More Early Iowa History - Frank Mathews - Sept. 13, 1899

MATHEWS, SHEETS, WALTERS, HOLLAND, HUFFS, BURGE, BLACKER, HUGHES, BARNUM, WILLIAMS, GAINES, FERRIS, SMITH, BURTON, GALLAND, MCCARVER, COX

Posted By: Deb (email)
Date: 1/7/2008 at 08:07:39

Mt. Pleasant Weekly News
September 13, 1899

EARLY LIFE IN IOWA

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More interesting Incidents from the Pen of Frank Mathews

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Tells of the Primitive Laundry – A Steamer Jumps the Dam and a Jury Adjourns to Participate in a Fight – Other Matters

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[FOR THE NEWS BY FRANK MATHEWS]

[continued from last week]
The first and second summers that we lived at Lowell, when the weather was warm enough the women of the neighborhood would carry their washing down to the river to wash. A couple of large kettles set up on some stones to heat the water in, while under some large spreading elms the tubs were set, and by unanimous consent I was elected to carry water and wood and make fires. The kettles stood about six feet from the river’s brink and the wood could be usually gotten from drift piles near at hand. Almost every week here would come some six or eight women, with their washing and their children that were too small to leave behind. And if there was any gossip going the rounds it was hashed up here. The men would generally set something afloat for wash day, and from there it would spread only to be repeated later on. I observed that if a woman or man was talked about, if he or his wife came there no allusion was made to it; they were treated with much respect as though nothing derogatory had been said. As there was no school to go here at least I could learn something of human nature, and that it would not do to believe everything that man might hear.

To one unaccustomed to frontier life it would naturally be expected that children raised in the wilderness to know but little; but this is a mistake. There is certainly no place where you can learn as much of nature as where everything is as nature left it. It was not long until we knew the different animals, birds, fish, and plants by name, and their habits, besides some practical knowledge of geology, and wood craft, there could be no better school. Almost every frontier man could with only an ax, saw form, iron wedge and shaving knife construct a comfortable shelter for either man or beast and would live very nearly off the country while doing it. Could our educated boys and girls of today do it? I fear not. Yet I would claim where there was a cabin, stable, corn crib, hen house, pig pens and other out houses, built without a single nail in either of them.
I think the first birth among Henry County people was Sarah Sheets. She was born in September 1833. Not on Henry County soil, but where they first camped or stopped, near Augusta. There was a large company of them, among which were the Walters, Hollands, Sheets, Huffs and others. The first death was Wilson Walters, who died one or two nights after they crossed the river at Ft. Madison, August 18, 1833; camped on the other side of the river six weeks waiting for the legal time to cross over.
There is a good story of Mr. Jacob Burge, of New London, happened to settle on the claim where the old homestead now is. The story goes, that Mr. Burge did not like it very well here, and decided to go to Galena, Illinois. But when he undertook to hitch the oxen to his wagon Mrs. Burge sat down on the wagon tongue and he could not hitch up. He asked some bystanders what they would do with a wife like that. They said, “take claim right here,” and he did. Mrs. Burge is yet living on that claim with her daughter and son-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Willis Blacker.

MARRIED IN HASTE
Ross B. Hughes, a citizen of Keokuk, in 1848. He had the largest cooper shop west of Cincinnati. It burned down January 3, 1848. In ten days it was restored, and the event was celebrated with a dance. During the festivities, he being a widower, Hughes, dared any one present to marry him. A tall, good looking girl, Miss Barnum, accepted his offer. He sent for a minister and they were married in about fifteen minutes. He some time after went to California. They lived happily together. At one time he was a steamboat captain on the Mississippi. He had daughters who were wives of some of our very prominent men, among whom was George H. Williams. Before they were married, he being a judge granted her a divorce. If I remember correctly, he was a senator from the state of Oregon at one time. He died in St. Louis.
One John Gaines, a justice of the peace at Keokuk, had a hog stealing case before him during the winter of ’37 and ’38. It was a jury trial. He took a tin cup of whiskey, put in a large amount of brown sugar, took a drink himself and passed it to the jury. Soon after a free fight began outside. He adjourned court so the jury could participate. After it was all over he called them together and went on with the case.
About 1840 there lived at various places in Lee county, a man named old Spurlock. He got the reputation of being a counterfeiter of coins. He would go around over the country and exhibit good coins and agree to furnish bogus money just like the sample shown. He found many dupes who would advance money and contract for the bogus, but the bogus never came. The dupes dared not tell, but suffered in silence the folly of their acts.
In 1858, a steamboat, named the Clara Hines, came down the Des Moines river, and at Craton, the lock being out of repair, and the river being high, they concluded to jump the dam, which they did, by going up the river some distance and putting on all the steam that they could. Bob Ferris was pilot. The dam was fourteen feet high.
Along in the forties there was a certain Dr. Galland, who was for a while one of the twelve of Joe Smith’s apostles. He lived in Nauvoo, Montrose, Keokuk, and elsewhere. He was suspected of being a counterfeiter. He was an all – around swindler, and pretended to own a large amount of the half-breed tract of land in Lee county, which he sold several times to different parties. I have a very vivid recollection of first meeting him. A Daniel Burton, of Des Moines county, who lived in Danville, a distant relative of mine, and a broom maker. He and my father and myself started to Keokuk each with a load of brooms. When we came near Montrose there came up a snow storm and had to put up. We had traveled a part of the night and were tired and sleepy. In the afternoon father layed down on an old settee and was fast asleep. I was sitting on a split bottom chair nearby. I was then fourteen or fifteen years old. The tavern was full of the worst kind of gamblers and loafers. I was dozing, but I heard some one cry out, “Here comes old Doc Galland roaring drunk and flourishing a gun.” He came in cursing and swearing. He must kill some one before he left this house. Burton was a large, fine looking man and wore long heavy whiskers. He was sitting in a chair. The doctor first went for him. He caught him by the whiskers and pulled him up out of the chair. He threatened to shoot him. Burton pleads with him; told him he was unarmed; was a non-combatant, etc. He jerked him down in the chair, spit in his face and left him. He then went across the room to where father was sleeping. He stood over him for a good while muttering and swearing in a low voice. I stood a little ways behind him hold of my chair determined if he undertook to hurt either of them to brain him if I could, but after looking at father a good while he walked over to the other side of the room. One of the roughs said, “Why in h__l didn’t you molest him.” He laughed and said, “He has got to d__m a prominent upper lip and square mouth,” and started out. One fellow says to him, “Here is his boy. He had hold of his chair and would have killed you if you had hurt his father.” He turned around with an oath, held up his pistol and said, “Is that so?” I still kept hold of the chair and looked him in the eye and d said, “Yes, sir, I would.” He shifted his pistol to his other hand, and reached his right to me and said “By G_d boy, I want to shake with you. Come up and have something.” I thanked him and said I did not drink liquor. He said, “Stick to that,” and off he went to another tavern. I met him afterwards. He was very gentlemanly when he wanted to be. I was said that Smith could not with all his shrewdness get the better of him and that he swindled the church and brethren and all.
I heard M.M. McCarver say that at that time the Sioux nation between the Missouri river and the Rocky mountains undoubtedly numbered 200,000. Now I understand with the northern Sioux added they all numbered a little over 20,000. In 1841 McCarver and a few venturesome spirits crossed the plains and reached the Pacific coast in Oregon at the mouth of the Columbia river, explored and made claims in the Williamette country. In 1843 he came back and settled at Lowell and tried hard to boom it; traveled around over the country extolling its many advantages, but somehow it did not grow as fast as he had wanted it to, and his restless spirit could not wait on what was then called the beautiful little city. He then conceived the scheme of heading a large train of emigrants to Oregon. He laid his plans before my father, and he was so favorably impressed with it that he would have went there, had it not been for my mother. She said no it would not do; that the family were not being educated as they should be; that we were just beginning to have schools, and to go there, the children would be too old to get any benefit of the school by the time schools could be started there.
The spring of 1841 my father moved out about two miles west of Lowell on a farm called the Cox farm. There was a large family of them, and there were four boys who were great hunters, game getting rather scarce here, they concluded to go to Arkansas as it was splendid hunting there at that time. They had a large mastiff dog which they took with them. They hauled him over one-half the way. They went away in April, and one morning the next October we found him lying on the door step. He was terribly worn out. He was but a bunch of skin and bones. The flesh on the bottom of his feet was worn away, and he had evidently walked on cords and sinews. After feeding him I made a soft nest for him and dragged him to it. He did not walk much for three months and could not run after that. He was the best trained hunting dog in the country. If anything was wounded he would always follow it until he came up with it. Abs he would go with a stranger or any one with a gun if you told him to. He lived about four years after. Cox’s said they had been offered $50 for him several times. They wrote back concerning him. He was six weeks coming back. How did he cross the Arkansas, Missouri and Des Moines rivers?