The Holly chieftain., 1922-06-15

4 sss 4
L.
Is. g -: y
~ OR good Americans there is no more
N interesting period In United States
hE history than that which covers the
kAS settling and early development of
&k8 the Upper Mississippi valley states
N@ which covers the third quarter of the
&sX9r + past century. The immigration Into
k&ga3T Iowa is typical OF that into other
F&p5 states at about the same period, and
EI&[ paragraph from "vandemnrk's
wv Folly by Herbert Quick, adequately
XIV describes the scenes of that time. He
says of that tremendous trek
Here went oxen. cows mules horses coaches
carrages blue jeans corduroys: rags, tatters Silks
Gaping from justice couples fleeing from the law;
goidseekers bearing southwest the Overland Trail
and fortune advenurers their way to everywhere
Abolitonsts going to the Border War; look
Ing outfits carrying fugitive slaves; and
of all. homeseekers 'hunting country'-a nation
on wheels. empire in the commotion and pangs Of
birth
There were many, very many. Interesting In.
cdents that went to make up the history of
these pioneer days in Iowa that are covered by
Mr.. Quick in "yandemark's Folly" but one of the
most Interesting is that dealing with the treat
ment Of "claim-jumpers." The local newspaper
In an effort to secure an advantage for its polit-
lcal clique had in those early days referred to
Cow Vnndemark as a with "crimnal
record" und In later days In refuting the state
ment he tells the story of the "claim- Jumpers us
follows, in part:
The story grew out of my joining the Settlers
club in 1856. The rage for land speculation was
sweeping over Iowa like prairie fire. getting
things ready for the great panic of 1857 that
nave read of since, but of which never heard
until long after 1t over. All l knew was
that there was great fever for buying and sell.
Ing land and laying out and booming towu-sites
the sites. not the tOwns-nnd that afterward
times were very hard The speculators had
bought up good part of Monterey county by the
end of 1856, and had run the price up as high as
three dollars and half an acre
This made it hard for men who came in ex.
pecting to get 1t for dollar and a quarter and
IL number of settlers in the township. MS they did
all over the state, went on their land relying on
what was called the pre-emption right could
see the houses of William Trickey, Ebenezer Inn.
kins and Absalom Frost from my house: and I
knew that Peter and Amos Bemisdarfer and
Flavius Bohn Dunkards from Pennsylvania, had
located farther south. All these settlers were
located south of Hell Slew which was coming
TO be known now and was afterward put down
Oh the map, as "Vundemark's Folly Marsh"
And now there came into the county and state
class of men called "caim-Jumpers" who pushed
In Oh the claims of the first comers, and stood
ready to huy their new homes right out from
under them II was pretty hard on us who had
pushed on ahead of the railways and soaked In the
rain and frozen In the billiards., and lived on
noidy bacon and lulled corn, to lose our chance
to get title to the lands had broken up and
built on.
My land was paid for. such as it was but when
the people who, like me, had trailed out across
the prniries with the last years rush, came and
asked me 20 join the Settlers club to run these
in'ruders Off, 1t appeared to me that 1t was only
mans part In me to stand to 1t and take hold
Bnd do.
did not look forward to all the doings of the
Settlers club but l joined It, and have never
been ashamed Of 1t. even when Dick McGiIl was
siahgwhanging me about what we did. never
knew, and don't know now, just what the law
was. but thought then, and think now that the
Settlers club had the right of it, thought so the
night we went over to run the claim Jumper of
Absalom Frosts land, within week of my Join.
Ing.
1t was over on Section Twenty-seven that the
caim-jumper had built hut about where the
schoolhouse now is, with stable In one end of
1t. and den in which to live In the other He
was young man, with dependents and we
felt no compunctions of conscience that dark
night, when two wagon-loads OF us, one of which
came from the direction of Monterey Center,
drove quietly up and knocked at the door,
Who's there?' he said. with quver In his
voice.