JESSE HYATT
[NOTE: This biography follows immediately after the biographies of V.M. Conrad and William S. Townsend, who settled in Cass Co. prior to the settlers described below.]
The next settlers were Jeremiah Bradhaw [sic], Jesse Hyatt, Lewis Hyatt, James Sprague, John Stout, and V. M. Bradshaw and their families. These Argonauts left Mahaska county in the early part of May, 1851, and arrived at Cold Spring postoffice on the 15th of the same month. They did not stop here, but went on west to Kanesville, now Council Bluffs. On their arrival at that place, they held a council, and concluded that they had seen no place that suited them for a permanent location, as well as the country about what is now Oakfield, in Audnbon(sic) county. Thither they retraced their steps, bnt [sic] on coming to the Nishnabotna just west of the chosen land they found that stream was swollen by the spring rains, and filled the shole bottom, from bluff to bluff. The men, by hard struggles managed to cross the turbid torrent, and blaze the timber and stake out their claims upon the prairie, but they could devise no means to get their families, their wagons or tools across, so that they might improve their claims, so they turned their teams southward into Cass county, arriving at Indiantown in September, 1851. On their arrival they found no settlers in the county except W.S. Townsend, J.D. Campbell, and the Mormons, Mr. Conrad having gone back to Dubuque in the interim. They decided to remain in this vicinity, so they all purchased claims of the Mormons, who were about to leave. Mr. Bradshaw commenced keeping a store between the villages of Indiantown and Iranistan in 1852; this was the pioneer mercantile establishment of the county. In 1853, he removed into the latter village. Mr. Bradshaw purchased this stock in Sidney, Fremont county, where he continued to buy what was needed to replenish it. On moving to Iranistan, he went down to Savannah, Missouri, and bought a large stock of dry goods and groceries, and bringing them here, put them in his store. He had kept dry goods, cutlery and a little bit of everything, except groceries, previous this, but for the latter necessaries, the settlers had to go to Council Bluffs. He operated this store until his entering the army, when he sold it. Mr. Bradshaw was a great hunter in his time, and has killed as many as seven deer in one day, when they were more plenty than now. Five wapiti or elk, have bit the dnst(sic) in one day, before his rifle. He was a great hand for pets and had at one time seven elk, two deer, two badgers and two sandhill cranes, two pair of the elk he had trained to work, in place of horses. A sketch of Mr. Bradshaw is given in connection with the history of the office of the county judge, he being the first to fill that important office.
Transcribed by Gloria Goltiani from "History of Cass County, Iowa. Together With Sketches of its Towns, Villages and Townships, Educational, Civil, Military and Political History: Portraits of Prominent Persons, and Biographies of Old Settlers and Representative Citizens." Springfield, Ill.: Continental Historical Company, 1884, pg. 504.
