USA > Minnesota > Renville County > The history of Renville County, Minnesota, Volume II > Part 92
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patient ox who had made the settlement of the county possible.
The reason for the establishing of two villages, Morton and Franklin, in Camp township is an interesting one. When the railroad was projected, about 1879, each township was asked to vote bonds of $5,000. This Cairo and Birch Cooley did. Camp did not. So the railroad company estab- lished two villages in Birch Cooley and none in Camp. But through a technicality of leaving some few feet unfinished at the end of the line in Morton, the railroad did not receive the $5,000 from the town which it had rewarded with two stations.
Considerable excitement was caused in Camp in the early nineties when the joy- tul news was spread that a large coal bed had been discovered in the lower bluffs at the mouth of Hawk creek. Luther Nichols and others from Fairfax made a thorough investigation, and their crew found a good showing of lignite. A vein of some ten inches in thickness was believed to be fair- ly good. Various examinations were made and expert advice received. Finally Her- man Van Hamertt, an expert from the Illi- nois coal fields, rendered a decision that the indications of a large coal field were favorable, but that the coal was lying at a depth of some 150 or 180 feet. He leased the land and spent considerable money drilling. The drills, however, failed to penetrate the hand pan and Mr. Van Ha- mertt gave it up, though he was firm in his belief that beneath that hard pan was as good coal as that in the coal fields of Illinois. The first discovery of a lignite deposit was made in the early seventies in the side hills of Three Mile creek, in section 27. at the Pless mill dam. But up to this time the dream of black diamonds in paying quantities in Renville county has not been realized, though lignite exists in several places in Camp township.
The long, hard winters, with their severe snow storms and blizzards, were a great drawback to the settlement of the north- western prairies. The great blizzard of January 7, 8 and 9, 1873, following a warm, pleasant morning, and resulting in the death of so many Renville county people, has never since been equaled. In recent years the trees which the pioneers have planted have modified the storms.
Floods have also done much damage in the Minnesota valley. In fact, though the valley land is very rich, valuable on ac- count of its timber, and especially adapted to growing corn and hay, and raising stock, the river has been an uncertain proposi- tion. The worst flood known in this re- gion was in the spring of 1873. The bot- toms were under water up to the sides of the bluffs on both side. and in many places the water was fourteen feet up on the trunks of the trees, leaving a mark in the bark visible for many years thereafter.
In 1879 came a very peculiar storm. That year we managed to get in a good wheat
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crop from the land we seeded. But as we were doing our fall work, we were inter- rupted on October 15 and 16 by one of the most violent snow storms the county ever experienced. During the evening it started to rain, but turned into a snow blizzard of the worst kind. More than 24 inches of snow fell. The next morning the tempera- ture was about 30 degrees below zero and the wind was blowing (it is said) some seventy miles an hour. No one was pre- pared for such a storm. Cattle froze to death and some herds ran away and com- pletely disappeared. All the crops were covered with deep snow. The wheat could not be threshed until the next summer, and then it was of very poor quality. A little of the snow melted, but the winter came on and there was some twenty feet of snow on the ground until late the next spring. The new settlers were not prepared, think- ing that they had several more weeks to plan for winter, and the sudden and early storm left many in a most desperate con- dition.
Another record breaker for deep snow was the winter of 1880-81. The snow came in the latter part of February in 1881 and on the prairies reached a depth of some five or six feet, while the bottoms were drifted full. Buildings and small groves were completely buried. For three or four weeks everything was at a standstill. While, fortunately, the temperature was seldom below zero, nevertheless there was a strong wind and much drifting, so that it was impossible to get out and get roads broken. To gather fuel entailed terrible hardships. To save their lives the settlers had to make fuel of hay, furniture, corn, and anything that might be available. Some of the settlers in the Minnesota bot- toms hauled fuel and provisions on hand sleds across the great mountain of snow in order that their familes and their neigh- bors might be saved. Finally, in the latter part of February, there came a thaw, fol- lowed by cold weather, thus forming a orust hard enough to support even the heaviest teams. But there had been ter- rible suffering and privation. The settlers learned their lesson that in the future they should prepare for winter as early and as thoroughly as possible.
The summers also had their discomforts. We had dry hot spells, during which ter- rible northwest hurricanes would sweep over the region with great force and vio- lence, accompanied by severe thunder storms. Many times, especially in the hot- test midsummer, these hurricanes would sweep the county several times a year.
But with the cultivation of the land and the planting of trees and groves conditions
are different. There are no more terrible blizzards and nothing like the great hurri- canes we used to have. The rainfall is normal, the temperature more mild. But whatever the cause, all settlers will agree that weather conditions are now much dif- ferent from what they were some thirty or forty years ago.
And now we come to the end of the chap- ter. One could keep on and on, relating stories of the early days, and calling to mind the personality of the early settlers, upon whose lives, worth and work the pres- ent prosperity, stability and position of the county is founded. In this brief article it has been the aim of the writer to say something by which the younger genera- tions may catch just a glimpse of what life was in the county when the settlers came to its wild and virgin soil.
It is fitting, before closing and bidding farewell to those pioneer times, to look back over a half century and note the won. derful progress and development that the sturdy settlers have wrested from the pass- ing years. Today one can ride all over the county, into each and every one of the twenty-seven townships, and find hundreds, and possibly thousands, of fine, well-kept farms and beautiful villages, all breathing of prosperity and happiness, the farmers as well as the business men more than sat- isfied with the county and the surround- ings in general. Times have changed from all standpoints, developments have taken place of which the most hopeful pioneers could never have dreamed. Now we have two railroad systems, good roads every- where, rural telephones, rural mail deliv- ery and quick transportation. Business men and farmers alike ride in automobiles, and this brings possibilities hidden deep from the vision of the people of fifty years ago.
Nevertheless there is a sad side to it all. Few of the pioneers are left, the county is ruled by the second and third generation. But who can ever forget the men who have made all this possible ?
What the next half century has in store for the connty and its inhabitants only Providence can know, and we here leave the story for future days to tell.
Editor's Note .- The above story is a greatly condensed version of a manuscript prepared by Mr. Berge, and which, in its entirety, will be presented to the Minne- sota State Historical Society. In the orig- inal manuscript Mr. Berge portrays in a wonderful manner the story of the prog- ress of the county, step by step. He also includes valuable material about Fort Ridgely. Thiis subject is covered in an- other chapter in this book.
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CHAPTER XLVI.
NEWSPAPERS.
Importance of the Press-First Paper in County-Present Papers-Discon- tinued Papers-Story of the Week-by-Week Chronicles of the County- Edited by James R. Landy.
The newspaper of today is the history of tomorrow, The copies distributed, it is true, soon pass from sight. Even in a month from the time a paper is issued it is sometimes difficult to obtain a single copy. But in the newspaper office itself it has been preserved and placed on file. The files become an asset of the office and in- crease in vahie as the papers become yel- low with age. Here in the musty volumes is found the day by day history of the town, the county, the state. The State Historical Society recognizes the value of the newspaper history, and a complete file of every newspaper in the state is kept in its library. A newspaper is one of the most accurate of all historical sources. The editor of a newspaper not only means to get correct information, but he also gets most of it at its original source, throw- ing side-lights upon events which are miss- ing in the formal records. Each day, if he edits a daily, each week, if a weekly, his effort stands before the bar of public criti- cism. His critics are those most inti- mately interested in the articles published. They do not trust to memory, hearsay, legend or tradition. They are eye or ear witnesses. or star actors in the passing drama. They surely are trustworthy critics. With them the newspaper must pass muster. If facts are not correctly stated they are corrected. The newspaper that is not substantially accurate cannot and does not live. Time gives authenticity. Criticism is forgotten, minor inaccuracies are overlooked, and the newspaper record stands as accepted history. A newspaper is not mere gossip. It is a record of pass- ing events. Reports of buildings, new in- dustries, biographies, social events, relig- ious movements. births, deaths, politics. policies, honors that come to people, crimes that blacken the records, onward and back- ward movements in progress, disasters. amusements. accidents. epidemics-all make up the newspaper history of a com- munity. It is a mirror of life as it is daily lived, here and now.
The first newspaper in Renville county was the Beaver Falls Gazette, established by J. A. Wells in 1870. It was published for a year and then moved back to Wis- consin. The second newspaper in Renville county survived but one issue. It was printed at Redwood Falls, and issued as a Republican campaign sheet in the fall of 1870. The paper was called the Beaver Falls Globe.
Elsewhere in this work, the vindictive- ness and sharp practice in the campaign for the county offices of Renville county, during the fall of 1870, has been referred to; but one little episode may be of inter- est to the present generation, showing to what length of deception and intrigue those old fellows would go to in accom- plishing their ends, then laugh about as a good joke on whoever got the worst of it.
The Republican County Convention had been held at Beaver Falls, the county seat, and only village in the county, in 1870; a full set of county officials had been nomi- nated; as about always happens, some were dissatisfied, and another opposition con- vention was called to give battle to the "ring" and "bosses." as they had even then begun to style those who were chosen or were in any way successful.
Democrats were hard to find in Renville county, or anywhere in the north, so soon after the war, for that matter, so these bolters and dissatisfied element called this opposition convention the People's Party convention, into which the few who were Democrats flocked with the rebellious Re- publicans, causing the Republican candi- dates for county offices no little concern. Then, to make things worse. if possible, the Beaver Falls Gazette, a small weekly newspaper, just started. and the only newspaper in the county, joined the se- ceders and J. A. Wells, its editor, began to overhaul the pedigree and record of the Republican candidates.
The regular Republican candidates now being somewhat alarmed and thoroughly aroused, called a secret meeting to decide what action should be taken to combat the common enemy. First they must have a newspaper for their side; one that would make the little Beaver Falls Ga- zette look insignificant in comparison. Arrangements were made with V. C. Seward, publisher and proprietor of the Redwood Falls Gazette, to get out 600 copies of a newspaper to be called the Beaver Falls Globe, at his office in Red- wood Falls. A. McGillis, a Canadian of education and ability, was the editor. Chas. S. Hall, brother of D. S. Hall. came from J. K. Moor's Tribune office at St. Peter, where he was working, to Redwood Falls and set up most of the type for the paper. Those days the candidates for office must procure election tickets for the voters and see that they were in the hands of reliable parties at each election precinct. These
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tickets were all printed at Seward's Ga- zette offre, where the Globe was being gotten ont. Wells, of the Beaver Falls Gazette, got no business from the "regu- lars." The Globe set forth in its pros- pectus and editorially that it would supply a long-felt want by giving the people of Beaver Falls and Renville county a real sure enough newspaper, which they were being deprived of by Wells' seven by nine cypher. The Globe was twice the size of the Gazette, with strong editorials, me- chanically excellent, and loomed above Wells' Gazette in every way. It held up each and every candidate of the people's party to derision, charging all of them with conduet unfitting them for holding public office, and some of them with crimes which would send them to the penitentiary. Not only that, but they published certificates and affidavits to prove their contentions. It was certainly a very warm number.
All things were still secret, only the members with the password and grip were put wise to what was intended.
The plan was to bring over from Red- wood Falls, a few days before election, the Beaver Falls Globe complete and ready for distribution, then start teams to the remote ends of the county with the Globe and election tickets, and begin distributing them as they returned to the county seat. No one at Beaver Falls or anywhere in the county, except the conspirators, knew of the plot that was being worked out, so, four days before election, James Carroth- ers, candidate for sheriff, and D. S. Hall, candidate for auditor, on the Republican ticket, went over from Beaver Falls to Redwood Falls in the afternoon to get the Globe and election tickets for distribution. according to program, but upon their ar. rival at Seward's print shop they found that the Globe and election tickets were not ready. The office force were all at work on them, but the old way of picking type and working the hand press was very slow, compared with present day methods, so they waited for the completion of the job. The printing office was locked. and no one could get in without the password. As they wandered around the village in the evening, waiting, they were surprised, and quite suspicious at meeting Ed. O'Hara of Cairo township, this county. Ed. styled himself, and with good reason, the "Father of the Democratic party of Renville coun- ty." He was a kind hearted man. a good mixer with many friends, and he could put most of the "boys" under the table in most any old kind of a bout. Politically he was active, putting much of his time in at it. In politics he was crafty and full of schemes to down all opposition to him or his party; . hence in meeting him so far from home at that time of night, Hall and Carrothers had good reasons for believing him a spy, which he was, as the People's party could see there "was something in the wind." something was going to drop.
about which they were anxious and would go to any extreme to find out.
O'Hara had just come from the printing office when he met Hall and Carrothers. He heard the presses rattling and the sounds of activity therein, but he was not allowed to enter. He didn't have the pass- word. From Hall he wanted to know what was going on in the print shop. Hall promised to go in and find out for him, if he would stay right where he was until his return. This he agreed to. O'Hara's greatest anxiety was for the election of E. St. Julian Cox, who was a candidate for district judge, on the Democratic ticket. This Hall well knew. so when he went into the office he had a number of straight Republican tickets struck off, with E. St. Julian Cox's name thereon, for district judge, in the place of the regular Repub- lican for that officer. Returning to O'Hara, Hall pledged him to secrecy and made him realize the importance of the information about to be imparted to him. He was then shown the bunch of Republican election tickets, printed for Renville county, with his friend Cox's name thereon for judge, with the information that Renville county Republicans were printing all their tickets that way. with the expectation of some reciprocity on the part of the friends of Captain Cox. This was readily promised, so far as he. O'Hara, was concerned, with no intention of being kept, and he seemed to be so well pleased at what he had found out that he invited the party to the nearest "thirst parlor" for liquid refreshments, where they sojourned, repeating their liba- tions at frequent intervals, until they got O'Hara hotly discussing politics with some belated native, when they gave him the slip, and rushed to the printing office for the election tickets and Globe they had come for.
They found the election tickets com- pleted and packed up in fairly good shape. The Globe was printed but not folded. so they rolled them up, shouldered their bur- dens and made for the hotel barn, where they had left their team and wagon. Plac- ing their sacred bundles in their wagon, covering them carefully with robes and blankets, even though it was well after midnight, they were about to get out their team and push for Beaver Falls, wben it occurred to them that crossing the Minne- sota river by ferry boat at that time of night might be questionable, and they de- cided to remain at the hotel over, night, but get a very early start the next morn- ing. Going into the hotel they found O'Hara, who had been looking for them for some time. He asked for a chance to ride with them to Beaver Falls in the morning, which could not be well refused. To make matters worse, the hotel was crowded and Carrothers and O'Hara were forced to sleep in the same bed, which added to the difficulty of sneaking away from O'Hara. as Carrothers and Hall fully
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intended to do. Jim told Hall that he would not go to sleep, and he didn't. Ed. was soon snoring good and plenty. He was very tired, and Jim, who had cau- tiously taken the front side of the bed. slipped carefully and quietly from between the sheets, joined Hall, and the two of them hastened to the barn. The harness had been left on the horses, and, assuredly, that team was hooked to that wagon with some speed. But just as they were moving out of the hotel yard O'Hara ap- peared at the door and hailed them for that lift to Beaver Falls. They did not even look around, did not hear him; they were quite deaf about that time, and ar- rived in Beaver Falls in good season, a little jaded, but still eager for the affray.
The election tickets and Globe were taken to Hall's home. The newspapers had to be folded, and the tickets separated into proper numbered lots for distribution. This was got at by willing hands, but un- skilled. They were slow at the work, thus the couriers, teams and outfits which were to start that morning to the remote parts of the county, for the placing of the tick- ets and distribution of the newspapers, did not get away until afternoon, but the secret had continued to be well kept.
A little before noon O'Hara showed up in Beaver Falls, He had walked from Red- wood Falls, a distance of about six miles, and was some peeved at Carrothers and Hall, but upon meeting Carrothers, that gentleman told him that he did not have the heart to wake him up when he was sleeping so sweetly, knowing how late he was up the night before, and how tired he must be, and that his greatest regret and sorrow was in not hearing him hail them in the morning, when they were starting out of the hotel yard, and he had a number of other plausible handouts, winding up by the suggestion that they adjourn to one of the several wet-goods-emporiums, there to dim any wrath remaining, by "whatlu- have," all of which O'Hara accepted, for the time being, with one eye closed.
About noon, that same day, the workers folding the newspapers and separating the election tickets had completed their job and all gone up town for lunch, or some- thing, from D. S. Hall's home. Mrs. Hall was alone in the house, when who should appear at the door but Mr. O'Hara, well known to Mrs. Hall. He told her that her husband had sent him for all the Repub- lican election tickets there in the house, that Mr. Hall was in quite a hurry for them, and that he, O'Hara, would take them right to them. Mrs. Hall had her suspicions, but she told O'Hara that she knew little of tickets or matters political. which was true. O'Hara very politely ex- ensed himself and withdrew, saying that he would get some tickets from Hall, but he never did. Cox was in Beaver Falls that day, and O'Hara's object was to see if his, Cox's, name was on all of the Re-
publican election tickets for the county, as district judge, as he was informed by ('arrothers and Hall at Redwood Falls. Had he got hold of all the Republican tickets and discovered that the name of his friend Cox was on none of them, he might have made it quite difficult for the Republican candidates to get out more tickets and distribute them to the various polling places in the county in time for the election. It sure was a close call for them, which they fully realized after it was all past.
Captain P. H. Swift, who had been elected to the legislature the year before, but failed to be nominated by the Repub- licans this year, was on the People's ticket for the same office. against J. S. G. Hon- nor, the regular Republican nominee. The Rev. N. Swift, a Methodist preacher, was the People's party candidate for county auditor against D. S. Hall, regular. L. W. Dibble, People's, against James Carroth- ers, regular, for sheriff, Captain P. H. Swift against John M. Dorman for county attorney, and so on down the line.
The Globe gave each candidate on the People's party ticket a very dark brown roast, and even more. The messengers got away that afternoon with the election tickets and newspapers for the remote ends of the county, in fairly good shape, con- sidering the excitement incident to the orcasion, and must have placed their elec- tion tickets and newspapers in good hands, tor the regular Republican ticket, every man on it, was elected by an overwhelming majority.
Both of the newspapers "drew the long bow" in "throwing mud" and making charges against their opponents. What General Sherman said about war certainly applied to those political wolves. At that time it was a sure enough fight, all right.
Soon after the election Wells discon- tinned the Gazette, returning to Toma, Wisconsin, and to the newspaper business there. Captain P. H. Swift, the same fall, returned to Wisconsin, entered the news- paper business, became prominent among the newspaper men of that state, owning several leading papers. He died at Madi- son, Wis., within the last year.
The Beaver Falls Globe never appeared again, died then and there, its mission performed it "gave up the ghost."
This incident happened forty-six years ago. Forty-six years is a very short his- torical period, as history goes, and forty- six years don't cut much figure with
eternity. Still, how many are left who engaged in that political death struggle in 1870? Ask them to stand up and be counted. They don't step up-they have practically all passed away. Beaver Falls, then the county seat and only village in Renville county, has disappeared with them. Such a short time ago Beaver Falls was bustling with activity, the citizens and county officials there were full of life, hope
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and activity, now all dead and gone. So gradually has all this disappeared, village and all, that we fail to notice or become impressed by it. Nature and an all-wise providence have arranged these things, no doubt, as they should be, but here is food Tor reflection for some of those now living. just the same.
Of all the candidates named on both the Republican and People's party for county offices that fall of 1870, it is believed that only one of the number still remains alive, a good deal of effort, on the part of the publishers of this work, has failed to find another of that band of political bucca- neers of that period. when all was con- sidered fair in politics, as in war, and was the rule rather than the exception.
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