OUIT COURTS. - EXTRACTS FROM EARLY PROCEEDINGS OF THE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS .- EARLY MARRIAGES .- FIRST LAND DEED. -FIRST WILL. - NEGROES REGISTRY.
By the terms of a treaty negotiated at St. Mary's, Ohio, in 1818, by Governor Jennings, General Cass and Judge Benjamin Park, Commissioners on the part of the United States Government, the Indians relinquished all title to their unceded land south of the Wa- bash River, except reservations, which included the territory in Central Indiana, out of which about thirty counties have been carved, among them Hendricks. This was the largest of the forty-three purchases which were required to obtain from the In- dians all the land in this State.
In the conditions of this treaty, it was stipulated that the In- dians should have and hold possession of their improvements and live in the country for three years, after which some were to go upon reservations, but the most of them were to be removed be- yond the Mississippi River. The Government surveys were to proceed at once, and the ceded lands to be open to settlers. Be- fore this, the lands of Hendricks County were owned and occupied by the Delawares, and not being situated on any of the great war trails or Indian highways, it contained no villages or extensive In- dian improvements, but seemed rather to have been used by them as a hunting ground and for a temporary abode.
The Government proceeded to survey the new purchase at once, and Hendricks County being on the meridian from which the be- ginning was made, it was surveyed first, in 1819. As soon as con- (272)
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summated there began a flood of immigration into every part of the purchase. From all parts of the United States they came and pushed their way into the unbroken wilderness, either upon the Indian trails or " bushing " out trails of their own, as they traveled. In general, the destination of these emigrants was not more definite than a good location in the new purchase, and as soon as satisfied in that particular they stopped and began the clearing. The In- dians having sold their lands and made up their minds to become emigrants themselves, gave the pale-face a hearty welcome, and often-times valuable assistance, and were troublesome only as beg- gars, or occasionally by a petty theft.
Though the Indians were to be removed upon their reservations or beyond the Mississippi in 1821, it was 1826 before they were all gone from Hendricks County. Not one drop of blood was ever shed in Hendricks County in warfare between the whites and red men. When the first settlers came to the county, a great many Indians were found living on White Lick and Eel Riv- er. The former they called by a most beautiful name, Wa-pe-ke- way, meaning " white salt;" and it is much to be regretted that this graceful appellation was ever exchanged for its civilized pseu- donym. Ee! River they called Sho-a-mack, which means " slip- pery fish." They had no towns nor cleared fields in the county, and very few wooden huts. These rude children of the forest had been by nature unfitted for civilized life, and the habits of the pale-face were as incongruous to theirs as the life of a wolf is to that of a kid. In accordance with the fiat of the Great Spirit, they have passed away before the star of empire in its westward course; an arrow-head or a stone ax found here and there, is all that is left to remind us of the occupancy of our beautiful land by this stern, mysterious race.
FIRST SETTLEMENT.
The first settlement in Hendricks County was made in the spring of 1820, on White Lick, by Bartholomew Ramsey, Samuel Herriman, Harris Bray, John W. Bryant, James Dunn, George Dunn and Ezekiel Moore. There were at this time extensive set- tlements on the Wabash, and a road was cut through the bushes . and named the Terre Haute trail. It passed through this county from one to two miles south of what is now the national road, and in this same year, 1820, Nathan Kirk, an enterprising and intelli- gent settler, who was afterward chosen one of the first associate
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274 HISTORY OF HENDRICKS COUNTY.
judges of the county, settled on this road in the south west corner of the county, and kept public honse. He afterward moved to Clinton County and became the founder of Kirklin, and it was for him that Kirk's Prairie was named.
In the spring of 1821 Noah Kellum, Thomas Lockhart and Felix Belzer settled on East Fork. Belzer settled upon the land of Jo- siah Tomlinson, of Ohio, and was a " mighty hunter." In the win- ter of 1821-'2, he killed 125 deer. In 1822 Uriah Carson, who had come from Ohio to enter land, sickened and died at Belzer's house. This was the first death inthe county. Thomas and Will- iam Hinton, James Thompson and Robert McCrackin settled on the west fork of White Lick in the fall of 1821, in what is now Liberty Township. The following year brought a number of set. tlers into the territory now occupied as Washington, Guilford and Liberty townships.
No better class of immigrants ever peopled a new country than those which began the settlement of Hendricks County. They were not adventurers, but all came to stay, and were equally inter- ested in the future welfare of their neighborhood; and being bound together by the strong tie of mutual dependence, there grew up among them a fraternity of feeling for each other that has never abated.
When the county was organized in 1824, the population was about 1,000, principally confined to the portions of the county just named, with a few settlers near the present site of Danville, Nathan Kirk and Jere Stiles in the southwest corner, and Noah Bateman and a neighbor or two on Eel River. But not one set- tler had yet been so adventurous as to brave the swamps and mos- quitoes of any portion of the county now occupied by Union, Mid- dle, Brown and Lincoln townships, and in 1830 there were not more than fifty persons within the limits of these four townships. The earlier and more rapid settlement of other portions of the county was due to the better natural drainage, and until about 1840 the occupation of the northeastern part of the county pro- ceeded very slowly, while by that date the settlement of all the rest of the county was about completed. The construction of the . Cumberland road through the south part of the county in 1830, along which for years there passed one continuous procession of emigrants to all parts of the West, added much to the rapid set- tlement and development of that portion of Hendricks, for hun- dreds of these travelers found inducements to settle here, and did
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HISTORY OF HENDRICKS COUNTY.
so, when they had intended to go farther west; and every farm- house became a hotel, and the immense travel was a great source of wealth to them.
Soon after the first settlements in the county, there came upon the whole country the most disastrous monetary crisis which ever afflicted the American people, adding to the hardships and priva- tions necessarily incident to pioneer life, and making hard times in those days a reality. One man waited two months to get the 25 cents necessary to pay the postage on a letter from friends in North Carolina. A young man, since a prominent citizen of the county, went to Owen County with 75 cents to buy corn, which he failed to get; but he purchased a little flour, which his widowed mother compounded with something else to make it go further, and made bread. Upon this and milk, the family lived, during which time the young man walked four miles away each day, and "deadened" trees at 373 cents per day, to enable him to pay 26 per cent. on the money that paid for their eighty acres of land. These and other features of pioneer life are narrated at length in the State history, forming the introductory part of this work.
Thus lived the pioneers of Hendricks County, the subjugators of the wilderness, the builders of fortune and renown; and as year after year, from the sweat of their toil, wealth grew out of the ground, and the little original corn patch widened and grew to broad fields, and to the single cow and calf, new members were added until the herds covered the hills and valleys, so the incon- veniences of those early days passed slowly away, and the comforts of the civilized world found room in the enlarged and beautiful homes of the people. With higher aspirations came higher du- ties and greater cares; with the age of steam, came the necessity for high pressure in every business; and rightly may the old pio- neer men and women of Hendricks County look back on the days of former years, with a pleasure modified by regret, that those days have gone forever.
James Tomlinson built the first horse-mill in the county, on East Fork. The first water-mill was built by John P. Benson, on Rock Branch, in Eel River Township, in 1826. Silas J. Bryant was the first white child born in the county. He was born in Guilford Township in 1820, the son of J. W. Bryant. The first merchan- dise was sold in Danville, by James L. Given. The first resident attorneys were Judge Marvin, still living at Danville, and Colonel Nave, who located in Danville in 1832, and was engaged in the
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276 HISTORY OF HENDRICKS COUNTY.
practice of law continuously for more than fifty years, until his death, in 1884. In the summer of 1823, two school-houses were built in the county, one in Liberty Township, below Cartersburg, and the other on Thomas Lockhart's land, in Guilford Township. These were the first school-houses in Hendricks County, and in them, the same fall, W. H. Hinton and Abijah Pierson taught the first schools of the county.
ORGANIZATION OF COUNTY.
The act organizing the county of Hendricks (named such in honor of William Hendricks, then Governor of the State) was ap- proved Dec. 20, 1823. Following is the text:
"SKO. 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana, That from and after the first day of April next, all that part of the county of Wabash included in the following boundary, viz: Beginning at the southeast corner of section 20, in township 14, north, of range 2, east, thence west twenty miles to the east line of Putnam County, thence north with said line twenty miles, to the northwest corner of section 18, in township 17, in range 2, west, thence east twenty miles, to the northwest corner of Marion County, thence south twenty miles with said county line, to the place of beginning, shall form and constitute a new county, to be known and designated by the name and style of the county of Hendricks.
" SEC. 2. Thesaid new county of Hendricks shall, from and after the first day of April next, enjoy all the rights, privileges and ju- risdiction which to separate and independent counties do, or may properly belong and appertain.
"SEO. 3. That William Templeton of Lawrence County, Will- iam Mc Culloch of Monroe County, Calvin Fletcher of Marion County, Abel Cole, of Shelby County, and John Smiley of John- son County, be, and they are hereby appointed Commissioners, agreeably to an act entitled, 'An act for fixing the seats of justice in all new counties hereafter to be laid off.' The commissioners above named shall meet at the house of the late William Ballard, in said county of Hendricks, on the second Monday of July next, and shall immediately proceed to discharge the duties assigned them by laws. It is hereby made the duty of the sheriff of Mor- gan County to notify the said commissioners, either in person or by written notification, of their appointment, on or before the first day of June, next; and the said sheriff of Morgan County shall re-
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HISTORY OF HENDRICKS COUNTY.
ceive from the said county of Hendricks so much for his ser- vices, as the county commissioners, who are hereby authorized to allow the same, shall deem reasonable, to be paid out of any moneys in the treasury of said county, in the same manner that all other moneys are paid.
"SEO. 4. The Circuit Courts and all other courts of the county of Hendricks, shall meet and be holden at the house of the late Will- iam Ballard in said county of Hendricks, until suitable accommo- dations can be had at the seat of justice in said county, when they shall adjourn the Circuit Courts thereto; after which time, all the courts of the county of Hendricks shall be holden at the county seat of Hendricks County, established by law. Provided, how- ever, that the circuit court shall have authority to remove the court froin the said house of the late William Ballard, to any other place in said county of Hendricks previous to the completion of the public buildings, should the said court deem it expedient.
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