The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1886-11-21
EARLY DAYS IN MISSOURI.
An Old Time Resident Gives Some
Interesting Facts


OF The HERALD's readers, especially
those from Missouri:
Editor Press:-I have been thinking
for some time that 1 would write a short
article to be used By you or not, as you
thought proper, believing that possibly
the subject upon which 1 proposed to
10 write. would interest some of the
readers Of your interesting psper,-that
subject being some of the incidents con-
necUed with the early settlements OF
your noN-prosperous and wealthy state.
showing the marked change in the
conditions, not only in Missouri, but in
all the adjoining States. when that State
became member of the Union in the
year # 1921.
Unfortunately am not at the present
moment in possession of statistics
showing the population of Missouri
when admitted. nor indeed its present
population; therefore. your readers. in
order t0insitute thorough comparison.
Will nave 70 look up the census report
of the two periods. 1t is to be presumed
that not many Of your readers lived 10
| the state at the time of which l write
and who were old enough TO remember
events of that time, though perhaps
there may be some and If so, they may
be interested in the subject OF this letter
In 1921, when the writer was boy of
some 8 years OF age, my father re-
| sided in eastern Indiana and being, ss
he ever was, on the alert to Tisitand re
move TO the latest discovered new set
Element, in response to an invitation
from friend and relative who was on
rr-o - vfru rfvRfo
to Missouri, transporting his family
and his slaves by land, called enroute
at pDint in Indiana not far from our
residence and waited for my fathers
family to get ready and join him to bear
his family company on the long AM
tedious march to the promised land.
Some time in the fall of the year 1921,
the caravan, consisting of several wagons
loaded with persons-white and black
and with supplies for the trip, and for
use on arrival, besides q number of
men on horseback. left the town Of
Brookville, which. was at that time q
thriving frontier town, and the nucleus
of intending settlers in the new west.
At this time there was but one road by
which persons could travel across the
states OF Indiana andiIIlinois which was
an old trail leading from our starting
point via Hindostan and Vincennes 70
et. Louis, which place We reached some
time in December, 1921.
Although a mere boy, Is / have said.
at the time, / remember we'll the
appearance Of the country through
which we passed. Indiana was q dense
forest with an occasional farm, here and
there village. Illinois was, on the con-
trary, vast prairie, or rather q success
sion of large prairies between slight
fringes Of woodland here and there.
There were in our company several
men besides our own party, looking out,
believe for homes, aud Lshare a vivid
recollection of some of the comments
made by them on the country traversed
by Us. Indiana they said would settle
up in time, but Illinois could not be
occupied because of the scarcity of
timber. Indeed il looked so at the time,
because wood was so scarce and what
there was so small that il seemed i'm
possible for settlers to build houses and |
fences, for at that time railroads were |
not dreamed Of, nor wire fences, and |
fences were regarded as indispensable. |
On reaching the Mississippi River op- |
posite st. Louis l was struck with the |
vast body of water, never having seen q |
river larger than the Wabash at |
Vincennes, and was equally surprised |
TO behold the unique mode of convey
ance provided by Mr.. Virgins, the |
pioneer ferryman, to carry US and our |
wagons and teams across the stream. |
The means provided being simply an |
old fiat boat propelled by eight ancient |
blind horses being driven around in a /
circle; however, We got over in safety /
and passing through the city camped a
mile or so outside on what known as |
the "Bonhomme road"
Ny recollection is that the population /
OF st. Louis at that time was something
less than 5000. and these people all lived
within the limits of the old French town.
which limits l presume can now be
traced by the narrow and crooked /
streets.
at the time OF which l write lands
could have been purchased within six or
eight miles of the town, west, at 50 per
acre. The settlements back were few
and far between, wild horses ranged
within twenty-five or thirty miles of the
town and were frequently caught by
expert hunters by shooting. aim being
taken at the neck Of the animal. If the
ball hit in the right place merely
'tcreasing' in the neck, the animal
would fall to the ground and lie there
until secured; If the neck was broken
the animal was dead, and no loss sus-
tanned, as the horses had no owners.
In 1923 my father purchased a small
yellow horse whose neck was still
bloody from the wound received in this
way. / broke the animal and rode Il to
Indiana during the winter of 1924 G
This animal was running wild with a (
band not thirty miles from st. Louis. / | /
presume wild horses without owners are
aot very plentiful in that region at pre-
tent.
At the time of which have written.
indianapolis had just been laid out and /
chicago, as town, was unknown. r
H. d. ]. I
! The population of Missouri in Is2l. when I
Omitted 70 the Union. was 66,559: according s
D rate of increase from 1870 70 1850 the popr- 9
alton to-day would be 25Oo, OOo.-Editor Holt Z
o., No. PTess :