USA > Missouri > Bates County > History of Bates County, Missouri > Part 29
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of them sagely assert that the wide open prairies of Bates county would always remain so, as people could not settle them up and live upon them so far away from timber; and furthermore, there was not enough to support more than a small area near the streams. How greatly those first settlers were mistaken in the capability of the county for the support and maintenance of a large population we can now realize when we see some of the finest and best improved farms miles away from timber and the owners not caring to possess any timber land. It has been abundantly demonstrated that much less timber is needed than the early settlers supposed was the case. Hedges and barbed wire sup- ply the place of rails for fences, and the rail roads bring in building material for other improvements, thereby lessening the demand for native timber.
From 1853 to 1861 the county continued to increase rapidly in popu- lation and wealth. By the end of 1857 practically all government land had been entered, and mostly by actual settlers.
The border troubles between Missouri and Kansas which com- menced in 1856 over the question of slavery in Kansas, retarded the growth of the country somewhat but probably not to a great extent, but when the war commenced in 1861, the people began to move away from the border on the west, some going south and some north, while others further away from Kansas into the interior of the state; the movement gaining impetus as the war progressed, until the promulga- tion of General Thomas Ewing's celebrated "Order No. 11," which was on August 25, 1863, then all went, and stood not on the order of their going. Such property as they were not able to take with them was left behind, and the amount so left was neither small in bulk or insignifi- cant in value and most of which was an utter loss to the owners, it afterward being either stolen or destroyed. In the fall of 1863 there was not a single family left within the confines of Bates county which three short years before contained thousands of contented, prosperous and happy people. As a proof of the number of citizens in the county at that time, I will mention that more than 1,200 votes were cast at the general election in 1860.
I shall not attempt to write about the return to and resettlement of the county after the war was over, by those who had been compelled to leave their homes by reason of the war, to find in a majority of cases
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that their houses were burned or destroyed together with the other improvements on their places, finding a waste and desolation in place of any of the comforts or conveniences of the home they had left behind them when they were compelled to abandon the county.
The early settlers were generally honest, industrious, frugal and contented. They were also very free hearted, charitable and always willing and ready to assist their neighbors or others needing assistance such as they were able to give. There were very few of great wealth but nearly all in circumstances to live comfortably according to the cus- toms of the country. Nearly all had some education, there being some highly educated, while there were others whose educational advantages barely enabled them to read and write.
Newspapers were not so plentiful or cheap as at present. Neither were mail facilities equal to those we now enjoy. The mails were car- ried on horseback and once each week only, but quite a number of papers were taken, and those who received none got the news from their neighbors, and the people were generally well informed about the world's doings. Generally a goodly number of people went to town on Saturday, for the purpose of trading at the stores, to get their mail, have their plows sharpened or work done, hear the news, meet their neighbors and some went on general principles and to have a good time.
As there were no means of transporting farm products to market there was no inducement to open up large farms and raise large crops as there is at present, in consequence of which, the people had more leisure for visiting and hunting; and game, such as deer, turkey and waterfowl, was abundant, and fish were plentiful in the streams and lakes. Visiting was indulged in as if it were a duty as well as a pleasure. Neighbors living ten or fifteen miles apart would often exchange visits, while those who lived from three to five miles from each other would go still more often, frequently spending a day and night or a longer time with their neighbor. House raising, corn-shucking and such like occasions called out the neighbors for miles around, and after the work was done, usually a dance would follow, when all, both young and old, participated if they chose to do so, and usually kept it up all night.
Shooting matches were frequently arranged when the people for miles around would meet and contest for the championship, sometimes
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a beef would be contested for, with first, second, third, fourth and fifth choice, the hide being fifth. Occasionally, one person would win all five parts and could drive his animal home if he chose to do so.
Education for their children seems to have been early looked after and provided for by the early settlers. Schools were established in each district, where from three to six months school was held each year. Subscription schools were frequently provided for when the public funds were inadequate. While the public schools of that day were probably not up to the high standard of the present, yet they were suffi- cient to furnish a really good and useful common school education, quite as helpful and practical as that obtained in our more modern schools; and very few children were permitted to grow up without hav- ing at least the rudiments of an education.
The interest taken by the early settlers in education has con- tinued to grow and increase with those who came after them until at the present time I think it no exaggeration to say that no county in the state has better public schools, or where the people more liberally and earnestly support them, materially and otherwise, than in Bates county, and her citizens all feel proud of them and the excellent public school system of the state, and no fears need be felt but that they will be kept at their present high standard.
Sixty-eight Years Ago. (By Judge C. I. Robards.)
No man will ever be able to imitate the beauty of landscape and variety of scenery of the natural prairies of the great West, because of their vastness and their variety of products, many of which are extinct.
Flowers that grew spontaneously and occupied every season, from earliest spring to latest fall, excelled any collection man could gather in a life-time. Lilies, roses, phloxes, violets, wild chrysanthemums, single petunias, crimson asclepias, snow drops-brilliant and gorgeous flowers for every season-were here to be enjoyed for their beauty as landscape decorations, or to be plucked at will. The air was redolent with their perfume; their sweets were free for the honey-makers.
The grass that grew everywhere was more nutritious than any meadow of modern days. Fruits in great variety grew in the wooded districts along the water courses and ripened in succession-an abundant
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supply for the wants of all. Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, dewberries, wild apples, blackhaws, grapes of large size and excellent flavor, persimmons, pawpaws, pecan nuts, black walnuts so plentiful that they could be scooped up with a shovel.
Bees stored their honey in hollow trees so abundantly that it could be gathered by the barrel-full. Everywhere nature provided so abund- antly for man's wants that no one could doubt the Bible representation of "The land that flowed with milk and honey."
Apple and peach orchards planted in those primitive days knew no insect pests and no failure of crops. Watermelons and muskmelons planted in freshly turned prairie sod covered the ground with the luxu- riance of their vines, and without cultivation produced monstrous melons so abundantly there were more than could be consumed. Water, pure and fresh, stood in the open prairie in sunken basins or pools that seemed to have neither inlet or outlet. Fish occupied these natural ponds. Wild animals and fowls found food, water and shelter in these great natural fields. Wooded streams afforded protection and water for fish and fowls. Along the margins of these water courses grew wild climb- ing roses; in the ponds and lakes grew water lilies, and beavers and otters had their homes here.
When this immense growth of vegetation was killed by frosts in the fall, grand and wonderful sights were presented in the burning prairies, for the wild grass grew in some seasons to the height of eight or ten feet. Then these furious fires would create destruction to the lives of stock and occasionally a human life would be sacrificed by the intense heat. But as the prairies became more densely inhabited, bet- ter regulations were established for protection, and whole neighborhoods would form lines of men armed with different weapons of defense against these dangers. In the highest fury of these fires the flames would leap over creeks and rivers, destroying houses, fences and trees. Then the only means of defence was to build counter fires to advance and meet the oncoming flames until the two lines united and there was nothing more to destroy.
But man's progress and civilization have destroyed that which can never be reproduced. The plow and the railroad have developed a different order of things and whether better or worse, it remains for (21)
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those who loved the beautiful prairie to know them only in memory.
A Model Log House .- In the eastern part of Bates county, in Hud- son township, there stands a log house in a good way of preservation, now owned and occupied by Thomas J. Pheasant, that was built on my father's farm almost fifty-five years ago. All the logs in this building are of white oak or black walnut hewn with smooth surfaces by the broad ax and adz, leveled at top and bottom, dove-tailed and matched at the end. As the logs were laid in place each one was bedded in mortar, and to add to the security of their position, holes were bored through every log from top to bottom of the whole wall on each side of every door and window. on each side of every corner and held in place by an inch iron bolt the full height of the wall. This log house has been re-roofed four or five times, first with black walnut rived boards, then with best sawed shingles and now with pine. The flooring was all cut with a whipsaw, the log being placed on a strong frame and one man standing above the log to pull the saw up while another stood beneath the log to pull it down. The upper floor was cut from large pecan logs, the lower floor large black walnut timber. The reason my father had for having this house built so substantially was to resist high winds.
I do not remember that we feared cyclones in the early settlement of this country, but we could often see the tracks of terrific tornadoes and hurricanes in the timber districts. Our house was built and stands on a high limestone table-land at the head of Panther creek. From this eminence we could view a beautiful landscape five miles in extent in nearly every direction.
Game of nearly every kind was abundant and from our hill we could see deer every fair day in the year. Indians from different tribes came to visit us every spring and fall to ask permission to hunt game, until we became so accustomed to seeing them that we did not fear them.
My father settled in Bates county when I was ten years of age. I had four sisters. When the Indians came to see us, sometimes a dozen or more at the same time, we would go out and meet them and exchange pork or corn or some article that they wanted, for their veni- son. They invariably had one interpreter or spokesman, all other mem- bers of the party giving us to understand that they could not speak
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our language. When they returned the next season some other mem- ber of the party would act as interpreter and the speaker of the former season would be silent, pretending not to understand. But they were jovial among themselves and much given to laughter.
During our early acquaintance with the frontier tribes of Indians we never heard of more than one act of hostility. About the year of 1840 a band of Osage Indians obtained permission from their agent, located in what is now Kansas, to come over the border into Missouri to hunt. While hunting game in the woods they killed some hogs belonging to white settlers. In haste, and angered at the depredations of the Indians, an armed band of whites suddenly appeared at the Indians' camp to bring them to account for their conduct. The first unfortunate impulse of the Indians was to fly to their arms and resist what they supposed to be a determination to butcher them. The Indians opened fire on the white men and killed a Mr. Dodge, one of the most useful and influential pioneers of the county. Finally the Indians were induced to surrender, and after being informed that they must not return, the locks were removed from their guns and they were sent back to their agency in disgrace. The Indians' visits were not so frequent for sev- eral years after this event, but finally under promise of good behavior they began to return in small bands and always asked permission when they came to hunt.
One day a wounded deer came bounding into my father's corn- field. My dog gave chase and soon caught it. Just then a large Indian with a gun in his hand ran to me and gave me to understand that it was his deer, and pointing to its hind foot showed me it had been shot off; of course I could but submit. He proceeded to dress the deer in a hasty but neat way, and after it was all ready to pack he cut off one of the hind quarters and gave it to me as my portion for the service my dog had rendered. I thought then, as I now think, he proved him- self to be better than most white men in manliness and gratitude.
My Watermelon Patch .- I planted a little watermelon patch in the center of the cornfield where from the hill-top at the house I could look down into. it. As I looked into my melon patch one day I discovered that a number of deer and wild turkeys had taken possession of it and that after they had dined on melons at my expense were engaged in a little innocent dance among the vines. The turkeys would flap their
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wings and strike and jump against the deer, while the latter danced and jumped around the turkeys like lambs at play.
They were so intent on their amusement that they did not notice me as I quietly crept down among the corn to within a few feet of the little open square. Here I lay quiet a few moments, then raising my head discovered that a turkey was my nearest game. Leveling my gun I pulled the trigger, but to my disappointment the gun had been loaded so long that it failed to discharge and I feared the explo- sion of the percussion cap would scare the game away. I remained very quiet for a little while until assured that there would be no gen- eral alarm, then placed a fresh cap on the tube. By this time a deer stood, broad-side, within a few feet of where I lay. I took steady aim, but to my increased aggravation my gun again failed to do service. I now felt sure I should lose all opportunity to capture any of the game, although within reach of it. The turkeys began to be suspicious and I knew by their notes of alarm that they were warning each other to be on the lookout for danger. I determined, however, that as long as the game remained within reach of a shot I would continue to try the obstinate gun. The third time I took more care to prepare my gun for service. Having come prepared with powder-horn and shot, I opened the tube with a pin, poured in fresh powder and primed it to the top, then placed on a new cap and raising my head cautiously, saw a fat, half-grown deer less than twenty feet away. This time my gun did full execution and there immediately occurred a rush- ing flight and stampede of all the game except the animal at which I had aimed, and that one I dragged proudly home.
Shooting Wild Turkey .- We kept a flock of tame turkeys. One fall a wild turkey came from the woods and, although it always seemed a little shy, stayed all winter with the tame ones. In the spring he became discontented and began to evince a disposition to return to his haunts in the woods. He would make frequent attempts to lead our whole flock of tame ones away to the place of the home of his wild companions. I then determined that if he was so ungrateful as to desert us after all our kindness and after having shared our hos- pitality a whole winter I would rather have his dead body than to have his living memory. I carefully loaded my rifle, but to my great chagrin, found that my cap box was empty. In those days it was not
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easy to obtain supplies when they were exhausted, as it was six miles to the nearest store.
I had determined to shoot that turkey, however. By this time the turkey had perched himself on a fence within twenty feet of the house. Having raised the window quietly, I told my mother to take the tongs and bring a coal of fire from the fireplace and when I raised the hammer of the gun as I took aim at him, to touch the live coal to the tube of the gun. The discharge, of course, was simultaneous with the application of the coal. My mother was greatly frightened; but we shot the turkey and ate him for dinner.
Language of Birds .- I noticed a remarkable proof of the com- munication of the wishes of birds. As I stood on our hill one day at noon I noticed a large hawk slowly and laboriously approaching the limestone bluff to the west of the house. The direction the bird was flying was bringing it nearly over my head. The hawk was evidently carrying a heavy prey for its young and as it came nearer I discovered that its burden was a rabbit hanging down from its talons. At this moment I noticed the hawk's mate dart rapidly away from the cliffs and fly directly under its mate at a distance of fifteen feet or more below, then suddenly the upper hawk dropped its burden, I supposed acci- dentally, but it was caught by the mother hawk, as I believed the lower bird to be, who turned herself feet up in the air and received the rabbit as dexterously as ever baseball catcher caught a ball, then turned and hurried back to feed her brood, while the tired master hawk flew slowly after.
Events of Long Ago. (By William E. Walton.)
You ask me to write about Bates county as it appeared twenty-seven years ago.
I came here in July, 1870, and began the making of a set of title abstract books. Butler was a small village, and Bates county one big prairie with timber along the streams.
Where Rich Hill, Adrian, Hume, Foster, Merwin and Amsterdam now stand was then wild prairie land. Our court house was being built by John B. Tinklepaugh, a contractor, but he failed, and it was completed by his bondsmen. None of the streams were bridged, unless there was
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one bridge at Papinsville. After big rains we had three ways of crossing, viz .; wade, swim, or wait for low water.
Times were good and everybody making money. Non-residents . owned the big prairies and paid taxes while our farmers and stock raisers grazed thousands of cattle on the land and grew rich on "free range." Immigrants with money were coming from everywhere, but principally from the north, buying the rich, low priced land, plowing up the sod, building houses and making farms. In fact, we were at the high tide of prosperity in 1870.
The war lasted four years and had closed five years prior to that time. During its continuance it brought sorrow and death to a million homes, and reduced the South from a condition of affluence to that of poverty. On account of the war the government had paid out hundreds of millions of dollars, and this vast sum was in the hands of the people. True, the government had borrowed this money by selling to Europe interest-bearing bonds, but we had the money and they had the bonds and pay day was a long ways off. It was an era of speculation and money making. The mints were open to the free coinage of both gold and silver, but neither metal was in circulation. Gold was at a premium, and had been for years. This was before the crime of 1873. Our money was all paper. We were getting rich and getting in debt both. In 1873 the Jay Cooke bank failed. This startled the country and was the beginning of a panic that covered the United States and ruined thousands that were in debt. Although money was plenty and business good, in 1870 interest rates ruled high. Money was active and in great demand, for everybody speculated. From 15 to 18 per cent. was the rate for short-time loans, and on five-year farm loans from 12 to 15 per cent. I frequently borrowed money then, and was considered fortunate when I could get it at 15 per cent.
The first bank in Butler was owned by the "Dunbaugh Brothers." It failed in October, 1870, owing its depositors $70,000. Immediately after this failure, Mr. Cheney, F. J. Tygard and P. A. Burgess came from Holden. Missouri, and opened the Bates County Bank, which was for several years the only bank here. There are now (1918) fifteen banks in Bates county, and two trust companies.
Courts were held upstairs in the room now occupied by Sam Levy Mercantile Company. Church services were frequently held in the same
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room. Politically, times were hot in 1870. Our congressman was S. S. Burdett, a lawyer living at Osceola. He was a Republican, and had defeated for Congress John F. Phillips, late federal judge at Kansas City. During the Bryan-McKinley campaign he visited Butler after an absence of twenty-five years and spoke in our opera house. Our circuit judge was David McGaughey. The writer was clerk of election in Clinton, Missouri, in 1868, and counted the votes when he defeated Judge Foster P. Wright. Both are now dead. John D. Myers was county clerk, circuit clerk and recorder of deeds. He was the father of Mrs. Judge Steele of Butler. Judge Myers was "Southern raised," but was a "Union man." He had troubles during the war and sincerely believed he had been badly treated. He was positive and outspoken. Such men always have enemies. He was an honest man, always true to a friend. Our county judges were B. H. Thornton, who owned and lived on the Badgley farm two miles southwest of Butler, L. E. Hall of Homer township, and J. N. Crigler, of near Johnstown. Wesley T. Smith was sheriff and tax collector. He was a defaulter for $18,000, but $10,000 was paid by his bondsmen. H. C. Donnahue, who recently ran for Congress on the Popu- list ticket, was county treasurer.
C. C. Bassett, A. M. Christian, C. F. Boxley, A. Henry, William Page, P. H. Holcomb, Sam Riggs, L. D. Condee, T. J. Gallaway, C. H. Wilson, N. A. Wade, A. T. Holcomb, J. K. Hansburg, J. K. Brugler and J. J. Brumback were our lawyers. Bassett was a candidate for cir- cuit judge in 1872, but was defeated by Foster P. Wright. Henry and Bassett were each candidates for Congress several times, but neither secured the Democratic nomination.
Doctors Boulware, Pyle, Frizell, Carnal, Martin, Patten and Heath were the physicians. All are yet living except Frizell and Carnal. A. H. Lamb was postmaster and kept the office in a one-story frame that stood on the lot now covered by the west half of the Palace Hotel, now Ameri- can Clothing House.
The Republicans held all the offices. They had passed a law in 1865 that "Confederates" and "Southern Sympathizers" were disfranchised. This law was not repealed until 1870. In that year the Republican party of Missouri "split" on the question of enfranchisement. B. Gratz Brown and Carl Schurz, both original old line Republicans, bolted the conven- tion and became leaders in favor of restoring the ballot to all Southern-
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ers. They were called "Liberal Republicans" to distinguish them from the "Regular Republican party" that opposed enfranchisement. The Democrats of Missouri made no nominations but voted the liberal ticket. The result was B. Gratz Brown was elected Governor and Carl Schurz elected to the United States Senate. The Republicans lost control in Missouri and the ballot was restored to all Confederates and Southern sympathizers. In Bates county the ticket elected was a combination of "Liberal Republicans" and Democrats, viz .: John B. Newberry, sheriff ; F. V. Holloway, treasurer ; John R. Walker, representative ; S. H. Geisel, circuit clerk; William Smith, county clerk. All were Democrats except Geisel and Smith.
John R. Walker was then a young, wealthy farmer living eight miles. northeast of Butler. He is now United States district attorney at Kansas City.
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