HISTORY: "Stories of Early Fayette County History", Fayette County, Iowa
	
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I ran across a small book, "Stories of Early Fayette County History."
It has a semi hard cover. It was written by Grace Roark Printed by Kilpo 
Loose Leaf Co., Mason City, IA. It has no date and it does not say anything 
about a copyright or any sources used. There are 61 pages; size about 4 
inches wide and 6 inches long.   There is no index, or table of contents. 
The following are the titles of the stories:

The Indians of Fayette County
How the Indians Lost Fayette County
Early towns and Townships. (Each township contained the towns in 
  the township and consisted of 3 or 4 paragraphs. )
Loranzo Dutton - Pioneer
The Pioneer Home and Mother
Our First Schools
Dutton's Cave
The Tegarden Massacre
The Iliff Family Goes to Church
The Gold Rush in Fairfield Township
How the Pioneers Found Bees Trees.
    
"Stories of Fayette County History" by Grace  Roark
 
The Indians of Fayette County
 
    One fine autumn afternoon we drove down through Auburn Township, 
and could not help knowing that this was surely one of the beauty spots 
of the world. Jack Frost had visited the country the night before and 
produced a miracle of color. The hills were gorgeous in their autumn 
dresses. The sun shone through the leaves of the yellow maple trees 
and made you feel that the whole world was gold and sunshine.
    Beautiful Auburn, with her hills of red, gold, green, and rust, reminded 
us of a line of one of Goldsmith's poems, "Sweet Auburn, loveliest village 
of the plains". As we drove on toward West Union, Fayette, and Elgin the 
charm of the scenes did not lessen. Everywhere there were the beautiful 
colored trees, the yellow and purple flowers, and, sometimes, rocky cliffs 
and clear rippling streams. 
    The setting sun had tinged the western sky with rich rainbow hues, 
and against these gorgeous colors we saw the silhouettes of shocks of 
corn. Then we thought of the time when our county was covered with 
wild prairies and trees which no white person had ever seen; a time 
when there were no highways, no houses, nor towns; a time when no 
sounds were heard except those of the wild animals and of the Indians.
    In our imagination the shocks of corn were changed into wigwams with 
blue smoke curling from the top of each. We could imagine Indian 
children playing around the wigwams or splashing in the brooks. We saw 
Indian squaws grinding corn into meal, tending the gardens with their 
crude hoes of bone and flint, dressing wild game, tanning the skins, or 
carrying water from the clear springs. We saw the strong Indian braves 
hurrying home from the hunt with deer and other wild animals; saw them 
resting; saw them playing games.
    Less than one hundred years ago the Indians really lived in our 
county; they roamed over the hills and valleys; they were warmed by the 
same sun that warms you; they saw the same moon and stars which you 
now see. 
    Few people know much about the time when these woods and prairies 
were owned by the Indians. Boys and girls do not know which roads 
were once Indian trails, nor which spots were one time Indian villages or 
burial grounds. 
    Let us tell you something about Fayette County before any white man 
came here to live, for perhaps you have no idea how the prairies and 
hills of our county appeared in those long ago days. There was much tall, 
wild grass on the prairies. There were violets, cowslips, and white lady-
slippers found in the woodlands early in the spring. Buttercups, blue 
flags, phlox, and sweet williams dotted the prairies. In the summer the 
beautiful wild roses grew by the roadsides and in the thickets. When the 
autumn came, it brought the black-eyed susans and goldenrod. It would 
take a long time to tell you all about those prairie scenes that Indian boys 
and girls saw every day, but which you will never see.     
    Fayette County was kind to the Indians. In the summer there was an 
abundance of wild game on the prairies and in the woods, and a plentiful 
supply of fish in the streams. Wild grapes, plums, and crab apples could 
be found in the thickets, and hickory nuts, walnuts, hazelnuts, and 
butternuts could be had for the picking. 
    The Indians did not save much food for the winter, so when the cold 
weather came there was sometimes not enough to eat. The Iowa 
blizzards would sweep over the prairies and around the wigwams. Then 
there was hunger and suffering among the Indians. So you may be sure 
that there was much rejoicing at the first signs of spring, for they knew 
that the warm weather was near at hand.
    Summer was a time that the Indian men, women, and children had 
great fun. This was a time when there was plenty of food and everyone 
feasted; The Indian chiefs held their councils of war; the Indian braves 
played games and made love to the beautiful Indian maidens. It was the 
time when the boys played with sling shots, bows and arrows, and the 
girls played with their dolls carved from wood, or made of deer skin 
stuffed with moss.
    The Indians loved their children very dearly. They never punished 
them. The mother made the cradle of her papoose of the softest skins 
she could find and decorated it very beautifully. The children had their 
own particular places given them in the wigwam. Here they sat, slept 
and kept all their belongings. They did not eat with the braves, but after 
the men were served the children and women ate what was left. 
    The Indian woman dressed all the game, prepared all the food, and 
did all the cooking. She cooked everything in one large open kettle. 
Sometimes she cooked venison with corn and beans from her garden. 
Sometimes fish would be boiled; often it was rolled in clay or leaves and 
baked in the ashes. Then, at times, there was dog meat or pork. There 
were no knives or forks, and no chairs or tables. Everyone sat on the 
ground around the huge pot and ate the meat with his fingers. For eating 
beans or other vegetables, they had bowls and spoons made of bone or 
wood. There was no regular time for eating; one meal was cooked each 
day, and they ate when they were hungry.  
    I am sure that you have all read about the Indian homes and seen 
pictures of them. 
The Winnebago Indians who lived in Fayette County used tepees for 
their homes. As you know these were made by tying a number of long 
poles together at the top and then covering this rude frame with skins. 
The opening at the top served as a chimney to carry off part of the odors 
and smoke. The only door was a piece of skin at one end of the tepee.
    The small Indian children wore no clothing in the summertime; the 
other Indians wore very little. In the wintertime, they were kept warm by 
clothing made from the skins of animals. Besides their other work the 
women tanned all the skins, and made the clothing for the entire family.
    Although they had much work to do, the women found time to play. 
Some of their favorite games were shinny, ball, and a game called bowl 
and dice. Shinny was played with a club much like the one used today. 
The deerskin ball was stuffed with buffalo hair or moss.
    One of the favorite games of the Indian men was a ball game called 
lacrosse. Goal posts were fixed about one-half mile apart. The ball was 
kept in the air by means of a bat or racquet. This bat was about three 
feet long with a net-covered loop at the end. The player would 
sometimes carry the ball in the loop for several yards. Then, when he 
was pursued too closely, he would toss the ball to someone of his own 
team. The Indians were so skillful at this game that the ball seldom 
touched the ground. Another favorite game was played with a hoop. One 
player rolled a hoop or threw it into the air while another tried to spear it 
with a javelin or shoot an arrow through it.
    The Indians had a great variety of dances and liked to dance to the 
music of the drum, tambourine, and the flute. Sometimes they danced for 
entertainment around the camp fires. Perhaps their favorite dances were 
the medicine dance, the feast dance, the war dance, and dances which 
pantomimed the ancient myths. The scalp dance was for the braves 
alone. Often they had songs or chants for these occasions. Both the 
musical instruments and songs were expressive of their feelings of joy, 
grief, love, courage, or worship. All their music was very melancholy and 
sounded much the same.
    Perhaps the most striking of all the dances was the war dance, which 
lasted from dark to dawn. The Indian braves, hideous with war paint, 
prepared to meet the enemy by yelling, leaping, and imitating the feats 
that they hoped to perform in the battle. At daybreak these weary braves 
followed their chief to war, marching to the shouts, songs, and prayers of 
the old men, women, and children who followed them a short distance 
from the Indian village. 
    If these braves were unsuccessful in battle they slunk back into the 
village and there was general mourning for several days. When they 
were successful in the fight, a messenger was sent ahead with the glad 
news that the warriors were returning with their prisoners and booty. The 
women elaborately dressed in gay colors went out to meet the men, and 
were allowed to take any trinkets or blankets that they desired from the 
prisoners. The braves painted themselves afresh, hung their red scalps 
upon poles, and gave their cry of victory. Shouting, singing, and dancing 
to the accompaniment of the big drum, all made a triumphal entry into 
the village. 
    The crowning event in the celebration of this victory was the scalp 
dance which occurred the following evening. The braves danced and 
sang around the bloody scalps to the music of the drum and 
tambourines.
    In this way the Indians lived in our county for many years, but the time 
was coming when the white men wanted their lands.  
    There was a law that the while man could not settle on the land in our 
county because it belonged to the Indians. However, some whites did 
come in, but were made to leave. The government also made a law that 
the white man could not sell whiskey to the Indians, for it made them 
mean and quarrelsome, but some men paid no attention to this law. 
When the Indians were drunk they sometimes killed the white men, and 
made trouble among themselves. Too, they were jealous of the white 
man because they knew he was trying to take away their lands. 
    The white men continued to come into Iowa; they came nearer and 
nearer to Fayette County. At last the Indians were forced to give up their 
old homes and find a new place to live. 
 
How the Indians Lost Fayette County
 
    On October 13, 1846, the government made a treaty with the 
Winnebagoes and they agreed to give up the right to live in Fayette 
County and several of the joining counties. However, it was not until 
almost two years after this treaty that the soldiers forced them to begin 
their journey to their new home. 
    They had become greatly attached to the prairies and woods, for here 
many of their children were born and many of their braves were buried. 
Also, they found here plenty of grass for their ponies, timber for their 
fires, and much fish and wild game for their meat, so when the day came 
for them to leave all this they did not want to go. The lands given them by 
the government were in Minnesota, far to the north, and to them this 
unknown country seemed many miles away.
    Finally the government decided that the soldiers should bring all the 
Indians into Fort Atkinson, so that they could be moved to their new 
home. This took two or three months. The squaws stayed behind till the 
last, for they wanted to bid farewell to their homes and the graves of their 
dead. There was much moaning, wailing, and chanting, for Indian 
women do not weep as the white women do. 
    At last everything was in readiness and on June 8, 1848, the Indians 
began to be moved from Fort Atkinson. There were about 2,800 Indians 
with 1,600 ponies. The government had provided 110 wagons and the 
soldiers obtained about fifty more from the fort. There were four wagons 
which were full of food and other supplies. The soldiers also took about 
150 head of cattle to be used for food on this long journey. The Indians 
either rode on their ponies or squatted on the beds of the army wagons. 
The crying papooses rode in their sacks or cradles of hide hung over the 
ponies. Oxen driven by the soldiers hauled two cannon. Some volunteer 
soldiers, together with men and boys from nearby settlements, rode 
along the sides and behind to keep the Indians and cattle from 
wandering too far away.
    The trails which they followed were very poor, and you may be sure 
that travel over prairies, swamps, and hills was slow. Of course, there 
were no bridges, so the streams which were crossed had to be forded.
    Each day when it was near sundown they stopped for the night. About 
500 tents were needed for shelter for the Indians, and about 100 for the 
white men. When these tents were set up, the soldiers and squaws 
baked dough and roasted meat over the hundreds of campfires in front of 
the tents. 
    Sometimes on the march or during the night one of their number died. 
Then they would refuse to go further until they had buried their dead with 
their usual ceremonies,which included dancing, wailing and chanting 
while the drums kept time. These funeral ceremonies made the Indians 
homesick and it was with difficulty that the soldiers persuaded them to 
again start on their long journey.
    Several times other troubles arose which made it difficult to get the 
Indians to go on toward the north. Once a plot on the part of the 
Indians to go no further was discovered and defeated by calling more 
soldiers from Fort Snelling and Fort Crawford.
    At last after a journey of about 300 miles the long march ended and 
they were at home in Minnesota. 
    We no longer have any Indians in our county but they are 
remembered in the names of Waucoma, Wadena, Hawkeye and 
Wapsipinnicon. 
 
The First Settlers of Fayette County
 
    Did you ever wonder just how the first white families came to our 
county? Imagine, if you can, a creaking wagon, covered with heavy oil 
cloth, drawn by two oxen. To the rear of the wagon would be tied a cow, 
if the owner was fortunate enough to possess one. Inside the wagon was 
food for the journey, some blacksmith and carpenter's tools, some 
household furniture, a few cooking utensils,and a chest which contained 
the most valued possessions.
    As the family traveled along to their new and strange home the man 
sometimes walked beside the wagon and encouraged the plodding oxen 
by frequently calling to them. The woman and children would run ahead 
and play, or loiter behind to pick up some lovely stones or gather wild 
flowers.
    Travel was not always pleasant. Sometimes it would rain day after 
day, and the travelers would have to wait for swollen creeks and rivers to 
"run down" before they could continue on their way. 
    Every night they would let their oxen and cow feed on the wild grasses 
while the women cooked the supper over a camp fire, and also prepared 
food for the next day. Part of the milk from the cow was drunk and the 
rest put into a churn. The motion of the wagon would churn it and they 
would have fresh butter every day. 
    After supper they would tie up their oxen for fear they would stray 
away. The family would sleep in the wagon if the nights were cold, but if 
it was warm enough, they would sleep on the ground. If need arose, the 
members of the family who were old enough would take turns during the 
night so that they would not be harmed by bears or other wild animals. 
With the break of dawn they would be up and off again to resume the 
long journey.
    In 1840, just such a covered wagon came to a halt in Fayette County. 
In this wagon was Franklin Wilcox and with him was his wife, his little 
daughter, and his brother, Nathaniel. They had come from Illinois and 
were the first white people to settle in this county. Mr. Wilcox looked 
about him and saw the rolling prairie and the fringes of timber that 
marked the creeks and rivers. His old home and friends were far behind 
him. He had left civilization and pushed westward until he had reached 
this new country where land could be had for the taking. 
    As there was no house for shelter, no roof except the covered wagon 
for protection for his wife and children, his first thought was to build a 
home. This he did in a place which we might call the center of our 
county. About two miles south and west of Fayette and near an old 
channel of a creek is the spot where Mr. Wilcox built his double log 
cabin. Around his home he broke the ground for crops. So you see, Mr. 
Wilcox was the first settler to build a home, and to plow the soil in our 
county. The Indians were his closet neighbors. Joseph Hewitt, a white 
man, lived twelve or fifteen miles south of the Wilcox cabin, and there 
was an Indian mission about thirty miles to the north. The nearest town 
and post office was Dubuque, about eighty miles away.
    This county looked very different in those days from the way it looks 
today. Native grasses grew so high that men on horseback could hardly 
see their way. Many varieties of flowers were here in great abundance; 
many kinds of trees grew along the rivers; some wolves, deer, bears, 
and all sorts of prairie birds could be seen. 
    Two years after Mr. Wilcox had settled here, Andrew Hensley and his 
family came into the county. On November 27, a little boy, Daniel P. 
Hensley, was born. This was the first white child born in Fayette County. 
Like the other first settlers of our county, Mr. Hensley went to Dubuque 
for his mail until 1849. For several years that city was his trading place 
where he traded honey which was obtained by robbing wild bee trees. 
These wild bees must have been plentiful, for several white men found 
honey by the barrels full.
    From the time of the first settlers until about 1880 Fayette was a great 
wheat producing county. The first wheat crop in Fayette County was 
grown by Mr. Hensley. Two of his young sons took the wheat to mill at 
Cascade, which was an eight day trip with oxen. There was nothing that 
was of more importance in the lives of our pioneer forefathers than going 
to the mill. Often the roads would be lined with their wagons. Their teams 
would be hitched around the mill and would eat the hay, oats or corn that 
was provided for them, while the men would visit and wait their turn to 
have their wheat ground into flour.
    The mills were not run by steam then as they are now, but were 
placed near a stream so that the running water could turn the large 
wheels. Although the Turkey and Volga rivers and Crane creek all 
worked at turning mill wheels, the Turkey river was able to do more work 
than the others.
    Almost all of the pioneers were poor. Most of them had a team of oxen 
and a cow or two. Oxen were cheaper than horses and could get their 
own living from the native grass. 
    For their own food, the settlers had to depend largely on killing wild 
game. At first they did not attempt to cultivate much land, for they had to 
build homes; trees had to be cleared away before the farmer could plow 
his land and plant his crops. Too, he had to split rails to make a fence to 
protect his cabin and field. 
    There is a very interesting story which is told about the family of Mr. 
and Mrs. Hensley. One day Mr. Hensley and his son had gone to the 
home of Joe Hewitt, a neighbor, to get some supplies which had been 
hauled from Dubuque.
    Not long after Mr. Hensley left home a band of Winnebago Indians 
camped at the nearby creek. One of the Indians came to the cabin and 
asked Mrs. Hensley for some supper, which she gave him. He did not 
seem satisfied, however, and kept hanging around the cabin. Imagine, if 
you can, a woman in an open log cabin nine miles from a neighbor and a 
band of Indians camped within sight of her door. After a while when she 
went out to see if her husband and son were returning, an Indian slipped 
up and took hold of her shoulder. In freeing herself from his grasp she 
almost threw him to the ground. This made him so angry that he struck 
her with his gun. Now Mrs. Hensley was a courageous woman, but she 
was hurt and frightened by the Indian. She hurried into her cabin and the 
Indian disappeared. Then she took her five children, one quilt, and one 
bedspread and started toward the Hewitt home to meet her husband.
    Let me tell you about the children who accompanied this brave 
woman. There was a boy named J.G., who was about nine years old, 
Elizabeth aged six, Reuben four, Richard two, and a little baby six 
months old. It was dark when they left the cabin, and you may be sure 
that they could not go very fast.
    Part of the time the bedspread was used for a hammock in which J.G. 
and his mother carried Richard. The children were barefoot and the 
stubble from the prairie grass, which had just recently been burned, hurt 
their feet. When they had gone about a mile they came to an open 
house. Inside this house Mrs. Hensley made the children a bed of tall dry 
grass. Then she took the baby with her and started on to Mr. Hewitt's. 
The children were so tired that all but the little girl went to sleep. About 
midnight some wild animal approached the house and tried to come in, 
but the dog had stayed behind with the children and frightened him 
away. When daylight came the little girl went out and looked around to 
see if she could see any Indians, but none could be seen, so she 
returned to the house and went to sleep. When she next awoke it was 
sun-up. Again going to look for Indians, she saw something that made 
her heart leap for joy. Not far away, her father and two other white men 
were coming to their rescue. The children were glad to see their father 
and he was glad to find that they were unharmed. When a fire was built 
and the children were warm he took them to their mother who was at the 
Hewitt home. 
    Besides their troubles with the Indians the pioneers suffered other 
hardships. Sometimes the weather was cold. During the extremely cold 
winter of 1856-57 the snow kept falling until it was several feet deep. If 
these pioneers had not been courageous men and women they would 
have left their new homes and gone back to their homes in the East, for 
they suffered much from the deep snow and intense cold. Remember 
that they had partly open log cabins, and sometimes they had not been 
able to build even a shed for their oxen and cows.
    The pioneer girl or boy did not dream of such warm clothes as you 
wear in winter, nor of the warm homes, schools, and churches that you 
have.
    Although life was not easy for these pioneers, they did not quit. They 
stayed on and left a heritage of which you can justly be proud. They were 
men and women of faith, courage, leadership, honesty, perseverance 
and industry, qualities which make real men and women. Their example 
has been a lantern that has lighted the way for the county's great men 
and women.     
 
Early Towns and Townships
 
    Every township and every little village has its own stories and 
traditions which have grown about it and which help to make up the 
history of Fayette County. In this chapter you may read stories of some 
of the first towns and townships which were settled by the white people.
 
Pleasant Valley Township
 
    If you were to come into a new land and could see acres of groves, 
small hills covered with a great variety of timber, fresh bubbling springs, 
and beautiful little valleys, would you not choose a place by the side of 
these groves and springs to live? This is what the white man did and 
called the place by the fitting name of Pleasant Valley. 
    Long before the white people came into this township to live it had 
been occupied by the mound builders and then, later, tribes of North 
American Indians had lived in this beautiful spot. For many generations 
the Sac and Fox Indians had buried their dead in "Sac Bottom," as the 
land near Elgin was called by the early traders. Afterwards when the 
Winnebagoes came here to live they used the same ground for a burial 
place. In the very spot where the farmer now shouts to his horses at the 
plow, the red man once squatted over his dead repeating prayers to his 
gods that no one knows today.
    As the American Indians made their graves only a few feet deep, the 
rains of many years had partly uncovered some of the skeletons in these 
graves. When the white man came and saw these uncovered bones, he 
called the place "Shin Bone Valley".
    Long after the first settlers came here to live, the Indians returned 
once each year to these graves. Just across the river from the cemetery 
was their favorite place for pow-wows. As late as 1850-51 many Indians 
returned to dance to their weird music and chants in memory of their 
fathers. 
    In 1848 the white men found the bank of the Turkey River, where Elgin 
now is, lined with Indian wigwams as thick as they could stand. The 
Indians caught fish from the river and boiled them in large kettles which 
they bought from traders. When the fish were done they poured them 
into willow baskets to drain. Then many families had a feast. 
    The town of Elgin had its beginning in 1848 when Mr. Samuel Connor 
brought his family from Wisconsin and built his home here. It continued 
to be known as "Shin Bone Valley" until 1851 when Mr. M. V. Burdick 
named it for his old home town, Elgin, Illinois. The first name had been 
so firmly established, however, that letters addressed to people at "Shin 
Bone Valley" were promptly delivered.
    This town with its new name of Elgin soon became a thriving milling 
town. Besides the early saw mill and flour mill, they had a carding mill 
which carded wool to be spun and woven in the homes. They also 
manufactured some kinds of cloth. Later, a canning factory was added. 
Here they canned corn, tomatoes and other garden and farm products.
    Another town, Lutra, was built in a beautiful part of the Turkey River 
valley near the mouth of Otter Creek. Brainard, which is on Otter Creek 
and hemmed in on all sides by timber-covered hills, was another favorite 
place chosen by some of the pioneers for homes. 
 
Cleremont Township
 
    Other men came early to our county. In 1848 Andrew Moats tramped 
long miles until he came to the place where Cleremont now stands. To 
his surprise there was already another man there by the name of 
Delelaine who had built his cabin right where the automobiles now run to 
and fro on the streets of Cleremont. Andrew Moats looked around and 
liked this place on the Turkey River among the rolling hills and decided to 
stay there. From Elkador, farther down the river, others came, enticed by 
the news that here was a place where one could set up water wheels 
and the tireless river would grind wheat and corn for the pioneer families 
to make bread, that it was a pleasant place where they could work, build 
a home, and live.    
    Since there must be barrels for the flour which the mills began to 
grind, a cooper shop was started in 1855.This remained one of the 
principal industries of Cleremont for many years. Besides making barrels 
for flour, this shop made barrels for pork and tubs for butter. 
    Another mill which made good profits for the pioneers of Cleremont 
was the sawmill. The first settlers would haul logs here and sell them to 
the mill.
    Then the pioneers began to bring farm products and sell them in this 
thriving little town. Soon Cleremont became one of the best wheat 
markets in Fayette County. In fact, this town became such a good place 
to trade that it rivaled the town of McGregor which had been the only 
place where farmers could sell their products, buy merchandise, or have 
their grain ground into flour and meal.       
    Another occupation of the people of this town was brick-making. For 
this reason this town was then known, and still is, as "Brick City".
    Did you ever hear the story about the Little Stone Church in this town? 
Mrs. Frances Jones Vinton, who lived in Providence, Rhode Island, 
remembered the Bible verse, "Thy praise shall sound from shore to 
shore," and decided to build three churches in memory of her son and 
daughter who had died when they were young. One was built on the 
Pacific coast in California, one on the Atlantic coast in Rhode Island, and 
one near the middle of our county here at Cleremont. This was almost 
seventy years ago.
    Some day when you ride over highway eighteen you may want to see 
the lovely old church set back under tall elms near the north side of the 
town. Age and weather have turned the rough stones to a beautiful soft 
gray. The long narrow windows and the tall square tower add much to 
the beauty of this "Little Stone Church".
 
Dover Township
 
    On April 13, 1850, the first white child, James A. Iliff, was born in 
Dover township. When he was a boy he went to school in a log cabin 
and learned to read, write, and spell very well. Later in his life he wrote 
about some Indians who visited in his home when he was four years old. 
He tells us; 
        "They were queer looking, and wore long red blankets thrown 
loosely over their shoulders. They had buckskin moccasins and feathery 
headgear. Each carried a long flint lock gun, a big knife, and a 
tomahawk. They seemed highly pleased about something, and were 
extremely curious."
    His father was called from work, and soon had the Indians smoking, 
jabbering, and grunting with great satisfaction.
    These Indians were Winnebagoes from Fort Atkinson, where they 
were being cared for by the government, but they were supposed to be 
on their reservation in Minnesota. However, straggling bands of these 
Indians frequently visited the early settlers for several years after they left 
their Fayette County homes, in 1848. Their favorite homes and hunting 
grounds had been in the deep forests along Turkey River, and they did 
not like to go away and never see this happy hunting ground again.
    Benjamin Iliff, father of James Iliff, was the first postmaster and 
storekeeper in Eldorado.
 
Westfield Township
 
    Westfield township is one of the most noted for several reasons. The 
first white settlement in our county was made by Franklin Wilcox in this 
township. You may remember reading about Mr. Wilcox in one of the first 
stories of this book.
    The towns of this early community were started along the Volga river 
where mills were built. Lima was the first town and had the first 
schoolhouse in the township, in 1850. The first schoolteacher was E. H. 
Light.   
    However, the town of particular interest is Fayette. The ideals and 
courage of the pioneers of Westfield township are shown by the fact that 
within a few years after the Indians lived in their tepees on the Volga they 
placed a college on the banks of the same stream. 
 
Fairfield Township
 
    One of the first pioneers to come to our county was Major Mumford 
who came from Illinois, in 1841. He brought his wife and young son with 
him. They chose Fairfield Township for their home and decided to build a 
log cabin about one mile east of where Arlington now stands. This was a 
good place for a home. Here was an abundance of timber, a stream, and 
a fine spring which burst forth from the foot of a nearby hill.
    The pioneers had neither time, money, nor machinery to dig deep 
wells. Homes were chosen not so much for the deep, rich soil, as for the 
timber and water. These families needed the timber to build and warm 
their homes and to cook the food; they needed the water to quench 
thirst.
    The first thing Mr. Mumford did was to begin work on his log cabin. 
With the aid of two neighbors, James Beatty and William Orrear, the 
Mumford house was soon built and the family moved into their new 
home. 
    Soon after they had moved into their new log cabin Royce Oatman, 
with his wife and five children, came from Illinois and stopped at the 
Mumford home, where they stayed until the next spring. 
    When spring came, Mr. Oatman started to build a log cabin which he 
intended for a hotel. When this house was about half finished he decided 
to return to his old home in Illinois. Perhaps you remember reading how 
Mrs. Hensley fled from an Indian who had frightened her in her home. 
This unfinished hotel was the open cabin in which she left her children on 
this eventful night when they grew to tired to go further.
    The early history of Fairfield township is centered around Taylorsville, 
a town that has long since ceased to exist. This town was named for one 
of its first inhabitants, Jarad Taylor.
    As early as 1851 the pioneers of this town built a schoolhouse, where 
boys and girls went to school and where all the people went to church on 
Sunday. In this town was built a hotel and several stores. Taylorsville 
became a thriving little village.
    Brush Creek was one of the early towns of Fairfield Township. This 
town was surveyed and laid out by B. F. Little, in 1856. The first person 
to live in the town was Mr. Charles Moe. He soon sold his property to two 
families by the name of Shambaugh. These families hauled lumber from 
a sawmill at Fayette and built a large house of five rooms. This house 
was used for a hotel, a store, and a home for the two families. Brush 
Creek became a thriving town and the name was changed to Arlington. 
Arlington soon became the largest town in Fairfield Township. 
 
Fremont Township
 
    The very first person to settle in Fremont Township was Carmi Hickox, 
in 1853. As you may guess, he chose a spot by the Little Wapsie River 
and near the edge of some timber for his home. His nearest neighbor 
lived three miles south of his home; the next nearest, was three miles 
north; the other white settlers lived fifteen miles east. Two years later, 
Mr. L. C. Dudley, Mr. N. W. Spears, and Mr. A. B. Leach came to this 
township. Mr. Dudley's first cabin was built of hay. After a few months he 
hauled timber from a mill near West Union and built the first frame house 
in Fremont Township.       
    Mr. Spears chose the name Fremont for the township in honor of Mr. 
Fremont who was at one time a candidate for president of the United 
States. Other names suggested were Little Wapsie, and Jackson.
    Mr. Spears was the first school teacher, and the first school was 
taught in his home. He had seventeen pupils enrolled. Some of these 
pupils who had to walk several miles to school would stay all night in his 
home when the weather was very stormy. His salary was ten dollars per 
month.  
    The Baptists held the first church services in the home of Mr. E. Ship. 
Rev. James Burch was the minister. The people who joined this church 
were baptized in the Little Wapsie.
    The town of Westgate is in this township.
    
Auburn Township 
 
    Nature lovers are well paid for a drive through Auburn Township. One 
especially beautiful spot is Falling Springs found near the line between 
Auburn and Windsor townships. Not far from Falling Springs is 
McCreary's Cave.
    The town of Auburn had its early beginning, in 1849, when James E. 
Earll built a sawmill on the bank of the Little Turkey. The same year J. B. 
Earll and his sons built a flouring mill. Like the other early mills they were 
run by water wheels, and the Little Turkey worked hard at turning the 
great wheels.
    In 1851, Hiram Hoagland built a cabinet shop and made beds and 
other furniture for the pioneers. Then a general store, a hotel, a drug 
store, a machine shop, a plow factory, a hotel, a drug store, a machine 
shop, a plow factory, a brewery, and a pottery were added to the town. It 
is hard to imagine that many places which are today far away from any of 
our highways or larger towns were once the homes of busy stores or 
mills. 
 
Illyria Township
    
    Can you blame the early settlers who had faced dangers and 
hardships so bravely if they sometimes grew homesick for their homes 
that they had left in the East? And do you wonder that they frequently 
named their new settlements for the happier ones they had left? This 
was how Illyria Township came by its name. When it was organized the 
oldest person in the community, Joshus Cousins, was given the privilege 
of naming the new land, so he chose the name of a town in Ohio where 
he had lived. 
    Any one living in Illyria Township in the early days would have seen a 
double log house which stood for many years on the bank of the Volga 
River near where the town of Wadena was built. This log house was built 
by George Culver for an Indian trading post. 
    The winter of 1842-43 was exceedingly cold. The Indians did not have 
enough food and the winter weather found them cold and hungry. Mr. 
Culver had always been friendly with the Indians and they had great 
confidence in him. Driven by the bitterly cold weather and by hunger, the 
Winnebagoes moved their wigwams around the trading post and Mr. 
Culver and his partner, Mr. J. Hewett, supplied them with food. In the 
spring these two white men made a trip to Washington to receive pay for 
the food which they had given the Indians during the long, cold winter. 
    The town of Wadena was named by Major Herriman in honor of his 
friend, an Indian Chief. This town had its beginning in 1855 when Horace 
Countryman and his father built a saw mill at the place which afterwards 
became the site of this town. Three years later a dam was built across 
the river. At the same time Mr. Herriman built a flouring mill.
    This community was a favorite hunting ground of the Indians. Some of 
the land that became a part of the town of Wadena was one of the 
favorite Indian burial grounds. It was here that an old Indian chief, 
Whirling Thunder, was buried. 
 
Oran Township
 
    Oran Township was noted for its rapid progress in agriculture. Twenty 
years after it was settled there were more than 13,000 acres of land in 
cultivation. 
    The first settler in this township was an immigrant from Ireland. He 
broke the rich prairie sod around his home, in 1853. No one remembers 
his name. The next pioneers to call Oran township their home were J. J. 
Roberts and Mr. Furcht.
    Two years after the first white man came to this township the first 
school was taught by J. J. Roberts in the home of P. McCunniff. The 
Baptist church was the first church to be organized and the first church 
services were held in the home of Simon Schultz.
    The Wapsie Pinnicon River with its romantic story and Indian name 
flows through Oran Township. The township was well supplied with 
timber along the river, and in 1856 it had its own sawmill. 
 
Harlan Township
 
    The township of Harlan was not organized until 1859, although the first 
settlers had come here eight years before. 
    These pioneers wanted their children to go to school, and, as there 
was no school house, Miss Helen Norton taught the first school in a log 
cabin from May until August, in 1860. The next year a school house was 
built near the place where the town of Maynard now is. The very next 
year a frame school house was built. The people were all very proud of 
this new school building and elected Miss Crawford for their teacher. 
Soon Maynard became a prosperous town, with a good school and 
several churches.
    This township became a favorite place for pioneers because of its rich 
soil, and soon was noted for its beautiful farms and farmhouses. 
 
Jefferson Township
 
    The first men and women coming to Jefferson Township could see the 
prairies stretching away for miles and miles. They might have settled in 
other places on this rolling prairie, but they chose this township. Here 
they found excellent soil for the cultivation of their farm crops. These 
farmers became rich and prosperous and soon had beautiful homes and 
farm buildings.
    The first settler to build a cabin and to plow the ground in this township 
was William Bunce,in 1848. After a few years other settlers came to 
share the community with him, and soon there were several homes and 
a mill.
    Early 1854 this progressive group of pioneers decided to build a 
school house. As there was not much money to be had, the families 
contributed logs and freely gave their labor. They hauled the timber and 
built the house. This was a typical pioneer school house with slab 
benches for seats, and a large fireplace for heat and ventilation. Each 
child brought to school the books that he found in his home. It was from 
these books that the pioneer boys and girls of this community learned 
reading, writing, and arithmetic. 
    Such was the beginning of the schools of this township. Soon there 
were many more schoolhouses and good schools.
    Oelwein had its beginnings in 1873. It was first called Hazelton, but 
this name was soon changed to Oelwein in honor of one of the 
prosperous pioneers. The first business house was a hardware store 
built by King and Kenyon. In less than three months after this store was 
built there were sixteen other stores in town. In 1876, the town could 
boast of having a newspaper, the "Oelwein Clipper", and about forty 
stores and offices. From this prosperous pioneer village Oelwein grew to 
be the largest town in the county.
 
Center township
 
    Almost as soon as the Indians were removed from Fayette County Mr. 
Thomas Woodle chose the center of our county for a home. He built his 
house in Center Township near a beautiful wooded spot known as 
"Gamble's Grove". Two other men, Thomas Douglas and Thomas 
Sturges, came with him and built their cabins near his home. Two years 
later, he sold his farm to Frederick Dunham.
    In 1859 the first school house called "The Dunham School House" was 
built.
    It was almost twenty-five years after the first settlement in Center 
Township that the town of Randalia was laid out. Mr. P.F. Randall was 
the surveyor. Mr J.F. Randall built the first building in this town. This 
large building was built so that a family could live upstairs, and have a 
store downstairs. In 1876, a school house was built and Miss Sophia 
Smith was the first teacher.
    The town of Randalia grew very fast. In 1878 it boasted of two general 
stores, a grocery store, shoe store, drug store, harness shop, lumber 
yard, implement shop, meat market, blacksmith shop, four warehouses, 
two saloons, and two hotels.
 
Bethel Township
 
    The first pioneers to settle in Bethel Township must have been able to 
see beyond the ordinary work of the plow and the field, for they called 
this place, which seemed especially blessed to men, Bethel. This 
community was also known as Richland because the soil gave back 
such an abundant supply of food in return for the work of the pioneers. 
Later, most of the people wished to use one name for both postoffice and 
township, so they gave up the name Richland and kept only the name 
Bethel.
    The first person to come to this township was Mrs. Samantha Finch. In 
1855, immediately following her, Rev. Mr. Thompson, with his wife, one 
daughter, and four sons, settled in this rich prairie township. Next year 
Mr. McCall came with his family. The first child born in the township was 
Arthur McCall, in 1856.
    Here wild prairie grass grew very rank and high. In the fall this tall, dry 
grass often caused prairie fires. Sometimes both men and animals lost 
their lives in these fires.
    One morning in the early fall Mr. Thompson with two of his sons, who 
were about twelve and thirteen years old, started to a hickory grove, 
about two miles away, to get some logs for a cattle shed. About one 
o'clock when they were ready to start home, they noticed that a 
scorching prairie fire was roaring toward them. They did not hesitate but 
hurried toward home as fast as possible. When the oxen could go no 
farther because of the flames and smoke, Mr. Thompson unyoked them 
and he and his sons started to run toward their home. However, the oxen 
were soon caught in the fire. Mr. Thompson and sons were so badly 
burned that they died.
    Because of the industry of the pioneers and the rich soil, this township 
soon became a prosperous farm community with improved farm lands 
and homes.
 
Eden Township
 
    When the first settlers came to the rolling prairies and gently flowing 
streams of Eden Township, they saw its beauties and its rich soil, and 
gave it the name of Eden. Unlike most of the other townships the first 
settlers did not gather together in a village, but lived on their farm homes, 
and went to the towns in other townships, to do their trading.
    Most of the settlers who came here in the early days were Irish 
people. Some of them came all the way from Ireland to build homes, 
schools, and churches in their own way. The first man to build a log 
cabin here was James Austin, in 1849. The first school was taught by 
Hannan Tiff, in 1854. This first school was not taught in a schoolhouse 
like the one where you go to school, but in a home of one of the settlers.
    One of the early towns, Johnson's Mill, was started when a mill was 
built on the north side of Crane Creek, in 1869. Then the pioneers built a 
general store and blacksmith shop. Some time later the name of the 
town was changed to Alpha.
    Mr. J. P. Webster laid out the town of Waucoma. The first person to 
build a house here was Baldwin Kirkpatrick, in 1855. In a few years this 
town had several stores, several machine shops, and about seventy 
inhabitants. It is now the principal town in this township.
 
Banks Township
 
    Mr. Theodore Wilson came to Banks Township, in 1851, and built a 
cabin on the north side of a grove that was later to be called "Wilson's 
Grove". Attracted by this fine prairie land, that could be had for the 
taking, two men came from the far East to this township. Oliver T. Fox 
came from New Jersey, and George Linn, from Maine.
    The first school in this township was taught by Jane Spears in the 
home of David Linn, Jr. in 1857. The first church services were held in 
the homes of the pioneers. Rev. A. K. Moulton held religious services in 
the home of William T. Wade, in 1856.
    Banks township is mostly prairie.There is an abundant supply of pure, 
living water from springs. Some of the best early stock farms in Fayette 
County were here in this township.
 
Windsor Township
 
    The very first settlers to come to Windsor Township chose to make 
their homes in the Northern part near the Auburn timber. Do you know 
why they wanted to live here?
    Much of the wet land in this township was used for growing flax. The 
farmers sold the flax seed for a good price. They also used the fiber of 
the plant for roofing their sheds. In 1878 Benjamin Farrel grew about 40 
acres of flax. He sold his seed and it was taken to Cedar Rapids to be 
made into oil.
    Since there were no rivers along which to build mills, the farmers had 
to go to West Union and Auburn to have their grain ground into meal and 
flour. As the roads were very poor and sometimes almost impassable, 
the trip to the mill meant a long day's work. It was also a dangerous trip, 
for in summer the swamps were hard to cross and in the winter the 
blinding snow storms made it almost impossible to find your way home.
    Hawkeye soon became an important town.
 
Smithfield, Scott and Putnam Township
 
    William Orrear and James Beatty, two bachelors, built a log cabin in 
Smithfield Township, in 1841. It was their home that sheltered the 
Tegarden children after the Indian massacre, that you may read about in 
another story.
    Andrew Hensley, of whom you have read, built a house here, in 1844. 
You may remember that we told you he was the first pioneer to raise 
wheat in Fayette County. In 1845, he sold some wheat in Dubuque for 
$1.45 per bushel.
    The first school in Smithfield township was taught, in a farmhouse, in 
1851. The first school house was built the next year. This school was 
taught by Iantha Hendrickson.
    Putman Township was named in honor of the revolutionary war hero 
by that name. Its first pioneer settler was named Serving, but J. Brun 
was the first man to make a permanent home here. Some of the first 
people to come to this township bought their farm land for seventy-five 
cents an acre.
    The first school was taught by Mrs. Rowley. She was paid one dollar 
per week for teaching. 
    Scott Township was created in 1858.
    Smithfield, Scott, and Putnam Townships are located in the beautiful 
rolling prairies of Fayette County. The pioneers who chose these 
townships for their homes were noted for their industry, thrift and 
intelligence.
 
West Union Township
 
    In the spring of 1848, just as soon as the Indians were moved to 
Minnesota, the first white man came to West Union Township. Three 
men had traveled all the way from New York looking for a new home. 
When they came to Union Township they paused in sight of the town that 
is now the county seat and liked this rolling land so well that they were 
glad to stop here and build homes. These men were Lorenzo Dutton, 
and Henry and Charles Jones. Mr. Dutton liked this place where he built 
his home very much. His grandchildren still live on the same land which 
he chose for a farm almost 100 years ago. I shall not stop here to tell you 
about his first settlement for you will find a story in the next chapter of 
this book which tells you about Mr. Dutton and his family. 
    Like several other townships, Union Township had its early mills. The 
first flouring mill was built by Cyrus Gurdy on Otter Creek, where Echo 
Valley park now is. Later there were other mills.
    One of the earliest settlers was Mr. Wm. Wells who came here from 
Wisconsin in 1849 and built a log house. He with J. W. Rogers and 
Jacob Ly Brand, laid out the town of West Union, and Mr. Wells gave it 
the name it bears today. Before this time it had been known as Knob 
Prairie. The first letter received at this new settlement was addressed to 
Mr. Wells at Knob Prairie. The messenger carried back the answer which 
was sent to Mr. Wells' brother-in-law at Shin Bone Valley.
    In 1851 the people voted that this town would be the place for their 
county seat, and five years later built Fayette County's first court house. 
This building was destroyed by fire in 1872 and two years later another 
court house was built. 
    The school history in this county seat is very interesting. Just two 
years after the first settler broke the soil around his cabin and in the 
same year that the town was laid out and named, the first school house 
was built. This was the typical pioneer schoolhouse that you will find 
described in another section of this book.
 
Loranzo Dutton -- Pioneer
 
    In this chapter you will find a true story about one of our brave 
pioneers, Loranzo Dutton, who came to this county almost 100 years 
ago. There are many things that tell us stories of this early settler. There 
are the books and papers which he read; the farm which he bought from 
the government when he first came to our county; the house which he 
built and where he lived so long; and, best of all, the journals in which he 
kept many of the daily happenings of his life.
    It is these journals that we find his record of poor crops, and his early 
struggles with poverty and privations. But there are also records of 
happier events. On March 9, 1869 he tells us that he brought home a doll 
for his daughter Mabel, from Postville. On January 6, 1869 we find a 
record of a wonderful trip which he made to Chicago. It took him two 
days and two nights to make this journey, but in those days that seemed 
a short time to go so far.
    On Saturday, September 25, 1875, he recorded his visit to the county 
fair at West Union. He enjoyed this very much, especially the horse 
racing. He had many fine horses and frequently gave them Bible names. 
The pioneers were as proud of their fine horses as we are of our 
automobiles. 
    When we first opened the diaries of 1859 there were receipts for The 
Children's Hour, The Godey's Ladies Book, and the West Union Argo 
Gazette. He was a great reader, and was especially fond of poetry. He 
always kept his family supplied with good books and magazines.   
    Like many other pioneers Mr. Dutton was glad to go to church. 
Although there were no highways and the roads were often muddy and 
sometimes almost impassible, he regularly took his family to church and 
Sunday School. One night, in 1865, he and his wife left the three 
daughters, Lillie, Carrie, and Mabel, and went several miles in a wagon 
to camp meeting. As the night grew dark and cold the girls heard a rap at 
the door. Lillie, the oldest daughter, opening the door wide enough to 
peep out, saw a huge white shape and felt something cold and wet touch 
her hand. Quickly closing the door she tried to quiet her own fears and 
those of her younger sisters. Again they heard the noise at the door. 
After several more investigations they discovered it was no ghost which 
had found its way into the yard and up to the door, but their own white 
cow. This was an experience which they afterwards laughed about many 
times and which they never forgot. 
    If we could have seen the planting and harvesting in those early days 
it would seem very strange to us. About the only farm implements they 
had were a plow, harrow, hoe, and spade. One of Mr. Dutton's daughters 
used to help plant the corn by hand, and cover it with a hoe. Other grains 
were also planted or sowed by hand. For harvesting his crops, Mr. 
Dutton used a cradle and scythe. The scythe was used to cut the wild 
prairie grass and hay, and the cradle was used to cut his wheat and oats. 
This cradle was a scythe with long wooden fingers which held the grain 
together after it was cut. Then men bound the grain together into bundles 
by hand. It was hard work to plant, cultivate, and harvest crops in those 
days. Often several members of his family would work day after day in 
the fields planting or harvesting.
    At first, Mr. Dutton's marketing was done at McGregor, forty-five miles 
away. To make a trip to this town required three days to go and three 
days to return. In the winter, he would butcher thirty or forty hogs and let 
them freeze; then he would load them into his wagon and take them to 
market. While he was there, he would "lay in" a supply of groceries, 
calico, thread, and any other things of which he had need. Besides these 
necessities he always bought some little gifts which would be a pleasant 
surprise for his wife and three daughters at home. 
    You may be sure that almost all the furniture of the pioneer was made 
by his own hand. Mr. Dutton liked to make furniture, and used to work 
many evenings and rainy days at this task. He used some of this 
furniture as long as he lived. 
    It has always been important for men and animals to have a good 
supply of water, and, at one time, Mr. Dutton had thirteen wells on his 
farm. When there was a need for more water he would take a forked 
willow stick in both hands and carry it around at about the place where 
he wanted a well. If this forked stick would turn itself over in his hands, 
then he would know that he would find water at that spot. This was called 
"water witching." When the neighbors needed a well they would 
sometimes ask him to come and he would show them where to drill their 
wells.
    Let us go back to the beginning and read how Mr. Dutton came here 
when he was a young man twenty-five years old.
    In the spring of 1848 he and four other young men left Meredith, N. Y., 
and started out west. They went by boat on the Erie Canal to Buffalo, 
New York, where another boat took them to Chicago. Then they "hich-
hiked" with teamsters to Galena, Illinois, and, after they had made some 
money here helping with the haying season, they again "hitch-hiked" 
about one hundred miles and came to Elkader, Iowa. When they learned 
of the lands around north of West Union, that were opened by the 
government for people who cared to come here and make homes, Mr. 
Dutton and two of the others decided to visit this prairie country. On the 
way, they saw many Indian homes for the Indians had left these only one 
month before. When night came on these men slept in one of the Indian 
wigwams. About noon the next day they came upon the land that they 
had been looking for, and liked it so well that they decided to stake out 
their claims and live here. If they were to do this they would need some 
lumber to build a house, some cooking utensils, a stove, some farm 
implements, and a team of oxen. Again going to Galena, Illinois, they 
obtained these needed things and hurried back so that they might get 
everything in readiness for winter. They built their house by placing 
lumber upon tree forks, and then banking it up with hay. A few weeks 
after they had finished their home it burned down and they lost some of 
their clothing and cooking utensils. 
    Mr. Dutton told the following interesting account of a house raising that 
he attended his first year in Fayette County.
    A man by the name of Hadley decided that he wanted to build a house 
one and one-half miles north of Mr. Dutton's cabin. In those days when 
anyone wanted to build a home he would haul his logs and then came 
the "house raising." Mr. Dutton and four other men went to help Mr. 
Hadley build his new log cabin. He had only one pot in which they 
cooked beans, meat and potatoes. After these had been served on large, 
clean, wooden chips, the same pot was used for making coffee which 
was served from one tin cup.
    At first, Mr. Dutton and his companion spent much of their time 
exploring the new country. On one of these trips they discovered 
Dutton's cave, a beauty spot of Fayette County. They found several bee 
trees on these small explorations and took the honey home with them for 
the winter. Although they lost some of their food when their cabin burned 
they fared rather well that winter, for they could always have flap-jacks 
and honey. 
    This was a long, hard winter. There were eighteen inches of snow on 
the ground that year from November till April. Once when their oxen 
strayed from home, Mr. Dutton froze his feet searching for them.
    The next year Mr. Dutton went back to New York and married Miss 
Anna Malinda Hawley who came back with him to brave the dangers and 
hardships of a pioneer.
    Mr. Dutton lived on the same farm all of his life. He was almost eighty-
nine years old when he died. people loved and respected him because 
he was honest, industrious, thrifty, self-reliant, and friendly. 
 
The Pioneer Home and Mother 
 
    You have learned that the first thing the pioneer settler did was to 
select a place where he wished to live, and the next thing was to build 
some kind of home for his family. 
    If the pioneers came in the spring they might live without a house for a 
while, so that the men could break the ground and plant their crops. Part 
of the family would sleep in their covered wagon that had been their 
home for so many weeks, while the others would sleep on the ground. 
They cooked over a campfire just as they had done while they were 
coming to this new country. 
    Sometimes they built a three-sided cabin to live in during the spring 
and summer. This was a rude home made of rough logs on three sides. 
When the three walls were built, poles were laid about three feet apart 
across the top, and then grass and sod were placed on them for a roof. 
There was no floor except the bare earth, and there were no doors or 
windows. In front of the open side of the cabin was built a huge campfire 
which served for cooking and for warming the cabin on rainy days. 
    Before the cold winter weather came the settler usually built a better 
cabin. You may be sure that this home was very simple. The pioneer did 
most of the work himself. For many days he worked very hard chopping 
down the straightest trees he could find, and choosing the ones that 
were all about the same size. They were cut to lengths of about twelve or 
fifteen feet. Later on the settlers hewed these logs square, but the first 
cabins were made of these round logs with the bark left on. When 
enough logs had been cut, a chain was put around them and they were 
dragged along the ground by oxen or horses to the place where the 
home was to be built.
    Now, the neighbors were called in for the "house raising". They 
selected four of the strongest men to "carry up the corners" and the 
building was begun. As the logs were lifted up in place a "saddle" or 
notch was cut on the top of the one log and then the next log was 
notched and fitted in this "saddle". When the walls were built to the 
height of about seven or eight feet, beams were laid across so that a loft 
could be made, and the two gables were started. These were made by 
cutting each log a little shorter than the one below. Then stout poles or 
small logs were laid a few feet apart over the gables and on these were 
placed broad slabs or clapboards for the roof. These clapboards were 
split from a log about four feet long. They over-lapped like shingles, and 
were held in place by poles fastened securely by wooden pegs. Not a 
single nail was used in building the entire house. 
    The logs for the walls were fitted together so well that only small 
cracks were left between. These were chinked or daubed with clay mixed 
with grass or small sticks to hold it together. This chinking made the 
cabin warm during the long cold winter.
    Sometimes an opening was left for the door when the cabin was built, 
but usually open places were sawed in the walls for the door and 
windows. In bad weather the hole for the window was closed with oiled 
paper or greased deer hide. Sometimes glass might be had. The door 
was made of clapboards or heavy hewn boards fastened together with 
cross pieces and wooden pins. It was hung on wooden hinges, and held 
shut by a wooden latch which dropped into a socket of wood on the 
inside of the door. A string ran through a hole in the door just above the 
latch. To open the door from the outside, one would pull the string and lift 
the latch. To lock the door, the latch string was pulled in through the 
hole. This accounts for the expression, "the latch string is always 
hanging out", which meant they welcomed any visitor.
    The floors of these cabins were bare, and the earth was smooth and 
hard. After awhile the pioneer made a "puncheon" floor. "Puncheons" 
were logs split in two and hewn smooth on the flat side. When these 
were laid close together with the smooth surface up they made a nice 
floor.  
    There were usually no carpets or rugs, no curtains and not much 
furniture. A table was sometimes made of a large packing box or 
puncheons. For chairs there might be three-legged stools, or homemade, 
splint-bottomed chairs. some pioneers had a chest in the corner in which 
they kept meal and flour. 
    In another corner a bed was built. It was made by fastening two rails 
into the log walls of the house with one leg out into the room. Over this 
frame was woven a rope or slats were placed to support a tick stuffed 
with hay or straw. If the family could afford it, a feather bed was placed 
on top of the straw tick. A small bed, low enough to slip under this bed, 
was made for the children. It was called a trundle bed.
    To make the loft, the beams which were laid across for the ceiling 
were covered with slabs. Some of the family, and sometimes guests, 
slept in this room. It was also used for storing things. They climbed up 
into this loft by a ladder or by pegs driven into the wall.
    The home was not finished until a large fireplace was built. Often the 
entire end of the cabin was taken up by this open fire. The firebox was 
lined with large flat stones, and the chimney was made of small logs built 
up like the logs of the cabin and plastered on the inside and outside with 
clay or mud. This was called a "cat and lay" chimney. Sometimes rocks 
were used for the chimney, if they could be had. A large flat stone called 
the hearthstone was laid in front of the fireplace. When the fireplace was 
finished great logs were rolled into the back to protect the back wall, and 
keep it from being slowly burned out. These "back-logs" were sometimes 
so heavy that two or three men could not lift them, and they had to be 
rolled in.
    It may be interesting to know that the careful pioneer housewife never 
allowed this fire to go out if she could prevent it. When this did occur, live 
coals were borrowed from some neighbor, or a blaze was kindled by the 
use of dry sticks and flint. Matches were not known until long after the 
first white families came to Fayette County.
All the cooking was done over this fire by the pioneer women, so you see 
that this hearth was the heart of the home, and the mother was the 
important person in the household. She rose early in the morning and 
worked until late at night accomplishing the many tasks that were part of 
pioneer housekeeping.
      All the cooking was done over this fire by the pioneer 
women, so you see that this hearth was the heart of the 
home, and the mother was the important person in the 
household. She rose early in the morning and worked until 
late at night accomplishing the many tasks that were part of 
pioneer housekeeping.
    The cooking was done in huge pots hung over the 
fireplace, in heavy long-handled skillets held over the 
fire,and on large flat stones or on boards placed near the hot 
coals. These boards were called "bake boards". The family 
ate much corn bread called "Johnny Cake" or "Corn 
Dodgers". These cakes were placed on the "bake board" 
which was turned to the heat as the cakes cooked through 
and browned. Sometimes, for baking, a heavy lid was placed 
on the skillet and this oven was buried in the hot coals and 
ashes. Wild fowls or other meat was frequently hung by a 
twisted string on a hook over the fire. As this meat was 
slowly turned it browned and roasted. Under the meat was 
set a dripping pan to catch the hot grease. If someone upset 
this pan then "the fat was in the fire".
    A favorite menu for breakfast was ham, potatoes, 
buckwheat cakes, and wild honey or maple syrup. At noon 
there was often wild game or salt pork, hominy, fresh or 
dried pumpkin, and corn bread. If it was summertime they 
might have roasting ears and vegetables. For supper the 
menu was often similar to that at noon. Often at this evening 
meal the family would eat corn-meal mush and milk.
    There was a scarcity of "set out" fruits, but a great 
abundance of wild fruits, berries, and nuts of all kinds. Until 
about twenty years ago where the new road runs up to the 
parking area in Echo park, there were many black hawes, 
hazelnuts, walnuts, wild berries, plums and crabapples. 
Sometimes there were nutting parties and several families 
would gather these wild fruits and nuts and take them home 
in large quantities. This was great fun for the children.
    The early settlers did not know about the modern methods 
of preserving food with which we are familiar. Wild fruits, 
together with apples, pumpkins, and corn, were dried on the 
roof of the cabin in the sun; or, if the weather was rainy, they 
were strung and hung from the ceiling of the cabin or porch. 
sometimes the apples, turnips, and potatoes were put in 
straw-lined holes in the ground to keep them from freezing.
    Hogs were butchered in the cold weather and the meat 
preserved for warm weather by putting it in huge boxes, and 
covering each layer of meat with a generous supply of salt. 
Sometimes it was put in kegs or barrels of salty brine to 
insure its keeping in warm weather.
    These pioneers did not have the great variety of 
vegetables that we know today. Tomatoes, called "love 
apples", were thought to be poison and were used as 
ornaments for mantles and shelves.
    Every woman was proud to be known as a good butter 
maker. The cream was skimmed off the pans of milk and put 
into a large stone churn or jar to sour. Into this churn was 
placed the dasher which was a long stick with a paddle on 
the bottom. The handle on the dasher would stick through 
the hole in the lid of the churn and the children would splash 
the dasher up and down until the butter would "come". If it 
was summer time, one of the children would stand by the 
churn with a branch of leaves and keep away the flies. The 
butter was taken from the churn, the milk pressed out with a 
butter paddle, and some salt worked in.
    Another task for this pioneer mother was to keep all her 
family in clothing. Almost every afternoon she was busy 
spinning, weaving, knitting, or sewing for her family. 
Sometimes, the oldest girl would spin or weave from early 
morning until late at night making cloth for the mother to sew 
into garments.
    Much of this cloth was made from woolen threads. Some 
was made from linen threads.
    Sometimes the women would beat large handfuls of flax 
against a "hacking frame" made with the points of nails 
sticking up. This would "hackle" away all the plant but the 
tough threads from which homespun linen cloth was made. If 
linen and woolen threads were used together the cloth was 
called linsey-woolsey.
    Most of the clothes of the women and girls were of linsey-
woolsey. The men and boys wore homespun woolen 
clothes. Socks, stockings, mittens, and hoods were knit by 
the mother and girls.
    In warm weather wash day was a picnic day for the 
younger children, for then the mother would take the clothes 
to the nearest creek to wash them. She would heat her water 
in a large iron kettle over an outdoor fire; her tubs were 
barrels cut in halves. She had no washing machine, and 
sometimes not even a washboard so the younger children 
would get into the tubs with their bare feet and "stamp out" 
the dirt. When the sun was high enough in the sky to be 
directly over their heads the women would decide that it was 
noon and all would sit down and eat a picnic dinner. At last 
when the clothes were clean they were hung on the nearby 
bushes to dry.
    The washing was done with soft soap made at home. 
Each day the pioneer woman saved the fat from the meat. 
To this she added the undesirable lard saved from 
butchering. Then the father made a triangular vat of rough 
slabs, which was known as an ash "hopper". Into the 
"hopper" they put ashes from the hickory and maple wood, 
and lye was made by pouring water over these ashes. The 
mother called this "setting the leech". Then she took a huge 
kettle, sometimes four feet across, put in the fat, and added 
the lye. After this was boiled for several hours, the mother 
had soft soap.
    This lye was also used to make hominy. After covering the 
corn with the lye for a few hours, the coarse hull of the corn 
was washed off, leaving the hominy which could be boiled 
until it was tender.
    The pioneer women were frequently invited to a "carpet 
sewing" or a "quilting bee". They also enjoyed going to the 
schoolhouse to a spelling match or singing school. They 
liked to go to church and always went when there was an 
opportunity. If the women and children walked to church, 
they would sometimes carry their shoes until they were near 
the church house, and then stop and put them on.
    There were no electric lights for these early homes or 
churches. They did not even have a kerosene lamp. The 
only light they had was from candles and grease lamps. The 
women made their candles by pouring heated tallow into 
candle moulds. Their grease lamps were made by twisting or 
braiding rags into wicks which were put into bowls or pots of 
grease.
    At night the mother would knit by these lights, the father 
would make some piece of furniture, and the children would 
pop corn and pull taffy. Bedtime came early. The older 
children would climb to their bed in the loft by means of a 
ladder which they pulled up after them so it would not be in 
the way and they would have it handy in the morning. The 
younger children would be put in their trundle bed, and the 
father and mother would sleep on the nice fresh straw tick 
placed on their bed in the corner.
    Today we would think that these homes were very plain, 
but the people who lived in them were happy. Their 
happiness came from using wisely and enjoying what they 
had instead of longing for things which they did not possess. 
 
Our First Schools
 
    The pioneers of Fayette County were used to good 
schools in the countries from which they came and many of 
them were well educated, so one of the first things these 
settlers did was to build a school house.  In 1850, just two 
years after the Winnebagoes were removed to Minnesota, 
one of the first school houses was built. This was in Union 
Township at West Union. This school house, which was 
eighteen feet wide and twenty feet long, was built of logs 
placed close together with "chinking" between, just like the 
pioneer's cabin. it was heated by a large fireplace built in one 
end. Like the school house, the chimney was built of logs 
and mud. The roof was covered with rough hewn clap-
boards just like the roof of the log cabin. The rough floor was 
made of "puncheons". There were windows on two sides 
made by cutting out some logs and covering the opening 
with greased paper. 
    Another one of the first school houses to be built was in 
Jefferson Township. Several of the settlers who decided they 
needed a school house, donated logs and labor and built 
another typical pioneer school house, in 1854.
    Like that of the home, the furniture of the early school 
house was very plain and simple. There were no chairs, 
desks, books, maps, nor blackboards as we have today. The 
seats were made of "puncheons" with long wooden pegs 
driven in holes on the under side for legs. The desks were 
basswood boards placed on pegs which were drilled into the 
walls on three sides of the room. Sometimes the pupils had 
no desks. Then their books, slates, and pencils were placed 
beside them on the benches. These benches had no backs 
at all, so you can imagine that it was hard work to sit still all 
day long.
    The girls always sat on one side of the room and the boys 
on the other. Sometimes if a boy or girl did not obey the 
rules the boy was put over on the girls' side, or the girl was 
made to sit with the boys. This was nearly always 
considered a great punishment. 
    If they were lucky enough to have a blackboard, it was 
made of a plank or two nailed on the wall and painted black. 
Old felt boots of the larger boys or men were cut in squares 
and fastened to chunks of wood for erasers.
    A large wooden pail took the place of our drinking 
fountain, and two of the larger boys or girls would carry this 
pail full of water from a spring. Then the water pail was 
"passed around" and the pupils drank from a large gourd 
dipper. 
    The boys and girls did not play together in these days. 
The boys played on one side of the playground, and the girls 
on the other. They would often come to school early in the 
morning and play games before the school opened. Some of 
the most popular games were hide and seek, dare base, 
pull-a-way, mumblepeg and ball. In the winter time it was 
great fun to slide down hill, snowball, and play fox and 
geese.

    There were no regular textbooks, for each pupil brought 
from home whatever books they happened to have. In one 
school there were sixteen pupils, and almost as many 
different kinds of readers. Later on when they decided that 
they could all buy the same kind of books, they chose 
McGuffy's reader for their textbook in reading. This reader 
became a great favorite for about thirty-five years.
    The pupils did not study as many different subjects as 
they do today. usually only reading, writing, and arithmetic 
were taught. These were called the three R's. However, 
sometimes a few of the larger pupils were taught United 
States history, grammar,and geography. 
    Since there were no high schools some very large boys 
and girls went to these one-room schools. The school 
houses were very far apart and often the boys and girls had 
to walk three or four miles to school. They were glad to have 
an opportunity to go to school and did not think that this was 
a long way to walk.
    When the weather was warm enough, many of the pupils 
would go barefoot to school. Usually the teacher and pupils 
who wore shoes would walk most of the way to school 
barefoot and carry their shoes. When they came with in a 
short distance of the school, they would stop and put on their 
shoes and stockings. This made their shoes last longer. 
    The first schools were called subscription schools. That 
meant that the teachers were paid by the parents instead of 
by the school district. Each family paid according to the 
number of children they sent to school. The salary of the 
teacher was very small. Sometimes it was only about four 
dollars a month. Usually the teacher boarded in the homes 
of the pioneers. Each family would keep him part of the time.
    Often the teacher was a man, for some of the large boys 
who went to school in the winter would not obey unless the 
teacher was large enough to punish them. The pupils were 
not only punished for misbehavior, but they were punished if 
they failed to learn their lessons. Sometimes they were 
whipped on the palm of the hand with a ruler, and 
sometimes they were whipped with a long switch. The 
parents did not think they had a good teacher if he did not 
whip any of the pupils.
    Many of the older pupils liked to spell and could spell very 
well. Sometimes the teacher and pupils would decide to 
have a spelling bee. All the neighbors came to see who was 
the best speller. The teacher picked two leaders who chose 
everyone who wanted to spell. If anyone could not spell a 
word he had to sit down, so the last one to stand up was the 
best speller. 
    The school terms were very short. Usually school was 
open only three or four months in the winter and two months 
in the summer. Most of the boys and girls did not get to go to 
school many years, for as soon as they were large enough 
to work they had to stay at home and help with all the work 
that the pioneer father and mother had to do. Many of these 
girls and boys wanted to go to school longer for they knew 
that they needed more education.
    Soon Fayette County had better school houses and better 
schools. Before long high schools were built. However, many 
of our leading pioneer men and women received all their 
education in these one-room country schools.
 
Dutton's Cave 
 
    You may remember that one day when Mr. Dutton and 
some companions were out exploring they found a cave. As 
this cave is located on the land that belonged to Mr. Dutton it 
is known as "Dutton's Cave".
    The following description tells you how this cave looked to 
the writer on a spring morning, and also tells you how you 
may find the cave:
    Spring had come. After a long, cold winter, we were all 
glad to see signs of the new season.
    It was on one of these first spring mornings, when the air 
was cool and clear and when there was so much beauty that 
one could believe anything, that we decided to visit Dutton's 
Cave.
    Leaving West Union on highway eighteen we drove 
northeast through rich fields that would soon be plowed and 
planted. After going about four miles, we paused at a sign 
which read "Dutton's Cave". Following the narrow, rough 
road for about three-fourths of a mile, we came to the cave 
in a small valley.
    Here was a pleasing freshness of the welcome spring. 
The valley was misted with green, but there was scarcely a 
touch of color upon the hills and trees. A stream ran in a cool 
tunnel of the last night, and was not yet warmed by the 
morning air. The early sunshine flickered in the water. We 
were struck with the strangeness of these familiar things, as 
is sometimes the case when the world seems to be made 
new. Pausing to picture this glen a few weeks hence, we 
would see the trees bursting with green, wild fern and purple 
violets coloring the hillsides, the early blue and yellow 
flowers at the entrance of the cave, and the small creek 
frothing in its haste to reach the Turkey River.    
    Leaving the source of this stream, a clear sparkling spring, 
we climbed over some mossy rocks up to the entrance of the 
cave. When we had followed the main passage for several 
feet, we found ourselves in the "Steeple Cavern", which is a 
dome-like room with sparkling walls about ninety feet high. 
Once in this lofty room had stood an old oak tree which it is 
supposed that the Indians used for a ladder to climb up to 
the chamber far above. Several passages which lead from 
this cavern, have been explored for about six hundred feet. 
One, to the left, leads to a lake of clear water. These 
passages are low and some of them are very small, but they 
are well worth further exploration. 
    As we came back, we stopped at Mr. Dutton's old home, 
and had the happiness to make a call on his granddaughter. 
With pride she showed us a charming picture of a scene 
near this cave which a relative had painted. This 
granddaughter told us that Mr. Loranzo Dutton was out 
hunting bee trees early in the fall of 1848, and following a 
small stream to its source, came upon the cave which bears 
his name. At that time, there was an old Indian trail leading 
to the spring and cave. We also learned from the 
granddaughter that about thirty-five years ago five men 
decided they would explore some of the inviting tunnels of 
this cave. When they had gone about five hundred feet from 
the main passage they heard the snarl of a wolf and saw two 
bright eyes shining in the darkness. One of them quickly 
fired a revolver at the eyes, but they were all glad to back 
hurriedly out of the cavern.
    When we suggested to our hostess some picturesque 
name for the cave, she demurred at anything too fancy. "We 
just call it "Dutton's," she said.

The Tegarden Massacre
 
    In 1842, two roving Indian traders, Mr. Atwood and Mr. 
Tegarden, built a small log cabin about two miles south of 
Fayette in the northwest corner of Smithfield Township. This 
was a splendid place for a home, for there was rich prairie 
soil on one side and a small grove of timber on the other. 
Near the edge of the grove was a clear spring of rippling 
water.
    When the cabin was finished Mr. Tegarden went to 
Dubuque for his wife, his two sons, aged three and thirteen, 
and his daughter, Marie, who was about eleven years of 
age. While he was gone Mr. Atwood stayed with the Beatty 
family who lived about a mile east of this new cabin.
    In February of the next year the Tegarden family and Mr. 
Atwood moved into their log cabin and the men began 
selling whiskey to the Indians. Now it was against the law to 
sell whiskey to the Indians, for, like the white men, most 
Indians had a bad disposition when they were drunk.
    Later in the spring, Mr. Atwood went to Dubuque for more 
whiskey. On March 25, 1843, while he was gone, some 
Indians came and demanded a gun which one of them had 
traded to Mr. Atwood for whiskey. When the Indians were 
told that he was away, they became angry and quarrelsome. 
This frightened Mrs. Tegarden so much that she decided to 
go to the home of a neighbor, Mr. Wilcox. She tried to take 
the children with her, but Mr. Tegarden would not let them 
go. 
    Soon after she had gone Mr. Atwood came home with a 
barrel of whiskey and the white men and Indians began to 
drink the "fire water". They continued to drink and to make a 
great deal of noise until about 9 o'clock. Then the Indians 
and the white men and boys went to sleep on the floor. 
Marie climbed in bed, but was so frightened she did not go to 
sleep. 
    Along in the night the three Indians, Ho-gew-hee-kaw, 
Wan-okaw-daw, and Haw-kaw-kaw, awoke, and moving 
softly about, bound the white men who were still sound 
asleep. Then they butchered Mr. Atwood with a tomahawk, 
shot Mr. Teagarden, killed the younger boy, and attempted 
to kill the older boy and Marie with their tomahawks. The girl 
escaped death by lying so still that the Indians supposed she 
was dead.
    When the Red Men thought that all the white people were 
killed they went out in the barn to steal the horse and sleigh. 
As it took them some time to harness the horse, Marie had 
time to plan an escape. She found all were dead but one 
brother, and that he was severely wounded. Without waiting 
to dress fully, she helped him to limp from the cabin, and the 
two crept out to the grove near the house. They were not a 
moment too soon, for when they were a few yards from the 
door the Indians returned to steal the most valuable articles 
in the home. You may be sure that they took whiskey with 
them. In order to conceal their terrible crime they set fire to 
the cabin and drove away. 
    You may well imagine that the boy and girl were terribly 
frightened and scarcely knew what to do. They did not have 
on many clothes; the night was dark and cold. Although it 
was late in March, there was still about fifteen inches of 
snow on the ground. The boy had a deep cut on his thigh 
which made it impossible for him to walk without help, and 
the girl had severe wounds on her body and cuts on her 
face. These children knew that the closest neighbor was Mr. 
Beatty who lived a mile away. They were frightened and 
suffering so much from their cuts and bruises that it is little 
wonder they lost their way. They wandered in the woods and 
on the prairie. When daylight came at last they discovered 
they were near a fence which was about one-quarter of a 
mile from the Beatty cabin. Climbing upon the fence they 
called for help. The kind hearted neighbor ran to give them 
aid, and soon they were inside the warm cabin. Although 
they were given all possible care, Marie's feet were so badly 
frozen that she lost all her toes on one foot.
    You may be sure that their mother hurried to them as 
soon as she found out where they were. In a few weeks after 
this terrible night, Mr. Wilcox took these children and their 
mother back to their relatives in Dubuque.
    Although Marie lived to be an old woman, she carried the 
scars of the Indians' tomahawk all her life.
 
The Iliff Family Goes to Church
 
    The pioneers liked to go to church very much. They did 
not go to show their new spring bonnets, but desired to 
worship God earnestly and sincerely.
    One fine day in September, 1849, Mr. Benjamin Iliff 
decided he would go to West Union and attend church which 
was being held in Mr. Smith's cabin. Since Mr. Iliff did not 
think it safe to leave his wife and two small children at home 
alone, with the nearest neighbor four miles away, he took 
them with him in his wagon drawn by two strong oxen. The 
oxen were slow and Mr. Iliff knew it would be a long time 
before they would be back to care for his horses, milk his 
cows, and feed the young cattle, so he decided to take all his 
stock with him. He hitched the oxen to the wagon in which 
he placed his family on some nice clean straw. Then he tied 
his horse, Old Nance, to the wagon and away they went with 
all the cows and young cattle following.
    While the family enjoyed the church services, the stock 
ate the abundant prairie grass; then, when church was over, 
Mr. Iliff milked his cows, and returned home with his family 
and stock. 
 
The Gold Rush in Fairfield Township
 
    In 1874 pioneers found some small gold nuggets on a 
farm owned by Walter Brooks of Fairfield Township. Other 
people rushed here and began searching and digging for 
gold. Finally Mr. Brooks refused to let them continue to hunt 
for gold on his farm.
    People had almost forgotten about this excitement when, 
about three years later, Joseph Hartman and Melvin Lackey 
found some gold along Bear Creek and Moine Creek. Again 
there was much excitement and people rushed to this 
township to see how much of this precious metal could be 
found.
    One man, Mr. Munger, worked for a few days and sold his 
gold for eight dollars and fifty cents. A few other pioneers 
earned from six to eight dollars per week "panning" out the 
gold nuggets found in the bottoms and along the sides of the 
creeks.
    Since very little gold was found, the excitement grew less 
and less. Finally the pioneers forgot about the search for 
gold nuggets and went back to work at their mills and their 
farms.
 
How the Pioneers Found Bee Trees
 
    When the pioneers wanted to find a bee tree they would 
take a small box and place a piece of honey in the bottom. A 
slide was fixed so that the honey could be shut off from the 
rest of the box. A piece of glass was set in the lid.
    A hunter took the box out into the woods and waited until 
he found a bee on a flower. Then he cautiously and quietly 
caught the bee in his box and closed the lid. When the bee 
found that it was imprisoned it would fly against the piece of 
glass in the lid. The hunter would wait until the bee became 
quiet and then he would open the slide and allow the bee to 
begin to feed upon the honey. When the bee had filled its 
pockets with the honey the box was opened. The bee would 
rise, circle around several times, and then make a "bee line" 
for its home in a tree. If the tree was near it would return to 
the honey in a short time with several other bees.
    By watching the flight of these bees the hunter was soon 
able to tell what direction they took, and he seldom failed to 
find the bee tree. Sometimes he would find several bee trees 
very close together.