Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1909-04-08

daughter of William p. llamlin, for
merly Miss Cymantha Hamlin, one of
the prominent young ladies of Extra
in early times. Her husband, Hon
William +. Smith was an Extra boy,
Who served in the 4th Iowa Cavalry.
Mrs. Smiths sketches WILDLY show
the actual conditions encountered by
the early settlers of this county. Her
! father lived Just across the line in
Cass County first on the old Goodale
place, afterwards farther west ON Buck
Creek. They were equally We'll ac-
Quainted in this county. We are
glad to receive this contribution and
1 hope others will send rccollections of
early Audubon County life and scenes.
Farrall, Wyoming, March >, 1909
Mr.. II. +. Andrews
| happened to see one of the Audu-
bon County journals, telling about
the early settlement of Audubon
County. You say you have never seen
anyone that claimed to have seen
panther there. There must have been
several there, or in Cass county. My
1 father and a man named John Pratt
saw one as they were going across the
prairie from our place on Buck creek.
| They were in a wagon and when the
panther saw them it dropped down ON
anant hill and watched them as they
passed, only about ten steps from the
road. My father said he could have
shot it, if he had had a gun. And as
for bear they were plenty, at least on
Buck Creek. We lived at the lower
] grove two miles below Barney Harris
Grove and there was another between
them called Middle Grove. We used
4 squaling in the Middle Grove. Fa-
4 ther went one time to move a man TO
| Nebraska and Martha Johnston after
wards Mrs. VIM. Carpenter, stayed
with our family while father was
gone One night during his absence
ON this occasion, we thought we
heard some one walking around the
house and We're greatly frightened.
There was no door, only a quilt hung
up with chairs set against it to shut
up the entrance The next day we
found the tracks OF bear around the
house, which proved who our visitor
was, but it made no attempt to enter
the house.
There We're lots of wild turkies in
the Big Grove, but father killed only
the Young ones, which We're nice to
fry. | have seen my father chasing
herds of hundreds of elk at time,
which came near our house. He killed
nine elk one Christmas and brought
home a large one alive. We kept
it until the next Summer, fattened
and killed it to eat. We had seven
pet elk at one time. There was a
crust on a deep SNOW which enabled
father to kill those on that Christmas.
Something funny happened when
we lived at the Goodale place. One
night the hounds Weakened us by chas-
. Il
tber jumped up to see what it was
and just as he got out deer ran past
him and the dogs grabbed it. Father
caught it by the horns and called mo-
ther to bring the butcher knife and
with it killed the deer
One time on Buck Greek when ia
ther was absent from home five
wolves came close to our house. Our
dog would chase them a little way:
then they would turn and drive him
back faster than he took them away.
When the dog got near the house he
would get brave and go after them
again. Mother and US children watch
ing them in the yard. Father and
Uncle Natty lived near each other on
the Skunk river in Mahaska County
Ben and Ike Jenkins helped to move
us from Maha6ka to Cass county with
an OK team in the fall of 1851. / was
only three years old but remember it
we'll. There was but one house on the
hill east of the river at DeS MoneS
and i think only three ON the west
side. | remember the ferry boat was
SO old and rotten mother was afraid
to go on it, and | think our only COW
thought the same way, for she jumped
over board and swan ashore.
The first election in Cass county
was held atour house on the old Good
ale place.
We moved to Extra in the fall of
1860 From Buck Creek.
Mrs. W. +. SMITH