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Chapter I
Prefatory
1880 Boone County History

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But little more than a quarter of a century has elapsed since the first permanent settlement was made within the bounds of what is now Boone county; it is less than a half of a century since the uncivilized aborigines roamed the prairies wild and free, unfettered by the restraint of common or statutory law and uncircumscribed by township boundaries and county lines. Almost a century ago a friend of America, although an Englishman, in language almost prophetic, wrote:
"Westward the course of empire takes its way;
The four first acts already past,
A fifth shall close the drama with the day
Time's noblest offspring is the last."
The compiler of a history of a county has a task which may seem to be comparatively easy, and the facts which come within the legitimate scope of the work may appear commonplace when compared with national events; the narration of the peaceful events attending the conquests of industry as "Westward the course of empire takes its way" may seem tame when contrasted with accounts of battles and sieges. Nevertheless, the faithful gathering and the truthful narration of facts bearing upon the early settlement of this county and the dangers, hardships and privations encountered by the early pioneers engaged in advancing the standards of civilization is a work of no small magnitude and the facts thus narrated are such as may challenge the admiration and arouse the sympathy of the reader though they have nothing to do with feats of arms.

Whoever has made it his business to study the "Great Northwest" as it has unfolded itself in history during the last quarter of a century has doubtless met with ever recurring surprises. The story of its unparalleled growth and almost phenomenal development has so often been repeated that it has become a commonplace platitude; but a careful study of the country will suggest questions which have thus far not been answered, and cannot be. Why, for instance, have some sections filled up so rapidly, and certain cities sprung up as if by magic, while others, seemingly no less favored by nature, are still in the first stages of development? These questions cannot, in all cases, be answered; but whoever has studied the matter carefully cannot fail to have discovered a law of growth which is as unvarying as any law of nature. The two leading factors in the problem of municipal growth are location and character of first settlers. The location of Boone county was most favorable; and what is true of Boone county is true of the whole State. Almost surrounded, as it is, by two of the most renowned water-courses of the world, one will readily see that it possessed advantages enjoyed by no other State in the Union. These conditions, so favorable to the past and future development of the country, are beautifully illustrated by an ingenious little poem entitled "Two Ancient Misses" written by a gentleman who has won a wide-spread reputation at the bar, and whose name, were we at liberty to give it, would be familiar to most of the people of Boone county. We here quote it, as it well illustrates our point and is of sufficient merit to be preserved.
TWO ANCIENT MISSES.

I know two ancient misses
Who ever onward go,
From a cold and rigid northem clime
Through a land of wheat and com and wine,
To the southern sea where the fig and the lime
And the golden orange grow.

In graceful curves they wind about
Upon their long and lonely route.
Among the beauteous hills
They never cease their onward step,
Though day and night they're dripping wet,
And oft with the sleet and snow beset,
And sometimes with the chills.

The one is a romping, dark brunette,
As fickle and gay as any coquette;
She glides along by the western plains,
And changes her bed every time it rains;
Witching as any dark-eyed houri.
This romping, wild brunette Missouri.

The other is placid, mild and fair,
With a gentle, sylph-like, quiet air.
And a voice as sweet as a soft guitar;
She moves along the meadows and parks
Where naiads play Aelian harps —
None ever go by fits and starts —
No fickle coquette of the city.
But gentle, constant Mississippi.

I love the wild and dark brunette
Because she is a gay coquette;
Her, too, I love, of quiet air,
Because she's gentle, true and fair.
The land of my birth, on the east and the west,
Embraced by these is doubly blest—
'Tis hard to tell which I love best.
It has been intimated by one that there is nothing in a name, but a name sometimes means a great deal. In this case it indicates the character of the people who settled the county, and have given to it its distinctive characteristics.

Names are sometimes given to towns and countries by accident; sometimes they originate in the childish caprice of some one individual, whose dictate, by reason of some real or imaginary superiority, is law. However, in this instance, the county and its chief city did not receive a name by accident; neither did it originate in the childish caprice of one man, but the christening took place after mature deliberation and by general consent.

Among the hardy pioneers whose restless and daring spirits tired of the staid and monotonous ways of the older settled communities, there was one who early crossed the Alleghanies and wrested from the warlike savages a home in what has very properly been named the "Dark and Bloody Ground." For true manliness of character, for bravery and for skill in dealing with the crafty red man of the forest he was without a peer. His name was Daniel Boone. This man had a son who inherited a great many traits of his father and was in a remarkable degree endowed with those characteristics which distinguished the daring frontiersman of the far West.

It would be entirely unnecessary to explain to the early settlers who were the United States Dragoons. Though the early settlers of this county are mostly well along in years and their recollection of early events is gradually wearing away by the erasion of passing events, there are doubtless none but what appreciate the significance of the term "Dragoon" and who even at this late day can call back the picture of those dignified and pompous, though brave and honorable, persons who were a terror alike to the predatory savage and the covetous claim hunter. The children of the pioneer and those people who have come to the country in later years have not been accustomed to associate with these doughty champions of law and order, and for the benefit of such a word of explanation would, perhaps, not be amiss.

The term dragoon originated in England many years ago and was applied to a certain species of cavalry soldiers who rode swift horses, went lightly armed and whose business it was to scour the King's dominions and by menace or actual deeds of violence awe the obstinate Saxon into submission.

Their first appearance in America was during the Revolutionary War when they performed important service by making long and rapid excursions through the country within the American lines and thus keeping open a line of communication with the tories who were scattered throughout the whole country. What the Cossack is to the Russian array, and what Mosby's and Forest's swift riders were to the Confederate army, that the dragoons were to the English soldiery. When the war of independence closed and the colonies, by the terms of the treaty of peace, became free and independent, it became necessary for the republic to organize an army, and in the organization of this army, that of England was taken as a model; and not only English tactics but English military terms were appropriated. The term dragoon is no longer used in military parliance but from the organization of the United States army till sometime after the close of the Mexican War the dragoon was an important, and what was supposed to be an indispensable, factor in the service. Their peculiar mission for over fifty years was to lead in the van of civilization and act as umpire in cases of dispute between the pioneer and the savage. In time of war they encircled the scattering settlements of the frontier like a wall of fire and many a defenseless settler owed the protection of his life and family to these men. They fully understood the Indian character and Indian tactics and under ordinary circumstances one dragoon was a match for five Indians in an open and hand to hand conflict. In time of peace, however, the dragoon knew no friends and was as swift and unrelenting in administering punishment to the trespassing settler as to the savage Indian. One day his mission would be to pursue a band of hostile Indians who had left their reservation and menaced the life or property of the settler; the next day, perchance, his task would be to search out the aggressive squatter who, ignoring Indian treaties, had erected a cabin across the boundary line; when he found such the dragoon would invariably burn the cabin and drive the squatter back across the line.

One of the first companies of United States Dragoons stationed in this section of country was commanded by Colonel Boone. He was among the first white men who explored the region and gave a correct account of its natural resources and as a tribute to his memory the county bears his name.

The following brief biography of Colonel Boone will be of interest to every reader of this work and will doubtless be regarded as relevant at this place. For the facts in this biography we are indebted to Chas. Negus whose able article on the subject, published in the Annals of Iowa in 1872, has come to be regarded as an important part of the permanent history of the Hawk-Eye State:

"There is one name, which, whenever it is mentioned among military men and old frontiermen, is always mentioned with respect, and that name is Nathan Boone. On account of his father, Colonel Daniel Boone of Kentucky, the fame of the son is not as wide-spread as it should be, nor is it such as he was justly entitled to. He was born in Kentucky in 1772, in the settlement made by his father; lived there until he was grown to manhood, and then moved to the Territory of Missouri, where, at thirty years of age, and on the 25th day of March, 1812, he was made, by the President of the United States, a captain of mounted rangers. These rangers, of which there were seven companies, were raised during the war with Great Britian, for the protection of the frontier of the United States against the Indians, and were to serve on foot or horseback, as the exigencies of the service might require. He served through the whole war, his company being made up of frontiersmen from Missouri Territory. He was promoted major of the Missouri mounted rangers, on the 10th of December, 1813, continued as captain in 1814, and his command was finally disbanded when the whole army was cut down at the close of the war, in June, 1815. By nature he was cool and daring, combining the superior knowledge of the white man with the cunning of the Indian. He had the passion peculiar to his family for the chase, and often went off on long and lonely marches, far beyond the most extended frontier settlements, in pursuit of the denizens of the forest. After leaving the army, he was sometimes employed as a surveyor, and laid off many Indian boundaries in the territory north of Missouri; and sometimes as a trapper, when he indulged his love for hunting for months together. His home he moved beyond the Ozark Mountains, where, in a beautiful valley, and far in advance of civilization , he made it cheerful and happy.

"There he lived until the breaking out of the Black Hawk War, when he was again called upon by the President to serve his country in the field. A battalion of mounted rangers was raised and placed under the command of Major Henry Dodge, the six companies of which it was composed being commanded respectively by Captains Lemuel Ford, Benjamin V. Becks, Jesse B. Brown, Jesse Bean, Nathan Boone, and Matthew Duncan. Captain Boone's commision was dated June 16, 1832. This battalion rendered good service during the Black Hawk troubles, and after the war closed it was sent west ot the Mississippi, and served in the Indian country. Here, Boone's knowledge of woodcraft was invaluable, and he was known to be one of the ablest woodsmen that ever belonged to the United States army. He could go to any point in a straight line, no matter whether it was across the prairie or through the timber, and possessed a keener instinct than the Indians themselves. He was an extraordinary man, and it is said that no Indian hunter excelled him in the knowledge of woodcraft.

"In August, 1833, the battalion of rangers was reorganized as the First regiment of United States dragoons, Major Dodge having been promoted colonel: Stephen W. Kearney lieutenant-colonel, and Richard B. Mason, major. Five of the captains in the rangers were retained, Captain Becks having been discharged, and five other captains from the old array appointed to the regiment; these were Clinton Wharton, Edwin V. Sumner, Eustace Trenor, David Hunter, and Reuben Holmes.

"While a captain, Boone was stationed at Fort Des Moines, and at Leavenworth, but every summer his company made long expeditions far out in the Indian country. He was the favorite pioneer captain of Colonel Kearney, who had the most implicit confidence in his knowledge and sagacity. It is related that at one time, while out in the buffalo range, several young and enthusiastic officers started out and followed a drove of bufialo a long distance. They became separated frora the main command and frora one another, and, in fact, got lost. Night carae on, but still the young gentlemen did not return, and all became exceedingly apprehensive in regard to their safety. A long night ensued, but with the first light of the following morning Boone was on the trail, though in some places it had been obliterated by the hoofs of thousands of buffaloes; and after a long search, found them completely lost, and almost insane.

"At another time, an ofiicer, while in pursuit of buffaloes, after riding several miles, lost his hat, but in the hurry of pursuit did not stop to pick it up. After shooting a buffalo, he returned and tried to find it, but could not do so, and tying his handkerchief around his head he returned to the main body. Boone asked him where he had lost his hat, and the ofiicer told hira it was soraewhere out on the plain—he did not know where. As a hat at that tirae could not well be replaced, it was worth looking after, and Boone rode out, and having been gone an hour or two, returned with the hat.

"In the settlement of the Osage Indian difficulties, in 1837, and those of the Cherokees, which originated in the death of Boudinot and Ridges, in 1839, Boone acted a conspicuous part.

"During the Mexican War he was kept on the plains in the Indian country, where it was thought he could be more usefully eraployed than he could further south. He was proraoted major in the First regiment on the 15th of February, 1847, and served as such until the 25th of July, 1850, when he was promoted lieutenant-colonel of the Second dragoons. Feeling that old age was wearing upon him, and that he was no longer able to keep the field, he resigned out of the army on the 15th of July, 1853, and died at his home in Missouri, in January, 1857, in the seventy-fifth year of his age.

"Several of the paths leading towards the Rocky Mountains were first traveled by parties under the leadership of Boone, and he discovered many of the water-courses and streams along which travelers have since wended their way to the shores of the Pacific. This work has been claimed by explorers who have visited the country long since his time, and who have robbed him of the credit which was due him as a successful pioneer and noted leader on our wide western domain. He was a man of great modesty and simplicity of character. His education was quite limited, as he lived nearly his whole life on the frontier, away from schools and the advantages which most other Americans possess. He had the most unflinching perseverance, combined with personal courage, and an integrity wliich nothing could shake. In personal appearance he is said to have strongly resembled his celebrated father, Daniel Boone, the first settler of Kentucky.

Source: The History of Boone County, Iowa, 1880, Union Historical Company
Transcribed by Lynn Diemer-Mathews and uploaded November 3, 2023.

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