Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1920-12-07
LARGE HERD HAD ITS CORRAL
ON PRESENT SITE OF TOWN
OF GLADBRook.
MANY NOW LIVING RECALL
WILD PRAIRIE LANDS
Boy Who Herded Near GIadbrook
Resides at Beaman and Not an Old
Man-Was Lonesome and Irk-
some Task-land Now Held at
$500 Per Acre.
IBy c. +. Wnson.l

Gladbrook, Dec. An observant
traveller passing thru here would no.
ice that the town is traversed by
two railroads and an automobile
highway. II he happened TO be In
meditative mood he might Judge that
from twenty to twenty-five railway
trains and many automobiles (whcn
iowa roads are travelable) pass thru
daily. FROM the appearance OF the
| Town he would conclude that 1t en-
| joys good local trade and from that
joi the surrounding farms he might
suppose that here was one OF the
substantial ana older settled portions
OF the state where farm land rose
last year in selling price from 5000
an acre to as high as $3.50 and pos
lsibly more and that to this day some
argue that 1t Is still worth the money,
and in all this he would be correct.
What he would not suspect would be
that within few miles there lives
a man but little past middle life who
spent good many of his early days
lherding cattle on the then wild land in
the vicinity and "corralled" them on
- SPSs hNti "btIt the TIC WORKS iq
now located at the edge OF the town
ana VINO remembers the coming of the
hrst railway train thru Giadhrook,
SO named because the then few In
habitahts or the community rejoiced
at the advent of this means of COM
municatlon with the outside world
In the year 1858 on James Molony
bought n tract of land near what is
now Gladbrooli for s. per acre. and
the farm Is still in the surviving
wires possession. little later a man
named Cole paid $40 an acre for land
In that locality and son, w. e. Cole.
now OF Beaman, Iowa, Is the man who
as boy herded the cattle as noted.
Ills wife is. a daughter OF Mr.. Molouy.
one day in the spring OF 1875 the
Elder Cole announced to his family
MS intention of taking bunch of
mich cows to herd. The son. then
llo-year-old. at once asked who was
7" do the herding and was answered
with, You are" And Mr.. Cole re-
members that Of just $50 DAYS of
watching cows that season he was
on the Job 149. the exception being
one DAY IN harvest when he was
called son to drive runaw way team
attached to harvesting machine,
and that one day was the only &c
caslon or his eating a warm dinner
during the entire herding season SHE
recalls too. that the pony he rod.
was addicted to the habit of "ha,l
ing with him in the saddle and tho
successful curative experiment EN-
| BlOSeO. a n cd OIL,
imagination by the creatures ohstin-
acy' young Cole one morning "Swip-
Gu ms mothers clothesline. looped
one end In the ponS's jaw and rome
III mana from some distance In fro,t
With long whip he "tickIed" the
pohys front legs in such a manner
that the idea of further baking was
permanently abandoned
Mr. Cole (the elder one) received
sao month for herding the cattle,
me young herder according to pre-
Valllng custom would have "boa rded
round with the owners Of the stock
kut In this instance the boy STAYED at
nome nights and extra allowance was
made for this. The owners of tho
COWS also furnished material for tho
corral
Mr.. Cole remembers that the first
settlement in the Gladbrook vicinit,
was called Badger Hill Corners. the
inhabitants being All Wisconsin emf
grants at that time. Badger Hin was
on the line Of the old mail rout.
from Montour to New Providence
and the local postoffice was a sin.lc
bureau drawer in one of the houses
in the settlement
Farm produce at that time was
nearly all marketed in Marshalltown
ana I~lscomb. Farmers usually start
co very early IN the morning on these
raullnS trips, any time from 9 a. m.
70 daylight and it was not considered
az all SAFE for man ID set out alone
because OF the condition of the r.,nr.,
: which at that time were a succession
OF miry slougks.
} Beaman is the present home ofson-
other man who in the early DAYS
herded cattle At about the Same time
that the wild range around GIal6rook
was in the last stages OF its existencn
there was still some five or six hun-
ufed acres of Spectator land" as
II was called along the creek and ri, or
| ''NN'S'ii'o, JioliIlWeSU OF M9rSha11<
town and w. l.. Allen then a yorne
hoy. kept about 100 head of cattle off
surrounding farms one season. AS
late as 1879 there was still a two
section tract ct wild land a few miles
north of Beanan, held by eastern
owners, and on this the Aliens herded
about 300 cattle. BY the next year
the last Of the wild land of any con
siderable acreage was being broken
up for farming purposes and the
Gays OF cattle herding in central
Iowa were over.
Until something better is reported
| Mr.. $. L. Clemons Of Lawn Hill i.
gong to claim the middle apa"
championship Of Iowa so ia. as corn
husklng is concerned, Mr.. Clemens
who Is SO years old. III A contest
AGAINST time the other day SUCCEEDED
IN husklng. hauling in and shoveline
.hlrty-two bushels of corn in two
hours and twenty-f five minutes.
-