Ottumwa weekly courier. (Ottumwa, Wapello County, Iowa) 1872-1899, 1873-01-02
4 REMINIaCENcE.

zen Of Iowa long enough to witness
some Of The evidences Of our great
ness a. Statc, and experience some
interesting items in the history Of our
progressive age and country.
In the spring Of 1887 my father Inn
migrated to Iowa (which was then
Wisconsin territory,) and settled at
Augusta, in Des Moines county. 1t is
truly interesting to look back and see
the progress that this country has
made in the short space of thirty-five
years. In many respects are these
things forcibly observable. The society
then would hardly compare with the
exactions of modern times. The set
tiers were mostly rough, ignorant
class, yet hardy and generous in their
way. The settlements were of course
sparse, the cabins few and far between.
our wants few, but sometimes not
easily supplied; many subsisted in
part, by hunting, and it seemed that
If stock of corn bread, with little
''roughness = (not forgetting sometimes
the whisky jug,) could be had, our
wants were supplied. And instcad Of
running mp bills Of hundreds Of dol
lars at the milliners, tailors and dry.
goods stores, suit of : homespun,
buckskin or Indian blanketing consti-
tuted our ward-robes.
Our schools, what few we had, were
another feature of interest, One that
/ had the honor of attending, would
hardly bear comparison ID efficiency
with the advantages our !" graded
schools now afford. The antiqnated
MASTER" sitting in thechimney corner
Of the log cabin, hat on, moping the
lay through, while the call to "come
up hur and say yer lesson was about
as regular as the invitation to return
the ruler thrown at the head of some
unruly urchin. The cheerfulness with
which we endured our hardships and
privations would be a rebukc to those
who now complain of hard times
l have heard an able-bodied man Of
fer to work for twenty-five cents per
day, and take 1t in store pay. also
remember of having but one pair of
shoes in the family for three of us,
during winter, SO that while one was
out getting wood by hand from the
woods and doing other necessary du-
ties, the other two remained In the
house barc-footed, and subsisting
meantime for weeks on buckwheat
ground on the coffee-mill, with about
enough fat meat to grease the skillet.
Our corn was sometimes ground at
the expense Of trip 90 or 60 miles
to Moffct's mill, ON Skunk river, (the
tirst mill hnilt in the StAte,) where at
times II was considered lucky not TO
have to wait two or three weeks 10
get grist in its turn.
We lived in close proximity to the
boundary line, dividing the Indian
possessions from the land purchased
Of them by Congress, consequently
there was much intercourse between
the whites and the aborignese, which
however was not always Of n credita-
BILE nature, rs whisky was the chief
article with which to swindle the In-
dians ont Of their blankets and other
property. Yet the relations between
the two were on the whole generally
friendly. One incident was forcibly
impressed on my mind.
Being sent on an crrand to neigh
bors where the white mans .fire wa
ter" and Indians enemy was kept,
while there on cold day, we had the
honor Of distinguished call from
Wapello, the great chief of the Sax and
Fox tribe, after whom this county was
named, and whose ashes now lie at
Agency City. A more noble speci-
men of manhood, physically, I never
saw; large, tall, perfect in form and
development, brave and superior In
natural intellect-at his best or primi-
tive state must have impressed all
with stately aud commanding aspect
yet beastly drunk, having squandered
most Of his wearing apparel for whis-
key. Calling for moro sscooteipo, =
and being refused, he became so en-
ragged that, upon his drawing a huge
knife, we thought ourselves doomed
to bloody massacre, but gun in the
hands of Sam Hardisty, . white man
about half his size, brought the savage
monster TO terms. Tho manner in
which his wild furious eye sparklcd
with rage as he slowly and reluctantly
returned hisknife and took his depart
ure remains viyidly impressed upon
my mind to this day. Upon another
occasion, while living inthe village, .
band Of thirty or fortxscamc to town
and got up drankeh, biol }dy row,
among themselves in front of foufd door,
with no one at home cxcopt6Dy moth
er and her little children. We kept d
large, fierce dog which had an inveter-
etc hatrod FOR Indians. One day, as
.Old Ring was lying beside the door,
which consisted only ofa blanket hung
up to keep ont tho cold, AN Indian sly
II approached, bnt not seeing The dog
until he TUNED the corner OF the house
where the dog lay, they were sudden.
" in close quarters, when Mr.. Indian
unccremoniously introduced himself
to the frightened family By one sudden
bound and whocp. in time TO save him
self from The snap tho dog aimed at
him. The settlers lived upon their
otaf.n. c.xvx,,cl ,-cars L. r<..s. an. L.. 4,