History of Houston County, Including Explorers and Pioneers of Minnesota, Part 51

Author: Edward D. Neill
Publication date: 1882
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 547

USA > Minnesota > Houston County > History of Houston County, Including Explorers and Pioneers of Minnesota > Part 51

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

His first experience in cooking pork and beans was in this wise. He put the beans to soak, and remembering that his mother used always to pour off the "bean water," he carefully drained off the last drop and jammed a piece of pork down into them, put them in the oven, and again mindful that they used to be kept in the oven all night, kept them there a long time under a hot fire, and when he came to take them out he found a mass of charcoal where the pork was, and the beans were as hard as buck shot.

On another occasion he was annoyed by im- mense flocks of pigeons that picked up his grain as fast as he could sow it, so he improvised a trap and soon caught quite a number, and after picking and dressing them, a remembrance of pigeon pie came over him, so he rolled out some pie crust, and placing an under crust in a pan, cut up and stowed away his pigeons, covering them with an upper crust, and placing the dish in the oven, watched it carefully until it was nicely browned, when he took

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it out, having invited a friend to dinner with him. On attempting to cut his pie he found the fowls were not even warmed through. The next time he attempted to make a pigeon pie, he cooked the meat before putting between the crusts.

One day, after some white women had arrived in Caledonia, three of them rode out to his place in a buggy, and as Anthony had not been expecting company, his mending had been postponed so long that his pantaloons were bursted out at all eligible points, and indeed he was almost in a trowserless condition; as they drove up he stepped behind some hazel brush and tried to look unconcerned, but they requested him to come and hitch the horse; and he, seeing no method of disappearing, made a clean breast of the whole situation, declar- ing the utter impossibility of his coming out in his present wardrobe; but on their assurance that his appearance in that condition would not be so remarkably novel to them after all, he came from under cover and attended to them, selling some vegetables and promising to call upon them in town when he should succeed in making himself a little more presentable.

Before he was married he became quite a cook and housekeeper, and took a pardonable pride in some of his dinners, and one day Edmund Stev- ens and George Littleford happened along while Huyck was at dinner. He invited them to stay and eat some of his griddle cakes, but they de- clined with thanks, saying they would go on to George's mother's where they could get a dinner. They were told they could get none there, but they moved along, and Huyck went with them. He told Mrs. Littleford such a circumstantial story as to how much they had eaten at his place, that she believed the story and refused to get up a second meal for them, and thus they were cheated out of a dinner.

Mr. Huyck selected several claims in eligible places, one after another, getting some ready money and a start in the world by selling his claims with the improvements. One time it was known that he had quite a sum of money in his cabin, and one day some of his friends were rally- ing him as to being robbed, enquiring if he was not afraid to stay there alone, "Oh, no," he said, "it is easy enough to stand off those fellows; the other night two masked men came there and de- manded my money or my life, and I told them that I had no money, but if they would come in I would

give them my note." And this story was quite ex- tensively believed at the time.

The winter of 1857 was a severe one, the snow at one time being nearly three feet deep on a level, with a hard and glassy crust on the top, which would bear up a dog or a wolf, and in most places, an ordinary sized man, but the deer, with their sharp and small hoofs, would break through, and thus they fell easy victims to their enemies. They were hunted so remorselessly and successfully that they were well nigh exterminated in the settled re- gion where this condition of the snow existed.

As an example of the sad havoc played with the deer in Houston county, the experience of John Murphy, an early settler of Sheldon, in the Badger valley, will be related.

During that glacial period, he, with his son, killed eleven deer with no other weapon than a hickory club, one of the few instances where the shillelah has brought down other than human game. He would start out with his dog, and when a fresh track was discovered he would follow it up to find the deer worried by the dog and flounder- ing in the crust broken snow, when it would be dispatched by blows on the head. One day he drove a large stag into Silver Creek, and in his anxiety to interview him with his stick, fell into the water, when there was a marine contest, each fighting for deer life. The man was reinforced by the dog, and to a disinterested spectator the ac- quatic sport must have been exhilarating. The odds at first were in favor of the deer, but the young man appearing upon the scene, and reach- ing with his hickory club for the vulnerable spot between the hornes of the infuriated animal he was soon transformed into venison.

Some families represent that they killed as many as forty deer that winter. A woman in Mayville went some distance to a neighbor's to get some meat. She had a dog along, which, on her return, brought a deer to bay, and the woman suc- ceeded in breaking its neok with blows from her frozen leg of venison. She triumphantly snaked it home over the glassy snow.

The snow remained on the ground from about the middle of October to the following May, and was, during the deepest period, from four to five feet on the level. It was very difficult getting around with draft animals; the men used snow shoes, and hauled their wood and provisions on handsleds, and thus carried their grists to mill.

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FIRST STEAMBOAT ABOVE ROCK ISLAND.

Embrick Hanson, of Spring Grove, invented some snow-shoes for his horse. The animal got used to them, and he became the favorite horse of all that region. He was in great demand, as the team, with a light load, would keep on top of the snow. A light hearse was arranged, and the whole procession on snow-shoes would sadly carry the departed ones to be laid beneath the snow.

PATRICK FITZPATRICK .- Among the characters who were distinctive in their peculiarities was Pat- rick Fitzpatrick, who, in some unheard of way, procured a commission as Justice of the Peace, and, to his credit be it said, he had a good idea of equity, of justice between man and man, and his findings in any case, though in supreme con- tempt, not unfrequently, of legal traditions, of common and statute law, were acquiesced in with- out a murmur on either side, for the reasons given were often bewildering by their novelty, and were never without plausibility. The originality of his method of administering the oath to a witness was particularly striking, and deserves to be recorded, not only for its intrinsic value, but because at some future time, when a legal commission shall be sim- plifying the code, or the methods of pleading, a hint may be taken from the innovations of Patrick Fitzpatrick. But hereis the form:

"Mr. Witness, shtand up, hold up yer fisht; duz yez solemnly shwear in the prissence of Samuel McPhail, Esquire, and meself, Patrick Fitzpatrick, Esquire, living three miles south of Caledonia and ownen 200 acres of land, that yez 'ill till the truth, the whole truth, and nothing like the truth. So there yez hev it!"

In 1856, a trial was in progress one evening be- fore the only Patrick Fitzpatrick, at the house of Dennis Kahal, and a party of young men who had Negro minstrelsy on the brain, went round with a banjo, and struck up the refrain, " The old gray horse he kicked so high, etc.," with the chorus " De hoop de doodle do." Dennis was the consta- ble, so he came out and exclaimed: "Gintlemen; I bid ye's disperse, and not be afther disturbin the honorable court, for the Hon. Mr. Bugbee, Esquire, is afther spaking; now if ye's don't disperse and quit, I'll be afther making ye, for I am a limb of the law and so I am."

CARTOONS.

Probably one of the first political meetings in the county, certainy here, was held in the log house owned by Henry Willard, about two miles west

of the village of Caledonia. Candidates were there nominated for county offices. This was just before the first county election. Previous to the county organizations in the Territory, this whole region was called the " District of Southern Minnesota." When the county divisions were made this section fell into Fillmore county, with Chatfield as the county seat, and when Houston was set off, the officers elect had to go to Chatfield to be qualified, as far as the law was concerned. The county seat at first was designated at Brownsville, and that was the first polling place. When the people came to decide as to the permanent location of the county seat, there were three points ambitious for the honor; Brownsville, Caledonia, and Houston; but the Caledonian colony rallied their reserves and carried off the coveted prize. The contest was quite an earnest one, and the element of ridicule was brought into requisition. The opponents of Brownsville had a cartoon representing a huge boulder from the bluff crashing through a cabin and driving the occupants out. Houston was rep- resented by some Caledonian in like manner, 88 being overflowed with water, drowning everything out, and the Houston people retaliated on Caledo- nia by displaying a caricature, representing McPhail coming out of a well, apparently very deep, exclaiming, "there is no use, water cannot be found here."

But there was a general and quiet acquiescence in the result of the struggle, although several at- tempts have since been made to remove the county seat, but without avail.

CHAPTER XLVL.

THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER-STEAMBOATS-FERRIES - RAILROADS-TEMPERATURE-POPULATION-REAL ESTATE -- VITAL STATISTICS -- AGRICULTURAL STA- TISTIOS - AMBER CANE-LEGAL WEIGHTS AND MEASURES.

The great Mississippi was for a long time the only highway to this region, and it will be inter- esting to read a few reminiscences of the river.

Most of the old settlers of the county at least remember the respective names of the boats that brought them up from Galena, or other points down the river.

The first boat, whose wheels ever dashed in Mis- sissippi waters, was built at Pittsburg by Fulton

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HISTORY OF HOUSTON COUNTY.

and Livingston in 1811, launched in March, 1812, and reached New Orleans the following year. Af- ter meeting with a variety of fortune, it was finally sunk at Baton Rouge. The first boat which as- cended the river above the Rock Island rapids was named the "Virginia." This boat was 118 feet long, and drew six feet of water, or once again as much as the packet boats commonly draw. She made an experimental trip to Fort Snelling, arriv- ing at Mendota in May, 1823. This military post was established in 1819, and the fort completed in 1824. It was named by Gen. Scott in honor of Col. Josiah Snelling, the officer in command, and who succeeded Col. Leavenworth at the post soon after its establishment. Col. Snelling was born in Boston in 1772, and died in 1828. The establish- ment of this post led to the gradual settlement of the county adjacent, which, however, did not com- mence in earnest until about 1834. As late as 1846, St. Paul was only a small settlement.

After the first trip of the "Virginia," one or two boats annually ascended the river to carry sup- plies to the post and the traders. In 1844, the number of arrivals had increased to forty-one, and this limited number, in a little more than a dozen years, had expended to over a thousand, so rapidly did the commerce of the upper river increase. At length the little city of St. Paul became the nomi- nal head of navigation on the river, and the numer- ous settlements and towns that rapidly sprang up along its banks soon gave a marked impetus to business and navigation. After the organization of Minnesota as a Territory a great rush of immi- gration commenced, and was continued for sev- eral years.

In 1847, the first regular line of boats was brought out by the Galena Packet Company, to run between Galena and Mendota. Rival com- panies also soon began to put on opposition boats. In those days the Dr. Franklin, Senator, Ben. Campbell, Lady Franklin, and Nominee, were the names of boats familiar to early comers to the new Territory. In 1849, '50 and '51, the Minnesota Packet Company run a line of boats up the river twice a week. In 1852, the nearest approach of any line of railroad to the river from toward the East, was the one from Chicago to Galena, then terminating at Rockford, Ill. Between this place and Galena, travelers had to be transferred by stage coach. Between 1854 and 1858, three lines of railroad, terminating at LaCrosse, Prairie du

Chien, and Dunleith, respectively, were completed, and a great impetus was thereby given to the river traffic.

In 1854, the Minnesota Packet Company added three fine new boats to their line. The same year the Dr. Franklin and Nominee were sunk. In 1856, the Northern Belle and Granite State ap- peared, and the Ocean Wave was put on the river about the same time. The same year the Lady Franklin was lost. In 1857, the Minnesota Packet Company brought out five splendid new boats, namely, The Northern Light, Grey Eagle, Key City, Itasca, and Milwaukee, names which many of the later comers to this county will remem- ber. All of these boats are now gone, as well as many others which preceded or came after them. In 1858, the Northern line of St. Louis was estab- lished, with a fine array of boats. In 1858, Capt. Davidson established a line between LaCrosse and St. Paul, which afterward expanded into a magnificent array of boats running from points down the river to St. Paul.

The golden days of river navigation and traffic appear to have been the time dating from the close of the war down to 1872. After the latter year the river railroads took most of the passengers, as well as a large amount of the through freight. In 1870, five new boats were brought out by the Northwestern Union Packet Company, and the Northern Line. (These two companies afterward consolidated under the name of the Keokuk North- ern Line. ) The Northwestern, Phil Sheridan, and Belle of LaCrosse, were put on the river by the former company, and the Lake Superior and Red Wing by the latter. These boats are still in ex- istence. The War Eagle, a large Packet, was burnt at LaCrosse in May, 1870. Besides the five new boats mentioned, the Tom Jasper, Alexander Mitchell, City of St. Paul, Milwaukee, Addie Johnson (of the Northwestern line), the Minneap- olis, Rock Island, Davenport, Dubuque, Minnesota, Muscatine, and others of the Northern line, and the Diamond Jo, Ida Fulton, Arkansas, and Tidal Wave, of the Diamond Jo line, were all running on the river, as well as a host of raft-boats. In 1871, the City of Quincy and S. S. Merrill were put upon the river as new packets. The latter boat, then the largest on the upper river, was burnt at War- saw, Ill., the year following. In 1872, the Clin- ton was put on the river, and since then but few new boats have been built.

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FERRY BOATS ON THE MISSISSIPPI.

The subjoined table gives the dates of the open- ing of navigation from 1844 to 1855, inclusive.

1844, . April 6.

1845

March 31.

1847, April 7.

1849,. .April 6.

1850, 19.

1851,.

1852,

16.

1853,.

11.

1854,.

1855,. =

17.

The following table shows the arrivals of the first boats for a period of years commencing with 1856 :

1856-Alhambra, April 8.

1857-Hamburg, April 2.

1858-Brazil, March 23.

1859-Grey Eagle, March 18.

1860-Chippewa, March 13.

1861-Northern Light, March 26.

1862-Keokuk, April 2.

1863-Keokuk, March 20.

1864-Union, March 16.

1865-Lansing, March 30.

1866-Addie Johnson, April 13.

1867-City of St. Paul, April 14.

1868-Diamond Jo., March 21.

1869-Buckeye, April 6.

1870-Keokuk, April 5.

1871-Eddie Johnson, March 18.

1872-Belle of La Crosse, April 9.

1873-Union, April 3.

1874-Northwestern, April 6.

1875-Lake Superior, April 12.

1876-Dubuque, April 10.

FERRIES.

Very early in the history of the county, the necessity of a ferry became imperative, and although it was an inter-State institution, the west- ern landing being in La Crescent, an account of it will be presented here.

A license was granted to O. W. Streeter by the Territorial government on the 3d of March, 1855, to operate a ferry at this point, but it was sold to Cyrus K. Lord, on the 31st of October, the same year. The first regular boat run was by Captain W. G. McSpadden, and it was called the "Wild Kate," the first part of the name was peculiarly expressive and appropriate, for, while it was a must

valuable assistance to the emigrants and settlers, it had no regular time-table, and like a train running out of schedule time, was always "wild." The great bulk of the travel in those days was from the East, and so the Wild Kate used to remain over on that side until somebody desired to come over, when, by the aid of two horses. working tread-mill fashion, it would "pull for the shore" on the Min- nesota side. This service at that time was very creditable.

In 1855, Mr. Bates put on a steam ferry-boat known as the " Honey Eye," the settlers nicknamed it Mu-Chick-e-Vous, whatever that means. It was a dangerously dilapidated antiquarian affair, and to give an idea of the craft and its improvements over the horse power of " Wild Kate," it is related with the most solemn asservation as to its truth, that it sometimes happened that while crossing the river they had to tie up to an island, let the steam go down, take off the safety valve, and with buckets fill the boiler, then get up steam again and finish the trip. For two years the people had to submit to such ferry accommodations as this boat furnish- ed, the only first-class thing connected with the line was the fare, and the cost of transporting freight, there was nothing small about those items. Of course it would be stating it mild to say that the ferry was unpopular. Before the boat was finally abandoned, the Kentucky Company had become the owner, and when it could not be coaxed to at- tempt another trip, a new boat was brought from Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, and this run up to the spring of 1857, when it was cut down by a field of ice, and sunk, while tied up at La Crosse. A large boat was then chartered for the summer business, called the "Jo Gale," and at the same time a new boat was ordered at New Albany, which reached here in the fall of 1857. This was the " McRob- erts," named as a compliment to Thomas McRoberts, the agent of the company. This boat run twenty- one years, or until August, 1878.

For several years, about the time of the war, there was great dissatisfaction with the ferry. The company charged $1.50 each way for passen- gers.

An opposition boat, the "General Pope," was put on, and the the fare was fifty cents each way. Freights were so reduced that a farmer, with 500 bushels of wheat to transport, would save $25.

At one time Gen. C. C. Washburn became in- terested in the ferry question, and materially as- sisted in securing cheaper rates.

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HISTORY OF HOUSTON COUNTY.

After the McRoberts, the Warsaw was put on, and still does service, having, when the river was free of ice, kept up its regular trips, making as many as eight round trips a day in the summer. It is understood that the ferry business here is a paying one. In 1877, the McRoberts was sold to J. C. Day, by the Kentucky Company, and it is now jointly owned by J. C. Day, Thomas MoRob- erts, and P. S. Davidson.

RAILROADS.

A sketch of the history of the history of the Nar- row Gauge Railroad: The construction of several narrow gauge railaoads in the country, and their successful operation, notably that of the Denver & Rio Grande line, which had so satisfactorily sur- mounted so many difficulties, led the most enter- prising among the citizens of Caledonia to con- sider whether such a road to the Mississippi could not be built with local capital, or at least graded, when it could be mortgaged to procure funds to iron and equip the line.

A careful survey of the situation, of the proba- ble cost of the enterprise, and the resources that could be made available, resulted in the action which followed.

Early in November, 1873, several public meet- ings were held, inspired by Thomas Abbotts, C. A. Coe, N. E. Dorival, W. H. Harries, Wells E. Dun- bar, Nicholas Koob and others. On November 28th an organization was effected with the follow- ing board of directors; Thomas Abbotts, A. D. Sprague, C. A. Coe, N. E. Dorival, Richard Les- ter, Michael Roster, Wm. Oxford, O. J. Weida, Nicholas Koob, Mons Fladager, and Joseph Vos- sen, who subsequently elected the following of- ficers: President, Thomas Abbotts; Vice-Presi- dent, A. D. Sprague; Treasurer, Nicholas Koob; Attorney, Richard Lester; Secretary, N. E. Dori- val. A report as to the workings of the narrow gauge lines having proved satisfactory, it was re- solved to build the road with a thirty-six inch width between the rails.

Through the winter an interest in the company was worked up, subscriptions secured, and the work of surveying and grading was begun and carried on during the summer of 1874, under the supervision of Joseph Till, an engineer of probity and skill, who carried on the operations with hon- esty and economy.

Of course, like everything of the kind ever started, there were contingencies which, from the

very nature of the case, were unprovided for. The hard times, which it was reasonable to suppose would by that time have abated, kept on, by rea- son of a change from a depreciated currency basis to that of coin. And so the trouble of raising the money to tie, iron, and equip the road, in the face of internal dissentions, was too formidable to be surmounted, and to abbreviate what might easily be extended into a lengthy narrative, which would not be devoid of interest, it will be merely stated that the work was suspended. Those who had placed their money where they supposed it would do some public good, were doomed to wait around for five years before the puff of the engine would be heard while climbing the grade into Caledonia.

It must not be supposed that all this time there was no exertion made to carry on the work. Mr. Abbotta, once or twice, made arrangements to purchase iron on what he considered favorable terms, but some intervening obstruction prevented the closing of the bargain. Meantime, as more work had been done than there was money in the treasury to pay for, sundry judgments were pro- cured, and scored up against the company. Then, to keep the whole business alive, without tending to settle the controversy, or increase the prospects of building the road, a newspaper controversy sprung up, occupying from one to three columns every week, until the expenditure of all the ammuni- tion on both sides compelled a cessation of hostil- ities, and as the smoke of the conflict cleared away there seemed to have been little advantage secured by the wordy contest. Of the character of this newspaper war it is unnecessary to speak, as the parties engaged still live, and the circumstances under which it took place, have passed away, and "all is well that ends well".

RIGHT OF WAY TRANSFERS.

The following are the list of those whose land the narrow gauge passes through, and the amount paid for right of way by the C. & M. ahd C. M. & W .:

C. A. Coe. $100.00

James Smith 300.00

John Nicholas Krouse. 245.76

Wm. N. West. 25.00

Charles Brickman 50.00

A. J. Flynn

50.00

George Hoffman

8.75

John J. Reigart (guardian) 75.00

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RAILROADS.

Deborah Lapham 85.00

Ellen Russell.

40.00

James H. Cooper. 1.00

Anton Molitor.

20.00

Ellen Dorival

150.00

D. G. Sprague

400.00

F. Laflin

350.00

T. M. Dunbar 15.00

W. H. Bunce

400.00

M. B. Metcalf.

300.00

J. W. Cook.

250.00

Robert Lewis ·380.00

Peter Defferding 400.00

M. Blazen

200.00

Gilbert Anders 240.00 Ole Hanson 340.00

Gunder Gunderson 150.00

Ole Anderson

185.00

Amund Lunde. 250.00

Gilbert Nelson 250.00

School District No. 53.

100.00

Olaus Vaaler

250.00

Ole C. Steneroder

125.00

Mons Fladager

1.00

Lars J. Grinager

100.00

I. Muller

200.00

Hogan Narveson

125.00

Knud Knudson 80.00

L. Timanson

250.00

Ole Amundson 375.00

Martin H. Bakke 175.00

John O. Brien 65.00

T. Nyhus Olsen 200.00

John Burt 100.00

Ed. Bell .

100.00

Total $7,507.51

The company kept up its organization, and at one of the elections the following directors were chosen :

H. W. Holly. Thos. Abbotts.

D. Hainz.

O. J. Weida.

Hudson Wheaton. W. H. Harries.

N. Koob. John Abbotts.

P. H. Rosendahl. J. W. Cook.

Joseph Till.

The directors chose the following officers:

President, Thos. Abbotts.

Vice-President, H. W. Holly. Secretary, J. Vossen.

Treasurer, N. Koob.

Executive Committee, Thos. Abbotts, N. Koob, and O. J. Weida.

The road remained in statu quo, with occasional abortive struggles to complete it, until the winter or early spring of 1879, when a plan was devised and carried into effect for its completion. The ar- rangement was with the Chicago, Clinton, Dubuque and Minnesota Company to finish it if the citizens of Caledonia would vote a bonus of $20,000. The following article from the local press will reveal the sentiments of the people at the time, and the character of the arguments used:

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History of Houston County, Including Explorers and Pioneers of Minnesota, Part 51

Author: Edward D. Neill Publication date: 1882 Publisher: Number of Pages: 547

Author: Edward D. Neill
Publication date: 1882
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 547