USA > Missouri > Howard County > History of Howard and Chariton Counties, Missouri : written and compiled from the most official authentic and private sources, including a history of its townships, towns, and villages, together with a condensed history of Missouri > Part 36
USA > Missouri > Chariton County > History of Howard and Chariton Counties, Missouri : written and compiled from the most official authentic and private sources, including a history of its townships, towns, and villages, together with a condensed history of Missouri > Part 36
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In the lower or southern extremity of this bintl is a eavern of con- siderable extent, known as Robbers' Cave, and recognized as a point of no small interest, from the fact of its having been the lurking place of a notorious robber by the name of John Carey, who flourished in this loeality about thirty years ago.
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HISTORY OF HOWARD AND CHARITON COUNTIES.
In the southeast part of the county, near Forest Green, is an inex- haustible mine of tire clay or cement, which has not yet been fully developed. This clay is used by many for plastering, being preferred for this purpose to ordinary lime and sand mortar. For the manufac- ture of pottery it is generally conceded to be superior to the ordinary fire clay found elsewhere, as above mentioned.
FAUNA AND FLORA OF HOWARD AND CHARITON COUNTIES.
The names and a carefully prepared list of the animals of a country, state, or county, are always of interest to the inhabitants, especially so to the scientist and student of natural history. After inquiring into the political and civil history of a country, we then turn with pleasure to the investigation of its natural history, and of the animals which inhabited it prior to the advent of man ; their habits and the means of their subsistence become a study. Some were animals of prey, others harmless, and subsisted upon vegetable matter. The early animals of this portion of the State ranged over a wide field, and those which inhabited the prairie and timbered regions of the Missouri river, and its tributaries, differ but little materially as to species. Of the ruminating animals that were indigenous in this territory, we had the American elk and deer of two kinds ; the more common, the well known American deer, and the white tailed deer. And at a period not very remote, the American buffalo found pastures near the allu- vial and shaded banks of the Missouri and Chariton rivers, and the plains and prairies of this portion of the State. The heads, horns and bones of the slain animals were still numerous in 1820. The black bear were quite numerous even in the memory of the older settlers. Bears have been seen in Howard and Chariton within the last thirty , years. The gray wolf and prairie wolf are not unfrequently found, as is also the gray fox, which still exists by its superior cunning. The panther was occasionally met with in the earlier times, and still later and more common, the wild cat, the weasel, one or more species ; the mink, American otter, the skunk, the badger, the raccoon and the opossum. The two latter species of animals are met with in every portion of the United States and the greater part of North America. The coon skin among the early settlers was regarded as a legal tender. The bear and otter are extinet in the counties, and were valuable for their furs. Of the squirrel family, we have the fox, gray, flying, ground and prairie squirrel. The woodchuck and the common musk-
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HISTORY OF HOWARD AND CHARITON COUNTIES.
rat were numerous here. The bats, shrews, and moles are common. Of the muridae, we have the introductory species of rats and mice, as also the native meadow mouse, and the long-tailed jumping mouse, frequently met with in the clearings. Hares, commonly called rabbits. are very plentiful. Several species of the native animals have -per- ished, being unable to endure the presence of civilization, or finding the food congenial to their tastes appropriated by stronger races. Many of the pleasures, dangers, and excitements of the chase are only known and enjoyed by most of us of the present day through the talk and traditions of the past. The buffalo and the elk have passed the Rocky Mountains to the westward, never more to return. Of birds. inay be mentioned the following : Among the game birds most sought after, are the wild turkey and prairie hen, which afford excellent sport for the hunter, and have been quite plentiful ; primated grouse, ruffled grouse, quail, woodcock, English snipe. red breasted snipe, telltale stipe, yellow legs, marbled godwin, long-bitted curlew, short-bitted curlew, Virginia rail, * American swan, trumpeter swan, snow goose, Canada goose, brant, mallard, black duck, pintail duck, green-winged teel, blue-winged teel, shoveler, American pigeon, summer or wood duck, red-headed dnek, canvass back duck, butter ball, hooded mug- ansor, rough billed pelican, the lorn, kildeer, plover, ball head, vel- low legged and upland plover, white heron, great blue heron, bittern. sandhill erane, wild pigeon, common dove, American raven, common crow, blue jay, bobolink, red-winged blackbird, meadow lark, golden oriole, yellow bird. snow bird, chipping sparrow, field sparrow, swamp sparrow, indigo bird, cardinal red bird, cheewink, white-billed nuthatch, mocking bird, cat bird, brown thrush, house wren, barn swallow, bank swallow, blue martin, cedar bird, searlet tanager, sum- mer red bird ( robin came less than forty years ago), blue bird, king bird, perver, belted kingfisher, whippoorwill, night hawk, chimney swallow, ruby throated humming bird, hairy woodpecker, dowuy woodpecker, redheaded woodpecker, golden winged woodpecker, Carolina parrot, great horned owl, barred owl, snowy owl, turkey buzzard, pigeon hawk, swallow-tailed hawk, Mississippi kite, red- tailed hawk, bald eagle, and ring-tailed eagle.
Many of the above named animals and birds, are no longer to be found within the limits of these counties. 1 may say within the limits of the State. Some of them are now extinct, and some disap-
* We state, upon the authority of Judge Jno. M. Davis, that the little lakes on Chariton river, above old Chariton, were full of swans from 1820 to 1830.
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HISTORY OF HOWARD AND CHARITON COUNTIES.
peared with the Indian, upon the advance of civilization. The bald eagle was often seen by the early settlers on the Chariton river, : along the banks of which, in the tallest timber, it built its nest, and brooded its young for many years after the first settlements were made.
FLORA.
God might have bade the earth bring forth, Enough for great and small, The oak tree and the cedar tree, Without a flower at all. He might have made enough, enough For every want of our- :
!
For luxury, medicine and toil, And yet have made no fiowers. Our outward life requires them not --- Then wherefore have they birth? To minister delight to man, To beautify the earth ; To comfort man - to whisper hope, Whene'er his faith is dim : For whoso careth for the flower, Will much more care for him.
In speaking of the flora it is not our purpose to treat exhaustively on the plants of the respective counties, but rather to give a list of the native trees and grasses found within their limits. .. Mere cata- logues of plants growing in any locality," says a learned writer, " might, without a little reflection, be supposed to possess but little value," a supposition which would be far from the truth. The intelli- gent farmer looks at once to the native vegetation as a sure indication of the value of new lands. The kind of timber growing in a given locality will decide the qualities of the soil for agricultural purposes. The cabinet-maker and the wheel-wright, and all other workmen in wood, will find what materials are at hand to answer their purpose. Upou the tlora of these counties, civilization has produced its inevit- able effect. As the Indian and buffalo have disappeared before the white man, so have some of the native grasses been vanquished by the white clover and the blue grass. Below we add a list of
NATIVE WOODY PLANTS.
Rock sugar maple,
Choke cherry,
Kentucky coffee nut,
Black
Black cherry,
Butternut, 2
Soft
Cabinet cherry,
Walnut,
Silver leaf
False dogwood, Red cedar,
HISTORY OF HOWARD AND CHARITON COUNTIES,
391
Ash leaf maple Boxelder,
Kinnickiniek, Pigeon berry,
Woodbine,
Mulberry,
Stinking buckeye,
Red osier,
Moonseed,
Smooth leaf alder,
Hazelnut,
Hophorn beam,
True semice berry, False indigo shrub, Lead plant,
Hawthorn,
Iron wood,
Shagbark hickory,
Buttonwood,
Shell bark
Sycamore,
Virginia creeper,
White heart
Quaking ash,
Pawpaw,
Pignut 66
Aspen,
Red birch,
Leather wood,
Poplar,
Blue birch,
Wahoo,
Cottonwood,
Red root,
Strawberry tree,
Cotton tree,
Judas tree,
White ash,
Wild plum,
Red bud,
Green "
Crab apple,
False bitter sweet,
Black "
Buffalo berry,
Wax work,
Blue 66
Greenbriar,
Hackberry,
Honey locust,
Vinebark spiræa,
Button bush,
Witch hazel,
Hardhack willow spiræa,
White oak,
Poisoning,
Wood bladdernut,
Swamp white oak,
Prickly gooseberry,
Coral berry,
Swamp chestnut oak, Smooth 66
Trumpet creeper,
Laurel leať oak,
Swamp
Bass wood,
Black jack oak,
Black currant,
Hickory elm,
Yellow bark oak,
Prairie rose,
Red
Scarlet oak,
Wood rose,
White
Red oak,
Silky head willow,
Cork
Swamp Spanish oak, Pin oak,
Black
Arrow wood,
Elderberry,
Joint
Summer grape,
Sassafras,
Brittle
Frost
Black locust.
Cone
Spice bush,
Blackberry,
Red raspberry,
Prickly ash.
Black raspberry,
Sumach,
Post oak,
Climbing poison vine, Rattle box,
Burr oak,
We have treated particularly of the more valuable woods used in the mechanic arts, and the grasses, plants and vegetables and flowers most beneficial to man, and particularly those which are natives of these counties. The plants are many and rare, some for beauty and
Rose willow, "
Black haw,
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HISTORY OF HOWARD AND CHARITON COUNTIES.
some for medicine. The pink root, the columbo, the ginseng, bone- set, pennyroyal, and others are used as herbs for medicine. Plants of beauty are phlox, the lily, the ascelpias, the mints, golden rod, the eye- bright, gerardia, and hundreds more that adorn the meadows and brook sides ; besides, are climbing vines, the trumpet creeper, the bitter sweet, the woodbine, the clematis and the grape, which fill the woods with gay festoons, and add grace to many a decaying monarch of the forest. Here are found the oak with at least its twenty varieties, the hickory with as many more species. the thirty kinds of elm, from the sort that bears leaves as large as a man's hand to the kind which bear a leaf scarcely larger than a man's thumb nail ; the black oak, so tall and straight and beautiful, is here, the hackberry, gum tree, black and sweet, the tulip, the giant cottonwoods, and a hundred more at- test the fertility of the soil and mildness of the climate. The white oak is much used in making furniture and agricultural implements, as are also the panel oak, burr oak, and pin oak. The blue ash is ex- cellent for flooring. The honey locust is a very durable wood, and shrinks less than any other in seasoning. In the above list some plants may be omitted, but we think the list quite complete.
GRASSES.
In speaking of these we purposely exclude the grain plants, those grasses that furnish food for man, and confine ourselves to those val- uable grasses which are adapted to the substance of the inferior ani- mals. Timothy grass, or cat's-tail, naturalized ; red top, or herby grass, nimble will, blue joint, this is a native, and grew upon prairies to the height of a man's head on horseback, orchard grass, Kentucky blue grass, true blue grass, meadow fescue, cheat chess, the reed, the cane, perennial ray grass, sweet-scented vernal grass, bud eanary grass, canary grass, crab grass, smooth panieum, witch grass, barn- yard grass, fox-tail, bottle grass, millet, and broom-beard grass.
Chariton county is one of the most favored localities in the State for the successful growing of forest trees, evergreen trees, apple trees of all varieties, together with peaches, plums, pears, apricots, grapes and small fruits. All kinds of ornamental and shade trees, flowers and hedges grow and flourish with only reasonable care and with a certainty that is not known east or west, north or south. If we go further south the apple will not flourish, if further north the peach is liable to blight ; but here, all are almost sure to do well.
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HISTORY OF HOWARD AND CHARITON COUNTIES.
The lobelia, mint, sassafras and birthwort families furnish many species of plants having valuable medicinal qualities. The lilies, wild roses, cacti, wild honeysuckle, violets, etc., meet the eye in every wood in early spring and summer with a profusion of rare and beau- tiful flowers. There is a great variety of valuable forage grasses, such as blue grass, foxtail grass, timothy, millet, ete. Many species of trees and plants are cultivated with great success which are not mentioned in this list. All kinds of trees, shrubs, grains, and fruits adapted to this latitude and climate can be produced in the greatest profusion and Inxuriance.
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CHAPTER III.
CUSTOMS OF EARLY DAYS.
It is a trite, but true proverb, that, " Times change, and we change with time ;" and this is well illustrated by the changes in dress, con- dition and life, that have taken place in this country, in less than half a century. We doubt not that these changes, as a whole, are for the better. To the old man, indeed, whose life work is accomplished, and whose thoughts dwell mainly on the past, where his treasurers are, there are no days like the old days, and no song awakens so re- sponsive an echo in the heart as " Auld Lang Syne." The very skies that arch above his gray head, seem less blne to his dimmed eye than they did, when in the adoration of his young heart, he directed to them his gaze ; the woods appear less green and inviting, than when in the gayety of boyhood he courted their cool depths, and the songs of their feathered inhabitants fall less melodiously upon his ear. He marks the changes that are very visible, and feels like crying out in the language of the poet ---
" Backward, turn backward, Oh, Time in thy flight."
It is natural for the aged to sigh for a return of the past, nor would we attempt the hopeless task of convincing them, that with the changes of the years, there have come an increase in happiness, an improvement in social life, a progress in education, an advancement in morality and a tendency upward in all that relates to the welfare of mankind.
We may learn lessons, however, from a study of that land over which the pardonable and fond imagination of the old settler has thrown the " light that never was on sea or land," if, withdrawing ourselves from the activities of the present, we let the old settler take us by the hand and lead us back into the regions of his youth, that we may observe the life of those who founded a great empire in a great wilderness.
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HISTORY OF HOWARD AND CHARITON COUNTIES.
Let us leave the prow of the wishing ship, from which may be discerned a mighty future, rich in promise, and bright with hope, and take our place upon the stern, and gaze backward into the beautiful land of the past.
No doubt, we shall be led to regret the absence among us of some of the virtues of those who lived in the early days. Gone is that free-hearted hospitality, which made of every settler's cabin an inn, where the belated and weary traveller found entertainment without money and without price. Gone is that community of senti- ment which made neighbors indeed neighbors ; that era of kindly feeling which was marked by the almost entire absence of litigation. Gone, too, some say, is that simple, strong, upright, honest integrity. which was so marked a characteristic of the pioneer. So rapid has been the improvement in machinery, and the progress in the arts and their application to the needs of man, that a study of the manner in which people lived and worked only fifty years ago, seems like the study of a remote age.
It is important to remember, that while a majority of the settlers were poor, poverty carried with it no erushing sense of degrada- tion, like that felt by the very poor of our age. They lived in : cabin 'tis true, but it was their own. and had been reared by their own hands. Their home, too, while inconvenient and far from water- proof, was built in the prevailing style of architecture, and compared favorably with the homes of their neighbors. They were destitute of many of the conveniences of life, and of some things that are now considered necessaries ; but they patiently endured their lot and hope- fully looked forward to brighter days. They had plenty to wear as a protection against the weather, and an abundance of wholesome food. They sat down to a rude table to eat from tin or pewter dishes : but the meat thereon - the flesh of the deer or bear, of the wild duck or turkey, of the quail or squirrel -- was superior to that we eat, and had been won by the skill of the settler or that of his vigorous sons. The bread they ate. was made from corn or wheat of their own rais- ing. They walked the green carpet of grand prairie or forest that surrounded them, not with the air of a beggar, but with the elastic step of a self-respected freeman.
The settler brought with him the keen axe, which was indispensa- ble, and the equally necessary rifle - the first his weapon of offene .. against the forests that skirted the water courses, and near which he made his home - the second that of defence from the attacks of his
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HISTORY OF HOWARD AND CHARITON COUNTIES.
foe, the cunning child of the forest and the prairie. His first labor was to fell trees and erect his unpretentious cabin, which was rudely made of logs, and in the raising of which he had the cheerful aid of his neighbors. It was usually from fourteen to sixteen feet square, and never larger than twenty feet, and very frequently built entirely without glass, nails, hinges or locks. The manner of building was as follows : First, large logs were laid in position as sills ; on these were placed strong sleepers, and on the sleepers were laid the rough-hewed puncheons, which were to serve as floors. The logs were then built up till the proper height for the eaves were reached, then on the ends of the building were placed poles, longer than the other end logs, which projected some eighteen or more inches over the sides, and were called " butting-pole sleepers ; " on the projecting ends of these was placed the " butting pole," which served to give the line to the first row of clap-boards. These were, as a matter of course, split, and as the gables of the cabin were built up, were'so laid on as to lap a third of their length. They were often kept in place by the weight of a heavy pole, which was laid across the roof parallel to the ridge pole. The house was then chineked and daubed. A large fire- place was built in at one end of the house, in which fire was kindled for cooking purposes ( for the settlers were without stoves ), and which furnished the needed warmth in winter. The ceiling above was sonie- what covered with the pelts of the raccoon, opossum and of the wolf, to add to the warmth of the dwelling. Sometimes the soft inner bark of the bass wood was used for the same purpose. The cabin was lighted by means of greased paper windows. A log would be left out along one side, and sheets of strong paper well greased with " coon " grease or bear oil, would be carefully tacked in.
The above description only applies to the earliest times, before the buzzing of the saw-mill was heard within our borders. The fur- niture comported admirably with the house itself, and hence, if not elegant, was in perfect taste. The tables had four legs, and were rudely made from a puncheon. Their seats were stools, having three or four legs. The bedstead was in keeping with the rest, and was often so contrived as to permit it to be drawn up and fastened to the wall during the day, thus affording more room for the family. The entire furniture was simple, and was framed with no other tools than an axe and anger. Each man was his own carpenter, and some dis- played considerable ingenuity in the construction of implements of agriculture and utensils and furniture for the kitchen and house.
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HISTORY OF HOWARD AND CHARITON COUNTIES.
Knives and forks they sometimes bad and sometimes had not. The common table knife was the jack-knife or buteher knife. Horse collars were sometimes made of the plaited husk of the maize, sewed to- gether. They were easy on the neck of the horse, and, if tug traces were used, would last a long time. Horses were not used very much however, as oxen were almost exclusively used. In some instances carts and wagons were constructed or repaired by the self-reliant set- tler, and the wonderful ereakings of the untarred axles could be heard at a great distance.
The women corresponded well with the virtuous women spoken of in the last chapter of Proverbs, for they " sought wool and flax and worked willingly with their hands." They did not, it is true, make for themselves " coverings of tapestry," nor could it be said of them that their " clothing was silk and purple ; " but they " rose while it was yet night and gave meat to their household," and they " girded their loins with strength and strengthened their arms." " They looked well to the ways of their household and ate not the bread of idleness." They laid " their hands to the spindle and to the distaff" and " strength and honor were in their clothing." In these days of furbelows and flounces, of lace and velvet trimmings, when from twenty to thirty yards are required by one fair damsel for a dress, it is refreshing to know that the ladies of that ancient time considered eight yards an extravagant amount to put into one dress. The dress was usually made plain, with four widths in the skirt and two front ones cut gored. The waist was made very short, and across the shoulders behind was a draw string. The sleeves were enor- monsly large and tapered from shoulder to wrist, and the most fash- ionable - for fashion, like love, rules alike the " court and grove " - were padded so as to resemble a bolster at the upper part, and were known as " mutton legs " or " sheep shank sleeves." The sleeve was kept in shape often by a heavily starched lining. Those who could afford it used feathers, which gave the sleeve the appearance of an inflated balloon from elbow up, and were known as " pillow sleeves." Many bows and ribbons were worn, but scarcely any jew- elry. The tow-dress was superseded by the cotton gown. Around the neek, instead of a laee collar or elegant ribbon, there was ar- ranged a copperas colored neckerchief. In going to church or other publie gathering, in summer weather, they sometimes walked bare- footed, till near their destination, when they put on their shoes or moccasins. They were contented and even happy without any of the
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HISTORY OF HOWARD AND CHARITON COUNTIES.
elegant articles of apparel now used by ladies, and considered neces- sary articles of dress. Ruffles, fine laces, silk hats, kid gloves, false curls, rings, combs, and jewels were nearly unknown, nor did the lack of them vex their souls. Many of them were grown before they ever saw the interior of a dry goods store. They were reared in sim- plicity, lived in simplicity and were happy in simplicity. It may be interesting to speak more specifically regarding cookery and diet. Wild meat was plentiful. The settlers generally brought some food with them to last till a crop could be raised. Small patches of Indian corn were grown, which, in the earliest days of the settlement, were beaten in a mortar. The meal was made into a coarse but wholesome bread, on which the teeth could not be very tightly shut on account of the grit it contained.
Johnny-cake and pones were served up at dinner, while mush and milk made the favorite dish for supper. In the fire-place hung the crane, and the Dutch oven was used in baking. The streams abounded in fishes, which formed a healthful article of food. Many kinds of greens, such as dock and poke, were eaten. The " truck patch " furnished roasting ears, pumpkins, beans, squashes, and potatoes, and these were used by all. For reaping-bees, log-rollings and house- raisings, the standard dish was pot-pie. Coffee and tea were used sparingly, as they were very dear, and the hardy pioneer thought them fit only for women and children. They said they would not .. stick to the ribs." Maple sugar was much used and honey was only five cents a pound. Butter was the same price, while eggs were only three cents a dozen. The utmost good feeling prevailed. If one killed hogs, all shared. Chickens were to be seen in great numbers around every doorway, and the gobble of the turkey and the quack of the duck were heard in the land. Nature contributed of her fruits. Wild grapes and plums were to be found in their season along the streams. The women manufactured nearly all the clothing worn by the family. In cool weather gowns made of " linsey-woolsey " were worn by the ladies. The chain was of cotton and the filling of wool. The fabric was usually plaid or striped, and the different colors were blended according to the taste of the fair maker. Colors were blue, copperas, turkey red, light blue, etc. Every house contained a card- loom and spinning wheel, which were considered by the women as necessary for them as a rifle was for the men. Several different kinds of cloth were made. Cloth was woven from cotton. The rolls were bought and spun on little and big wheels into two kinds of
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