USA > Minnesota > Renville County > The history of Renville County, Minnesota, Volume II > Part 12
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Patrick O'Brien, the man who first imported pure-bred hogs into Renville county, lost 86 out of 111 hogs in 1894. The next year he lost 84 and in 1896 his losses were 40.
In 1896 the cholera epidemic became general about Hector. Geo. Johnson, now of the firm of JJohnson Bros., hardware and implement dealers of Hector, owned a farm in Hector township at the time and lost over 60 hogs. Joe Nicke, who lived on the Geo. Eichmiller farm in Osceola, now owned by August Beske, lost 80 fat hogs in 1896. Nicke had bought hogs from various parties to fatten. He told Chas. Wolff, then a farmer of Mel- ville township, that his hogs would not get cholera because he was dosing them with turpentine and asafoetida. Evidently his ex- perience did not back up his theory. Mr. Nieke let his hogs run loose. From this practice, Albert Wulkan, a neighbor, lost 18 out of 20 hogs by the cholera route.
Mule foot hogs have often been advertised as immune to chol- era. As far back as 1896 this theory was proved false in Ren- ville county. A farmer living not far west of Hector hauled off his mule foot hogs after cholera had commenced on them.
During this general epidemic of cholera about Hector an effort was made to make some use of the cholera infected hogs. Three men, Gus Lunder, Oscar Peterson and Wells Thompson started a steam rendering plant. One cent a ponnd was paid for the car- casses of hogs that had died from cholera. The rendered fat was mixed with beef tallow from the butcher shop in which these men were interested, and the resulting product was sold for lubri- cant to a Minneapolis concern who paid from two and one-half to three cents per pound for it. It was closed after it had run about a year.
Cholera existed in the county about Buffalo Lake in 1895, stay- ing in the county two or three years. Win. Carrigan, now deputy sheriff of Renville county, was working for his uncle, Michael
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Carrigan, at that time. The elder Carrigan had a herd of forty or fifty hogs siek with cholera. He heard in town that if one of the cholera hogs was roasted and fed to the others they would recover. This was thought worth trying, but the proposed rem- edy was found to be of no more use than all the other remedies prescribed for cholera. Mr. Carrigan saved eight or ten hogs. They had cholera in the worst form, the ears and tails of some sloughing off. Cholera did not visit Boon Lake township again until 1913. However, there was a sprinkling of cholera about Buffalo Lake in 1907 and 1908.
In 1898 cholera became epidemie in the vicinity of Fairfax and Franklin. A. J. Anderson of Camp township lost all of his hogs save one, the boar. Sam Lee saved seven out of 50 in 1899. It is doubtful whether this epidemie was entirely dne to the dis- ease having existed in the northern part of the county. When- ever there was a crop failure in Nebraska and Iowa hogs were shipped from those states to Minnesota for fattening and invaria- bly cholera came with them. The bogs eame through the large stoek yards of Sioux City and Omaha, always centers of infec- tion.
Andrew Danielson, a resident of Palmyra since 1875, lost hogs from cholera in October, 1897. The disease came into Palmyra by way of Norfolk township. Forty of his forty-seven hogs had died of cholera. T. Geisner of Bird Island was going through Palmyra dehorning cattle. He offered to save the remaining seven by vaccination. Gleisner made an incision in the skin of each hog, packed the wound with a greaselike substance, and charged two dollars per head for his services. Six out of seven survived this treatment. With our present knowledge of cholera we may know that these hogs were on the road to recovery with- out treatment. This is just one of the many instances where farmers have been imposed on with a "cure" for hog cholera. E. B. Wolff and Geo. Mueneh had cholera on their Melville farms the same year. The next year the disease was quite bad north of Bird Island and Olivia.
In 1899 H. M. Noach of the Morton firm of Noach & Orth bought a small farm near town and stocked it with hogs from "all over" as Mr. Orth stated the ease. Then, as Mr. Orth put it. "there was Hell to pay." The worst form of cholera was intro- duced into the townships of Beaver Falls and Birch Cooley. The outbreak was very violent, few farms escaping the disease and few hogs being saved. Robt. Simmons, a prominent farmer liv- ing about two miles east of Morton, was one of those who lost 100 head of hogs at this time.
Outbreak of 1901-1903. For a time the county seems to have been comparatively free from heavy cholera losses, though the disease was yet present in the county. Ed Paulson, now eounty
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commissioner, was buying stock at Sacred Heart in 1902. In those days when a herd of hogs showed signs of cholera they were hustled to South St. Paul. Mr. Paulson took down a load of exposed hogs that were showing symptoms of the disease when unloaded at South St. Paul. His commission man said, "Keep them moving or they will lay down and die on you." By brisk exercise of the whip, the hogs were kept on their feet until a buyer was found.
Outbreak of 1907-1908 .- In 1907 and 1908 a good deal of chol- era prevailed in the county. Certain proprietary remedies were sold as a cure, none proving to be of any value as a cholera pre- ventive or as a cure. The buyers were simply out that much money. J. W. Rusch of Buffalo Lake states that there were scattered cases of cholera about Buffalo Lake in those years. The disease existed on some farms near Hector. Chas. Torbert of Hector township saved only five out of his herd. F. Hager- meister of Melville township saved four out of twelve. This epidemie of cholera about Fairfax was not so general as the one of 1898-99.
Nowhere was the disease any worse in 1908 than it was in Winfield township. Ulrick Julson lost all of his herd of 100 hogs. R. Peterson and Gust Tolzman lost all of their hogs. Others suffered in about the same proportion. Martin Peterson of Crooks township lost his hogs every year from 1898 to 1909 whether from eholera or not is a doubtful question. Sinee 1909 Mr. Peterson has not been troubled. He ascribes this happy eir- enmistances to his having gotten in Duroe Jerseys for foundation stock.
Outbreak of 1912-1915 .- The most serious outbreak of cholera m the history of the county commenced in 1912. The first year this epidemie was worst in the townships centering about Ren- ville. Emmet township lost about 1,500 hogs the first year (1912) and Crooks almost as many. O'Connor Bros., farmers and bank- ers of Renville, made the first move toward the only known means of saving hogs in a cholera infected country. In July, 1912, they vaeeinated fifty hogs on their farm with virus and anti- hog cholera serum, the so-called double treatment. In May, 1913. 720 hogs were double treated in the vicinity of Renville, O'Con- nor Bros. having secured the eooperation of the Live Stock Sani- tary Board and of the agricultural department of the loeal high sehool in which F. Krause, a graduate of lowa Agricultural Col- lege. was instructor. These 720 hogs belonged to sixteen farm- ers. All passed through the collera epidemie that year save one that died of blood poisoning following the breaking of a needle while being vaeeinated. All summer hogs were dying like flies on neighboring farms while 719 hogs on sixteen farms not only thrived but proved immune to the disease when placed in lots
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where carcasses of hogs dead from cholera were lying about. It was thus conclusively shown by this local demonstration that cholera could be prevented, a large part of the risk thus being eliminated from the swine raising business. It remained to bring this knowledge home to the people raising hogs, and to devise ways and means for making use of this knowledge. The follow- ing year (1913) was the worst year for swine breeders since hogs were raised in the county. In this year a movement was launched that will forever prevent the recurrence of an epidemic similar to the disastrous one of 1913.
In August, 1913, a farmer of Osceola township paid eight dol- lars and forty cents to have two hogs vaccinated with anti-hog cholera serum. That was reason for the beginning of the Ren- ville County Swine Breeders' Association. This farmer, H. W. Leindecker, conceived the idea that if the farmers wonkl organ- ize and buy their serum collectively. hiring a veterinarian to work for the club, good serum would be obtained with a smaller margin of profit to the manufacturer, since the serum would be bought in wholesale quantities, and the veterinarian working by the day would be willing and could afford to set a price easier on the farmer.
This was in the fall of 1913, a year when, as subsequent enumeration showed, more than one-half of the hogs of the county died of cholera. Two-thirds of the hogs raised in Bird Island township died from the disease. In Osceola the loss was a little less than half, in Kingman a little more than hall', in Melville, two-thirds, and in Norfolk and Birch Cooley townships fully four- fifths of the hogs on farms in 1913 died from cholera. The num- ber of l'arms in the vicinity of Bird Island on which hogs were raised and not visited by cholera could be counted on the fingers of one hand.
A meeting, to be held at the Bird Island Village Hall, of those interested in handling the cholera situation collectively instead of as individuals, was called for Saturday, October 4. Not enough were present at the first meeting to organize. Another meeting was called for the following Saturday. W. E. Morris, county agent, presided as temporary chairman. An organization was formed with the following officers: H. W. Leindecker (Osceola), president : Geo. W. Wolff (Melville), vice-president ; Ralph Loomis (Agricultural Teacher, Bird Island public schools), secre- tary-treasurer. Directors were not chosen until the following Saturday. The first directors were: Joe Kienholz, E. J. Wilson, Nels Mattson, Arthur Patrick and H. J. Jungelaus. The name adopted for the organization at the meeting of the 11th was the "Renville County Swine Breeders' Club." Its object was de- clared to be "to get and keep a supply of serum on hand, and hy other means to further the interests of swine growers." Those
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present at the first meeting were H. W. Leindecker, Joe Kienholz, August Zupke, Geo. W. Wolff, Fred Koelker, P. D. Boyland, Jas. Murray, Henry Krueger, W. E. Morris, Ed Kienholz, R. J. Porter, Jas. Lucas and Ralph Loomis.
The task before the newly organized club was two-fold. The first phase of its work was educational. The part that serum might play in controlling cholera had to be made plain. Serum was a new thing to the people of the county. Many regarded it as a eure while it is only of value as a preventive. Many had lost faith in serum because it had not cured their hogs. Since serum had not been in common use in the county before 1913. un- serupulous people were able to market large quantities of im- potent serum in the county, serum that was of no more value than so much water, and often more dangerous. It is said on good anthority that prune juiee was sold as serum in one Minne- sota locality.
Then there was the harm done by giving important serum with virus. Why the results were disastrons had to be explained. Hogs vaccinated with good serum by the single treatment lose their immunity after four or five weeks. How these hogs might die after vaccination and still vaccination be of any use had to be explained. That the organization was snecessful in its educa- tional work is shown by its membership in the year 1914. Over seven hundred people of the county became so convinced in the efficacy of serum as a cholera preventive as to each invest a dollar for membership in the Renville County Swine Breeders' Associa- tion. About one hundred more joined the Association in 1915.
The second part of the organization's work was the active resistance to hog cholera-hog cholera control. llow that was handled will be shown later in this article.
Throughout the fall and winter meetings were held regularly on the first Saturday of each month in the Bird Island Village Hall. Special meetings were also held. Always the principal ques- tions were hog cholera, when would serum prevent it, how could good serum be obtained, what was the best treatment, and what was the possibility of introducing cholera into the herd if virus were used ? The agricultural teachers of Hector and Renville told the elub of the work in their own communities. The results at Renville were as given above. At Hector, the agricultural teacher. O. M. Kiser, vaccinated about one thousand hogs with a saving of about 70 per cent of all treated in non-infected and infected herds. Mr. Kiser used the serum-only treatment.
By mid-winter the elub had a membership of forty. A sim- ilar club was organized at Fairfax. During the cholera epidemic, hogs were bought in Bird Island at a margin of two dollars on the South St. Paul market, and "bought subject." That is, if the hogs died of cholera or were condemned at the market. the
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farmer who raised them stood the loss. If the hogs were all right when the market was reached, the shipper had the benefit of a two-dollar margin rather than the usual one of fifty cents per hundred pounds. This condition brought about the organiza- tion of the Bird Island Stock Shipping Association. The organ- ization was formed at a meeting of the Swine Breeders' Asso- ciation. This Stoek Shipping Association shipped forty-six cars of live stock the first six months of its existence. Its business has greatly increased as cholera is brought under control and there are more hogs to ship.
Since cholera was so generally present in 1913, a return of the epidemic was expected in 1914. The elub expected to meet the situation in 1914 with plenty of serum on hand. In 1913 it was almost impossible to get good serum from any source. The state serum plant was able to fill only a fraction of the orders given it. Assurance had been given the elub that the state's serum plant was to be enlarged to take care of the increased demand made on it for serum. State serum sold at one-third of a cent per enbie centimeter while other serum cost from one and one-half to three cents.
A meeting was called for February 21, 1914, Secretary Loomis sending out a circular letter to all the members asking them to come in on that day to place an order for serum in proportion to the number of hogs they expected to keep. Eighty farmers ordered about 145,000 enbic centimeters of serum on that day -enough serum to vaccinate four thousand young hogs. This serum was ordered and paid for at the state price of one-third of a cent. The Secretary of the elub, Ralph Loomis, and the President. H. W. Leindeeker, constituted the committee to go to the cities and place the order for serum. The committee went to the cities on February 25 and went first to the state serum plant. The state serum plant is located on the grounds of the Agricultural College in St. Anthony Park, St. Paul. It is oper- ated by the College's Veterinary Division of which Dr. M. H. Reynolds is Chief.
When the order was handed to Dr. Reynolds, he was informed that the elub was only asking for one-fourteenth of the state's annual output! The idea of the entire order being filled by the state was laughed at, the report that the state serum plant was to be enlarged at once to take care of the current year's demand proving erroneous. This meant that the club could not get all the serum wanted at the state's reduced price. Eventually. the state promised to give the club 50,000 c. c., about one-third of the original order. The balance, 95,000 c. c., would have to be purchased from commercial plants at about one and one-half eents per e. c. The committee visited various commercial houses making arrangements to order serum in whoesale lots.
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.
A few days before going to the cities as a member of the Serum Committee President Leindecker read a newspaper article to the effect that Congress had appropriated half a million dol- lars for work in hog cholera control, the plan being to take one county in each of the hog raising states for a demonstration county. Free serum and free veterinary service were to be fur- nished in the respective counties, to demonstrate what could be done in the way of cholera control. The committee verified this newspaper story while at the agricultural college, and sought to have Renville County made the Demonstration County for Min- nesota. An organization in the county was one of the require- ments of the government for the county chosen as a demonstra- tion county. This organization was needed to carry on the work of education, take a eensus of the hogs and of the cholera losses, encourage sanitation, etc. Our argument for Renville county was that we were already organized, having organizations of swine breeders at both Bird Island and Fairfax. Furthermore, Mr. Loomis and Mr. Leindeeker promised that if the county were made the demonstration county for Minnesota, the remainder of the county would be brought into the organization.
These arguments impressed the authorities. Dean Woods promised that he would do what he could for Renville county. Dr. Ward of the Live Stock Sanitary Board, Governor Eberhart and Dr. Reynolds were interviewed in behalf of Renville county. The committee was informed that it would receive word by letter as to the decision of the Bureau of Animal Industry at Wash- ington with whom final authority rested.
The following week was an anxious one for the officers of the Renville County Swine Breeders' Club. Since the entire amount of serum ordered could not be obtained at the price of one-third of a eent per c. e., it was necessary to send out a cir- eular letter to those ordering serum telling them of this eircum- stanee, and that in order to maintain the size of their respective serum orders more money would be needed. Since the decision of the Bureau of Animal Industry was not yet known, nothing was said about it in this letter. When the secretary of the club was informed by letter that Renville county was chosen as the demonstration county for Minnesota, money was still received for serum until it was definitely known that the government men would commence work before summer.
On March 13, Ralph Loomis, Secretary of the Renville County Swine Breeders' Club, was notified by letter that Renville county had been chosen as Minnesota's demonstration eounty. This let- ter from Dean Woods was read at the Swine Breeders' meeting of March 14. Plans were at once laid to make the organization county wide. Representatives of all the commercial clubs of the county were summoned by phone to meet in the Bird Island Com-
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mercial Club Rooms the following Monday, the sixteenth. Repre- sentative business men were thus summoned because through them the farmers of their respective communities could be reached most rapidly. At the meeting on the following Monday, all the towns in the county were represented save Fairfax. The ear bringing the Fairfax delegation broke down before reaching Bird Island. At this meeting, the necessity of organization and eensus taking under the government requirements was explained and dates set for organization meetings in the various towns of the county. The following article was sent to the newspapers of the county to acquaint the people with the project that was being launched for the benefit of all Renville eounty :
"Renville county has been designated by the U. S. Department of Agriculture and by the Minnesota Agricultural College as the official demonstration county for federal work in hog cholera control. This means that the federal government will furnish serum so far as it is able to supply it. The balance will probably be furnished by the state at present prices. A campaign will be waged against cholera until the job is done-until there is no more cholera in the county. The work will be started some time this season. Before the government veterinarians are adminis- tering serum, much preliminary work will be done, the county must be organized into distriets and a committee in charge of each district. There will be an organization for each district- an Anti-llog Cholera Club. These clubs are to be used in spread- ing knowledge as to how the disease may best be fought. A een- sus of the hogs in the county and of the losses occurring the first season will be taken. All farmers are urged to give their active support to this work which means so much to the whole county.
"Renville county was designated as the demonstration county of Minnesota for two reasons. First, no other county of the state suffered heavier losses from cholera. Second, the state agricultural college authorities were shown that Renville county had the best organization for a successful fight against hog ehol- era. The education and co-operative work of the Renville County Swine Breeders' Club secured for Renville County the aid of the U. S. Government in fighting hog cholera.
"The Renville County Swine Breeders' Club has headquarters at Bird Island. It was organized in October, 1913. to promote the swine raising industry, and particularly to fight cholera. Meetings were held each month to hear speakers from the agricul- tural college speak on cholera and its control. The organization has a membership of 115. The club has members at Danube, Ren- ville, Olivia, Hector, and Franklin. A similar elub was organized at Fairfax by the President of the elub at Bird Island. At a meeting held February 21, the club members deposited money
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with the Secretary for 145,000 cubic centimeters of sermm. The President of the club, II. W. Leindecker, a farmer of Osccola township, and the Secretary, Ralph Loomis, Instructor in Agri- culture, Bird Island Public Schools, were named as a committee to arrange for the serum.
"The committee went to St. Paul to interview those in charge of the State Serum Plan. Dr. Reynolds, head of the Veterinary Division of the Agricultural College, stated that the Renville county plan for organizing against cholera was the best he had heard of and was the most proper way to fight hog cholera. How- ever, the 145,000 cubic centimeters of serin asked for was one- fourteenth of the state plant's output. He could not furnish the elub that amount. In the end the state promised to furnish the Swine Breeders' Club with 50,000 cubic centimeters.
"Dean A. F. Woods told the committee that the Bird Island plan was the best he had seen put up yet and that he wished that all the counties of the state would organize in a similar manner. Dean Woods, Dr. Reynolds and Dr. Ward of the Live Stock Sani- tary Board were interviewed by the committee in behalf of hav- ing Renville county designated as the demonstration county. Dean Woods promised to recommend this county to the government anthorities because this county was organized.
"The Serum Committee returned from St. Paul the last day of February. On the thirteenth day of March the Secretary was notified that Renville county had been designated as the demon- stration county. Plans for organizing the county have been for- mulated. Members of all commercial clubs in the county were requested by telephone to meet with the Bird Island Commercial Club March 16 to get the matter before them. Since it is not known when the goverment will get to the actual work of ad- ministering serum, the Swine Breeders' Club is receiving money for serum in the event that the government does not get the pre- liminary work done before early summer. Dr. Reynolds of the Agricultural College thinks that the work will be under way at that time. The Renville County Swine Breeders' Club secured the designation of this eounty as the Government Demonstration County. Residents of Renville county can show their apprecia- tion of this service and help the work of organizing the county by joining the club. The membership fee is one dollar and the dues are fifty cents a year. Those wishing to join, sign an application card and send it to the Secretary of the Renville County Swine Breeders' Club, Bird Island, Minnesota."
Then commenced a vigorous campaign on the part of the officers of the club in organizing the county. In two months, or- ganization work was done that would ordinarily have taken two years. It is a fact to be wondered at that so much was aecom- plished with so little friction. Mr. Leindecker put in forty-six
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days and a good many nights, without pay, in organizing the county. He knew what it was to lose his hogs. To him is credit due for directly saving thirteen thousand hogs by vaccination in 1914, with an indirect saving of twice as many more. The sacri- fice and bravery of Mrs. Leindecker should be remembered. Mrs. Leindecker stayed on the farm alone with three small children while her husband was serving the people of the county that the government might find a county efficiently organized when it came to take up the work.
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