Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1906-12-28
Early Days In Hardin.
IA. Palmer in the Iowa Falls Sentinel

Your invitation, Mr.. Editor. to con-
| tribute scraps Of the early history Of
Hardin county reminds me of the time,
| in the spring Of 1854, when my father
with mother and a younger sister and
brother, with some household goods
loaded into prairie schooner, and q
few cattle trailing behind with the un-
dersigned and a CAD bringing up the
rear, hove in sight of the beautiful val
ley Of the Iowa as we followed the trail
from the south, the said beauty being
enhanced, no doubt, by the fact that we
were nearing the end Of a tiresome
journey from Muscatine, Iowa. The
very wildness and crudeness of things,
as we found them seemingly fresh from
the hand Of God, were Wonderful and
attractive to US from the city. bearing
little evidence, as the Irishman would
say. that the hand of man had ever set
foot there.
There had preceded us to this land of
hope and promise Benjamin Talbot
John Caldwell and Nathan Townsend
and their families. Mr.. Talbot built
his cabin near the big spring little be-
low where Ad Wells old lime kiln now
stands. John Caldwell located on
claim a mile and half down the river
on the farm now owned, I believe, by
DR.. Russ, and Mr.. Townsend settled on
what Is still known as the Townsend
place by the big stone house; my father
bought the land from government that
is now called the Kulas farm, where we
built our cabin and planted our roof
tree. The first winter was a terrible
y, <oI
November and stayed till March. Be
fore Mr.. Caldwell got his cabin finished
he was taken sick and the care of their
nearly helpless family OF six children
Ind her sick husband devolved upon the
good wife. which responsibility she he
roically assumed and bore to the best
of her ability. Hanging carpet up to
the Enclosed doors and windows, she
huddled her little ones around the i'm
provised fireplace and hung other quilts
and blankets close back of them She
began the fight Of her life for the life
of her family. comfort being out of the
question during that never to be for
gotten winter.
But the wolf and the blizzard lost
victory over this heroic mother. The
springtime found them all alive and for
the next winter they were better prepar-
ed. This is specimen of the hard
ships of the early pioneers of Hardin
county. The Nnearest grist mill was
sixty miles away and the task Of get
ting a little corn ground was like
equipping an expedition to cross the
continent now. Tom and Wills Towns
end were the nimrods of the little
settlement and made frequent levies on
the wild game to supply its wants
During the hard winter above referred
to, they killed three buffaloes, and
while the meat was not as tender as
lamb or as fat as a pig, it was God
send to the half-starved people and
was eaten and enjoyed without
thought of pure food laws or govern
ment inspection.
Mr. Talbot built small mill Just
below where the mill is now and when
the dam was not washed out it ground
was full of fish, and the fisherman
would wade after a shoal and with long
pole and line jerk his hook into the
choice ones and land them as fast as
two or three boys could string them.
John Caldwell was the first justice of
the peace. He married those inclined
that way, heard the complaints and ex-
plantations of his neighbors and when
the trials of life were over, he would
make their collins that they might be
respectfully buried. He usually kept
some black walnut lumber for that
purpose and when the casket was fin
ished he would bring out the walnut
color beautifully by rubbing it with
a piece of pork rind.
The large body of timber extending
from below Iowa Falls to Steamboat
Rock and beyond was called The Big
Woods, and the timber about Iowa Falls
and above was known as the Upper
Big Woods Our little settlement began
at once to hold religious meetings. We
were mostly Friends or Quakers, and
the meetings, of course, had the peculi-
arities of Friends meetings OF the early
time. They seem to have adopted the
beautiful sentiment in the title Of the
anthem, adore and Be Still" Tie
boys and girls were not always as still
as they should have been and did not
seem to adore very much. The door had
more attraction for them, and nothing
pleased them more than when the lead
ing Friends on the front seat world