USA > Minnesota > Waseca County > Child's history of Waseca County, Minnesota : from its first settlement in 1854 to the close of the year 1904, a record of fifty years : the story of the pioneers > Part 30
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sist of one hundred and twenty-five delegates and was to meet at Ward's Opera House, July 7, 1880. Every county was repre- sented and a number of counties had two sets of delegates. The trieks of the politician were visible throughout the district. Jackson and Mower counties both had double delegations. Free- born county, which was overwhelmingly for Judge Lovely, worked up a Dunnell delegation on cheek. It was admitted by non-partisan men of unbiased judgment that Dunnell was beaten on a fair vote by fifty-four to fifty-six delegates. Both faetions held caucuses the night before the convention, and each faction declared it had a regular majority of the fairly elected delegates. Dunnell's friends had the central committee, and when the hour arrived every delegate was at his post. W. Holt, chairman of the district committee, mounted the platform and called the conven- tion to order. He arbitrarily announced that Freeborn, Mower, and Jackson counties, having contested delegations, would not be allowed to vote until the committee on credentials had been ap- pointed and reported. He also stated that the district commit- tee had instructed him to call Earl S. Youmans to the chair as temporary presiding officer. Holt had searcely commeneed to make this announcement before S. P. Child, of Blue Earth, was standing on the floor in front of him shouting, "Mr. Chairman," at the top of his voice. "Sim," when in good condition, can be heard a mile away, under ordinary conditions. But Holt was wilfully both deaf and blind on this occasion, and went right along as though Child were not in existenee. But Child was not to be silenced. When Holt refused to hear, he mounted a ehair, nominated Hon. W. W. Braden temporary chairman, put the motion to vote, and above the yells of both factions declared Mr. Braden elected. Braden and Youmans both reached the plat- form at the same time. D. F. Morgan, of Albert Lea, anti-Dun- nell, was chosen secretary and E. C. Huntington, of Windom, was declared elected secretary by the Dunnellites. It is said that the anti-Dunnell men had the greater Inng power and the excitement was intense. The Dunnell men ranged on one side of the hall (it was then a hall) and the anti-Dunnell men on the other. Braden and Morgan of the anti-Dunnellites captured the only table and chairs, the other officers being compelled to stand. The excitement was at fever heat, but the coolness and good na-
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ture of both Youmans and Braden probably prevented a disgrace- ful physical encounter, which several times seemed likely to occur. The shaking of fists and loud denunciation finally satis- fied the more strenuous.
The Dunnell faction had everything "cut and dried," and Dunnell was put in nomination by General Miller, of Worthing- ton, in a whooping speech. He received sixty-eight votes out of the seventy-one cast on informal ballot. The anti-Dunnell men at the same time were balloting. The candidates named were J. A. Lovely, H. S. Barrett, J. B. Wakefield, and W. G. Ward. It took six ballots for these delegates to agree upon a candidate. On the sixth and last ballot, Hon. W. G. Ward, of Wascca, re- ceived all the votes, seventy-five in number, and was declared the nominee amid cheers loud enough to awake the dead if the dead could hear. Dunnell's nomination was ratified on the street in front of the hotel, while a monster meeting at Ward's Opera House ratified the nomination of Mr. Ward. At first, everything looked favorable for the election of Senator Ward, but, soon after the nomination, the state and national central committees sided with Dunnell and the campaign closed disastrously for the Ward faction. Mr. Ward had been a prominent Greeley man, and the cry of "party" was effectually raised against him throughout the district. While he carried his own county by a plurality of 882 and a majority over both his opponents of 415, he received only 7,656 votes in the whole district. He was everywhere slaughtered except at home by the party men. But the seed had been sown, and at the next congressional election it was Hon. Milo White and not Dunnell who was nominated and elected.
It was in the campaign of 1880 that Mr. Ward became pro- prietor of the "Minnesota Radical," which he afterwards sold to C. E. Graham, then of Janesville.
THE FALL ELECTION.
For president, Gen. Garfield received a majority over Gen. Hancock of 418. The following local candidates were elected : R. L. McCormick, state senator; Christopher Wagner and D. J. Dodge, representatives; C. E. Crane, county auditor; F. A. New- ell, court commissioner; A. J. Jordan and W. D. Armstrong, county commissioners-all Republicans, except Jordan.
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TERRIBLE STORM IN OCTOBER.
The worst October storm known to the white people of Minne- sota commenced Oct. 15, 1880. A heavy rain from the Northwest set in about two o'clock p. m. An hour afterward it changed to a blinding snow storm, known in this section as a blizzard. Ev- eryone was caught unprepared for such a storm. Many cattle and especially sheep suffered severely in the western portion of the state. A farmer at Heron Lake, Jackson county, lost a large number of sheep in the lake. They were driven into it by the blinding storm of snow and wind and were drowned. An- other man had about fifty head of cattle on the prairie that night with nothing but a few haystacks to protect them from the fierce blasts and no fence to keep them from straving away. He and his faithful dog watched the herd all night, some of the leading cattle being fastened to posts, and yet three head of young stock got away during the night and were found in a big grass marsh the next day after the storm subsided. The storm continued until about ten o'clock on the 16th, when the sky cleared. Many of the railroads had to suspend operations on account of the snow blockade. Within a week, however, the snow disappeared and the weather remained mild until Nov. 8, when winter came in dead earnest. Cold weather, with frequent snow storms con- tinued throughout November and December.
TERRIBLE CONSEQUENCES OF DRINK.
John Meagher, a man about twenty years old, had been at work for several months for Ed. Hayden, of Alton township. On the 26th of October, 1880, he came to Waseca with a load of wheat for his employer, and while here he got drunk. When he started home towards night, he was unable to sit up on his wagon, and lay down with his face downwards. He had no box on the wagon, only some boards laid on the bed part of a common hay rack. As he drove out on Elm street, two of his boon companions were with him. They were pretty noisy, and attempted to get the team to run. It seems that these two companions left him before going very far, and Meagher proceeded on his way alone.
Arriving at the residence of John Keeley, on section 7, of St. Mary, Mrs. Ann Hayden, aged about eighty years, mother of J. B. and Ed. Hayden, came out and got on to the rack to ride
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home with him, she having been visiting a sick girl at Mr. Kee- ley's. She stated that Meagher lay on his face and that he said he was sick, and that he would occasionally vomit. They had proceeded not more than a mile or so, when they came to a ravine over which a bridge was built. In attempting to cross the ravine, or gully, without crossing the bridge, the horses became entan- gled, and, turning around too short, upset the wagon. Meagher was pitched to the ground head foremost, his face striking in the mud. Mrs. Hayden stated that he made no groan or sign of distress, and the probability is that his neck was broken by the fall and that he died almost instantly. Mrs. Hayden was thrown to the ground, under the feet of the horses, and either by their trampling upon her or by the falling of the rack upon her, her left limb sustained a very serious compound fracture about midway between the knee and ankle, her right fore arm was broken, and she was otherwise more or less bruised. This occurred about seven o'clock in the evening, and the place was at a considerable distance from any house. There Mrs. Hayden lay, helpless and in extreme distress, for the space, probably, of nearly an hour, when John Keeley came along on his return from Janesville. Hearing her cries of distress, Mr. Keeley went to her aid. The team was cut loose from its entanglement, and the suf- fering woman conveyed to her son's, about a mile distant. Dr. Craig, of Janesville, and Dr. Cummings, of Waseca, were sum- moned, and attended to the wounds of the unfortunate woman as best they could. The coroner, Dr. Cummings, did not deem it necessary to hold an inquest on the body of the dead man, so he was laid out to await the orders of his relatives, who lived in Deerfield township, Steele county. Meagher was not known to be a man of drinking habits prior to this time. The unfortunate lady lingered until Oct. 30, when she died of her injuries.
DEATH OF H. F. BIERMANN.
On Tuesday morning, Dec. 21, 1880, Mr. H. F. Biermann started for Waseca with a load of wheat. When he reached the top of the long hill north of Michael Sinske's, he stopped and locked his wheel, and at the foot of the hill stopped again to unlock it. It is supposed that while he was working at it, his feet slipped and he fell partly under the wagon, and that before he regained
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his footing the horses started and drew one wheel of the heavily loaded wagon directly across his breast, crushing him in a ter- rible manner. The unfortunate man was found soon after by Mr. McDougall and Michael Sinske, who took him home. A doc- tor was immediately sent for, who did all in his power to alle- viate his sufferings, but all efforts were of no avail, and he lingered until Wednesday when death came to his relief. Mr. Biermann was one of the 1855 settlers of this county, as elsewhere detailed in this volume.
WOLVES KILLED.
A large number of wolves killed in this county on which boun- ty had been paid during the years 1876-80 is as follows: For the year ending Nov. 15, 1877, eleven; 1878, thirty-six; 1879, thirty-three; 1880, thirty; total, 130. The county bounty, $2.00 each, and the state bounty, $3.00, making $5.00 bounty on each scalp, gave an aggregate sum of $650 paid for exterminating the wolves in Waseca county during the time mentioned.
CHAPTER L, 1881.
VERY STORMY WINTER - RAILROADS BLOCKADED - HARRY READ'S STORY-NEW CHARTER FOR CITY OF WASECA-TOR- NADOES IN JUNE, JULY, AND AUGUST-DESTRUCTIVE FIRE IN WASECA OCT. 20-MURDER OF CHRISTIAN SCHIEFNER NEAR NEW RICHLAND-C. & N. W. ROUND HOUSE AND MACHINE SHOPS BUILT THIS YEAR-RESULT OF ELECTION-WASECA FIRE COMPANIES-DIED, J. K. MAYNE, PATRICK CALLAHAN.
With the opening of the year 1881, the county fathers met, Jan. 4, the following being present: Thos. Bowe, A. J. Jordan, Philip Purcell, N. M. Nelson, and W. D. Armstrong. Philip Pur- cell was elected chairman. Only routine business was trans- acted, except that a new desk was ordered for the judge of pro- bate.
THE WINTER WEATHER.
While the winter of 1880-1 was by no comparison the coldest ever known to Minnesota, it was by all odds the stormiest, the longest and the most disagreeable. The Southern Minnesota rail- road was blockaded from Winnebago City west from the middle of January until the first week in April. On the 5th and 6th of April, that year, in Jackson county, the snow was three feet deep-on the level-and a heavy span of horses could be driven over it, the crust of the snow being so hard as to bear the weight of the team. About the 7th of April the weather became warm and the snow rapidly disappeared.
WINTER STORY BY HARRY READ.
The following appeared in the Waseca Herald, Jan. 14, 1881 :
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"Engineer H. A. Read came home Wednesday night, having been on duty up on the west end of the road. He relates some of the charms of railroading in winter. Having recently been to Winona and procured a new engine for the Western division, Mr. Read was commissioned to break it in. Last Sunday, with the thermometer down to 35, and roads more or less blockaded, he was making his way to Watertown, having a freight train and a caboose of passengers. The water tanks along the road had either gone dry or frozen up, and Mr. Read's supply of water was rapidly being exhausted. When within half a mile of Good- win, his train became stalled in a snow bank. He succeeded in getting his engine through and pulling on to the station. Here the citizens turned out and, with buckets and tubs, brought water to fill up his tank. He then went on to Watertown, some twenty miles, and remained until Monday, when he came back, and, with help, the train was extricated from the drift, where it had remained all night. Fortunately two of the cars were loaded with wood, which had enabled the passengers to keep themselves warm. On Tuesday night, as Mr. Read was coming down the road between Lamberton and Walnut Grove with two engines on the train, and in front of them a train with a snow plow, the head train became stalled. Before Read's train was signalled, it ran into the caboose, raised it up, and tipped it fairly on to the head engine. An engineer and fireman jumped off and were considerably hurt. It takes a host of nerve and pluck to follow railroading on the Western prairies."
A New Richland correspondent on Feb. 18. wrote:
"Railroading this winter is not one of the pleasant occupations. Six engines and crews, including the southward bound passenger train, were snow bound at Hartland six days, and as this place is but a small village, its facilities for accommodating so many were insufficient, and a good deal of suffering ensued. The passenger train fortunately had but eight passengers aboard. It was stalled in a drift one mile north of the sta- tion, and was detained there and at the station seven days. One lady and her daughter were on their way to Boston, and were in quite ill health. As the passengers were compelled to stay in the car, it was exceedingly tiresome and unpleasant for them."
The body of J. K. Mayne, who died in Wilton, Feb. 11, 1881, was buried temporarily in a snow drift near his home, the snow being so deep that it was impossible to gain access to the ceme- tery.
PATRICK CALLAHAN.
This gentleman settled in Freedom with his family in 1865. Ile died March 22, 1881, aged about sixty years. He had been an invalid some two years as the result of a sun-stroke. Alderman Callahan, of Waseca, is his son.
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NEW CITY CHARTER.
On March 26, 1881, Waseca received, at the hands of the legis- lature, a new charter. Under its provisions the city was divided into five wards. The first eleetion under the new charter was held May 3, 1881. The first eity contest was a battle royal. The can- didates were Hon. Warren Smith, and Hon. M. D. L. Collester. The total vote for mayor numbered 373. Mr. Smith received 219 votes, and Mr. Collester 164. In the First ward, H. H. Sudduth was elected over C. A. Wright by a vote of 45 to 34. In the second ward, Dennis MeLoughlin received 110 votes, and Dr. M. V. Hunt 40. In the Third ward, James B. Hayden was elected without opposition by a vote of 32. The Fourth ward elected Theodore Brown by a vote of 33, to 15, cast for E. W. Fiske. The Fifth ward cast 30 ballots for Thomas Coleman, and 26 for John Gutfleisch. H. G. Mosher was unanimously eleeted assessor, and Hon. John Carmody and Hon. B. A. Lowell were elected justices of the peace without much opposition. Samuel Stevenson was elected constable by a vote of 234 to 115 for G. H. Zeller. The first city couneil met at the office of the elerk of court in the old court house, May 10, 1881, and was ealled to order by Mayor- elect Smith. Aldermen present, Theodore Brown, James B. Hay- den, H. H. Sudduth, D. McLoughlin, and Thos. Coleman. James B. Hayden was elected president of the couneil, and the mayor made the following appointments which were confirmed, namely : Jerome E. Madden eity reeorder, Frank A. Newell treasurer, C. E. Leslie city attorney, and Lueius Keyes marshal.
One of the bills allowed by the couneil this year was accom- panied by the following entry :
"D. Welch, for standing around with his hands in his pockets and looking on while the men were excavating cistern at the court house corner, $19.00."
TORNADOES AND HURRICANES.
The year 1881 was noted not only for its winter storms and blizzards, but also for its summer tornadoes. On the 11th of June a destructive tornado started near Blue Earth, in Faribault county, traveled northeasterly and passed near Minnesota Lake. Its pathway was strewn with the wrecks of houses, barns, grain, stock, etc. The farm house of Mr. Chaffey was entirely blown away, killing both himself and wife, an aged couple. The fine large barn of T. J. Probert was blown down, seriously injuring
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his daughter, who was in the barn at the time; also killing one horse, blowing his machinery all to pieces, besides scattering about 500 bushels of grain. The county bridge at Grady's, on the. Maple river, was blown entirely away, and the house of John Grady was also blown away. The lady that was living in the house felt it moving, and opened the door to jump. She landed in the cellar all right. The house of Geo. Harrings was unroofed; house of Robert Jones blown away with its contents, his wife being badly injured; barn of E. Curtis blown down; house of D. Matterson blown from foundation and three of his family injured; house of August Zabel blown entirely away, together with its contents, and he and one son were injured. Much other damage resulted in the vicinity.
Another terrible storm struek New Ulm July 15, at 4:48 p. m., and in twelve minutes had destroyed property to the value of $300,000, killed four persons in New Ulm and fifteen in the ad- joining townships, and wounded eighteen severely. The tornado was terrible. Houses were taken up bodily, carried considerable distanees and then crushed as they were dropped to earth. Three ehurehes were completely destroyed, as were numerous business houses.
August 30, a severe storm visited Waseca county, although it did not amount to a tornado. The Janesville Argus noted that, "The rain was a deluge and the wind a cyclone. Very little dam- age was done in Janesville, but east of the village sad havoe was made with the grain stacks and cornfields. We first hear of trou- ble at A. P. Wilson's place, northeast of the village, where twenty grain stacks were leveled. Mr. Wilson says the fall of water was tremendous, it standing in his yard from six to ten inches in depth, and over his plowed field a boat might have sailed without fear of grounding. Mr. MeHugo had a setting of stacks blown down; Mr. Lilly, southeast of the village, seven staeks, some of them entirely blown away; Pat Lilly, eight staeks; Mrs. Me- Donough, twelve; Sam Lambert, six; Kecley boys, fifteen; D. Glynn, ten; C. Flynn, four; M. Lang, seven; Pat Foley, four; C. Guyer, several. Fences were leveled generally in the track of the storm."
The Waseca Herald noted that Isaac Ballard had a cow killed by lightning. At M. Spillane's place, near Meriden, the storm
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came with such force as to burst in the windows and doors. The blinds to the windows were as completely broken as though a man had taken a hammer and smashed them to pieces. One im- mense mass of hail fell, many of the pieces of ice being fully as large as a man's fist. Mr. Spillane had forty acres of corn driven into the ground. A dozen or so of pigs and hogs and many tur- keys were killed. The storm throughout the country was severe.
A DISASTROUS FIRE.
The most disastrous fire that has ever visited Waseca occurred on the night of Oct. 20, 1881. The Herald of that date con- tained the following account :
"A midnight fire broke out in the Dr. Brubaker building, corner of Second and Oak streets, and before it was subdued a dozen buildings were burned to the ground, a half dozen families rendered homeless, and thousands of dollars worth of goods and household property de- voured by the flames or badly injured.
Roger Hanbury was working around some cars near the W. & St. Peter freight depot, and discovering the fire, gave the alarm, which was im- mediately taken up by two locomotives. In a few minutes many hun- dred men were on the ground with such means of fighting fire as could be obtained, but they consisted only of pails, axes, ladders, and the long cable with hooks for tearing down buildings. The first efforts were to tear down the small building owned by J. Halvorsen and used for a shoe and harness shop. This had hardly been accomplished be- fore the Kraft hotel caught fire, when it became evident that the entire row of buildings must go. Efforts were then devoted mostly to remov- ing the contents of the several buildings to safe distances.
The buildings burned were the two-story structure belonging to Dr. Brubaker, occupied below by Adolph Schildknecht's drug store, and one room above by Dr. Cleary for an office; the shoe and harness shop of J. Halvorsen; the large two-story hotel occupied by Mrs. Kraft; the saloon building owned by Wm. Herbst, and occupied by Miller & Weishar; A. Wert's two-story restaurant and dwelling, including his bakery, etc .; Karstedt's harness shop; the capacious furniture store and manufactur- ing rooms of Comee Bros .; Preston's jewelry store; the shoe shop occu- pied by Anton Anderson, and owned by H. A. Karstedt; the store occupied by D. McLoughlin, and owned by John Anderson, of Otisco; Craven's machine buildings, and other minor adjoining buildings and store rooms. The losses were estimated at $25,000. At the time of this fire the city had no fire company nor any means of fire protection."
MURDER OF CHRISTIAN SCHIEFNER.
The trial of Christian Henniger, for the killing of Christian
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Schiefner on the 3d of June, 1880, near New Richland, was held at the fall term of the district court, and Henniger was found guilty of manslaughter in the second degree. The men involved in this tragedy were two farmers residing about two miles west of the village of New Richland. For a number of years they had been at enmity with each other, and had several times re- sorted to the law to settle their difficulties. Their last trouble, which resulted so seriously, was with regard to a small strip of land that each claimed. Henniger was breaking up the dis- puted land, and Schiefner determined to prevent him from doing so. On the day in question, Henniger secreted himself in a wagon and was driven to the scene of the tragedy, where his son and hired man went to work plowing. Schiefner soon came out and forbade their breaking up the land. Henniger immediately came from his hiding place in the wagon, and after some words, got his gun and shot Schiefner dead, the charge passing through both lungs. Judge Buckham sentenced Henniger to the penitentiary for five years. It was generally thought that the ends of justice were partially thwarted.
At the same term of court one Pettengill was convicted of stealing a horse from Mrs. Reed, of Iosco. He was sentenced to three years and six months in the penitentiary, as was also John Duff, for stealing Pheiffer's horses.
ROUND HOUSE AND MACHINE SHOPS OF THE CHICAGO AND NORTHWESTERN RAILWAY COMPANY.
It was during this year, 1881, that the C. & N .- W. Railway Co. expended about $100,000 in the construction of the round house, machine shops, coal houses, etc., in Waseca. The round house is built of brick and contains twenty stalls for engines. The building is circular, and occupies two-thirds of an entire cirele. The outside wall is 520 feet in lengthi, and the inside wall 240 feet in length, the width is 66 feet ; the area of the floor is 36.400 square feet; the walls are 20 feet high. From one end of the main building is partitioned off six stalls, to be used for the general overhauling and repair of cars and engines. The turn- table is in the center of the circle formed by the round house. and from it engines can be run into any stall. The machine and repair shop is 52x100 feet in size with eighteen-foot walls. In
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,one end is situated the immense boiler which is used to generate steam to heat the entire structure, operate the steam pump, etc .; in the other end are the forges and other arrangements for re- pairing cars and engines. In this building are found, also, the offices and a large fire and frost proof vault for storing oil. There are five forges in the blacksmith shop. The boiler is constructed of locomotive steel, and is 6 feet in diameter and 21 feet long. The chimney, with which the boiler pipe connects, is 7 feet square at its base, and towers to a height of 52 feet. A ladder, constructed of iron rods, extends from the bottom to the top, on the inside.
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