USA > Missouri > Jackson County > History of Jackson County, Missouri > Part 18
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Col. Bartleson, Gov. Boggs, Joab Powell, Jim Baxter, Tom Rule and a host of the first pioneers of this region, long years ago chased that vanishing phantom land over the western plains, the snowy range, the Sierra Nevadas, and lost sight of it forever in the broad Pacific. Only one of the number, as far as I know, holds on to the chase, poor Tom Rule, who used to preach a pretty fair backwoods hardshell sermon, and boasted that with only hickory withes and a jack-knife he could make a very good wagon, refused to be comforted or give up the chase after his beloved "Far West."
Only last year I met him on Grand Avenue mounted on a mountain
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mustang, his face, what little of it could be seen besides hair, looking very much like a small piece of buffalo meat, and with hair standing out like porcupine quills. He was spurring and belaboring his jaded mustang in an easterly direction, evidently, as I conjectured, bound to head off his favorite "Far West" as it came 'round the world from sun-rise; he may have given up the chase however at old Davy Burges', where he expected to spend the night. The panorama which has been unrolled before the eyes of old settlers who still survive, by the westward rolling wave of civilization and empire, has been so rapid and wonderful that we may with propriety exclaim : "A nation is born in a day."
The very ground upon which we now stand was only a few years ago a wild uncultivated wilderness, now transformed as if by magic into the busy, crowded, proud city we see it today. Truly, "the wilderness and the solitary place have blossomed like the rose." Let us endeavor to re- call some of the features of the landscape then and now. A clearing or old field of a few acres lying on the high ridge between Main and Wyan- dotte, and Second and Fifth streets, made and abandoned by a mountain trapper. A few old, girdled, dead trees standing in the field, surrounded by a dilapidated rail fence. Around on all sides a dense forest, the ground covered with impenetrable brush, vines, fallen timber and deep impassable gorges. A narrow, crooked roadway winding from Twelfth and Walnut streets, along down on the west side of the deep ravine toward the river, across the Public Square to the river at the foot of Grand avenue.
A narrow, difficult path, barely wide enough for a single horseman, running up and down the river under the bluff, winding its way around fallen timber and deep ravines. An old log house on the river bank at the foot of Main street, occupied by a lank, cadaverous, specimen of human- ity, named Ellis, with one blind eye and the other on a sharp lookout for stray horses, straggling Indians and squatters, with whom to swap a tin- cup of whisky for a coon skin. Another old, dilapidated log cabin below the Pacific depot. Two or three small clearings and cabins in the Kaw bottom, now called West Kansas, which were houses of French mountain trappers. The rest of the surroundings was the still solitude of the na- tive forest, unbroken, only by the snort of the darting deer, the barking of the squirrel, the howl of the wolf, the settler's cow-bell and mayhap the distant baying of the hunter's dog, or the sharp report of his rifle.
This, my old compeers, is a brief and imperfect outline of the place in which we now meet, and which many of us will recognize as it appeared
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to us then. I need not attempt to describe the picture as it appears to us now. It is spread out before us. The ceaseless hum of the busy, restless multitude, the rumble and clatter of a hundred locomotives and trains and a thousand vehicles of all degrees. The continual scream of the steam whistle and a thousand other sounds all contribute to make up a medley of discordant music, far different from that once heard by us around the "old field," from the sonorous cow-bell and the melancholy howl of the wolf, and tells us unmistakably, that something has happened in the neighborhood of the "old field," and we are confirmed in the con- viction, when we look around us-miles of crowded thoroughfares lined with stately, magnificent buildings, the court house, the opera house, the towering Broadway and other hotels; the church spires and schools, and the greatest monument of genius and enterprise, the great iron bridge spanning the river, in short a wilderness of houses has crowded in and taken the place of the venerable six thousand year old forest once cloth- ing these hills.
Well, my dear old friends, have you become accustomed and recon- ciled to the scenes which now surround us? They call it progress and manifest destiny and all that. We have this day called a halt at our mile- stone, to take a look backward along the line of march, and this reminds me that this writing was designed to be a short historical sketch of men and events, which were notable in this region forty years ago. As a his- torical sketch I confess it is a failure thus far, and without spinning my yarn to a length which would probably put some of my friends to dozing, I cannot do more now than to make a brief mention of a few of those historical facts.
The treaties between the United States government and the Osage and Kansas Indians, ratified in 1825, extinguished the Indian title to all the country lying in western Missouri, and what is now the State of Kan- sas, except the reservations for these two tribes situated in the latter State. These treaties opened the border counties lying in Missouri terri- tory for the settlement of the whites, and the people were not slow to avail themselves of the privilege; consequently in 1825 the first settlers entered this county.
Fort Osage (Sibley), situated on the river near the northeast corner of the county of Jackson, was established in 1803 by Merriweather Lewis, the first Governor of Louisiana after its purchase, and continued as a military and trading post until the country was settled. Before 1825, Francis Chouteau, father of P. M., and brother of Cyprien Chouteau,
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both now of Kansas City, had a trading post on the south bank of the river about three miles below the city. In 1826 every vestige of his im- provements was swept away by the great flood which occurred in the Missouri River that year. This flood made a clear sweep of all improve- ments situated in the bottoms, but was no higher than that of 1844-and this reminds me that perhaps P. M. Chouteau, the present city collector, is the oldest resident, still living, in this county although not an old man. The county seat was located, and the town of Independence begun in 1827. When I passed through the town four years afterward, the square was thickly studded with stumps of trees. Westport was laid off into lots in 1833, J. C. McCoy, proprietor. Westport Landing is situated about three miles north of the town on the river, and has grown to be a place of considerable importance. A town was laid off there which was named Kansas City first in the year 1839, but the proprietors of the ground dis- agreed in some particulars and the town made but little progress until 1846, when it was laid out on a larger scale a second time (not with a grape vine), since which time it has been increasing with varying pros- pects.
But my friends I find that the historical part of this sketch must be curtailed. Your patience is doubtless already exhausted, and the space I ought in decency to claim has more than been exhausted, and I beg leave, therefore, to wind up my uninteresting yarn very rapidly, taking no thought of my going. I will in addition merely mention some of the most interesting and important events which now occur to me which have transpired in this county, viz :
The first advent of Mormons, 1830.
The Mormon war and expulsion, 1833.
The great flood in the Missouri, 1844.
The Osage war, 1836.
This little war has been overlooked by modern historians, not even mentioned by them for the last thirty years. I will at some future time try to rescue from oblivion the heroes and daring deeds of that glorious campaign. Suffice it now only to say that it was a military raid from the border against the Osage Indians. Some of those ruthless savages committed murder upon several hogs belonging to settlers near West- port. The command numbered 560 officers and men, consisting of one major-general, two brigadiers, four colonels, besides lieutenant colonels, majors, captains, lieutenants, chaplains, surgeons, etc., ad infinitum, be- ing 98 officers to command 432 privates. It is needless to tell you that
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the expedition was a success. Old Girand's squaws, paposses, and six other savages, if still living, have a sorrowful recollection that the way of the transgressor is hard. I will take occasion ere long to sharpen my pen and chronicle a few of the interesting facts connected with that famous war, but for the present, my old friends, I beg that you will allow me to close this hastily written, imperfect sketch to permit those of you who have fallen asleep during its delivery to wake up, and with a heart- felt expression of the hope that we all may meet again, if not here amid the transitory, vanishing scenes of earthly conflict, at least in that better land where weary, way-worn travelers may forever be at rest.
J. C. McCOY.
A meeting of Old Settlers was held in Kansas City the latter part of March, 1872. There was a large attendance of members of the society, the men who first broke the sod of Jackson County, and those who drew from the bowels of the earth the first fruits of the abundance that has since given its fertile fields the proud name they now bear. On account of the absence of the president, the vice-president of the association, Dr. Lykins, called the meeting to order, and in a short address announced its objects, which were to take what further steps were necessary to perfect their organization and to make the beginning of an authentic history of the county.
The proceedings of the first meeting, held at Kansas City, December 30, 1871, was ordered read, but owing to some oversight they had been left and their reading was therefore dispensed with.
Addresses were delivered by E. A. Hickman, J. J. Robinson and others; on motion of Mr. E. A. Hickman, Dr. Waldo was requested to write up the history of the Santa Fe trade.
The following new members were announced. The dates after each name indicate the time at which they first became settlers. Alexander Harris, November, 1839; David Waldo, May, 1828; James D. Meador, January, 1845; Redmon G. Silvers, born, May, 1833; Samuel Ralston, October, 1842; Thos. B. Swearingen, born, November, 1843; Benjamin F. Wallace, October, 1833; Beverly Todd, 1844; Samuel Robinson, born, November, 1833; John Lewis, July, 1830; William McCoy, June, 1838; Edwin P. Hickman, November, 1830; James B. Yager, June, 1837; John Dickey, March, 1846; John M. Wallace, October, 1833; John C. Wallace, May, 1843; Wiley M. Aiken, February, 1841; W. T. Mclellan, October, 1844; Porter McLannahan, August, 1841; Edwin A. Hickman, October,
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1840; Reuben Wallace, October, 1833; John Wilson, April, 1834; Redmon D. Mckinney, October, 1825; Hugh L. Dodds, September, 1839; C. R. Barnes, March, 1839; Philip Uhlinger, May, 1840; Martin L. Kritzer, 1838; Jaqueline A. Lobb, October, 1836; J. H. McMurry, October, 1832; Wm. Botts, October, 1841; Benjamin F. Davidson, October, 1844; John W. Smart, July, 1842; John A. Overfelt, September, 1841; Bennett Hale, April, 1833; Amos Allen, October, 1838; Henry C. Owens, born, Feb- ruary, 1838; William Parker, October, 1838; Perry G. Brock, born, March, 1831; Henry C. Parker, November, 1837; J. J. Robinson, Sep- tember, 1843; Lynchburg Adams, October, 1819; W. C. Adams, born, March, 1836.
On motion, David Waldo, E. A. Hickman and the editors of the Inde- pendence papers, with Theo. S. Case, J. C. McCoy, and the editors of the Kansas City press, were appointed a committee to select historical notes.
The following resolution was offered by J. J. Robinson :
Resolved, That we invite all friends to give us short written sketches of any and all of the old or early settlers of Jackson, and of any event ; and that such communications be addressed to the Chairman of our His- torical Committee.
On motion, E. A. Hickman, John Wilson, J. J. Robinson, J. A. Lobb and Henry Parker were appointed a Committee of Arrangements for holding the next meeting of the Society.
It was also carried that a meeting should be held on the 4th of July, on the fair grounds at Independence. The committee were empowered to select speakers and arrange interrogatories for historical facts.
A committee, consisting of Geo. Sinclair, W. C. Adams, Warham Easly, Benj. F. Wallace, were appointed to enroll the names of old set- tlers as members, and forward them to the secretary, after which, and the transaction of some minor business, the Society adjourned.
OLD SETTLER'S RE-UNION AT INDEPENDENCE.
July 4, 1872, was a day long to be remembered by both the young and old of Jackson County-the events of which mark an epoch in the history of the county, over which the most pleasing recollections will ever linger. It was the assembling together of the old settlers-the pio- neers who laid the corner stone of the present magnificent structure, and have been spared to witness its grandeur-who came to this section, some of them half a century ago, when it was a perfect wilderness, in- habited only by the red man.
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They were met also by a younger generation, who, even in this latter day, reverence old age, and had come from every household to do honor to the pioneers of Jackson County.
The weather was all that could be desired-bright, genial, pleasant, and all nature seemed inclined to smile upon the scenes of the day. At an early hour the road leading to the fair ground was literally thronged with wagons, carriages, buggies, horsemen and pedestrians. At a later hour the train from Kansas City augmented the number, until the ample grounds could hold no more.
The gray-haired grandfather and grandmother, familiar with the events of the last century, were there perhaps for the last time-the middle aged man was there with his wife and bouncing children-young men, gallant beaux, blushing damsels-rosy lipped angels and innocent prattling children were all there. The farmer, the mechanic and the pro- fessional man for one day had laid aside business and assembled to honor the old settlers.
The members of the I. O. O. F. of Independence had formed in pro- cession, preceded by the band, and followed by an array of children, marched to the grounds, where the first order of the day was the recep- tion of the Kansas City delegation, after which a number of old settlers formed in line inside the amphitheater. Then followed an eloquent ad- dress in behalf of the youth to the Old Settlers by Capt. Turner A. Gill, of Kansas City, responded to in the most appropriate manner by Col. S. H. Woodson, of Independence. A sketch of the life of Dan'l M. Boone, of Jackson County, was given by that venerable old settler, Dr. Johnston Lykins, of Kansas City. A complete sketch of Independence, the county seat of Jackson, was read by John McCoy, of Independence. It was intensely interesting. A sketch of the lives of Judge Brooking, Richard Fristoe and others, was read by Rev. J. J. Robinson, of Raytown, and highly appreciated, as was also a sketch of the lives of S. C. Owen, Small- wood Noland and Sam'l D. Lucas, by Wm. McCoy. The historical sketch of Kansas City, by Jno. C. McCoy, of that place, received, and was de- serving of great praise.
Just before the premiums were awarded, calls were made for Mr. Lynchburg Adams, the oldest settler in the county, who responded in a few interesting, appropriate and touching remarks.
Then came the most interesting event of the day-the awarding of premiums. Mr. Henry Noland and Elizabeth Noland received the ele- gant silver pitcher, as having resided the longest time in the county as
.
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man and wife. They were married on the 11th day of January, 1826, her maiden name being Elizabeth Pitcher-so the old pioneer was a sec- ond time made happy with a Pitcher. In consequence of there being no justice of the peace in the county at that time, the couple were compelled to go to Clay County to have the ceremony performed. They were both Kentuckians, and had lived for forty-six years in this county, as husband and wife.
The splendid silver goblet was awarded to Mr. Lynchburg Adams, as being the oldest settler in the county, having been here nearly fifty- three years.
The presentations were made in a most happy and appropriate man- ner by Hon. A. Comingo, of Independence.
This closed the programme, and the immense throng dispersed, per- fectly satisfied that a pleasant day had been enjoyed, and one that will often be reverted to with feelings of pride and pleasure. The meeting of old friends, who will perhaps see each other no more in human form, the respect paid them by the younger and still younger generation, the happy strains of music, gushing songs, and the delightful repast, all com- bined to render the occasion a peculiarly happy one. May the old settlers of Jackson live to witness many more scenes of a similar nature !
SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF A SON OF DANIEL BOONE.
The following sketch by Dr. Johnston Lykins, of Kansas City, was read at the Old Settlers meeting at the fair grounds, near Independence, July 4, 1872 :
Ladies and Gentlemen of the Old Settlers Association, and Fellow Citizens :
"I am called upon to speak of the life and incidents in the life of the late Daniel Morgan Boone, son of the far-famed pioneer of our sister State, Kentucky. In the discharge of this duty, I can, at present, give but a glance at the character of this strange and wonderful man, whose worth and merit were only understood by his compeers, and whose mem- ory is fast passing away. But I promised, should my life be prolonged, to gather up the facts and events of Daniel M. Boone's life, and place them in your hands for perpetuation. In order to fully comprehend the worth and character of the man of our subject, it is necessary that we should glance back to that period where the past is as dark as the future. At the time of the landing of our forefathers on the Atlantic shores and settlement at Jamestown, our great West was utterly unknown to civil- ized men. No one from the walks of literature, or culture, had ever looked
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upon its grandeur, or gazed upon its beauties. The mighty river which sweeps by our northern boundary had never mirrored the face of other than the wild and rude nomad of its banks. Far removed from the din of commerce and the clatter of busy man, it slumbered in the embraces of an unwritten age, powerless to assert its beauties, or to extol its muni- ficent wealth in climate, soil, minerals and all that challenges fitness for the seat of empire.
"About the year 1673, Marquette, the French Jesuit, in pursuit of savage tribes to save or enlighten, was the first to near the shores of the mighty Missouri, and to gaze upon its angry and turbid waters. Close upon the track of this disciple of Loyola and herald of the cross, followed the devotees of Mammon, the fur traders of France, Spain and other lands, were established at Portage De Sioux, St. Louis, Kaskaskia and St. Charles, and while our State was yet a province of Spain and after- ward of France. The objects sought by these early comers to the Mis- souri Valley were purely mercenary and for the Indian trade, and in no sense in the promotion of agriculture or civilization, and hence their num- bers were small, confined for many long years to the wants of the Indian trade. It matters not that the rich and varied soil tempted to the plow and the sickle. For these the happy and volatile Frenchman, and the gay and chivalrous Spanish cavalier had no taste. They sought only the rich furs of our plains and streams, and found in Indian life a happy escape from the trammels and conventionalities of civilized societies. For these the mighty West might have remained a wilderness for ages to come. At the time of which we speak no honey-bee, the accompaniment of civil- ized man, had ever been seen this side of the Mississippi, or had ever sipped the honey of Missouri's flowers ; no tiller of the soil with his family had ever crossed the Father of Waters or built his rude cabin within this mighty valley. Laclede, the ancestor of the great Chouteau family, had not yet pushed his heavy batteaux against the stubborn current of the Mississippi from New Orleans to St. Louis, and long before the cele- brated Lewis and Clark had reached this port in the month of June, a stranger-a strange being-was discovered on the east bank of the Mis- sissippi opposite St. Louis making signals. After many hours of fruit- less effort a canoe was dispatched for him. That stranger, strange being, a mere stripling, was Daniel Morgan Boone, the representative, the pio- neer, the leader and forerunner of the noble, toiling sons of the plow and the axe who have since filled our mighty State.
"Kentucky, the dark and bloody ground, under the pioneership of the elder Daniel Boone, was filling up with hardy and noble men, but no
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white man with his family had dared to pass beyond the confines of their settlements east of the Ohio River. All the country from the Ohio to the Mississippi, was a wild wilderness, destitute alike of men or tenement, save him of the war-club and scalping-knife. Across this trackless and forbidding desert, occasionally a straggling trapper from the Spanish posts of the Mississippi, had found his way to Kentucky, and told won- drous tales of that far-off and goodly land. To these young Daniel Boone, our subject, listened with quiet delight, and they filled him with the same thirst for adventure which had inspired the bosom of his noble father with the desire to cross the Alleghany Mountains and penetrate the goodly land of Kentucky. The mind of young Daniel Boone was at once made up. Like his father, for him the wild beasts of the forest, nor the more fearful red savage, had any terrors. He resolved to go, but there was no one of like nerve or taste to accompany him, and he deter- mined alone to brave the dangers of the way. Being eighteen years of age (a mere boy of his day), in the month of May, in or about the year 1787, mounted on a pony, he addressed himself to this perilous task by boldly steering without compass, chart or path for the Spanish post of St. Louis. When Columbus headed his little fleet out of the port of Palos, in Spain, in search of an unknown world, he had trustworthy ships and skilled companions in the art of navigation. Our young Boone when he turned his back upon Fort Hamilton, a post on the big Miami, just west of Cincinnati, and plunged into the dark wilderness forest, was alone. With a courage tamely denominated heroic, he went forward, rafting streams, killing his food by the way, sleeping in the dense jun- gles by night undisutbred by the howl of the wolf, the hooting of the owl or the scream of the panther. On the 30th day from Fort Hamilton, and without having seen a single human being, he stood and beheld the majestic Mississippi. before him. He had so far won, but closely scan- ning the view far and near, he could perceive no signs of human beings and human habitation. He was perplexed, and knew not whether he was above or below St. Louis, the object of his search. He encamped and rested. He reflected that St. Louis was a trading post, and the tracks of the Indian horses might indicate the direction of the post. On closely in- specting a buffalo trail near by, he found that the pony tracks mostly ascended up the river. He pursued the trail, and came in sight of St. Louis on the opposite side of the river. There was no ferry and it was with great difficulty that he made his presence known. At length, to his delight, a canoe came and landed him safely in the little Spanish village where a most generous welcome was extended to him. Of the heroism
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of this exploit I cannot now speak, much less can I here properly dwell upon the influence his coming at that time has had upon the destinies of our now great and prosperous State. Among these simple villagers, as a trapper, he made his home for some years. But of his life and various incidents connected therewith, I shall not now speak, reserving that part of my duty until a future occasion, devoting a few remaining remarks to the influence which he exerted in promoting the early settlement of the upper Louisiana territory, now the noble State of Missouri. After having explored the country from St. Louis to the mouth of the Kansas as a trapper, he devoted his attention to the procuring of the removal of his friends from Kentucky to this then garden portion of the world. To his noble father, Col. Boone, then an exile from the beautiful land of Ken- tucky, and a sojourner in the wilds of Western Virginia, he sent messages concerning the goodly land which he had found, and he came in 1795, drawing after him by his influence many of those hardy pioneers whose sons now fill our State. Daniel Boone, the younger, occupied himself in inducing emigrants to come from Kentucky and all parts of the country, he meeting the caravans of new comers in the wilderness and piloting them to this Eden of the West, and that the great pioneer of Kentucky, and the younger pioneer of Missouri, with their united influence and friends came to people our great State, and to found a Commonwealth destined to become the proudest and greatest of the American Union. Kentucky has re-claimed and borne back to the land he loved so well, the bones of her own great pioneer, and all that great State was moved when the remains of her noble Boone were laid to rest in her soil. The remains of our own great pioneer, no less worthy of a monument, rest in our midst, near Westport, within twelve miles of this spot, in an unmarked grave. Surely the pen of some historian will not suffer the memory of one so worthy to perish. Surely the State, our own Missouri, will not fail to honor him.
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