History of Hickory, Polk, Cedar, Dade, and Barton counties, Missouri, Part 4

Author: Goodspeed, firm, publishers, Chicago (1886-1891, Goodspeed Publishing Co.)
Publication date: 1889
Publisher: Chicago, The Goodspeed publishing co.
Number of Pages: 998

USA > Missouri > Cedar County > History of Hickory, Polk, Cedar, Dade, and Barton counties, Missouri > Part 4
USA > Missouri > Dade County > History of Hickory, Polk, Cedar, Dade, and Barton counties, Missouri > Part 4
USA > Missouri > Barton County > History of Hickory, Polk, Cedar, Dade, and Barton counties, Missouri > Part 4
USA > Missouri > Hickory County > History of Hickory, Polk, Cedar, Dade, and Barton counties, Missouri > Part 4
USA > Missouri > Polk County > History of Hickory, Polk, Cedar, Dade, and Barton counties, Missouri > Part 4

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).

About twelve miles south of Ozark, near the Forsyth road, on the top of a very high hill, is a small opening, which, about 100 feet from the surface, expands into a hall 30 feet wide and about 400 feet long, the sides and top of which are of rock lined with beautiful stalactites.

In Stone County at least twenty-five caves have been explored and many more discovered. One mile from Galena is an exten- sive cave from which the early settlers procured saltpetre in large quantities. About two and a half miles above this is a smaller one of great beauty. From the ceiling depend glittering stalac- tites, while the floor sparkles with fragments of gem-like luster. A pearly wall, of about half an inch in thickness and 15 inches high encloses a miniature lake, through whose pellucid waters the wavy stalagmite bottom of this natural basin can be plainly seen. The sacred stillness of the vaulted chamber renders its name, "The Baptismal Font," a peculiarly fitting one.

A cave about twelve miles from Galena is well known among curiosity seekers in the adjacent country. The entrance cham- ber is a large dome-shaped room, whose ceiling is very high; a glittering mound of stalagmites rises in the center of the room, nearly one-third the height of the ceiling; stretching out at right angles from this are long shining halls leading to other grand arched chambers, gorgeous enough for the revels of the gnome king, and all the genii of the subterranean world. One can not but think of the Inferno, as, wandering down a labyrinth- ian passage, he reaches the verge of an abyss, striking perpen- dicularly to unknown and echoless depths. The name, “ Bot- tomless Pit," is well bestowed on this yawning gulf.

Knox Cave, in Green County, about seven miles northwest of Springfield, is of large dimensions, and hung in some parts with the most beautiful stalactites.

Fisher's Cave, six miles southeast of Springfield, is of simi- lar dimensions, and has a beautiful stream of water flowing out of it.

HISTORY OF MISSOURI.

There are a number of saltpetre caves along the banks of the Gasconade, which were once profitably worked. Some of these caves are large and interesting, consisting frequently of a succession of rooms joined to each other by arched halls of a considerable height, with walls of white limestone, upon which, as well as upon the floors, the saltpetre is deposited, and is gen- erally so pure as to need but one washing to prepare it for use or export. When these caves were first discovered, it was not unusual to find in them stone-axes and hammers which led to the belief that they had formerly been worked for some un- known purpose by the savages. It is doubtful whether these tools were left there by the Indians or by another and more civil- ized race which preceded them.

There are numerous caves in Perry County, two of which penetrate beneath Perryville.

Connor's Cave, seven miles southeast of Columbia, has an en- trance twenty feet wide and eight feet high, and has been ex- plored for several miles.

There are extensive and beautiful caves in Texas, Webster, Lawrence, Laclede, Oregon and several other counties.

MINERAL SPRINGS.

Salt springs are exceedingly abundant in the central part of the State. They discharge vast quantities of brine in Cooper, Saline, Howard and the adjoining counties. These brines are near the navigable waters of the Missouri, in the midst of an abundance of wood and coal, and might furnish salt enough to supply all the markets of the continent.

Sulphur Springs are also numerous throughout the State. The Chouteau Springs in Cooper, the Monagaw Springs in St. Clair, the Elk Springs in Pike, and the Cheltenham Springs in St. Louis County, have acquired considerable reputation as me- dicinal waters, and have become popular places of resort. There are similar sulphur springs in other parts of the State.

Chalybeate Springs .- There are a great many springs in the State which are impregnated with some of the salts of iron. Those containing carbonates and sulphates are most common, and several of these are quite celebrated for their medicinal properties.

HISTORY OF MISSOURI.

Sweet Springs on the Blackwater, and the Chalybeate Spring in the University campus, are perhaps the most noted of the kind in the State. The Sweet Springs flow from cavities in the upper beds of the Burlington limestone. The hill is here forty- seven feet high above water in the Blackwater, spreading out at the back in a flat table-land. The spring itself is about twenty- feet above the river, and has a sweetish alkaline taste. It is use- ful. as a promoter of general good health, and is much resorted to at the proper season. The water is used for ordinary cooking and drinking purposes, except for making tea.

Petroleum Springs .- These are found in Carroll, Ray, Ran- dolph, Cass, Lafayette, Bates, Vernon and other counties. Many of these springs discharge considerable quantities of oil. The variety called lubricating oil is the most common. It is impossi- ble to tell whether petroleum will be found in paying quantities in these localities, but there is scarcely a doubt that there are reservoirs of considerable quantities.

MANUFACTURING.

The State of Missouri presents every facility for extensive and successful manufacturing ; abundant timber of the best quality, exhaustless deposits of coal, iron, lead, zinc, marble and granite, unmeasured water power, distributed over the State, a home mar- ket among an industrious and wealth-accumulating people, and a system of navigable rivers and railway trunk line and branches, that permeate, not only the State, but reach out in direct lines from gulf to lake, and from ocean to ocean.

Of the manufacturing in Missouri over three-quarters of the whole is done in St. Louis, which produced in 1880, $114,333,375 worth of manufactured articles, thus placing her as the sixth manufacturing city in the Union, being surpassed only by New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Brooklyn and Boston.

The leading manufacturing counties of the State are St. Louis, Jackson, Buchanan, St. Charles, Marion, Franklin, Greene, Cape Girardeau, Platte, Boone, Lafayette, followed by Macon, Clay, Phelps, St. Francois, Washington and Lewis.

The subjoined table, arranged from the tenth United States census, will give the reader a comprehensive view of the pres-

HISTORY OF MISSOURI.

ent state of manufacturing in Missouri, and its variation during recent years.

Average Number of Hands Employed.

Year.

No.Es- tablish- ments.

Capital.

Males

Above

16 Years.

Females

Above

15 Years.

Children

Youths.

Total Amount Paid in Wages During the Year.

Value of Materials.

Value of Products.

1850

2.923 3,157

$ 8,576,607 20,034,220

14,880

928

1860

1870 1880

11,871 8,592

72,507,844

54,200

5,474

5,566 4,321

$ 4,692,648 6,669,916 31,055,445 24,309,716

$ 12,798,351 23,849,941 115,533,269 110,798,392

$ 24,324,418 41,782,731 206,213,429 165,386,205

The products of the principal lines of manufacturing inter- ests, for the year 1880, are as follows: flouring and grist mills, $32,438,831 ; slaughtering and meat packing, $14,628,630; tobac- co, $6,810,719; iron, steel, etc., $5,154,090; liquors, distilled and malt, $5,575,607; clothing, $4,409,376; lumber, $6,533,253; bag- ging and bags, $2,597,395; saddlery and harness, $3,976,175; oil, $851,000; foundry and machine shop products, $6,798,832; printing and publishing, $4,452,962 ; sugar and molasses, $4,475,- 740; boots and shoes, $1,982,993; furniture, $2,380,562; paints, $2,825,860; carriages and wagons, $2,483,738; marble and stone works, $1,003,544; bakery products, $3,250,192; brick and tile, $1,602,522; tinware, copper ware and sheet-iron ware, $1,687, -. 320; sash, doors and blinds, $1,232,670; cooperage, $1,904,822; agricultural implements, $1,141,822; patent medicines, $1,197,- 090; soap and candles, $1,704,194; confectionery, $1,247,235; drugs and chemicals, $1,220,211 ; gold and silver reduced and re- fined, $4,158,606.

These, together with all other mechanical industries, aggre- gate $165,386,205.

RAILROADS.

Since 1852, when railroad building began in Missouri, be- tween 4,000 and 5,000 miles of track have been laid. Addi- tional roads are now in process of construction, and many others in contemplation. The State is well supplied with railroads which tread her surface in all directions, bringing her remotest districts into close connection with St. Louis, that great center of western commerce. These roads have a capital stock aggre- gating more than $100,000,000, and a funded debt of about the same amount.

18,628

1,053

80,257,244

55,904

3,884

and

HISTORY OF MISSOURI.

The lines of roads which are in operation in the State are as follows :

The Missouri Pacific, chartered May 10, 1850; the St. Louis, Iron Mountain & Southern Railroad, which is a consolidation of the Arkansas branch; the Cairo, Arkansas & Texas Railroad; the Cairo & Fulton Railroad; the Wabash Western Railway; the St. Louis & San Francisco Railway; the Chicago, Alton & St. Louis Railroad; the Hannibal & St. Joseph Railroad; the Mis- souri, Kansas & Texas Railroad; the Kansas City, St. Joseph & Council Bluffs Railroad; the Keokuk & Kansas City Railway Company; the St. Louis, Salem & Little Rock Railroad Company ; the Missouri & Western; the St. Louis, Keokuk & Northwest- ern Railroad; the St. Louis, Hannibal & Keokuk Railroad; the Missouri, Iowa & Nebraska Railway; the Quincy, Missouri & Pacific Railroad; the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific Railway; the Burlington & Southwestern Railroad.

STEAM CRAFT.

In 1880 there were 167 steam crafts owned in Missouri, in- cluding sixty passenger steamers, thirty-seven ferry-boats, thir- teen freight steamers, forty-six tow boats and eleven yachts. Their combined tonnage was 60,873.50; their total value, $2,098,800; their crews numbered 2,733 persons, whose wages amounted to $1,423,375, or an average of $281.13 to each per- son during the season; the number of passengers carried was 642,303; the freight in tons 2,556,815; coal used for fuel, 399,659 tons; wood used for fuel, 25,085 cords; gross earnings of all the steam crafts, $5,560,949.

WEALTH.

The total valuation of Missouri real estate and personal property, according to the census of 1880, was $532,795,801; of which her real estate was valued at $381,985,112, and her personal property at $150,810,689. At that time the bonded debt of the State was $55,446,001; the floating debt, $2,722,941; the gross debt, $58,168,942; the sinking fund, $681,558, and the net debt, $57,487,384.

HISTORY OF MISSOURI.

THE INDIANS.

When Christopher Columbus set sail from the port of Palos, it was with no expectation of finding a new continent, but with the hope of discovering a direct western route to those far-famed Indies whose fabulous riches were the unfailing theme of travel- ers and geographers. Even to the day of his death the illus- trious explorer had no suspicion of having discovered other than the remote islands and shores of the old world, and, accordingly, he called all the inhabitants of the mysterious country "Indians " - a name which has not only outlasted the error of early navi- gators, but is destined to cling to this unhappy race as long as a vestige of it remains. Whence they came, and to what other family of the earth they are allied, or whether they were origi- nally created a distinct people in the forest wilds of America, have been questions much mooted among the learned and unlearned of modern times, but thus far have elicted only hypotheses in reply. The most common supposition is, however, that the Indians are a derivative race, sprung from one of the more ancient people of Asia, and that they came to this continent by way of Behring's Strait, and this, doubtless, is the true theory.

The tribes with whom the first settlers of Missouri came principally in contact were the Pottawattomies, the Iowas, the Kickapoos, the Sacs and the Foxes.

OTHER RACES.

The ancient cities of Central America, judging from their magnificent ruins, consisting of broken columns, fallen arches and the crumbling walls of temples, palaces and pyramids, which, in some places, bestrew the ground for miles, must have been of great extent, magnificent and very populous. When the vast period of time necessary to erect such colossal structures, and the time required to reduce them to their present ruined state are considered, something can be conceived of their antiq- uity. These edifices must have been old before many of the ancient cities of the Orient were built, and they point, without doubt, to a civilization at once considerably advanced and very far removed from the present.

HISTORY OF MISSOURI.

THE MOUND-BUILDERS.

Of a much less degree of culture, but reaching back into an antiquity so remote as to have left behind no vestige of tradi- tion, the Mound-Builders present themselves to the archæologist as a half-civilized people who once occupied Missouri and vari- ous other parts of the country now included in the United States. This pre-historic race has acquired its name from the numerous large mounds of earth left by them. Remains of what were ap- parently villages, altars, temples, idols, burial places, monuments, camps, fortifications and pleasure grounds have been found, but nothing showing that any material save earth was used in the construction of their habitations. At first these works were sup- posed to be of Indian origin, but careful examination has re- vealed the fact that-despite several adverse theories-they must have been reared by a people as distinct from the North Ameri- can Indian as were those later people of Central America. Up- on making excavations in these mounds, human skeletons were found with skulls differing from those of the Indians, together with pottery and various ornaments and utensils, showing con- siderable mechanical skill. From the comparatively nude state of the arts among them, however, it has been inferred that the . time of their migration to this country, if indeed they did mi- grate, was very remote. Their axes were of stone, their raiment, judging from fragments which have been discovered, consisted of the bark of trees interwoven with feathers, and their military works were such as a people would erect who had just passed to the pastoral state of society from that dependent alone upon hunt- ing and fishing. They were, no doubt, idolaters, and it has been conjectured that the sun was the object of their adoration. The mounds were generally built in a situation affording a view of the rising sun; when enclosed in walls their gateways were toward the east; the caves in which their dead were occasionally buried always opened in the same direction; when bodies were buried in graves, as was frequently the case, they were laid in a direction east and west, and, finally, medals have been found representing the sun and his rays of light.

The mounds and other ancient earth-works constructed by this people are far more abundant than is generally supposed,

HISTORY OF MISSOURI.

from the fact that while some are quite large, the greater part of them are small and inconspicuous. Along nearly all the water courses, that are large enough to be navigated by a canoe, the mounds are almost invariably found, so that when one places himself in such positions as to command the grandest river scenery he is almost sure to discover that he is standing upon one of these ancient tumuli, or in close proximity thereto.

St. Louis was originally known as the " Mound City," from the extent and variety of the curious monuments found there, and although these, as well as numbers of others scattered over vari- ous parts of the State, have been defaced or entirely obliterated, Missouri still presents an unusually fruitful field of investigation to the archaeologist. This is particularly true of the southeastern counties, especially in the region of New Madrid.

Mr. Breckenridge, who examined the antiquities of the West in 1817, speaking of the mounds in the Mississippi Valley, says: "I have sometimes been induced to think, that, at the period when they were constructed, there was a population here as nu- merous as that which once animated the borders of the Nile or Euphrates, or of Mexico. I am perfectly satisfied that cities similar to those of ancient Mexico, of several hundred thousand souls, have existed in this country."

EARLY DISCOVERIES AND EXPLORERS.

Ferdinand De Soto, a Spanish cavalier, who had been associ- ated with Pizarro in the conquet of Peru, but whose ambition and cupidity were only increased by his success in that country, determined to possess himself also of the boundless wealth re- puted to lie hidden in the mines of Florida. Undismayed by the fate of other adventurers, he equipped at his own expense a band of 700 men, or more, and landed in Tampa Bay, in the spring of 1539. Thence, in spite of hostile Indians, he forced his way to the northwest, and, although not finding gold or precious stones, he made himself immortal as the discoverer, in 1541, of the Mississippi River. The point at which De Soto first saw the Mississippi was at the lower Chickasaw Bluffs, a few miles below Memphis. There he constructed boats, and, after crossing the stream, proceeded up its west bank, and made his way into the re-

HISTORY OF MISSOURI.

gion now known as New Madrid, in Missouri. At this point therefore, and at this time, the first European set foot on the soil of Missouri. In 1542, overcome by disease, privation and dis- couragement, De Soto died, and those of his followers who re- mained, having secretly sunk his body in the Mississippi, lest the Indians should discover his death, floated down the river to the Gulf of Mexico, and returned to their homes. The design of the expedition had been conquest as a means of acquiring gold, and it left behind no traces of civilization.

MARQUETTE.

While Spain had turned her attention to the conquest of Mexico, South America, the West Indies and Florida, and En- glish colonists had made feeble beginnings in Virginia and New England, the French, advancing still farther north, had possessed themselves of the St. Lawrence River, and were fast pushing their way into the interior by way of the great lakes. Jacques Marquette, a Jesuit missionary, belonging to an ancient family of France, arrived in Canada at a time when the public mind was much exercised upon the subject of exploring the Mississippi River. A plan of operations was accordingly arranged, and Louis Joliet, a native of Canada, joined Father Marquette at the Jesuit mission on the Straits of Mackinaw, and with five other Frenchmen and a simple outfit, the daring explorers, on the 17th of May, 1673, set out on their perilous voyage to re-discover the great river. Coasting along the northern shore of Lake Mich- igan they entered Green Bay, and passed thence up Fox River and Lake Winnebago to a village of the Muscatines ("Mascou- tens") and Miamis, where great interest was taken in the expe- dition by the natives. Procuring guides they proceeded up the river. Arriving at a portage between the Fox and Wisconsin, they soon carried their light canoes and scanty baggage to the latter stream, about three miles distant. Their guides now refused to accompany them further, and endeavored, by reciting the dangers incident to the voyage, to induce them to return. They stated that huge demons dwelt in the great river, whose voices could be heard a long distance, and who engulfed in the raging waters all who came within their reach. They also rep-

HISTORY OF MISSOURI.

resented that if any of them should escape the dangers of the river, fierce tribes of Indians dwelt upon its banks ready to com- plete the work of destruction. The explorers proceeded on their journey, however, and on the 17th of June, with joy inexpressi- ble, pushed their frail barks out on the bosom of the stately Mis- sissippi, 132 years after its first discovery by De Soto. Journey- ing down the mysterious stream, which Marquette named the "Conception," they passed the mouth of the Illinois, Missouri and Ohio, landing at various places, and, after proceeding up the Arkansas a short distance, at the advice of the natives, they turned their faces northward. After several weeks of hard toil they reached the Illinois, up which stream they proceeded to Lake Michigan, and entered Green Bay in September of the same year, having traveled a distance of 2,500 miles in a little more than four months.

LA SALLE.

About the time of Marquette's return, Robert de La Salle, a native of Normandy, set about discovering a northwest passage to China and Japan, the scientific men of that time generally coinciding in the belief that such a passage existed in the direc- tion of the Great Lakes. He was accompanied from France by an Italian named Tonti, and was joined in his enterprise by Louis Hennepin, a Franciscan friar of a bold and ambitious disposi- tion. After various hindrances and perils, they arrived at the present site of Peoria on the Illinois River, where they built a fort, which, on account of their many vicissitudes, they named Creve Coeur, or Broken Heart. There they separated, Hennepin turning northward to discover, if possible, the source of the Mis- sissippi; La Salle, after visiting Canada, to perfect his arrange- ments, descending that river in search of its mouth, and Tonti remaining at Creve Coeur in command of men and supplies left at that point. La Salle reached the junction of the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers, in February, 1682, and, on the 5th of April fol- lowing, passed safely through one of the three channels by which the latter stream discharges its waters into the Gulf of Mexico. Three days afterward, with the most imposing ceremonies, La Salle took formal possession of the country in the name of Louis XIV, the reigning king of France, in whose honor he named it

HISTORY OF MISSOURI.

Louisiana. The region thus acquired by the French embraced territory on both sides of the Mississippi, and, comprising rather indefinite limits, included the present States of Louisiana, Mis- sissippi, Tennessee, Arkansas and Missouri.

La Salle subsequently returned to Canada, thence to France, and led an expedition to the Gulf of Mexico for the purpose of entering the Mississippi at its mouth, and establishing settle- ments in Louisiana. Being unable to find the mouth of the river, he landed upon the coast of Texas, and, after some fruitless wan- derings, was shot by one of his own disaffected followers. How- ever, he had effectually opened the way for the French occupancy of the Mississippi Valley.

EARLY SETTLEMENTS.

Within a few years after the death of La Salle forts and colo- nies were located at Biloxi Bay, Mobile, Natchez, New Orleans and other points farther north. It is a fact worthy of notice that the first French settlements, all of which were projected in the in- terest of gold and silver mining, were confined entirely to the . eastern bank of the river. It was not until 1705 that the Mis- souri River was explored as far as the mouth of the Kansas.

In 1720 Renault, the son of a French iron founder, came to Louisiana for the purpose of engaging in gold and silver mining. He brought with him from France 200 miners and artificers, and purchased 500 slaves at the island of St. Domingo. Pro- ceeding up the Mississippi River, he established himself at Fort Chartres, about ten or fifteen miles above the present site of Ste. Genevieve, on the opposite bank of the stream. From this point he dispatched miners to "prospect" for the precious metals, and they crossed the river to the west bank, and explored what is now Ste. Genevieve County. Although Renault failed to discover either gold or silver, he found lead ore in great abundance, and having built rude furnaces for smelting it, conveyed it on pack- horses to Fort Chartres, and thence by boat to New Orleans and France.

The date of the actual settlement of Ste. Genevieve is dis- puted by historians, though all agree that it was the first in the State of Missouri. There is some evidence to support the theory

HISTORY OF MISSOURI.

that there might have been inhabitants at this place as early as 1735. The cultivation of tobacco, indigo, rice and silk had al- ready been introduced into the southern part of the province of Louisiana, the lead mines of Missouri were opened, and the cul- ture of wheat was commenced in Illinois. In the meantime the French were firmly establishing their power in the Northwest. By the middle of the eighteenth century (1750) they had control of all the water routes leading from the great lakes to the valley of the Mississippi. They had more than sixty military stations from Lake Ontario by way of Green Bay and the Illinois River, the Wabash and Maumee Rivers, down the Mississippi to New Orleans.

FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR.

The French had formed the grand design of establishing a magnificent empire in the interior of the continent, which should have abundant and uninterrupted intercourse with the outside world by means of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence and Mississippi Rivers. The English, whose colonies were scattered up and down on the Atlantic coast, claimed the right to extend their possessions as far westward as they chose. As long as the latter nation confined itself to the eastern part of the country there was little reason for controversy. As soon, however, as the English became acquainted with the beautiful and fertile Mis- sissippi Valley, they not only learned the value of the vast terri- tory, but also resolved to set up a counter-claim to the soil. The French, besides establishing numerous military and trading posts from the frontiers of Canada to New Orleans, in order to confirm their claims to jurisdiction over the country, had carved the lilies of France on the forest trees, or sunk plates of metal in the ground. These measures did not, however, deter the English from going on with their explorations; and though neither party resorted to arms, yet the conflict was gathering, and it was only a question of time when the storm should burst upon the frontier settlement. The French based their claims upon discoveries, the English on grants of territory extending from ocean to ocean, but neither party paid the least attention to the prior claims of the Indians. From this position of affairs, it was evident that actual collision between the contending parties would not much

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History of Hickory, Polk, Cedar, Dade, and Barton counties, Missouri, Part 4

Author: Goodspeed, firm, publishers, Chicago (1886-1891, Goodspeed Publishing Co.) Publication date: 1889 Publisher: Chicago, The Goodspeed publishing co. Number of Pages: 998

Author: Goodspeed, firm, publishers, Chicago (1886-1891, Goodspeed Publishing Co.)
Publication date: 1889
Publisher: Chicago, The Goodspeed publishing co.
Number of Pages: 998