CHAPTER XVII.
Mr. Knowls did
not hold on very long to his mound claim. It was probably not
more than a year after our coming that he sold it to a large
family, familiarly known as the Broady’s.
The family
consisted of Mr. and Mrs. Broady, with five sons, John, Hugh,
William, Stephen and Jesse; with three daughters, Mrs. Mitchell,
Hannah and Jane, and the son-in-law, Mr. Mitchell.
The name was in
bad odor, and consequently the whole family had to suffer the
reproach. From my remembrance of them, however, as a boy, I am
not prepared to join in the wholesale condemnation of the entire
family. Bill and Steve and Jesse were notorious horse thieves,
and all of them were finally convicted of crime and had to
suffer the penalty of the law for their miss-deeds.
I remember
Steve, especially, as a fine looking young man, with keen, black
eyes, rather short and muscular, and as active as a cat. With
one bound he would spring from the ground into the saddle of his
fine steed without touching anything except the horn of the
saddle with his left hand. He was shockingly profane, and bore
every mark of being a bad character.
Of the two older
brothers I do not remember to have ever heard anything amiss.
For aught I know to the contrary they were honest men. I have
heard it said that the old man was somewhat light-fingered, an
that it was not altogether safe to leave anything lying around
loose that he could get hold of without being observed.
As to the women
of that household I never heard a word against them. They
appeared well and were good neighbors. The youngest
daughter, Jane, was a young lady of rare attractions, beautiful
in person and ladylike in her deportment, and her reputation was
that of a good honest girl.
We saw more or
less of the family during the one or two years that they lived
on the mound farm, but we had very little to do with them in the
way of business of any kind, and we were very glad that they did
not in any way molest us.
We had one very
valuable mare that must have been a strong and constant
temptation to the thieves, and we had good evidence that they
had tried their best to capture here as she was running loose on
the prairie. But fortunately for us, though inconvenient at
times, this beautiful animal was very hard to catch. But for
this fact there is no doubt she would have been stolen.
After leaving
here the elder Mr. Broady went into a county north of us where
he located and spent the residue of his life. He died many years
ago. The older sons,
I understand, are still living in this state and are regarded as
honest men and good citizens. Some of them it is reported are
professors of religion and are living consistent Christian
lives.
Although
compelled to write as I have done with regard to some of the
members of the family, it gives me unfeigned pleasure to make
mention of those who are endeavoring to live honest and upright
lives. It is a consoling thought that God knows the heart, and
no matter what our relatives may do, we are not held responsible
for their misdeeds.
The mound farm
did not remain long in the possession of the Broady’s, possibly
a year and a half, when it came into the possession of the
notorious Joel Leverich.
Everybody knew
him and everybody dreaded him, especially when he was under the
influence of liquor, which was often the case. Even his best
friends then felt it to be prudent to give him a wide berth, not
knowing what instant he would take it into his head to knock
them down. Whiskey seemed to make a demon of him, and to attempt
to reason with him while under its influence would have been as
futile as to try to reason with a cyclone. His poor wife, a most
patient and estimable Christian woman, would sometimes hide away
from him for days, lest in his fits of uncontrolled and
uncontrollable passion he might take her life. And yet “Old
Joe,” as he was popularly called, had a good deal of influence
in the community. He was a strong partisan politician and
whoever arrayed himself against him, was sure to have a hard
battle to fight, and in the end would very likely meet with
defeat.
He was as keen
and cunning and wily as the old serpent himself, and it was very
hard to circumvent him in his plans. He was accused
of harboring horse thieves and of making counterfeit money.
As to whether he
ever did either or not I could not say, but I remember well
hearing him say that he “could make a little the cleanest bogus
of any man in the country, and that old McKnight would not
refuse it.” Mr. McKnight was the United States officer whose
duty it was to receive the money from the settlers when they
came to enter or pay for their lands.
And so of course
any money that would pass current with him would have to be a
remarkably good imitation of the genuine coin. But there can be
no doubt that by such remarks Mr. Leverich wished to leave the
impression that he had nothing to do with counterfeiting in any
way. But however guilty he may have been, he was so shrewd and
so sly that no one could ever convict him, although the attempt
was several times made. But as bad as he
was himself it pleased him to have any one speak well of his
wife, although he was so cruel to her in his own treatment.
Judge Parvin
tells me that years ago when Mr. Leverich lived near Muscatine,
he was brought up in court for counterfeiting, Mr. Parvin at
that time acting as district attorney for that district and his
home being in Muscatine. The evidence seemed strong against
Leverich, and Mr. Parvin had no doubt of his guilt.
In the course of
his plea in behalf of the state, he took occasion to denounce
the prisoner in the severest terms; and looking him square in
the face and pointing his finger at him he said “it was a
burning shame and disgrace that a man of his intelligence and
ability should degrade himself and his family by engaging in
such villainous work”. Continuing his plea he said, “I
understand that he has a noble Christian wife at home; why could
he not devote those noble God-given faculties of his to better
purposes, and so prove an honor and blessing to her whom he had
sworn to love and cherish, instead of bringing upon her untold
sorrow and disgrace”. In the evening after court had adjourned
and Mr. Pavin was at the hotel, Mr. Leverich called at the door
and desired to speak with the district attorney. Some of Mr.
Parvin’s friends warned him not to go out, for Joe Leverich
would be likely to kill him. Mr. Parvin, however promptly went
to the door, and as he closed it after him he stood a moment
with his hand on the knob. “Let go of that knob,” said Leverich”.
“Are you not afraid of me”? “No”, said Mr. Parvin. “You are
able to kill me if you choose, but one thing you cannot do. You
cannot scare me. “Well said Joe” I admire your pluck, but I did
not come to scare you nor to hurt you, but you told the truth
about my wife.
She is a good
woman and I would be glad to have you see her, and I am sure she
would be glad to see you. If ever you come our way I would be
glad to have you come and spend the night with us, and you shall
have the best the house affords”.
Sometime after
that Mr. Parvin passed that way and he decided to accept Mr.
Leverich’s invitation. Calling at the door Mrs. Leverich met
him, and when he made himself known she kindly received him into
her home. After a while Mr. Leverich came in and was equally
cordial in his greeting, and so Mr. Parvin spent a very pleasant
night with them.
Mr. Leverich was
an out and out infidel, his favorite book being Tom Paine’s “Age
of Reason,” his copy of that work being the only one, I believe,
I ever saw.
The names he
chose for his sons will readily indicate the bent of his mind on
that subject. They were Chauncy, Volney, Voltaire and Hume. The
daughters were Maria and Frances Wright, both of them, I
believe, worthy daughters of a good Christian mother.
Towards the
close of his life his stomach became so inflamed and diseased by
his intemperate habits that he was compelled to desist from his
cups, sometimes for weeks together. But the fatal spell was upon
him, and he continued to have his periodical sprees to the end
of his life.
In his last
illness Dr. Ely was called in to attend him. His brother James,
who was keeping a saloon at that time, was anxious to know the
result of the doctor’s examination. The doctor frankly told him
that Joe’s sickness was the result of his long life of
dissipation, and that his stomach was eaten up by ulcers. James
could scarcely believe that the use of alcohol could produce
such direful effects, and if convinced of the fact, said he
would cease to sell the poisonous stuff any longer.
After the death
of Mr. Leverich, James requested a post-mortem examination, and
Dr. Ely showed him the stomach in the precise condition that he
had before described it. And so, true to his word, James closed
out his business and engaged in something less harmful to his
fellow-men. I think it was
1842 or 1843 that Mr. Leverich sold out his claim to Judge
Green.
For a time after
that he lived near the McLeod springs, and then later moved to
town where he died not many years after, unmourned and unwept.
His profligate life shortened his days and ended his career.
Sometime before
his death, I was told, that he uttered the poor dying infidel’s
prayer: “O God, if there be a God, have mercy on my soul, if I
have a soul.”
And so we turn
away from the sad scene of a wrecked life. Poor old Joe! He had
a hard and unhappy life and a bitter, gloomy end. |
