The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1909-08-26

The July number of the Annals OIL
Iowa, the historical quarterly pub
lished by the Historical Department
of the state, with Edgar r. Harlan,
assistant and acting curator, as edi
| tor, made its appearance from the
press, a little late, the first of the
week. 1t Is an eighty-page number
and is one of the most valuable pub
| locations in the state. This number
| contains articles, The Building of an
| Autograph Collection, The Upper Des
| Moines Valley-1843, Judge John f.
Dillon, Recollections of War Times,
and Governor kirkwood and the
| Skunk River War, with several inter
| esting things In the editorial depart
ment. The frontispiece is the room in
the Historical Building, containing the
Aldrich Autograph Collection. There
are three full pages of fac smile pro-
auctions, one, Longfellow's The Ar
row and the Song" one a letter from
Robert Burns, bearing date of 1888,
and page of journal entry in 1913.
| There is also a full page portrait of
i
Judge Dillon, and a full page illustra.
| ton of the Statue of Mahaska, the In
dian chieftain, erected at Oskaloosa
| the past year. In the editorial men
ton of the Mississippi Valley Histori-
cal Association, which held a session
at st. Louis in June, Benjamin F..
Shambaugh, Professor of Political
Science, is mentioned as vice-presi-
dents of the association. In the death
list nineteen notable persons are
mentioned. OF special interest is the
following article by Hon. +. w. Eich-
elberger, on
Governor kirkwood and the Skunk
| 80 River War.
During the dark days of the sum
mer of 1868, when Grant was invest
ing Vicksburg and Lee was marching
on Pennsylvania, there existed in por-
tons of Keokuk, Poweshiek and Wap-
clio counties a large number of south.
ern sympathizers, who had from the
outset of the war made a fierce oppo.
sition to its prosecution.
A man named Tally, living near
Ioka, in Keokuk county, Baptist
preacher, made himself a leader
among this element bby his blatant,
disloyal speeches in different parts
of the country, rendering himself OBJ.
noxious to the tihionloving portion
of the community. He usually went
armed with a couple of revolVers and
bowie knife and openly defied the
authorities to arrest him. The fall
of Vicksburg and the defeat of Lee
at Gettysburg seemed to embitter him
and his harangue became more violent
and threatening.
On the first OF August, accompanied
by seventy or eighty men in wagons
all armed he went to South English
in Keokuk county, and held a meeting
in the outskirts of the village. While
meeting was organized in the street
opposite to the hotel, which was ad
dressed by a man named Settler
from Mt. Pleasant, who happened tC
be at the hotel. During the progress
of this meeting, Tally and his crowd
|
ing butternut and copperhead pins
which were the recognized badges Of
disloyalty in the North at that time
, A wounded soldier named Moormar
seized one of the men wearing but
ternut and stripped it off, and was
proceeding TO serve others in the same
e way when he was seized by some Of
them. His father went to the rescue
and discharged his revolver. At this
Tally raised up in his wagon and gave
| the word to fire, at the same time Fir
ing his own revolver into the crowd
and regular fusilade was discharged
by his armed followers, but singular
, ly to relate without hitting anyone
!, was there the next day and saw
many bullets imbedded in the hote
front. The firing was returned anC
= Tally was killed and one of his mcr
t wounded. On the fall of their leader
, they drove off vowing to return ant
hang a number of the citizens anc
burn the town.
Word was sent to Washington, la.
where Col. N. p. Chapman, chief o.
: staff for General Samuel B. Curtis
happened to be at home on short
furlough. He left Immediately fol-
South English, whittier | accompan
led him in the interests of the Musca
tine Daily Journal, Of which paper
= was then city editor.
On our arrival Col. Chapman organ
lied company, erected barbados
and prepared to resist any effort to
take the town. During the day com
panies of state militia arrived from
Washington, and others came in from
Poweshiek and Iowa counties, and the
town was turned into a military camp
| urith Col GhinInnn In comm nd and i