Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1901-09-19

The old stage coach is gone The spin
ming wheel and the loom are no more; |
their hum and drum have ceased with |
the voices of the past We live in
the age of which it was said, "All
things shall become new"
There are some things that remain to /,
us from these pioneers with which we
cannot dispense, which we should new
err forget 1t is their intelligence,
their courage and religious convic-
tons. They are. the foundation and
frame of our civilization. With these
we stand, without them we fall Our
past is secure, we are proud of our
present and our future will be glor-
ious if We shall take as our motto and
remember as watchwords, "Inteli
gehce, courage and conscience"
J. G. Meek.
Mr.. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen:
+ The men and women who compose
the Old Settlers society are the SYM
bols of order, frugality and industry
! They are the representatives of the
people who first came to this beauti-
I full land They came for the material
conquest CT the great west to build
up homes and to foster the growth of
institutions worthy of the time and
place.
Not so early as some came my faith
er, who landed at Keokuk and with
his family took UP his march for cen
trail Iowa. Whilst traversing the
beautiful Des Moines valley. we met
at Bonaparte another family of the
same name Who had preceded us some
years. Without stopping to argue the
Question of relationship we desire to
remark with smile that is childlike
and bland that no family in Iowa has
done more to make name for Iowa
made woolens and fabrics than Isaiah
Meek. The mill erected then was pat
rcnized by the people who lived on
the Missouri slope when they called
Council Bluffs GAINESVILLE"
There are men in Wapello county
who can tell the grist they carried to
Meek's mill. When they built the
first dam across the river the Des
Moines was national highway or
navigable stream. When the first
steamer came to the, dam and demand
led passage the Meeks were loath to
cut a breech therein so the boat could
proceed up the river The captain de-
clared that he was loaded with govern
Iment supplies for the new fort at Des
Moines. The reply was that THE set
4 tiers camped hereabout needed their
grist as bad as the soldiers and Off
GERS at the forks of the Raccoon need
ed their rations-no dam, no grind; no
grind. no food.
The captain did not see it in that
light and again insisted upon an op-
ening being made so his boat could
} again plow the flowing main. No re-
: ply was forthcoming; so, summoning
: his brawny deck hands he proceeded
to cut that dam in twain. The fierce
waters rushed mad foamed, but the
brave old salt was heard above the
, roar of waters: Hard aport," and
: like thing of life the noble craft
sprang for the opening and gallantly
: rode away up the river. Twilight was
/ fast deepening. The murmuring trees
: We're gently swaying in the summer
breeze, and a voice came floating down
the river, You old cuss, I'll sue you
) for damages"
Sure enough, from out of the east
: came horseman. feet of foot, the
| foam mantling the tanks of his horse
i He reigned up at the mill door and de
= manded in the name of the common
, wealth of Iowa that one Isaiah Meek
come forth. A summons was served
{ and when the great United States
court convened said Meek was assess
> ed $500 damages for detention of a
) boat carrying government supplies
Since that the Des Moines was, declar
q ed non-nayigable.
8 My father continued his journey III
. the valley. Having heard that com
81 ;pfa IA Id
E ura at a session at Iowa City had Sc
r lected point in Jasper county as the
:, proper site of the new capital we 10
!, Gated in that county But mutterings
! We're heard. 1t was said the commits
q sioners We're upduly influenced or, as
/ the boys now say, they were seen
:. none of it." (the "swag," l supposed
= tai at Des Moines.
/ From that date the state forged
+ ahead. The open sesame swung
v back the gateway and opened it tt
i the vast army of home-makers. TIL,
a great wave of, population came stead
$ lily with unbroken front until thes'
q fertile plains have become the home
4 of millions. There are many in thi
n society whose names cOulQ menIlOn
whose fathers saw the Mississippi val
ley when it was a wilderness.
s What a transformation! The sew
+ en- wonders of the ancient times arr
q but pigmies when compared with tn
+ marvels achieved in this Mississippi
v valley The saddest thought to me tc
i day is that ] do not see the faces o
, many who met with us in this beaut
= full grove at our first meeting, but
: few years ago. They We're the var
,, guard of that resistless throng tina
>. swept along this valley when the Ian
,, was first opened for settlement. The
:, came in the first flush OF manhood
!, Their mission was peace, yet the
= came to conquer the wilderness
y BY the sides of many came thei
y brides to help in the home-making i
= tho new land. The sweetest sons
~ sters. the aosI popular novelists G
y the day. draw their sweetest inspire
- ton from, and accord the highest hor
- ors of womanhood to the brave VIZ
= men of frontier life. The beautifr
u story Of alice of Vincennes" is bu
a prototype.
e k,,.;., III, ,oo,oc tT,o,, oduo,+a