Audubon County journal. (Exira, Iowa) 1884-1993, 1920-08-12
Foreign Advertising Representative
THE AMERICAN PRESS ASSOCIATION
EARLY DAYS OF
AUDUBON COUNTY

A letter from Mrs. W. f. Smith,
daughter of William Hamlin who
came to Audubon county with Nat
ty Hamlin in 1851 is interesting.
The letter was written to the late
III. F. Andrews from her home at
Farrell, Wyoming, in 1909 she says:
II happened to see one OF the
Audubon County Journals, telling
about the early settlement of Aud
ubon 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 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 wagon and when the panther
saw them it dropped down on an
ant hill and watched them as they
passed only about ten steps from the
road. Father said he could have
shot it if he had had a gun.
And as for bears, they were plen-
~ty, 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 to hear the
bears at night fighting and squalling
in the middle grove.
Father went at one time to move
man to Nebraska, and Martha
Johnston, afterwards Mrs. William
Carpenter, stayed with our family
while father was gone. One night
during his absence we heard some
thing walking around the house,
and were greatly frightened. There
was no door to the house, only a
quilt hung up with chairs set against
it, to shut the entrance. The next
day we found bear tracks around
the house, which proved who our
visitor was. 1t made no attempt to
enter the house.
There were lots OF wild turkeys
in the big grove, but father killed
only the young ones which were
nice to fry. | have seen my father
chasing hundreds of elk at a time,
which came near our house. He kill
ed nine elk one Christmas and
brought home a large one alive. We
kept it untiLthe next summer, fat
tened and killed it to eat. There
was crust on the deep snow which
Enabled father to kill those on that
Christmas.
Something funny happened when
we lived on the Goodale place One
night the hounds wakened us by
chasing something around the house.
Father jumped up to see what ii
was and just as he got out deel
ran past him, which he caught by
the horns. He called to mother tt
bring the butcher knife, and with i
killed the deer.
One time, on Buck creek, wher
father was absent from home, five
wolves came close to the house. Gu
dog would chase them a short dis
lance, then the wolves would turf
and drive him back faster than h
had driven them away. When tn
dog got near the house he woul'
get brave and go after them again
Mother and us children watche'
the performance from the yard.
Father and Uncle Natty live
near each other on Skunk river, ii
Mahaska county. Ben and Ike Jen
kins helped to move us from Ma
haska to Cass county with an o:
team in the fall Of 1851. was onl,
three years old but remember j
we'll. There was but one house Of
the hill east of the river at De
MONIES, and / think only three OF
the west side.
| remember the ferry boat was ST
old and rotten mother was afraid t.
go on ii, and l think our only Gov
thought the same, for she jumped
overheard and swan ashore.