USA > Missouri > St Charles County > History of St. Charles, Montgomery, and Warren counties, Missouri, written and comp. from the most authentic official and private sources, including a history of their townships, towns and villages, together with a condensed history of Missouri > Part 13
USA > Missouri > Montgomery County > History of St. Charles, Montgomery, and Warren counties, Missouri, written and comp. from the most authentic official and private sources, including a history of their townships, towns and villages, together with a condensed history of Missouri > Part 13
USA > Missouri > Warren County > History of St. Charles, Montgomery, and Warren counties, Missouri, written and comp. from the most authentic official and private sources, including a history of their townships, towns and villages, together with a condensed history of Missouri > Part 13
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).
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Serpents were to be found in such large numbers, and of such im- mense size, that some stories told by the early settlers would be incredible were it not for the large array of concurrent testimony, which is to be had from the most authentic sources. Deer, turkeys, ducks, geese, squirrels, and various other kinds of choice game were plentiful, and to be had at the expense of killing only. The fur animals were abundant; such as the otter, beaver, mink, muskrat, raccoon, panther, fox, wolf, wild-cat and bear.
An old resident of the county told us that, in 1809, while he was traveling a distance of six miles he saw as many as 73 deer, in herds of from 6 to 10.
HUNTING BEE TREES.
Another source of profitable recreation among the old settlers was that of hunting bees. The forests along the water-courses were especially prolific of bee trees. They were found in great numbers
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on all the streams in the county. Many of the early settlers, during the late summer, would go into camp for days at a time, for the pur- pose of hunting and securing the honey of the wild bees, which was not only extremely rich and found in great abundance, but always commanded a good price in the home market.
The Indians have ever regarded the honey bee as the forerunner of the white man, while it is a conceded fact that the quail always follows the footprints of civilization.
The following passage is found in the " Report of the Exploring Expedition to the Rocky Mountains, in the year 1842, by Captain John C. Fremont," page 69 : -
" Here on the summit, where the stillness was absolute, unbroken by any sound, and the solitude complete, we thought ourselves beyond the regions of animated life ; but while we were sitting on the rocks a solitary bee came winging its flight from the eastern valley and lit on the knee of one of the men. We pleased ourselves with the idea that he was the first of his species to cross the mountain barrier, a solitary pioneer to foretell the advance of civilization."
Gregg, in his " Commerce of the Prairies," page 178, Vol. 1, says : " The honey bee appears to have emigrated exclusively from the east, as its march has been observed westward. The bee, among Western pioneers, is the proverbial precursor of the Anglo-American popula- tion. In fact, the aborigines of the frontier have generally corrobor- ated this statement, for they used to say that they knew the white man was not far behind when the bees appeared among them.
There were other recreations, such as shooting matches and quilting parties, which prevailed in those days, and which were enjoyed to the fullest extent. The quilting parties were especially pleasant and agreeable to those who attended. The established rule in those days at these parties was to pay either one dollar in money or split one hundred rails during the course of the day. The men would generally split the rails, and the women would remain in the house and do the quilting. After the day's work was done the night would be passed in dancing .!
All the swains that there abide With jigs and rural dance resort.
When daylight came the music and dancing would cease, and the gal- lant young men would escort the fair ladies to their respective homes.
WOLVES.
One of the oldest pioneers tells us that for many years after he came to what is now known as St. Charles county the wolves were
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very numerous, and that he paid his taxes for many years in wolf scalps. His cabin was at the edge of the timber that skirted Cuivre river, and at night the howls of these animals were so loud and inces- sant that to sleep at times was almost impossible.
Often at midnight, all
"At once there rose so wild a yell, Within that dark and narrow dell, As all the fiends from heaven that fell, Had pealed the banner cry of hell."
At such times the whole air seemed to be filled with the vibrations of their most infernal and diabolical music. The wolf was not only a midnight prowler here, but was seen in the day-time, singly or in packs, warily skulking upon the outskirts of a thicket, or sallying cautiously along the open path with a sneaking look of mingled cowardice and cruelty.
One among the most eccentric characters of early times in Missouri was Major Jack A. S. Anderson. He was born in North Carolina, but removed with his parents to Kentucky in 1770.
His father died in that State, and his mother and her children after- ward emigrated to Missouri. Jack received a good education, and became a fine mathematician, surveyor and scribe. During the War of 1812 he served as a major in Col. Dick Johnson's regiment, and was present in the battle of the Thames when his leader killed the celebrated Tecumseh.
After his removal to Missouri he was employed by the government to assist in surveying the territorial county of St. Charles, and in that capacity became well known to the old settlers. His compass, a bottle of whisky and his dogs were his inseparable and most beloved companions. He dressed entirely in buck skin, and his hunting shirt was filled with pockets, inside and out, in which he carried his papers and other worldly possessions. He would often carry young puppies in his pockets or the bosom of his shirt, while their mother trotted behind or hunted game for her master to shoot. He paid no attention to roads or paths but always traveled in a direct line to the place where he was going, across creeks, hills, valleys, and through thick woods. He was never known to sleep in a bed, preferring to lie on the ground, or a puncheon floor, covered with a blanket or buffalo robe. No one ever saw him smile, and his countenance always bore a sad and melancholy expression. He was never married, and died in old age, in destitute circumstances, in an old out-house two miles
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south of Fulton. He was buried in Mr. Craighead's family grave- vard. A number of amusing anecdotes are related of this singular character, a few of which we give in this connection.
One day Mr. Thomas Glenn, of Montgomery county, went to Flan- ders Callaway's mill, on Teuque creek, with a sack of corn to be ground into meal, and on his return home met Jack Anderson, who accompanied him as far as Cuivre creek, which they found to be frozen over. The ice was not strong enough to bear the weight of the horse, so they slid the sack of meal over, and then started up the stream, intending to cross higher up, where the water was so swift that it had not frozen ; but Anderson purposely wandered around with his com- panion until he had confused and bewildered him, and then took him on a long jaunt into Boone and Callaway counties, where they remained about three weeks engaged in hunting, and when they returned they were loaded down with game. They stopped one night at the house of Mr. Thomas Harrison, who treated them in a very hospitable man- ner and gave them the best room in the house. During the night Anderson got up and skinned several raccoons, and after having roasted them he called his dogs in and fed the carcasses to them on the floor, which of course ruined the carpet and greatly damaged the furniture. Mr. Harrison, who felt outraged at the affair, charged them for the damages, and as Anderson had no money, Glenn had to pay the bill.
During his wanderings, Anderson frequently stopped at the house of Maj. Isaac Van Bibber, where he was always treated well and fared sumptuously ; but on one occasion he stopped there late at night when they happened to be out of meal, and he had to go to bed with- out his supper. He lay down upon the floor and pretended to be asleep. Soon after a son-in-law of Van Bibber's, named Hickerson, who was living there, came in from a day's hunt, almost famished, having had nothing to eat during the day. He begged his wife to sift the bran and see if she could get meal enough to bake him a hoe- cake. She did as requested, made the cake and put it to bake in the ashes of the fire. Anderson, who had observed the proceedings, now arose, complaining that he could not sleep, owing to the disturbed condition of his mind in regard to a survey he had made that day, in which he could not find the corners. Pretending to illustrate the matter, he took the Jacob staff of his compass and began to mark in the ashes, first cutting the cake into four equal parts, and then stir- ring it around and round until it was thoroughly mixed with the ashes. Hickerson watched the operation with tears in his eyes, for he was nearly starved, and when Anderson had retired again, he begged his
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wife to go out and milk the cows and get him some milk to drink. She did so, but on her return Anderson met her at the door ; it being very dark, she supposed he was her husband and gave him the milk, which he drank, and went back to bed. This exhausted Hickerson's patience, and calling up his dogs he went into the woods and caught a raccoon and roasted and ate it before he returned to the house, swearing that old Jack Anderson should not beat him out of his. sup- per again.
Among the queer geniuses of early times was old Squire Colgin, of St. Charles. He was a justice of the peace, and usually rendered his decisions in a manner peculiar to himself, and the way he con- sidered right, without descending from his lofty prerogative to consult the law. A man named Miller once sued a neighbor named Kirkpa- trick on an open account in Colgin's court. Colgin rendered judg- ment in favor of the plaintiff, and after the decision was given, Miller thought of a buffalo robe he had sold Kirkpatrick, but which he had forgotton to include in the bill. So he whispered to Colgin to make an entry of it on the back of the judgment, which he did in the following words : " Mr. Miller says that Kirk (as he wrote it ) got a buffalo skin for $8, that he forgot to charge in the account, therefore, I, Daniel Colgin, justice of the peace of this court, believe that Miller tells the truth about the skin, and I do hereby put it down on the back of the judgment, for to be collected at the same time the balance is paid. Daniel Colgin, J. P."
Kirkpatrick, very naturally, got mad at the decision, and said if he were going to heaven and should see Miller coming too, he would change his course and go the other place. Colgin considered this con- tempt of his court, and fined him $1.
Another case that was entered upon Colgin's docket still further manifested his peculiar sense of justice. Two citizens of St. Charles had a quarrel about a piece of ice which one had sold the other, and which fell short half a pound. While they were quarreling the ice all melted away, and the dealer went to Colgin and sued the other man for the price of the ice, which was 61/4 cents. Colgin gave judg- ment in his favor, but made him pay half the costs ( 75 cents), because he thought it was right that the costs should be divided between them for being " such blamed fools as to quarrel about a little piece of ice that he could eat in five minutes any warm day."
Colgin afterward removed to Cote Sans Dessein, in Callaway county, where he and his son opened a store, which was the first store kept by an American in that county.
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The older citizens of St. Charles county will remember a rich character known as Gen. Burdine, who resided in Dog Prairie at an early date. He made his living by hunting and fishing, and was dis- tinguished for his eccentricities and the marvelous yarns he could tell about his adventures in the woods. A few of these we give below, as the General told them :-
He shot a buck, one day, and killed him so dead that he did not fall, but remained standing until the General went up to him and pulled him over by the ear. On another occasion he was hunting on Cuivre river, when he discovered a large, fat buck standing on the opposite side, and on looking up into a tree, just over him, he saw a fine, large turkey. He desired to kill both, but had only a single-barreled gun, and knew that as soon as he shot one the other would leave. But a happy thought struck him. He put another ball on top of the one that was already in his gun, and with that he shot the turkey ; then, dropping the muzzle of his gun in the twinkling of an eye, he killed the buck with the other ball. He now had to wade the river to get his game, and in doing so caught the seat of his buckskin pants full of fine fish, which he carried home along with his turkey and deer. An- other time while the General was hunting, he shot all his bullets away, but happening to have a lot of shoemaker's awls in his pocket, he loaded his gun with them. Presently he saw three deer in a group, and fired at them and killed two. The third one was pegged fast to a tree by one of the awls, where he swung and kicked until the General let him loose and took him home alive.
Late one very cold afternoon the General shot a buffalo on the bank of a creek and removing the skin, he rolled himself up in it and lay down and slept all night. Next morning the skin was frozen so hard that he could not unroll himself or even get on his feet and he began to think he would have to lie there and starve to death. But finally he rolled himself down the bank of the creek and landed in a warm spring, which soon thawed the skin until it was soft and he unrolled himself and went home rejoicing. One day, before he was grown, the General saw a wood-pecker fly into his hole in a tree and he climbed up to catch him. When he put his hand into the hole, he caught a black snake, which frightened him so badly that he let go his hold and fell into the forks of the tree, where he became wedged in so tight that he could not get out. He began to call for help and pretty soon a boy came along whom he sent to get an ax to cut the tree down. The boy did as he was directed and cut the tree so that it fell right side up, and the General was saved.
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He had a pony named Ned, that he rode on all his hunting expedi- tions, and Ned was as smart a horse as any one could desire to see. One day they came to a deep creek with steep banks, across which the General felled a small sapling with his tomahawk, intending to walk over and let Ned swim. But Ned winked one eye and smiled in his peculiarly sly manner, as much as to say, " Never mind, old fellow, I'll show you a trick worth knowing." The General started across holding the bridle in his hand, but when he reached the middle of the creek he stopped and looked back to see how Ned was getting along, when, to his amazement, he saw the pony walking the sapling after him ! Ned shook his head and motioned for his master to go on, and so they passed over in safety, without either of them getting wet. Ned was a native of Kentucky and his master had owned him so long that they felt like brothers. The pony was thoroughly trained in hunt- ing and was exceedingly fond of the sport. Whenever his master killed a deer, he always insisted upon licking the blood.
The General once undertook to explain to a party of gentlemen the manner in which the distance across Cuivre river could be measured by an engineer. Said he : "You see, gentlemen, the surveyor first gets a obligation across the stream, and sticks down his compass. Then he leanders up or down the river, as the case may be, and gits a nuther obligation from that ; then he leanders back to the first obli- gation and works it out by figgers. It's simple enough," added the old General, " and I could do it myself, although I don't know a darned thing about figgers."
His children were about as eccentric as himself. One of his sons, whom he called Jim, was particularly noted for his oddities and the number of singular scrapes that he managed to get himself into. In early days the people sometimes amused themselves at an entertain- ment called a " gander pulling," which was something like the more modern " tournaments." A suitable track having been cleared off, a gander would be hung on a cross-bar, with his head down, and just low enough so that a man on horseback could reach his out- stretched neck. Then the contestants would ride at full gallop under the cross-bar, and the one who succeeded in pulling the gander's head off without losing his seat in his saddle, was declared the victor and crowned accordingly. Jim went to one of these gander pullings one day, on board of an old mule, which was so extremely lazy and slow that he felt confident he would have plenty of time to " pull the gan- der." When his turn came he started in at a gait that was slow enough to satisfy his brightest anticipations, and when he came under the gander he laid hold of his head with a full determination never to let
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go until victory crowned his efforts. But just at that moment some- body gave the old mule a sharp cut with a whip, and he made a lunge forward and left Jim hanging in the air by the gander's neck. The old gander proved to be a tough one, and Jim had to let go without wringing his coveted neck.
Jonathan Bryan built the first water-mill in Missouri, in 1801. It was situated on a small spring branch that empties into Femme Osage creek, in St. Charles county. The mill would grind from six to ten bushels of grain in twenty-four hours, and for several years it supplied the settlements from St. Charles to Loutre island with meal and flour, the same stones grinding both wheat and corn. The flour was bolted in a box, by hand, and they made a pretty good flour that way. Mr. Bryan would fill the hopper with grain in the morning, and the mill would grind on that until noon, when the hopper would again be filled. The meal ran into a large pewter basin which sat on the floor at the bottom of the stones. Daniel Boone was living at that time with his son Nathan, about a mile from the mill, and he had an old dog named Cuff that used to go to the mill in Mr. Bryan's absence and lick the meal out of the basin as fast as it ran from the spout. When it did not run fast enough to suit him he would sit down and howl and bark, and one day Mr. Bryan heard him and hastened to the mill to see what was the matter. He soon discovered where his meal had been going, and after that he exchanged the pewter basin for a tin coffee-pot, which was too small at the top for Cuff to get his head into it. But he made the attempt one day, and got the coffee-pot fast on his head and ran away with it. Mr. Bryan subsequently built a larger mill, and sold the stones of the old one to Mr. Aleck Logan, of Montgomery county, who tied them together with a hickory withe and carried them to his home on Bear creek.
Mr. Ira Cottle, of St. Charles county, once had a difficulty with Hon. Benjamin Emmons, Sr., about a calf, each claiming it as his property. They finally concluded to try Solomon on the the calf, and let it decide which cow was its mother. So it was turned into a lot with two cows, and at first it ran to the one owned by Cottle. " Aha !" he exclaimed, greatly elated, " I told you it was my calf - see how it runs to its mother." But about this time the calf discovered its mis- take, and ran to the other cow, and remained with her.
" Confound the calf," said Cottle, " it don't know its own mother." But it had decided against him, and according to the terms of the agreement he was bound to submit, which he did with as good grace as he could command.
CHAPTER III. EARLY RECORDS.
First Court -Court of Common Pleas for the "District of St. Charles " -District Officers -First Grand Jury - First Tax Collections -Organization of the County - Its Early Territorial Limits - First County Court and other Offices - Pioneer Attorneys - Early Public Buildings.
We plead guilty to possessing much of the antiquarian spirit, - " old wine, old books, old friends," are the best, you know. We love to sit at the feet of the venerable old pioneers of the country, and listen to the story of their early exploits, when the fire of youth beamed in their eyes, and the daring spirit of adventure quickened their pulses. How they fought with savage Indians and prowling beasts to wrest this goodly land from the primeval wilderness as a rich heritage for the children to come after them ; how they hewed down the forest, turned " the stubborn glebe," watched and toiled, lost and triumphed, struggled against poverty and privation to bring the country into subjection to civilization and enlightened prog- ress, - all this has an absorbing interest to us. Much as modern lit- erature delights us, we had rather talk an hour with one of these venerable gray-beards, who are found here and there, as the scattered representatives of a purer and more heroic age, than to revel in the most bewitching poem that ever flashed from the pen of a Byron or a Poe, or dream the time away in threading the mazes of the plot and imagery of the finest romance ever written. Moved by this kind of a spirit, we have been delving among the musty records of the courts, where we found many an interesting relic of the past history of the county, some of which we here reproduce.
COURT OF COMMON PLEAS.
William Henry Harrison, who was in 1803 Governor of Indiana Territory, and under whose jurisdiction was Upper Louisiana, appointed Francis Saucier, Arend Rutgers, Daniel Morgan Boone, Francis Duquette and Robert Spencer, or any three of them, to hold a Court of Common Pleas in and for the district of St. Charles. The first term of the court was held on the first Tuesday in January, 1805, in the house of Dr. Antoine Reynal, on the site of the present court-
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house, Francis Saucier was chief justice ; Daniel Morgan Boone, Fran- cis Duquette and Robert Spencer, associate justices. Rufus Easton was Attorney-General, and Mackay Wherry, Edward Hempstead and Antoine Reynal performed the duties respectively of sheriff, clerk and coroner.
The names of the first grand jurors were as follows : Arend Rut- gers, David Darst, John Weldon, Jonathan Bryan, John McMike, Henry Orowe, Elisha Goodrich, James Flaugherty, Jr., Peter Jour- ney, Antoine Janis, Saint Paul Lacroix, Joseph Pichi, Pierre Troge and James Green.
The first assessment was made in 1805, by Mackay Wherry, sher- iff of the district of St. Charles. His returns show that the popu- lation of the district was 765. There were 275 heads of families, and 95 taxable single men, and 55 slaves. The amount of taxes was $501.80.
THE COUNTY ORGANIZED.
The county was organized October 1, 1812, by proclamation issued by Gov. William Clark, in accordance with an act of Congress, which reorganized the districts of St. Charles, St. Louis, Ste. Genevieve, Cape Girardeau and New Madrid into the same number of counties.
The county, or district of St. Charles, as it was originally called, had no definite limits. It extended from the Missouri river on the south, to the British Possessions on the north; and from the Missis- sippi river on the east to the Pacific Ocean on the west. It retained these dimensions until 1816, when Howard county was cut off from the western part of St. Charles, and organized into a separate munic- ipality. Cedar creek, which now forms the eastern boundary of Boone county, was established as the line between St. Charles and Howard. In December, 1818, Montgomery and Lincoln counties were organized, and St. Charles was reduced to its present dimen- sions.
APPOINTMENTS.
STATE OF MISSOURI,
COUNTY OF ST. CHARLES, S SS.
At a county court began and held at the court-house in the town of Saint Charles within and for the said county of St. Charles, on the fourth Monday in February, it being the twenty-sixth day of said month, and in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twenty-one. And in the forty-fifth year of the Independence of the United States. Commissions from the Governor, appointing Biel Farnsworth, Robert Spencer and John B. Callaway, Esqs., justices of
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the county court, within and for the said county of St. Charles, with certificates of qualification thereon indorsed and read in open court. And the justices took their seats. A commission from the Governor appointing William Christy, Jr., clerk of the county court within and for the county of St. Charles, with a certificate of qualification indorsed thereon, read in open court. The court having knowledge of the qualification of Joseph Evans, James McCall, Everard Hall and Howard F. Thompson, Esqs., to practice as attorneys and counselors at law in the several courts of record in this State. The said gentle- men are admitted to practice in the courts accordingly.
Mores B. Banks was appointed constable of Cuivre township, Silas Massey, for Dardenne; Osburn Knott, for St. Charles ; Daniel Hays, for Femme Osage, and Nathaniel N. Overall, for Portage Des Sioux. John B. Callaway and William Hays, two justices of the peace, were appointed commissioners to lay off a road in Femme Osage township and leading to Marthasville.
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