The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1904-09-08

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ceded the home-seekers, determined
in some way to secure something to
appease the appetites Of the hungry
party.
Pressing every trail, and listening
to every sound for wild game, he kept
on his course throughout the day,
without a lucky shot. About four
o'clock in the afternoon he came to a
cabin on the prairie, the only hablta-
ton he had met with all day. The
household consisted of husband, wife
and daughter. He called at the cabin
door and asked if he could purchase
something to eat for himself and his
companions. The lady of the house
| told him she had nothing to eat in
the house at that time, but confident
ly expected the return Of her husband
from the mill with supply OF corn
meal in an hour or two, and when he
did come she could supply their pres
ent wants. After resting a short time
time Mr.. Kalbach noticed a strip of
brush quarter Of mile or so dis
tant and determined to go over in the
hope Of finding something to satisfy
his hunger, while his company should
have time to come up. He was fortu-
nate enough to shoot a black bird,
which he dressed and roasted and had
a feast all to himself. returning to
the cabin, he found his companions
had arrived as well as the expected
husband with the sack of meal, and
the good housewife was vigorously
stirring the mush pot for bounteous
supper. She was a Scotch lady social
ly pleasant and kind, but fearless and
positive in character, and her heart
went out for the eight small children
in the company of travellers who mad
not tasted food for so many hours
To the utter chagrin of her older
guests. the decisive lady would not
allow single one of them to have a
morsel to eat until the children had
eaten all they wanted. She was not
selfish in her wilderness home, but
humble as it was, her home must be
ruled by her own ideas Of fitness and
propriety,
The next morning the good lady fit
ted out the party with corn bread for
the day, and they went on their jour
ney southwest as far as Carlisle Ind.
A short stay convinced the entire par
ty that Carlisle was not the place they
wanted to stop and they retraced
| their steps to Terre Haute, Ind, where
they dismissed their conveyance and
| driver and spent the winter Mr..
Kalbacn found his services in ready
demand as an undertaken. Says it
seemed to him that the community
was kept quite busy caring for the
sick and burying their dead.
Before the swamps and marshes of
Indiana were drained there was
dreadful suffering from fever, ague,
milkweed and kindred diseases.
Sometimes an entire village would be
depopulated by the scourge. Mr..
Kalbach relates that on their tour Of
inspection through Indiana, they
| travelled one day late into the night
in order to reach a quite well known
town by the name of Caledonia.
When they reached the place they
found it utterly forsaken. Not a per-
son was to be found. The party
CHANGED to be out of matches and had
to go some. distance to a farm house
to secure fire for the camp.
While at Terre Haute a wealthy
Frenchman who was travelling through
the country, fell victim to cholera
and the case fell into Mr.. Kalbach's
hands for handling. The body was
buried and late in the fall disinterred
and prepared in proper easements for
shipment to the east. A stage coach
carried it to Cincinnati, and thence
by river and canal to it's destination.
In the spring of 1850 Mr.. and Mrs.
Kalbach and their company visited a
number of cities and towns in Illinois
| working westward until they came to
Nauvoo, H. 1t was in that year that
the last detachment of Mormons left
Nauvoo fer their far western home
and the town and entire community
were almost depopulated. The land
| lady of the principal hotel of the
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| place was the former widow Of Joe
Smith, who had been killed some
years before, but who in his lifetime
was the head of the Mormon cnur h.
| A deep shadow had fallen over the
party of home-seekers. One Of their
number had died of cholera down the
river, and Mr.. Kalbach had preceded
the company some days to Nauvoo to
arrange for the burial. Death from
cholera was quite frequent in many
places in the west, and if the cause of
this death should become known they
were liable to be quarantined Tor
days. For a time Mr. Kalbach was
somewhat perplexed to know just
what course to pursue. He finally
concluded to follow the principle that
mas governed all his life, viz: TO go
to the parties most interested and rep
resent things just as they were. This
he did to the landlady of the hotel
where he was stopping. She was the
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