Carroll County IN Archives History - Books .....Chapter V The Forests 1916
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Book Title: History Of Carroll County Indiana

CHAPTER V.
THE FORESTS-SAW-MILLS-WATER COURSES-WABASH RIVER-WABASH AND ERIE CANAL-INTERNAL
IMPROVEMENTS-GAS AND OIL-PIONEER TRANSPORTATION-JEFFERSON TOWNSHIP MOUND.

THE FORESTS.

   When the white people invaded this part of the Wabash valley, nearly one
hundred years ago, they found a grand, magnificent forest, standing as nature
made it. It was unsurpassed on the American continent. It may be interesting to
state some facts which are of record pertaining to the extent of forest land. In
1880 Indiana had 4,325,161 acres of land covered with timber. It contained one
hundred and nine species of timber. The towering yellow poplar grew to the
height of two hundred feet. Some of the oaks were a good second. The forest
supplied the first settlers, not only with, lumber and wood, but it furnished
fur-bearing animals which were a source of profit and aided in paying for the land.

   The forest, with which Carroll county was originally densely covered.
abounded in game of all kinds and the meat obtained by the pioneers served the
purpose of keeping the "wolf from the door/' Skins of animal, dressed, went
current as money among traders. There being in those days no market for timber
products and it being necessary to clear the land in order that crops could be
raised, it can be understood why this mighty forest fell before the axman. Boat
timter, stave timber and heading used part of it. Houses and barns took some of
it, but the fire consumed much of it in log heaps. Pork packing and whiskey made
use of much of it. Railroads used much of it for ties. Great quantities for
vehicles, furniture, wagons and plow manufacturing, called for the best varieties.

   In recent years some of the walnut trees which were saved are now worth each
a hundred dollars. The mast from the beech, oak and hickory trees fattened the
hogs. Manufactured products from wood in this state went to foreign countries,
as did the raw materials. The stumps in later years were utilized because of
their value for special articles.

   A man who now can boast of a primeval forest has a bonanza. The attempt to
reforest the waste places will be slow work, but slow as it may be, it is the
only way left to reinstate Nature and to retain the beauty which man, in his
eagerness to gain wealth, has obliterated.

SAW-MILLS.

   Lumber being a necessity for building purposes induced the building of
saw-mills soon after the first settlements were made. The first saw-mill erected
was by Henry Robinson, in 1826, just east of Delphi, on a small branch. The mill
was operated by an overshot wheel. The next mill was built in the bottoms, now
known as Manaries' addition to the town of Delphi, supplied by water leading
from Deer creek at a point above, by its own fall.

   An early mill was built on the south bank of the Wabash, a short distance
below the steamboat locks, the water was obtained from above the dam. This was
run by a turbine wheel. Mr. Piatt, the father of United States Senator Moses E.
Piatt, was the second owner of the mill in the early forties. The senator was
born in a two-room frame house near the mill and it is still standing, which the
senator, a few years ago, when here on a visit, readily recognized as the place
of his 4>irth.
Other mills were built in various townships when the population justified it.
The people would haul logs to the mills during the winter on sleds, and usually
the lumber was shared in the nature of "toll." The best walnut and poplar lumber
was used -in the building of houses, some of which in later years has been
utilized in the building of our most modern homes.

WATER COURSES.

   Few counties in the state of Indiana can surpass Carroll county for abundant
pure streams of water flowing through her borders. On the western border the
far-famed Tippecanoe river runs; a stream about an average width of five hundred
feet, with small valleys of rich, sandy loam, with high precipitous bluffs,
heavily timbered.

   Pleasure resorts are located along this river and during the outing seasons
hundreds of people, from far and near, occupy these places and live in tents and
club houses. The water is pure and clear.. Many fine springs, some of them
possessing good medicinal qualities, are found the entire length of the river
through this county.

   Engineers have investigated the water power of this river, and pronounce it
superior to any found elsewhere for electric power. The time will come when it
will be utilized.

   The Wabash river runs through the county a little north of the center. Its
average width is six hundred feet. Large bottoms on this river are unsurpassed
for raising corn, the soil being alluvial deposit from frequent overflow. This
river furnished the water for the Wabash and Erie canal. It is a government
stream and classed as a navigable river. It is entitled to that distinction from
Lafayette to its mouth. The bluffs are very high. The current is somewhat
sluggish and much of the time the water is cloudy. Small steamboats ascended
this river in early days to Delphi and two or three ascended as far as
Logansport, one of which never got back. Along this river one hundred years ago,
Indian towns dotted its banks. This river was known as far back as four hundred
years, and was the main highway of travel from the Great Lakes to the Ohio
river, by missionaries and French fur traders. Since the country adjacent to
this river has been cleared and the lands drained, this river has extended out
its banks and thereby lessened its former depth. In some places levees have been
erected to confine its waters in times of freshets. The highest stage of water
known was in March, 1913, when the river covered all the bottoms, including the
lands levied. When very high the water backs up Deer creek, until all the
lowlands adjacent to Delphi, are covered many feet in depth. This river, whose
name is of Indian origin, is noted even in song; the Legislature of 1913 adopted
a song for the state of Indiana, entitled, "On the Banks of the Wabash Far
Away."   It follows:

'Round my Indiana homestead wave the cornfields.
   In the distance loom the woodlands clear and cool. 
Oftentimes my tho'ts revert to scenes of childhood,
   Where I first received my lessons-Nature's school.

But one thing there is missing in the picture,
   Without her face it seems so incomplete- 
I long to see my mother in the doorway.
   As she stood there years ago, her boy to greet.

Chorus-

Oh, the moonlight's fair tonight along the Wabash,
   From the fields there comes the breath of new-mown hay,
Through the sycamores the candle-lights are gleaming,
   On the banks of the Wabash, far away.

Many years have passed since I strolled by the river,
   Arm in arm, with sweetheart Mary by my side; 
It was there I tried to tell her that I loved her-
   It was there I begged of her to be my bride. 
Long years have passed since I strolled thro' the churchyard,
   She is sleeping there, my angel Mary dear- 
I loved her, but she thought I didn't mean it,
   Still I'd give my future were she only here.

   Wild Cat creek has three branches, known as the South, Middle and North
forks, all merging together before it leaves the county, and runs through the
south part of the county. It is a very crooked stream and frequently overflows
its banks.

DEER CREEK.

   Deer creek takes its rise in Howard county and runs almost due west through
the center of the county. It is largely made from numerous springs of pure water
and was noted for fine fish in former days, before poisonous substances were
permitted to enter it from straw-board factories. This creek is further noted
from the poem written by Indiana's great poet about thirty-one years ago when on
a visit to a friend in this city. James Whitcomb Riley, on a stroll up the banks
east of town, caught the muse and wrote the following verses:

On the banks o' Deer Crick!   There's the place for me;
Worter skidin' past ye jes' as clair as it can be;
See yer shadder in it, and the shadder o' the sky,
And the shadder o' the buzzard as he goes a-lazin' by;
Shadder o' the pizen-vines, and shadder o' the trees-
And I purt' nigh said the shadder o' the sunshine and the breeze!
Well-I never seen the ocean nor I never seen the sea-
On the banks o' Deer Crick's grand enough for me!

On the banks o' Deer Crick-mile er two from town- 
'Long up where the mill-race comes a-loafin' down- 
Like to git up in there-'mongst the sycamores- 
And watch the worter at the dam. a-frothin' as she pours; 
Crawl out on some old log. with my hook and line, 
Where the fish is jes' so thick you kin see 'em shine 
As they flicker round yer bait, coaxin' you to jerk, 
Tel yer tired ketchen' of 'em, mighty nigh like work!

On the banks o' Deer Crick!   Allus my delight
Jes' to be around' there-take it day or night.
Watch the snipes and killdees foolin' half the day-
Er these-'er little worter-bugs skootin' every way-
.Snake-feeders glancin' round, er dartin' out of sight;
And dewfall, and bullfrogs, and lightnin'-bugs at night.
Stars up through the tree-tops-er in the crick below,
And smell o' niussrut through the dark, clean from the old by-o!

Er take a tramp, some Sund'y, say 'way up to "Johnson's Hole,'*
And find where he's had a fire, and hid his fishin' pole;
Have yer "dog-leg" with ye, and yer pipe and "cut-and-dry"-
Pocketful o' corn-bread, and slug er two o' rye.
Soak yer hide in sunshine and waller in the shade-
Like the Good Book tells us-"Where there're none to make afraid."
Well-I never seen the ocean ner I never seen the sea-
On the banks o' Deer Crick's grand enough fer me!

WABASH RIVER.

   The Wabash was first named by the French and spelled by them "Ouabache."  
This river was known even before the Ohio, and was navigated as the Ouabache all
the way to the Mississippi a long time before it was discovered that it was a
tributary of the Ohio (Belle Riviere). In descending the Mississippi the French
explorers thought they passed the mouth of the Ouabache instead of the Ohio, and
in traveling from the Great Lakes to the South, the French always went by way of
the Ouabache or the Illinois. The Wabash river had much to do in directing
immigration to these fertile regions. As would be expected, the stream is not
noted in chronicle or legend as remarkably salubrious or eminently conducive to
longevity, and it may be set down as a fact was never mistaken for that fountain
of perpetual youth whose rejuvenating water the early Spanish explorers endured
so many hardships in seeking. But away back in the dim past, when France held
dominion from the St. Lawrence to the Mississippi, it is invested with romantic
interest as being part of the great line of communication between Canada and the
military posts in the Southwest, by which the hardy trader embarking in his
pirogue at Quebec made nearly the entire journey to Post Vincennes by water. A
journey of one of these voyages would be immensely interesting to the dwellers
along the Wabash of today. The French explorers and missionaries of two hundred
years ago spoke in letters and journals, of the Maumee and Wabash, as routes of
communication between the lakes and the Mississippi, and from that time until
the country came into possession of the United States and was opened to white
settlement, those rivers have been used for a like purpose by the traders and
others having intercourse with the many Indian tribes living in their vicinity.

EARLY AND SUBSEQUENT EXPLORERS.

   Among other explorers of the -Wabash, as compared with Hennepin and LaSalle,
who made the earliest mention of it, are Capt. Druett Richardville, father of
John B. Richardville, who for fifty years up to the time of his death, in 1841,
was principal chief of the Miami tribe of Indians; Capt. Jocko Godfrey, father
of Francis Godfrey, a distinguished war chief of the same tribe, who died in
this country in 1845 and whose children still live here; Gen. Hyacinth LaSalle,
the first white .child born at Ft. Wayne; Captain Wells, killed in the massacre
at Chicago, and Joseph Barron, who in 1810 was sent by General Harrison from
Vincennes to the prophet at his town, near the mouth of the Tippecanoe, with a
message concerning the trouble which afterward led to the battle of the
Tippecanoe. Barron was interpreter at most of the Indian treaties for the fifty
years preceding his death, and his grandchildren and great-grandchildren are
among the citizens of this valley today. These men followed in the wake of the
first explorers and missionaries and are prominent in the history of this region
from about the period of the Revolutionary War to the time of their death. They
were generally engaged in trade with the Indians, made their headquarters at Ft.
Wayne and Vincennes, and in the requirements of their business used the Wabash
as a highway between these points.

THE WABASH AND ERIE CANAL.

   The Congress of the United States, on March 2, 1827, granted to the state of
Indiana a quantity of land equal to one-half of five sections in width, on each
side of a proposed canal, connecting the waters of the Wabash river with those
of Lake Erie and reserving each alternate section to the state. These lands were
at the disposal of the state Legislature, for the purpose of aiding in the
construction of the canal.

   The Act of the General Assembly of the state of Indiana, approved on January
5, 1828, accepted the grant of land from the United States government and
provided for the appointment of canal commissioners, defining their duties. One
of their duties was to locate the canal. The Act of the General Assembly,
approved on January 23, 1829, more fully laid out the duties of the
commissioners, and required them as soon as the land granted by the general
government was surveyed, to select said land agreeable to the intent of the Act
of Congress, omitting the reservations made by treaties with the Indians, and to
make maps of the same and file them with the secretary of state.

   The cost of the canal was estimated by a competent corps of United States
engineers at the sum of $1,081,970. The sale of the canal lands and other
resources composed the canal "fund." Bonds were sold to raise money to construct
this mammoth undertaking, and the history of this enterprise would make a
good-sized volume. The canal commissioners were given almost unlimited power.
They could get their material where they pleased, erect bridges, dams and other
works necessary for their purposes, and the law provided for the payment of
damages. Eighty thousand acres of land had been sold at private sale by the
first of the year, 1834. The canal was being constructed from 1834 to 1843.

INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS.

   In 1832 and 1833 the people of this state became convinced that a system of
internal improvements would attract emigrants from eastern states, and with
great unanimity had the Legislature adopt a system for improvement of
transportation. Canals and highways were planned, commissioners and trustees
appointed. The question of cost cut but little figure. The Wabash and Erie canal
was the most stupendous undertaking. This water-way, commencing at Terre Haute
and ending at Toledo, was ten years in construction. A large grant of government
lands was given to the state to enable the state to carry on the work; every
sixteenth quarter section was reserved for school purposes.

   This colossal undertaking is said to have cost fifteen millions.of dollars.
The canal was declared open for commerce and travel in 1840. About the time of
its completion, the money of the state consisted of bank-notes; the state was
flooded with "wild cat" paper, "blue dog and bull pup." Much of this paper was
worthless. The state credit became impaired and the canal commissioners were
unable to borrow money. The people found that they had undertaken work that
would, sooner or later, bankrupt the state. Prior to 1840 politics had not
intervened to disrupt the legislative plans, but in 1840 one of the most
spectacular political campaigns came on. The Whigs were in power in the state.
Harrison and Van Buren were competitors for President. The fight almost set
aside the work in progress, discontent arose, and rank repudiation of the debts
was advocated.

   Eventually the state got rid of the canal business, and this water-way fell
into private hands, the state standing sponsor for unpaid obligations. It is
said that even to this day some of that old debt remains unpaid. It required
able and wise legislation in after years to put the state on a sure financial
footing. Emigration came pouring in from all directions, homes were established,
wagon roads laid out and constructed, railroads built, and as a result, the
canal went out of business. From the time the railroads were installed the
country went forward by leaps and bounds, land values increased and
manufacturing and other public utilities were established in the towns and cities.

GAS AND OIL.

   The discovery of oil fields in Howard and other counties east of this
territory induced the formation of a company here, with Samuel G. Greenup at the
head, some twenty-five years ago. Nine wells were put down in various places at
a cost of about one thousand dollars for each well, and they were sunk to a
depth of one thousand to thirteen hundred feet. There were two wells that showed
some oil, and one well some gas. The well at the city waterworks was used for
sanitarium purposes for a year or two, at the building on the east side of South
Washington street, known as the "Sweagman Hotel," and many invalids came here
from all parts of the country with chronic diseases, and many of them were cured
or greatly benefited. At the death of the proprietor the sanitarium was closed,
and no further effort has been made to avail of the benefits of the water, which
was pronounced to be equal to the best in the state for sanitarium purposes. The
two wells that showed oil were situated on the farm known as the Stansel farm,
one-half mile south of the city. Some enterprising man in the future may turn to
this field and develop the territory, and the people of old Carroll may be
amazed at the results. One of the nine wells, located on the south bank of Deer
creek, two miles east, is a flowing water well, and the water, is pronounced
from the analysis to be a superior water for health purposes, and may in time be
utilized for sanitarium purposes.

PIONEER TRANSPORTATION.

   In the year 1828 commissioners were appointed by the Legislature to locate
the Wabash and Erie canal and the construction commenced in 1832 and was
completed to Evansville in 1843. For thirty years it was the only means of
transportation for the people of the Wabash valley. Along the canal towns were
built, large warehouses erected, and canal boats were daily passing, the
principal market being Toledo.

   In 1857 the Wabash railroad was constructed and put an end to the usefulness
of the canal and the towns along it began to decay, the warehouses rotted down,
the old channel filled up-here and there a submerged boat-and the right-of-way
passed into private hands. The Wabash river was by law a navigable stream and by
our early settlers Pittsburg, in Carroll county, was regarded, the head of
navigation.

   When the great dam was constructed at Pittsburg a steamboat lock was built at
the south end of the dam at a great expense, to please the people of Logansport,
who expected the steamers to ply to their port. Several steamboats had prior to
this time come up to this point from the lower Wabash.

   From 1825 to 1840 the early settlers were without means of transportation,
except by ox and horse teams. Michigan City was the nearest market of
consequence in those years, and the people who had a wheat surplus hauled it to
that city to trade for the necessaries of life. A knowledge of the* territory to
be crossed will give the reader some idea of what courage was necessary for the
undertaking of a journey to the city on the lake.

   The Wabash river was the natural outlet to the seaboard, via the Ohio and
Mississippi rivers. Some of the early business men conceived the idea of
constructing flatboats, with capacity to carry from ten to fifteen thousand
bushels of grain, and almost every year from 1830 to 1845 boatloads of grain,
flour and lumber were shipped by this route. Abner Robinson made two trips with
flour and lumber. A. H. Bowen shipped grain and pork. Greenup Brothers, Clay
Williams, and others, corn. These flatboats were from eighty to one hundred feet
long. The gunnels were taken from poplar trees, eighty feet in length, eight
inches thick and as wide as the tree would make. With four yoke of cattle these
monster sticks would be hauled to the river on wheels. A cabin would be erected
on the boat, where the crew slept and ate during a trip to New Orleans requiring
from three to four weeks. After the sale of the cargo the shippers returned by
steamers to Lafayette.

   These trips were often dangerous and it was necessary to have the assistance
of river pilots a part of the way to reach the point of destination in safety.
The sale of the boats did not bring their first cost. It may be stated that the
internal improvements set on foot by the state, which intended to open up the
state to emigration and to give markets to the people of the state, cost an
immense sum of money, which finally became a burden that deterred the rapid
growth desired. The country has passed to modern systems of progress, which are
more in accord with individual prosperity.

JEFFERSON TOWNSHIP MOUND.

   A remarkable and interesting mound is found on the farm of Sarah Grove, in
Jefferson township, in section 13. It has been a mark of interest ever since the
first settlement of the township. Large timber was found on the mound. The
adjacent country is very level. It is distant from any water-course four or five
miles. There is nothing observable on the face of the nearby country to suspect
any disturbance of the earth's surface by any volcanic action. The earth
material in the mound is sand and fine gravel. The shape of the mound is
circular, and covers a space of five or six acres. Its height is about
seventy-five or eighty feet at the apex. The surface rim is well marked, being a
complete circle, embracing a space of about one acre. About one hundred feet
from the circle rim, is a well-defined trench, encircling the apex, this trench
is about one-third the distance to its base. There are no other mounds near, and
none other in the township. For many years people have been taking gravel out of
the southwest quarter of the mound. The first excavation being at the top and
within the apex center, there was found at a depth of eight feet, bones of human
skeletons, some of which were in a fair state of preservation, others badly
decayed. These bones were found on the eastern side of the apex rim. Some flint
arrowheads and a stone hatchet were found. The fact that bones were found in a
fair state of preservation, would indicate that they were bones of a people that
lived long since the time of the mound builders, according to the views of
historians. This view does not preclude the fact that the mound was made by the
Mound Builders. It would tend to show that the American Indian had made use of
it to bury their dead. Its antiquity cannot be questioned. When, and who made it
will never be known. That it is the work of human intelligence cannot be
disproven. The ascent to the apex is gradual, and at an angle of about
forty-five degrees. This elevation is of the same degree around the mound. No
large boulders were found until at the base of the excavation, some sixty-five
feet below the apex rim. A few small stones are scattered below the first third
downward from the rim. There is one tree standing near the eastern rim at least
one hundred years old. There are some features present in this mound found in
the mounds in Ohio, but they are not so well marked. If built by the Mound
Builders, it is at least two thousand years old. The evidences of human
existence in this country, long prior to any written history, sustains the
theory that thousands of years ago the American country was inhabited by
different races of men, now extinct. Their characteristic differences are
determined by the remains of buildings, implements and places of abode. From
whence they came, or whither they went, is a secret folded up in the archives of
the past and securely locked to the future explorers.



Additional Comments:
Extracted from:

HISTORY OF CARROLL COUNTY INDIANA

ITS PEOPLE, INDUSTRIES AND INSTITUTIONS
BY
JOHN C ODELL
With Biographical Sketches of Representative Citizens and
Genealogical Records of Many of the Old Families

ILLUSTRATED
1916
B. F. BOWEN & COMPANY, Inc.
Indianapolis, Indiana


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