USA > Missouri > Greene County > Past and present of Greene County Missouri, early and recent history and genealogical records of many of the representative citizens, Volume I > Part 103
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Entering a room of enormous proportions, which is but a widening of the cave, which was known to early-day visitors as the dancing pavilion. is an almost perfect imitation of the Rock of Gibraltar, which really pre- sents a lonesome appearance, in this room, particularly free from other formations. Then to the left of this point is the entrance to a twenty-five foot room, which is aptly called "fat man's misery." The entrance to this room requires the explorer to assume a low, stooping posture-it is easier to crawl-and wend his way through a passage ample in width, with obstruc- tions in countless places of stalagmite and onyx formations, and even coral is said to abound in these pillars. The game is worth the powder, for many kinds of strange things greet the eye in this small room. Returning to the large room and proceeding southeast, the guide will show you Bud Fisher's creation, formed before the famous artist thought of copyrighting his pro- ductions. Mutt is not really suggestive, but the small stalagmite impresses the observer as the real Jeff in mummy form. With his bald head shining. the little figure is an almost perfect picture of Jeff in his favorite posture. with his hand hiding all but one eye and the hairless dome. Beyond the recollections of Fisher is the postoffice, almost natural enough to induce the observer to look for the "box rent due" notice. Passing the postoffice is the pillar of onyx, and it is believed that much coral is in the rock. To the center, hanging from the top. is a sharp, translucent blade which it pleases many to call a knife. This blade is transparent when the rays of
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the carbide lamp are thrown upon it. Farther on is the devil's drum, a great shelving rock which, when struck with a hammer, gives forth a tre- miendous hollow sound that may heard throughout the cave.
By this time the visitor is beginning to feel at home, and to look for added beauties and freaks of nature, but there is not time to procrastinate. Just aliead is the natural gateway and arch, with stalagmite posts and the stalactite overhead forming a lovely entrance to the tobacco room, and the room in the left, with the gambling table and other wonderful things. The tobacco room is fairly large, with many rows of stalactites hanging from the ceiling shaped like tobacco leaves and bunches.
Rounding horseshoe bend, you descend to the River Jordan, as it is called. This is an underground creek-bed, which fills in high water, but empties in the Sac through a narrow opening as the river subsides. Cross- ing the Jordan and climbing the winding stairs, to the left is a ledge, really a big crack in the earth, displaying a formation at the top and bottom that resembles magnesia. The space between the top and bottom of this hollow is about eighteen inches, and rocks tossed in the opening bound and can be heard for fully a minute, when they land against a solid rock. Ahead of this is the boundless pit. rounded off on all sides and sinking gradually to a center which looks as though it were six feet in diameter. This hole has been sounded for a depth of three hundred feet and the bottom has not been touched. Passing the brim of the pit, over an cighteen-inch path, a lake is the next of nature's lovely creations in this wonderful cavern. This body of water is not gigantic in proportion, but it adds much to the jour- ney. . \ prettier little body of water has never been created, and its clear- ness bespeaks purity. Beyond the lake a big spring completes the journey for the majority of visitors, except for the chimes, stalactite formations, hanging from above in great numbers, which, when tapped lightly with a rock, give forth musical tones and not a single repetition can be found among them.
There are many little side trips, smaller rooms, which can be reached with difficulty, but the visitor seldom sees them the first trip. The return journey can be made by a separate route or by the same route as the entrance, but not without a halt in reverence, praise and admiration of the Creator's handiwork, and no matter what you have seen, the guide is always ready to discuss the journey, the wonders of the cave and the surroundings, for they who live with nature are ever ready and most efficient to praise her, for the sentiment is paramount within them.
This trip is certainly worth making, and a lasting impression is stamped upon the mind which cannot be eradicated by future years, what- ever the vicissitudes of time may bring. The Garden of the Gods, the beauties of Stratton Park and the trip up Cheyenne canyon for a view of
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the seven falls-in rugged Colorado-deserve their fame, for there is grandeur on every hand, but the opinions of many agree that nature has done equally as wonderful things as Percy Cave, as will be witnessed on any journey.
HARVEY E. PETERSON.
The career of Harvey E. Peterson, one of the enterprising men of affairs of Greene county and the Ozark region, who is owner and pro- prietor of the famous Sequiota Cave, would indicate that he is a man of industry, foresight and courage. Having begun at the bottom of the ladder he has mounted it unaided and often in the face of adversities that would have discouraged and thwarted men of less determination and honesty of purpose.
Mr. Peterson was born in Graham, Nodaway county, Missouri, March 27, 1874. He is a son of George H. and Christie A. (Mauer) Peterson. The father was born in Williamsburg, Ohio, where he was reared and educated in the common schools. When a young man he took Horace Greeley's advice and went West, locating near Denver, Colorado, where he spent a number of years, removing to Nodaway county, Missouri, in 1875, where he purchased a ranch of one thousand acres and engaged ex- tensively in general farming and the live stock business. He was very successful as a business man and was a leader in the affairs of his com- munity. Owing to failing health he has been living in retirement for some time. The mother of our subject was born in Otisco, Indiana, August 30, 1849, and when young in years her parents brought her to Nodaway county, Missouri, where she received a common school educa- tion. When twenty-three years old she went to Colorado with an uncle and aunt, and met Mr. Peterson in Denver, and they were married in 1874, soon after which they returned to Nodaway county, Missouri. She is still living and is an active member of the Presbyterian church. To these parents six children were born, namely: Harvey E., of this sketch: Mrs. Mary Shamberger and Mrs. Mae Badger are twins; Mrs. Frances Baker. Leroy and Chester.
Harvey E. Peterson was reared on the homestead in his native county and there worked when growing up. He received a good education in the common schools. He worked for his father on the ranch until 1900, then spent two years as assistant cashier of the Peoples' Bank at Maitland, Mis- souri. He then spent considerable time in traveling, worked one year for
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the Fowler Packing Company as livestock buyer. In 1904 he settled on a farm near Graham, Missouri, where he remained about two years, then moved to Springfield, was in the heating and plumbing business for him- self under the firm name of the Peterson Plumbing Company until the fall of 1907, when he sold out and went to Utah, installing a plumbing and water system for the United States government there, then went to Denver, Colorado, and engaged in the plumbing business again. While in Utah he purchased a section of land, which he still owns. After leaving Denver he went to Cedar City, Utah, where he engaged in the plumbing and heating business, and installed irrigation plants there also. In the spring of 1913 he returned to Missouri on a visit and purchased the place where he now lives, six and one-half miles southeast of Springfield, twenty-four acres of picturesque land on which is located the beautiful Sequiota Cave.
Mr. Peterson was married in June, 1904, to Edna M. Perry, of Spring- field, Missouri. She was born in Kansas City. December 8, 1878. She is a daughter of Edward J. and Mary N. ( Noyes) Perry. The father was born in Watertown, Wisconsin, September 11, 1854, and when fifteen years of age he began railroading in Watertown, and has been in the service ever since. He is at present vice-president of the Kansas City, Clinton & Spring- field Railroad, the duties of which responsible position he is discharging in a manner that is satisfactory to all concerned. His rise has been rapid in his calling and he has been a student of everything that pertains to his vocation, with the result that he has kept well informed in all that pertains to railroading. He makes his home in Springfield and is well known in the railroad circles of the Southwest. Mary N. Noyes, whom he married in February. 1878, was born at Three Rivers, Wisconsin, March 18, 1860. She is prominent in club and social life in Springfield and an active worker in the Presbyterian church. Mrs. Peterson was reared to womanhood in Kansas City and Springfield and was given excellent educational advan- tages, graduating from the Springfield high school, and then spending three years in Chicago, studying at the University of Chicago and the American Institute, in which last named institution she was graduated in the kinder- garten course. She was superintendent of the kindergartens in Springfield for two years, taking a great interest in her work and was very successful.
To Mr. and Mrs. Peterson four children have been born, namely : Olivia is at home: Noyes, deceased; Mary, deceased; and Marie, who is with her parents.
Politically Mr. Peterson is a Republican, and fraternally he belongs to the Modern Woodmen lodge. He is courteous and accommodating.
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SEQUIOTA CAVE.
Sequiota is an Indian name, meaning "many springs." It was formerly konwn as Fisher's Cave and is one of the wonders of the Ozarks, which mountains are known far and wide for their large and interesting caves. Harvey E. Peterson paid the sum of ten thousand dollars for this valuable property, which is used quite regularly by people from Springfield and other places as picnic grounds, being ideal for this purpose, for no more restful and attractive sylvan spot could be found, rugged, woodsy and inspiring, and of easy access, Frisco accommodation trains running out from Springfield on Saturdays and Sundays. The word cave is ill calculated to impress the imagination with an idea of its surpassing grandeur. It is, in fact, a subterranean world, containing within itself an extensive territory. It should be named Titan's Palace or Cyclops' Grotto. It lies among the knobs and range of hills adjacent to the main Ozark range. The surround- ing scenery is not so august and sublime as the Rockies, Alps or Andes, but possess a subdued loveliness, something within the grasp of the eye and mind, without overwhelming them. Fine woods of oak, maple, elm. hickory and other hardwoods are passed through before the cave is reached. As you approach the mouth of the cavern in summer, the temperature changes instantaneously about twenty degrees or more and you feel chilled as if by the presence of an iceberg. In winter, the effect is reversed. Scientists have indulged in various speculations concerning the air of this cave. It is supposed to get completely filled with cold winds during the long blasts of winter, and, as there is not outlet, they remain pent up until the atmosphere without becomes warmer than that within, when there is, of course, a continual effect towards equilibrium. Why the air within the cave should be so fresh, pure, equitable, all the year round, even in its deepest recesses, is not easily explained. Such a thing as the deadly "damp" found in some caves is entirely unknown here, whatever the season or condition of the climate may be. The superabundance of oxygen in the atmosphere operates like moderate doses of exhilarating gas. The traveler feels a buoyant sensation, which tends to bring back the "school-hop" days of early youth. Passing into the cave you are impressed at once with its proportions. The vastness, the gloom, the wonder and splendor of it all. the impossibility of taking in the boundaries by the light of lamps-all these produce a deep sensation of awe and wonder. As you go in further the resemblance to Gothic architecture very perceptibly increases, and the beautiful stalactites flash brightly on either hand. The wall juts out in pointed arches and pillars, on the sides of which are various combinations of grotesque figures, combinations of rock. The stalagmite formations unite in these irregular masses of brownish yellow, which, when the light shines
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through them, look like transparent amber. They are, some of them, as sonorous as a clear-toned bell. In one part the dark, massive walls resem- ble a series of Egyptian tombs of the old Catacombs of Rome, in dull and heavy outline. If one has imagination one can fancy how this wonderful grotto was the home of fairies "in the days of old," or if the thought be more robust, one may at times pause to hear the mumblings of some giant of old, the primordial cave man, huge of muscle, with the thews of Thor, clad in the skins of wild beasts, taking refuge here from the cold and cruel winter blasts without. The scene is so spectral and strangely somber that it seems as if the ancients must have witnessed it before they imagined Charon conveying ghosts to the regions of Pluto. A single voice sounds like a choir; and could an organ be played it would sound sweeter by a hundred fold. Some of the numerous and interesting formations pointed out by the guide as the trip through the cave progresses is the dressed turkey, dog's head, tadpole, elephant's head. Kewpies, cluster of grapes, a beautiful mountain range, the wish-bone. Devil's punch-bowl, the pine trees. prow of a ship. the Devil's tongue, the cross and dome, and the elaborate formation called the Chandelier. The Mirror Lake is a beautiful trans- parent pool of pure water, crystal and sparkling. There is a natural dam one hundred and fifty feet long. There are five fine springs in the cave. and this led the esthetic-minded Indians to give the cave the beautiful name it originally bore and which, happily, has recently been restored to it. Tradition has it that this was a favorite gathering place for the various tribes of red men-the Osages, Piankashaws. Kickapoos. Delawares, Sacs and Foxes-before the white man drove them further westward away from the immense and picturesque hunting grounds of the Ozarks. This great cavern was also the haunt of many varieties of wild beasts in the early days. and the bear dens are among the present attractive features of the place, for the great cinnamon and brown bears that infested this region up to three-quarters of a century ago had their dens here, which are today quite plainly seen. This was a great country for the trappers and hunters in pioneer times, and there was much rivalry among the first settlers, the nomad adventurers and travelers who came to this region in the autumn and winter months to see who should have the right to trap at the cave. These controversies often led to tragedies. It is also known that the cave was used by a band of desperate robbers for some time, who used the cave as not only a place of residence, but also as a place in which to secrete their purloined plunder. Many interesting stories, some of rare romantic and adventurous flavor, could be told of this historic spot if space permitted. Suffice it to say that the interest of the people who dwell in this locality has never been sufficiently aroused to the wonders and interesting traditions of this and other rare gifts of mother Nature.
SCENE IN SEQUIOTA CAVE.
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There are countries in which it and its sister caves in the Ozarks would be the pride of the inhabitants who would never weary in discussing them.
The temperature in Sequiota, owing to the fact that it is the same the year round-fifty-eight degrees-makes the cave a valuable coli-storage, and it has been used by the natives for many decades for storing sweet potatoes. At one time there were ten thousand bushels of sweet potatoes stored here. No matter how long the winter they are taken out in the spring perfectly preserved. Mr. Peterson is now successfully growing mushrooms of a delicate flavor and superior quality in the cave, it being similar to the renowned caves of France, where fortunes are made growing commercial mushrooms. One of the unusual and rare features of the trip through this splendid cavern is the fact that the trip is made by boat and impresses one as a great panorama passing in grand review. The present owner has made a number of important improvements since taking over the property.
The poetic-minded traveler, after he has traced all the labyrinths, de- parts with lingering reluctance. As he approaches the entrance, daylight greets him with new and startling beauty. If the sun shines on the verdant sloping hill and the quiet valley and the waving trees seen through the arch, they seem like fluid gold; if mere daylight rests upon them, they resemble molten silver. This richness of appearance is doubtless owing to the contrast with the peculiar light, or more properly the antithesis of light-darkness-to which the eye has been so long accustomed. In fact, it is best for one to pause awhile in the semi-darkness of the threshold, per- mitting the eyes to become accustomed to the change gradually, else the optic nerves are in a measure shocked by the sudden flood of light.
The land in the immediate vicinity of the cave was entered from the government in the year 1840, by Jack Painter, who for some time main- tained a small blacksmith shop and grist-mill at the entrance of the cave. When and by whom the great cavern was first discovered is not known. There are three beautiful lakes on the grounds, affording boating, fishing and swimming. And it in every way deserves the popularity it enjoys.
OTHO D. McMILLAN.
Among the enterprising restauranteurs of Springfield is Otho D. Mc- Millan, who was formerly engaged in the meat market business here. He has been successful in both fields of endeavor because of his close attention to business.
Mr. McMillan came to Springfield twenty-four years ago from Wich- ita, Kansas, when entering young manhood, and this has been the scene of
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his life's activities ever since. He was proprietor of a meat market on South street for a period of fifteen years, enjoying a good trade all the while. Six years ago, or in 1909. he purchased the well-known Culley cafe at 311 College street. and this he has conducted to the present time, during which period he has had his share of the restaurant business of the city.
This cafe has been in existence over thirty years, having been the orig- inal "owl" restaurant of Springfield. Mr. Cully, who conducted the place many years, was well known as a caterer in this section of the country until his death some twelve years ago. His restaurant was the gathering place for visitors to the city from the smaller towns in this region, and many of them still repair to their old eating-place when stopping here.
Mir. McMillan has not only maintained the well-earned reputation of the establishment, but under his management the Culley cafe has become even more attractive to epicures than ever before.
Otho D. and Laura H. McMillan have a comfortable home on East Elmi street.
MARSHALL ROUDEBUSH.
The business of the farm and the business of farming, while in many points analogous, are in reality quite distinctive. The former carries with it the consideration of dollars and cents in the employment of labor, the outlay of capital on buildings and improvements, the cost of raising crops as against the revenue received after harvesting and sale, the maintenance and repair of machinery and implements, and the saving to be made possible if newer and improved machinery is installed on the farm. In short, the business of the farm is to make the farm produce the utmost possible at the lowest cost, and to be certain of a ready cash market for all that is produced.
One of Greene county's farmers who looks well to the general business of farming and is therefore succeeding is Marshall Roudebush, of Brook- line township. He was born near Vernon, Jennings county, Indiana, Octo- ber 14, 1856. He is a son of William S. and Nancy (Walker) Roudebush. The father, who was one of a family of twenty-two children, was one of the first settlers in Jennings county, Indiana, having located there about the year 1830 when the country was sparsely settled and little improved, but he worked hard and developed a good farm. The mother of our subject was born in Kentucky from which state she removed with her parents to Jen- nings county, Indiana, about 1830, and there she grew to womanhood and married. To William S. Roudebush the following children were born : Daniel, who served in the Civil war as corporal in the Union army, was
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taken prisoner and died of starvation at Andersonville prison; Charles L .. who resided in Kansas, died in 1887; Marshall, of this sketch; Elizabeth, who married a Mr. Anderson, lives at Lebanon, Indiana; Jennie lived at North Vernon. Indiana, and has been deceased for fifteen years; Ophelia Boggs lives in Vernon, Indiana.
Marshall Roudebush was reared on the home farm in Indiana where lie worked when a boy, and there he received his education in the district schools. He was thirteen years of age when his father died, and he started out in life for himself, since which time he has made his own way in the world unaided and is deserving of a great deal of credit for the large success which has been his. He has been engaged in general farming for the most part but has devoted considerable attention to buying, raising and shipping live stock and he owes no inconsiderable portion of his success to the latter business. He is regarded by his neighbors as one of the best judges of various kinds and grades of live stock to be found in this part of the county. He remained in Indiana until the winter of 1883 when he came to Greene county, Missouri, and located in Brookline township, pur- chasing forty acres in section 14 where he still resides, and, prospering with advancing years he has acquired additional acreage until he now owns one of the valuable and choice farms of the township, consisting of two hundred and forty acres, which he has brought up to a high state of improvement and cultivation. He recently erected a commodious pressed brick residence of the bungalow type, modern in its appointments and surrounded on all sides by a fine grove of walnut and oak. It is on an eminence commanding a splendid view.
Mr. Roudebush was married on December 26, 1880, to Olive Spencer, a daughter of Major Samuel A. and Sarah (Ewing) Spencer. The father served with much credit through the Civil war as a major of the Eighty-sec- ond Indiana Volunteer Infantry. Our subject's wife was born in Jennings county, Indiana, in 1855 and there she grew to womanhood and received a common school education. She has borne her husband the following chil- dren : Bessie, born on November 30, 1884, is unmarried and living at home; Everett A., born on July 9. 1886. is unmarried and is engaged in farming in Kansas; Harry M., born on March 20, 1889, is single, and is living at home assisting his father operate the home place; Charles S., born on August 3. 1893. is single, and is now employed by the United States government on irrigation work at Phoenix, Arizona.
Politically. Mr. Roudebush is a Republican, but has never been active in politics, although taking a good citizen's interest in public affairs. He has served three years on the local school board. Fraternally he is a mem- ber of the Masonic Order.
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