DAVENPORT PAST AND PRESENT

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CHAPTER XXIII.

A picture of James Thorington is included with thischapter.  Please go to the Scott County Main page and click onPictures/Documents to view this picture.

The foregoing, although including the prominent men ofDavenport, does not contain all who are prominent, either from longresidence, the possession of ability, public spirit, or such other qualities asentitle their possessors to prominence in any community.  There are othershere whose biographies would confer honor upon any work - among whom are Dr.Barrows, Hon. John P. Cook, Ebenezer Cook, Hon. James Grant, Gen. Geo. B.Sargent, D. C. Eldridge, John Forrest, Andrew Logan, J. M. D. Burrows, HarveyLeonard, and not a few others.  Circumstances, however, forbid a lengthenedmention, however much each deserves it.

The following are the names of settlers who came to Scott countyon and previous to 1840, with hte year of their coming:

SETTLERS OF 1836

DEAD AND NON-RESIDENT.

SETTLERS OF 1837

DEAD AND NON-RESIDENT.

SETTLERS OF 1838

DEAD AND NON-RESIDENT.

SETTLERS OF 1839

DEAD AND NON-RESIDENT.

SETTLERS OF 1840

DIED AND NON-RESIDENT.

*DECEASED

Appropriate and pertinent to the Biographies, are theproceedings of the PIONEER SETTLERS ASSOCIATION OF SCOTT COUNTY, and their First ANNUAL FESTIVAL, held onMonday evening of February 22d, at the Burtis House, in the city of Davenport.

At a meeting of old settlers of Scott county, who becameresidents prior to December 31, 1840, held in LeClaire Hall, Davenport, pursuantto a notice in the daily papers, on the evening of Saturday, January 28, 1858,some sixty persons were assembled.  The meeting was called to order byDuncan C. Eldridge, Esq., whereupon Ebenezer Cook, Esp., was elected Chariman,and John Coffin, Secretary, of the meeting.

The Chairman, on taking his seat, expressed, with a few happyremarks, the pleasure which it gave him to meet so many of his old friends onthis occasion, and alluded to the warm interest he had always felt in those whohad stood side by side with him in the hardships and struggles incident to theearly settlement of this county.  He said, "that if there was anythingof good about him, if he had ever been of any service to this community, and infact for all he was at this day, he felt himself indebted to the early settlersof this county,  who had always stood by him; that he had always beenwilling to divide the last crust of bread with any one of them that needed, andhe prayed to God, that  as long as he lived, he might be disposed to dividewith them the last shirt on his back, if any one of them required it."

On motion of James Mcintosh, Esq., a Committee of five wasappointed by the Chair to draft a Preamble and Resolutions for organizing theAssociation.

The Chair appointed James McIntosh, Willard Barrows, John F.Dillon, D. C. Eldridge, and Edward Ricker, Esquires, said Committee.

While the Committee was absent, the meeting was entertained byWm. McCammon, Esq., and by the Hon. John P. Cook.

The Committee then presented the following Preamble andResolutions, which were unanimously adopted:

WHEREAS, it was our destiny, as American citizens, excited by aspirit of laudable enterprise, to be the pioneers in the settlement of this fairand fertile section of our State:  and, whereas, it seems desirable that weshould perpetuate the memory of that settlement, and from time to time recallthe history of the past, so rich in incident of great and varied interest,therefore, be it -

Resolved,  That all those who became residents ofthe Territory, now known as Scott county, in Iowa, prior to December 31, 1840,form themselves into a society, the object of which shall be to extend the righthand of fellowship to all those who have lived through the honorable conflict ofthe past to share and enjoy the prosperity of the present, and to interchangecongratulations, that their early struggles and hardships have resulted in agrowth and development almost without a parallel.

Resolved,  That this Association be known by thename of ________

Resolved,  That its officers shall consist of aPresident, ten Vice Presidents, a Secretary and Treasurer; and an ExecutiveCommittee of five members, said committee to be appointed by the President.

Resolved,  That a committee of three members beappointed by the Chair, to draft a Constitution and By-Laws to be submitted foradoption at the next meeting.

Resolved,  That a committee of five members beappointed to make arrangements for a festival to be held in this city, on the22d day of February, 1858.

Resolved,  That tickets of invitation be sent to all"Pioneer Settlers" who have since become non-residents of this county.

Considerable discussion on the subject of a name, and the word"Pioneer," having to the mids of many present a sacredness in thisconnection, it was moved by the Hon. Juo. P. Cook, and voted, that the blank befilled, so that the resolution as framed, stands thus:

Resolved,  That this Association be known by thename of "The Pioneer Settlers' Association of Scott county."

The chair appointed Judge Weston, Jno. F. Dillon, and C. C.Alvord, Esquires, committee on Constitution and By-Laws; and appointed WillardBarrows, A. H. Owens, James McIntosh, Geo. L. Davenport, and D. C. Eldridge,Esquires, a committee on the festival.

The Association then proceeded to elect its first officers,which resulted in the choice of the following named gentlemen:

Tickets having been issued, including Old Settlers, Press,Clergy, and Author and Publishers of "Davenport Past and Present,"there was on Monday night of the 22nd of February, a crowded assemblage in themagnificent Halls and Parlors of the "Burtis House."  A happiercrowd, and one whose sympathies and affections were so freely and harmoniouslydeveloped, never, perhaps, assembled in such numbers.  Formality, caste,old feuds, dislikes, and all unkindnesses, were merged, and disappeared in thejoyous friendliness that filled each heart - lips were wreathed in smiles, whitelocks were haloed with the sunshine of the occasion - hard, stern features, thatfor years had scowled upon life's difficulties, lost their rigidity, andreflected only happiness.  It was more, in all respects, like an assemblingof loving brothers around the household hearth after long years of separtation -there was the same cordial warmth of greeting, the same affectionate enquiries,and the same happy yielding to the spirit of the occasion.  Not less,perhaps, than eight hundred were present - the oldest of whom was Mr. ELIHUALVORD, who had attained the ripe old age of eighty-three.

The assembly was called to order by EBENEZER COOK, Esq., and thePresident, ANTOIN LECLAIRE, took his seat.  After the Davenport Brass Bandhad discoursed a fine piece of music, a cane presentation took place.  Thecane was of native hickory, mounted with a costly gold head, upon which wasengraved - "Pioneer Settlers' Association of Scott county, organizedJanuary, 1858."  On the lower part of the head was engraved the nameof the first President, Antoine LeClaire, with space for the name of allsucceeding ones-as the cane is to be handed down from President to Presidentuntil the last Old Settler has departed to another life.  The presentationwas made by JOHN F. DILLON, accompanied by a short speech in his felicitous andpoetical style.  He said-

MR. PRESIDENT:-I am charged with the grateful duty of presentingyou with this insignia of your office.  You, who were the first to pioneerthe way to this lovely spot, lovelier and richer than the land "flowng withmilk and honey."  You, who have used the wealth it has been your goodfortune to acquire, in constant endeavors to promote the growth and advance theinterests of our city and country-you, who are confessed first in the esteem ofall old pioneers, have been unanimously elected our first President.  Happyare we, that your life has been bounteously lengthened out to behold this night. Happy that we are able to bestow upon you this testimonial of our regard.

What endeared recollections, and thronging visions this occasionmust call up and inspire.  Who would not foundly "give the hope ofyears" to enjoy the satisfaction and delight that must to-night be yours! A thousand incidents strike the electric chain of memory, and in the lightof its corruscations the past comes back again, and glows vividly before you! How pleasant, at times, to retouch memories that are being moss-grown, toretint the fast fading pictures of life!

The changes you have seen, how astonishing!  The likewhereof will be sought for in vain, in the realities of history, and in thedreams of poetry.

Since the world began, it has never in any age or countryexhibited a growth so solid, and a develpment so amazing as that which youyourself have witnessed.  So rapid and thorough is the progress ofimprovement, that the memorials of our early setlement are fast passing away. Scarcely a trace or vestige of the primitive log-cabin remains; and theinquiry might be pertinently raised, not "have we a Bourbon," but"have we a log-cabin among us?"  These have been succeeded bycomfortable and elegant dwellings-but why specify changes when specificationwere endless.  All, all is changed, save the unchanging sky above us, andthe changeless river that rolls by us; magnificent river!

"Time writes no wrinkles on thine azure brow,

and without avouching its geological accuracy let me add -

Such as creation's dawn behold thou rollest now."

How often in the quiet watches of the night, when I have beheldthe glory of the one, refected in and increased by that of the other, has myheart melted with gratitude, that aspiring man could not reach the heavens tocover them with signs and placards, or mar the beauty of eath's glorious watercourses.  Especially have you observed, sir, with intense interest, thegrowth of our fair and proud young city.

This interest has not been the indifferent interest of a merespectator, but with you it has pertaken of a warmer nature; it has claimedkindred with a paternal solicitude, and witout demur has had its claim allowed.

Our feeble infancy-our slow growth-our precarious situation-ourgloomy prospects awakened for awhile the most tender concern and anxiousforebodings.  These dark days happily have passed away, we trust, to returnnever more; and Davenport to-day, in size and beauty, stand peerless amongrivals,-the "Queen City" of Iowa.  Well may we rejoice to-nightwith you, in the triumphs of a faith in our destiny, that has suffered allthings, endured all things, hoped all things even unto the end.  But theseexultant feelings and grateful reflections come to us mingled, and tinged, andsoftened and subdued with those of a sadder nature.  While we have beenbusy, time and death have not been idle.

But I may not further indulge in reflections that crowd forutterance, save to say, that this cane, made from a stick of native growth, andskillfully fashioned by the hand of a member of our Association, is thedistinctive, and we think fitting and appropriate badge of your office.  Assuch, it is intended to be preserved with jealous care, and to be transmittedsuccessively from President to President, until our Society shall be no more.

On it will be found engraved your own name-the name of ourAssociation, and the date of its organization.

It affords me unfeigned pleasure, sir, in behalf of the PioneerSettlers' Association of Scott county,' to present this ensign of office andhonor to you - the first President, wondering, who, of those present, shallenjoy the enviable, yet melancholy distinction of being the last.

This effort was highly applauded, after which the President,through E. Cook, Esq., responded as follows:

"Mr. Dillon:-I receive this cane, the ensignia of myoffice, as President of the "Pioneer Settlers' Association of ScottCounty," with great pleasure, not alone because I shall take pride in itsexhibition, not alone because of its beautiful and skilful workmanship, notalone for the very flattering remarks attendant upon its presentation, either ofwhich causes would justify the feeling, but chiefly because it is, and isintended by the Association as a tangible memento of the past, and of the earlyhistory of the settlement of our country, to be handed down, I trust, to futuregenerations, to be preserved for all time; to be exhibitied to thousands uponthousands of our descendents, yet unborn, as having been designed, made, andhandled by their forefathers, the first settlers of Scott county.

With this cane, shall go down, I trust, the records of ourAssociation, and if the members are faithful, and furnish, as required by theConstitution, the leading incidents of their lives, connected with theirsettlement and habitation in this county, to be placed upon the records, howinteresting to those who come after us will be this cane, as a tangible memorialof their forefathers, long since crumbled into the dust from which they came,and whose history, to a greater or less extent, is written in the records beforethem.

Methinks, as I look into the far, far future, I see within thelimits of our county, a noble Building, dedicated to some noble Public objects,and there, in some suitable and proper place, are deposited the records andtestimonials of this Association.  Within its walls is a living crowd,pressing forward, eager to see and persue the record, to see and touch thememorials handed down with it, and I hear them say, "These were sent downto us from our forefathers-here is written a history of the first settlement ofhtis beautiful land, of the trials and hardships endured, and of the triumphswon by them.  Let them be perserved forever."

Ladies and gentlemen, members of this Association, let me chargeupon you that you impress upon your children, and childrens' children, that theyhold it as a sacred duty, when we shall all have passed away from earth, topreserve, intact, the records and memorials of our Association, and to transmitthem unimpaired to future generations.

You have been pleased, sir, to allude in very flattering termsto me, personally.  If I have, in the course of a long life spent here,entitled myself to, and won the respect of my fellow men, particularly the OldSettlers of the county, I am amply repaid for any and all exertions I may havebeen able to make to aid in advancing the interests and prosperity of ourbeloved city and county.

If I have acquired wealth, it is to the settlement of thecountry that I am indebted for it, for of what value would have been the land onwhich this city and the city of LeClaire is built, except from the fact thatyou, gentlemen, of this Association, settled upon and improved the lands of thecounty, and thereby enabled us to build up a city?  So that, gentlemen, wesee that we are dependent, to a greater or less extent, upon one another, andwhen we so act as to confer a benefit upon the community, we really arebenefitting ourselves.

The Association has been pleased to elect me their firstPresident.  I take this, the first opportunity afforded me to return mysincere and heartfelt thanks for this expression of confidence and respect. The object and aim of this organization is so eminently and apparentlyproper, that it is needless for me here to advert to it, other than to say thatI am rejoiced that the step has been taken, and that there is the interestmanifested in the subject that is apparent here to-night, and I trust thatinterest will be kept up and maintained by every member so long as he shalllive.

This cane, made as you say, from a stick of native growth, is afit and proper emblem of the office for which it is designed, for in theordinary course of things it is to be presumed that your Presidents will be menadvanced in years, who will require its aid and support.  It is, too, a fitand proper emblem, as it will remind your future Presidents tha theirpredecessors who have leaned upon it for support, have passed down the vale oftime into eternity, whither they must soon follow, and surrender it again to aidand support some other aged man down the same path, until, at last, the last manof your Association shall grasp it, and in the performance of his sad duty,provide for it, and other memorials, a place of deposit, which we trust shall bekept sacred forever."

"After the ceremony of the Cane Presentation was concluded,the "First Annual Address" was dilivered by Hon. John P. Cook. It is a splendid production, and presents in its combinations the finestblending of philosophy, humor, wit, and pathos, that ever was delivered inDavenport.  We give it entire, although it lacks the forcible expression,easy emphasis, and generally graceful oratory of the speaker:

"Mr. President, and Ladies and Gentlemen:

Through the politeness of the committee appointed to arrange forthis occssion, it has befallen to my lot to address your association, on thisthe first festival of the Pioneers of Scott county.

The interest manifested in this organization, this largeassembly, and the familiar nod of recognition passing from one to another,attest the perfect happiness we all feel in this union, made genial by thehardships of the past, the joy of the present, and hopes for the future.

In the West such a society is neither new nor uncommon. The first settlers of Illinois, Wisconsin, and of many of the oldercounties in our own beautiful Iowa, have been drawn together by that fraternalregard which is always warm in the nonest heart of an "old pioneer."

If, in the excitement of business, and the duties of life, wehave hitherto neglected to come together, as the pioneers of Scott county, thegreater reason now exists, that we should nourish this infant association, andmake it promotive of every good and noble sympathy of the heart.

Our organization is now complete, our names are enrolled, andwith the exception of absentees, and such as have not yet joined, althoughentitled to membership our ranks are full, and under our constitution there canbe no accession to our number, other than exceptions named.  With a justappreciation of the memory of the dead, you have procured the names of those whosettled in this county prior to 1840, but who now no longer live, so that yourrecords will perpetuate their names, who have "acted well their part,"and now sleep beneath the cold clods of the valley, as ours, who have survivedto consummate this organization.  In thus recording the names of the dead,who were our companions in frontier life, we but open a record that will sooncontain the names of all who now stand recorded as living member so thisassociation.

For a moment give free scope to the imagination, and go with meto a period thirty, forty, perhaps fifty years hence, and behold here a city oftwo hundred thousand inhabitants, all eager to act their part in the business oflife, running hither and thither, jostling each other in the crowd, some seekingthe profits of commerce, some collecting the news of the day, some chasingpleasure, some bent on mischief, some bound for the station house of a balloonabout to be wafted across the continent with a full load of human beings, whoexpect to dine in New York on the same day, some about to seat themselves in thecars of an atmospheric railway, advertised to go through to the seaboard in twohours, without change of cars, and amid the confusion, splendor and enterprise,let us, on the 22d day of that February, enter the spacious building onTwenty-Fifth street, and see congregated the last of the Scott county pioneers. There sits the President, surrounded by the survivors, numbering five,perhaps more, faithful hearts, whose whitened locks, and trembling limbs, denotethem children of a century, past and gone.

They are looking back over the last years, and with vividrecollections of the early history of our own country, are recounting many ofthe hardships and incidents of frontier life; they recall the first festival ofthe association, and mention the names, and drop tears to the memory of manyassembled here to-day; they have before them the record of the association, andit tells of your annual meetings and festivals - your official doings - thenames of your officers - and it faithfully preserves the history of manyincidents in the existence of your association.

Some venerable patriarch selected from that little band deliversthe annual address, and he wants not matters of interest, appropriate to theoccasion, to talk about, and with which to hold the attention of his hearers.

"Fond memory brings the light Of other days aroundthem."

Is that the last festival?  Another year rolls around, andthat cane supports the aged frame of the President to the Festive Hall, where hemeets friends young and old; but one, a solitary one shall grasp his hand, andexclaim -

"We two alone remain, the rest are gone, all gone!"

In the ordinary course of nature, it is reasonable to suppose,that the younger members of the association will be among the last survivors ofour number, and upon them will fall the duty of closing our records, andproviding a depository for everything pertaining to the association.

Young man! that duty may be yours; act well your part throughlife, that we may have a worthy representative in closing an association sosuspiciously commenced.

Teach your children to venerate the land they are to inhabit,and impress upon them the duty they owe to their native home, and their pioneerforefathers.

Leave to them as a rich legacy the pleasing duty of providing afitting receptacle for the records and memorials of the association, that they,and their children's children, may ever find a faithful history of the earlypioneers, and of the settlement of the country.

Admonish them, that when the spirit of the last one of us takesits flight from earthly scenes-the sad and interesting duty will devolve uponthem, to follow the remains to their last resting place; to perform the closingscenes in our history, and to write the last chapter of our record.

To the minds of some, such an association may seem of smallimportance and doubtful existence; but I doubt whether a society could beorganized in the West with stronger ties of friendship and sympathy than onewill find among the "Old Settlers."

We have all had our strifes, our political, local, and socialdisagreements, and shall doubtless continue to have them; but they are soonforgiven and forgotten, and we turn to the bright side of the picture, and callto mind the early scenes in our settlement here, while the generous promptingsof the heart bind us more closely together.

There is no period in man's life at which he is not more or lessdependent upon his fellow man, and the experience of every day admonishes usthat we should cultivate the christian virtues and neighborly kindness-and whilewe should manifest these towards all who come in contact with us, they aredoubly due to those who shared our early tolls and privations, and have everbeen ready to lend a helping hand to the "Old Settlers."

The history of the early settlement of Scott county is repletewith interesting incidents, and to those of us who first "squatted"and located our claims upon "Uncles Sam's" land, it is a satisfactionto look back to that period, and compare Scott county then with Scott countynow.  No one here to-day can claim a settlement anterior to that of ourworthy President, and certainly no one has done more than he is aiding andencouraging the first settlers; and I may be permitted thus publicly to recordthe humble acknowledgments of my father's family to him, who was the first toextend his hand, to offer hospitality, and to welcome us to our prairie home. I was but a boy then, yet how well do I remember the scene when I landedone bright May morning in 1836, within four squares of the spot where we are nowassembled.

The ground upon which "mine host" of the Burtis Househas erected this spacious hotel, was a corn field, and two cabins below Mainstreet constituted the improvements of the embryo "City of Davenport;"some half a dozen houses across the river in the then village of Stephensonmarked the spot where now stans our twin sister city.

The booming of the morning gun from Fort Armstrong warned thered man that Uncle Sam's troops were in possession of their island home, andassured the pioneer of protection and safety.  The daily movements of noblesteamers upon the bosom of our majestic river told us that the way was opened toimmigration; while the unclaimed acres invited the husbandman to one of thefinest soils ever warmed by the sun of Heaven.

Need we wonder that the old chieftain, Black Hawk, and his nobleband, refused to yield up the country to their white brethren?  Can weblame them for clinging to this lovely spot, and for lingering around the gravesof their dead?

"O'er the fate of the Indian,

The Great Spirit has cast

The spell of the white man,

His glory is past.

While we may not stay the arm of destiny, that is fast sweepingaway the aborigines of this continent as a distinctive race, we may question thepolicy that would exterminate them, and should throw the broad mantle of charityover their acts.

While bounteous nature had done fully her share in making thiscountry an inviting field for the immigrant, it required the genius andenterprise of man to develop its resources, and plant its towns and villages.

Towns in those days were laid out with reference to naturaladvantages presented by the Mississippi River and its tributaries, and henceevery spot of ground along the river above high water mark (and some below,) wassurveyed, platted, pictured, and named.

I will not undertake the task of recalling the names even of allthe early cities in Scott county, but I must not pass in silence the contest forsupremacy between Davenport and Rockinham.  The history of this strugglefor the county seat of Scott is so fresh in my memory that I can almost hear oneof the "old guard" singing-

"Here we are, a happy, happy band,

On the banks of Rockingham."

Davenport claimed the seat of justice, because of her centrallocality, her high and dry site, her beautiful surroundings, and her many othernatural advantages, which we all now concede and realize-while Rockinghamexpected to become the great centrepot of commerce in consequence of the richtrade that was destined (as she supposed,) to flow from the fertile valley ofRock River.

No one, in those days, expected to live long enough to see theiron horse flying over this western prairie, with its freights of human life,rich merchandize from the East, and the still more valuable products of theWest.

Our ideas about traveling and commerce had not advanced beyond alight draught steamer, and John Frink's mud wagon.  The wisdom and forsightof the statesmen of Illinois were directed to producing slack water navigationin Rock River, and a very decided amount of capital, energy, and enterprise, wasdevoted to building up Rockingham, in order that she might reap the benefit ofthe prosperous trade about to be opened with the Suckers in the rich valley ofthat river.

I think I see the steamer Gipsey, with the boys on board,ready to start out on an experimental trip from the port of Rockingham, boundfor Fox River, with a cargo of sundries, consisting chiefly of scoo-ti-op-o," corn bread and common doins;" Scoo-ti-op-o, "chickinfizins and uncommon doins."  Captain Gray mounts the hurricanedeck, rings the bell, and gives the word to the natives on shore to "castoff the starn hawser."  The old Gipsey moves; that ponderouspile of green oak lumber fastened to her stern slowly revolves, reminding one ofthe current wheels we sometimes see on the rapids of a river.  Away shegoes, and the crowd on her decks give us three cheers at parting' while youngRockingham returns nine yells and a whoop.

Such an event as opening the navigation of Rock River, with astern-wheeler, was one of too much importance in its local bearing upon thefuture of corner lots, for Davenport to wish the Gipsey a safe trip, andthe first impediment to the voyage, and the place where Davenport hopescentered, was at the rapids near Vandruf's Island.

While the "old Gipsey" slowly ploughed her waythrough the waters of Rock River, a delegation of Davenporters cut across byland to the Vandruf rapids, to witness the experiment.  The old steamerpushed on, and boldly approached the rushing waters, and fearful boulders ahead,to the tune of Yankee Doodle, whistled by the wind instruments on board, withthe variations.  The Davenporters lay in ambush, watching the movements ofthe steamer, and wondering if  such a craft could possibly ascend sucha current.  Oh, unfortunate Miss Gipsey! why did you run your nosebetween those sunken boulders, and bring everything up standing?  Whydestroy the precious stores laid in for the trip, by smashing up glass and stoneware, thus rendering your passengers and crew forlorn and spiritless? Will you give it up so?  A yell from the "sepoys" in ambushdecides the question.  The order is given, and all hands boldly jumpoverboard, and never tire or faint until their craft has cleared the treacherousrocks, and is once more in smooth water.

I think I see around me some of the mariners who helped"work the ship" on that occasion, and who made the round trip, andreturned wiser, if not better, fresh water coveys.

Who among you, recollecting the incidents of those stirringtimes, will ever forget the first county-seat question?  Certainly, not theprominent actors on either side, many of whom are with us to-day?  The"border ruffians" of Missouri did not originate the idea of invadingan adjoining territory in order to help their friends at an important election;nor can Mr. Calhoun claim to be the first man to record names whose owners werenot at the ballot box.  We had a "border" and a "Delawarecrossing" long before Kansas was thought of, and, to use an expression ofone of my pioneer friends, there was some "tall doings" on ourborders, and on our crossing.

The Suckers furnished a goodly number for both parties, but thedelegations from "Snake Diggins" and Moscow, (former headed by atwo-fisted miner, and the latter by the "old bogus coon,") increasedthe population of Scott county in one day to a number that astonished theunsophisticated, and threatened the depopulation of some of our sister counties.

Five days before the election, both parties were certain ofsuccess, for each party supposed that it had outwitted the other in importingvoters.  The day of election arrived, and so did the imported parties,rejoicing in the glorious principles of "squatter sovereignty," andbelieving in the regulation of domestic institutions in their own way, subjectonly to the party that could poll the most votes, and make the returns show it.

The result of this election indicated a very respectablepopulation in the county in point of numbers, and proved that Davenport hadcolonized the most votes.  The returns were made to the Governor, whorefused to issue a certificate, in consequence of alleged illegal voting, andthe Legislature again provided for another election, and that the result shouldbe recorded on the records of hte Commissioners of Dubuque county.

The election came off, and Rockingham claimed the victory-whileDavenport declared that the whole thing was illegal and void.  From thepopular arena the contest was transferred before the Commissioners of Dubuquecounty, thence to the Courts, thence to the Legislature, and finally back againto the ordeal of "popular sovereignty."

Immediate preparations were made for another struggle, and nowthree or four different points were brought before the people for the prize. Rockingham saw that she stood no chance in a triangular fight with her oldcompetitor, and at once determined to form an alliance with another rivalcandidate, located near the mouth of Duck Creek, so that the last contest wasreally between Davenport and the Duck Creek cornfield.

The records of this county show that Davenprot was triumphant,and the question was thus forever settled.  The important incidents of thislast election were not of sufficient interest to me at the time, to impress mymind with more than one idea about them.  I saw something "goingup," and broke for "old Cedar."

Rockingham no longer rivals Davenport, but in vindication of thetruth of History, in justice to those who once inhabited the place, and in honorof two of the "old Rockingham guard," who still cling to her soil, Imay be permitted to say, that she was once a great place, and well watered.

During the time of the contest for the county seat, an eventtranspired which must not be omitted, in speaking of the history of oursettlement.  A dispute arose between the State of Missouri, and the thenTerritory of Iowa as to the boundary line between them, and so determined werethe authorties on both sides to exercise jurisdiction over the disputedterritory, that it resulted, in what is known to the Old Settlers, as the"Missouri War."

There were warriors in those days; and I should do injustice tothe patriotism of that period, if I neglected to notice the military daring ofthe volunteers, who rushed to the standard (and rations) of thecommander-in-chief, in obedience to his call.

The Sheriff of a border county in Iowa undertook to enforce thecollection of taxes in the disputed Territory.  He was arrested by theauthorities of Missouri.  The executive of Iowa demanded his release. It was refused; and to rescue this Sheriff, Governor Lucas ordered out themilitia, and called for volunteers.  "My voice is now for war" -was the patriotic response of every true "Hawkeye."  The countyseat question was forgotten in the more important duty of driving the invadersfrom our soil.  Davenport and Rockingham men met, embraced, buckled ontheir armor, and side by side shouted their war cry - "death to the'Pukes!"  The officers in command held a council of war, and itwas decided that Davenport should be the head quarters of the Scott County Army,in order that the troops might be inspired by the sight of old Fort Armstrong,and at the same time occupy a position so near the Fort, that a safe retreatwould be at hand, in case of an attack from the enemy.

On the day appointed for the first drill, the whole countrymarched to the standard of the gallant Colonel in command, and Davenportwitnessed one of the most spirited military reviews that ever took placewithin her limits.  The line was formed on the bank of the river, frontingtoward the enemy's country, the right resting against a cotton wood tree, theleft in close proximity to the Ferry House.  There they stood, veterans ofiron nerve and dauntless courage, presenting a sight that would have daunted themost desperate foe, and assuring the women and children that they would defindtheir homes to the death, against the "border ruffians" from the DesMoines River.

The weapons, carried by some of these volunteer patriots, werenot satisfactory to the commanding officers, and about one-fourth of the armywere ordered out of the ranks, and their services dispensed with, unless theywould procure others of a different character, and more in accordance with theArmy regulations.  The objectionable weapons consisted of a plough-colter,carried in a link of a large log-chain, which the valiant soldier had over hisshoulder.  Another was a sheet iron sword about six feet in length,fastened to a rope strap.  Another was an old-fashioned tin sausagestuffer.  Another an old musket without a lock, and the balance of likecharacter.

The order was given for the owners of these mondescript weaponsto march out of the ranks three steps.  The order was obeyed.  Theranks closed up, and the offending soldiers were discharged with a reprimand.

I am not prepared to say that the commanding officer wasjustified, in thus summarily discharging so many men, who were ready and anxiousto serve their country; and the result proved, that the amount of braverydismissed was equal to the retained; for no sooner were the discharged soldiersclear of the line of the regiment, than they formed a company of cavalry, acompany of dragoons, and a company which they called the "Squad," andthen, under the superior generalship of their leader, the knight of the six footsword, they made a bold charge upon the regulars, broke their line, drove not afew of them into the river, some into, and some around the Ferry House, someinto the grocery, and some out of town; thus defeating and dispersing theregular army without the loss of a man on either side.

This conflict was disastrous in its results to the regular army,and before the forces could again be collected, peace was declared and the armydisbanded.

This unlooked for cessation of hostilities was a severe blow tothe military aspirations of the "Hawkeyes," and disappointed the justexpectations of those who had hoped to distinguish themselves in the defence ofour Territorial rights.  The disappointment was not felt by the army ofScott county alone.  Numerous companies had been formed elsewhere, and hadstarted for the seat of war, with supplies for the campaign.

A company of about thirty left an adjoining county, under theleadership of a chieftain, who often used to say that he could "whip hisweight in wild cats," and who has since represented you in the NationalCongress-has been upon your Supreme Bench, and has also been Chief Justice ofCalifornia.

He started out with thirty men, and six baggage wagons, wellloaded with supplies for his little army, and, being determined to keep up the spiritsof his men, he freighted five of his wagons with whisky.

The question of boundary was subsequently submitted to theSupreme Court of the United States, and the disputed Territory given to Iowa.

At the commencement of the year 1840, this county containedabout twenty-five hundred inhabitants, of which number, about five hundredresided in Davenport.  To-day your county boasts of a population of thirtythousand, and this city claims eighteen thousand of that number.

In 1840, at the head of the Rock Island Rapids, on the spotwhere now stands the city of LeClaire, with a population of twenty-five hundred,grew a dense forest.

In 1840, the fertile, beautiful prairies of old Scott were lyingundistrubed by the husbandman; to-day they are teeming with industious, happyowners of the soil.

In 1840, there was but one steam-engine in operation within theborders of your county, and that one was at Rockingham.  To-day you maycount them by hundreds along the bank of your river, from Buffalo to Princeton,on our prairies, and in our groves.

In 1840, every face you met was a familiar one, and the greetinga greeting of recognition.  To-day the oldest inhabitant hardly knows hisnext door neighbor.

In 1840, it took from three to five days to go to Chicago, andthirteen to New York.  To-day the lightning train puts you in Chicago ineight hours, and in New York in forty.

In 1840, the young men of this Association were happy children,sporting upon the village green, and making the welkin ring with merry laughterand innocent joy.  To-day they are men aspiring to a possition in life,that shall give them honor among their fellow men.

In 1840, the mothers and daughters of Scott county were happy intheir cabin homes, and could pass in and out through the cabin doors. To-day the mothers and daughters occupy no more space in this opencountry-than the dear good creatures are entitled to.

In 1840, we were looking forward to a time when our thenterritory should become strong enough to add another member to the FederalUnion, and convince our Eastern friends of the truth of "Westward thestar of empire takes its way."  To-day our most sauguineexpectations are far more than realized, and we regard with pride our nobleState, its prospective future, and the inducements it holds out to the thousandsat the East, who still cling to that "Old Fogy" three inchsoil, which, with patient cultivation, yields white beans, buckwheat cakes, andpumpkin pies.

Mr. President-This day is the anniversary of the birthday of George Washington-our Washington-and we have chosen it as the day for ourpresent and future festivals.

It is a day on which every true American citizen does some actin honor, or gives some thought to the memory of the father of his contry. That memory is sacred heritage of the people he established, and nogeneration of that people shall pass away without leaving some memento that hewas indeed first in the hearts of his countrymen.

Some one has truthfully written, that "the first word ofAmerican infancy should be mother; the second father; the thirdWashington."  Although it is well that we, as American citizens,should, on this his anniversary day, linger for a while at his tomb, and renewour patriotism, yet, too, it is eminently fitting, that, assembled as pioneers,with the sympathies and feelings of pioneers all aroused within us, we should goto that tomb to-day, and remember that he, too, was a pioneer, and that in himburned strongly that bold, adventurous, perserving spirit that makes thepioneer; that he, too, endured pioneer hardships and privations, compared withwhich, ours sink into insignificance.

In his youth he was a pioneer surveyor in the then wilds of hisnative State, and many of the boundaries then established by him may be foundto-day.  In his early manhood he was selected by the Governor of Virginiaas a pioneer envoy through the wilderness to the French Commandant on the Ohio. He was a pioneer in leading a little army against the French and Indians,in defence of the Virginia frontier, and thus early in his military career didhe become known among his savage foes as the "spirit-protected man, whowould be a chif of nations, for he could not die in battle."  He was apioneer in everything that tended to advance the prosperity and happiness of hisnative land.

He was the pioneer of freedom in our legislative halls; on thebattle-field; through the long dark days of that terrible struggle; through theperiod of doubt and confusion that succeeded; and his wisdom and patriotism,equal to all emergencies, at last led us into the haven of rest, of peace, ofprosperity.

His life is a part of his country's history; and as living helaid the corner stone of this vast confederation  of States, that year byyear is waxing greater among the nations of the earth, so, though dead, hismaxims and example, if we adhere to the one, and imitate the other, shallproduce a history more glorious than that of the past; shall nourish a greatnessthat time shall but add to and confirm; and the unborn generations shall rise up, and revere him as God's chosen instrument of blessing to theirland.  Let his wisdom and his patriotism ever prevade and guard the land heloved-let his spirit be with us to-day; and as each turning year brings roundagain our festival day, let us ever remember that it is also the day that marksthe birth of GEORGE WASHINGTON.

REGULAR TOASTS

After supper, Judge Grant proceeded to read the Regular Toastsas follows:

1.  Washington! - No nation can claim, no countrycan appropriate him to itself.  His fame is the common property of patriotsthroughout the civilized world.

2.  The Early Pioneers of Scott County - Thehardships and privations of a frontier life justly entitle them to the esteem ofall those who enjoy the fruits of their early struggles; their posterity shallrise up and call them blessed.

It is a matter of regret that the former, and especially thelatter of these was not responded to.  No toast of the evening was worthyof more eloquence than "The Early Pioneers of Scott County" - theirhardships, energy, influence, and all their character and surroundings wereworthy of the best oratory of the evening.

3.  The Pioneer Dead - May their names be preserved,their hardships remembered, and memories cherished, by their survivors, by theirdescendants, and by all who enjoy the goodly heritage to which they led the way. Responded to by Hon. James Grant, who said -

MR. CHAIRMAN: - I cannot respond to the sentiment just uttered,without interrupting, for a moment, the current of your joyous thoughts, while Iask you to drop a tear to the memory of the dead.

Of all this numerous assembly there are few, to whom death hasnot come nigh, since they first encountered the privations and toils of asettlement west of the great river.

Some have lost a father or a mother, some a brother or a sister,some a husband or a wife, and many, many have seen their children wither andfade as if struck by the hand of an avenging God.

It is no exaggeration, that, since we first came here, in asingle season of great calamity, incident to the exposures of every newsettlement, one-tenth of our then small population was swept away.

Death, sir, is ever terrible; whether he knocks at the palace orthe cottage gate, at the bridal chamber, or when the mother, for the first timefeels here first-born's breath -

The tear, the groan, the pail, the bier,

And all we know or dread or fear

Of agony are his.

But he came upon our departed friends when they were justentering a new world, upon the prairie land, before the spring flowers ofprosperity were opened to their view; when the cabin was unthatched, and thephysician, and the minister of God were far away.

They died on the spot where they were taking the place of thered man, and preparing a new theatre for civilization, arts, morals, andliberty.

Early they departed, but not till their eyes were greeted by thedawning of the day, and they beheld, in the dim mist of the morning, the buddingpromise of the wilderness, and friends, and sons, and daughters, to enjoy thegoodly land which they had but seen.

Though too many of them the hand of 'angel woman ministered notin their last hour, yet the rough hand of manhood, softened by the sympathy ofsorrow, was never wanted in the day of their calamity, and the pioneer, thoughnot versed in the set phrases of cultivated society, was ever present, withgentle voice, and gentler deeds.

"To speak the last, the parting word,

Which, when all other sounds decay,

Is still like distant music heard,

That tender farewell on the shore

Of this rude world when all of o'er."

We know not if the dead visit this earth, or take note of ouractions, but if they do, their spirits are hovering over us this night, andtheir hearts made glad, that God is smiling upon us, that we are permitted tolive, and enjoy this pleasant hour; that we have reaped the reward of thosetoils and sufferings under which they were doomed to fall.

No storied urn or animated bust marks the spot where thepioneers sleep their last sleep.  They are buried beneath the huge oak,whose shade they never see, or under the high head-land of the Mississippi,against which the whistling winds and warring tempests are silent to them.

Their good deeds should be their monument.  The glory oftheir fair and virtuous actions is above all the escutcheons on the tombs of thegreat.

Honor, then, to the memory of those brave men, and brave women,who lost their lives in fighting the battle of civilization on the frontier.

They encountered no human foes; their last acts are not stainedwith blood; their conquests were made with the plough and the spade, and notwith the cannon and the musket; and though they fell in the beginning of theconflict, and in the heat of the day, they won the battle, and left us to enjoythe victory.

Every smiling field and green meadow; every school, everycollege, every church, every village, this city, with all its wealth and pompand pride, shall be their monuments, recalling their memory, heralding theirtriumph, and honoring their virtues.

"How sleep the good, who sink to rest

By all their country's wishes blest

When Spring, with dewy fingers cold,

Returns to deck their hallowed mould.

She there shall dress a sweeter sod,

Than fairy's feet have ever trod.

By fairy hands, their knell is rung.

By forms unseen their dirge is sung,

There honor comes a pilgrim grey

To bless the turf that wraps their clay,

And freedom shall awhile repair

To dwell a weeping hermit there."

4.  The Star of Empire - When in its westernprogress its rays of light fell upon the virgin soil of Iowa, a new destiny wasconceived, which in its birth, like the "Star in the East," hasbrought forth its wise men to worship.

Responded to by Rev. G. F. Magoun, who, after a few introductoryremarks, read the following fine Poem - the production of a young lady-MISS MARYE. MEAD-an "old settler" by birthright:

REMINISCENCES

As oft, at eve, by firesides bright and warm,

Some sailor group are gathered, while they tell

Of journeys far,--of conflict with the storm, --

Of dangers they have braved so long and well, --

So round this ample board we meet to-night,

And many a tale of Olden Time recite.

Once roamed the Indian all these vales among,

The deer sprung startled from his stealthy tread,

The fearful war-whoop through the forest rung,

The deadly arrow from its quiver sped;

But now we sit,-at twilight's soft decline,--

In peace beneath the shadow of the vine.

If e'er to conquering warrior has been owed

The glory of an honored, world-wide name;

If e'er on noble souls has been bestowed

That lofty homage which is truest fame;

If e'er in history's page or classic verse

Our country's Fathers have been justly praised;

In humbler strains we surely may rehearse

The deeds of those by whom our hearths were raised;

Who left their kindred to return no more,

And reared their altars on this wild-wood shore.

All are not here:  Where sinks the emerald wave

In long, dull surges toward the glowing West,

Lies many a heart as noble and as brave

As e'er was laid beneath the sod to rest.

They dropped the acorn on the barren glade,--

At noon we rest beneath the oak tree's shade.

We meet again; the scattered band units

In social converse as in days of yore;

No!  Not as when, withing the ruddy light

Of oak boughs blazing at the cabin door,

We sat and talked the winter night away,

Till morning streaked the Eastern hills with gray.

No more the Red Men round our dwelling prowl,

No foes lies ambushed in each leafy bower,

No more the wolf's swift spring or sudden howl

Startles the sleeper at the midnight hour;

Nor leaping flames before the rapid gale

Speed like the waves when wintry storms prevail.

From lonely ARMSTORNG'S now-dismantled fort

Down the still stream no martial strains are borne.

In stately towns where busy crowds resort,

The cheerful sounds of labor greet the morn.

From happy homes the voice of mirth floats by,

And plashing waves and laughing winds reply.

Oft have I heard the times recounted o'er,

When every cabin window was a door,

When corn was gournd upon a lantern's side,

And doors by latch-strings to the timbers tied;

Small was the store a lawless horde to tempt,

From thieves and robbers happily exempt.

Howe'er that be, of this there is no doubt

In those good times the latch-stings all hung out,

And neighboring friend and stranger guest might share

The roof tree's shelter and the simple fare;

E'en now the cabin ten by twelve is seen

Where on a time 'tis said there lodged fifteen!

But mingled with these recollections gay

There wakes a sadder, gentler strain for those

Who like some castle trumbling to decay

Were doomed to ruin when the new arose.

"Tis eve, the stars with silv'ry sheen

Rise sliently and slow,

The pallid moon looks out between,

The waves repose below,

And not the dipping of an oar

Breaks on the stillness of the shore.

Was it the whisper of the breeze

Sighing among the tangled grass?

Was it the moaning of the trees

When far above the storm clouds pass?

Oh no, in silence still and deep,

The tiniest flower is lulled to sleep.

But there are sounds,-I hear them now,

They swell along the plain;

'Tis not the mourner of the rill,

'Tis not the dash of rain,-

And can there be a foot so light

To stir the restling leaves to night?

There is,-along the slant hill-side

Where darksome forests bow,

Singly the dusky figures glide,-

Look you can see them now!

Pause! 'tis a band of Indian braves-

Who come to seek their chieftains' graves.

Disturb them not, as silently

These well known paths they trace,

Not long among us may there be

Remnamts of that old race.

They fade as fades the morning ray

Before the glowing eye of day.

A little time they linger here,

Uncared for and unknown,

To shed a solitary tear,

O'er comrades lost and gone,

Silent and sad they gather round

Some lonely, undistinguished mound,

Hark!  all the solemn woods along,

A soft and saddened lay

As if some heart in plaintive song,

Would pour itself away.

List! while the mournful cadence awells

Clear as the tone of evening bells.

"Stil roll the river waves as blue

As when we launched the bark canoe,

Or when we plied the dripping oar

Beneath the shelter of the shore,

Still sings the lark a welcome guest,

Still folds the dove her wings to rest.

Still the green arching forests spread

Their boughs as widely overhead,

But 'neath their shadow now, alas!

No more our bounding warriors pass,

Silent where once their footsteps fell,

Land of our birth, farewell, farewell!"

Soft echo answers to the trembling lay;

'Neath heavy shadows glides the group away.

Oh! kindly sun!  Oh! soft benigant day!

At thy glad dawn the darkness takes its fight,

The sombre hues of twilight melt away,

And sunrise bathes the Eastern hills with light,

So smiled the morn with beauty all aglow

On this fair land some twenty years ago!

Faint the light blushes up the dewy skies,

From cot and couch the cheerful dwellers rise,

The cabin windows open, wide fly the doors,

The frugal wife brings out her garnered stores,

The gleeful children, with their sun-browned hair,

Forsake the house and sport in open air,

While soon,-the duties of the morning done,-

Some stripling youth, with ready dog and gun,

Roams through the woods, if haply he may bring

From its far height the wild bird on the wing,

Or 'mid the rustling forest chance to hear

The short, sharp panting of the startled deer,

And proud, though weary, from the chase may bear

Back to his cot the noon and evening fare.

One seeks in pastures far the truant cow,

Another yokes the cattle to the plow,

Or marches slow the well trained pair beside;

(Plain wagon seats were then no bar to pride-

Well was the place of coach and four supplied!)

So glides the day until at eve they meet,

Children and sire, each in his 'customed seat,

While plenty smokes upon the cheerful board,

And clear cold wine the sparkling streams afford.

Well the day's ventures do the house beguile,

The dullest face oft wears a gladsome smile.

Now blue eyed "baby" sings herself to rest,

Safe cradled in an ancient, lidless chest,

Hark, from the farthest corner "Charlie's" call

Then comes the time for little hunter "Ben,"

To day he surely fond a lion's den.

But closed are "Allie's" eyes, her drooping head

Finds the soft pillow of her little bed.

The hours pass cheerly till all softly creep

Away to childhood's light, unconscious sleep,-

And starlight, peeping through the half-closed door,

Kisses the sleepers on the cabin floor.

No fled the years in humble scenes like these,

With much to sadden, more, far more to please,

And who shall tell, that in this later day--

When life has grown more earnest and less gay,--

A richer pleasure through its current thrills

Than in those cots among the breezy hills?

Simple their joys, their days in quiet spent--

Hope for a watchword, for a shield content,--

Till slow at length beneath their forming blows

A garden from the wilderness arose.

Lo! As we gaze along the slender piers

Which bear aloft the lengthening arch of years,

As we retrace the first faint morning ray

And glance rejoicing to this noon-tide day.

Glad hopes, bright visions o'er our bosoms throng,

And the full heart finds utterance in song.

Oh noble West!  Oh mighty West!

Oh ever bright and free,--

Thy prairies by the breeze caressed,

Roll wave-like as the sea.

And through the long and tangled grass

The sunbeam's golden fingers pass.

Thy streams are like the streams of Time,--

Their sources we cannot see,

We only hear the water's chime

Break low and musically,

And hear the plashing waves, like rain,

Dash on the shore, then sink again.

No pilgrim comes with weary feet

O'er many a desert mile,

His prayer or promise to repeat

Beneath some sacred pile,

Nor counts the solitary hours

Beneath a city's ruined towers.

But in this world so fresh and young,

Which like the goddess from the foam

To life full grown and radiant sprung,

Lies that dear spot OUR HOME.

And round its portals Love and Truth

Shall wind the wreaths of endless youth.

__________

Hushed is the song, a sadder strain were not for hours sobright,

Only the calm clear voice of Hope should whisper hereto-night.

Glad faces are around us, sweet tones upon the air,

And the glances of found affection meets our greetingeverywhere.

There are blessings from the aged, kind wishes from theyoung,

And joy her rosy radiance has o'er our gathering flung.

We will hail the fleeting moments where the Past andPresent stand,

One with a darksome cypress wreath, one with a snow-whitewand.

We will hail the glorious Furture with her cup of blissunfried,

We will hail the white winged maiden Hope that blushes ather side.

And the rich delicious Present shall trip rejoicing by,

As lightly as the winged wind across a Southern sky.

_____________

OH! FRIENDS OF OLD!  we meet again to night,

Our hopes and wishes as of yore to blend.

Thus will we keep the links of friendship bright,

Thus will we journey onward to the end.

And hand to hand in cordial greeting pressed,

We'll breathe a blessing on the gloious WEST.

5.  The History of Scott County-When we open thisbook, we find inscribed on every page the gospel of both peace andplenty-proclaiming perennial blessings to all whose faith is accompanied byworks.

Responded to by Mr. J. A. Birchard, of Pleasant Valley, in abrief address, in which he spoke as follows:

Mr. President:-The history of any new country must necessarilybe one of trials, hardships, and privations.  The pioneers have to leavethe land of their brith, the home of their childhood, the hearthstone aroundwhich centered all their early joys and sorrows-the district school-house wherethey received the rudiments, if not the whole of their education-the villagechurch where they assembled weekly to worship their Creator-the friends of theiryouth and early manhood.  These must all be left, and it is like tearing ayoung sapling from its mother earth.

New associations must be formd, new homes must be made, newschoolhouses and churches built.  But, compared with the trials andhardships of the first settlers in the states east of us, if we except those ofour neighbor across the river, ours are not worth talking about.

There, many of them packed their goods and little ones two orthree hundred miles on horseback through an almost trackless wilderness, andwere four or five weeks in making the journey.  Then their difficultieswith the Indians-when I tell you that I was born in the valley of theSusquehanna, in the county where the massacre of Wyoming occurred, you willbelieve me, sir, when I tell you that many of the tales of suffering that I haveheard are too horrible to relate.  Before they could raise an ear of cornthey had a heavy forest to remove, that took twenty or thirty hard days work tothe acre.  Then they had the rocks and stumps to contend with for years. I have serious doubts whether a merciful Creator, that always does allthings well, ever intended the country for the habitation of civilized andchristianized man.  It is the natural home of the speckled trout, the wilddeer, and the Indian.

For us a bountiful Providence had provided an excellent highwayto get here, and when here a prolific soil ready for the plow, and pasturagesufficient for the flocks and herds of Labon and Jacob, and their sons, for adozen generations.

It is true, that from 1839 to '44 we thought we had some ratherhard times-when it took a bushel of wheat to buy a yard of calico, and a hundredpounds of pork to pay for as many of salt.  But these were very differenthard times from what they have in the old country; there it is starvation timesthat they call hard.  If we could not get the two dollars a day, we couldget the roast beef, and upon the whole, we had a pretty good time of it.

I first crossed the Mississippi in a canoe, nearly where thebridge now stands.  This was in July 1836.  I presume there were notmore than three hundred inhabitants then in the county.  You, Mr.President, and your ferryman, Mr. Colton, were the only settlers in Davenport,and Mr. Eleazer Parkhurst, the only one in LeClaire.

At that time there was not, to my knowledge, a single mile ofRailroad between the Mississippi River and the Alleghany Mountains.

The iron horse, except at the portage road in Pennsylvania, hadnever tasted the waters that flow through our noble river to the Gulf.  Nowthe amount that he consumes daily would have floated the entire navy of theUnited States at the time of the revolution; and the amount of produce that hemoves from this fertile valley towards a market in the same time would make afull freight for it.

The last time that I crossed the river was upon my return lastfall from a visit to my friends in my native State, and I crossed at the sameplace, but how differently.  I crossed the great father of waters as itcannot be crossed at any other point from its source to its mouth-upon a noblestructure, a proud monument to the enterprise and perseverance of theinhabitants of the twin cities.  To the pioneers of Davenport belongs avery large share of the credit for this truly magnificent improvement.

The train upon which I crossed was brought over by a locomotive,named after one of our prominent pioneers.  We landed where, when I firstcrossed the river, stood the lone cabin of our worthy President.  What do Ifind now?  A young city teeming with life, and containing a largerpopulation and more wealth than was then contained in Galena, St. Louis andChicago.

I think, sir, that we have proved our faith by our works, and ifany man is skeptical upon the sentiment contained in the text, let him take aride any pleasant day along the river, from Buffalo to Princeton, from thencethrough the prairie to Blue Grass, and he will become a convert to the"Gospel both of peace and plenty."

We have formed the new associations,-that they have beenpleasant ones I have the best evidence in the world around me this evening.

We have transplanted the young sapling, it has taken deep rootin a congenial soil and became a sturdy tree.

We have made the new homes, raised the new altars, built the newschoolhouses and churches.  To do this required men; men of iron nerve, ofstrong arms and large hearts, and such were the pioneers of Scott county.

6.  The City of Davenport - The Pet and the Pride ofglorious "old Scott;" crown jewel of the Upper Mississippi; the roseof Sharon and the lily of the valley.

Responded to by Hon. Jas Thorington, in whose off-hand remarkswere mingled the humor and good sense which are so characteristic of theSpeaker.  Unfortunately, it has not been possible to obtain a copy of hisremarks.

7.  The Race that occupied the land before us - Menin physical ability, stoies in morals:  They are our brothers.

Rev. Mr. Powers responded to this, and spoke as follows:

Mr. PRESIDENT: - It is fitting, amid the stirring, local andnational associations of this hour, to remember that stern race whose fairheritage we posess.  Their hunting grounds have become our harvest-fields;the sites of their wigwams are thriving settlements and industrious marts;household sounds and christian worship are heard where resounded their war cry;and on their trail the iron railway shoots toward the setting sun.

Though children of the wilderness, rude, sanguinary, andsuperstitious, still their savage humanity is redeemed by many heroic virtues. As magnanimous in friendship as they were implacable in revenge; assagacious in council as dauntless in war-ever patient, intrepid, self-reliant,imperturbable in success or defeat, with their darkest traits are always blendedlines of light, which revel the nobler qualities of the man.

Indian history, sir, is not barren of pathetic incident andbrilliant example.  Heroes and patriots live in its exciting chronicles. And whether we contemplate the noble constancy of King Philip, themagnanimity of Massasoit, the tenderness of Pocahontas, the eloquent enthusiasmof Garangula and Red Jacket, the chivalrous heroism of Tecumseh, or the fervidpatriotism of Black Hawk, we recognize types of character which claim oursympathy, and command our admiration.

Though the Indian saw, in the trophies of advancingcivilization, fruitful lands and peaceful arts, the ornaments and amenities oflife, still we can honor that sentiment when inspired his devotion to the rudefreedom of his native wilds, and porvoked resistance to the aggressive pioneerwith all the arts of subtle strategy and force, even when the shadow of doom wasdark upon him.  Yes, we can honor him, for the land that we loved was the landof his fathers, and he felt that their voices spoke to him of duty andpatriotism from their graves.

But the memory of this peculiar race shall not pass away, thoughthey have left no monuments in brass and marble to plead for them from ruin anddecay.  It is perpetuated in the appellations of mighty waters andeverlasting lands.  Their legends whisper in every wind, in falling leaf,and feathery snow, and in all the cadences of the woods and shores.  Andwhile our harvests ripen under auspicious suns, while the blue rivers bear ourcommerce to the sea, while a grateful people enjoy the blessings of the GreatFather of us all, the story of their pastimes and their prowess, shall berepeated in the homes of the happy and the free.

8.  Antoine LeClaire - First in settlement - firstin efforts to make our city peerless among rivals - first in the esteem of hisfellow citizens - first President of this society; may "his shadow neverbe less."

Responded to by E. Cook, Esq., who regretted that the reply hadnot been committed to abler men - a regret wholly uncalled for, as he didnot fall in doing the subject full justice.  His laudations of Mr. LeClairewere recognized as correct and merited.

9.  Marquette and Joliet - The Pioneers of Pioneers. History, poetry, fiction, exhibit nowhere a heroism so lofty, a daring sonoble, an ambition so pure, and faith so lovely, as may be found in theoft-neglected but simple and touching story of the first white men who trod thesoil of Iowa.

Responded to by John F. Dillon, who said-

Mr. Chairman: - No sentiment has been offered to-night, to whichI could more heartily respond, than to that.  In my judgment it iseminently pertinent.  I may possibly amplify, but can scarcely hope to addto the thoughts it concisely embraces.  Its language is not that ofexaggeration.

If I heard aright, Marquette and Joliet are styled "thePioneers of Pioneers."  Literally and strictly true.  Beyondcavil, they were the first white men that set foot upon the soil of Iowa. nor was the advent of the pale face so recent as we are apt to imagine. About fifty years only after the landing of the Pilgrims-nearly sixtyyears prior to the founding and settlement of Georgia by the enlightenedand chivalric Oglethorpe-almost ten years before William Penn made his famoustreaty with the natives, distinguished as being almost the only treaty ever madewith the ill-starred race,

"Never sworn to, and never broken."

did the illustrious Marquette and Joliet visit lovely Iowa,-theState we are proud to call our own!  In strictest verity, then, they arethe Pioneers of Pioneers.

Something, me thought I heard in the sentiment about theirheroism and daring! and something about their unquestioning Faith and pureAmbition!

How gladly, under other circumstances, would I talk upon thisinteresting, this suggestive theme!  But it would be vastly imprudent torisk an excursion to this Enchanted Ground, where one would infallibley betempted to linger longer than the proprieties of the occasion, and the advancedhour of the night would warrant.  A few words, then, and a few only, mustsuffice.  We must be content to glance at, without entering upon, thedelightful land.

The whole West, the Mississippi Valley, at the time of which Ispeak, was an unexplored wilderness.  More than a century had elapsed sincethe discovery of the Mississippi by the romantic De Soto, who though he foundnot gold in its sands, most fittingly found a grave beneath its waters,-yetnothing more than its bare existence was known.

No European knew where it rose or where it discharged its mightyfloods.  Marquette knew of it only from the reports of the natives as the"Great River" lying somewhere in the distant West, and whosebanks were reputed to be thronged with blood-thirsty savages, and whose waterswere said to abound in distructive monsters.

He felt animated to attempt its discover; and nobly dared tobrave every danger, and endure every hardship incident to the perilousundertaking.

Why did he seek it? and how?

He sought it not as thousands in our own day have sought adistant land in our own Continent, and a still more distant island in a distantocean, for Gold!  He sought it not for wordly fame, or worldly ends. He sought it as an humble Missionary for the purpose of proclaiming theGospel, and erecting the standard of Christianity among the tribes that bethought to find residing upon its banks.  I see in imagination, Marquetteand Joliet, with but five attendants, and two guides, leave the last whitesettlement, and boldly pushing forward they knew not where, among hostile andunknown tribes.

Their guides can aid them no further, and the guides return. Submitting to the guidance of Providence, with their light canoes upontheir backs, they at length find the Wisconsin.  Unlike the streams theyhad left behind, this flowed towards the setting sun.  Theypatiently follow its current for an entire week, when lo! the long sought forRiver, as magnificent then as it is to-day, burst upon their enraptured vision.

Day after day they sailed down its waters.  They certainlypassed, mayhaps landed at the place where our flourishing city now stands.

Near the southern boundary of our State they saw foot printson the sands of the river shore.  They landed,-anticipating, but notdreading, death at every step, and kept upon the trail until it led to an Indianvillage upon the banks of the Des Moines.

Their courage and heroism faltered not for a moment.  Theyboldly advanced, and Marquette proclaimed to the astonished natives God and thedoctrines and mysteries of the faith which he taught.

The remarks of the eloquent gentleman who responded to numberseven, remind me of the first words of these natives on the banks of the DesMoines, on beholding Marquette and his companions:  "We are men,"said they.  And men they were.  They are our brothers.  They wererecognized as such by Marquette "in his labors of love."

Do the departed look down upon us?  If so, with whatastonishment must these early Voyageurs behold the miraculous growth anddevelopment of the country they were  the first to point out and visit.

We love to imagine, as they trod these shores, in the majesticsolitudes of nature, that they heard the tramp of the coming millions!and had visions of the Empires that have since arisen so marvelously upon thebanks of the Great River they were the first to explore.

They founded no cities.  They left no permanent monumentsbehind them!  Yet a generous posterity will not willingly let their namesperish.  So far as they, or their "simple and touching story" isconcerned, no "Old Mortality" is needed by the "PioneerSettlers" assembled here to-night.  So long as your river flows, itwill water their memories, and preserve them fresh and green!

10.  The Pioneer Press of Scott County.

Mr. Andrew Logan was first called upon, and made some brief butpertinent remarks in regard to the reception and growth of the Press inDavenport.  He was followed by Alfred Sanders, Esq., Senior Editor of the Gazette,who spoke as follows:

MR. CHAIRMAN:-In responding to that sentiment, permit me toexpress my pleasure in meeting so many of my fellow citizens, those whosefeatures and voices have so long been familiar to me.  I love to look upontheir smiling faces, many of which, alas! since they first were familiar to mysight, have become worn and furrowed by time, while their locks have grown thinand blanched by age.  But we are all passing away-we that were boys andgirls a few years since, are now the fathers and mothers of boys and girls, andthe score of years and our children will be the actors in the drama of life, andwe either be spectators or have retired altogether from the stage of action.

When the portals of manhood first opened to me, and the wideworld lay spread out, inviting me to select a locality, I started upon a tour ofover two thousand miles.  I viewed many towns on my route, but the one thatpresented the strongest attractions, that offered the most inducements for me toreturn and make it my home, was the then insignificant but beautiful town ofDavenport, at that time a small village of some five hundred inhabitants.

In the same year of my life I came and declared my intention ofbecoming a citizen, and the next year returned and brought with me my press, mypartner in business- I might almost add, my partner in life, as she immediatelyfollowed-as I planted my stakes for life.

We landed here on the 11th day of August, 1841, on one of thesmallest steamers that ever ascended the Mississippi River.  In crossingthe Lower Rapids we had to pole over, the power of the engine not beingsufficient to propel the little steamer against the current!  We were fourdays thence in reaching the town of Davenport.  As we landed here, the goodpeople of the village crowded down to the wharf to see and aid in disembarkingthe new press, and so effectually did they succeed in the latter particular,that they managed before they got it ashore to bury it beneath the waves of theFather of Waters!  Thus it was baptized, and I trust it never diddiscredit to the town it represented, the cause it advocated, nor-the ghostlyfathers that administered the ordinance!

That we saw hard times for many years in the publicationof the Gazette, every old settler from personal expericence knows to bethe fact, but being blessed with a spirit that never says die, we presevered,and the paper now stands as one of the institutions of the West.

With pride I say it, Mr. Chairman,-as I presume it to be theonly instance on record in the West-that although we had to purchase all ourpaper and materials in the East, and have them brought out by the slow andtedious course of the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, and although we had our papersunk, and burned, and delayed by every accident incident to so long astransportation, and although my assistants were sick, and I alone had to fillevery department of the paper, from writing its editorials, and setting thetype, to working at press, and rolling for papers, yet, during the sixteen and ahalf years I have controlled the Gazette, it never missed a single number.

Of all those connected with the press in the State of Iowa, orin the entire region of country west of the Mississippi River, from its sourceto its outlet, at the time I commenced the publication of the Davenport Gazette,not a single one remains in that capacity-they are all gone, a few to otheroccupations, but the great majority of them to the bourned whence no travelerreturns.  I stand alone, and yet not alone-there are more editors this dayin the city of Davenport than there were then in the entire State of Iowa, andthroughout the West-who can number them?

I will but add, that if an accountability attaches to usold settlers, for our agency in inducing many persons to leave the comforts andluxuries of Eastern homes to take up their abode here, where they were deniedthose luxuries, that I will have full as much to answer for as any of you; butif I have no worse reflection to vex my last hours than the thought of myinstrumentality in inducing good people to make Davenport their homes, I shallcertainly depart in peace.

11.  The Pioneer Children-They are now brave youngmen and fair young women; may their lives, if not as eventful, be as useful asthose of their parents.

Responded to by G. W. Hoge, in very creditable speech.  Hesaid:

One of Scott County's Earliest Born,-it is with no littlepleasure, Mr. President, that I respond to this call, which recognizes me assuch; and to the toast, in which we, the "children of the soil," areso kindly remembered.

There are hours, sir, in the lives of all, which, from attendantcircumstances, become eras-landmarks along the pathway of life, to which memorywill ever revert, with undiminished interest.  Such an one will the presentoccasion be; and by none will it be remembered with a truer, or more lastingpleasure, than by us, the junior members of this noble family-us, "thePioneer Children of Scott County."

Born here, many of us, at a time when but a few scattered, andlowly dwellings, marked the site of the now populous and opulent city ofDavenport-while our beauteous State, herself, was yet in embryo-our interest inScott county has been no less deep, our affection for her no less fervent thantheir's who, emigrants from other States, came here to find a second home on ourboundless prairies, or beside our noble river.

We, sir, had no scared ties to sever-no happy firesides in farEastern homes to regret-here, was our first, our only home-we knew no other, andwe cared for none.  To us, the world was bounded on the East by theMississippi, and Davenport was its Metropolis.

Scott county, sir, has been, as it were, our twin Sister; wehave grown with her growth, and strengthened with her strength-her friends areour friends, and her prosperity our "chief joy."

Here, sir, has been the theatre of all our joys, and all oursorrows.  Here, cradled in the arms of Pioneer mothers, the days of ourearly childhood passed as one bright, unbroken dream; and as days lengthenedinto years, and the babe became the boy, by the side of Pioneer fathers, we haveexplored, to us, the unbounded expanse of the seedland, or the harvest-field;happy, though we could not work, to carry the sickle, or the hoe; and wishingthat we were men, that we, too, might hold the plough, or reap the grain, ordrive a prairie team.

Or we have stood, while the "sounding aisles of the dimwoods rang" to the strokes of the Pioneer's axe, and watched the big chipsfly, until the mighty oak reeled-tottered-and fell, with a crash that woke thewoodland echoes for many a rood.  How we longed to be woodsmen then!

And here, sir, on many a long, bright Summer's day, we sat inthe rustle school-house, striving to comprehend the mysteries of spelling bookor primer, until released from study-gamboling in unrestrained freedom onnature's own green carpeting, spread before the door-a merry band, we shoutedour delight, unrestricted by city ordinances.

And when the week slipped by, and Sabbath morning smiled, withreverence we sat in the little weather-beated church, while, in heartfelt terms,the Pioneers praised the name of their fathers' God for this their fairinheritance, and earnestly besought his choicest blessings on their prairiehomes.

Such, sir, were our joys-we had our sorrows, too.  For,ever and anon, a dark cloud of gloom gathered over the little settlement, assome loved one was taken from our midst by the hand of the destroyer.

A father, perhaps-well-beloved-stricken down in the pride of hismanhood; or some tender mother is gone-leaving sad and desolate, a heretoforehappy hearth.  Or, perchance, the prattling babe-the light and sunshine ofthe cottage circle-unfolded its little wings, and soared, a white-robed cherub,to its starry home.  Or the merry, light-hearted child-the joyous sharer inour youthful sports-left us, with aching hearts and quivering lips, to mourn hisearly grave.

But this is too sad a theme-there is another-a brighter one- towhich we gladly turn.

The birth-right, sir, is not alone to us of the "sternersex" - for I can look around me here to-night, and see many a sparklingeye, whose first bright glance lit up the loneliness of a settler's cabin-many acoral lip, whose first sweet smile gladened a Pioneer mother's heart.  Andthe witchery of these bright glances has been round us ever.  These sweetsmiles-like the guerdon of the boy and man-gave zest to all our youthfulpleasures, as to-night they throw enchantment round this festive scene.

And where, Mr. President-whether as now, gracing the crowdedassembly, or in the home circle, filling and adorning alike the various stationsof daughter, sister, wife, or all combined-where, I ask, will you finda lovelier galaxy than these, the pioneer daughters of Scott county? And, sir, all of this gentle sisterhood are not with us on this occasion.

The snow lies lightly o'er some well-remembered forms that sleepin yonder grave-yard.  Some, for a time, have left us, whom we hope, arelong, to greet again.  Others-and we miss them all-on distant shrines haveplaced their household gods.  But we feel assured, sir, that if theseabsent ones know of this, our social gathering, their hearts are with us in ourjoy; for while

"Through other scenes their footsteps roam,

Still hither must their hearts expand-

There is their loved-adopted homes-

This, This, is still their native land!"

What wonder then, Mr. President, that we love this soil,hallowed by such associations?  What wonder, that in our eyes, Scott countyis the "fairest land the sun shines on?"

We glory in this our birth-place.  We glory in the noblestock from which we sprung.  MAY, THEY, SIR, NEVER HAVE CAUSE TO BLUSHFOR US!

12.  The City of LeClaire-Our young and prosperousrival.  Let Davenport look well to her laurels.

Mr. Laurel Summers, Esq., of LeClaire, was to have responded tothis toast, but was obliged to send a letter of regret.  Judge Grant madesome humorous remarks in comparison of Davenport and LeClaire, bringing in someexcellent puns.

13.  Woman-The pride and ornament of the proudestplace-the joy and sunshine of the humblest cabin.

Hiram Price, Esq., responded in his usual felicitous style tothis universally popular toast.  He said:-

MR. CHAIRMAN:-I am called upon to respond to the sentiment, that"Woman is the pride and ornament of the proudest Place, and the joy andsunshine of the humblest Cabin."

Well, sir, nobody doubts that, do they?  There is but oneside to that subject, and consequently no chance for an argument.  Woman! I rather like the name, it seems like coming back to first principles, andwhile I am well satisfied that she is justly entitled to an abler advocate, andbetter representstive than myself, yet I am bold to assert that the declarationcontained in that toast is literally and emphatically true.

You might have gone further, sir, and added to the reading, thewords-"and generally pretty hard to get ahead of." for certainI am, that all present will agree with me, when I say that it is daily becominga more difficult task to get around them.

"The pride and ornament of the proudest Palace." Yes, sir, of this there can be no question, and yet what I may say uponthis point, must of necessity be more the result of historical, thanexperimental knowledge.  But, sir, when you talk of her as being the joyand sunshine of the humblest Cabin, I can speak from experience-on thesubject of Cabins I am at home.  I've been there-as boy and man I havebuilded them, and lived in them, and to-night memory runs back to the days of myboyhood, and calls up before my mental vision the image of my mother, as sheappeared to me in those days, at once the joy and the sunshine of my cabin home.

Whether viewed from this stand point, or from one a littlefurther down the stream of time, where with her who for near a quarter of acentury has shared the lights and shades of life with me, and who accompanies meto this festive hall to-night, I commenced the battle of life in the world,-ineither case, and from every point of observation, I am furnished with evidenceto consclusively establish the fact, that Woman is not only the Pride of thePalace, but that she is emphatically the Joy and Sunshine of the Cabin.

The homes of America!  Yea, the homes of the World, allproclaim with united voice that Woman is not only the Pride of the Palace, butthat she is emphatically the Joy and Sunshine of the Cabin.

In this world, Palaces are for the few, Cabins for the million. Among the domicils of earth, Cabins are the rule, Palaces the exception. But whether in the Palace, or in the Cabin, it is the home circle thatwoman finds her proper sphere, her true element.  It is from that centrethat her influences radiate, revealing fountains of joy, and reservoirs ofsunshine, wherever her voice is heard in the territory of christianorganization, and much, very much of what the world possesses of happiness isattributable to that influence.

True, there have been occasional instances, where woman hasstepped out of this sphere, and for a time has, with meteoric flashes, fixed thegaze, and attracted the attention of an astonished world.  Such, forinstance, as the Maid of Saragossa, Joan of Arc, and last, though not least,Florence Nightingale, the latter of whom was, and is, at once the pride of allPalaces, and the joy and sunshine of all Cabins; but these are exceptions to therule, and only prove the rule to be that the home circle is woman's truekingdom.  Without her, man would be a savage, a hairy faced, unshavensavage, for without her smooth and smiling face constantly before him, he wouldnot have been sufficiently civilized to shave.

"Twas for these, among other reasons, that the declarationwent forth from above, that it was not good for man to be alone.  And, Mr.Chairman, it is but a few months since one of the christian powers of Europe wascompelled to send out a ship load of women to one of their Island Colonies, toprevent their colonists from relapsing into barbarism.  That, sir, wasemphatically a ship load of joy and sunshine for the Cabins of that Colony.

It is true, sir, that without this influence,

"Man may climb the slippery steep,

Where wealth and honor lofty shine-

And love of gold may tempt the deep,

Or downward seek the Indian mine"-

but in all that enobles, all that elevates, all that raises fromearth and points Heavenward, in all that feeds and fills his higher nature, hewill be deficient.  And even now, sir, I hear from afar the lamentation ofone of earth's most favored and gifted sons, as from the exalted position towhich he had climbed in search of happiness and fame, he exclaims-

"I miss thee, my mother, in the long Winter nights,

I remember the tales thou wouldst tell-

The romance of wild fancy, the legend of fright-

Ah! who could e'er tell them so well?

Thy corner's now vacant, they chair is removed-

It was kind to take that from my eye:

But the relics are round me, the loved and the prized

To call up the pure and the sorrowful sigh."

This, sir, speaks of an influence deep and high.  Aninfluence upon which more than any one human agency depends the destiny of ourcountry.  It speaks in language not to be mistaken, giving tone and shapeand color to the Pulpit, the Press, and the Forum.  It is the power behindthe Throne greater than the Throne itself.

And now to the women present-the women of Scott county.  Inview of the extent and importance of their influence, may I not be allowed tosay, in the language of one of the gifted of their own sex-

"Up woman to thy duty! Now's

The day, and now's the hour

To use thy boasted influence-

To prove thy magic power!

Unloose thy tongue-the word of truth

That would a household save,

If spoken well, perchance may snatch

A thousand from the grave!

On in thy work with strong free heart,

Thy mission's from above!

You cannot fail if you are true,

For all the work is love!

And "God is Love;" and woman's sphere

Of love and hope was given

To draw the wanderer from his sins,

And point him up to Heaven!"

To the "Pioneer Settlers," permit me, in closing, tosay, that the sincere desire of my heart is, that you may never lack pride foryour Palaces, or joy and sunshine for your Cabins, and may you live to enjoymany such happy reunions as this in future time, and when all shall be numberedwith "Pioneer Dead," may you all have a brighter and a happier reunionin the land of the "Great Hereafter."

 VOLUNTEER TOASTS.

SENT BY LAUREL SUMMERS.

Scott County-Unsurpassed in beauty and fertility of soil;may her "Old Settlers live to enjoy their annual festivals.

Judge Grant introduced with very appropriate remarks, and aeulogy upon his subject-"The memory of Col. Davenport," whichwas drunk standing and in silence.

Willard Barrows, Esq., was next called upon, and made a fewimpromtu but heartfelt and pertinent remarks.  The present gathering was,he said, the fruit of long cherished hope on his part, and there never beforehad been a moment in his life in which such emotions possessed him as at thepresent.  It was a blending of the brightened joys, and softened sorrowsand hardships of the Past, with the serene quietness and social sympathies ofthe Present.  They were thirsty soldiers who had met by cool waters afterthe hot labor of a weary campaign of years.  They were victors, scarred andtoilworn, but secure of the future, and save a saddened memory, as here andthere an old familiar face was wanting, and thought traced its upturnedlineaments upon some distant battle field, there was no cause save forrejoicing.

Mr. Barrows spoke in a similar strain for a few moments, andclosed his remarks by saying that he felt to-night like one of old who loved herfriends, and whose memorable words of affection shall live forever: "Entreat me not to leave thee or forsake thee-for whither thou goest,I will go; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God-where thou diest Iwill die, and there will I be buried!" - and when I shall have gone to that"bourned from whence no traveler returns," the greatest boon I can askis, that my grave may be surrounded by the "Pioneer Settlers Association ofScott County!"  His modest fear of saying too much, unfortunately,overcame the wishes of his auditors to listen to him longer.  It is,perhaps, owing to him more than any other that the idea of an "OldSettlers" reunion became a practical fact - shaped to the fair and goodlyproportions which it possessed.

All honor to his efforts, which resulted so happily, and mayscores of returning Festivals afford yearly gratitude to his name as well as tothose of others who labored to originate them.

BY COL. T. C. EADS:

The Old Settlers of Scott County - Drawn together by theindissoluble ties of a common fate - a relationsship stronger than that ofblood; no power, save Him who governs the world, shall sever the brotherhoodtill the last of the noble band shall sink into an honored grave, and leaveposterity to say:  He was a man.

BY W. ALLEN:

The Pioneer Settlers of Scott County - may the noblespirit which prompted them to attempt the civilization of this magnificentwiderness, to mould and energize the souls of their descendants, that theCreator's grand design in the settlement of this beautiful land may be speedilyaccomplished, and its results be manifested by the countless spires that shalldirect to heaven, from every town and village, the thoughts of a free and happypeople.

BY A LADY:

Dr. J. J. Burtis - The gentlemanly and agreeableproprietor of this palatial Hotel, may he be completely successful in hisbenevolent plan for public entertainment, and his brightest anticipations bemore than realized.

BY C. C. ALVORD:

The Sons and Daughters of the Old Settlers - May theyimitate us in perseverance, frugality and industry, and their seed not gobegging bread.

The Matrons of this Association - Our help, comfort, andconsolation in every time of need, and the fruits of their labor now followthem.

During these toasts three hearty cheers were given for Dr.Burtis, the host.

CORRESTPNDENCE

Bellaire, O., February 8, 1858

GENTLEMEN: - I feel much complimented by your remembrance of me,and the invitation to the Festival of the "Pioneer Settlers'Association," on the 22d inst.  I regret very much that I cannot bewith you on that occasion - the first re-union of those, still living, who wereassociated in the founding of society in your county, will be an event ofunusual interest.  The recollections awakened by it will have some thingsto sadden, but more to excite gratulation.  Twenty years make but a shortperiod in the history of communities; but it is a long one in individualexperience, more especially when the succession of events is a truer guage oftime than the change of seasons.  More than twenty years have gone by sincethe most of those who can be denominated the Pioneers of Scott county, settledin what was then Wisconsin Territory.  Since that time what changes havecome to all-what trials to many!  Some have passed away; but most of thoseremaining are able to claim that the occurrences which have built up theprosperity of your State, have dealt kindly with their individual fortunes, andrepaid them for all the hardships and sacrifices they endured in the first tenyears of their pioneer experience.  These are the considerations which,with greater or less intensity, according to the respective fortunes that haveattended the members of your association, will more obviously link themselveswith the reminiscences of the Festival.  But there is a moral point of viewin which the retrospection will have less of individuality, and, therefore, ahigher and more refined sense of gratulation.  In the migration to thatcountry, each of us had our individual purpose to accomplish - some possiblysordid and narrow - others, doubtless, broad and elevated, with visions ofenlarged usefulness and a great future for the country they had adopted. But whatever may have been our motives or dreams, the seven years of hardtimes which succeeded 1837, (operating with peculiar severity upon a country soisolated from market as Iowa then was,) brought everything to the grindingstandard of a struggle for bare subsistence.  But through all this struggleand gloom a great purpose was being accomplished:

"There is a Providence that shapes our ends,

Rough hew them as we will."

The very difficulties of the country were preparing it for abrighter day.  Every plough-furrow-every axe-stroke were unwitting but sureagencies in the development of the country, and in advancing it towards that dayof awakening-that complete and active civilization of which the Locomotive isthe true representative.  Twenty years elapsed, and the struggling pioneersof Iowa found themselves the fathers of a great and prosperous State.

In the spring of 1835, I settled upon the Illinois shore, whereStephenson (now Rock Island,) was afterwards located.  In 1836, I removedto the west side of the Mississippi, into what was then Michigan Territory,afterwards Wisconsin, and now Iowa.  In 1840, I joined you in theorganization of the Chocago & Rock Island Railroad Company.  Theseepochs tell the history of my pioneership.  In them I cannot boast that Iaccomplished much for myself; but I thank God that I have done something-or atleast I hope so-for my fellow-man.

You have placed two periods, conspicuously different inthemselves, in juxtaposition upon your card-1840 and 1858,-Iowas as it was, andIowas as it is.  What a contrast the two pictures present!  The rapidcolonization of Ohio and Kentucky were marvels in their day, but they aremarvels no longer.  Wisconsin may claim a parallel with Iowa; and Minnesotamay boast a leap into Statehood of still greater apparent vigor; but not, whenit is considered that for the want of railroad connection with the seaboard, thefirst ten years of Iowa were practicaly lost to her.

Allow me, in conclusion, to hope that there will be many andpleasant re-unions of the "Pioneer Settlers' Association."

Very truly yours, etc.,

J. H. SULLIVAN.

___________________________________

Fruit Hill Classical Institute, Mass.,

February 9th, 1858

GENTLEMEN:-Your note and invitation were transmitted to me by myfather.  I thank you very much for your kind invitation and welome. It is with much regret that I am obliged to inform you, thatimpossibilities, which cannot be surmounted, will prevent my joining you in theapproaching festival.  But although I cannot be present in person, still mybest wishes are with you.  I rejoice that I am a Hawkeye, and I feel proudof the State of my nativity-may she continue to advance as rapidly as she hasfor the past twenty years, till she shall become the leading State in the Union. The "Pioneer children"-may they always remain true to theirnative State, and never disgrace the land of their birth.

Wm. B. GROVER

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Foxboro, February 15th, 1858.

GENTLEMEN:-I regret very much that circumstances are such that Icannot comply with your kind invitation to attend the first festival of the"Pioneer Settlers' Association of Scott County," Iowa; yet whileabsent in body, let me assure you I shall be with you in spirit.  It is along time since I lived among you, and then but eighteen months, yet I havealways felt an interest in your prosperity, and have kept myself "postedup," by taking one of your good papers.  My heart has often yearnedfor some of your "good things," and yet I have never felt that strongdesire to be one day with you as I now do.

May the same God that has been with and highly blessed you, leadyou safely through this world up to our home in the skies.

Yours truly,

E. GROVER.

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Jacksonville, Ill., Feb. 15, 1858

GENTLEMEN:-I recived a letter a few days since from Mr. W.Burrows, in which was enclosed a card of invitation to a grand festival of the"old folks at home."  Nothing could afford me more pleasure, thanfor myself and family to be present with you on the occasion mentioned-to meetwith friends of former years, especially the hardy pioneers whose energy, toiland efforts have caused such wonderful developments in all that contributes tothe happiness of man, would be a source of enjoyment, which would producefeelings in my heart of the most delightful character; but circumstances beyondmy control will prevent my being present-and with many thanks to the committeefor their invitation, I close with the following sentiment:  "Thepioneers of the West"-they were men of strong nerve and warm hearts; bytheir sacrifice, toil, and efforts, they have caused the solitary places to beglad, and the wilderness to bloom and blossom as the rose-may their memory besacred!

H. W. HIGGINGS.

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Dubuque, Feb. 1, 1858

GENTLEMEN:-I have received an invitation from the PioneerSettlers' Association, of Davenport, to be present at their approachingFestival, on the 22nd of February, and to respond to a toast in reference to the"Pioneer Dead."  I regret that it will not be in my power tocomply with the request, as my duties here will not allow me to be absent fromhome at that time.  It would give me great pleasure to meet those who willassemble on that occasion, and to renew old acquaintanceship formed many yearsago, while at the same time I should experience some pain from reminiscences oftrials endured in former days, and from the absence of many former friendsdeparted.  It was at Davenport that I first trod the soil of my adoptedState, about nineteen years ago.  Your large and flourishing city was thenbut a hamlet, and no one could have rationally predicted its present prosperityfrom what was then visible.  It is one of the most pleasant facts in myhistory, that I was enabled, with a few others, to found the CongregationalChurch, now so large and influential for good in your city.  It is mysincere desire that the past success of the secular and religious enterprise ofyour citizens may be only a slight earnest of what is yet in store for them. With many thanks for the distinguished honor conferred upon me inassigning me a part in your anticipated exercises on the occasion referred to, Iam,

Very respectfully yours,

JNO. C. HOLBROOK.

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New York, Feb. 11, 1858.

GENTLEMEN:-Permit me to tender my grateful ackowledgmentto the members of your association, for their kind remembrance of the"Absent Pioneers of Iowa."

I regret exceedingly that business will not permit my joiningyou on the interesting occasion of your first celebration, as it would give meintense pleasure to renew so many delightful reminiscences of the past, withthose whom I have ever considered the advance-guard of your flourishing State,in her progress to her present greatness.

Although I cannot be with you in person, I shall be particularlyinterested in the event.

May Heaven crown your feast with gladness, and grant you a longlease of years, in which to enjoy the fruits of your early labors.

Very Truly Yours,

E. H. SHEPARD.

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LeClaire, Feb. 20, 1858

HON. JAMES GRANT:-Dear Sir:  I am fearful that Ishall not be able to attend the festival of the old pioneers of Scott county onthe 22d inst., in your city.  I have a severe cold, and am quite unwellto-day-trust, however, I shall be better on Monday.  If so, I shallcertainly be down.  After witnessing the struggles of the "OldSettlers" for nearly twenty-one years, I feel like rejoicing when theyrejoice, feasting when they feast, and mourning when they mourn.

In the event that I am too indisposed to come down, and thereshould be no person from here to respond to the twelfth regular toast, please doso yourself.  I know I am safe in saying that our people would feel safewith their interests confided to your hands.

I think a good many of our old citizens will be down, but veryfew of them are public speakers.

I send you a volunteer toast, to be read if I cannot come.

Truly yours,

LAUREL SUMMERS.

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Danville, Pa., Feb. 15, 1858

GENTLEMEN:-Accept my thanks for the card of invitation tothe "First Festival of the Pioneer Association,"  and also foryour kind note accompanying it.

There are no memories more cherished and fresh in my heart thanthose of my residence among you, from 1837 to 1841; and it would afford me greatpleasure to meet with my old friends on the occasion of the Festival, but Icannot.  My heart will be there, however, beating in unison with yourhighest aspirations for the future prosperity of your beautiful city and county,and the long life and happiness of all the pioneers.

There is not in this great country a spot more sacred to mymemory than Davenport.  The beauty of its situation; its salubrity; the oldassociates, and familiar faces of friends are always present to my thoughts, andI never fail to speak favorably for them to friends here when the West is thesubject of discourse.  Living, as I do, on the banks of the Susquehanna,whose waters are like crystal, and surrounded by landscapes, the grandeur andbeauty of which are perhaps unsurpassed, they seem to me not comparable to thescene from the bluffs below Davenport, looking south and east, and bringing intoour view the Twin Cities, the upper Rapids of the great Mississippi, embracingthe beautiful Rock Island, etc.

It is a cherished purpose of my heart to visit my once home atDavenport at as early a day as possible, when I hope to renew many of my oldfriendships.

I have also, in the name of my wife, and daughter born inDavenport, to thank you for the invitation, and assure you that it would affordthem very great happiness to visit their old home, and join the festival.

May the sun of prosperity ever shine on all of you, until"gathered as a shock of corn fully ripe."

With sincere regard,

ANDREW L. RUSSELL.

THE CLOSE.

In response to a loud call at the close of the Festival, John P.Cook, Esq., sang "Oft, in the Stilly Night."  It was finelygiven, and warmly applauded.  The sweet voices of fair women joined in fromdifferent parts of the hall, and the effect was delightful.  Finally, at 1o'clock, "Auld-Lang-Syne" was sung in general chorus, and the"Old Settlers' Festival" was a happy memory of the past.