liii iii »;:v* MM .1. M (' '1 a? '.%!',• Jill! hi: |||;;vVj'!;|!i;;:;: &eN iGc 977.201 HS3m v.l Morrow, Jsckson. History of Howard County, Indiana CHIEF KUKOMOKO. HISTORY or HOWARD COUNTY INDIANA BY JACK50N MORROW, B. A. ILLUSTRATED VOL. I \\ K. BOWIZN & COMIVXMN' INDIAMAPOLI5, INDIANA AHenCoonly Public Ubrory R. Wayne/ " 1408938 AUTHOR'S PREFACE Soon after beg-inning the editing of tlie History of Howard County, at the request of B. F. Bowen & Company, two facts became Very prominent. The first was that the undertaking was greater than at first appeared and the other was that there are now very, \-ery few of tlie pioneers remaining to rehearse the beginnings of Howard County history. It is largel}' now the verifying and arranging such historical matter as has lieretofore been published, supplemented by matters alreadv known by the writer, and others, gathered from old newspapers and the few surx-ivors of a far away time. In preparing this work it has seemed very unfair and short sighted to assume that all this magnificent country should have re- mained idle and unused by man for thousands of )-ears until seventy years ago. for the coming of the white man, and so I have devoted a chapter to the Mound Builders and another to their successors — the Indians. Since the coming of the white man I ha\'e tried to describe conditions as tliey were in the beginning and the many changes he has wrought along the various lines of life. This work has been largely along general lines. The limits of this work have precluded the going into the purely local and individ- ual. There ha\-e been certain individual schools of more than pass- ing inip(^rtance. as the Old Normal and some out township schools, of which it would have been a real pleasure to have written. Beau- tiful Crown Point Cemeterv is another instance and the Old Ceme- tery, where lie the unmarked graves of many of the early pioneers of Kokonio and vicinity whose memory should especially be cher- ished as the real founders of our goodly heritage ; and too, our de- lightful City Park. I have consulted and drawn freely from the Kingman County Atlas of 1876 and the History of Howard and Tipton County of 1S83. Mr. Otis C. Pollard has rendered much valuable assistance; the chapters prepared by him are accredited to him. Isir. INIilton Garrigus has prepared a very valuable history of early financial con- ditions, a compact statement of facts difficult to find, especially interesting in our pioneer history as the Blue Dog and White Dog and the Wild Cat currencies. Posterity is under a real debt to Mr. Garrigus for this chapter. J.-vcKSON Morrow. INDEX Able Jurist 380 Armstrong-Landon Company. Stock of 224 Automobiles 248 Abolitionists 355 Account of St. Clair's Defeat 40 Agricultural Implements 74 Apples in Kokomo, First 324 Bank. Citizen's National 278 Banks 266 Bank of Russiaville. First National 281 Bank, First National of Kokomo 2"/"/ Bank, Kokomo National 279 Bank, Indian Reserve 327 Buggies, Manufactured 226 Bennett, Dan 408 Brouse, Judge Henry A 397 Biddle, Judge Horace P ij-j Bell, Lewis Cass, Reminiscences 425 Blanche. Willis 164 Brewer. James. Assassination of 285 Bee Hunter 218 Bench and Bar 362 Bee Hive \2j Business House. First 206 Bounties 176 Bounties in 1865 178 Block & Thalman ijy Banks 276 Bit Works 242 Brick, Making 229 Buildings, Public 1 1 1 Calamities. Some Earl}- 330 Commissioners, Board of 60 Clothing 22 Convention of Delegates 262 Commercial Development 331 Combination ]ylill 212 Courtship 51 Contempt of Court tj2 Crimes and Casualties 282 Cabin Furnishings "ji Clearing the Land j}, Com 75 Conditions, Present Day 98 Court, Probate and Common Pleas 421 Chills and Fever 84 County Boards 97 Court House and Surroundings 115 Counterfeiters, Arrest of 333 Civil War, Close of 183 Conditions are Changing 201 Civil War, Howard in the 130 Cooper and Robinson ". 406 Churches 429 City and Township Life 320 Circuit Judge, First 373 Carnegie's Gift • 467 Drafts 182 Domestic Life ^2 Doxey's Factory 257 Doxey Factory, Committee's Report on 259 Davis, Judge John 399 Drains, Public 78 Debating Society, First 325 Democrat, Radical 309 Donations 152 Enlistment, Final 174 Extensive Improvements 114 Eighty-nintli Regiment 167 Exciting Times 346 Ervin, Judge 368 Elections, First 58 Eleventh Cavalry, Company K 170 Early Roads 80 Education 81 Fairfield Steam Flouring- Mill 211 Factories, Canning 246 Free Soil Supporters 352 Floriculture 252 Foster. David 319 First to Fall 150 Fort Sumpter, Xews of 147 Friday, D 22"] Farms, Development of 198 Financial History 260 Ford & Donnelly 251 Fifty-seventh Regiment '. 164 Free Public School System 87 Garrigus, Milton 395 Greentown Gem 316 Glass Company, Pittsburg Plate 249 Green, Judge 423 Gazette, Kokomo 312 Garver, Judge William 424 Govemment Disappointed 41 Glass Factory, Opalescent 248 Government Among the Indians 49 Gravel Roads, First 103 Hardships and Privations 165 Hanged by a Mob 288 Hopkins, John B 367 Hawkins, Reuben 211 Hanged from a Bridge 296 Hardware Business, Head of the 222 Heading and Stave Business 226 Interurban Lines 421 Independent, Kokomo 307 Institutions, Strong' Financial 281 Indian Villages 426 Indiana Near Bankruptcy 273 Infirmary, County 1 18 Indiana Tiunbler and Goblet Company 243 Industrial Histor}- 196 Invaders 26 Indians Give Up Land 45 Indians 28 Jails 116 Jealousy Leads to Crime 292 Journal, Kokomo 309 Kern, John W 401 Kokomo Bale Tie Company 252 Kokomo, Early Days in . 318 Kokomo Steel and ^^'ire Works 250 Knerr Board and Paper Company 251 Kokomo Rul)ber Compau}' 244 Kokomo \^'o()(l Enameling Company 244 Kokomoko. Chief 48 Kokomo Canning Company 246 Kokomo Library 463 Leach, J. M. & Company 231 Lincoln to the Kentuckians 142 Little Turtle's Idea 27 Licensed to Teach 93 Local History 30 Log- Court House 370 Long, Judge 368 Lewis, Joe 394 Linsday, Judge N. R 324 Little Turtle 36 Lumbering 197 INDEX 9 Milroy, Judge R. H 383 Miller, John , 127 Maple Sugar Industry 220 Money Was Scarce 220 Molihan Gang 299 Malaria 321 Morgan's Raid 1,75 Memory of Soldiers Revered 187 Modem Methods 199 Mercantile Life 202 Mound Builders 17 Mound Remains 18 Militar)- History, Addenda 468 Medical Society, First 360 Modes of Worship 19 Mounds, Various Kinds of 20 Miamis 34 Miamis in Howard 48 Military Histor}' 125 Militia Companies 1 59 Mail in Pioneer Days 84 Morning Times. Kokonio 315 National Road 269 Nation, David 396 Name Changed to Howard 63 Ninetieth Regiment 193 Number of Men Sent from Howard in the Civil War 196 Newspapers 304 New London , 335 Newman Paper Company 241 National Mint 263 Nursery, the First 216 News, Kokomo 317 National Bank, Howard z'j'j Natural Gas, Search for 234 One House in Kokomo 57 Oil, Exploring for 329 O'Brien, Judge James 400 ( )verman, Judge X. R 412 Othei- Banks 280 One Hundred and Thirtieth Regiment 171 One Hundred Day Men 173 One Hundred Thirt}--tifth and One Hundred Tliirty-Seventh Regiments 1/3 Organization and Early History 55 Orphans' Home 120 Oath 155 Old System 86 One Hundred and Forty-second Regiment. Company 1 174 One Cent Reward 348 Pre-emption Law 68 Pioneer Life in Howard County 70 Paths of Early Days 71 Public Road Sentiment 107 Preacher and the Corner Stone 113 President Lincoln's Message 135 Peace Party Fails 146 Public Sentiment in Howard 141 Picture Writing 54 Pottawattomies 32 Pay of Petit Jurors 364 Pollard, Judge Clark X 4" Pettit. Judge John U 386 Purdum, Xelson 394 Pioneer Lawyers. Leading 370 Pumping Stations 239 Planing Mill Business 225 Paper Mills 240 Pipe Lines -37 Pottery Company. Great Western 245 Report, County Treasurer's 64 Rich. Experience of Thomas 345 Representatives, House of 137 Richardville. Chief 55 Richardville, County of 56 Real Estate, Boom in 235 Railroad Bonds, Trouble Over 255 Richmond, Col. X. P 407 Richmond, Corydon, M. D 321, 364 Robinson, James W 390 Religion 53 Railroads : 416 Roller. Mills, Greentown 213 Rule or Ruin Policy 138 Race, Industrious 23 Roads in Howard County 101 Shiloh, Relief Sent to .... .' 166 Spanish- American War 414 St. Clair's Army 38 Stone, Judge E. S 422 Steward, John 290 Sutton- Yager Mystery 301 Seventy-fifth Regiment 166 Specie, Great Demand for 271 Soldiers Who Died in the Sen-ice 188 Streets, First Macadam 230 Schools, Howard County 85 State Road, Howard's First 102 School System, Changes in yi Social Gatherings 322 Saw Mills Becoming Scarce 209 Star Machine Works 251 Slave-holders, Views of 145 Secession and Disunion 131; Stove Works, Globe 245 State Road, First 95 Sympathizers, Southern 132 State Stipt. of Public Instruction 94 Stores, \'arious Kinds of 22"/ Sur\-evs 66 Town. Incorporating the 326 Traveling on Horseback 81 Trading Points 204 Thirteenth Regiment 1 57 Tribtme. Howard 304 Thirty-fourth Regiment 160 Total Mileage 108 Treaty of Greenville 44 Trust Company. Kokomo 280 Thirty-ninth Regiment 162 Trading Centers 342 Tanneries 215 Traveling Shoemakers 216 Trapping and Hunting 217 T^-jmato Growing 246 Traction Company 253 Turpin, William H 313 Union Tigers 160 Volunteers, First Call for 149 \*aile, J. Fred 401 \'aile, Rawson 394 \'olunteers, Families of the 163 Volapuck 317 Water Mill Flour Popular 213 \\'omen Helped 77 West Middleton Steam Flouring Mill 210 Wild Game 8^ War with Mexico 129 Walked in His Sleep 378 Wouldn't Pay Office Rent 112 ^^'ant Law Repealed 1 1 1 When the Europeans Came 24 Warriors 29 Western Indians 37 Wayne's \'icti )ry 43 INDEX 13 Welcome Home 185 Water Cure Era 316 Wallace, Judge John AI 384 \\'right. Judge John W 373 Workmen. Skilled 21 WovLii ^\■ire, Making 250 \\'arehouse, Thirst 208 Wickersham. Moses R 349 THE MOUND BUILDERS. In writing- the history of Howard county we must not omit the people who dwelt in the country of which it is now a part before the coming of the Europeans. An ancient race, entirely distinct from the Indians, inhabited all that vast, fertile valley system extending- from western New York on the east to Nebraska on the west, and from the great lakes on the north to the Gulf of Mexico on the south. These people possessed a modified degree of civilization. They tilled the soil and grew corn, potatoes, tobacco and other products of this western hemisphere of that early time. They carried on commerce, both domestic and foreign, not so extensively perhaps as do the present modern inhabitants. They had made considerable progress in the arts; their potter}' wares especially displayed skill and finish. Their sculptors reached a high degree of perfection. They were an industrious race. Many of their public works were massive and required the labor of many men for months or perhaps years to construct. They were evidently a people of fixed habita- tion and settled and organized government, and were given rather to the pursuits of peace than war. ^^'ho these people were we have no means of knowing: by what name or names they were known to themselves or their con- temporaries we know not. So far as we know they left no written records. Tradition is absolutely silent concerning them. Many centuries of past time have entirely extinguished the memory of i8 morrow's history them. They are to us a lost race. We know them as Mound Builders, but this term has no real significance. So far as we know they never built a mound. Time has been the real Mound Builder, converting the buildings and structures of this ancient people into the various mounds as we know them today. All that we know of them is gathered from the monuments that remain of them, consisting of mounds, inclosures, implements, works of art, etc. These remains have been carefully examined, and after long and patient investigation the archaeolo- gist has arrived at certain definite conclusions, and so apparently accurate are they that we may safely say that we are Avell acquainted with' this lost race. MOUND REMAINS. These remains are very numerous and widely distributed. In Ohio more than twelve hundred inclosures and ten thousand mounds have been counted. Indiana has probably as many, and the A-arious implements that have been found are almost countless. The mound remains of Ohio have been much more thoroughl}- and carefully examined than those of any other state, hence they are better known and more frequent reference made to them. These works are chiefly found in the river valleys, and are only occasionally met with in the hilly or broken country, and are there small in size. The}' are irreg- vilarly distributed, being dense in places and sparse in others, indi- cating thickly settled localities and scattered settlements. The fact that their remains are found chiefly in the river valleys and alnng the watercourses would suggest that they used the streams of water as their highways, transporting themselves and their commerce in canoes or rude boats, fashioned from the giant trees growing then as at the coming- of the white man in the forests of these fertile vallevs. OF HOWARD COUNTY. ig These ancient works were constructed sometimes of earth alone, at other times of earth' and stone together, and were of two classes — enclosures and mounds proper. The enclosures were mas- sive walls and sometimes of great dimensions, ranging- from three feet to thirty feet in height and enclosing areas of from one acre to four hundred acres in extent. Many of them evidently were con- structed for fortifications or defensive purposes and some were ad- mirably chosen as natural strongholds. Others were sacred en- closures, protecting their altars and holy places of worship from un- hallowed intmsion, and perhaps affording homes for the priesthood, for it is known that these people had their places of worship and a regular priesthood. Altars have been found within these enclosures, presenting positive evidence of sacrifice. MODES OF WORSHIP. In some respects the ceremonials of their worship seem to have been very like the Jewish as set out in the book of Exodus. The location of bodies of numerous mounds indicates that the Mound Builders were influenced by the same motives in selecting sites for their cities and towns which influenced their European succes- sors. Practically the same natural conditions existed when this numerous population Of bygone times lived and made homes as those that fascinated the European when he came — an attractive country, broad, alluvial terraces overlooking flowing rivers and the same capabilities for development. It has been said that nearly even- town of importance in the valleys of the Ohio and ^lissisippi and their tributaries, is founded upon tlie ruins of this ancient people. The city of St. Louis was a cit}' of mounds, and is known as the "^lound City," while on the opposite side of the river more than two hundred were counted. 20 MORROW S HISTORY among which was th^ great Cahokia, the mammoth mound oi the Mississippi valley. Before the desecrating hand of the white man had despoiled tliis magnificent temple it rose in height ninety feet. In shape it was at the base a parallelogram, the sides at the base measuring seven hundred b}^ fi^-e hundred feet. On the southwest there was a terrace one hundred and sixty feet by three hundred feet, the top being level and constituting a platfonn two hundred feet wide by four hundred feet long, upon which could congregate man)- thousands of people at an elevation of nearly one hundred feet above the surrounding country. V.^RIOUS KINDS OF MOUNDS. Other important mound centers now occupied by towns and cities are Grave Creek, Marietta, ]\Iiami and Vincennes. Of the one at Vincennes Professor Collett says: "Perhaps the seat of a royal priesthood, their efforts essayed to build a series of tanples which constituted at once capital and 'holy city,' the Heliojxilis of the ^^'est. Three sacred mounds thrown upon or against the sides of the second terrace or bluff east and southeast of Vincennes are the result and in size, symmetry and grandeur of aspect ri\al, if not excel any prehistoric remains in the United States." Another class of mounds were the sepulchral mounds where they buried their illustrious dead. Skeletons have been unearthed in these mounds and with them have been found personal ornaments, such as bracelets, perforated plates of copper and beads of bone, ivory, shell or metal. Few weapons such as spear or arrow points are found. Stone implements are common. Plates of mica are fre- quently met with, and of such size as to almost completely cover the skeleton. Vases of pottery are occasionally found. These nmunds are the principal depositories of ancient art. The implements and OF HOWARD COUNTY. 21 ornaments found in tliese mounds are made i_)f minerals, clay, bones, fossils and shells. The lirst implements used by them were made of stone. Among the INIound Builders we find many and various implements of stone, ha\'ing- a great variety of form and used for different purposes. Their arrow and spearheads were made of flint, ninety-five per cent, of them being made of the different varieties of chert. Many points made of obsidian have been found. Chalcedony occurs, but not in abundance. Knives and other cutting instruments made of obsidian and flint have been taken from the mounds. Axes fashioned with great skill out of rare and beau- tiful materials, mostly of the granitic series of minerals, are found in great abundance in the valleys, but rarely in the mounds, many of them with- grooves for the adjustmait of handles, and varying in weight from one pound to sixteen pounds. Their hatchets, de- signed for use in war as well as domestic use, weighed from one to two pounds, and had no grooves. Some had holes for the in- sertion of handles. These instmments for the most part were pid- ished. Some were ground and polished with great care. Many stone mauls and chisels ha\-e been found. Quartz pestles and mor- tars or boulders with platter-shaped depressions for grinding the grain are found iui great numbers. An interesting feature of their works of art is the pottery ware, comprising- kettles, water jugs, cups, vases, urns, etc. In this they attained to a considerable de- gree of perfection, exhibiting a variety of forms and elegance of finish. They made these wares of fine clay. In the finer specimens they worked the clay pure. In some of the coarser specimens they intermixed the clay with quartz, in others with salmon-colored mica in small flakes, giving it a rather brilliant appearance. SKILLED WORKMEN. The surface was ornamented, some with cur\-ed lines, others 22 MORROW S HISTORY have the images of birds, quadiaipeds and the human form molded upon them. They were all moulded by hand and there is no evi- dence that they had any knowledge of the potter's wheel. Xone i^f their vessels were glazed. The stone pipes found in the mounds display the most elaborate skill. The workmen portrayed the object sought to be represented with great faithfulness, the more elaborate ones delineating the squirrel, opossum, beaver, otter, wildcat, bear, elk, wolf, panther, grouse, duck, raven and also the human head and form. Their high- est grade of art is found in their sculptures. They accurately ex- hibited the g-eneral form and features of the object intended to be represented. In all of their work there is a remarkable avoidance of obscenity. Their largest instruments made out of quartz or chert are the spade and hoe. The Mound Builders were acquainted with se\-eral of the metals. They had implements and ornaments of copper. Silver is found occasionally in the form of ornaments. There is nothing to indicate that it was ever used as money. Galena is found in consid- erable quantities, but there is no trace of iron. They made knives. axes, chisels, awls, spearheads and arrowheads out of copper. These were hammered out cold for the most part, though some show evi- dence of having been molded. Hence the conclusion is warranted that the art of smelting was known to them in their later times. They made for themselves awls or needles of the bones of the deer and elk. which they used in the sewing of the hides of animals. The Mound Builders used for clothing sometimes the skins of wild animals, but for the most part their clothing was made from a cloth regularly spun with a uniform thread and woven with warp OF HOWARD COUNTY. 23 and woof. In making a railroad grade through a mound near Mid- dletown, Ohio, among other things found was cloth connected with tassels and ornaments. The cloth was in thick folds and very mucli charred. It api>eared to be of some material allied to hanp, and the separation of wood and fiber was as thorough as at this day by rotting and hackeling. The thread is coarse, uniform in size and regularly spun. Their process of spinning and weaving is un- known. The fact that large numbers of copper implements and ornaments have been found in the mounds, the fact also that the Mound Builders used galena, obsidian, mica and some silver, sug- gest that they either engag-ed in mining" or traded \\ith people wlio did. Considerable quantities of galena have been found in the mounds of Ohio. It is of frequent occurrence on the sacrificial al- tars. Plumb bobs and net sinkers are found made out of this ma- terial, and yet no original deposits are known in the state of Ohio. Obsidian, a peculiar glass-like stone of volcanic origin, is obtained from some of the mounds in the fonn of arrowheads, spearheads and cutting instalments, 3"et this material is not found in its nat- ural state north of Mexico nor east of the Rocky mountains in the United States. Mica is found in large quantities in and about the mounds. It was used for mirrors, ornaments and« often for the cov- ering of their dead. There were no mica mines nearer than New Hampshire or North Carolina. The mines of North Carolina give conclusive evidence of having been worked in long past times. It is a fair inference that these people of the Ohio and Mississippi valleys journeyed either as miners or traders to the mines of Caro- lina and thus obtained the mica now found. In the copper mines of the Lake Superior region excavations have been found which appear to be very ancient. AN INDUSTROUS RACE. In these ancient excavations numerous stone hammers ;n"e found. Here again the inference seems fair that the Mound Build- 24 MORROW S HISTORY ers of the Ohio valley journeyed to these far-away copper mines as miners, going in the springiime, taking a store of provisions with them, and returning in the autumn to their homes. The cold of the Lake Superior region was such as to forbid their growing their food there. The wide distribution 'of copper implements shows that an extensive business was carried on in this metal. From the valley of the Ohio it was a journey of a thousand miles. There is no evidence of settled life at that time in the copper regions. The people who did this were energetic and enterprising. The same must be said of a people who journeyed to far-away ^Mexico for a supply of obsidian. It appears to be indisputable that the Mound Builders were an industrious people, well settled, extensively engaged in mining operations and various mechanical pursuits, well skilled and far from a state of barbarism. They were somewhat advanced in the arts and sciences and occupied no mean position in life. For their times and surroundings they had made great strides towards a per- manent civilization and must be ranked as one of the g'reat people of ancient times. Who were the Mound Builders ? Where did they come from ? When were they here? When did they leave here? What was the manner of their going? Who occupied this countiy at their going? are questions naturally suggested. To the first two questions we must frankly admit that we are in absolute ignorance. WHEN THE EUROPE.'VNS CAME. When the Europeans first came here they found the Indians without a trace of a tradition of the people who dwelt here before them. The people themselves left no written records whose authen- OF HOWARD COUNTY. 25 ticity may be said to be unquestioned. The darkness of the past has completely enveloped them. \\'hat we do know is that there now remain here the ruins of the works of a prehistoric people whose only history we can interpret froni' these ruins. The next two questions admit of a somewhat more satisfactory repl}'. We know that many centuries have passed since the Mound Builders went out from their homes here. When the earliest Euro- pean explorers visited these mounds time had completed their wreck- ing. Mounds only remained of great buildings and massive walls. Forests of giant trees, centuries old, had grown upon the ruins and had fallen to decay, probably many times repeated. The ruins of the new world may be as ancient as those of the old. ]May we not safely say that the Mound Builders of America were contemporaneous with the great peoples of antiquity in the old world? While the Pharaohs of Egypt were erecting their pyra- mids and building magnificent temples to their gods and were en- gaging in great national enterprises ; while Abraham of Ur of the Chaldees. at the command of the living God. and imbued with the spirit of enterprise of his age. was g'oing out to found a new home and nation of his own ; while Nineveh and Babylon were growing up to be mighty cities through the entei-prise of their citizens, may not this people have been engaged in the building of their temples to the Great Spirit and in the constniction of other great works whose ruins yet remain ? There is no evidence that the nations of the old and new worlds had any knowledge of each other. They appear, however, tn have g'rown in power and advanced in civilizatidn very much alike. The}' had the same kinds of mills for grinding their grain. ]\Iay not the spirit of enterprise and civilization that prevailed in the old world in those centuries before Christ have been world-wide and found its expression in the M(iund Builders (if the new? 26 morrow's history \Miat was the manner of their gomg? The probabihties are that they were dri\-en out by a barbarous, warhke people. For ages they and their ancestors had Uved in these rich and fertile valleys ; they had builded towns and cities and made homes as dear to them as life itself. INVADERS. Antiquarians who have studied the mounds, which were once the fortifications of this people, assert that they were placed and ar- ranged to protect the inhabitants from northern invaders. Signal stations have been traced to the northward, indicating that they kept sentinels posted in times of danger to warn them of the ap- proach of foes b)^ signaling from station to station. It is further declared that the Mound Builders had their hab- itations from the Ohio river southward to later times than on the north. The remains of many of the mounds indicate that their going had been precipitate; that they had not been given time to gather up their belongings and move out orderly. It seems very prob- able that a savage or barbarous people to the north of them waged war with them probably at intervals for a long time and finally had overcome them and had driven them across the Ohio river, which, for a time at least, was the boundary between them. In thus disposing of the Mound Builders we must admit that the evidence is purely circumstantial ; that no eye^vitness has been found whose record bears positive testimony to the facts regarding this people. It is true that there have been found what was pur- ported to be the writings of prehistoric man. Some of these have been determined as impositions, others have not been deciphered. We do not know whether they are false oi"" genuine, and if genuine what their testimony is. \\'e can say positively, however, that there OF HOWARD COUNTY. IJ was an ancient people who lived here in Howard count\-, who made considerable progress in the arts and sciences in civilization, who had settled homes, who cleared away the forests and engaged in agriculture in perhaps a crude manner compared with our twen- tieth century methods, and who carried on a limited commerce, using Wildcat and its tributaries as their highway, carrj'ing it in canoes or rude boats made with their very primitive tools, and that after a long occupancy they were driven out by a savage people, who, so far as we know, remained in possession of the countr)' initil the coming of the Europeans in recent times. LITTLE turtle's IDEA. It would certainly be a matter of very great satisfaction to be able to give the origin of the Mound Builders or their successors, the red men, but we are ini complete ignorance, and mere conjecture is idle. The various conjectures found in our school histories attempt- ing to account for the origin of these people are certainly unworthy the place they occupy in teaching the young. That they are or were the descendants of the ten lost tribes of Israel is absurd. That they are or were the descendants of the Tartars who crossed by the way of Behring strait and spread out over America was well an- swered by Little Turtle, who, when it was suggested to him that the Tartars and Indians resembled each other, that Asia and .\mer- ica at Behring strait were only a few miles apart and that the In- dians were probably descendants of the Tartars, replied : "Why should not these Tartars who resemble us have come from America? Are there any reasons for the contrar\^? Or why should we not both have been bom in our own country?" The other suggestion that Europeans sailing by way of Iceland and Greenland reached the mainland of America and settled it, becoming Indians, is no 28 morrow's history better. Tlie better explanation seems to be that the Indian is a dis- tinct type of mankind ; that the ]^Iound Builders were the highest examples of this Indian type, and that the Indians peopled this con- tinent in very ancient times. THE INDIANS. The inference seems fair that the ancestors of the Indians who dwelt here at the discoveiy of America by Columbus were the bar- barous and warlike people who choxe out the Mound Builders, for when European explorers first became acquainted with the Indians dwelling in that region, which had fomierly been the country of the Mound Builders, they found two powerful Indian families — the Algonquin and the Huron-Iroquois. At the beginning of the seventeenth centuiw the Algonquins numbered a quarter of a million people. The tribes of this great family were nomadic in their habits, roaming from one hunting ground and river to another, according to the exigencies of the chase and fishing. Agriculture was little esteemed. They were divided into many subordinate tribes, each having a local name, dialect and tradition. When the European settlements were planted the Al- gonquin race was already declining in numbers and influence. Wast- ing diseases destroyed whole tribes. Of all the Indians the Algon- quins suffered most from contact with the white man. Before his aggressive spirit, his fiery rum and his destructive weapons the war- riors were unable to stand. The race has withered to a shadow and only a few thousands remain to rehearse the story of their ancestors. Witliin the territoiw occupied by the Algonquins lived the pow- erful nation of the Huron-Iroquois. Their domain extended over OF HOWARD COUNTY. 29 the country reaching from the Georgian Bay and Lake Huron to Lakes Erie and Ontario, south of these lakes to tlie ^■a^ey of the upper Ohio, and eastward to the Sorel river. Within this exten- sive district was a confederacy of vigorous tribes having a common ancestiT and generally, though not always, acting tog"ether in war. This confederacy was nearly always at war with the Algonquins. At the time of their greatest power and influence the Huron-Iro- quois embraced no less than nine allied nations. These were the Hurons proper, living north of Lake Erie ; the Eries and Andastes, south of the same water; the Tuscaroras, of Carolina, who ulti- mately joined their kinsmen in the north ; the Senecas, Cayugas, Onondagas, Oneidas and Mohawks, constituting the fi\-e nations of New York — the Iroquois people. THE WARRIORS. The warriors of this great confederacy presented the Indian character in its most favorable aspect. They were brave, patriotic and eloquent, not wholly averse to useful industry. li\ing in respect- able villages, tilling- the soil with considerable success, faithful as friends and terrible as enemies. It has been said of them that, know- ing well the advantages of their position on the great waterways which led to the interior of the continent, they made themselves feared by all their race. From Canada to the Carolinas and from ]\Iaine to the Mississippi, Indian women shuddered at the name of the Ho-de-no-san-nee, while e\-en the bravest warriors of other triljes went far out of their way in the wintry forests to avoid an encounter with them. Within si.xty years from their first acquaint- ance with white men the Iroquois had become the 1)itterest foes of their nearest kinsmen — the Hurons — and had exterminated them; also the Eries and Neutrals about Lake Erie and the Andastes of the 30 MORROW S HISTORY Upper Susquehanna, while they had forced a humiHating peace upon the Delawares, the most powerful of the Algonquins. and had driven the Ottawas from their home upon the river which bears their name. Their government and laws, similar to those of the United States, guaranteed to the people of the tribes the right to manage their local affairs in their own way, subject only to the general and foreign polity of the confederacy. Their union was based upon pure principles of friendship and voluntaiy adhesion. One of their chiefs, Canassatego, in 1774 delivered a speech to the commission- ers of Pennsylvania, Virginia and Maryland, announcing the basis of their union. He said : "Our wise forefathers established amity and union between the five nations. This has made us fonuidable. This has given us great weight and authority with our neighboring nations. \\'e are a powerful confederacy, and by observing the sane methods our wise forefathers have taken, you will acquire fresh strength and power. Therefore I counsel you. whatever befalls you, never to fall out with one another." LOC.\L HISTORY. The local Indian history of Howard county is confined chiefly to the three Algonquin tribes — the Delawares, Pottawottamies and Rliamis. The Miamis held the territory south of the Wabash river from Ohio to Illinois, also a part of the territoiy north of the ^^'a- bash from the site of Peru eastward ; the Pottawottamies the north- western part of the state to the \\'abash river, and the Delawares the territory along the \Miite ri\-er ; but on terms of friendship each used the territoiy of Howard county as hunting and fishing ground. The Delawares were once the most powerful of the Algonquins and dwelt along the Delaware river. They claimed that in the past tlie\- held an eminent position for antiquity, wisdom and valor. This OF HOWARD COrNTY. 3 I claim seems to have been well founded, as the neighboring- Indian tribes were disposed to concede it. In their wars with the Iroquois they were defeated and reduced to a state of vassalage. In 1744. during the progress of the treaty negotiations at Lancaster, Penn- sylvania, the Iroquois denied the Delawares the right to participate in the privileges incident to the treaty and refused to recognize them as an independent nation, entitled to the right to sell and transfer lands. The Iroquois chief upbraided them for attempting to exer- cise any other rights than such as belonged to a conquered nation or people. Arrogantly he bade them to make no reply, but to lea\e the council in silence. He ordered them in a peremptory manner to lea\e the lands where they then resided and go to the Susc|ue- hanna. In silence they went otit and not long afterward they left fore\'er their homes and happy hunting grounds on the banks of the Delaware and sought a new home on the Pennsylvania frontier, hu- miliated and ^•ery unhappy in the memory of their former high es- tate and greatness. The encroaching white man and die hostile Irn- quois left them no peace in their new home and again in 1751 they started for the far ^^'est and founded a settlement on the White river in Indiana. Here a missionarv' effort was made to introduce Christianity among them. This was frustrated by the Prophet, a brother of Tecumseh, who was then very popular among the In- dians. In the ^^'ar of 1812 the Delawares refused to join Tecum- seh in his hostilities against the United States, but remained faith- ful to the states. In 181 8 eighteen hundred of them, leaving a small ])and in Ohio, moved westward again and settled on the White ri\er in ^Missouri. Soon they moved again, some going to the Red river, but the larger number were settled by treaty upon the Kan- sas and Missouri rivers. They numbered about one thousand and were brave, enterprising- hunters on the plains, cultivated the soil and were friendly to the whites. The Baptists and ^Methodists had 32 MORROW S HISTORV mission schools among them and bulk a church. They suffered much from lawless whites and hostile Sioux. The Kansas Dela- wares during the Civil war were strong Unionists and sent one hun- dred and sevent}' out of two hundred and ten able-bodied men into the Union sen'ice and proved efficient soldiers and guides to the Union army. THE POTTAWATTOMIES. From their home in the northwestern part of the state the Pottawattomies kept pushing out upon the ancient possessions of the Miamis and were familiar objects to the early settlers of Howard county. Of these Indians we quote : "At the beginning of the sev- enteenth centuiy they occupied the lower peninsula of Michigan apparently in scattered bands, independent of each other, there be- ing at no period in their history any trace of a general authority or government. They were hunters and fishers, cultivating a little maize, but warlike and frequently in collision with neighboring tribes. They were finally driven west by the tribes of the Iroquois family and settled on the islands and shores of Green Bay, and the French established a mission among them. Perrot acquired great influence with the tribe, who soon took part with the French against the Iroquois. Owangnice. their chief, was one of the parties to the Montreal treaty of 1701 and they actively aided the French in the subsequent wars. They gradually spread over what is now south- em Michigan and upper Illinois and Indiana, a mission on the St. Joseph river being a sort of central point. The Pottawattomies joined Pontiac and surprised Fort St. Joseph, capturing Schlosser, the commandant. May 25, 1763. They were hostile to the Ameri- cans in the Revolution and subsequently, but after ^^'ayne's victory joined the treaty of Greenville, December 22. 1795. The trilKS comprising the families or clans of the Golden Carp Frog. Crab OF HOWARD COUNTY. ;^^ and Tortoise were then composed of the St. Joseph, Wabash and Huron river bands, with a large scattering population, generally called the Pottawattoraies of the Prairie, who were a mixture of many Algonquin tribes. From 1803 to 1809 the various bands sold to the government portions of lands claimed by them, receiv- ing money and annuities. Yet in the War of 1812 they again joined the English, influenced by Tecumseh. A new treaty of peace was made in 181 5, followed rapidly by others, by which their lands were almost entirely conveyed away. A large tract was assigned to them on the Missouri, and in 1838 the St. Joseph band was cai"- ried ofif by troops, losing one hundred and fifty out of eight hundred men on the way by death and desertion. The whole tribe then num- bered about four thousands. The St. Joseph, Wabash and Huron bands had made progress in civilization and were Catholics, while the Pottawattomies of the Prairie were still roving and pagan. A part of the tribe was removed with some Chippewas and Ottawas, but they eventually joined the others or disappeared. In Kansas the civilized band with the Jesuit mission founded by DeSmet and Hoecken advanced rapidly with good schools for both sexes. A Baptist mission and school was more than once undertaken among the less tractable Prairie band, but was finally abandoned. The Kansas trouble brought difficulties for the Indians, made the Prairie band more restless and the civilized anxious to settle. A treaty proclaimed April 19, 1862, gave individual Indians a title to their several tracts of land under certain conditions, and thougli delayed by the Civil war, this policy was carried out in the treaty of Febniary 27, 1867. Out of the population of two thousand one hundred and eight)^ fourteen hundred elected to become citizens and take lands in severalty and seven hundred and eighty to hold lands as a tribe. Some of the Prairie band were then absent. The experi- ment met with varied success. Some did well and improved, others 3 34 MORROW S HISTORY squandered their lands and their portion of the funds and became paupers. Many of these scattered, one band even going to Mexico. THE MIAMIS. \Vhen the Europeans first became acquainted with the Indians the Miamis were a leading and powerful branch of the Algonquin family. The trite has been known by a variety of names, the first probably having been "Twa Twas," followed by "Twe Twees," "Twighwess," "Omees," "Omamees." "Aumannees." and finally as the Miamis. Bancroft says of them : "They were the most pow- erful confederacy in the West, excelling the Six Nations (Iroquois). Their influence reached to the Mississippi and they recei\ed frequent visits from tribes beyond the river." Mr. LaSalle says : "When the Miamis were first invited by the French authorities to Chicago in 1670 they were a leading and very powerful Indian nation. A body of them assembled near that place for war against the power- ful Iroquois of the Hudson and the still more powerful Sioux of the upper Mississippi. They numbered at least three thousand warriors, and were under the lead of a chief who never sallied forth but with a bodyguard of forty warriors. He could at any time call into the field an anny of three thousand to five thousand men." The Miamis were first known to Europeans about the year 1669 in the vicinity of Green Bay, where they were first visited by the French missionary. Father Allouez. and later by Father Dalton. From this region they passed south and eastward around the south- ern point of Lake Michigan, occupying the regions of Chicago and later establishing a village on the St. Joseph, another on the Miami and another on the \\'abash. The territory claimed by this confed- eracy at the close of the eighteenth centuiw is clearly set forth by their chief. Little Turtle, in a speech delivered by him at the treaty 14C8938 OF HOWARD COUNTY. 35 at Greenville, July 22, 1795, in which he said: "General Wayne. I hope you will pay attention to what I now say to you. I wish to inform you where your younger brothers, the Miamis, live, and also the Pottawottamies of St. Joseph, together with the Wabash Indians. You have pointed out to us the boundary line between the Indians and the United States, but now I take the liberty to in- form you that that line cuts off from the Indians a large portion of country which has been enjoyed by my forefathers from time imme- morial without molestation or dispute. The prints of my ancestors' houses are everywhere to be seen in this portion. I was a little as- tonished at hearing you and my brothers who are now present tell- ing each other what business you had transacted together at Mus- kingum concerning this countiy. It is well known by all my broth- ers present that my forefather kindled the first fire at Detroit ; from thence he extended his line to the headwaters of the Scioto, from thence to its mouth, from thence down the Ohio to the mouth of the Wabash river, and from thence to Chicago on Lake Michigan. At this place I first saw my elder brothers, the Shawnees. I have now informed you of the boundary line of' the Miami nation, where the Great Spirit placed my forefather a long time ago and charged him not to sell or part with his lands, but to preserve them for his pos- terity. This charge has been handed down to me. I was much surprised to find that my other brothers difi^ered so much from me on this subject, for their conduct would lead one to suppose that the Great Spirit and their forefathers had nnt given them the same charge that was given to me, Ixit, on the contrar}-, had directed them to sell their land to any white man who wore a hat as soon as he should a.sk it of them. Xow, elder brother, your younger brothers, the Miamis, have pointed out to you their counti-y, and also our brothers present. When I hear _\iiur remarks and proposals on this subject I will be ready to gi\-e you an answer. I came with 36 morrow's history an expectation of hearing j-ou say good things, but I have not heard what I expected." LITTLE TURTLE. Little Turtle was probably the ablest and -most illustrious of the Miami chieftains and has set forth most accurately the claims of the Miamis to territory and their policy of retaining it. The claim he put forth included all of Indiana, a part of eastern Illinois, southern Michigan and western Ohio. It is a noteworthy fact that all the treaties they made in which they sold lands to the United States government were after they had suffered overwhelming defeats. In the early Indian wars the Miamis were the enemies of the English and the friends of the French. Aftenvards in the trouble between the king and the colonies they were generally the allies of the English and the foes of the States. They looked upon the ap- proach of the white man with the deepest distrust, fearing degra- dation, destruction and ultimate extinction. They loved their na- tive forests, worshiped freedom and hated restraint. They feared the advance of invaders and abhorred the forms of civilization. It is said the Miamis were early and earnestly impressed with a fear- ful foreboding of ultimate ruin, and therefore seized upon every opportunity to terrify, destroy and drive back the invading enemy. Their chiefs, their officers and warriors -were found in the fiercest battles in the most desperate places. They bared their savage forms to civilized bullets and bayonets and died without a murmur or a groan. In their treatment of the whites they were as savage as they were brave. The}- often murdered the defenseless pioneer without regard to age. sex or condition with the most shocking and brutal savager}-. X'ot only men Init lielpless women and children were burned to death or cut to pieces in the most painful manner OF HOWARD COUNTY. 37 while the warriors and squaws in fiendish ferocity gloated over the misen- and suffering of the victim. As against Anglo-Saxon armies no tribe did more to stay the tide of civilization or the flow of emigration into their venerated for- ests and none record so many victories with so few defeats. Their love for the land of their fathers, for their forest homes burned in their barbarous bosoms with an intensity that pleads some extenu- ation for their savage cruelty. They were a leading power in de- feating- General Braddock in 1755, and from that time fonvard the blood of the Miamis moistened nearly every battlefield. The following sketches are taken from Drake's "Indians of North America :" We now pass to a chief far more prominent in Indian histoiy than many who have received greater notice from historians. This was Mishikinakwa (by no means settled in orthog- raphy), which, interpreted, is said to mean Little Turtle. "Little Turtle was chief of the Miamis, and the scenes of his warlike achievements were in the countiw of his birth. He had in conjunction with the tribes of that region successfully fought the amiies of Hamiar and St. Clair, and in the fight with the latter is said to have had the chief command, hence a detailed account of the affair belongs to his life. THE WESTERN INDIANS. "The western Indians were only emboldened by the battles be- tweai them and detachments of General Hannar's army in 1790. and under such a leader as Mishikinakwa they entertained sanguine hopes of bringing the Americans to their own temis. One murder followed another in rapid succession, attended by all the horrors pe- culiar to their warfare, which caused President Washington to take the earliest opportunity of recommending congress to adopt effi- 38 morrow's history cient measures for checking these calamities, and two thousand men were immediately raised and put under the command of General St. Clair, then governor of the Northwest Territoiy. He received his appointment on the 4th of March, 1791. and proceeded to Fort Washington by way of Kentucky with all dispatch, where he ar- rived on the 15th of May. There was much time lost in g"etting- the troops collected at this place, General Butler with the residue not arriving until the middle of September. There were various cir- cumstances to account for the delays which it is not necessary to re- count here. Colonel Drake proceeded immediately on his arrival, which was about the end of August, and built Fort Hamilton on the Miami, in the country of Little Turtle, and soon after Fort Jef- ferson was built forty miles farther onward. These two forts be- ing left manned, about the end of October the army advanced, being about two thousand strong, militia included, whose numbers were not inconsiderable, as will appear by the miserable manner in which they not only confused themselves but the regular soldiers also. GENERAL ST. CL.\IR's ARMY. "General St. Clair had advanced about six miles in front of Fort Jefferson when sixty of his militia, from pretended disaffec- tion, commenced to retreat, and it was discovered that the evil had spread considerably among the rest of the anny. Being fearful that they would seize upon the convoy of provisions the general ordered Colonel Hamtranack to pursue them with his regiment and f^rce them to return. The army now consisted of fourteen hundred ef- fective men, and this was the number attacked by Little Turtle and his warriors fifteen miles from the Miami villages. Colonel Butler commanded the right wing and Colonel Drake the left. The militia were posted a cjuarter of a mile in advance and were encamped in OF HOWARD COUNTY. 39 two lines. The troops had not finished securing- their baggage when they were attacked in their camp. It was their intention to march immediately upon the Miami villages and destroy them. The sav- ag:es being apprised of this acted with great wisdom and firmness. They fell upon the militia before sunrise November 4th. The latter at once fled into the main camp in the most disorderly manner, many of them having thrown away their guns were pursued and slaugh- tered. "At the main camp the first was sustained some time by the g"reat exertion of the officers, but with great inequality, the Indians under Little Turtle amounting to fifteen hundred warriors. Colo- nels Drake, Butler and Major Clarke made several successful charg'es. which enabled them to save some of their number by check- ing the enemy until flight was more practicable. Of the Americans five hundred and ninety-three were killed and missing, besides thirty-eight officers, two hundred and forty-two soldiers and twenty- one officers were wounded, many of whom died. Colonel Butler was among the slain. The account of his fall is shocking. He was se- verely wounded and left on the field. The well known and infa- mous Simon Girty came up to him and observed him writhing un- der the severe pains from his wounds. Girty knew and spoke to him. Knowing that he could not live, the colonel begged of him to put an end to his misery. This Girty refused to do, but turned to an Indian and told him that the officer was the commander of the army, upon which the Indian drove his tomahawk into the colonel's head. A number of others came aniund, and after taking off his scalp they took out his heart and cut it into as many pieces as there were tribes in the action and divided it anmng them. All manner of brutal acts were committed on the bodies of the slain. It need not be mentioned, for the observers of Indian affairs know that land was the main cause of this as well as all other wars between 40 the Indians and the whites, and hence it was easy to account for the Indians filHng the mouths of the slain with earth after this battle. It was actually the case, as reported by those who visited the scene of action and buried the dead. ACCOUNT OF THE DEFEAT. "General St. Clair was called to account for this disastrous campaign and was honorably acquitted. He published a narrative in vindation of his conduct, which at this day few will think required. What he says of his retreat we will give in his own words: 'The retreat, you may be sure, was a precipitate one. It was, in fact, a flight. The camp and the artillery were abandoned, but that was unavoidable, for not a horse was left to draw it off had it otherwise been practicable. But the most disgraceful part of the business is that the greatest part of the men threw away their amis and ac- coutrements even after the pursuit, which continued about four miles, had ceased. I found the road strewn with them for many miles, but was unable to remedy it, for, ha\-ing had all my horses killed and being- mounted upon one that could not be pricked out of a walk, I could not get forward myself, and the orders I sent forward either to halt the front or prevent the men from parting \\ith their arms were unattended to. The remnant of the anny ar- rived at Fort Jefferson the same day just before sunset, the place from whence they fled being twenty-nine miles distant.' General St. Clair did eveiything that a brave general could do. He ex- posed himself to every danger, having during the action eight bul- lets shot through his clothes. In no attack on record did the In- dians discover greater bravery or determination. After giving the first fire they rushed forward with towahawk in hand. Their loss was inconsiderable, but the traders afterwards learned among them OF HOWARD COUNTY. 4I that Little Turtle had one huii(h-ed and fifty killed and many wounded. They rushed on the artillery, heedless oi their fire, and took two pieces in an instant. They were again retaken by the troops, and whenever the army charged them they were seen to give way, and advanced again as soon as they began to retreat. Six or eight pieces of artillery fell into their hands, with about four hun- dred horses, all the baggage, ammunition and provisions. GOVERNMENT DISAPPOINTED. "This terrible defeat disappointed the expectations of the gen- eral government, alarmed the frontier inhabitants, checked the tide of emigration from the eastern and middle states and many fearful, frightful and horrible murders were committed upon white settlers. St. Clair resigned the office of major general and Anthony Wayne, a distinguished officer of the Revolutionaiy war, was appointed in his place. In the month of June, 1792, he arrived at Pittsburg, the appointed place of rendezvous. On the 28th of November. 1792. the army left Pittsburg and moved down the Ohio about twenty miles to a point called Legionville, where they remained until April 30, 1793, and then moved down the river to Fort Washington (Cin- cinnati) and encamped near the fort at a place called Hobson's Choice. They were kept here until the 7th of October, and on the 23d of the same month they arrived at Fort Jefferson with an effect- ive force of three thousand six hundred and thirty men. together with a small number of friendly Indians froni the South. On the 8th of August, 1794, they arri\-ed at the confluence of the rivers Auglaize and Maumee, where they built Fort Defiance. It was the general's design to have met the enemy unprepared in this move, but a fellow deserted his camp and notified the Indians. He now tried again to bring them to a reconciliation, and so artful were the 4^ replies he received from them it was some time revohed in his mind whether they were for peace or war. At length, being fully satisfied, he marched down the INIaumee and arrived at the rapids on the i8th of August, two days before the battle. His army consisted of three thousand men, two thousand of whom were regulars. Fort De- posit was erected at this place for the security of the supplies. They now set out to meet the enemy, who had chosen their position on the banks of the river with much judgment. The troops had a breastwork of fallen trees in front and the high, rocky shore gave them much security, as also did the thick woods of Presque Isle. The force was divided and disposed at supporting distances for about two miles. When the -\mericans had arrived at a proper dis- tance a body was sent out to begin the attack with orders to rouse the enemy from the covert at the point of the bayonet, and when up to deliver a close fire upon their backs and press them so hard as not to give them time to reload. This order was so well executed, and the battle at the point of attack so short, that only about nine hun- dred Americans participated in it. But they pursued the Indians with great slaughter through the woods to Fort Maumee, where the carnage ended. The Indians were so unexpectedly driven from their stronghold that their ntmibers only increased their distress and confusion, and the cavalr\- made horrible havoc among them with their long sabers. Of the Americans there were killed and wounded about one hundred and thirtj-. The loss of the Indians could not be ascertained, but must have been ven,'^ severe. The -\merican loss was chieflj- at the commencement of the action as they advanced upon the mouths of the Indian rifles. They main- tained their coverts but a short time, being forced in ever}' direction by the bayonets. But until that was effected the Americans fell fast and we only wonder that men could be found to thus advance in the face of certain death. It has been generally said that had the ad- OF HOWARD COUXTY. 43 vice of Little Turtle been regarded the disastrous fight with Gen- eral Wayne would not ha\-e occurred. He was not for fighting Gen- eral ^^'ayne at Presque Isle, and rather inclined to peace than fight- ing him at all. In a council held the night liefore the battle he ar- gued : 'We ha^■e beaten the enemy twice under separate command- ers. ^^'e cannot expect the same good fortune to always attend us. The Americans are now led by a chief who never sleeps: the night and the day are alike to him, and during all the time he has been marching on our villages, notwithstanding the watchfulness of our }oung men. they have never been able to surprise him. Think well of it. There is something whispers to me it would be well to listen to his offer of peace.' For using such language he was reproached by another chief with cowardice, which put an end to further dis- course. Xothing wounds the feelings of a warrior like the reproach of cowardice, but Little Turtle stifled his resentment, did his duty in battle, and its issue proved him a truer prophet than his accuser believed." wayxe's victory. General A\'ayne's victor}' broke the ix)wer of the iliamis. but they were not conquered, and were yet hostile to the invading whites. The government adopted a policy of conciliation, hoping to win them to friendship and peace. The government built Little Turtle a house upon Eel ri\er. twenty miles from Fort A\^ayne, to induce the other :\Iiamis to a like mode of life by their own exertions, but because they had to work for their homes and he had been given his they became envious and thus prejudiced the cause sought to be advanced and engendered hatred of Little Turtle by the other Indians. He was not a chief by birth, but had been raised to that position by his superior talents. This was a cause of much jealousy and en\-y at this time, as also a neglect of his counsel heretofore. 44 MORROW S HISTORY Drake says that Little Turtle was the son of a Miami chief by a ]\Iohegan woman. As the Indian maxim with regard to descents is precisely that of the civil law in relation to slaves, that the con- dition of the woman adheres to the offspring, he was not a chief by birth. Little Turtle died in the summer of 1812 at his home but a short time after the declaration of war against England by the United States. His portrait by Stewart graces the walls of the war ofifice of our nation. The following notice appeared in public prints at the time of his death at Fort Wayne in July. 1812 : "On the 14th inst. the celebrated Miami chief, Little Turtle, died at this place at the age of sixty-five years. Perhaps there is not left on this continent one so distinguished in councils and war. His disor- der was the gout. He died in camp because he chose to be in the open air. He met death with great firmness. The agent for Indian affairs had him buried with the honors of war and other marks of distinction suitable to his character. He was generally in his time styled the Messissago Chief, and a gentleman who saw him soon after St. Clair's defeat says he was six feet high, about forty-five years of age, of a ver\- sour and morose countenance and apparently very ci-afty and subtle. He was alike courageous and humane, pos- sessing great wisdom." The author before quoted says: "There have been few indi\-iduals among aborigines who have done so much to abolish the rites of human sacrifice. The grave of this noted warrior is shown to the visitor near Fort ^^'ayne. It is frequently visited by the Indians in that part of the countiy. by whom his memorv' is cherished with the greatest respect and veneration." TREATY OF GREENVILLE. Soon after General \A'a}-ne's victoiy the treaty of Greenville in 1795 followed. In that and subsequent treaties the government obtained large bodies of their lands. The Indian policy of the gov- OF HOWARD COUNTY. 45 emment was to purchase their lands, excepting what they them- selves would cultivate, to lead them to agriculture instead of war and hunting, and to remove them west of the Mississippi as soon as it could be peacefully and justly done. In the War of 1812 they again fought the United States and were whipped by the forces under Lieutenant Colonel Campbell on the 1 8th day of December, 18 12, in the southern part of what is now Wabash county, being the last battle of any note with the Miamis in this region. The expedition against them was resolved upon by General Harrison in November, 181 2. Six hundred mounted men and a small company of scouts and spies were accordingly sent out from Greenville, Ohio, in December under Lieutenant Colonel John B. Campbell, who reached the north bank of the Mississinewa, near the mouth of Josina creek, December 17, 1812, and surprised an Lidian village there, destroying it, killing eight warriors and taking forty-two prisoners. The troops then destroyed three other villages farther west on the river and encamped for the night. While hold- ing a council of war on the morning of the i8th they were attacked by the Indians under Little Thunder in considerable force. The fight lasted about an hour, and the Indians were defeated, leaving fifteen dead upon the field and carrying many away in their retreat. A portion of the tribe were then friendly to the United States, but they could not control the hostile portion. In 1818 a treaty was made with them, and again another on the north side of the Wabash river, just east of the city of Wabash, on the 26th day of October, 1826, by General John Tipton, then Indian agent, assisted by General Cass and James B. Ray. The place was called "Para- dise Springs." INDIANS GIVE UP LAND. The tribe which under Little Turtle had sent fifteen hundred warriors to the field had dwindled down in 1822 to between two 46 thousand and three tliousand people all told. They had acquired a bunimg desire for liquor, and drunkenness led to innumerable fights among the members of the tribe, and it is estimated that as many as five hundred were killed in eighteen years in these broils. In the treaty of October, 1826, the Indians gave up large quantities of land, but resented some valuable tracts, among which was a res- ervation beginning two and a half miles below the mouth of the Mississinewa, extending five miles up and along the Wabash, and north to the Eel river, including the present site of Peru, Indiana. In payment for this they received thirty-one thousand dollars in goods and thirty thousand dollars in cash immediately and twenty- six thousand dollars in goods and thirty-five thousand dollars in cash in 1827, thirty thousand dollars in 1828 and twenty-five thousand dollars annually thereafter. In 1838 the Miamis numbered but ele\'en hundred, and in this year they sold to the go\-ernment one hundred and seventy-seven thousand acres of land in Indiana for three hundred and thirty-fi\'e thousand six hundred and eighty dol- lars, among- which was a seven-mile tract off of the west side of the "Resen-e" in what is now Cass, Howard and Clinton counties, which was transferred by the United States to the state of Indiana and by it the proceeds were used for the completion of the \\'abas]i and Erie canal from the mouth of the Tippecanoe river down. Pre- vious to this a five-mile strip oft' of the north side of the "Resen-e" and on the south side of the ^^'abash ri\-er had been used in the same way to build the same canal down to the mouth of the Tippecanoe river, ^^'illiam Marshall, of Jackson county, Indiana, helped nego- tiate with the Miamis the treaty of November 28, 1840, at the "forks of the Wabash," in which they finally relinquished the tract known as the "Miami Resene," being all of their remaining land in In- diana, to the United States for the consideration of five hundred and fiftv thousand dollars and several smaller items, such as reser- ■ OF HOWARD COUNTY. 47 vations, houses for their chiefs, etc. Tliree of these reservations He in Howard county. Previous to tliis, in 1834-1845, the Wea and Piankeshaw bands, three hundred and eighty-four in number, had moved to the south side of the Kansas river. By the treaty of 1840 the remainder agreed to remove at the expense of the United States in five years, but their departure was delayed until 1847, i" which year they were removed to the Marais des Cygnes, in the Fort Leavenworth agency. They were gathered to Peru for removal, and from there they were taken to Cincinnati and thence to their new home in the West beyond the Mississippi. Not all of the Mi- amis went. Many of them had renounced their tribal relations and elected to remain with their white brothers and to receive their in- terest on money held for them by the government through the spe- cial Indian agency at Peru. In 1875 there was disbursed at Peru twelve thousand dollars interest money. Some of these Indians own large fanns, well improved and with fine residences. Rich- ardville was the successor of Little Turtle as the INIiami chief. His other name was Pee-jee-wah. He signed by his mark ( X ) the treaty of Greenville in August, 1795. From him Howard county was orig- inally named Richardville county. From the treaty at Greenville in 1795 the Miamis had contin- ued to yield by purchase portions of their territory until 1838 only a part of the Miami reserve remained to them of that princely do- main they once claimed as theirs. The Miami Indian reseiwe was originally thirty-six miles square, commencing- near the town of La Gro, on the Wabash, where the Salamonie; unites with the Wa- bash, numing thence through Wabash and Grant counties into Mad- ison county: its southeast comer was about four miles southeast of Independence at the center of section 27, thence running south of west parallel with the general course of the \\'abash ri\-er across Tipton county and thrnugh tlie town of Tipton and crossing the west 48 morrow's history line of Tipton county about three miles from its southwest corner to where it intersects a line running north and south from Logans- port, which is the western boundaiy of Howard coiuity, one mile west of rang-e line No. i east; thence north to Logansport ; thence up the Wabash to the mouth o'f the Salamonie, then embracing parts of Wabash, Grant, Madison, Tipton, Clinton, Cass and Miami coun- ties, and all of Richardville (now Howard) county, and containing about eight hundred and thirty thousand acres. MIAMIS IN HOWARD. The IMiami Indian population of Howard county in 1S40 was about two hundred. The most important point of this population was the Indian village, Kokomo, on the south side of Wildcat, where South Kokomo is located. There were Indian villages south of Cassville and Greentown. There were "traces" or Indian paths from Kokomo down Wildcat and across to Frankfort and Thorn- town ; from Kokomo to Peru by way of the \-illage of Cassville, and from Kokomo to Meshingomesia by way of a village south of Green- town. These paths were much used and well worn. It is said that Chief Pee-jee-wah, or Richardville, had four sons — Kokomoko, shortened to Kokomo (Black Walnut), Shock-o-mo (Poplar), Me- shin-go-me-sia (Burr Oak), Shap-pan-do-sia (Sugar Tree). Kokomoko, from whom the city of Kokomo was named, is said to have been bom alxiut 1775. and according to the most au- thentic reports he died in 1838. He was a strong and silent man, 'who left to the women and his three brothers the trading so com- mon to the Miamis. He died in loneliness and was buried according to the customs of his people, although directed by white men. His remains now lie buried in the old cemeterv- at Kokomo. \\'ith the deportation of the Miamis in 1847 Indian life may OF HOWARD COUNTY. 49 be said tu have closed in tliis countn-, for while many Indians of that tribe remained, they adopted the manners, customs and style of living of the whites. It is proper and fitting" to close this chapter with a brief account of their government, customs and laws, as of a people whose work is done and whose history is of the past. THIS GOVERNMENT. They were emphaticalh' a free people. Their government was democratic. Having no written language, they had no written laws defining their rights and duties, but they had usages and customs consented to and acquiesced in by the members of the tribe. No man's property or consent could be commanded except by his con- sent. War could not be declared nor peace concluded only through their ctnincils, in which women participated as well as men. They had no organized form of government. They had no officers chosen to enforce their unwritten laws. They had no courts of justice to right the wrongs done to each other or to mete out justice to the offender. There were certain customs and usages consented to and acquiesced in, granting to the party injured or his relatives re- dress for the wrong, but that redress was not afforded by govern- mental aid. If one stole from another the party aggrieved might by force or otherwise take twofold from the thief. Bancroft says: "Unconscious of political principles, they remained under the in- fluence of instincts. Their forms of government grew out of their passions and wants and were therefore nearly the same. Without a code of laws, without a distinct recognition of succession in the magistracy by inheritance or election, government was conducted harmoniously by the influence of native genius, virtue and experi- ence. Prohibitor}' laws were hardly sanctioned by savage opinion. The wild man hates restraint and loves to do what is right in his own eyes." 4 50 MORROW S HISTORY "The Illinois." writes IMarest, "are absolute masters of them- selves, subject to no law." The Delawares. it was said, "are. in general, wholly unacquainted with civil laws and proceedings, nor have any kind of notion of civil judicatures, of persons being ar- raigned and tried, condemned or acquitted." As there was no com- merce, m;) coin, no promissoi-y notes, no employment of others for hire, there were no contracts. Exchanges were but a reciprocity of presents, and mutual g'ifts were the only traffic. Arrests and pris- oners, lawyers and sheriffs were unknown. Each man was his own protector, and. as there was no public justice, each man issued to himself his letters of reprisal and became his own avenger. In case of death by violence the departed shade could not rest till appeased by a retaliation. "His kindred would go a thousand miles for the puqjose of revenge, over hills and mountains, through large swamps full of grapevines and briars, over broad lakes, rapid rivers and deep creeks, and all the way in danger of poisonous snakes, exposed to the extremes of heat and cold, to hung-er and thirst. And blood be- ing once shed, the reciprocity of attacks involved family in mortal strife against family, tribe against tribe, often continuing from gen- eration to generation. Yet mercy could make itself heard, even among barbarians, and peace was restored by atoning presents, if they were enough to cover up the graves of the dead." A tribe of Indians is a body of kindred, subdivided into the clan, the gens and the family. The gens constituted an organized band of relatives, the family the household. The name of the mother fiillows the children and fixes the line of kinship. If her father was a chief her son inherits the honor. In their domestic relations she is the head of the family and through her blood all property, political and personal rights, must descend. If she was a "Turtle" the name of all her children is "Turtle." and they are known as the Tur- tle gens, clan or famih'. .\n Indian man or woman may marrv a OF HOWARD COUXTY. 5 I cousin on the father's side, but not on the mother's. The father, though a chief and crowned with a hundred victories, though he has Hned his wigwam, with the scalps of enemies, cannot cast upon his kin his property, his fame or name, and though he be Wolf, Beaver, Bear or Hare, the children are all "Turtle." Big, Black or Little "Turtle," as fancy may direct. It is not the province of the his- torian to say that the Indian rule as here set out is wrong and that the civilized rule is right. The Indian rule is certainly veiw close to nature. COURTSHIP. .\ man seeking a wife usuall}' cnnsults her mother, sometimes b_\- himself, sometimes through his mother. AMien agreed upon the parties usually comply, making promises of faithfulness to the par- ents of both. Polygamy was permitted but was practiced ^•er}• lit- tle. AA'ife Xo. I remained at the head of the family, while wife No. 2 l)ecame the sen-ant. Divorces are pennitted but do not often oc- cur. The Indian's idea of marriage and divorce is well illustrated bv this anecdote: "An aged Indian, who for many years had spent much time 'in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, one day, about the year 1770. obsen-ed that the Indians had a much easier way of get- ting a wife than the whites, but also a more certain way of getting a good one. 'For,' said he, 'white man court — court maybe one whule year, maybe two years before he marry. \\'ell — maybe then be get a very good wife, but maybe not; maybe very cross. \\'ell, now, su]3pi>se cross. Scold so soon as get awake in the morning. Scold all day. Scold until sleep. All one — he must keep him. \\'hite ]>enple ha\e laws forbidding throw wife away, he be ever so cro.ss — must keep him alwa}-s. WeU. how does Indian do? In- dian, when he sees industrious squaw, he go to him, place his two forefingers close aside each other, make two like one — then look 52 MORROW S HISTORY squaw in the face. See him smile; this is all one. He say yes. So take him home — no danger he be cross. Xo, no; squaw know too well what Indian do if he cross. Throw him away and take another. Squaw love to eat meat : no husband no meat. Squaw do everything to please husband, he do everj-thing to please squaw — live happy." " DOMESTIC LIFE. The council of the tribe assigns to the gens a particular tract of land for cultivation. The woman council carefully divides and distributes that tract of land among the heads of the families, who are responsible for its cultivation. The crops are planted, culti- vated and gathered by the squaws. The wigwam and all articles of the household belong to the woman and at her death descend to her eldest daughter or nearest of female kin. In their criminal code adultery is punished in the first offense by cropping the hair, re- peated offenses by cutting the left ear. If the mother fails to in- flict the penalty it is done by the council of women of the gens. Theft is punished by twofold restitution. It is tried by the coun- cil of gens, from which there is no appeal. ]\Iaiming is compounded and tried in the same wa}-. Murder is triable by the gens, but an appeal lies to the council of the tribes ; technical errors in the prose- cution are proofs positive of defendant's innocence; if found guilty the friends of the accused must pay for the dead man, and on fail- ure to do so the friends of the dead man may kill the murderer at pleasure, ^\'itchcraft is punishable by death, by tomahawking, stab- bing or burning ; an appeal lies from the grand council of the trilje to the holy ordeal by fire. A circular fire is built, and if the ac- cused can nm through it from east to west and from north to south without injur)^ he is adjudged innocent. Treason is punished with death and consists in first giving aid or comfort to enemies of the tribe, secondly in revealing the secrets of the medicine men. OF HOWARD COUNTY. 53 Each tribe had a sachem or chief counselor in matters of peace, whose place was filled on his death by the election of another mem- ber of his family, usually his brother or his sister's son. Women as well as men \-oted at these elections. In times of war or other emer- g'encies chiefs were chosen, who continued in office as long as they lived. Being chosen for personal qualities, such as wisdom, elo- quence or braveiy, these chiefs were often very able men. The sorcerers, called powwows or medicine men, had still greater power, owing to the superstition of the people. They really had some skill in healing sick persons by vapor baths and decoctions of roots and herbs, but to these rational remedies they added bowl- ings and incantations, which were supposed to frighten away the evil spirits that occasioned disease. RELIGION. According to the dark notions of barbarians the Indians were a very religious people. The}- believed in a Great Spirit, the Master of Life, who had made the world, and whose bounty they celebrated by six annual thangsgivings — at the first flowing of maple sap, at planting, at the ripening of berries, when their green com was ready for eating, at haiwest and at New Year. They believed also in an evil spirit, who might bring upon them famine, pestilence or defeat in war, and whom they sought to appease by fastings and sacrifice. They expected another life after death, and desired to have their weapons, and sometimes a favorite dog, buried with them for use in the "happy hunting grounds." No matter how great the fam- ine in the land, they provided the departed spirit with plenty of food ti) last it until its arrival at that bourne. Their heaven was limitless ])lains and lx)undless forests abounding in game of all sorts and flowing ri\-ers stocked with all manner of fish — a place where the 54 MORROW S HISTORY imperfect conditions of this life for happiness would be perfect. They had no priesthood nor ceremonials of worship. As illustrating their religious ideas it is related that "In the year 1791 two Creek chiefs accompanied an American to England, where, as usual, they attracted great attention and many flocked around them, as well to ascertain their ideas of certain things as to behold the savages. Be- ing asked their opinion of religion or of what religion they were, one made answer that they had no priest in their country, nor estab- lished religion, for they thought that upon a subject where there was no possibility of people agreeing in opinion, and as it was al- together a matter of opinion, it was best that every one should pad- dle his canoe in his own way." Dancing and singing were impor- tant parts of ever\^ religious observance. No sick person could be cured, no war planned and no treaty made without a dance, which oftai continued several days. Their musical instruments were drums, rattles and a nide kind of fliute. The war dance was com- mon to all tribes, but each clan had peculiar dances of its own, some- times numbering thirty or more. PICTURE WRITING. Though they had neither books nor writing, some Indian tribes practiced picture writing, which answered all their purposes. They had even a sort of musical notation, by which a leader could read off his song from a piece of birch bark marked with a stick. Beads made of shells or stone served them as money. Communion was the social law of the Indian race. In some of the "long houses" of the Iroquois twenty families were fed dail)^ from the common kettle of boiled com and beans. Hunters left their game to be carried home by other members of their clan while thev pushed on for fresh supplies. OF HOWARD COUNTY. 55 The Indians were of an almost uniform dark brown color, with straight shining black hair and high cheek bones. With but few exceptions they were treacherous, cruel and revengeful. Often hos- pitable and friendly while at peace, they were merciless and brutal in war. Prisoners were tortured with fiendish barbarity. It was thought an ill omen for the conquerors if they failed to make their victims cry out with pain ; therefore, though they tore out bits of flesh with teeth or pincers night after night and at last roasted him in a slow fire, he continued to sing his death song with a calm, un- wavering voice until his last breath released him from their torments. ORGANIZATION AND EARLY HISTORY. Howard county was organized in 1844. For three years it was known as Richardville county in memory of the Miami Indian, Chief Richardville, the successor of Little Turtle. The covinty was fomied wholly out of the Miami Indian Re- serve. Ervin, Monroe and Honey Creek townships were a part of the seven mile strip sold off of the west side of the reseiwe and given by the government to the state of Indiana to use the proceeds of the sale of these lands for the completion of the Wabash and Erie canal. After the Indians had sold this strip, Ervin and Monroe townships had been annexed to Carroll county, which had been organized in 1828, and Honey Creek had been annexed to Clinton county, which had been organized about 1830. The remainder of the county was formed from their final sale of the "Reserve" in 1840 and on which the Indians were granted five years to give possession. The white man had possession of the territory surrounding the "Reser\e" ; he was anxious to move into the new possessions. It was to tlie in- 56 morrow's history coming tide of settlers a real "Promised Land". The Indians had chosen it from all their possessions as being the choice. It was a goodly land. It originally contained the choice lands from the Wabash southwards, along Big and Little Deer creeks, along Big and Little Wild Cats and tributaries and along Kokomo creek. While it was an almost unbroken forest, the trees were tall and stately, denoting a rich and productive soil. It is true that those early comers did not see in the giant poplar, walnut, ash and oak trees the wealth that a later generation would ha^•e found. In those vast sugar orchards they saw an obstruction to the use of the land as cultivated fields ; but in the rolling lands along the creeks they saw golden opportunities to make pleasant, comfortable homes. THE COUNTY OF RICHARDVILLE. To prepare this land for settlement as soon as the Indians should go, an act was passed by the legislature and approved Janu- aiy 15, 1844, to organize the county of Richardville. In the form- ing of Richardville county only Ervin and ]\Ionroe townships west of the boundary line were added to the county. Honey Creek town- ship was not made a part until several years later. John jNIoulder, then of Parke county, Himelias Mendenhall, of Miami county. John Armstrong, of Carroll county, Oliver Raymond, of \\'abash caunty. and Samuel Calip, of Hamilton county, were appointed commission- ers to permanently fix the seat of justice; and these commissioners were instructed to meet at the house of John Harrison in this county on the 2d Monday in ]\Iay, 1844, to proceed with their duty. And it was ordered by that act that on and after the ist day of May of that year, the county of Richard\ille should enjoy all the rights and jurisdiction which to a separate county belong. It was made the dutv of the sheriff of Carroll countv to notifv the commissioners OF HOWARD COUNTY. 5/ of their appointment and place of meeting. By this act the circuit and other courts of RichardviUe county were ordered to l)e held at the house of John Harrison until other accommodations should be provided. The circuit court was ordered to be held on Thursday succeeding the court of Tipton county, and "shall continue three days if the business require it." Also by that act RichardviUe was attached to Carroll county for representative purposes, and to Car- roll and Clinton for senatorial purposes. The house of John Harri- son referred to in the act was about seven miles west of Kokomo, on the south side of A\'ild Cat creek, in the northwest quarter of section 2. It was a double log house, and the largest in this settlement. The commissioners appointed to fix the county seat met at the time and place fixed in their order. All were present. Mr. Arm- strong was a surv'eyor and had his instruments with him. There was a large gathering of pioneers at Harrison's. Some of them wanted the site of the county town at Harrison's, others at Crom- well's mill, about two miles east, but a large majority favored the site at Kokomo. The commissioners viewed the sites at Harrison's and Cromwell's mill and then came to Kokomo. ONE HOUSE IN KOKOMO. There was then no improvements at Kokomo except Dax'id Foster's log house, log barn and a small clearing around them. On the south side there were two or three Indian huts and a small field. \\'hat is now the business district of Kokomo was covered with a dense furest i)f great trees and a thick undergrowth, the greater part being swampy, presenting a very uninviting appearance. The commissioners examined both sides of \\'ild Cat and unanimciusly decided that the south side should be .selected. Foster refused t(i make the dimatiim on the snuth side, alleging, it is said, 5b MORROW S HISTORY that the south side was dry and very fertile and well suited for the making- of a good farm, while the north side was swampy, hard to clear and not \-ery fit for a farm. The commissioners remained with him two days trying* to induce him to yield to their choice. He was obdurate and the commissioners finally agreed to the site on the north side. His donation was forty acres. The donation as made by Foster and accepted by the commissioners began at the northwest corner of the LaFountain Reserve, thence east with the north line of the Resen-e to the west side of Union street, thence south along the west side of Union street to a point about seventy-four feet south of High street, thence west to a point abi^ut one hundred feet west of Washington street, thence north to the beginning. By agree- ment the rude fence on the north line of the cleared "patch" about the house and bam was to be the south line of the donation, and the north line of the float section was to be the north line of the dona- tion. Looked at from a present day standpoint this was a magnifi- cent donation. In that early day it was far different. Xo lands had been surve}'ed east of the boundary line except the Indian Re- serve, of which this was a part. The time of the Indians had not then expired and they were still in the neig'hborhood. Lands were rated as worth two dollars an acre. In addition to the donation of land, Foster paid the expenses of the locating commissioners. They made their report to the county commissioners in called session on the 17th day of August follow- ing recommending the acceptance of the Foster donation. The county commissioners formally accepted the report, and David Fos- ter delivered the deed to the land December 5th following. FIRST ELECTIONS. The first election held in any part of what is now Howard county was in the presidential election of 1840. The voting precinct OF HOWARD COUXTY. 59 was at the house of John Harrison and included all the voters in that part then attached to Carroll county. Twenty-four \-otes were cast and resulted in a tie; twelve Democrat and twelve Whig votes. The first election under the count)' organization was held May 27, 1844, at which the following county officers were chosen: clerk, Franklin S. Price; auditor, Benjamin Newhouse; recorder, Austin North; treasurer, Harless Ashley; sheriff, John Harrison; county commissioners, John Lamb, Benjamin Fawcett and David Bailey. The county commissioners held their first meeting June 17th, following their election, meeting at the home of John Harrison. At this session they divided the county into three townships ; the west one being Monroe and including all west of the boundary line, the middle one Kokomo, extending from the boundary line east to a line running north and south through or near Vermont and all the remainder formed Greene township. Little else was done at this session. The regular session, meeting on the ist ]\Ionday in September, was held at David Foster's. At this term Peter Gay was appointed county agent and Austin C. Sheets, county sur\-eyor, who was directed to plat the donation into town lots and thus to make the beginning of Kokomo. The other sulxirdinate officers were ap- pointed so that the local government was ready for the county. The first tax levy was also made, consisting of twenty-five cents on each one hundred dollars valuation and twenty-five cents poll tax. At the December term, 1844, the board ordered an election to be held in each of the three townships on the 3d Monday in Janu- ary, 1845, to elect a justice of the peace for each township. At this tenn they granted the first retail liquor license to Charles J. Allison. His license fee was ten dollars. In the succeeding year the com- missioners raised the fee to fifty dollars. Mr. Allison was the first licensed retail liquor seller in Howard county; he was also tlie first 6o morrow's history liquiir law violator, ha\-ing been indicted for \-iolating the license law while holding this first license. At the September term Charles Price had been appointed county assessor: and at this term he was allowed thirty-four dollars and fifty cents for his services in mak- ing the assessment for the whole county. At this term the com- missioners acted upon the first road report. During the early his- tory of the county much of the time of the board of commissioners was taken up in ordering the location of roads or public highways, and in hearing reports of such roads as were located. As showing the lack of accuracy and permanency of much of the work then done, a few of these reports are here transcribed. The first report was made by Isaac Price, Jonathan Hayworth and J. C. Barnett. viewers : "In pursuance of the order of the board, we have viewed and laid out a road of public utility, to-wit : Beginning at the fi:)rks of Honey Creek, and running the nearest and best route in the direc- tion of Peter Duncan's ta\-ern, on the Michigan road, ending at the county line." THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS. J. C. Barnett and J. C. Chitwood made this report on a road they were ordered to view : "We viewed the same, commencing near the southwest corner of section 30, in township 24 north of range 2 east: thence northeast to the south end of Abraham Bru- baker's lane : thence through said lane to the north end of the same ; thence northeast to the quarter post between Judge Ervin and \\'il- liam Cullup's farms: thence north to Judge En'in's fence: thence northeast along said fence to the mouth of Judge Ervin's lane: thence through said lane: thence northeast to the northeast corner of section 29 and so on, and report the same of public utility." In a few years this road was lost and could not be found. Ar.other countv road was located bv Rich Staunton and George Tavlor. as OF HOWARD COrXTY. 6l follows : "Commencing- at Xew London ; tlience with the Delplii and Aluncie state road to INlr. Walls' ; thence east via Miles Judkin's lane to James Shank's on Little Wild Cat; thence east to Laomi Ashle}-'s; thence east to a school house near McCune's." It must be remembered that these were the pioneers of a new countr}' : that they were very busy in clearing and making farms (Hit of the wilderness as well as attending to the public business: and that they had enough to do in loijking after the pressing needs of the hour without planning f(ir the future. At the ]\Iarch term, 1845. '^lis board took preliminary steps f(ir the building (if a court house. Thej' decided that it should be twent_\--four feet square, two stories high, and built out (jf hewn logs, and covered with boards three feet long and showing one foot to the weather. Da\i(l Foster and Dennis McCormack were ap- pcjinted to let the contract, which \\-as taken by Rufus L. Blower at t\vent_\--eight dollars. -Vrrangements also were ci'"^l from that date all Inisiness was transacted in Howard county. COUXTY treasurer's REPORT. At the June term, 1847, the county treasurer's repiirt showed, receipts one thousand two hundred and ten dollars and seventy-four 65 cents, expenditures one thousand one hundred and fifty-three dollars and thirty-three cents. The previous year the receipts were one thousand twenty-one dollars and forty-four cents and expenditures nine hundred and eighty-four dollars and fifty-one cents. For the following year, 1848. receipts were two thousand one hundred and ninety-seven dollars and eighty-six cents, expenditures one thousand six hundred and eighty-five dollars and ninety-seven cents. For the year 1849, receipts were two thousand eight hundred and ninety-two dollars and three cents, and expenditures two thousand four hun- dred and fifty dollars and fifty-six cents. For the year 1849 the assessed valuation of property was one hundred and forty-eight thousand three hundred and ninety dollars. The assessed valua- tion in 1846 was one hundred and eighteen thousand eight hundred and thirty-eight dollars. These figures show a veiy gradual increase in Howard county values. It must, however, be borne in mind that the people who came to Howard county to make homes were of very limited means when they came here and any increase must come from the ground by their labor; that this land was covered with heavy forests that had to be largely cleared away before growing a crop. While clear- ing their lands they did well to provide themselves with food and clothing. The privation and hardships endured by them can not be realized by those who have never gone through similar experience. These men of limited means and opportunity for anything but hard work had 'all the public business to attend to in addition to making their clearings and paying for their lands when the time came for making the entries. They also came from different localities, each having a method of its own for transacting business, many of them without experience. Thus it is not a matter of wonder that much of their public work was crude and imperfect and without any regu- lar form. Experience in their case proved a good teacher, and they 5 66 morrow's history soon acquired habits of correct and regular transaction of the pubHc business. It is said of the officers of these early years of the county, that they were not controlled by rings nor special interests ; that they put forth their best efiforts to serve the people. In 1853 Greene and Jackson townships were subdivided into three townships — Lib- erty, Jackson and Union, and in 1858 Samuel \\'oody and Elijah Johnson presented a petition of several citizens of Clinton county asking to be annexed to Howard county. Earl}^ in 1859 the fonnal proceedings were completed and Honey Creek township was added to the roll of Howard county townships, making, as it has since re- mained, a county of eleven townships. SURVEYS. The boundary line and all lands west of that line were sur- veyed in 1838. Because of the fact, that the seven mile strip was first surveyed and the lands placed on the market, the first settle- ments were in this part of the county. The remainder of the county was not surveyed until 1846-7. In this sun-ey Benjamin Harden, of Johnson county, Indiana, ran out the range and township lines; that is, he blocked out the lands into districts six miles square. Van Xess, of Logansport, subdivided these squares into sections one mile square, and on each side of each section at the middle point a corner was established subdividing the section into quarter sec- tions. The whole systein of range lines, township lines and section lines is in accordance with directions from the general land office at Washington. These general instructions for the sur\-ey of public lands in Indiana required that all lands should be located with reference to two principal lines — one running east and west and called the Base Line, and the other running north and south and called the First Principal Meridian. The Base Line is in the OF HOWARD COUXTY. 67 soutliern part of the state and tlie First Principal Meridian is slight- ly west of the middle of the state and is five miles west of Howard county. They intersect each other in the southern part of Orange county. The township lines run east and west, parallel to the Base Line and are six miles apart. The first six mile strip north of the Base Line is in township i, north; the next six mile strip is in township 2. north, and so on north. Kokomo is chiefly in township 24 north. Meridians or range lines run north and south, parallel with the First Principal Meridian and are six miles apart. The first six mile strip east of the First Principal Meridian is in range i, east, and so on east. A congressional township is one of these six miles square tracts bounded on the east and west by range lines and on the north and south by township lines. A congressional township is a square territory containing thirty-six square miles or thirty-six sections. The sections in a township are numbered by beginning at the section in the northeast corner and numbering that i , and the next one west 2, the next one west 3, and thus to the west line, the last one being 6, and then beginning at the west end of the next row south calling the first one 7, the next east 8 and thus until the east side is reached and then starting at the east end of the next row south and going west and thus back and forth until the south side is reached and the last section is number 36. From the organization of the county until the suiwey of the lands in 1846-7, there had been a large incoming tide of settlers, and the county was rapidly settled ; but no one was able to tell where his lines were and two or more settlers were liable to make improve- ments on the same tract of land, and it actually occurred that some failed io get their improvements on the right tract of land. There was mi)re or less confusion in these first settlements. 68 morrow's history ■HE PRE-EMPTION LAW. The pre-emption law was passed in congress, August 3, 1846. After its passage settlers rapidly endeavored to secure homes in ac- cordance with its provision. The usual procedure in a claim was iirst to select a building site, then to cut down the saplings and make some brush heaps and then to build a shanty ten or twelve feet square of poles and cover it with bark or clapboards, and sleep in it at least one night. It was his claim then and he could go back to move his family and no one else could "jump" his claim. Some people did quite a business in taking and selling claims. They would take as desirable a claim as they could and make some improvement, and then sell out to a new comer and then take another and make other improve- ments and sell again. A new comer often was willing to pay fifty dollars or one hundred dollars rather than go back into marshy level lands away from the rolling lands along the streams of water. That the public lands might become the homes of actual settlers certain improvement and evidences of intention to settle upon them were required in addition to the purchase price before the issu- ance of patents by the government for the lands. The land offices for filing claims to these lands were at Indianapolis for all south of township 24; at Winamac for all north of township 23, and west of range line 5 ; at Ft. Wayne for all east of range line 5 and north of township 23. The old state constitution before its i-evision in 1850, attempted to make the civil township identical with the congressional town- ship. There were then three township tmstees for each township instead of one as now. By law the sixteenth section of land in each congressional township was set apart for school purposes and when sold the money was to go into the pennanent school fund. OF HOWARD COUNTY. 69 Reference has already been made to the fact that at the first election held in the county, the result was a tie, twelve Democrat and twelve Whig votes; that was in the presidential election of 1840, and was in the portion of the county west of the boundary line. In the fall of 1847 Dr. Corydon Richmond defeated Dr. J. H. Kern (father of John W. Kem), by seventeen votes. Adam Clark, Democrat, was elected county clerk in 1854 and again in 1858. In the election of 1858 the county was so evenly balanced that the re- sult of the election of county auditor hinged on the admission of the vote of Honey Creek township. If the vote of Honey Creek town- ship was counted in the vote of Howard county, James A. Wild- man, Republican, was elected : if the vote of Honey Creek was not counted, Peter Hersleb. Democrat, was elected. Honey Creek was attached to Howard county and that gave Wildman, Republican, a majority. The political campaign of i860 was the most intense of any in its history. The Democrats were disposed to concede a small majority in the county. Certain wagers were made by local Democrats that Morton, Republican, would have a majority not exceeding three hundred in the county over Hendricks, Democrat. Morton's majority of more than six hundred was a mighty sur- prise. The county since then has been overwhelmingly and uni- formly Republican, except in two instances, a Democrat having been twice elected sur\eyor. Since the county has taken fixed and permanent form it has been eleven miles wide and twenty-seven miles long and has an area of two hundred and ninety-five and one half square miles. Cass and Miami counties bound it on the north, Grant on the east, Tipton and Clinton on the south and Clinton and Carroll on the west. The natural drainage of the county is good ; \Yi\d Cat flows through tlie entire county from east to west ; on the south side Ko- komo creek and Little \\"ild Cat creek and Honev creek flow into yO MORROW S HISTORY \\'ild Cat and thus drain or afford outlets for drains for the south part of the county ; On the north side Lilly creek, Pipe creek and Deer creek drain or aft'ord outlets for drains for that part of the countv. PIOXEER LIFE IX HOWARD COUNTY. Pioneer life as it existed in Howard county in the forties has long since completely ceased to exist. Circumstances and condi- tions which produced and called it forth have passed away, and it is difficult now to convey an intelligible idea of it. Conditions have so changed in the past sixty years that we are practically living in another world. The pioneers of that early time in our county history were mostly persons of limited worldly possessions, who were looking for opportunities to secure homes for themselves and their families. Many of them were young people, or fathers and mothers with families of young people for whom they wished to give a start in life by getting possession of land while it was cheap in price. Having heard of excellent lands out in the Indian country that were either on the market or soon would be, and that by going and taking a claim, making certain improvements and paying almost a nominal price each would come into the ownership of forty acres, eighty acres, or one hundred and sixty acres of land that he could improve into a good fann home in a few years. Leaving wife to look after things while he was gone to hunt a new home, the home- seeker went out, sometimes alone and on foot, sometimes on horse- back and sometimes two or more would go together, pro\-iding themselves with wagon and team and a regular camping outfit. After selecting the site of the future home and taking the necessaiw OF HOWARD COUNTY. 7I Steps to secure it, he returned for his family, blaziug the trees on his way back, to guide him in his moving-. PATHS OF EARLY DAYS. There were no traveled highways then. There were a few Indian traces, or paths, leading to the principal points on the out- side of the Reserve. These led to Noblesville on the south, to Frankfort on the southwest, to Burlington and Delphi on the west, to Logansport on the northwest, and Peru on the north ; to Mar- ion and \Vabash and other points on the northeast. Many of the early settlers on the south side came from Hamilton and Boone counties by way of the Noblesville trace. The settler, with his wagon and team, more frecjuently an ox team, must of necessity cut out his own wagon road and so made slow progress. He carried a limited housekeeping outfit, a stock of provisions, enough to last until the family could be settled in the new home and he could re- turn for a fresh supply. This new home was a "cabin" in the clearing. The timber was cut away on the building site so that there would be no danger from trees blowing down or falling on the cabin. The cabin was built of round logs, not dressed, cut from the trees round about the future home. The ends of the logs were notched and saddled so that they would fit upon each other at the house corners ; chunks were placed in the spaces or cracks between the logs and then daubed with mud, the mud being pressed into place and smoothed dnwn with the bare hand, the finished job showing the finger prints. The tlo<_irs were laid on sleepers made out of round 'logs hewn off on one side with a broad-axe, and were of puncheons, or thick slabs split from ash, oak, hickory or elm logs and dressed ofif with a broad-axe. They had no ceilings, but lofts instead, supported by 72 MORROW S HISTORY round poles for joists. The roofs were covered with clapboards held in place with weight poles kept up by "knees." CABIN FURNISHINGS. The chimney had pounded earth jambs and packed mud hearths, and sticks and clay upper part. It is said that one of the last thing-s of their evening vigil before retiring was to go out and inspect the chimney to see that it was not on fire. The fireplaces of those old-time chimneys were capacious affairs and held quite a pile of wood. In the evening, after the chores were done, the fami- ly sat about the blazing, crackling fire of logs and smaller pieces of wood in these huge fireplaces and enjoyed to the full the bright- ness, the warmth and the cheerfulness of the open fire in their one- room house. These open fireplaces wei-e not only the heating plant, but also the cooking range of the home. The patient wife and mother, with her scant store of cooking utensils, cooked the meals of the family on the hearth with live coals shoveled from the fire- place. The blazing fires also furnished much of the light of the house, making a light far superior to the tallow candle. The door or doors were in keeping with the rest of the house — made of thin slabs, hewn smooth and hung with wooden hinges and fastened with a wooden latch. A string was fastened to the latch and was hung on the outside by passing the end through a small hole above the latch, so that the end would be suspended on the outside. At night, when all were in, the string would be pulled in and no one on the outside could lift the latch, and thus the door was locked to outsiders. A\^hen the latch string hung out neighbors deemed it a useless formality to ring the door bell, but pulled the string, lifted the latch and walked in. Hence the origin of the hospitable ex- clamation, "]My latch string hangs out." OF HOWARD COUNTY. 73 They drew the water from wells with a windlass, a sweep or a pole with a natural h(iok to it. A sweep was a pole mounted in the fork of an upright pole set in the ground, with a bucket fastened to one end of the mounted pole by a rope long enough to let the buck- et to the water when that end of the mounted pole was drawn down ; the outer end of the pole, being heavier, helped to lift the bucket of water. CLEARING THE LAND. Having erected his cabin and a iTide stable the pioneer at once set about clearing the land for a garden and a patch of corn. This was done by cutting the smaller trees and the bushes and piling them about the larger trees and burning them, thus killing the larger trees at once and destroying the shade. Breaking the ground was done with a jumping shovel, a shovel-plow, with a short, thick beam and an upright cutter extending to the point of the shovel. The ground was full of green roots, and it took strength and pa- tience to do what at best was a poor job of breaking. The corn was planted by hand, covered with a hoe and cultivated by hand with a single shovel plow and the hoe — mostly with the latter. Later clearings were made by first deadening the timber, that is, girdling the trees and allowing them to stand two or three years or longer for the timber to die and dry out so that it would burn better in the heaps. When it was ready to clear much of the timber would be cut down and burned, chopped or sawed into suitable lengths for rolling, and at an appointed day there would be a log-rolling, to which all the neighbors would be invited. The men would come, bringing their neat handspikes, w^ell seasoned and strong. .\ yi)ke of oxen was nearly always present to assist in getting heavy logs into place. Most logs, however, were rolled or carried by the men with their spikes, and many feats of strength in lifting were shown. 74 MORROW S HISTORY The men always worked with a wiU and logs were rapidly piled in heaps. After the logs were piled the man and his boys, sometimes the girls, piled the trash and smaller logs on the heaps and burned them. Stooping and picking trash all day long and burning log- heaps in smoking clearings deserve to have a place in the class of the hardest and most disagreeable of all work. The early fields had many standing dead trees and these continued to fall, generally in the crop season, for several years, and always were very much in the way. All rows were the proverbial "stumpy row to hoe." The hoe was the indispensable agricultural tool — a heavy, clumsy tool, not suited to make the boy on the farm enthusiastic in his calling. AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS. The Other cultivating tool was a heavy single shovel plow, sometimes known as the "bull-tongue," which required three trips to the row to plow out the weeds between the rows. Planting was done bv crossing off the field one way with this single shovel plow into furrows the width of com rows and then making furrows crossing these with the same plow, followed by a person dropping the com into the crosses; dropping the com was often done by a woman, as being light work, and the corn was covered by men and boys with hoes, generally three persons did the covering. Thus the planting force was one man to lay off the ground into rows, one person to drop the corn, and three with hoes to cover. Com was the first crop grown ; soon, however, wheat growing was attanpted. This was done by a person carrying a part of a sack of wheat across the shoulders and sowing it broadcast with the hand as he walked. He was followed, if in the corn, with a man with his single shovel plow, pulling down the weeds (the weeds grew luxuriantly in the new ground) and partially plowing under the wheat; if on ground OF HOWARD COUNTY. 75 that had been Ijroken for wheat, with an A harrow. Because of the fertihty of the fresh new soil this method of farming produced good crops. The harvesting- of the wheat was done with reap hooks by the men and women, for the women often helped in the wheat harvest. With one hand they seized a handful of grain, and with the other they cut it off with the reap hook. Each bound his or her sheaves. This was a slow, laborious mode of harvesting. The coming of the grain cradle a few years later was hailed as a great advance. When one man cut the grain and threw it into swaths, ready for another man to gather up and bind that was thought up-to-date farming. The threshing was done either with a flail or by spread- ing on a threshing floor and tramping with horses until the kernels were loosened from the chaff. The flail was a short pole or spike, with a shorter pole or spike fastened to the end of it with a stout withe or thong, and required an expert to use it without danger to the user's head, for in the overhead swing of the flail the sus- pended end, which was intended to hit the grain with its full length, was liable to make a head-on collision with the user's head. After the separation of the straw from the wheat and chaft" by forking, the wheat and chaff were run through a fanning mill and the chaff blown out. It was all hand work from start to finish — slow, tedious and laborious, and allowed the growing of limited crops only. CORN. Com was the staple crop of the early settlers. It was the food crop of their stock and largely for themselves. Corn-bread, mush and milk were their principal articles of diet. Mills for the grinding of the grain were not plentiful nor con- venient. There were a few "com crackers," home-made affairs, 76 morrow's history manufactured from boulders by flattening and rougbing the sur- face and fixed to turn one face on the other. This mill crashed the com as it passed between the faces of the boulders, the upper one revolving on the lower. Nathan C. Beals, who lived not far northeast of Oakford in very early times, had one. Mills operated by water power were the main reliance of the early settlers, both for grinding grain and sawing lumber. The clothing of that time was also largely of home manufac- ture. The farmer grew flax, which he pulled and rotted and scutched. The good housewife spun the tow on her wheel and often wove it herself. The linen gannents were possibly a little rough and coarse, but were soon bleached into snowy whiteness. The farmer also had a flock of sheep and grew the wool that was con- verted into home-made woolen goods. The wool was scoured and picked at home, the men and boys helping on rainy days. Ofttimes there were wool pickings, to which the neighbor women were in- vited. These were social occasions and were real red-letter days in the social life of the community. After the wool was picked it was taken to a woolen mill and made into rolls, and then brought back home to be spun into yarn. The yarn was dyed or colored, and some of it was woven into cloth for the clothing of the men and women and the boys and girls of the home, and the other part was twisted into yarn for stockings and socks for all, and then would begin a season of knitting. The women would rise up early in the morning to knit and would sit up late at night for the same pur- pose. \\^oolsey-linsey dresses and jeans coats and pants were the fashionable clothing of the time. Not only was the cloth for the clothing home-made, but the ^•arious garments were home-made and hand-made also, for there were no homes into which a sewing machine had come. All the sewing was done bv hand. OF HOWARD COUNTY. ■HE WOMEN HELPED. The wives and mothers and daughters, too, of the pioneer period, were very industrious, for in addition to the various kinds of work ah'eady referred to which they did, they also attended to the household cares, the rearing of the families, the milking of the cows and a great number of other things, as they presented them- selves. They were brave, uncomplaining burden bearers, who cheerfully and well did their full share in transforming the wilder- ness into a country of pleasant homes. We shall do well if we al- ways pay loving tribute to their memory. Reference has already been made to the effect that the first settlers sought homes on the rolling lands along the watercourses. These lands were soon taken, and the later comers had to go back into the level lands for their homes. These lands being level and covered with fallen timber held the water so that it did not flow away readily, and the counti"y was thus rendered swampy and wet for much of the year. SEARCHING FOR A BUILDING SITE. The settler, after looking about and finding a knoll sufficiently dry for building purposes, would locate. He had a double work to do in clearing his land and in making surface drains or ditches to cari-y ofif the water. There were certain natural channels, which, when the logs and other obstructions were removed, and were deepened and straightened, served as fair drains. At first open channels were thrown out in the fields to permit the water to flow away. These were so much in the way that the farmers cut ditch timbers out of the oak trees, then in the way, and placed them in these drains after deepening them, covering- the stringers or side y% morrow's history pieces with slabs or cross headers, and then filhng in with dirt, thus making- good underground drains. The benefit was so marked that the farmers rrtshed the construction of wooden drains, cutting the channels or ditches themselves and having the boys to saw the ditch timbers with the old plain-toothed saws without drags. There never was a man who remembered the time he spent as a boy in sawing ditch timber except with the utmost aversion. These swampy, wet lands when drained were by far the rich- est and most productive lands. The soil was black and deep, and when underdrained dried off quickly and yielded immense crops. After a few years the timber ditches began to decay and it was necessary to replace them with new ones. Meanwhile a good tile clay had been found in many places and tile mills and kilns were turning out red tile in large numbers. Farmers, therefore, turned their attention to putting in permanent drains of red tile. Tile drainage has been continued since by putting in regular drainage systems, using large sized tiles, until now the wet lands of Howard county are no longer wet lands. Because large areas have needed a common drainage and many farms have needed the same drain- age system, the county has constructed many excellent public drains and drainage systems. PUBLIC DR.MNS. The first public drains were large open ditches passing in a meandering way through farms and rendering not a little land waste, the ditch channels growing up each year with bushes and weeds, and requiring frequent cleaning out. Many of these have since had one or more rows of large sized tiles laid in them and covered up so that fanning operations are now carried on over them. There are no lands in the county so low and wet that they OF HOWARD COUNTY. 79 cannot be drained. The county nia.y be said to be without Vv'et waste land. The pioneers of the county had vast forests to contend with. Almost every acre had one or more large yellow poplar trees upon it. Much of the land had many large black walnut trees; there were many fine gray ash trees and almost numberless large oak trees of the different varieties, while the common kinds of beech, sugar, elm, sycamore, lynn and other kinds were so plentiful it was a problem how to get them out of the way. In the veiy early pioneer days there were no saw-mills and no market whatever for even the choicest of the timber. Large poplar, wralnut, ash and oak trees were made into rails that a few years later could have been sold for many dollars. \\'here the early farmer wanted a field he dead- ened the large walnuts and poplars to destroy their shade, and al- lowed them to waste away, to blow down and then to be burned or worked into rails. The other timber was cut down and rolled into heaps and burned. In this, our time of growing scarcity of timber, the acts of the pioneer settlers seem to have been wanton waste. They wanted clear fields rather than timber. A few years later, with the coming of the railroads and the building of steam saw-mills, quite a traffic in lumber sprang up. An immense amount of walnut, poplar and ash lumber was shipped to Cincinnati and other points. Saw-mill men and others bought of the owners of woodland where the tim- ber had not yet been disturbed either for a lump sum all their pop- lar and walnut timber good enough for the saw, or else bought the trees singly, paying as high as five dollars for a good, straight, sound, yellow poplar thirty inches in diameter and tall enough for four twelve-foot sticks or logs. Some choice walnuts sold for eight dollars. Farmers derived quite a revenue from this source, and it was a time just previous to the Civil war when mbney was very scarce 8o morrow's history and hard to get. Later timber sold for higlier prices. It is doubt- ful if at any time the sale of timber in Howard county ever met a more needed want than in the few years preceding and the early years of the Civil war period. EARLY ROADS. The early roads of the county were made by felling the trees along the line of the proposed highway, cutting off so much of the tree as remained in the roadway, rolling or dragging it to the road- side ; so that the new road was full of stumps and it rec|uired a care- ful and skillful driver to miss the stumps ; mts and roots could not be avoided. Swamps had to be bridged. This was done by cutting logs of various sizes, long aiough for a single track, and placing them crosswise of the roadway and side by side the width of the swamp and throwing some dirt upon them to fill up the uneven surface. This dirt soon wore away and there remained the cor- duroy road. How rough and jolty it was to ride over this kind of a road in a farm wagon with no spring seat is not in the power of language to tell. The pioneers did not, however, have as much use for rciids as the modem inhabitants. They did imich of their traveling on foor, a great deal on horseback, and not so much with wagons. It was no unusual thing for men to make long journeys on foot. Men who had moved to the vicinity of Kokomo from near Noblesville frequently visited the people of their former home, walking both ways ; going one day and returning another. The usual mode of going about in the settlement, either to the village, to the country church or to the neighbor, near or far, was to walk, mostly in paths through the woods. OF HOWARD COUNTY. TRAVELING ON HORSEBACK. The farmer usually went to mill on horseback with his grist in a sack swung across the horse's back. The preacher went from one preaching appointment to another on horseback ; the attorneys and the judges went to the various places of holding court on horseback and the physicians answered the call of the sick in the same manner, with his saddle bags swung across the horse's back, before or behind him. The wagon was used to carry heavy loads and was frequently drawn by a yoke of oxen. All the methods of getting about were slow and tedious. An ordinary trip in those days required two days — one going and one coming. If done in one day it was far into the night when finished. EDUCATION. The pioneers did not neglect the education of their children. They provided as best they could log school-houses with rude slab seats and scant school supplies. The early schools were subscrip- tion schools and had a three-months' term in the year. The text- books were the elementary spelling books, readers and Talbot's arithmetic. The master taught his system of writing. The only classes were the spelling and reading classes. Each worked alone in arithmetic and writing. When out of copy the master set a new one. When one stalled in arithmetic, he or she went to the master for help. The old-time schoolhouse had no blackboard and the lesson could not be illustrated by blackboard exercises. In fact, there were no arithmetic lessons assigned ; each worked on as fast as he could toward the back of the book. Those pioneer schools produced many excellent spellers. The school terms were short and the range of studies limited to orthog- 6 »2 MORROW S HISTORY raphy, reading, writing and arithmetic, }-et they produced wide- awake, intehigent men and women. A spelhng school was held in the evening about once a week, at which nearly everybody in the district would be present and en- gage in the spelling contests. Sometimes a neighboring school would be present and there would be quite a rivalry as to which could excel in correct spelling. The contests took various forms, but the real test was as to who could spell the most words without misspelling one. In most cases those present were divided by two persons selected to "choose up," who alternated with each other in selecting from those present the ones they wanted on their side, un- til all were chosen; then each captain would take his company to the opposite side of the house, and standing in line, endeavor to spell the other side down first. The teacher or other person would pronounce the first word to one side, starting with the captain, and the second word to the captain of the other side, alternating sides and going down the line to the end, or foot, and beginning again at the captain or head. Whoever missed a word took his seat and did not spell again until the contest was finished. Whiche\-er side kept a speller on the floor longest won. At first the pioneers had not church houses, but religious ser\-- ices were held in the homes of the settlers. Preaching sendee was conducted by a traveling evangelist who happened along that way and stopped a while to hold meetings. There were also minis- ters among these early settlers, who combined the work of founding a home in the new country with that of preaching, working during the week and preaching on Sunday. Several religious denomina- tions sent workers into these new settlements, so that they were soon supplied with religious services. OF HOWARD COUNTY. 83 WILD GAME. The woods all about the liomes of the early settlers abounded in wild game, deer, wild turkeys, raccoons and squirrels, and it is said that it was no unusual thing for the church-going people to carry a rifle along for "emergencies." The life of the pioneer was one of privation and endurance. Bravely and uncomplainingly, even cheerfully, they bore it. They helped each other in the time of need without the thought of pay or reward. Open-handed hospitality was on every side. The hard- ships of their pioneer life seemed to have united them in a common sympathy. They lived a broader, more sympathetic life than their present successors. They visited with each other freely and shared their meals and had all things more in common than now. There was less of envy and jealousy, less disposition to take an undue ad- vantage of their neighbors than in more recent times. For the most part they were strong and hardy and the adverse conditions of their lives only seemed to make them broader and more sympathetic. Ofttimes in their struggles they would have their money all spent and would be compelled to go out into the older settled communities to earn some money with which to buy the few necessities of their lives. Much of the trading with the local merchants was done with produce of various kinds. Money was exceedingly scarce. The trade was of necessity largely barter. The local merchants traded for hides, wild meat, wild honey and anything they could take to other markets and dispose of. Oxen were largely used as the teams for work, because they were cheaper in price, could be fed and kept more cheaply than horses and were supposed to move around in the mud more easily. The pioneers had no fruit except as they hauled it into the new settlements. Howe\'er, they early planted orchards in the new country, and within a very few years £-4 morrow's history there was a plentiful supply of apples and an abundance of smaller fruits. MAIL IN PIONEER DAYS. Those pioneers did not have free rural delivery of the mail at their cabin doors each day. Indeed, we are told that in those days they had no stamps nor envelopes, and that it cost eighteen and three-quarters cents to carry a letter across the state, and it was paid for when received. There were then no daily papers contain- ing all the news of the world up to the hour of going to press, with all the latest market quotations and. delivered to all parts of the settlement on the day of publication. Instead there was a small weekly folio published at New London about 1848 and called "The Pioneer." From it we learn that the pioneers of the early times dis- cussed the public questions of their day quite as vigorously as pub- lic questions are now discussed. The pro-slavery men and the Free- Soilers were more vigorous and forcible in enforcing their beliefs than the average modern citizen. The temperance and the anti- temperance forces did not lie down together in peace. CHILLS AND FEVER. Among the many disagreeable features of the new countrj-, and by no means the least, was the chills and fever. From mid- summer to early winter ague was well-nigh universal, hardly a per- son escaped being a victim. There were also many cases of bilious, malarial, intermittent and other kinds of fever resulting from the swampy country and stagnant water all about. Quinine was more staple than flour. The doctors were more than busy administering quinine, Dover's powders and calomel. In many farriilies there were hardly enough well ones to nurse the sick ones. It is said that it was as much a custom among the people then to get ready for the OF HOWARD COUNTV. 85 ague and fever as it is for us now to prepare for winter. Happily, with the draining of the country this condition has been eradicated. ^^'ith tlie passing of the conditions which produced the hard- sliips and disagreeable features of the pioneer life, the life itself passed away in its entirety. Would that the virtues could have re- mained without its disadvantag'es and unpleasant parts. HOWARD COUNTY SCHOOLS. The early schools of Howard county were very poorly equipped in every way. The houses were the primitive log cabins furnished with slab benches with no backs for seats; for writing desks thei-e was a broad board or boards fastened to the wall sloping sufficiently high for the larger pupils to write upon ; the smaller ones did not need it. The room was lighted by a narrow window or windows extending along the entire side. The house wam warmed by wood fires in the huge fireplace, the teacher and the larger pupils cutting the wood morning and noons. Those were the days of subscription schools, that is. the par- ents or guardians subscribed a given number of pupils at so much each for the school temi, usually three months. The teacher ordi- narily boarded with dififerent families in the district, spending a week in one family, the next week ini another, and so on until he had passed around, the board was a part of his compensation. The teachers as a class were not very learned. Many of them had not secured any training in grammar, and physiology was an unknown science to all except the most learned doctors. Arithmetic and spelling were their specialties. In arithmetic they were especially strong in single and double rules of three, and yet had they been asked to define proportion it would have been a dead language to them. Decimal fractions and square and cube roots were beyond them. As was the custom of the times they were past masters in 86 the use of the rod or rather the long, green switches cut from tlie neighboring trees. A big switcli was an indispensable part of their ec|uipment for the day's work. They were workers and required the pupils to work. The contrast between the school system or want of system of that time, and the present is very great. It must not be supposed that this difference is wholly due to the different conditions of a new and older settlement. These did affect it to a greater or lesser e.x- tent, but the school system in Indiana prior to the taking effect of the revised constitution in 1851 was quite different from that in force since. THE OLD SYSTEM. Under the old system there were three trustees instead of one as now, yet the three had less power and latitude in the management of the schools than the one has now. The civil township was required to conform as nearly as possi- ble to the congressional for the reason that the general government had given to the state the sixteenth section in each congressional township for school purposes and the township trustees were given the control and management of the school lands and the funds arising from the sale of the school lands. The school lands could be oft'ered for sale, when five residents of the congressional township petitioned the trustees or trustee to order an election by the voters of the township on the question of offering them for sale, a township local option proposition. If a majority voted to sell they were ac- cordingly offered for sale. Within ten years these lands had been sold realizing about twenty thousand dollars. This sum constituted the pemianent common school fund of the early years ; the interest on this fund was available for tuition purposes and any tuition fund in excess of this was raised bv a direct tuition tax. Under the old OF HOWARD COUNTY. 8/ system when the trustees thought it necessary to buihl a new scliool- house, it was necessar)' to refer the question to the voters of the township, and if the majority voted to build, the house was built; but if the majority voted no, the house was not built. It did not matter how great was the need there was no appeal. It frequently happened under this itile that communities without a school house and with a large number of children of school age refused to vote for the building of the much needed school house. In illustration of this, this incident is vouched for by a reputable citizen. In a township in another county there was no school house. The better and more progressive citizens asked for the building of a school house, and the matter was referred to the voters of the township. A citizen with several children of school age, but none of whom had ever been in school and whose proportionate part of the cost of the house would probably have not exceeded seventy-five cents, worked all day at the polls against the building of the house and he was joined by a sufficiently large number of like spirits to defeat the school house proposition. FREE PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM. In the matter of erecting school houses, the referendum feature was a failure and in the revised state constitution it was left out. The progressive citizenship favored a free public school system, but were opposed by a large conservative element who contented that the expenses would be burdensome and to make it practical would neces- sitate putting too much power in the hands of the school officers. The general government had given the people an example of generosity in caring for the education of the people and that policy was adopted by the state: and the constitutional convention of 1850-1 which adopted our present ci:)nstituti<;in declared "knowledge OO MORROW S HISTORY and learning generally diffused throughout a community being es- sential to the presei-vation of a free govemmait, it shall be the duty -of the general assembly to encourage, by all suitable means, moral, •intellectual, scientific and agricultural improvement, and to provide, by law, for a general and uniform system of common schools, where- in tuition shall be without charge, and equally open to all." That there should be a common school fund, from which there should be an interest income sufficiently large to almost insure free tuition they followed the foregoing declaration with this provision : "The common school fund shall consist of the congressional township fund and the lands belonging thereto ; the surplus revenue fund ; the salime fund, and the lands belonging thereto ; the bank tax fund, and the fund arising from the one hundred and fourteenth section of the charter of the State Bank of Indiana ; the fund to be derived from the sale of county seminaries and the moneys and property heretofore held for such seminaries ; from the fines assessed for breeches of the penal laws of the state ; and from all forfeitures which may accrae : all lands and other estate which shall escheat to the state for want of heirs or kindred entitled to the inheritance ; all lands that have been, or may hereafter be, granted to the state where no special purpose is expressed in the grant, and the proceeds of the sales thereof, including the proceeds of the sales of the swamp lands granted to the state of Indiana by the act of congress of the twenty-eighth of September, one thousand eight hundred and fifty, after deducting the expense of selecting and draining the same; taxes on the property of corporations that may be assessed by the general assembly for common school purposes." To pei-petuate these provisions for free tuition they provided further that. "The principal of the common school fund shall remain a perpetual fund, which may be increased, but never shall be dimin- ished, and the income thereof shall be inviolably appropriated to ^'■1 1. -^ -- " ■ - -- • 1 .-, . h.-r-. OLD NORTH COLLEGE. OF HOWARD COUNTY. tig the support of common schools, and to no other purpose whatever." In 1865 the legislature divided the common school fund as provided for above, taking out the congressional township school land and the money derived from the sale of such lands, making these the "congressional township school fund" and pro\iding that "it shall never be diministed in amount, the income of which, to- gether with the taxes mentioned and specified in the first section of this act. the money and income derived from licenses for the sale of intoxicating liquors, and unclaimed fees, as provided by law, shall be denominated the "School revenue for tuition, the whole of which is hereby appropriated, and shall be applied exclusively to furnishing tuition to the common schools of the state, without any deduction for the expense of collection or disbursement." The first section of the act referred to is "There shall be an- nually assessed and collected as state and county revenues are as- sessed and collected, sixteen cents on each one hundred dollars of taxable property, real and personal in the state, and fifty cents on each taxable poll, for the purpose of supporting a general system of common schools." In 1875 the fees from licenses to retail intoxicating liquors were changed from this fund to the common school fund of the county where paid. The setting apart of one section of land in each congressional township had its beginning in May, 1785, when congress passed an act for the suiwey of the Northwest Territory in which it was pro- vided that this territory be divided into tracts six miles square called congressional townships, thus making them the units for future or- ganization : the townships were directed to be subdivided into tracts one mile square to be called sections. MOI.ROW S HISTORY A SETTLED GOVERXMEXT. In 1787 congress passed the famous ordinance for tlie organ- izing of a settled government for the Northwest Territory : the most important act of tlie last continental congress. It was in fact "the most notable law ever enacted by representatives of the American people," and to insure its perpetual enforcement, it was not left as a mere act of congress, which could be repealed at a subsequent ses- sion, but its six main provisions were made articles of solemn com- pact between the inhabitants of the territory, present and to come, and the people of the thirteen states. Xo man was to be restricted of his liberty excepting as a pun- ishment for crime : life, property and religious freedom were pro- tected by just and equal laws. A clause, which several western states have copied in their constitutions, declared that "Religion, morality and knowledge being necessary to good go\-ernment schools and the means of education shall forever be encouraged." To this end one section in every township was set apart for the support of common schools, and two entire townships for tb.e establishment of a university in this territoiy. County supervisiijn has come to be what it is today through a long process of development. As early as 1818 the general assem- bly made it the duty of the Governor to appoint for each county a seminary trustee. The duty of this officer was almost entirely con- nected with the financial problem. In 1824 the law provided for the election of three trustees in each township and placed the examining of teachers and granting licenses among their duties. The exami- ners were school men and the meager test covered the subjects of reading, writing and arithmetic. In 1830 the law provided for a school commissioner for each Cdunty who looked after the funds (^f the local school corporation and was elected for three \-ears. OF HOWARD COUNTY. 9 1 In 1833 in addition to the school commissioner for the county and the three tmstees for the township, provision was made for the election of three sub-trustees in each district to hold office for one year. These district trustees examined applicants and employed teachers. The law of 1836 made it legal for any householder to em- ploy a teacher in case of failure to elect district trustees. In 1837 in addition to all these officers and with only a slight modification of their duties, the circuit court was authorized to appoint annually three examiners whose duty it should be "to certify the branches of learning each applicant was qualified to teach." During the next ten years no change was made in the county system. CHANGES IN SCHOOL SYSTEM. In 1847 Caleb Mills, state superintendent of schools, urged as an essential of the schools, efficient supervision, both state and county. The school law of 1849 abolished the office of county school commissioner, retained the three school examiners in each county and the three township trustees, but substituted one sub- trustee in each district for the three formerly. This law als(i pre- scribed the minimum length of the school term and made the length of term of all the schools in the township unifomi. The constitution of 1851 left the county school machinery practically as the law of 1849 left it, and so it remained until the sixties. The law of 1861 substituted one county e.xaminer foi" the three that fomierl}' held office in each county. The examiners under this was appointed by the county commissioners and held office for three years. This law made all examinations public and prohibited the granting of licenses upon private examinations. Prior to this an applicant for license could have an examination whenever he hap- pened to find one of the examiners at home. This law further pro- 92 MOrROW S HISTORY vided that the examiner of each c<.ninty shall be the medium of com- munication between the state superintendent of public instruction and the subordinate school officers and schools; they shall also visit the schools of their respective counties as often as they may .deem it necessary during each term, for the purpose of increasing their usefulness and elevating as far as practicable to the standard of the best; advising and securing as far as practicable uniformity in their organization and management and their conformity to the law and the regulations and instructions of the state board of edu- cation and of the state superintendent of public instruction, and shall encourage teachers" institutes and associations. The law of 1861 was a great advance in the educational system of bur state. In 1873 the office of county superintendent was created and that of examiner was abolished. This law provided that the "town- ship trustees of the se\-eral townships shall meet at the ofifice of the county auditor of their respective counties on the first Monday of June, 1873, and biennially thereafter and appoint a county superin- tendent." This act did not create a new office, it merely changed the name of an old one and enlarged its powers. The term was for two years and carried with it no educational or professional requirement for eligibility. In 1899 the term was extended to four years and required the holding of a thirty months' teacher's license, or a life or professional license to be eligible. Since 1873 supen-ision of the countn,- schools has meant some- thing in Indiana. The teachers are required to pass rigid examina- tions for which the questions are provided by the state board of ed- ucation and the examining and grading of the manuscripts may be done by the county superintendent or the state superintendent. The county superintendent makes systematic supennsion a large part of his work. The rural schools have been graded; the standard of efii- OF HOWARD COUNTY. 93 ciency has been constantly raised ; and through the good work of the county superintendent the children are receiving advantages equal to those of the towns and cities. The common school teacher is a teacher in the district schools of the county or in grades in the towns and cities. LICENSE TO TE.\Cn. The standard of granting licenses to teach in the common schools has been advanced from orthography, reading, writing and arithmetic with a private examination to a rigid public examination in orthography, reading, writing, arithmetic, geography, English grammar, physiology, United States history, scientific temperance and the literature and science of education. A general average of eighty-five per cent, and not falling below seventy-five per cent, in any one of the ten items nor in success en- titles the applicant to a twelve months' license. A general average of ninety per cent, and not falling below eighty-five per cent, in any one of the ten items nor in success entitles the applicant to twenty- four months' license. A general average of ninety-five per cent, and not falling below ninety per cent, in any one of the ten items nor in success entitles the applicant to thirty-six months' license. Until 1852 there was much local confusion in school matters due to the fact that the law contemplated that the civil township should confomi to the congressional township which in fact it did not. The civil township really confonned to local conditions and the convenience of the people so that for the most part a congres- sional township was divided among two or more civil townships and thus the school lands or the money derived from the sale of such lands would rightfully belong to more than one township. With the reorganization under the new constitution this difficulty was 94 MORROW S HISTORY done away with. The three township tiaistees were continued until 1859 \vhen one trustee was substituted for the three. By law he has charge of the school aflfairs of the township. His duty is to locate con\-eniently a sufficient number of schools for the education of the children therein; and builds or otherwise provides suitable houses, furniture, apparatus or other articles and educational appliances nec- essary for the thorough organization and efficient management of the schools. When a township has twenty-fi\'e common school graduates, he may establish and maintain in the center of the town- ship a township graded high school to which all pupils sufficiently advanced must be admitted. If the township does not maintain a graded high school, . the common school graduates are entitled to transfers at public expense to a high school in another corporation. It is the duty of each township trustee and each city school trus- tee to furnish the necessary school books, so far as they have been adopted or may be adopted by the state, to all such poor and indigent children as may desire to attend the common schools. As a protection to the township against excessive or ill advised expenditures of public money the legislature passed a law in that in each township there should be an advisory board of three mem- bers elected by the voters of the township to hold the office for two years. They are to meet annually on the first Tuesday in September to consider the various estimates of township expenditure as fur- nished by the trustee for the ensuing year which they may accept or reject in part or in whole. These meetings are public and are open to anv tax payer who desires to be heard on any estimate or pro- posed tax \e\\. STATE SUPERIXTEXDEXT OF PUBLIC IXSTRL"CTIOX\ In 1843 t'lc st'it^ treasurer was made superintendent of com- mon schools ex-officio. The treasurer was chosen liecause his duties OF HOWARD COUNTY. 95 were financial rather than educational ; the preservation and manage- ment of the school fund being the chief requirement of the ofifice. He was required to make annual reports to the general assembly, showing the condition and amount of funds and property devoted to education ; the condition of colleges, academies, county semi- naries ; common schools, public and private : estimates and accounts of school expenditures and plans for the management and improve- ment of the common school fund and for the better organization of the common schools, but his chief duty was to look after the finances. The new state constitution created the office of superintendent of public instruction by popular election. In 1852 the general assembly directed his election and fixed his salary at one thousand three hundred dollars. There were no educational or professional requirements for his eligibility. The people, however, have been careful and fortunate in electing men who were able and active in ed- ucational work. The superintendent has charge of the system of public instruc- tion, and a general superintendence of the business relating to the common schools of the state, and of the school funds and school rev- enues set apart and apportioned for their support. At the request of the school officials it is his duty to render, in writing-, opinions touch- ing all phases of administration or construction of the school law. THE FIRST STATE ROAD. The state board of education was finst organized in 1852 and consisted of superintendent of public instruction, the governor, the secretary', treasurer and auditor of state. In 1855 the attorney general was added. In 1861 the board was changed to cosist of the state superintendent of public instruction, the Go\-ern(:)r. the jjresi- dent of the state university, the president of the state normal, and 96 MOF.ROW's HISTORY the school superintendents of the tliree largest cities in the state. In 1875 the president of Purdue University was added. In 1899 three men to be appointed by the governor were added. These men must be prominent citizens, actively engaged in educational work, and one at least must be a county superintendent, and no one to be appointed from a county already represented on the board. E. E. Robey is at present ( 1908 ) a member of the board as a county superintendent. The board is responsible for all examinations of teachers and makes all questions used in their examinations which are for the fol- lowing grades of license : One, primary license, one year, two years and three years ; two, common school license, one year, two years and three years ; three, high school license, one year, two years, three years and five years ; four, professional, eight years ; five, life state license. In addition to making the questions, the board conducts the ex- amination and grades the manuscripts of applicants for professional and life state licenses. The board is also the state board of school book cornmissioners. As such it adopts text books for the common schools for periods of five years. \\'hen a contract has been made with a publisher the books are secured for the public by a requisition of the county super- intendent for the number of books needed in his county, upon the state superintendent, who in turn, makes requisition upon the con- tractor for the number of books needed in the state. The county superintendent thus becomes the agent for the sale of the books and makes his reports to the various contractors. The state board of education, in order to keep some uniform standard of efificiency in high schools has established certain require- ments in the work which entitles high schools to commissions. These commissions carry with them exemption from examination for en- trance to the freshman class in the higher institutions of learning. OF HOWARD COUNTY. 97 L'pon the recommendation of the state superintendent, members of the board inspect the work of the high schools and determine whether the requirements for commissions have been met. The work of the board has resulted in a perceptible increase in the efficiency of the high schools ; since all schools want the commis- sion and when once obtained eveiy effort is made by the school offi- cers, teachers and patrons to retain it. COUNTY BOARDS. The county boards of education are composed of the county superintendent, the several township tiiistees and the heads of the boards of trustees of town and city schools. They are not officially charged with duties ; the purpose appears to be that by meeting and discussing the various school interests they may be able to intro- duce better and more uniform methods in their several schools. The teachers are required, by law, to attend a township institute in their township once each school month. The purpose being, by the addresses and discussions, to awaken greater interest among the teachers in their work, to impart new and improved methods in teaching. The minimum length of the school tenn in any school corpora- tion in a year shall be six months and the trustee is directed to levy sufficient tax to raise the money necessary to do so, provided he does not exceed the legal tax limit. The law fixes the legal minimum wages that shall be paid teachers and any violation of this law subjects the violator to a heavy penalty. The amount of money collected and distributed for tuition in Howard comity for the year 1908 was : Common school revenue, thirty thousand eight hundred and 7 98 morrow's history tliirteen dollars and fifty-three cents; congressional township rev- enue, one thousand three hundred and twenty-three dollars and forty cents ; tuition from local taxation, fort}'-one thousand four hundred and eighty dollars and fifteen cents ; received from liquor license, two thousand nine hundred dollars ; receix-ed from dog fund, one thousand eight hundred and se\-enty-nine dollars and sixty-five cents ; total, seventy-eight thousand three hundred and ninety-six dollars and seventy-three cents. The amount collected for the city of Kokomo, thirty-seven thousand five hundred and forty-three dol- lars and sixty-t\\o cents ; the amount for the county outside of the city of Kokomo. forty thousand eight hundred and fifty-three dol- lars and eleven cents. The amount of special school tax levied and collected in 1908 was forty-nine thousand three hundred and ten dollars and twenty-one cents; the amount collected for the city of Kokomo was twenty-two thousand six hundred and thirty-six dol- lars and thirty cents ; the amount collected for the county outside of Kokomo was twenty-six thousand six hundred and seventy-three dollars and ninety-one cents. The whole amount of school money, tuition and special for Howard county for the year 1908 was one hundred and twenty-seven thousand, seven hundred and six dollars and ninety-four cents. PRESENT D.A.Y CONDITIONS. In this county there are se\-enty-two brick school buildings and si.x frame buildings. There are one hundred and seventy-two teachers of the various grades employed in Howard county, and the total number of chil- dren of school age in the county is eight thousand five hundred and twenty-five. The past sixty years has witnessed such a wonderful material de\-elopment and ach-ance in Howard county that its magnitude is OF HOWARD COUNTY. 99 almost beyond belief; and the educational advance is equally great if not greater. From the rude and scanty furnishings and almost chaotic want of system" of the early schools, the change has been to large and commodious houses almost all built of brick, well heated and well lighted and equipped with the best of school furnishings. The organization from the state superintendent and state board of education down to the township and even the school district is so perfect that it constitutes a machine, the parts of which fit so well and work so harmoniously that they would delig^ht a mechanical en- gineer. An educator of today whenever he refers to our school system at once becomes enthusiastic. He declares that we have the finest school system in the world, that we have a school fund so large and so well managed that tuition in the common schools is practically free; that our schools are so well graded that by easy stages one passes on up through the high schools to the higher institutions of learning. The people, too, are proud of their schools. The people our our neighboring state, Michigan, point with justifiable pride to their great state university at Ann Arbor with its learned professors and its thousands of students attracted from all lands and they give it generous support. The people of Indiana are no less justified in their pride for their excellent school system. They get closer to the masses of the people. The people of Michigan have good common schools, but their specialty is their great university, which only the few can reach, while ours comes to the masses and prepares the many for the ordinary affairs of life. In this symphony of praise there comes a discordant note. TOO WELL ORGANIZED. It is suggested that the system is too well organized ; that it has become a machine, where all are treated to the same process ; that TOO MORROW S HISTORY material for this educational process is intelligent beings with very different mental equipments and that the purpose of an education is to lead out, develop and train the natural gifts and powers of the student ; to stimulate him to independent thinking" and research, and to avoid the mechanical mental processes. Whether these suggestions are opportune it is not the province of the historian to say. In reviewing the school history of the past sixty years of our county, certain facts stand out prominently. Many students in the early schools with their two months' training became excellent spellers, good readers and penmen and acquired a practical knowledge of arithmetic that was surprising, and later the "old nonnal" in the late sixties and early seventies sent out from its school rooms men and women who stand out now living or in mem- ory for their learning, and sound original thinking, men like John W. Kern, J. Fred Vaile, J. O. Henderson, Bronson Keeler, O. A. Somers, L. J. Kirkpatrick, A. B. Kirkpatrick, Professor W. A. Greeson, Professor John B. Johnson and scores of others of that date. To one looking over the personnel of those who have had their education in the schools of Howard county the period referred to seems to have been the golden age of school work in this county. The fact also is prominent that at that time there was less of the close organization than at the present time. The teacher of that time had much freedom and many of them had strong personalities which was impressed upon the pupils. Whatever differences of opinion men may entertain of the merits or demerits of this close organization and the tendency to ma- chine work in our schools all are heartily glad that so abundant means are provided for the education of the youth of our county. The men of middle age watch the passing along of the school wagon with its load of happy noisy children going to or from school protected from the storm and mud or deep snow, and remember OF HOWARD COUNTY, again that he walked long distances to school often through rain stomis and deep mud or else through the blizzard and biting cold and is glad that the children of today are not subjected to the like hardships. ROADS IX HO^^'ARD COUNTY. The Indians had no roads. Their highways were paths or "traces" through the forests, over which they traveled on foot or on their ponies. The white man, of necessity, must have roadways over which to travel with his wagon and team. His first roads were but temporary affairs. They built them the nearest ways and where they were the least difficult to construct. Farmers' lanes formed important links in them, but after the lands were suiweyed and township, range and section lines were run out and established they began to locate the roads on these lines, and many of the former meandering roadways were abandoned. These for several years were dirt roads, or, more correctly speaking, mud roads, during most of the year. They were built by the supervisor, who "warned out" all the able-bodied men of his road district between the ages of twenty-one and fifty to work the roads each spring from two to four days for no remuneration save the public good. This service was never enthusiastic. These roads were often impassable in places detours were made around such places by going out and over the adjacent farms. As the fanns were ditched and public drains constructed the roadbeds became drier and the roads became good much sooner. There were no gravel or macadam roads constracted in How- ard county before 1867, so that for more than twenty years the people had to be content with dirt roads. ilORROW S HISTORY HOWARD S FIRST STATE ROAD. Tlie first state road located in the county was the Burlington and ]\Iarion state road from Burlington, in Carroll county, to Ma- rion, in Grant county. The repurt on this road was made to the commissioners at their June tenn, 1845, by Thomas A. Long, one of the commissioners appointed by the legislature to do this work The road as reported by them was one and one-half miles in Carroll county, twenty-nine and one-fourth miles in Richardville county and eleven miles in Grant county. This was a winding road, changing its course fourteen times in Carroll county and sixty-four times in crossing Richardville county. In passing through Kokomo it altered at the west end of Sycamore street and passed out at the east end of this street. There were two state roads reported at the September term of the commissioners' court : The Kokomo and Michigantown state road, by David Foster and George W. Snod- grass, commissioners. This road began at the southwest cnrner of the public square in Kokomo and ran south in Bucke)-e street to the bluffs of Wild Cat creek, thence southwesterly to the north bank of ^^'ild Cat creek, crossing at the rapids, thence in a general southwesterly direction, zigzagging back and forth, finally reach- ing Michigantown. The other road was the Peru and Canton state road from Peru, in Miami county, to Canton (Tipton), in Tipton county. This road came into Kokomo from t!ie northeast in the general direction of the Lanby gravel road until it intersected Union street : thence in Union street to the southeast comer of the Dona- tion, thence south on the line of Union street to Home avenue, thence southeast on the line of Home avenue almost to Kokomo creek, thence easterly and southeasterly , through the Purdum. the Dyas and other farms, to the intersection of the line of the Albright gravel mad. The Loganspi^rt state road was laid out OF HOWARD COUNTY. IO3 a little later. The outline map of this road from the Cass county line to Kokomo shows wet prairies, ponds and sloughs almost the entire way. The general direction of this road was from the north- west to Washington street in Kokomo, and Washington and Walnut streets afforded entrance to the town proper. FIRST GRAVEL ROADS. The first gravel roads in Howard county were toll roads. The tra\eler upon these roads must always go prepared to pay fare or toll, and at frequent intervals were toll-gates, or toll-houses, and the inevitable pole swung across the passage in front of the toll- house, ready to be pulled down in front of the luckless rider or driver who attempted to pass without first settling with the keeper. It did not matter how great the hurry, the urgency of the call or how fierce the storm, toll must be paid. It did not matter that it was a public highwa}-, that had been cut out oi the forests twenty years before by the supervisor and the men of the road district, and had been worked by them e\'ery year since, a gravel road company could occupy it to the exclusion of these very men who had made the road, and by doing additional work, compel every one traveling with horse and vehicle to pay a toll for the privilege of passing over it. The land owner whose lands had been appropriated was not re- spected in this operation. The law permitting this seizure said, "The Board of County Commissioners of the several counties of the state are hereby au- thorized to give their consent to the appropriation and occupation of any such state or county road or other public highway ovev and upon which any company may locate any such road." The law pemiitting the formation of gravel road companies was, ".-\.ny number of persons may fonn themselves into a corp(ira- I04 MORROW S HISTORY tioii for the purpose of constructing or owning plank, macadamized, gravel, clay and dirt roads, by complying with the following re- quirements" : Then followed the usual requirements of stock com- panies. Whenever they had subscriptions for stock to the amount of five hundred dollars per mile they were pemiitted to file their articles of incorporation in the recorder's office and to become known publicly as a corporation. It is true that the toll gravel I'oads were not vei-y paying- investments from a pecuniary standpoint, and were built largely by public spirited men whose main purpose was to have good roads for travel the entire year. The grievance of tlie other party was that the road, whose right of way he had given, and upon which he had spent much labor and which was his only or main outlet from his home, was wholly occupied by the company and he was compelled to pay, willing or unwilling, for the privilege of pasisng over it. The Kokomo & New London gravel, road was the first gravel road built in the county and was built under this law. It was commenced in 1867 and was completed in 1870, being three years in the building; is ten miles long and cost twenty-seven thousand dollars. It connected the county seat, Kokomo, with the then metropolis of western Howard county, New London, and passed through Alto and the future West Middleton, and was the main thoroughfare to the southwest. The city of Kokomo paid two thousand dollars toward the building of this road and indi- viduals gave thirteen thousand dollars to assist in its building-. The leading citizens in forming the company to build and manage this road were Captain Barny Busby, Dr. E. W. Hinton, Isaac Ram- sey, Jonathan Hansell, Josiah Beeson, Shadrach Stringer. Samuel Stratton, C. S. Wilson, Joseph Stratton, Hiram Newlin and Rich- mond Terrell, a splendid company of men. This was continued as a toll road until the growing- sentiment for free roads caused the OF HOWARD COUNTY. IO5 legislature to enact a law permitting- companies to sell their roads to the county. OTHER GRAVEL ROADS. The other gravel roads built by companies organized a little later under the same or similar laws were: The Kokomo and Greentown gravel road, reaching from Kokomo to Greentown, eight and two-thirds miles long and mostly on the south side of Wild Cat creek. This road was commenced in 1869 and finished in 1874, and cost twenty-three thousand, two hundred and eighteen dollars. Vaile avenue was the western end and a toll-gate . stood where a brick business building now stands at the intersection of Union street. The leaders in the building of this road were Raw- son Vaile, Xoah Carter, J. W. Smith, William T. ^Nlannering. Ves- pasian Goyer, Paul Miller, Clarke Boggs and N. J. Owings. This continued a toll road like the others until the growing free gravel road sentiment made it possible to sell out to the county, and it is now a free gravel road. The Kokomo, Greentown and Jerome gravel road was organ- ized in 1869 and was completed in 1871 at a cost of thirty-eight thousand dollars. It extends from Kokomo, running east on the north side of Wild Cat creek, through old Vermont, to Greentown, and thence to Jerome, a distance of twelve miles, and is a promi- nent eastern thoroughfare. The active friends of this road were David Smith, Andrew Patterson, C. C. Willetts, Rossiter Gray, Jacob Brunk, Bamhart Learner, D. S. Farley, John S. Trees, Jona- than Covalt, E. P. Gallion, W. M. Sims, J. R. Curlee and Milton Garrigus. This road is now a free gravel road, the toll system go- ing with the others. The Kokomo and Pete's Run gravel road was organized in 1869 and completed in 1871 at a cost of thirty-three thousand, fifty- io6 morrow's history eight dollars. It is eleven miles in length and is popularly known as the Jefferson street pike, beginning at the west end of Jefferson street and running directly west. It is the principal thoroughfare for the west end of the county toward Burlingion and Delphi. The active citizens in the building of this road were H. \\'. Smith, James McCool, Israel Brubaker, Michael Price, S. D. Hawkins, D. B. Hendrickson, Thomas M. Kirkpatrick and others. This, too. is now a free gravel njad, after a prosperous series of years as a toll road. The \\'ild Cat gravel road was commenced in 1869 and com- pleted in 1 87 1. This is popularly known as the \\'est Sycan^jre street pike, and begins at the west end of Sycamore street and runs west along Wild Cat ten miles, costing twenty-two thousand dol- lars. The principal friends and managers of this gravel road were Judge X. R. Linsday. William B. Smith, X. P. Richmond. Isaac Hawk, Silas Grantham, S. E. Overholser and Thomas Dimmitt. This road parallels the Petes Run gra\-el road and at no point is it far from it. It is built over hills and through bottoms, making it both more expensive to build and to keep in repair, and has Ijesides been unfortunate in having- the collection of the assessments en- joined and then being reassessed. The legislature then repealed the law authorizing the collection of gravel road taxes, making a combination of adverse conditions its friends were not able to overcome, hence they abandoned it. The Deer Creek gravel road was commenced in 1873 and com- pleted in 1875, at a cost of fifteen thousand dollars. The road be- gan at the north end of Smith street and extended north five miles to the Miami county line. The active workers in securing this gravel road were William Kirkpatrick, John Davis, J. ^I. Leeds, Jesse Swisher, William Mills, Jacob Early and John ^^^ Lovin. or HOWARD COUNTY. IO7 These were the only roads constructed under the company s}^s- tem. One of them reached the southwestern part of the county and did a good business ; one reached the north hne of the county and did a fair business ; two paralleled each other closeh' both to the east and west and one of each pair did not pay. PUBLIC R0.\D SENTIMENT. The sentiment that all roads should be public and free had grown rapidly and in 1877 the legislature passed a law for the con- struction of free gravel roads and providing for the payment for the same by assessing all lands lying within two miles of the road to be improved, according to the benefits to the several tracts to be assessed. The first roads to be built under this law were the Al- bright, commenced in 1878 and finished in 1879. This road begins at the south end of Home avenue and runs somewhat east of south, and terminates one mile east of Fairfield and cost fourteen thou- sand, seven hundred fifty-one dollars. Also the Rickett's road, which also begins at the south end of Home avenue and runs south on the range line to the south line of the county. This road was commenced in 1878 and finished in 1879 and cost thirteen thou- sand, nine hundred forty-six dollars and twenty-two cents. These two roads furnished excellent outlets for the south side of this coun- ty and the north side of Tipton county. In 1882 the Peter Trouby gravel road was built at a cost of twenty-eight thousand, eight hundred sixty dollars and twenty cents. This road begins at the east end of Jefiferson street and runs in a northeasterly direction four miles, thence east four miles, end- ing at the west line of Liberty township. This road has since been extended east by the construction of the Gorsett gravel road, end- ing at the Darby road, one-half mile west of the Grant county line, and thus provides a splendid outlet for the entire northeastern part of the county. io8 morrow's history In the same year, 1882, the J. L. Smith and; Harrison Harian gravel roads were built to the northwest, both starting together at the intersection of North and Smith streets and running together west and north three-fourths of a mile, and then separating, the Harlan following a general northwesterly direction along the line of the Logansport state road nearly four miles, ending at its inter- section with the Smith road and was built at a cost of nineteen thousand, nine hundred ninety dollars and twenty-seven cents. The Smith road ran west after its separation two and one-half miles, thence north one and one-half miles, thence westerly to the vicinity of Poplar Grove, and is fourteen miles in length. This road pro- vides the entire northwest part of the county with a good outlet to Kokomo. In 1887 the P. N. Schrader gravel road, commonly known as "the pumpkin vine" because of its many directions, was built. This road provided the entire southeast part of the county a good outlet over a free gravel road to Kokomo. These various gravel roads having a common center at Koko- mo and radiating to all parts of the county, formed an admirable gravel road system for the entire county, affording citizens of all parts of the county an excellent highway at all seasons of the year direct to the county seat, his system of roads cost more than three hundred thousand dollars to construct and the annual repair cost is a very large sum. Since 1887 many g-ravel roads have been constructed, most ()f them shorter roads, using the roads heretofore described a-^ a trunk system and building" branches and cross roads from one line to an- other. THE TOT.VL MILEAGE. In- round numbers the mileage of all kinds of roads in Howard county is six hundred. Prior to the year 1908 there had been fifty- OF HOWARD COUNTY. IO9 nine gravel roads built with a total length of two hundred and sev- enty miles and at an aggregate cost of six hundred and fifty thou- sand dollars. Under the 1905 gra\'el road law as amended in 1907 and known as the three mile limit law there have been fifty-four roads sold for construction with a mileage of one hundred and fifteen. Thirty other roads are petitioned for and awaiting sale, ^^■hen the roads now sold for construction are completed and paid for the citizens will have invested about nine hundred thousand dollars in gravel road construction, and should the others now petitioned for be built, three-fourths or more of the road mileage of Howard county will be macadam or gravel and more than one million dol- lars will have been invested in their construction. The annual cost of repair is now fifteen thousand dollars. \^dien the increased mileage now started is completed, the repair cost, if increased in like ratio, will amount to nearly twenty-five thousand dollars annually. Were all the gravel roads in Howard county, constructed or ordered to be constructed, placed in a continuous line, end to end, and a railroad track laid on the line it would require a train running thirty miles an hour, fifteen hours to traverse it. HOW THE RO.ADS WERE BUILT. These roads have been constructed by varying methods. The first as we have seen was by companies and the stock system and the accompanying toll-gate. These became free roads only after they were purchased and paid for by an assessment on all lands ly- ing within two miles of the road. The second step was under the law of 1877, which provided that the commissioners shall begin pro- ceedings for the improvement upon the filing of a petition sigmed MORROW S HISTORY bv five or more persons whose lands would be assessed for the im- provement asked for. and the filing of a bond to secure the costs sh(.utkl the proposed improvement fail. Under this law the costs of the improvement were paid out of an assessment made upon the lands lying- within two miles of the improved highway: each tract of land was to be assessed according to its relative benefit. The next change provided that townships by a popular vote could order certain roads improved and the costs of the improve- ment were to be paid from the sale of a twenty year series of bonds against the assessed v-aluation of the township. Then the system was changed to the assessment of the lands lying within two miles of the road proposed to be improved. This law provided that a majority of the resident land owners along the line and abutting the highway and also owners of a maojrity of the acres of land abutting should be represented on the petition before starting proceedings. The next change was to the present law with its amendmen* that on the presentation of a petition signed by fifty resident land owners and voters of a township for the improvement of a highway less than three miles in length and which has a United States mail route upon it, either in whole or in part, or connects two gravel roads already constructed, it shall be the duty of the county com- missioners! to take the necessary steps for the improvement and the cost of the improvement shall be paid from the sale of bonds at not less than par. the l)onds to be issued in a ten year series, bearing four and one-half per cent, interest: to be a lien upon the property of the township and not to exceed four per cent, of the assessed valuation of the township. Under this law there has been a flood tide of petitions for roads: the residents along any unimproved road insisting that inasmuch as they were compelled to help pay for the roads of others that they were justly entitled to have the others help them to pay for their inprovement. OF HOWARD COUNTY. WANT LAW REPEALED. There is already a clamor for the repeal of this law because it is alleged that in the eager haste of each section to build its roads, a great debt is created and ci_)nsequent high taxes for a great number of years. On the other hand, it is justly urged that those communi- ties which are now taxed to pay for road for other communities should have the benefit of a similar taxation to pay for the improve- ment of dieir roads. The constant chang-e in the methods of paying for public im- provements is the bane of our times. A fixed and equitable system of paying for public improvements should be adopted and rigidly adhered to. Those who have paid for their gravel roads by special assessments and then by a township tax are compelled to help pay for a distant improvement are wronged. Since so large a per cent, of the highway is now being improved under this law taxing all the people of the township, it seems the more equitable to continue it in force. PUBLIC BUILDIXGS. The first court house was built in 1845 of hewn logs with a clapboard roof. It was twenty-four feet square and two stories high. It was so larg-e and commodious that the lower storv was divided by board partitions into offices and business rooms. One of the first-floor rooms was occupied by the clerk, another was used by H. B. Havens as a saddlery and harness shop and another by (;. W. Poisal as a tailor shop. Dr. Richmond alsn used this as a doctor's office. 112 MORROW S HISTORY The upper room was fitted up for a court room, ha\-ing- a rough board rostrum for the judge and a large table for the use of the clerk and the attorneys, and was fitted up with slab seats for the audience. This was the main auditorium of the town, and here were held all public meetings for several years. By the tenns of the donation which Foster made for locating the county seat at Kokomo, Foster was to build this court house, By some change not satisfactorily explained Foster was released from this part of the contract. The commissioners, however, ap- pointed Foster and Dennis McCormack to let the job and by in- ference to superintend the constiaiction. The contract was let to Rufus L. Blowers for twenty-eight dollars, and because of his fail- ure to complete it within the time specified he was penalized two dol- lars, receiving twenty-six dollars for the job. wouldn't p.\y office rent. That the men who had offices in the court house were not very prompt in paying rent appears in this: At the June term, 1851, the following order was issued by the board of commissioners : "Or- dered, that the sheriff be required to notify G. W. Poisal, C. and O. Richmond, X. R. Linsday and C. D. Murray to meet the board at its next meeting to settle with said board for office rent of the court house." The county was growing and the spirit of enterprise and prog- ress which has ever characterized the people of Kokomo and How- ard count}- determined the commissioners that the first court house was now out of date, and they accordingly appointed C. D. Mur- ray, Corydon Richmond and Austin C. Sheets a committee on plans and specifications, letting contract and superintending the construc- tion of buildings for county offices. OF HOWARD COUNTY. II3 Tliey adopted plans for two brick buildings eighteen feet wide, thirty-six feet long and one story high, one building to be located near the east entrance and on the north side of the path crossing the public square from the east to the west, and the other building near the west entrance and on the north side of the same path. The contract for the construction of these buildings was let to D. C. Hurley, Jesse Arnold and Henry C. Stewart for nine hundred and seventy-five dollars. The east building was occupied by the auditor and treasurer and the clerk and recorder occupied the west building. THE PREACHER AND THE CORNERSTONE. In the erection of these buildings it was detennined that there should be a cornerstone laying with all proper ceremony. Uncle Billy Albright, as he was jjopularly known, was a stonemason and a popular local Methodist preacher of that day — a tall man, of strong build and powerful \-oice. Albright had spent two days dressing a cornerstone which had been taken from the Morrow (now Deffenbaugh) stone quarry. His work was almost done to his sat- isfaction ; there was a small place he thought he could improve. In chipping" it with his hammer the entire stone fell to pieces. In utter disgust he threw down his hammer, straightened himself up and after a moment's contemplation he realized that he could not do jus- tice to his feelings, and cried out at the top of his voice, "Where is Mike Craver ? Run here, everybody. Here is something to be done. \\'here is Mike Craver?" Mike Craver was a pioneer plasterer and was not hampered by religious scruples. The work went forward satisfactorily after this mishap so far as the records disclose, and the buildings were completed and for sixteen years they served the county. At the March term, 1868, the ciiunt}- commissioners — |erome Brown. Henrv L. ]\Ioreland and 14 Samuel Stratton, ordered tliat bids for building a court hnuse be ad\-ertised for. U> be considered at a special session on the 15th of April fiillinving. They reserved the right to reject any or all bids, if they were not satisfactory. .-Vll the bids were rejected and the board determined to hire the work done themselves. They accord- ingly appointed one of their number. Samuel E. Stratton, superin- tendent, with full power to ccintract for work and materials as seemed best for the interests of the county. J- ^^'■ Coffman had charge of the work as a mechanic and builder. The whole work was under the general supervision of the architect. Mr. Rimibaugh, and the final approval was to be by the board. EXTENSIN'E IMPROVEMENTS. It was commenced in 1868 and finished in 1870, and cost nine- ty-seven thousand, five hundred and forty-eight dollars and forty cents. The natural surface of the public scjuare was low and level. This was filled and sloped as we now see it, walks were built of large cut stones, a heavy iron fence with stone foundation was built around the entire square, outside of the fence was a paved way, and outside of the paved way was stretched a heavy iron chain supported by iron posts. This served as a public hitchrack for a numlier of years. The cost of these improvements with the cost of the town clock added increased the total cost of the court house to approxi- mately one hundred and ten thousand dollars. As originally constructed, the heating plant was in the base- ment, the several county offices — clerk, auditor, treasurer, recorder and sheriff, were on the first floor, and the entire second floor was given over to the court room, the judge's room and the jury room. The court room served also as the public auditorium for many years. OF HOWARD COUNTY. II5 Tlie acoustic properties of the room were bad, the reverberation was sucli tliat accurate hearing was difficult. After trying- the ex periment of stretclu'ng a network of o\-erhead wires without satis- factory results it was determined to remodel the second floor by re- ducing the size of the court room and partitioning the other part into a larger jury room and ofifices for the county assessor, county superintendent of schools and the county surveyor. From a description of this court house, written shortly after its completion we learn: "It is a tine and substantial brick, two stories in height, besides the basement. It is eighty-two by eighty- six feet in size and one hundred and twenty-six feet high to the top of the tower. The court room in the second story is iifty-one by eighty-two feet in size and thirty-eight and one-half feet in height from floor to ceiling. There are four rooms or offices on the first floor, each twenty-two by twenty-four feet and sixteen feet high, used respectively by the clerk, recorder, auditor and treasurer. The sherift"s office, also on the first floor, is twelve by fourteen feet and sixteen feet story, and on the upper floor there are four jur}' rooms, all the same size as the sherifif's. Outside, the first story is sixteen feet, the second twenty-three feet and the mansard fourteen feet, and under the whole building is a basement in which is a furnace, with which at a cust of five thousand dollars for construction, the whole building is heated with steam. It presents an imposing ap- pearance, is covered with slate, has good \-aults and compares very favorably with an}- other building in the state of the kind and cost." COURT HOUSE AND SURROUNDINGS. Twenty-fi\-e years ago it was written : "The building is sub- stantialh- built of good, durable material, and has within it fireproi-)f vaults for the different offices in which to store the records and val- Il6 morrow's HISTORY uables belonging to the: county. Tlie square upon which it is built was filled up several feet so that it appears to stand on high ground ; there is surrounding the grounds an iron fence with stone founda- tions and a heav_v guard chain entirely around outside the sidewalk, which is well paved. All the walks leading to the building are paved with large cut stones. It is a fine appearing house, and when the forest trees that ha\'e been planted around it are sufficiently grown it will be a beautiful place. 'I"he dream of a (piarter of a century ago has more than been realized. The thrifty well grown trees and the sloping greensward make a beautiful place indeed. The unsightly, unsanitary hitching rack of that elder day, which seemed a permanent fixture, has given place to brick pa\-ements, wide cement walks and flowing; fountains. That high iron fence, which seemed as durable as time, is gone, and the weary sit upon the stone foundations and sigh for wooden seats. The hitch rack had many friends who were reluctant to see it go. It was a \'ery convenient hitching place and free of cost. One dark nig-ht the chain mys- teriously disappeared and did not come back. At the time it was thought that the advocates of the city beautiful and clean knew where it was. JAILS. The first jail, as has alread}- been stated, was built of hewn timbers one foot square throughout walls, floor and ceiling ; the logs notched down close and boarded on the outside, with double doors of two-inch oak plank, with a home-made lock and key, the key alone weighing four pounds. It is said that no prisoner broke out of this jail. It was located at the southwest corner of VA^'Sshington and High streets. For twenty years the log jail did its work faithfulh'. In 1865 the board let a contract to J. \\'. Coft'man to build a brick and stone jail for $g,6oo. The front ]iart OF HOWARD COUNTY. II7 was the residence part fur the jailer's family and was of brick. The prison part was back of that and attached to it in such a way that the entrance to the jail was through the hallway of the dwelling. The prison part was built of stone and the cells of iron. There was a dug- well on the inside where the prisoners could get water. This well, on one occasion, furnished the means of escape for several prisoners by digging- from the well out under the wall of the prison. This jail and its location soon became unsatisfactory. It was urged that the sewerage was not good, though it was not far to a good outlet and that could ha\'e been overcome with no great expense. The prison itself seems to have been defective and was not a secure place to detain, prisoners. In 1880, fifteen years after the building- of this new jail, the con-unissioners planned to secure a new location for the building of a larger and safer jail where the sanitary conditions would be better for the ini-nates. A site was secured on the east side of South Main street, on the bluff of Wild Cat creek, large enough to furnish ample room for all necessai-y buildings and sightly surroundings, with the grounds well kept. The elevation of the grounds made it an easy matter to dump the sewage into ^^'ildcat. In 1882 a contract was let to McCorn-iack & Sweeney for the building nf a new jail at a cost of thirty-four thousand, three hundred and fourteen dollars. The building is one hundred and three feet fi\-e inches long : the front or residence part is thirty-seven feet nine inches wide and the jail part is forty- three feet seven inches wide; it is two stories and a basement in height. In the basement is placed the steam heating plant and two or three dungeons, the walls of which are made with a single stone. The cells are built out from the walls of the jail, so that communi- cation from without is cut off. Accommodations are providetl for different classes of prisoners and a hospital room for the sick. The grounds and the surroundings are well kept and our jail has an inviting appearai-ice. COUXTY INFIRMARY. It was not so \-en- many }-ears after the permanent settling and organization of the count}-, the county commissioners, impress- ed with the growing need of a permanent home for the helpless and unfortunate poor who must be cared for at public expense, purchased the Thomas Galewood farm, lying then two and one-half miles south of town. Willis Blanche, Harvey Brown and B. W. Gififord purchas- ed this farm in 1857. containing one hundred and sixty-five acres for forty-five hundred dollars. This was a fine, dry, rolling farm, with Kokomo creek running diagonally through it from the southeast to the northwest. The Indianapolis & Peru Railroad ran through it from south to north, cutting off twenty-six and one-fourth acres on the west side. Because this small tract was across the railroad the commissioners sold it at once to \\'illis Blanche for seven hundred fifteen dollars and eighty-four cents. There were no buildings of consequence on the farm ; a log hut for a home and a log stable for a bam afiforded poor accommodations for a colony of frail men and women. The land was largely covered with the native forests and fields and grain and grassy meadows seemed a long wa}- off. After three years of possession it was decided to sell the farm and buy one closer to town. On Deceml^er 5, i860, the commissioners. Wil- liam Woods, John Knight and Robert Coate, sold the fann to Nel- son Purdum for three thousand, four hundred seventy-two dollars and seventy-five cents. January 8, 1861, the same commissioners bought eighty acres off the west side of the farm of James H. ]\Ic- Cool for two thousand, eight hundred dollars. In April. i86t, tliey contracted with James Linville to build a house on the farm for three hundred sixty-nine dollars. In 1865 the commissioners con- tracted with William Chadwick to build another and larger house on the fami ; the building was to be two stories high, twenty by OF HOWARD COUNTY. 1 19 thirty-six feet in size, with a wing running back sixteen by thirty-six feet, and one story high, for one thousand, eight hundred dollars. This house was desigmed for the use of .the superintendent of the farm and as a home for the count}-'s poor. It is said that it would be difficult to constract a house more illy adapted for the purpose than this one, and in a few years, the board becoming satisfied of its bad arrangement and unhealthfulness, determined to build a bet- ter one. They resolved to build a house that would not only be a comfortable home for the poor of the county, but one that would reflect credit upon the county as well. They carefully investigated plans and specifications until fully satisfied Ijefore approving. May 24, 1 88 1, bids were received for constructing the building. David O. Freeman submitted the lowest bid and was awarded the contract at fourteen thousand, nine hundred sixty-five dollars and eighty-five cents, to furnish all the material and complete the building. Peter A. Sassaman was associated with him in carrying out this contract. G. \\'. Bunting, of Indianapolis, was the architect and superin- tended the erection of the building. They erected a very creditable building: an enduring structure of good material, well built and ar- ranged for comfort, health and convenience. The building is two stories and a basement in height, is one hundred and thirty-six feet in length, and forty-five feet in width, and is divided into forty-fi\e rooms. There are several rooms in the basement, in one of which is the outfit for heating the whole building by steam. The fann has a good barn and other farm buildings. It has also a good tile drain- age and is a first-class farm, well located. The Kokomo & Pete's Run gra\-el road runs through it. The infirmary building fronts directly on the gravel road and is one-half mile west of the city limits. P. H. Y. Haynes is the present superintendent and is paid eight hundred dollars a year salary, out of which he must pay for I20 MORROW S HISTORY his help in operating the farm. The products sold from the farm belong to the county. The farm contains one hundred fifty-three and twenty-six hundredths acres. orphan's home. During the years prior to the founding of the Orphan's Home Association, orphan children, half orphan children and other chil- dren who had been rendered homeless by the varying misfoii:unes of life and who were without friends or kindred to provide homes for them, were taken to the county poor asylum to be cared for. Here they were housed, clothed and fed, but the associations were not suit- able to develop good men and women. It was impossible for the superintendent to care for their training and teaching and their en- vironment was not such as to stimulate them to make the best of their lives. In 1868 the ladies comprising the Ladies' Union Mis- sionary Society, recognizing these facts, and prompted by the idea of a home especially for orphan children, arranged for and gave a festival October 22, 1868, in aid of this project, and realized one hundred and twenty-five dollars in money, which was placed in the First National Bank of Kokomo and set apart as the beginning of a fund for this purpose: to this was added other sums from time to time, raised in like manner. In January, 1873, ^ number of these ladies who had actively interested themselves in this work formed and incorporated an association called the Orphans" Home Association of Howard county. Under the direction of this or- ganization they continued to hold festivals and systematically so- licited donations to their funds, so that at the close of the year 1873 they had in bank, money and notes approximating one thousand, two hundred dollars. The object of the association, as announced, was "to provide ways and means by which the orphan and destitute OF HOWARD COUNTY. 121 children of tlie county might be provided a comfortable home, cloth- ing and food, and also to bring- them as far as possible under the influence of good moral training-, leading them into habits of in- dustr)-, and extending to them the hygienic benefits of cleanliness and fresh air, and finally procuring homes for them in good families. Having amassed a fund suflficient to start with, and feeling confident in the beneficial influaice of an illustration of their work by opening a home, they, on the first day of November, 1873, rented a house and secured the sendees of I\Irs. Mary A. Street as matron, wIkt took charge with five children under her care. ^liss Anna Street acted as teacher. Having put the purpose of the association into actual operation, they increased their efforts to add to its material resources. The home was first opened in the west part of the city, but its increasing demands made it necessary to secure greater ac- commodations, and a larger house was rented on North Union street, where they remained until the opening of their new home in the autumn of 1875. During the year 1874 it became very manifest that other and more extensive accommodations were needed, as de- mands were constantly coming to the managers for the admission of children. The management had also extended the sphere of their design and had now, in view of the removal of all small children from the county infirmary, regarding it as an unsuitable place for rearing the young, and also to remove from them in after years the odium of having been paupers. The association was limited in means, but determined to procure, if possible, a site on which to erect a Imilding that would be ample in its capacity for years to crime. In can\-assing for this a committee called on Peter B. Hers- leb. a bachelor living alone on his farm just south of the city. Tvlr. Hersleb was a Dane, said to have been of princely lineage, who came to this country because of a love of freedom, with possibly a bit of adventure. ]\Ir. Hersleb was a cultured gentleman with all 122 MORROW S HISTORY ' the finer instincts of his nature well developed. The fact that he li\-ed alone in his bachelor quarters impressed many that he was somewhat eccentric. In this he was misjudg'ed. as all testified who came into close personal touch with him. In his den, as he termed it, he was ever affable and polite. He it was who in the campaign of 1858 came so near defeating- James A. W'ildman for count}- auditor that it required the \'ote of Honey Creek township to do it. Such was the man the comniittee called upon to ask to sell theni a build- ing- site at the southeast corner of the intersection of Markland ave- nue and Home avenue, that being the northwest corner of his land. He refused to sell to them. Instead he g-ave them an acre at that place and also three hundred dollars in money, and afterward gave them five hundred dollars more, and many other donations that were of value to the association. Mr. Hersleb's generosity stimu- lated them to greater efforts in getting the means to build with. They applied to the county commissioners for assistance. The com- missioners replied that they had no power under the law to make such donations. However, after much importuning, they gave them fifteen dollars, and at the next term twenty dollars, and at the next thirty-five dollars. Believing that benefit would accrue to the home if recognized as a county institution, they procured the services of Judge James O'Brien in the preparation of a bill to be laid before the legislature, which was passed and became a law in 1875, by which they were authorized to take orphan and destitute children into their home and receive for each child twenty-five cents per day toward its support. Another soiuxe of income was a dining hall at the county fair, which netted them two hundred dollars, P. E. Hoss giving them twenty-five dollars for one meal. The Young Ladies' Sigournean Band gave one hundred and seventy-five dol- lars, several citizens gave one hundred dollars each, and smaller donations, down to five cents for the children's treasury, were made. OF HOWARD COUNTY. I23 Eliciim Boggs, deceased, Ijequeatlied eight hundred diillars, six liun- clred of which was in city bonds. After securing these funds tlie association feU justified in commencing their l_iuil(hng. They let tlie contract to J. W. Cottman in tlie spring of 1875 and (hu'ing tlie summer it was Imilt and completed so that it was occupied October. 1875. The building was a two-story and basement building, forty In- fiirt}--six feet, containing thirteen rooms, all heated by a furnace in the b.nsement : the total cost nf the building, including the heating plant, was four thousand dollars. In 1876 the home had been in practical operation for three years, antl this statement was given out: "During the three years this home has been in operation six- tv-se\-en homeless children have found refuge there : se\'eral have been returned to their friends: thirty-three have had homes fur- nished them in the cnuntr}-, and but three ha\-e died. The expense of the home for the past year, 1876, was eight hundred ninety dol- lars and fifty-nine cents." In 1883 this statement was made regard- ing the work of the home: "The number of children now in the home is twenty, and the average number is about twenty. In the ten years of the home there have been over two hundred children provided with good homes, in good families, thus securing them from want, neglect, ignorance and possible pauperism and degrada- tion. \^'e are justified in saying that through the efforts put forth by this org-anization it was that the present law was enacted by which young children are taken from the county poor houses and cared for properly until good homes can be secured for them, thus saving many from becoming not only paupers, but criminals. \\'ith the twenty-five cents a day given by the county for each child they are aiabled to keep the home in active operation, paying the matron from twenty to twenty-five dollars per month and a go\erness twelve dollars per month and the cook two dollars per week. Peo- l^le from the country often bring them donations of eatables, and 124 MORROW S HISTORY sometimes articles of clothing. The most active and continuous workers in promoting the interests of the home from the beginning are Mrs. Emma E. Dixon. Mrs. Eva Davis, ]Mrs. Jane Turner. Mrs. Dr. Dayhuff, Mrs. Hendry. ]\Irs. Mariah Leach, Airs. Lizzie Has- ket, Mrs. L. B. Xixon. :Mrs. J. Coffman, ]Mrs. L. \\". Leeds and Electa Lindley. Others that have come into the association since and ha\-e been acti\-e workers are }iL-s. A. F. Armstrong, Airs. Sarah Davis. Airs. X. R. Lindsay, Airs. T. C. Philips, Airs. Dosh, Airs. Dr. Alavity. Airs. Kraus. Airs. Rosenthal and Airs. Dr. I. C. Johnson. In June. 1902. after twenty-seven years" service, bids were submitted for the repair and improvement of the building. Both bids were above the appropriation for the purpose, and the commissioners of necessity rejected them. The next year. 1903. the county council appropriated six thousand dollars for a new orphans' home building. In September of that year two bids were received ; the lower one proposed to build complete the home, with a heating plant, for seven thousand, eight hundred forty-seven dol- lars, and without a heating plant for seven' thousand, four hundred ninety-seven dollars. This, being in excess of the appropriation, was rejected. At the October term of that year there is the fol- lowing record of release and consent : "Whereas, No suitable build- ings or equipment have been prepared or arranged for the orphans' home of Howard county, Indiana, and it is impossible for the Howard County Orphans' Home Association, for said reasons, to continue its work at the present time, and said association is, because of the lack of proper buildings and equipment and the failure of the county to provide the same, compelled to give up its work of caring for the orphans at present, the said association does there- fore hereby consent to the temporan,- abandonment of the orphans' home in Howard county, Indiana, and does, under the present cir- cumstances, release to the board of commissioners the children now OF HOWARD COUNTY. I 25 in the orphans' home of Howard county, Indiana. Signed by the president. Mary S. Armstrong." Whereupon the board ordered the children in the home transferred to the \M:ite Institute at Treaty, near Wabash, in ^^'abash county. Since that date Howard county lias had no orphans' home and the orphan and homeless children of our county have been kept at the ^^'hite Institute at a charge of thirty cents a day for each one. The present expense to Howard county and her citizens is about thirteen hundred dollars annually. From the best infonnation at hand it appears that the White In- stitute is a corporation founded and managed under the control of the. Friends church for the care, training and instruction of orphan and liomeless children. MILITARY HISTORY. Sixty-one years had passed after the close of the war of Inde- pendence when Howard county was organized, in 1844, and if any soldier of that war ever made his home within this county, he must have been an old man. It is not definitely known that any soldier of the Revolution lived within our county. Tradition says that an aged man named Barngrover, who died mau)^ years ago and whose solitary grave is in a pasture field just off the New London gravel road about two miles southwest of Kokomo, was a hero of that war. The soldiers of the War of 1812 had a fair representation among the early settlers of our county. From the "Military Histoiw of Howard Count}-," compiled b}- John \\'. Barnes, we gather that the following were once residents of our county. Their names and lives, as presented in that sketch, are : Alexander G. Forgey settled in Howard county in 1842 and made a home just east of Poplar Grove, and died in 1855. aged seventy-five years. 12b MORROW S HISTORY Israel Ferree was born in Virginia about the year 1775. He was stationed for a considerable part of his enlistment at Norfolk, \'irginia. He came to this county in 1850 and died in 1863. Daniel Heaton was born in Pennsylvania August 27. 1780. While quite young he formed a strong liking for frontier life, and leaving his home, came westward and purchased land in what is now Preble county, Ohio. The town of Eaton, the county seat of this countv. was afterward named in his honor. Here he married Mary Furgeson, who bore him eleven children. It is probable that he resided at this place at the time of his enlistment. Whether he was captain of the company to which he belonged at its first organi- zation is not known, but that he held this office afterward, and by successive promotions was finally made colonel, is well known. He was stationed part of the time at Fort Wayne and participated in the battle of Tippecanoe with General Harrison, to whom he was ever afterward greatly attached. After the war his desire for Western life brought him to Indiana, where he engaged in hunting, trapping beaver, and trading with the Indians. In this pursuit he made sev- eral trips as far westward as Iowa on horseback. In 1841 he came to Howard county and settled on Little Wild Cat creek, in Harrison township, a short distance east of West Middleton. He was a mem- ber of the ]\Iasonic Order and at the time of his death he was the oldest member in the county, having belonged to the order nearly fifty years. The sword that he carried during the War of 1812 he presented to the ^Masonic lodge in New London. He was an ardent and enthusiastic LTnion man during the war of the Rebellion and a great admirer of Lincoln. He firmly believed that the admin- istration would be finally triumphant but did not live to see it. The Tribune of April 23. 1861, has this to say of him. "Colonel Heaton. the ^•eteran soldier, eighty-one years old. was in town on Sunday. He wants to volunteer. He says a man had better say his prayers. OF HOWARD COLNTY. I27 make his will and prepare to go to hell, than to speak against our country in his presence." Colonel Heaton was small of stature, energetic and active, posi- ti\-e in his nature and a great reader, especially of the current litera- ture of the day. He was married three times and had sixteen chil- dren, eight boys and eight girls. On the 14th day of January, 1863, when the rebellion had grown to gigantic proportions, when the fierce winds of winter were howling without, and all nature seemed agitated, his life went out with the storm. His funeral rites were said by the Rev. Mr. Keelen, a Baptist minister, and his remains were laid forever at rest in the little burial ground at Alto. Samuel Giles was born in Lexington, Kentucky, in 1792. He enlisted in his native state and served under Colonel Richard M. Johnson. He was in the battles of Tippecanoe and the Thames. He came to this county in 1861 and died in 1866. Robert Morrison, also a soldier of 18 12, died in 1868. WERE .\T FORT ERIE. John ]\Iiller was born .in \\'estmoreland county, Pennsylvania, October 13, 1794. His father dietl when he was seventeen years old. He, in company with his brother, George [Miller, moved to \\'arren county, Ohio, near Lebanon, about the year 181 1, which was then almost a wilderness. In 1814 he helped to organize a company, which was being recruited at the military post at Dayton, Ohio. This company was sent to Fort Meigs, on the Maumee. He was sent from this place to Hamilton, Ohio, as a recruiting officer. His regiment Avas transferred to the command of General Brown, and took part in the battle of Lundy's Lane. He also helped to defend Fort Erie against the repeated attempts of the British to take it. The siege lasted more than six weeks, when the British 128 morrow's history were repulsed. After the war Aliller resided for a time in Darke county, near Fort Jefferson, famous in history as the place where St. Clair retreated after his defeat by the Indians at Fort Recovery. In 1826 he married Sarah Broderick. In 1850 he moved to How- ard county, three-quarters of a mile north of Jerome, where he resided until his deatli. wliich occurred February 22, 1873. His wife survived him five years. The ashes of both repose in the Jerome cemetery, on the banks of Wild Cat, where rest many of the pioneers of Howard county. John Miller was an industrious citizen, identified with all of the early improvements of the county and a firm friend of education and free schools. \\'illiam Appersnn was born in Culpeper county, Virginia, April 12, 1786. \\'hen tiie war was declared lie was living in Washington county, Virginia. He enlisted in Captain Byer's com- pany and ser\-ed his full term. He came to Clinton county, Indiana, in 1843, moved to Howard county in September, 1844, and settled on and pre-empted the farm owned by the late Elbert S. Apperson, but now owned by the Apperson brothers of automobile fame. He died December 20. 1874. Henry Jackson, born in Fleming county, Kentucky, in 1795, enlisted in his native state in 181 3. serving nine months and par- ticipating in the battle of the Thames. In 1843 he emigrated to this county and settled in Clay township. He died in 1853 and was buried in the Barnett graveyard, about eight miles west of Kokomo. Peter Gray was born in Kentucky in 1780 or 1781. He en- listed in his native state and served five years in the regular army. He was under General Jacob Brown and helped to gain the brilliant victory at Lundy's Lane. In this fierce contest he received three wounds, one in the forehead and one in the breast by saber strokes, and (ine a musket ball, in the leg, which he bore with him to the grave. He died and was buried at Russiaville in 1879. OF HOWARD COUx\TV. I29 John Rivers was born in North Carohna September 5, 1795. He enbsted when only seventeen years of age as a soldier from that state. He came to this county about the year 1841 and settled two miles southwest of Russiaville. Captain John Harrison, a veteran of the War of 181 2, should not be omitted from this list. He came to Howard county in 1839 and settled in the southeastern part of Ervin township, building a two-room log house, using one room as a store and various pub- lic uses, as a polling place, the commissioners' meeting place, etc. At the election in 1844, held at his house, he was elected as the first sheriff of Richardville county. THE WAR WITH MEXICO. In 1846, when war was declared with Mexico, this county was very sparsely settled and there was no attempt at raising a com- pany here. The sentiment of patriotism was very strong among the settlers, though they were scattered and few and were waging a mighty contest in making liomes in the forests and swamps of this new country. While no opportunity presented itself for them to volunteer for this war at home, they sought and found it in another county. Captain Milroy was organizing Company A of the First Indiana Regiment at Delphi, in Can-oil county, and the following persons from our county went there to join it : Barnabas Busby, Boston Orb, Andrew J. Forgey, Thomas Kennedy, W^illiam Gearhart, George Ei-vin, John Gearhart, Edward Irvin, Andrew Gerhart, James A. Forgey, Samuel Gerhart, Isaac Landrum, Daniel Isley, Thomas Landrum, William Harrison, Samuel Yager, John Barngrover, Samuel Gay, James Barngrover, W^illiam Judkins and Anthony Emley. Andrew Park also went from this county, but probably not in the same company. 9 130 MORROW S HISTORY Of the ^Mexican war veterans who have since made their homes in tliis county may be mentioned B. F. Voiles. Pollard J. Brown, John Myers, James A. Haggard, John Twinum, Charles M. Fifer, Irvin Tennell, Job Tennell, Michael Craner, Williams S. Reeves, Norvell Fleming, Paul Miller, Daniel Barnhart, Calvin Carter, James L. Bailey, William Vandenbark, David Randall and Philip McDade. Of those who went to the war from this county only six served their entire term of enlistment and these were Barnabas Busby, Andrew J. Forgey, John and James Barngrover, William Judkins and Anthony Emley. The others either died or were dis- charged. John Gearhart was the first man from this county to die, as he also was the first of his regiment. It may well be noticed that these soldiers and veterans of the A\'ar of 1 81 2 and of the war with Mexico were not men actuated solely by a spirit of adventure, or men who were out of settled employment, or men who had not found their place in the work of life and who went into the army because they had nothing else to do. They were the useful citizens of their several communities, and when their work was accomplished in overcoming the nation's foes and peace was restored these men returned to their homes and took up again their civic duties and began again their usefuf lives of peace. The citizen soldiery of our county is its great safeguard. HOWARD IX THE CIVIL WAR. The great war of our country and perhaps the greatest of all countries and of all times was the war of the Rebellion, sometimes called the war of the States, but more correctly the war for the Preser\'ation of the Union. Those who began the war did it for the purpose of establishing a separate government, another nation whose chief cornerstone was to be negro slavery throughout its OF HOWARD COUNTY. I3I entire territory. The North and the South were to be separate but neighboring nations, with no natural boundaries; only state lines should separate them. Governments thus located, because of their different adminis- trations and conflicting interests and close proximity, would be sub- ject to much friction, leading to wars and national hatreds. In the course of events the time would come when the East or the West would conclude, because of some local interest, that it would be best for them to form a separate government, and thus disintegration having commenced it would go on until this mighty Republic would be separated into many jarring republics or kingdoms. Thus the war of the Rebellion was a war by the Government of the United States for its own preservation. Negro slavery wais the principal cause of the war. In the Southern, or slave-holding states, a large majority of the white peo- ple regarded negro slavery as a useful institution, without a moral wrong; their education and the custom of their country had con- firmed them in the belief that the negro was an inferior race and as such was designed for service for their masters, the whites. The laws of the land had made property of the slaves and thus the slave- owner not only looked on his negro slaves as useful burden-bearers and toilers, but as his individual property. This domestic condi- tion had produced in the South a class of idle, proud aristocrats who looked on the laboring classes, whether negro or poor whites, as inferiors. So strong was this feeling at the beginning of the war that they boasted that one Southern gentleman could whip five Yankees. On the other side there was a large number of people in the Northern states who believed that negro slavery was morally wrong, and that it was a national sin to tolerate it. by enacting laws regu- lating it and recognizing property rights in human beings. The Tugitive Slave Law was especially odious to these people. 132 MORROW S HISTORY This class of people were especially numerous and active in Howard county. There was another and a conservative class who contended that advancing civilization and time would solve the slavery question in the gradual emancipation of the slaves ; that the bitter agitation of the ultra pro-slavery people of the South and anti-slavery people of the North was exceedingly dangerous and unwise: and sought, by all manner of compromise suggestions, to Cjuiet the public feeling. During the presidential campaign of i860 John C. Brecken- ridge was the candidate of the pro-slavery people. Abraham Lincoln of the anti-sla^■ery people and Stephen A. Douglas of the conserva- tives. Every element was wonderfully stirred, and public feeling ran high. Breckenridge received some votes in Howard county. Douglas a large number, but Lincoln had a majority, ^^'hen Lin- coln was declared elected the pro-slavery people felt that a crisis had come: that the end of their cherished institution, slavery, was in sight, and they immediately began preparations to resist it. And though Lincoln had been lawfully elected President, they declared they would not submit to his government, and began to pass seces- sion ordinances in the Southern states and to organize another gov- ernment in the South. SOUTHERN SYMPATHIZERS. Their pro-slavery friends of the North sympathized with them and thus almost all sections of the North had "Southern sympa- thizers." The friends of Douglas saw the impending storm and sought. by every means, to avert it. They predicted it would be a long and bloody war : that the flower of the manhood of the North would be sacrificed before the war would be successfullv ended : and OF HOWARD COUNTY. I33 that it would cost an enormous amount in treasure and war sup- plies. They contended that the freeing of four million negroes would not near justify such a war. They pleaded with the vic- torious anti-slavery people to give the pro-slaver)' people of the South guarantees that their rights would not be interfered with and that the national go\'ernment would not interfere with what the Southern people denominated their domestic affairs. They pleaded with the Southern people, saying it would be ruinous to dissolve the Union and to engage in a fratricidal war. Foreseeing that war was inevitable unless the antagonistic elements could be reconciled, John J. Chittenden, a senator from Kentucky, a man universally respected for his patriotism, his ability and great moral worth, on the 1 8th of December, i860, presented in the United States Sen- ate a series of Compromise Resolutions, which were long debated and finally rejected by nineteen votes for and twenty votes against. Early in February the famous Peace Conference, called on the initiative of Virginia, met at Washington; only twenty states were represented. For twenty-one days this conference deliberated be- hind closed doors, but it was learned afterwards that the sole matter debated and considered was the slave question. The question fore- most was, how much could the North yield to the South on the slave question to avoid war? The final conclusion of the conference was really a surrender by the North on all the points in controversy ; providing, first, that Congress should never interfere with slavery in the District of Columbia, over which, by the Constitution, Congress held exclusive jurisdiction without the consent of the slave-holding state of Mary- land and the consent of the slave-holders of the District: second, that Congress should not forbid slave-holders from bringing their slaves to Washington, nor abolish slavery in any of the dockyards, fortresses, or territories under the jurisdiction of the United States where slavery then existed. 134 MORROW S HISTORY Third, that Congress should not prohibit and should so amend the Constitution that the states should not prohibit the transporta- tion of slaves from and through any of the states and territories where slavery then existed, either by law or usage. On the other hand, the South was to consent to the suppression of the slave trade ; that the District of Columbia should not be used as a slave market, and that slavery should be prohibited north of thirty-six degrees, thirty minutes north latitude. Of the twenty states represented eleven voted for. seven \oted against and two divided. The extreme Southern states were not represented. They were resolved upon breaking up the Government entirely and estab- lishing for themselves a thorough slave-holding oligarchy and re- fused to take any part in the Peace Convention. Notwithstanding this stand of these Southern states many good and well-meaning citizens of the North petitioned Congress to pass the Crittenden Resolutions, which differed in no great degree from the Peace Conference Resolutions. Probably the fairest presentation of the views of the anti-slavery people was made by Senator Charles Sumner, November 27, 1861. But looking at the concessions proposed I have always found them utterly unreasonable and indefensible. I should not expose them now% if they did not constantly testify to the origin and mainspring of this rebellion. Slavery was always the single subject-matter and nothing else. Slavery was not only an integral part of every con- cession, but the single integer. The single idea was to give some new security in some form to slavery. That brilliant statesman, Mr. Canning, in one of those eloquent speeches which charm so much by the style, said that he was "tired of being a 'security grinder,' " but his experience was not comparable to ours. "Se- curity grinding," in the name of slavery, has been for years the way in which we have encountered this conspiracy. OF HOWARD COUNTY. I35 THE president's MESSAGE. The proposition of the last Congress began with the Presi- dent's message, which was in itself one long concession. You do not forget his sympathetic portraiture of the disaffection through- out the slave states or his testimony to the cause. Notoriously and shamefully his heart was with the conspirators, and he knew inti- mately the mainspring of their conduct. He proposed nothing short of a general surrender to slavery, and thus did he proclaim slaverv as the head and front — the very causa causaus of the whole crime. You have not forgotten the Peace Conference — as it was delu- sively styled — convened at Washington, on the summons of Vir- ginia, with John Tyler in the chair, where New York, as well as Massachusetts, was represented by some of her ablest and most honored citizens. The sessions were with closed doors ; but it is now known that throughout the proceedings, lasting for weeks, nothing was discussed but slavery. And the propositions finally adopted by the convention were confined to slavery. Forbearing all details, it will be enough to say that they undertook to give to slavery positive protection in the Constitution, with new sanction and immunity, making it, notwithstanding the determination of our fathers, national instead of sectional; and even more than this, making it one of the essentials and permanent parts of our Repub- lican system. But slavery is sometimes as deceptive as at other times it is bold; and these propositions were still further offensive from their studied uncertainty, amounting to positive duplicity. At a moment when frankness was needed above all things, v/e were treated to phases pregnant with doubts and controversies, and were gravely asked, in the name of slavery, to embody them in the Constitution. 136 morrow's history There was another string of propositions, much discussed last winter, which bore the name of the venerable senator from whom they came — Mr. Crittenden, of Kentucky. These also related to slavery, and nothing else. They were more obnoxious even than those from the Peace Conference. And yet there were petitioners from the North — and even from Massachusetts — who prayed for this great surrender to slavery. Considering the character of these propositions — that they sought to change the Constitution in a manner revolting to the moral sense; to foist into the Constitution the idea of property in man; to protect slavery in all present territory south of thirty-six degrees, thirty minutes, and to canw it into all territory hereafter acquired south of that line, and thus to make our beautiful Stars and Stripes, in their southern march, the flag of slavery; consider- ing that they further sought to give new constitutional securities to slavery in the national Capital and in other places within the exclu- sive Federal jurisdiction ; that they sought to give new constitu- tional securities to the transit of slaves from state to state, opening the way to a roll call of slaves at the foot of Bunker Hill or the gates of Faneuil Hall; and that they also sought the disfranchise- ment of more than ten thousand of my fellow citizens in Massa- chusetts, whose rights are fixed by the Constitution of that Com- monwealth, drawn by John Adams; considering these things I felt at the time, and I still feel, that the best apology of these petitioners was, that they were ignorant of the true character of these proposi- tions, and that in signing these petitions they knew not what they did. But even in their ignorance they testified to slavery, while the propositions were the familiar voice of slavery crying, 'Give, give.' " OF HOWARD COUNTY. I37 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. As typifying the feelings of the more radical men on each side these quotations are given. Mr. Lovejoy, in the national house of representatives, said: "There never was a more causeless revolt since Lucifer led his cohorts of apostate angels against the throne of God; but I never heard that the Almighty proposed to com- promise the matter by allowing the rebels to kindle the fires of hell south of the celestial meridian of thirty-six thirty." Mr. W^igfall, senator from Te.xas, said : "It is the merest balderdash — that is, what it is — it is the most unmitigated fudge for any one to get up here and tell men who ha^'e sense and who have brains, that there is any prospect of two-thirds of this Con- gress passing any propositions as an amendment to the Constitu- tion, that any man who is white, twenty-one years old, and whose hair is straig'ht, living south of Mason and Dixon's line, will be content with." The following- extract from the Mobile Advertiser is but a fair reflection of much of the work of the Southern press to fire the hearts and minds of the Southern people against the North : "They may raise plenty of men ; men who prefer enlisting to starvation ; scurvy fellows from the back scum of cities, whom Falstaff would not have marched through Coventry with : but these recruits are not soldiers, least of all the soldiers to meet hot-blooded, thorough- bred, impetuous men of the South. Trencher soldiers, who enlisted to war on their rations, not on men, they are; such as marched through Baltimore, squalid, wretched, ragged and half-naked, as the newspapers of that city report them. Fellows who do not know the breech of a musket from its muzzle, and had rather filch a hand- kerchief than fight an enemy in manly cnmbat. White sla\-es, ped- dling wretches, small-change kna^•es and vagrants, the dregs and 138 morrow's history offscouring of the populace ; these are the levied forces whom Lin- coln suddenly arrays as candidates for the honor of being slaugh- tered by gentlemen — such as Mobile sent to battle yesterday. Let them come South and we will put our negroes to the dirty work of killing them. But they will not come South. Not a wretch of them will live this side of the border longer than it will take us to reach the ground and drive them over." RULE OR RUIN POLICY. There was a large element in the South in the beginning who were opposed to this rule and ruin policy, not only among the masses but many of the prominent leaders. The Hon. A. H. Stephens, on the 14th of November, i860, in the hall of the House of Representatives at Milledgeville, Georgia, made these patriotic remarks: "The first question that presents itself is. shall the people of the South secede from the Union in consequence of the election of Mr. Lincoln to the Presidency of the United States? "]\Iy countrymen, I tell you frankly, candidly and earnestly that I do not think the}- ought. Li my judgment the election of no man. constitutionally chosen to that high office, is sufficient cause for any state to separate from the Union. It ought to stand by and aid still in maintaining the Constitution of the country. To make a point of resistance to the Government, to withdraw from it. because a man has been constitutionally elected, puts us in the wrong. We are pledged to maintain the Constitution. 'Sla.ny of us have sworn to support it. Can we, therefore, for the mere elec- tion of a man to the Presidency, and that, too, in accordance with the prescribed forms of the Constitution, make a point of resist- ance to the government without becoming breakers of that sacred instrument ourselves? OF HOWARD COUNTY. 1 39 "But that this government of our fathers, with all its defects, conies nearer the objects of all good governments than any other on the face of the earth, is my settled conviction. Contrast it now with any other on the face of the earth. ('England,' said Mr. Toombs.) England, my friend says. Well, that is next best, I grant ; but I think we have improved upon England. Statesmen tried their apprentice hand on the government of England and then ours was made. Ours sprung from that, avoiding many of its defects, taking most of the good, and leaving out many of its errors, and, from the whole, constructing and building up this model Republic — the best which the history of the world gives any account of. ^^'here will you go, following the sun in its circuit around the globe, to find a government that better protects the liberties of the people and secures to them the blessings we enjoy? I think one of the evils that beset us is a surfeit of liberty, an exuberance of the priceless blessings for which we are ungrateful. "I look upon this country, with our institutions, as the Eden of the world — the paradise of the universe. It may be that out of it we may become greater and more prosperous ; but I am candid and sincere in telling you, that I fear, if we rashly evince passion, and without sufficient cause shall take that step, that, instead of becoming greater or more peaceful, prosperous and happy, instead of becoming gods, we will become demons, and at no distant day commence cutting one another's throats." This speech was received with great applause. SECESSION AND DISUNION. Secession and disunion were sweeping over the South like a tidal wave and within three months the author of this patriotic address accepted the vice-presidency of the Southern Confederacy, 140 MORROW S HISTORY and on the 21st of March, 1861, he made this declaration: "The new Constitution has put at rest forever ah the agitating questions relating to our peculiar institution — African slavery as it exists among us — the proper status of the negro in our form of civiliza- tion. This was the immediate cause of the late rupture and pres- ent revolution. Jefferson, in his forecast, had anticipated this as the rock on which the old Union would split. He was right. "What was conjecture with him is now realized fact. But whether he fully comprehended the great truth upon which the rock stood and stands may be doubted. "The prevailing idea entertained by him and most of the lead- ing statesmen at the time of the fomiation of the old Constitution was that the enslavement of the i\frican was in violation of the laws of nature ; that it was wrong in principle, socially, morally and politically. "These ideas were, however, fundamentally wrong. They rested, however, upon the assumption of the ecjuality of the races. This was an error. It was a sandy foundation and the idea of a government built upon it, when the storm came and the wind blew it fell. Our new government is founded upon exactly the oppo- site ideas. Its foundations are laid, its cornerstone rests upon the great truths, that the negro is not equal to the white man ; that slavery subordination to the superior race is his natural and normal condition. Thus our new government is the first in the history of the world based upon this great physical, philosophical and moral truth. "Our Confederacy is founded upon principles in strict con- formity with these laws. "This stone, which was rejected by the first builders, is become the chief cornerstone in our new edifice." OF HOWARD COUNTY. I4I PUBLIC SENTIMENT IN HOWARD. The cause of the war of the Rebellion and the public sentiments in relation to it have thus been set forth at some length as explain- ing most fully the division of sentiment in Howard county at the beginning and throughout that war. If there were any at all who really wished the Confederates to win and the Union destroyed they were few indeed.' The citizenship of the county were practically unanimous in wishing the Union preserved. They differed as to methods and policies. The Republicans believed that the Southern states were in rebellion because they were victors in the national election, having elected Lincoln Presi- dent. For that reason they had a personal interest in putting down the rebellion ; they also were in direct opposition to the slave- holders on the slavery question, and because of these antagonisms the feelings between them was hot and bitter, and being largely in the majority in the county, the war sentiment was o\'erwhelmingly in the majority. These made the same mistake the Southerners had made in underestimating the fighting powers of their opponents. Many of them declared that it would only be a before-breakfast job to put down the rebellion. Those who had supported Douglas for President were for peace first and war only as the last resort. Their forecast of the impending struggle Avas more nearly correct than either of the others; they foresaw that it would be long and bloody and would end only when one side was completely exhausted. They, too, con- sidered slavery the sole issue to wage war for and they did not consider this of such paramount importance to justify a long, bloody and exhaustive war, and so they urged a peaceable settlement if pos- sible. They urged both sides to make concessions in the interests 142 MORROW S HISTORY of peace and to cultivate a spirit of friendship rather than hostihty. While the war was going on, they urged that every opportunity for concluding an honorable peace with a reunited country be used. At no time did they consait to a dissolution of our Union. Because of the highly wrought up feelings of all of the people, there was more or less friction between the war and the peace ele- ments and many unkind and unjust things were said and done. Dr. Lewis Rern, in April, 1861, came near being mobbed on the streets of Kokomo, a victim of this excited condition of the public mind because of some alleged saying imputed to him reflecting on the war spirit of the times. But when Fort Sumpter was fired on and the flag went down in surrender to the rebels, their differences were forgotten and the followers of Douglas followed their leader in offering themselves for sen'ice for their country and the Union. It is true that in the Congressional elections of 1862 and the national election of 1864 that party lines were clearly drawn, and the Democrats representing the peace party polled a large vote. They clung tenaciously and fondly to the delusive hope that the people of the South could be induced to lay down their rebellious arms and return to their alle- giance to the Union by making certain guarantees respecting their negro slaves. After more than forty years have passed and time has cleared up all things we are constrained to wonder how those people could so elude themselves. We must remember, however, that the mists of partisan prejudice were all about them and their An'sion was not clear. LINCOLN TO THE KENTUCKIANS. They were wholly ignorant of the feeling and purposes of the Southern leaders; they thought that if Lincoln and his party OF HOWARD COUNTY. I43 friends would give guarantees that negro slavery would not be interfered with in the South ; that the trouble would end. And yet they had no reason for believing this. Lincoln himself had made this clear. In a speech at Cincinnati, when on his way to Wash- ington for the first inauguration, addressing directly a party of ' Kenutckians, he said, "You perhaps want to know what we will do with you. I will tell you so far as I am authorized to speak for the opposition. We mean to treat you, as nearly as possible, as Washington, Jefferson and Madison treated you. We mean to leave you alone, and in no way to interfere with your institutions ; to abide by all and every compromise of the Constitution. We mean to remember that you are as good as we; that there is no difference between us other than the difference of circumstances. We mean to recognize and bear in mind always that you have as good hearts in your bosoms as other people, or as we claim to have, and treat you accordingly." In the same journey, at Philadelphia, he said, "I have often inquired of myself what great principle or idea it was that kept this Confederacy so long together. It was not the mere matter of the separation of the colonies from the motherland ; but that senti- ment in the Declaration of Independence which gave liberty, not alone to the people of this count^\^ but I hope to the world for all future time. It was that which gave promise that, in due time, the weight would be lifted from the shoulders of all men. This was a sentiment embodied in the Declaration of Independaice. "Now, my friends, can this country be saved on this basis? If it can I shall consider myself one of the happiest men in the world if I can help save it. If it cannot be saved on that principle, it will be truly awful. "But if this countn- can not be saved without giving up that principle, I was about to say, I would rather be assassinated on this 144 MORROW S HISTORY spot than surrender it. Now in my view of the present aspect of affairs, tliere is no need of bloodshed or war. There is no necessity for it. I am not in fa\-or of such a course, and I may say, in advance, that there will be no bloodshed unless it be forced upon the go\-em- ment, and then it will be compelled to act in self-defense." The fairmindedness of Lincoln is shown in the following extract from a speech delivered at Peoria, Illinois, a short time before : "I think that I have no prejudice against the Southern people. If slavery did not now exist among them they would not intro- duce it. If it did now exist among us we would not instantly give it up. This I believe of the masses Xolth and South. Doubtless there are individuals, on both sides, who would not hold slaves under any circumstances : and others who would gladly introduce sla\-ery anew, if it were out of existence. \\'e know that some Southern men do free their slaves, go North and become tip-top abolitionists ; while some Northern men go South and become most cruel slave-masters." Mr. Lincoln closed his first inaugural address with these words : "In your hands, my dissatisfied fellow countrymen, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of ci\-il war. The government will not assail you. You can have no conflict without yourselves being the aggressors. "You have no oath registered in heaven to destroy the gov- ernment : while I shall have the most solemn one to 'preserve, pro- tect and defend it." I am loath to close. \\'e are not enemies but friends. W'e must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bond of affection. The mystic chords of memor3^ stretching from every battle field and patriot grave, to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will vet swell the chorus of the L"''nion, when again touched, as surely thev will be, by the better angels of our nature." OF HOWARD COUNTY. 145 In view of the developments of the past forty-eight years and tlie light we now ha\-e it may be coniidently asserted that the real questions and conditions of the country at the beginning of the Civil war were not fully realized and understood by any of the parties then existing. The slavery question was treated and con- sidered the sole question in controversy and as the whole cause of the disruption of the Union. The real cause seems rather to have been a condition growing out of slavery. VIEWS OF SLAVE-HOLDERS. The slave-holders, accustomed for generations to having col- ored servants to wait upon them and to do all their various kinds of labor, had come to look upon labor as degrading and to con- sider themselves as socially above the laboring classes. A slave- holding aristocracy had grown up in our country. They had become proud and domineering, and were wholly out of sympathy with the spirit of a free people. The poor whites of the South were ostracised by them and considered by them as little better than the negroes. Senator Toombs gave expression to this aristocratic feeling when he said to Stephens that England was a better government than ours. He had in mind their lords and titled nobilities. It was the design of the rebels to overthrow our free institu- tions and to introduce in their stead the reign of slavery. Capital was to own labor. The industrial classes were to be slaves kept in ignorance. The privileged class were to live in indolence and luxury, maintained by the toil of their unpaid serfs. It was really the old, old problem of the privileged few and the toiling masses being solved again in a new form. It is said of the Austrian Prince Mettemick that, standing lO 146 morrow's history upon the balcony of his beautiful palace overlooking the Rhine and looking out upon his vineyards filled with men and women per- forming feudal sen'ice for their lord, he exclaimed to the brilliant company about him, "Behold the true philosophy of society — gen- tlemen in the palace, laborers in the field, with an impassable gulf between." That was the philosophy of society that appealed to the slave- holders of the South and the real cause of the rebellion. It is a matter of great wonder that such a gigantic struggle could have been precipitated by so few persons. The whole number of slave- holders in the South did not probably exceed three hundred thou- sand. Not more than one hundred thousand possessed any consider- able number of slaves. And yet this petty oligarch, entirely subor- dinate to a few leading minds, organized the most gigantic rebel- lion which ever shook the globe. Senator Sumner has said, "The future historian will record that the present rebellion, notwithstand- ing its protracted origin, the multitude it has enlisted, and its exten- sive sweep, was at last precipitated by fewer than twenty men; Mr. Everett says by as few as ten." PEACE PARTY FAILS. Notwithstanding the efforts of the peace party of the North to stay the oncoming stmggle ; notwithstanding Mr. Lincoln's con- ciliatory declarations, the Southern leaders went industriously on in getting ready for the struggle. They planned to precipitate a riot in Baltimore while Mr. Lincoln was passing through and to assassinate him, and had planned a way for the assassin to escape. Detectives disco^■ered the plot and notified Mr. Lincoln at Phil- adelphia of it. He went on to Harrisburg, as he had planned: but OF HOWARD COUNTY. I47 at nightfall he stole out with a few friends, took a special train to Baltimore, was transferred from one depot to another unobserved, and was in Washington ahead of time and unannounced. General Scott and Secretary of War Holt took active measures to secure Mr. Lincoln's safety in Washington. On the morning of April 12th, the rebel batteries opened fire on Fort Sumter, and on the following day the garrison was forced to surrender. The efifect of the bombardment and capture of Fort Sumpter on the North was electrical. As the news of the insult to the national flag, of the battle and the capture of the fort by the rebels, was flashed along the wires, excitement, perhaps unparalleled in the history of the world, pervaded every city and hamlet and almost €very heart. All party distinctions seemed to be forgotten. There were only two parties — patriots and traitors. The feeling in How- ard county was intense. The people, in their anxiety for the war news, engaged all the papers of the newsdealers before they arrived and besieged the newsboys on the trains for the daily papers, and often the supply was exhausted before all were supplied. The writer of this was the newsboy of the rural community in which he lived almost the entire period of the Civil war, and through storm and shine daily he went to the nearest station for the papers. Interest in the war news from the many battlefields of the South never flagged. NEWS OF FORT SUMPTER. In speaking of the fall of Fort Sumpter the Tribune said, "Let all old party lines be obliterated and all angry words of other days be forgotten. These are not times in which to remember former difficulties. A dark cloud hangs over the country. All the world I40 MORROW S HISTORY looks on amazed and anxious. Already has our Government been disgraced and wherever civilization is known the people are await- ing in astonishmait to see whether or not the American Union is what it has been represented or no government at all." The unanimity with which the whole North arose in this crisis is one of the most extraordinary events of history. Men who, but a few days before, had been bitterly hostile, were at once seen standing side by side on the same platform to resist this rebellion. Senator Douglas, the great leader of the Northern Democrats, made a speech at Chicago, from which the following extracts are made : "That the present danger is imminent, no man can conceal. "If war must come — if the ba}-onet must be used to maintain the Constitution — I say before God. my conscience is clean, I have struggled long for a peaceful solution of the difficulty. I have not only tendered those states what was theirs of right, but I have gone to the very extreme of magnanimity. "The slavery question is a mere excuse, the election of Lin- coln a mere pretext. The present secession movement is the result of an enormous conspiracy formed more than a year since, formed by the leaders in the Southern Confederacy more than twelve months ago. The conspiracy is now known. Armies have been raised, war is levied to accomplish it. There are only two sides to the question. Eveiy man must be for the United States or against it. There can be no neutrals in this war : only patriots or traitors. "I know they expected to present a united South against a divided North. They hoped in the Northern states party questions would bring civil war between Democrats and Republicans, when the South would step in, with her cohorts, aid one partv to con- quer the other and then make easy prey of the victors. Their scheme was carnage and civil war in the North. OF HOWARD COUNTY. I49 "^^'hile there was hope of peace, I was ready for any reason- able sacrifice or compromise to maintain it. But when the ques- tion comes of war in the cotton fields of the South or corn fields of Illinois, I say the further ofif the better. "It is a sad task to discuss questions so fearful as civil war; but sad as it is, bloody and disastrous as I expect it will be, I express it as my conviction before God that it is the duty of every American citizen to rally around the flag of his counti-y." FIRST CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS. On JMonday, April 15th, the President issued a call for seventy- five thousand volunteers for three months' service in putting down the rebellion and called an extra session of Congress for July 4th. Following close upon the call of the President came the fol- lowing proclamation by the governor of Indiana : "Whereas, An armed rebellion has been organized in certain states of this Union, having for its purpose the overthrow of the United States; and "Whereas, The authors and movers in this rebellion have seized, by violence, various forts and arsenals belonging to the United States and otherwise plundered the government of large amounts of money and valuable property ; and "Whereas, Fort Sumter, a fortress belonging to the United States, the exclusive possession and jurisdiction over which were vested in the general government by the Constitution of the United States, has been besieged by a large army and assaulted by a destructive cannonade, and reduced to submission, and the national flag hauled down and dishonored ; and "Whereas, The President of the United States, in the exercise of the power vested in him by the Federal Constitution, has called 150 MORROW S HISTORY upon the several states remaining true to their allegiance to aid him in the enforcement of the laws, the recovery of the national prop- erty and the maintenance of the rightful authority of the United States; now, therefore, I, Oliver P. Morton, governor of the state of Indiana, call upon loyal and patriotic men of the state to the number of six regiments to organize themselves into military com- panies and forthwith report the same to the adjutant-general in order that they may be speedily mustered into the service of the United States. The details of the organization are set forth in the instructions of the adjutant-general herewith published. "Oliver P. Morton, Governor." In response to this proclamation the Tribune of the i6th inst. contained this call : "Dr. Richmond and other citizens request us to call a meet- ing at Richmond & Leed's Hall to-night for the purpose of con- sidering the duties of citizens in the present crisis. Turn out. patriots. Volunteers are being offered all over the countr}\ All parties agree now." Although the notice was short, the meeting was well attended. Fiery speeches were made and ringing resolu- tions passed and preparations were immediately begun for the organization of a company. THE FIRST TO FALL. William R. Philips, who was one of the first to fall in defense of his country from this county, headed the list of volunteers. In less than one week nearly two hundred names were enrolled. On Friday evening, April 19th, the company met in Richmond & Leed's Hall and elected the following officers: Thomas J. Harri- son, captain; Thomas Herring, first lieutenant, and William R. Philips, second lieutenant. OF HOWARD COUNTY. I5I On tlie Saturday afternoon following posters were put out call- ing a meeting at the Methodist Episcopal church in the evening for the purpose of securing a fund for the support of the families of volunteers who were about to start in the service of their country. Accordingly, at an early hour, the house was filled to overflowing. Mr. Charles Murray was made chairman, and, on motion of Mr. James \\\ Robinson, the following persons were appointed an executive committee: J. W. Robinson, Thomas Auter, Herman Keeler, Benjamin R. Norman and Samuel Rosenthal. Thomas Jay was elected treasurer. The books were opened for subscriptions and the people responded liberally. Jay and Dolman headed the list with two hundred dollars. Nearly every one present gave something in amounts from two dollars to five dollars. One man gave a lot in the city of Kokomo and several farmers subscribed one hundred bushels of corn each. The total subscription amounted to more than two thousand dollars. Someone suggested that the citizens should furnish the volun- teers with blankets. Here, again, was a great rush to see who should have the privilege. Gentlemen ofifered all they had, together with comforts, to answer until the volunteers could get where they could buy blankets, and twenty-five dollars to buy them with. This was the spirit of the people, and in five minutes over one hun- dred blankets were provided. Flannel shirts and drawers were also named. As the boys were to leave on Monday morning it was suggested that, as the company would remain a week or two at Indianapolis, these could be made and shipped down to the care of Captain Harrison. This was agreed upon, when immediately ladies offered a dozen each, gentlemen offered bolts of flannel, others came up and handed in money, and in a few minutes the whole company was provided for. The following persons were appointed a committee to solicit 152 MORROW S HISTORY further aid in Center township : Worley Leas, R. F. Kennedy and George W. Hocker. By a motion the people in each township were requested to act immediately and secure a large fund for the support of the families of volunteers. Messrs. Thomas Jay, Sam- uel Rosenthal and Chapin were appointed to receive and distribute blankets on Sunday. Several short speeches were made and the assembly adjourned with the most patriotic feeling pre- vailing. GENEROUS DONATIONS. These patriotic, and generous donations for the comfort and well-being of the volunteers were not only the substantial expression of the feelings of the people but were also necessary contributions to the needs of the volunteer soldiery as well, for in the beginning the government had no well-disciplined commissary department. Sunday, April 21st, was a memorable day in the history' of Howard county. In the issue of April 23. 1861, the Tribune thus describes it: "The streets were crowded early in the morning. The people from all parts of the county came in by scores and fifties. Both churches were filled at the usual hour for holding meeting. At the Methodist Episcopal church a first-rate sermon and devout prayers for the safety of the country were listened to with close attention. At the Christian church, Francis O'Dowd addressed a large audience in the most patriotic style, pledging his all at the close for the government. Meanwhile volunteers were constantly enrolling their names. About noon the fife and drum were heard and most of the afternoon the companies were under drill. At three o'clock p. m. the volun- teers marched out the East Road and met a tremendous procession coming from that direction. There was a large number of four- horse wagons and a large procession of horsemen. In the crowd OF HOWARD COUNTY. 153 were many volunteers coming down to leave for the service. When the two multitudes met, thundering cheers for the stars and stripes were heard for miles aroitnd. The procession, about a quarter of a mile in length, returned to the public square, where Professor Baldwin addressed the assembly most eloquently. So great was the enthusiasm that Professor Baldwin himself and all the teeachers and pupils who were old enough enlisted, so that the school was discontinued for some time. The dry goods stores were kept open and such things as were needed by soldiers were freely given with- out a cent of pav. Money was distributed for use while in camp and every want that could be thought of was provided for. Such a Sabbath never was or perhaps never will be witnessed in Kokomo as this one was." As the evening shadows thickened into night the bells pealed forth a strange, sweet music to those who were to leave on the morrow. The churches were crowded again and many fervent prayers were ofifered for the flag of our country and for those who had pledged themselves to stand by it against every foe. At sunrise on the following day the town was full of wagons~ and horses, and from six o'clock until train time an immense multi- tude thronged all the streets about the depot. The time had come when the first company of soldiers ever organized in Howard county were waiting to depart for a service of which no one at that time had the least conception. There were hundreds of tearful eyes as the last farewells were said. It was the parting of parents with children, of husbands with their wives, brothers with sisters and lovers with each other, with pledges to be true till war's desolation was over. The thought of it being the last good-bye paled many a cheek and moistened many eyes unused to tears. As the train steamed up not a word of complaint was made : it was a firm pressure, a warm look of encouragement and a God- 154 MORROW S HISTORY bless-you and tliey were gone. The Tribune of the next day con- tained this patriotic sentiment from the able pen of the late T. C. Philips: "The times that try men"s souls are upon us. Every man. every woman. e\-ery person able to work has important duties to perform. Let us begin now. There must not be an idle person. A large crop must be raised and fewer men than usual must raise it. Every acre of ground must be tilled. Patriots are in demand and, thank heaven, they are ready. Thousands of strong men will be needed in defense of our country, and they are presenting" them- selves, asking to serve in that defense. Everj^ one left at home can do the work of two. In the days of the revolution, women performed the labor of men, and men did double labor. "The days of '76 are present with us in '61. The battles must be fought over again. An anny of rebels ten times worse than the tyrants who denied us liberty in '76 would now wrench that liberty from us and drag the flag of our country and our fathers in the dust. Arouse, freemen! If patriotism ever was needed that time is now. Let there be no influence against the enlisting of your son in the cause. Ask God's blessing on him and let him go. We heard a day or two since a man offered to furnish the family of a volunteer all the flour needed until he should return. 'But," said another, 'if he never returns?' 'Wdiile I live the con- tract shall be kept inviolate,' was the answer. That is the true spirit. May the people be imbued with the spirit of true patriotism, and may those who remain at home do their whole duty. Those who go away, we know, will do theirs," When the company arrived at Indianapolis it took quarters at Camp Morton and immediately organized. It was found that there were nearly enough men for two companies, and so the boys organ- ized a new company, and Dr. Corydon Richmond, who, it seems, was a most zealous worker in the cause, hurried home and procured OF HOWARD COUNTY. 155 a sufficient number of men to complete the second company. So energetic were our boys that in one week from the day the first meeting- was called in Kokomo the first company was mustered into the seiwice and succeeded in obtaining a place in the Sixth (three months) Regiment. This was the first regiment mustered in the state for the war of the Rebellion. The five previous regiments had been raised for the war with Mexico. THE 0.\TH. The following is the oath which each man was required to take and which all volunteers and regulars mustered into the service of the United States are required to take before final enrollment : "I do solemnly swear that I will bear true allegiance to the United States of America; that I will serve them honestly and faithfully against all enemies or opposers whatsoever ; that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and of the other offi- cers appointed over me. According to the rules of the armies of the United States, so help me God." This company designated themselves the Howard Rifles and was known as Company D in the regiment. The Indianapolis Journal paid them the following tribute on the day they were mustered in: "Captain Harrison, who was a member of the Legislature in 1858, arrived yesterday with his com- pany, the Howard Rifles, and took quarters at Camp Morton. His men are of those who can pick squirrels out of the tops of the tallest trees and rebels from the secession ranks as far as a Sharp's rifle vvill carry." Thomas M. Kirkpatrick and Barnabas Busby, both being farmers, did not get their affairs arranged in time to join the first company, but hastened to Indianapolis and joined the sec- ond company. Mr. Kirkpatrick was chosen captain, Mr. Busby 156 morrow's history first lieutenant and N. P. Richmond second lieutenant of this com- pany. Captain Kirkpatrick's company was made Company C in the Twelfth Regiment, and after failing to get in the three months' service was transferred to the Thirteenth Regiment as Company E and was stationed at Camp Sullivan. Thus, while Captain Harrison's company had the honor of being in the first three months' regiment organized in the state. Captain Kirkpatrick's company was in the first three years' regi- ment. During the stay in camp in Indianapolis the men were in active preparation for war, drilling almost constantly. Many little inci- dents occurred to break the monotony of camp life, and when, on the 30th of May, the Sixth Regiment was ordered to the front, they were in high spirits. They left for western Virginia by way of Cincinnati and Parkersburg\ They had been fully equipped, armed and clothed and presented a gay appearance. Their passage through Indiana and Ohio was a grand ovation. The Cincinnati Enquirer of May 31st said of them: "The attendance at the depot yesterday when Colonel Crittenden's command arrived was very large and all along the entire length of the march through the city the throngs on the sidewalks and the street corners were immense, and. as the brave Indianians marched along, the cheers that greeted them were vociferous. The gallant troops made a fine appearance and were applauded by ever\^body for their sol- dierly demeanor. The regiment was brought to a halt and a front- face when opposite the residence of Larz Anderson, Esq. Colonel Anderson advanced to the curbstone and was greeted by a present- arms and a salute from the officers, with a remark from Colonel Crittenden that the salute was a compliment from the Sixth Regi- ment of Indiana Volunteers. Colonel Anderson replied, T thank OF HOWARD COUNTY. I 57 you, gentlemen; God bless and protect you.' The column then wheeled into line, and as the troops marched by the hero of Sum- ter, they rent the air with enthusiastic cheering." On the 2nd of June, the regiment arrived at Webster, Virginia, and was marched, with other troops, the same night through a drenching rain a distance of fourteen miles, and on the morning of the 3d of June took part in the first battle of the war at Philippi. It participated in the march to Laurel Hill and the engagement with Gamett's rebel command at Carrick's Ford on the 12th of July. It returned to Indianapolis on the 25th of July and was finally discharged August 2, 1861. THIRTEENTH REGIMENT. The Thirteenth Regiment, in which was Captain Kirkpatrick's company, left Indianapolis on the 4th of July, 1861, and on the morning of the loth joined McQellan's forces at the foot of Rich mountain, in western Virginia, where, on the following da3^ it participated in battle. In this battle William Riffle was killed — Howard county's first martyr for the preservation of the Union. From this time on the Thirteenth was in active campaign work for the entire three years. It took part in the numerous skirmishes at Cheat mountain pass, and on the 12th and 13th of September, 1861, in the engagements on Cheat mountain summit and Elkwater supported Howe's Battery, Fourth United States Artillery. At Greenbrier, on the 3d of October, and during the remainder of October, it was engaged in scouting expeditions along the Holly and Kanawha rivers. After this it marched to Alleghany under General Milroy and participated in the battle there on the 13th of December. It wintered at Green Spring Run. General Shields took command of the division in the spring and under him the regi- 158 morrow's history ment moved to Winchester and then scouted up the valley to Stras- burg-, returning to Winchester. It participated in the battle of Winchester Heights, March 22, 1862. Two or three months were now employed in marching up and down the valley, giving chase to the rebels, and in the latter part of June the regiment embarked at Alexandria for Harrison's Landing, on the James river, where it arrived July 2d. In August it marched to Fortress Monroe and thence to the Nansemond river, where it remained nine months, engaging in numerous operations in that region of countn'. making three reconnoissances to Black river, fighting the battle of the Deserted Farm on the 30th of January, 1863, defeating Longstreet in his attempt to seize Suffolk from April loth to May 3, 1863, and in tearing up and bringing off about forty miles of track from two railroads from the 13th to the 19th of May. In these operations the regiment marched over 400 miles. On the 27th of June the regiment left Suffolk. It participated in the operations on Morris Island during the siege of Forts Wagner and Gregg, and was the first regiment to enter Wagner in the assault on the 7th of Sep- tember. The Thirteenth participated in nearly all the operations of General Butler's army south of Richmond and was conspicuous in the engagement at Wathal Junction, Chester Station, and the charge on the rifle pits near Foster's farm, in all of which the loss Avas about two hundred. It joined the Anny of the Potomac in June, 1864, marching with the army to Cold Harbor, where, there being no field officers present for duty. Captain Kirkpatrick assumed command. The regiment was actively engaged in the battle at that place and in all the operations in the vicinty of the Chickahominy until June 12th, when it returned to Bermuda Hundred. On the 15th it crossed the Appomattox river and was engaged in the assaults on the rebel works in front of Petersburg. OF HOWARD COUNTY. I 59 On the 1 8th Captain Kirkpatrick's company, having served the full time of its enlistment, was ordered from the skirmish line, and on the 19th left for Indianapolis, arriving on the 24th of June. They were mustered out of the service July i, 1864. About one-half of the company afterwards veteranized. MILITIA COMPANIES. In May, 1861, the boys of Kokomo from twelve to eighteen years of age, catching the military spirit that pervaded the country, organized a company under the name of the Wild Cat Rangers. The Tribune said : "We learn that the officers have reported their company to the governor, have purchased a part of their musical instruments, made arrangements for caps, etc., and will begin to drill regularly at an early day." The names of many of these boys appear on the regular muster rolls of regiments that were formed in later years. In the latter part of June, 1861, the first company of the Howard county regiment of the Indiana Legion was formed at Kokomo. The following letter from the adjutant-general shows how the company was organized : "Indianapolis, Indiana, June 13, 1861. "The Union Tigers, a volunteer militia company, organized at Kokomo, in Howard county, Indiana, under the military laws of said state, having complied with the requirements of said laws, are hereby authorized and ordered to elect officers at their armory in Kokomo, on Tuesday evening, the i8th day of June, 1861 ; and John Bohan, Thomas Jay and J. F. Henderson are hereby appointed to recei\-e and count ballots cast at said election (in presence of i6o morrow's history whomsoever may be deputized to preside at sflch election) and to make returns of such election to this office without delay. "Laz. Noble, Adj. -Gen. Vol. Militia." THE UNION TIGERS. Mr. T. C. Philips was delegated authority by the adjutant- general to preside at the meeting of the Union Tigers, and the elec- tion resulted as follows : James Bailey, captain ; James A. Wild- man, first lieutenant; William S. Snow, second lieutenant. At various times after this other companies were formed in all or nearly all the townships, and were known as Union Wild Cat Rifles, The Union Legion, Harrison Guards, Howard Guards, Fairfield Guards, Wild Cat Rangers, Cassville Guards, Honey Creek Legion, Liberty Guards, Noble Guards, Ervin Guards and Wild Cat Rifles. The field officers and staff of this legion were: John M. Garrett, colonel (afterwards entered U. S. service) : N. P. Rich- mond, colonel : James A. Wildman, lieutenant-colonel ; Charles E. Disbro, major; Samuel W. Thornton, adjutant; Morgan A. Chest- nut, quartermaster; Reuben King, surgeon; John W. Cooper, judge- advocate; Thomas Lythe, paymaster. THE THIRTY-FOURTH REGIMENT. In the latter part of August, 1861, Dr. Jacob S. White, who had succeeded in raising a company in this county, left for Ander- son, where a regiment for this Congressional district was forming under Colonel Asbury Steele. The Tribune said of the departure of this company : "A very large multitude assembled at the C. & C. depot last Wednesday to see the boys of Dr. White's company off to camp at Anderson. GEN. THOMAS J. HARRISON. OF HOWARD COUNTY. l6l Some of the partings brought tears to the eyes of many. The grief of some was manifested in loud cries, but the deepest feeling" was quieter. Husbands left their wives and babes with emotions that cannot be described. One gentleman, Mr. Clarke, of Ervin, got married on Sunday evening, on Monday volunteered and left on Wednesday. One wagon with six horses came in from western Howard loaded with young ladies and other decorations. Ban- ners floated and music of the best kind was furnished. The little cannon was out and after fifty or sixty thundering- discharges it burst. Squire Norman was touched on the leg, but was not hurt. No injury was received by any one, but how the people escaped we cannot tell." In the organization of the regiment, Dr. White was appointed surgeon and Thomas S. Ferrell was elected captain. THE THIRTY-FOURTH AT VICKSBUEG. This, the Thirty-fourth Regiment, participated in the siege of Vicksburg, the battle of Port Gibson, Champion Hills, the siege of Jackson and many encounters. As in the Sixth Regiment, Howard county boys had the honor of participating in the first battle of the war, so Howard county boys in the Thirty-fourth, more than two thousand miles from Philippi, engaged in the last battle at Palmetto Ranche, on the 13th of May, 1865. This battle was fought partly on the old Palo Alto battle- ground, where General Taylor first encountered the Mexicans on the 8th of May, 1846. It is quite a coincidence that the first battle of the Mexican war and the last battle of the great rebellion were fought on the same ground, and that the respective anniversary da}s were but five days apart. 1 62 morrow's history thirty-ninth regiment. The work of organizing a company of one hundred and one men for an independent regiment of sharpshooters, authorized by the War Department, began about tlie time of the departure of Dr. \Miite's cumpany. This company filled up rapidly and in a few da}"s se\-enty names were down for still another company. Prior to leaving, the company organized by electing the same officers that had served in the first company organized here, to-wit; T. J. Harrison, captain; Thomas Herring, first lieutenant, and W. R. Philips, second lieu- tenant. The company left on August 28, 1861, for Indianapolis. In the regimental organization. Captain Harrison was made colonel, John Bohan, quartermaster, and Dr. L. D. ^^'aterman, surgeon. After Captain Harrison's promotion. Herring and Philips were promoted by the unanimous consent of the compan}-. Stephen D. Butler was elected second lieutenant. This regiment left for Kentuck}- earh- in September. It marched with Buell to Nashville, then to the Tennessee river, and was in the battle of Shiloh on the 7th nf .\pril, 1862, where Lieu- tenant W. R. Philips, who had been associated with his brother, T. C. Philips, in editing the Tribune, was killed. The regiment took part in the battles of Stone River, Decem- ber 31, 1862. and January i and 2, 1863. Through the remainder of the campaign of 1863 it seiwed as mounted infantry. On June 6, 1863, it had a sharp fight with Wheeler's cavalry near Alurfrees- boro, took part in the skirmishes at Middleton and Liberty Gap, and during the movement upon Chattanooga engaged the enemy at ^^'inchester. On the loth and 20th of September it partici])ated in the battle of Chickamauga, and on the 15th of October, 1863, was reorganized as the Eighth Cavalry. OF HOWARD COUNTY. 163 The regiment re-enlisted as a veteran organization on the 22d of Februar}-, 1864. It participated in the McCook raid around Atlanta and the Kilpatrick raid in Georgia, and at the battle of Lovejoy Station led the charge of the left wing, riding over Ross" division of rebel cavalry, capturing his artillery and four battle flags. It was in the battle of Jonesboro and Flint river and in the campaign through Georgia was in the following battles and skir- mishes: Waynesboro, Buckhead Church, Brown's Cross Roads, Reynold's Farm, Aiken, Bentonville, Averasboro and Raleigh. It whipped Hampton's entire force at ;\Iorris\-ille and thus had the honor of fighting the last battle in North Carolina. The regiment was nuistered out of ser\'ice on the 20th of July. [865, reached Indianapolis the last week of July and was finally dis- charged early in August. This regiment had in all two thousand i\ve hundred men on its rolls, and had nine officers killed in battle. It lost about three hundred in prisoners, and captured frc)m the enemy over fifteen hundred men, one thousand stand of arms, three i-ailroad trains, fourteen hundred horses and mules, many wagons, fourteen pieces of artillery, four battle flags, besides destroying many miles of railroad. It was also engaged in many raids and skirmishes of which no mention is here made. F.\MILIES OF THE VOLUXTEERS. In 1 861 the county commissioners appropriated se\'en Inmdred fifty dollars out of the county funds for the relief of the families of those who had volunteered. On the evening of October 31st, the Ladies' Union Aid Asso- ciation was organized for the purpose of making underclothing for 164 morrow's history the boys \vho were far away in open tents and who would soon be exposed to the rude blasts of winter. :\Iany a "God bless the noble women of Howard" went up to Iieaven that winter and each succeeding winter till the war was over from Howard county boys in every Southern state. FIFTY-SEVENTH REGIMENT. The company that was forming at the time Captain Harrison's company departed organized by electing Willis Blanch, captain; Timothy H. Leeds, first lieutenant, and John L. Hall, second lieu- tenant. Another company was also partly organized in this county, with William K. Hoback, captain ; Joel H. Hoback, first lieutenant, and Lewis S. Horn, second lieutenant. These companies proceeded to Richmond in November, 1861, where they were organized as Companies G and H respectively of the Fifty-seventh Regiment. On the loth of December the regiment moved to Indianapolis, where it remained to December 23d, when it took its departure for Kentucky, where it spent the winter without engaging in battle. The regiment marched to Nashville, Tennessee, arriving there early in March. It started for Pittsburg Landing on the 21st of March, and was in hearing of the battle of Shiloh on the 6th of April, but did not arrive till the afternoon of the 7th, when it immediately engaged in battle. During the siege of Corinth the regiment was actively employed. After this it marched into northern Alabama and in July, 1862, to middle Tennessee, where it remained till September, making many arduous marches and undergoing great hardships. It took an active part in the campaign against Bragg, engaging in the bat- tle of Pern-ville, Kentucky, with only slight loss. After this it went to Nashville, December i, 1862. " COL. WILLIS BLANCHE. OF HOWARD COUXTV. 165 At the battle of Stone river tlie Fift}--seventh suffered severely, losing seventy-tive men out of three hundred and fifty engaged. Here the regiment greatly distinguished itself. During the remain- der of the winter and spring of 1863 it remained in camp near Murfreesboro, drilling constantly and doing severe picket duty. It took part in the eleven days' scout of JNIajor-General Reynolds, and in the battle of ^lissionary Ridge it bore a conspicuous- part. HARDSHIPS AND PRIV.\TIONS. The campaign in east Tennessee during the winter of 1863 and 1864 was probably unequaled during the whole war for hard- ship and privation. Of these the Fifty-seventh suffered a full share. On the 1st of January, 1864, the regiment almost unanimously re-enlisted as a veteran organization. It took part in the initial operations of the campaign against Atlanta, and during the summer was almost constantly engaged in battle or in skirmishing. It was in the assault on Rocky Face Ridge, near Dalton, Georgia, Maj' 9th; at Resaca, and in the action near Adairsville it took an active part. On iNIay 27th it lost severely in the battle near New Hope Cluu-ch, on the Altoona mountains. It was under fire every day from this time until June 3d, losing many men. In the terrible struggles and skirmishes around Kenesaw it bore a full part. On the 27th of June the regiment, then com- manded by Colonel \\'illis Blanch, formed the skirmish line in front of the assaulting column of the Fourth Corps. Its loss was heavy. It participated in the battle of Peach Tree Creek. July 20th, and from this time until the 25tb of August lay in the trenches in front of Atlanta. The regiment was slightly engaged in the battle of Jone-sboro, August 31st. After the occupation of Atlanta the Fifty- se\-enth was sent to Chattanooga. It helped to drive Hood into i66 morrow's history Alabama, and afterward fonned a part of the army of General Thomas, which resisted the invasion of Tennessee. It was engaged at FrankHn, November 30, 1864, where it sustained severe loss. On the 15th and i6th of December it participated in the battle (jt Xashville. where Colonel Blanche was wounded. After the pursuit of Hood's army, the regiment lay in camp at Huntsville, Alabama, some months, moving into east Tennessee as far as Bull's Gap in April, 1865. It then went to Nashville and was transferred to Texas, where it remained until mustered out of the service. The Fifty-seventh saw much arduous service, its losses in battle were heavy, and its marches severe, but it behaved with great gallantly on every occasion and achieved an en\"iable record and an honorable fame. In its commanding officers it was particularly fortunate, one of whom. Colonel Blanche, of this county, being a soldier of distinguished merit. RELIEF SENT TO SIIILOH. \\"hen the news reached our citizens of the great battle of Shiloh, a meeting was hastily called and a surgeon was immediately sent to the sufterers, together with money, lint and bandages and whatever was thought would aid in their relief. This movement was connected with an authorized organization at Indianapolis, and it was a noble wijrk at the right time. SEVENTY-FIFTH REGIMENT. In July, 1862, another company was organized here, which elected Francis 'SI. Bryant, captain : James C. Metsker. first lieu- tenant, and Iiwin Poison, second lieutenant. It was mustered into service as Company C of the Seventy-fifth Regiment, at \\"abash. OF HOWARD COUNTY. 1 67 on the 19th of August, 1862. This regiment proceeded to Ken- tucky, where it took an active part in the campaign, marching to Scottsville and Gallatin and then back to Cave City in pursuit of Morgan's forces. The winter was passed mostly in camp at Gal- latin, and in January tliQ regiment moved to Murfreesboro, where it remained till June 24, 1863, when it started toward Tullahoma, and on the march engaged in the battle at Hoover's Gap. It was the first regiment to enter the rebel works at Tullahoma, about the 1st of July. It participated in the battle of Chickamauga on the 19th and 20th of September. It then returned to Chattanooga, engaging in the battle of ^lissionary Ridge on the 25th of November. The Seventy-fifth passed the winter. of 18^13-64 in the \-icinity of Chattanooga, and in the spring of 1864 mo\-ed to Ring-gold, Georgia. Dttring the Atlan- ta campaign it was actively engaged, participating in the battles of Dalton, Resaca. Adairsville, Dallas, Kenesaw mountain, Ptach Tree creek and Jonesboro. In October it marched in the campaign against Hood and returned to Atlanta in time to start with Sher- man's army on the i6th of November in its famous march to the sea, reaching Savannah in December. In Jaiuiary, 1865, it marched through the Carolinas to Gcldsborci. in Xorth Carolina, and partici- pated in the battles of Bentonville and Fa\etteville. .\tter the ^ur- render of Johnston's army, it marched to Richmond. \'irginia, and thence to Washington, D. C, where, on the 8tb of June, 1865, it was mustered out of service. EIGHTY-NINTH REGIMENT. In the month of August, 1862, three more companies were raised in this county. The first was officered as follows: William Burns, captain; IDS MORROW S HISTORY B. F. Haven, first lieutenant, and John T. Stewart, second lieu- tenant. The second : John E. Williams, captain ; G. Markland, first lieutenant; William Styer, second lieutenant. The third: B. W. Gifford, captain; William A. Hunt, first lieutenant; William T. Hutchinson, second lieutenant. These companies were rendezvoused at Wabash and were or- ganized, with other companies, into the Eighty-ninth Regiment, at Indianapolis, August 28, 1862. The companies were called F, D and G, respectively. In the organization of the regiment, Charles D. ]\Iurray was made colonel and J. F. Henderson surgeon, both of Kokomo. In the October following, Harless Ashley, also of Kokomo. was ap- pointed quartermaster. Proceeding to Kentucky the regiment reinforced the garrison at Munfordsville. After a long fight and stubborn resistance it was compelled to surrender to superior numbers on the i6th of September. The officers and men were paroled, and, after a furlough to their homes, the regiment reassembled at Indianapolis on the 27th of October. The order for their exchange being received, the regi- ment, on the 5th of December, proceeded to Memphis, and on the 2 1st of December was placed on duty at Fort Pickering, where it remained until the 18th of October, 1863. It was then transferred to the city of Memphis, where it was engaged on picket duty until the 26th of January, 1864, when it left on transports for Vicks- burg, reaching there on the 31st of January. From this point it moved on to the Meridian raid, skirmishing with the enemy at Queen's Hill and at IMeridian. where it arrived on the 14th of February. After tearing up the Mobile & Ohio Railroad track it pro- ceeded to [Marion, camped a few days and returned by way of Canton tn A'icksburg, reaching there on the 4th of March. COL. C. D. MURRAY, Second Resident Attorney of Howard County. OF HOWARD COUNTY. 1 69 The Eighty-nintli left Vicksburg on the loth of Alarch for the mouth of the Red river, reaching- Semmesport on the 12th, and on the next day assisted in assauUing the fort, which was captured on the 14th. It moved from there to Alexandria, thence to Hender- son's Hill, and there captured two hundred and seventy rebels and four pieces of artillery. The Eighty-ninth bore a conspicuous part in the battle of Pleasant Hill on the 9th of April, 1864. On the 7th of May the regiment met the enemy at Bayou La ]Moiu"ie, and after a sharp engagement charged and repulsed him. Resuming march toward the Mississippi, the regiment repulsed the enemy near Marksville, in a slight engagement, and on the i8th, a1 Smith and Nonvood's plantation, had a severe contest and repulsed the enemy with great slaughter. On the 19th the reg'iment embarked for "V^icksburg, arriving nn the 24th of May. It remained here until June 4th, when it embarked for Memphis, leaving this point for Colliersville. . It now escorted a wagon train to Moscow and then moved to Lagrange, Tennessee. Here it remained till the 5th of July and marched to Pontock, Mississippi, arriving there on the nth. ]\Ioving from here it engaged in the battle of Tupelo on the 14th of Jul}-. The regiment then returned to Memphis, where it remained till Septem- ber, except a short expedition into Northern Mississippi in pursuit of Forest, made in August. On the 19th of September the regi- ment landed at Jefiferson Barracks, Missouri, and on the 2d day of October started in pursuit of the rebel General Price. In this expedition the regiment marclied seven hundred and fifty miles and was in no engagement, but had the misfortune to lose Quartermaster A.shley, who, with two other officers, stopped to take dinner at a country house. Falling behind the column a short distance, they were captured by guerillas and murdered almost immediately after near the village of Greenton, Missouri. IJO MORROW S HISTORY Tliis long march ended at St. Louis, where the regiment re- mained till the latter part of No\-ember and then took steamer to Nashville, where it arrived on the 30th, and on the 15th and i6th of the following month took part in the battle near that place. On the 17th. starting in pursuit of Hood's army, it marched to the Tennessee river, and on January i, 1865, was transported to East- port, Mississippi. Here it remained till February 9th, when it pro- ceeded by steamer to Vicksburg and thence to New Orleans, arriv- ing there on the 21st of February. From there it moved on trans- ports to Dauphin Island, near Mobile, on the 8th of [March, and on the 19th up Mobile bay by steamer to the mouth of Fish river, and thence to Doris Mills, where it remained till March 25th. It then marched to a point between Spanish Fort and Blakely and participated in the siege until the ff service in the One Hundred and Thirty-seventh Regiment Alilton Garrigus at once set about organ- izing another company with headquarters at Indianapolis. • A few men from this county joined this company, which, when organized, became Company I of the One Hundred and Forty-second Regi- ment, which enlisted for one }ear under the call of Jul\', 1864. ]\Ir. Garrigus was coir.missior.ed captain and Timothy Scott second lieu- tenant. THE FIX.\L ENLISTMENT. Harrison Stewart recruited the last company raised in the OF HOWARD COUNTY. 1 75 county. This was Company H ni tlie One Hundred and Fifty- third Regiment. The officers were : Harrison Stewart, captain ; Aquilla Myers, first heutenant, and Henry B. Stewart, second heu- tenant. This regiment was organized at Indianapolis on the ist of March, 1865, and left on the 5th for Nashville, but was stopped at Louisville by order of General Palmer and sent to Russellville, where it was sent out in detachments to Hopkinsville, Bowling Green and other points in that sectiim of cnuntry. Company H was at different times engaged in fighting guer- rillas, but sustained no losses. On the i6th of June the regiment returned to Louisville and was assigned to duty at Taylor Barracks, where it remained until September 4, 1865, when it was mustered out of sen'ice. It was publicly welcomed liunK' at Indianaijolis on the '')th in the Capitol grounds. Speeches were made by General ]\Iansfield, Hon. John H. Farquar and Colonel Nelson Trusler, M0RG.\n's R.MD IX INDI.\N.\ .\ND OHIO. Early in July, 1863, General John Morgan with his guerrilla bands of soldiers crossed the Ohio river from Kentucky into south- ern Indiana, creating intense excitement througliout Indiana, many being apprehensive he would come as far north as Indianapolis, liurning and destroying property as the}' went. He had a small force and the rapid gathering of the citizen soldiery of the state made it exceedingly unsafe for him, and turn- ing to the east, he went into Ohio and sweeping arotmd Cincinnati, attempted to recross the Ohio above Cincinnati. On Jtdy 10, 1863, the following telegram was received here from the Governor : "T. C. Phillips, Kokomo, Ind. : "I want all the awailaljle force from vour county brought to 176 MORROWS HISTORY this cit}' at the eariiest possible moment. Come organized if pos- sible. Organization, however, can be completed here and arms fur- nished. Please send runners over the country and inform all the people. Answer what you can do. Bring blankets. ■'Oliver "P. Morton." This telegram was received at 10 o'clock a. m. on Friday and at I p. m. over one hundred men got aboard the train for Indianapo- lis and about three hundred followed on Saturday. After an or- ganization was completed at Indianapolis it was learned that Mor- gan had crossed into Ohio. Wlien the Indiana troops were asked if they were willing to follow the rebels into another state every man from Howard responded in the affirmative. Had the troops been hastened forward immediately the How- ard county boys might ha\-e had the honor of helping capture the guerilla chieftain at Hamilton, Ohio, but when they arrived at that place they learned that Morgan had crossed the railroad at Glen- dale only an hour before. They proceeded to Cincinnati and ar- rived at home Friday evening. As the war progressed calls for more men for the service had been issued ; in addition losses by battle, sickness and exposure had to be made good by recruiting new men for the old regiments until the number of men of military age in Howard county had been so depleted that it was no longer possible to secure the number of men wanted by asking for patriot volunteers. Other counties had the same conditions and experience and were hiring men to enlist by paying bounties. It therefore became necessarv for Howard countv to do the OF HOWARD COUNTY. 1/7 same else she would lose her own men, who would go elsewheix to enlist, attracted by the bounties being paid. At a special session in July, 1862, the county commissioners had appropriated five thousand dollars as a bounty to volunteers, and at their regular meeting in September following five thousand dollars more were appropriated. To raise this fund a tax of twenty cents on each one hundred dollars of taxable property was levied. This action was strongly criticised by soldiers in the field, who had gone at the first calls with- out bounty, and were thus taxed for a fund that was to increase the pay of those who had enlisted more than a year afterward, and which, to the amount of their taxes, at least, diminished the pay of the earlier volunteers. About the same time, for the purpose of determining the quota or ecjuitable share of soldiers to be furnished by each county under the calls for more troops, a census or militia enrollment of the men of military age (between eighteen and forty-five) was made. The first week in September the enrollment of the militia was completed. The enrolling commissioner, Rawson Vaile, with Corydon Rich- mond, examining surgeon; J. W. Cooper, provost marshal, and the eleven deputy commissioners for the townships of the county, met at the clerk's office to decide on applications for exemptions from the draft. The attendance was large and the examination lasted several days. Seventeen months of war had worked a great change. In the beginning men had been eager to enlist and many young men under eighteen j^ears of age had evaded this requirement and gone into the service: now men were anxiously seeking to be excused for some disability. The following table shows the number enrolled in each town- 178 morrow's history ship, the number exempt, the number now in service, and also those conscientiously opposed to bearing arms ; Number Enrolled Number Number of conscientiously Townships, militia. exempt. volunteers. opposed. Center 2,^2, 7° 205 Jackson 74 10 42 i Harrison .... 158 15 76 9 Clay 108 19 44 Taylor 181 31 150 6 Ervin 331 71 73 Monroe 171 48 57 56 Union 200 31 81 Honey Creek. 123 59 50 Howard .... 182 28 70 18 Liberty 200 46 54 35 Totals. . .2,051 428 902 125 This tabular statement shows that at least one-third of How- ard county's militarj^ strength was already in the field in September, 1862. In October, 1864, Center, Harrison and Ervin townships raised enough money by voluntary subscriptions to raise a sufficient sum to hire volunteers to fill their quota and thus escape the draft of that date. The amount raised by each township was about ten thousand dollars. BOUNTIES IN 1865. A meeting was held at James Hall, in Kokomo, on Saturday afternoon, January 7. 1865, and organized by calling ^lichael OF HOWARD COUNTY. 1 79 Thompson, of Jackson township, to the chair and appointing A. B. Walker, of Center, secretary. At this meeting the foUowing- resokitions were adopted with shght opposition : Whereas, The President of the United States has called for three hundred thousand more men and has limited the time of rais- ing them by volunteering to the 1 5th of Februaiy next, and Whereas, The governor of Indiana has permission to raise eleven new regiments in this state, and the time for raising the same has been limited to the 7th of February next, and Whereas, The citizens of other counties are moving actively in the matter by paying liberal bounties, by appropriations from their county commissioners, thus securing for themselves the available men who are in their own midst as well as in other localities, thereby rendering it entirely out of the question and impossible for those counties not paying a local bounty to secure any credits whatever, thus leaving all such counties one way only to fill their quotas, and that by draft, and Whereas, It is the opinion and sense of this meeting- that it is the surest, most reliable, equitable and expeditious way of raising a fund to pay a local bounty to have our county commissioners make an appropriation. Thus making the burden of this work in which all should be interested fall equally upon all in proportion to the abil- ity of each individual to pay. Therefore, be it Resolved, By this meeting, that we hereby request our county commissioners to make an appropriation of a sufficient sum of money to pay a local bounty of three hundred dollars to each and every volunteer necessary to fill the quota of this county. In a few days after this meeting the county commissioners were called together by the auditor, but after a consultation adjourned without taking any action whatever excepting to adjourn until Feb- i8o ruarv 6tli. In the meantime the Governor had extaided the time for raising- the requii-ed number of troops a few days. Large boun- ties were being paid in adjoining counties and our boys were leaving and volunteering elsewhere. The people were becoming thoroughly aroused and alarmed, and on Monday morning. February 6th, the day appointed by the commissioners to meet again in special ses- sion, at a very early hour the people began to flock into Kokomo in great numbers, highly excited over the prospect of a draft. They saw that Howard county would be depopulated and preferred taxa- tion rather than that their farms should lie uncultivated for want of help. A meeting of the people convened at an early hour in James Hall, the largest in the city, and it was crowded to its utmost ca- pacity. Upon a vote being taken only four persons voted against paying a county bounty. The commissioners were present at this meeting and seeing that the people were almost of one mind, at once held a meeting and placed upon record the following order : It is this day ordered by the commissioners of Howard county, Indiana, that an appropriation of ninety-eight thousand dollars be and the same is hereby made and ordered for the purpose of raising a local bounty of four hundred dollars to each and every volunteer who may enlist in the military service of the United States under the call of the President of the United States for three hundred thousand men, bearing date December 19, 1864. This appropriation shall be made in county orders, signed and issued by the auditor of said county, and in sums ranging from ten dollars to one hundred dollars each. Said orders to be paid within one year or as soon thereafter as the money to pay the same can be collected for that purpose by taxation. This appropriation to be paid to the several townships in proportion to the number of men required from each township to fill said call. And if the entire quota of said county shall not be filled bv \-olunteers tiien the num- OF HOWARD COUNTY. Ibl ber that have \-ohinteere(l to l.ie appnrtii med to the several townships in proportion to the number of men required from each. It is further ordered that the cdunt}- auchtor aforesaid shall issue said orders to regular appointed agents of each and every township of the county, when they shall deposit with the auditor a certificate or receipt that money enoug'h has been collected to cover the amount of the order or orders called for by said township, provided, how- ever, that if \-oIunteers wish to take orders in lieu of money they ha\-e that privilege. It is further ordered that all volunteers obtained from other than Howard county are to be credited to the se\-eral townships in proportion to the quotas required. It is further ordered that Ithamer Russell be appointed to receive said fund and disburse the same whenever certificates are presented showing that volunteers have been received and mustered into service and credited to Howard county under this call. Signed: David Greason, Jerome Br(jwn, John Moulder, County Commissioners. The following tabular statement shows the amounts expended for local bounties, for relief of soldiers' families and for miscel- laneous military by the county of Howard and the several town- ships : Bounty. Relief. Howard county $108,000 $15,000 Center township '. 1 1,000 10,000 Clay township 2.870 1.500 Er\in township 24,550 2,065 Harrison township 12,500 I-550 Howard township 550 Honey Creek township 7,000 S30 Jackson township 3,000 450 [82 Liberty township 17-030 700 Monroe township 10,500 1.250 Taylor township 850 Union township 4-915 1-375 Totals $201,365 $36,120 On [Monday, October 6, 1862. the first draft took place in this county, under the supervision of Rawson Vaile, commissioner, as follows: Ervin township, 18 men; Liberty township, 5 men; Clay township, I man ; total, 24 men. Those who were conscientiously opposed to bearing- amis, hav- ing been excused, though able-bodied, from actual military sei'vice, were regarded, so far as the draft was concerned, as separate com- munities, and were required to furnish the same per cent, of the whole number of able-bodied men as had been furnished by other citizens of the government. The average number of volunteers and men drafted for actual service was about forty per cent, of the whole number of those not exempt from actual military sen-ice. Consequently the government saw fit to draft forty per cent, of the conscientious ones, and assessed the commutation fee of two hundred dollars each. Their names were placed in a separate box and drawn as follows: Ervin township, 17: Monroe township, 23 Harrison township, 4; Taylor township, 3; Howard township, 8 Liberty township, 14; Union township, 6; Jackson township, i Honey Creek township, 9; total, 75. On the 26th and 27th of October, 1864. a second draft took place at Kokomo for six townships. The following was the result by townships, being double the number of men necessary to fill the OF HOWARD COUNTY. 183 quota of each: Clay, i8 men; Honey Creek, 28 men; Jackson, 22 men; Liberty, 66 men; iMonroe, 68 men; Union, 78 men. Howard and Taylor were exempt from this draft because they already had more than their quota of men in the field. And Center, Harrison and En'in, as stated under bounties, raised enough monc}' by sub- scription to hire their quotas filled. CLOSE OF THE WAR. On the 9th of April, 1865, overtaken and seeing- no hope of escape. General Lee agreed to surrender. On the morning- of the 1 0th the story of Appomattox reached Howard county and fairly set the people wild with joy. The Tribune of April 13, 1865, said ; "Last ]\Ionday was that 'happy day' that the people have been singing about for several years. It was the happiest day that the people of this generation ever experienced. The enthusiasm ex- tended over the entire countr}- and the people everywhere rejoiced. "Our town was all ablaze on ^Monday night. Bonfires lighted up the streets ; thousands of burning candles were in the windows. Old and young were on the streets; gentlemen congratulated each other. Old enemies met and buried the past. Ladies sang patriotic songs, and Rev. Mr. Jenkins, Elder Hobbs and others made brief speeches. Everj-body felt good, glorious and festive. At a late " hour the greater number of those on the streets began to move home- ward, feeling just as happy as they well could feel, while many went in out of the cold and kept up their rejoicing until the early hours of the morning. It was indeed a glorious day and evening, made glorious by the brilliant achievements of our gallant army on Sun- day, the 9th of April. Hurrah for the Fourth of July, the 9th of April ! Yankee Doodle and Yankee army," i84 Before the week ended this greatest rejoicing was turned into the deepest mourning the country ever knew. On tlie evening of April 14th President Lincohi was assassinated. On the 19th of Aprih 1865, tlie day set apart by the government for the funeral ceremonies of this great and good man, the Rev. C. ^Nlartindale was selected by the people of this community to preach a befitting and appropriate sermon, which he did in the Methodist Episcopal church in Kokomo, choosing the text: "Clouds and darkness are round about Him, righteousness and judgments are the habitation of His throne." In his closing remarks he said : "On this memorable occasion we should resolve to live for God and humanity. Let the memory of Lincoln and Washington arouse us to action ; let the blood of the heroes of '76 and '61-64 cry in our ears; let the dangers and strug- gles of the past teach us lessons of wisdom. Especially let the mur- der of our beloved Chief Magistrate, Abraham Lincoln, arouse us to crush treason and slaveiy, and to teach us to trust the living God as the Ruler of our great nation. Four years ago ^Ir. Lincoln left his quiet home in the ^^'est to assume the great duties recjuired at his hands, appealing to Heaven for help and asking the prayers of the pious. Assassins sought his life then, but God protected him till his work was done. Now he returns to his boyhood home again ; though fallen, he goes a conqueror. He has freed four mil- lion bondmen and saved a nation, and now, amid sorrows such as were not felt at the death of Washington, he goes to his long, last repose, where the boom of the cannon, the tramp of the armed host. the groan of the bondman or the hand of the assassin shall not dis- turb his repose. Peaceful be his rest, quiet his repose. Softly whis]ier the winds of the West around the grave of Abraham Lin- coln, the second Washington of America, and the world's great liberator." OF HOWARD COUXTV. 185 THE WELCOME HOME. It seemed especially fitting that July 4. 1865, should be cele- brated in a more than ordinarily impressive manner: the war was over, the countr}- was reunited and many of the veterans had re- turned to their homes. It was therefore determined t(.) combine the old-fashioned Fuurth of July celebration with a formal welcome home of the brave men who had given it an added meaning. Great preparations were made to make this a happy day to citi- zen and soldier. At 5 o'clock in the morning a loud report from the cr.nn(in on the public square reminded the people that the glnrious day had dawned. Soon the cit_\' was astir: some villain had spiked th.e gun in the night or the exercises would have begun an hour sooner. By 9 o'clock the streets were crowded with people: at 10 o'clock a large procession under command of Colonel Willis Blanche marched to the grove on the east of the city followed by the artil- lery squad and a large concourse of citizens. C(3lonel Richmond, the chief marshal, called the assemblage to order and introduced the Rev. Martindale, who announced the old familiar hymn. "Am I a Soldier of the Cross?" which was sung with much spirit. ]\Ir. Mar- tindale then led in prayer and was followed by a national air by the band: and then the gallant ]\Ietsker, of the old Seventy-fifth, stepped forward and in a loud ^•oice read the Declaration of Independence. Elder Hobbs was then introduced to the audience and delix'ered an eloquent oration. The Tribune of Jul}- 6 ci mplimented the ora- tion as being one of the finest ever delivered in the city. Elder Hobbs paid a glowing tribute to the memory of those who had fallen in defense of our liberties: and to those who had been spared to re- turn he gave cheery welcome and said : "For all the grand results of the past four years, under God, we are indebted to the armies and navies under the Stars and Stripes. Tb.e soldiers have suffered ISO MORROW S HISTORY much ill battle, in loathsome prisons and dreadful marches, but God gave them \-ictory at last." The speaker concluded his address by repeating these lines of welcome, composed by himself: "Thrice welcome, ye brave boys in blue, AA'ith your banners all torn yet true; Welcome, ye sons of patriot sires — Now rekindle the sacred fires — From year to year renew the flame, Until fair Columbia's name Shall be in every land revered. And shall on ev'ry sea be feared. AA'elcome, thrice welcome, all ye braves. This the land of our fathers' graves, A goodh' land by them blood bought, Came to us, unearned, unsought ; But now, bravely thro' freedom's war. You've borne their flag, nor lost a star." After the address dinner was annoiuiced. Baskets of luxuries had been prepared in nearly every home in Howard county, and the committee had tastefully and conveniently arranged the tables, so that all could be accommodated. The soldiers and their families were first given places, and afterwards the citizens. This was a sumptuous repast, and all partook freely, and though hundreds were served, there was enough left for as many more. After dinner the crowd reassembled at the grounds and speeches were made by Judge Linsday and Capt. Milton Garrigus. In the evening there was quite a display of fireworks and the cannon sent its echoes far into the night. All in all, it was a very patriotic and happy celebration. OF HOWARD COUNTY. 187 MEMORY OF ALL SOLDIERS REVERED. Tlie former ol^sen-ations upon the citizen soldiers of the W'nr of 1812 and tlie Mexican war holds good for the citizens who were the soldiers of the Civil war. Our citizens delight to honor their memory; and the honorar)' service so auspiciously begun on this first Fourth of July after the war has been continued in the Me- morial Day services — a day set apart to decorating the graves of those who have gone out of this life, and recounting again the brave deeds of all who served their country. In die laying out of Crown Point Cemetery a beautiful circular mound was dedicated to the fallen heroes of our Civil war. In the Kokomo Dispatch the following notice is made: "At a special meeting of the common council on Tuesday evening, June 12, 1883, G. D. Tate introduced a resolution ceding to the county the round plat in Crown Point Cemetery, known as the Cenotaph ground, on condition that a suitable memorial monument be erected thereon which shall record the names of all soldiers who died in the Union service in the Civil war. The county commissioners voted on yes- terday five thousand dollars in equal installments to apply to the purchase of the proposed cenotaph. The proposed cenotaph is to be erected at a cost of not less than ten thousand dollars. It is pro- posed to raise the additional five thousand dollars by private contri- butions. The monument will be an honor to the county, as well as a grateful tribute to the dead who died for the flag. Let the good work go bravely on." On Februaiy 4, 1885, the county commissioners let a contract to Whitehead & Wright, of Indianapolis, to construct a soldiers' monument according to plans submitted by R. F. Carter, of South Rye Gate, Vermont, for $7,450, the work to be completed on or before May 25, 1886. The beautiful monument in the northwest i88 morrow's history corner of Crown Point is tiie mute evidence (if tliat work. The con- tract included ail the required Jettering and yet the conditiim that the names of all Union soldiers who died in the service should be recorded thereon was not complied with. Below is such a list, as nearly as can lie ascertained, imperfect though it be : Howard county soldiers were represented in the following regiments: Sixth, Eighth, Twelfth. Thirteenth. Fifteenth, Twen- tieth. Twenty-first (First Heavy Artillery). Twenty-sixth. Thirty- fourth. Thirty-sixth. Thirty-ninth ( Eighth Cavalry). Forty-sixth, Forty-seventh, Fifty-first. Fifty-seventh. Sixtieth. Sixty-third. Sev- enty-third. Seventy-fifth. Seventy-seventh ( Fourth Cavalry). Sev- enty-ninth. Eighty-sixth, Eighty-seventh. Eighty-ninth. Ninetieth (Fifth Cavalry), Ninety-ninth, One Hundred and Twenty-sixth ( Eleventh Cavalry), One Hundred and Thirtieth. One Hundred and Thirt\--first ( Thirteenth Cavalry). One Hundred and Thirty-fifth. One Hundred and Thirty-seventh, One Hundred and Fortieth. One Hundred and Forty-second, One Hundred aufl Fifty-third, One Hundred and Fifty-fifth. Twenty-eighth (Cnlored), Eighth ( United States Colored), and Seventeenth Batt:er}-. SOLDIERS WHO DIED IX THE SERVICE. Howard county's "roll of honor" is as follows: Thirteenth Infantry — William H. Bates, died at Indianapolis, July 14, 1861 : Thomas Bogue, killed at .Vllegheny, December 13. i86i ; John Btums, died June 6, 1862. of wounds received at Allegheny: Fran- cis M. FTardesty. died at Cheat Mountain Pass. September 3. 1861 : Daniel Helms, died at Suffolk. Virginia. November 3. 1862; Mark Helms, killed at Winchester, ^farch 27,. 1862: Jonathan Hocksted- ler, killetl at ^^'inchester. March 2;. 1862: William Honner, died OF HOWARD COUNTY. 189 at Folly Island, January 26, 1864; Eleazor Jones, died at Cheat Mountain Pass, September 19. 1861 ; William Rader, killed at Win- chester, March 23, 1862; William Riffle, killed at Rich Mountain, July 1 1, 1861 ; George L. J. Ring, died at Beaufort, South Carolina, October 4, 1863; Benjamin Seward, killed at Foster's Farm, May 20, 1864; William Shirley, died Februar}' 19, 1862, of wounds received at Allegheny; John M. Simpson, died June 7, 1864. of wounds received at Cold Harbor. Thirty-Fourth Infantry — John Brown, died at Xelson Bar- racks, Kentucky, February 22, 1862: Henry Brown, died at Buffalo, Kentucky, February 11, 1866; Adam Ferrell, died at Vicksburg, July 26, 1863 ; William Albertson, died at St. Louis. Jul}' 22, 1863 ; George Burns, died at Louisville, Kentucky. March 20, 1862; Theo- dore P. Butcher, died while on furlough. May 16, 1862; John Hale, died at Buffalo, Kentucky, February 11, 1862: Silas A. Hoover, died at Louisville, Kentucky, February 26, 1862; William J. John- son, died at St. Louis, Missouri, February 12, 1863 ; William Linvill,. killed at Champion Hill, May 16, 1863: Tobias M. Overholser. killed at Champion Hill, May 16. 1863; David Proud, died at Nel- son Barracks, Kentucky, February 15, 1862; Thomas S. Terrell. died July 26, 1863, at Memphis, Tennessee; Hiram Van Horn, died at St. Louis, Missouri, October 13, 1862: Thomas P. ^^'interode. died at New Orleans, September 30, 1864. Thirty-Ninth Regiment (Eighth Cavalry)— ^^Mlliam R, Phil- lips, killed at Shiloh, April 7, 1862; Stephen D. Butler, killed at Chickamauga, September 20, 1863 ; Jacob Brown, died in prison at Florence, South Carolina, January 20, 1865; Elijah F. Colter, killed at Fairburn, Georgia, August 19, 1862; Henry B. Colter, killed at Cannelton, Georgia, September 10, 1864; Benjamin C. Da\-is. died September 5, 1864, of wounds; James P. Davis, died at Louisville. Kentucky. December 31, 1861 ; Herrick Hoback, died of wounds. igO MORROW S HISTORY April 14, 1862; Milton Jones, died of wounds, September 9, 1863, at Stone River; Fauzy Julien, died January 23, 1863, of wounds received at Stone River; Thomas F. Julien, died at Nashville, Ten- nessee, September 14, 1862 ; William H. Linder, died April 27, 1862, of wounds received at Shiloh : George McKinsey, died at Nashville, July II, 1864; Nicholas Mulvaney died at Savanna, Ga., March 16, 1865; Erwin W. Richardson, killed at Pulaski, September 27, 1864; Richard J. Ricks died at Louisville, Dec. 4, 1864; Charles Robertson, died at Nashville. September 5, 1863; John W. Shilling, died of wounds received at Stone River ; William Stanley, died January 9, 1863, of wounds received at Stone River; Uriah Snyder, died at home. May 5. 1864; Ausborn E. Thompson, died at Louisville. February 28. 1862; Henry H. Thomburg, died at Hub- bard's Cove. August 31, 1862; William F. Tyler, died at Nashville, September 22, 1864; Jeremiah Washburne, killed by bushwhackers, September 14, 1863 ; Nathaniel F. Whitaker, died at Murfreesboro, June 16. 1863 ; Samuel P. Witherow, died at Louisville. Kentucky, January 19, 1862. Fortieth Infantry — John M. Baly. died at Jeffersonville. Indi- ana, January 7, 1865; William Burt, died at Camp Inang, Texas, August 14, 1865; Levi Ellis, died at Huntsville, Alabama, February 21, 1865; Louis W. Jones, died at Nashville, December 16, 1864; Joel Law, died January 23, 1865 ; Henry A. Pickering, died at Nash- ville, March 24. 1865; Samuel Scales, died at Louisville, February 18. 1865 : William Smith, died of wounds at Nashville, December I. 1864. Fifty-Seventh Infantry — John Adamson. killed in battle at Stone River. December 31. 1862: John W. Adamson, veteran, killed in battle at Kenesaw Mountain, June 23, 1864; Joseph Arnold, died at Kokomo, Indiana, May 18, 1862; Isaac Browning, died at Padu- cah. Kentucky, May 26, 1862 ; George Campbell, veteran, died at Big OF HOWARD COUNTY. I9I Shanty, Georgia. July 29, 1864; John L. Colvin, died at Camp Irwin, Texas, October 14, 1865 ; WilHam Dimitt, veteran, died at Chattanooga, July 24, 1864; David H. Douglas, veteran, died at Memphis, April 28. 1865 ; Melvin C. Endicott, died at Corinth, Mis- sissippi; Robert A. Gordon, killed at Resaca, Georgia, May 15, 1864 ; Andrew J. Harding, died November 16, 1862 ; John Hawkins, died at Quincy, Illinois. March 12, 1863; Joseph Higgins, killed at Pine Mountain, Georgia, June 15. 1864; Willis Hilton, died at Nash- ville. March 29, 1862; Andrew J. Langley, died at Chattanooga, Tennessee, March 10, 1864; Samuel ^Slathers, veteran, killed in battle at Kenesaw Mountain, June 18, 1864; Peter W. McRey- nolds, veteran, died at Louisville, Kentucky, August 24, 1864; Ste- phen A. Miller, veteran, died at Chattanooga, July 5, 1864, of wounds; Lewis Pike, veteran, lost on steamer Sultana, April 27, 1865; George T. Pike, veteran, killed near Nashville, December 16, 1864; Henry Ravel, died at Bardstown, Kentucky, March 30, 1862 ; Andrew Rhoads, killed in battle at Stone River, December 31, 1862; Lewis Snoddery, died of wounds in 1864; James Weaver, died at Murfreesboro, Tennessee, April 13. 1863; George D. Winders, died at Nashville, January 13, 1863; James Yount, died June 4, 1863. Seventy-Third Infantry — Henry H. Thornton, killed at Stone River, December 31, 1862. Seventy-Fifth Infantry — Emisley Bright, died at Nashville, Tennessee, October 15, 1863; Francis M. Bryant died December 2, 1863 ; Eli Burris died at Gallatin, Tennessee, February 20, 1863 ; John G. Coate died at Richmond, Virginia, Feb- ruary 16, 1864; James Ellet, died at home, February 20, 1863, John Fay, died at Louisville Kentucky, Decem- ber 7, 1863; George \X. Henderson, died at Murfreesboro, Tennes- see, March 26. 1863 ; Jacob Hinkle. died at Gallatin, Tennessee. January' 20, 1863; John M. Hodson, died at Nashville. Tennessee; Benjamin Huff, died at Nashville, Tennessee, November 21, 1863; 192 MORROW S HISTORY Henry Jones, died at Scottsville, Kentucky. January 5, 1863; Sam- uel McClure, died at Bowling Green, Kentucky, December 11, 1862; Henry Myers, died at Lebanon, Kentucky, September 5, 1862; Allen M. Paff, died at Louisville, Kentucky, October 11, 1862; John Smiley, died at New Albany, Indiana, October 30, 1862; Hiram Stephens, died at (Gallatin, Tennessee, February 23, 1863; Thomas J. Stringer, died at Murfreesboro, Tennessee, March 6, 1863; Richard Templin, died at home, February 28, 1864; James Tliorington, died at Richmond, Virginia, February 21, 1864; Reu- ben Waldron, died at Gallatin, Tennessee, February 17, 1863 ; James B. \Vhisler, died at Atlanta, Georgia, November i, 1863. Eighty-Ninth Infantry — James L. Amiantrout, died February 17, 1863: Francis M. Beard, died in Howard county, October 27, 1862; William H. Bishop, killed at Yellow Bayou, May 7, 1864; William R. Brener, died at Jefferson Barracks, ^Missouri, October 20, 1863; Jeremiah P. Brown, died June 3, 1864, from wounds; John Carpenter, died March i, 1863: ^^'illiam J. Carter, died near Canton, Mississippi, March i, 1864; \\'esley Defenbaugh, died at Fort Pickering, Tennessee, June 22, 1863 ; Nathan M. Elmore, died of wounds received at Yellow Bayou, Louisiana, May 18, 1864; Harvey Earley, died April 10, 1863; Tilghman A. Farlow, died at_ Memphis, Tennessee, June 20, 1864; Alexander Fleming, died June 25, 1863; William H. Fritz, died July 29, 1863; Bedford W. Gif- ford, killed May 18, 1864, at Yellow Baj-ou, Louisiana; Thomas Gordon, died at Fort Pickering, Tennessee, February 23, 1863; Hugh Heathcoat, killed at Munfordsville, Kentucky, September 14, 1862; Nicholas Hughes, died at Fort Pickering, Tennessee. July 8, 1863; Richard M. Hughes, died at home January 10, 1863; Wil- liam Hughes, died at Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, December 17, 1864; William R. Hulse, died at Memphis, Tennessee, July 10, 1864: ^^"illiam A. Hunt, killed June 23, 1864, by guerillas: Henry OK HOWARD COUNTY. I93 T. Jennings, killed at Yellow Bayou, Louisiana, May i8, 1864; Reuben E. Johnson, died at Nashville, Tennessee, December 8, 1864; John M. Kane, died at New Albany, Indiana, September 28, 1863 ; Ulysses P. King, died at Fort Pickering, Tennessee, August 10, 1862; George E. Knoble, died January 19, 1863; Lewis Long, died at Memphis. Tennessee, December 16, 1862; Allen ■\Ic- Daniel, died August 15, 1864; Robert McReynolds, died at Mem- phis, Tennessee, January 18, 1864; John F. Martin died at ]\Iem- phis, Tennessee, March 16, 1864; David Morris, died at Fort Pick- ering, Tennessee, August 30, 1863 ; LaFayette Morris, died at Wood- sonville, Kentucky, October 24, 1862; Francis M. O'Dowd, died at Andersonville prison, August 9, 1864; Benjamin F. Oiler, died at Fort Pickering, Tennessee, May 26, 1863; Simon Peters, died at home, December 28, 1862 ; James W. Ploughe, died at Anderson- ville, Georgia, September 2, 1864; William H. Poff, died near Memphis, Tennessee, December 12, 1862; Allen Ramsey, died at Memphis, Tennessee, August 3, 1863 ; Erastus Ross, died at New Orleans, June 22, 1864, of wounds; Jesse Sanders, died at Mem- phis, Tennessee, September 23, 1864; Daniel Sheets, died July — , 1864; Adam Shepard, died November 15, 1862; John S. Springer, died at Memphis, Tennessee, June 5, 1864; Daniel W. Straughn, died September 18, 1863; William R. Low, August 9, 1864; Elijah E. Thrailkill, killed at Fort Pickering, Tennessee, April 27, 1863; Charles N. Tyler, died at New Orleans, March 11, 1865; Nathan Wickersham, died at home. August 7, 1863 : Hugh Willits, died February 17, 1865, of wounds, in hospital at Nashville, Tennessee; William T. ^^Mlson, died at home. October 18. 1862: ^^'illiam Yates, died May 18, 1863. NINETIETH REGIMENT (FIFTH CAVALRV). The following were lost from the ranks of the Ninetieth Regi- ment : John V. Champion, killed in East Tennessee by bushwhack- 13 '94 ers in 1864; John S. Holler, died in Andersonville prison in 1864; Augustus Q. Myers, killed at Rheatown, Tennessee, October, 1863; Jeremiah A. Starr, killed at Rheatown, Tennessee, October. 1863. Ninety-Ninth Infantrj- — Noah Cate, died of wounds received August 15, 1864., One Hundred and First Regiment — ^^'iley Bagwell, died at Bacon Creek, Kentucky, November 20, 1862 ; Tidell Rush, died at Danville, Kentucky, October 25, 1862; Barrett Spray, died at Mun- fordsville, Kentucky, December 16, 1862; George Sumption, died at Marietta, Georgia, October 6, 1862. One Hundred and Eighteenth Infantry — Richard Bodle, died at Camp Nelson, Kentucky, January 5, 1864: Jefferson W. Carr, died at Camp Nelson, Kentucky, December 7, 1863 ; James L. Gold- ing, died at Tazewell, Tennessee, December 14, 1863; Ezeriah Hut- son, died at Knoxville, Tennessee, December 10, 1863; William J. Purois, died at Tazewell, Tennessee, January 12, 1864, of starva- tion ; Emory Russell, died at Cumberland Gap, Tennessee, December 14, 1863; Milton E. Reiley, died at Powell River, Tennessee, Janu- ary 26, 1864; Ovid Youngs, died at Indianapolis, Indiana, Septem- ber 6, 1863. One Hundred and Twenty-Sixth Regiment ( Eleventh Caval- ry)— Dawson M. Brown, died at Nashville, Tennessee, November 6, 1864; George W. Crewtherd, died at Indianapolis, Indiana, March 31, 1864; Isaac Carpenter, died at Louisville, Kentucky, February 12, 1865 ; John W. Cochran, died at Indianapolis, Indiana. March 5, 1864; Enoch Dale, died at Nashville, Tennessee. December 26, 1864; James Hutto, died at Louisville. Kentucky. May 2. 1865; Moses Hinkle, died at Nashville, Tennessee, December 26, 1864; James Hodson, died May 14, 1865 : William King, died at Bellefonte Sta- tion, Alabama, July 7, 1864; William Lindley, died at Kokomo. Indi- ana. May 3, 1864; Henry M. Long, lost on Sultana, April 2j, 1865 ; OF HOWARD COUNTY. I95 Albert N. McCoy, died at Larkinsville, Alabama, June 20, 1864; Lloyd Pennington, died at Jeffersonville, Indiana, January 12, 1865 ; George B. Pennington, died at Nashville, Tennessee, March 13, 1865: Andrew J. Pierce, died at Nashville, Tennessee, November 6, 1864; Israel P. Pool, died at Nashville, Tennessee, October 22, 1864; Jacob Pool, died at New Albany, Indiana, March 4, 1865; Charles L. Summers, died at Nashville, Tennessee, December 22, 1864. of wounds: Robert Steward, died at Louisville. Kentucky. February 6, 1865. One Hundred and Thirtieth Infantry — Thomas N. Armstrong, died November 28, 1864, of wounds; Thomas H. Endicott. killed near Atlanta, Georgia, August 5, 1864; William Elliot, died at Atlanta, Georgia, October 18, 1864: George Boffman, died at Louis- ville, Kentucky, April 17, 1865; John H. Denman, died at Nash- ville, Tennessee, December 15, 1864: Joseph Godfrey, died at King- ston, Georgia, August 15, 1864: William F. Havens, died at home February 29, 1864; Albert \V. Hoke, killed by accident April 3, 1864; Nathan Maudlin, died at Chattanooga, Tennessee, June 4, 1864: Thomas O'Neil, died at Kno.xville, Tennessee, September 16, 1864; William T. Rolston, died at Chattanooga, Tennessee, Novem- ber 8, 1864; John T. Shepherd, died at Kingston, Georgia, June 5, 1864; Reuben J. Smith, killed at Nashville, Tennessee, December 15, 1864; Jesse Swinger, died at Marietta, Georgia, September i, 1864; William White, Jr., died at Marietta, Georgia, August 20, 1864. One Hundred and Thirty-first Regiment (Thirteenth Cavalry) — George M. Bums, died at Cahaba Prison, Alabama, January 5, 1865; Nicholas Tow, died at Mobile. Alabama, October 5, 1865. One Hundred and Thirty-fifth Infantry — Baker Bofifman (Baughman), died at Bowling Green. Kentucky, June 20. 1864. One Hundred and Fortieth Infanti-y — Jonathan Berry, died at New Albany, Indiana. December 3, 1864. 196 MORROW S HISTORY One Hundred and Forty-second Infantry — John H. Golding, died at Nashville, Tennessee, April 17, 1865. One Hundred and Fifty-third Infantiy — ^^'illiam I\l. Floyd, died at Russellville, Kentucky, August i. 1865; Levi Seward, died in Tipton county, August 18, 1865. NUMBER OF MEN SENT BY HOWARD COUNTY. Howard county sent into the field more than fifteen hundred men for sen-ice. Hundreds of these perished on the battlefields of the South or by the slower means of wounds or wasting diseases incident to the privation and exposures of the march and camp. The remnant wIki returned had sacrificed much of the vigor of their manhood for their country, but they had accomplished that for which they gave their service — a reunited country, built on solider foundations more than ever before. The right to secede was com- pletely overthrown. The idea of the old confederation of states was gone, and instead we had an indivisible Union. ( See page 468 for addenda. ) INDUSTRL\L HISTORY. Howard county is an agricultural county of the first class. Corn, wheat, oats, rye, potatoes and hay are produced in abundance. Corn is the banner crop. The deep, black soil and the abun- dant rainfall and a growing season of just the right length combine to make this a good corn county. The various grasses — clover, timothy and blue grass — find a natural home here and produce sure and abundant crops of hay and afford excellent grazing, thus mak- ing this a good live stock countrv. As has heretofore been indi- OF HOWARD COUNTY. 197 cated, in the beginning the possibihties only of our present high agricultral condition were liere. These fertile soils were covered with heavy forests and, for much of the year, with water, too. With much hard labor and great expense all these lands have been tile underdrained so that the land is not only drained of water but air is introduced into the soil, adding to its fertility. The for- ests have been cleared away until now a timber famine is almost in sight. LUMBERING. ^^"hile the clearing has been going on the lumber business has been an important industry. For many years all the log and frame buildings were built in their entirety out of native timber and lum- ber— roofs were of oak clapboards or shaved walnut or poplar shingles, the frames and siding of yellow popular lumber, the floors of ash lumber and the finish of black walnut lumber. This has con- tinued until recent years, when the growing scarcity of native tim- ber and the high prices of native lumber compelled the use of pine and cheaper materials. The use of the native lumber for so many years has saved the people of this county a veiy large sum of money. For many years the shipping of lumber from the county, cut by local sawmills, was an important industry. Vast sums were realized from the sale of the walnut, poplar and ash lumber while that timber was being cut away ; then another very large sum was received for the oak timber, as heading and lumber, and later still a considerable sum was received for the beech and sugar, and later still the despised water or soft elms are being exchanged for cash, omitting any mention of handle and hoop-pole timber. The gross sum received from the sale of Howard county tim- ber and saved by the people in using this timber for various domes- tic uses — buildings, fences, fuel, etc. — if accurately computed would IQO MORROW S HISTORY be a vast sum. This source of revenue is practically past, but is compensated for by well-cleared fields, fitted for the modern meth- ods of cultivation, and the woodlands, thinned out and cleared of underbrush and affording excellent blue grass pasturag'e. There is little or no waste lands on the farms now, where some years since much of it was unused. Denser population and high-priced lands have tended toward more intensive and better farming. DEVELOPMENT OF FARMS. Perhaps there is no vocation in life in which there has been so much advancement all along the line as in the farm life in Howard county in the past sixty years. Then he sowed his wheat broadcast and plowed it in the cornfield with a single-shovel plow, or har- rowed it in with an "A" harrow, if in a plowed field. He harvested it with a reap hook, threshed it with a flail or tramped it out with horses and blew out the chaff with a fanning mill : later he cut the grain with a cradle and threshed it with a "groundhog thresher" and cleaned it with a fanning mill, and a little later threshed it with a horse power separator. Several years later, when the fields were partly cleared of the stumps and roots, he began tn use the modern method of sowing his grain with a drill and to cut it with machines but yet binding by hand and threshing with steam power separators, but diiing all the work about the machine by hand — cutting the bands and feeding the grain into the machine by hand : measuring the grain into bags by hand, loading the grain into wagons by hand and stacking straw by hand — all hard, dusty work. Now he sows all his small grain with drills in fields cleared of stumps and roots. He pulverizes the soil with modern harrows and field rollers, all provided with spring seats. He harvests the grain with self-binders and puts ofif the sheaves in bunches for shocking, and threshes with OF HOWARD COl'NTY. 199 Steam power machines that cut tlie bands and feed with self-feeders tliat ele\-ate and weigh the threshed grain and dump it into wagons, ready to be hauled to market, and stacks the straw with an auto- matic wind stacker. MODERN METHODS. The present-day farmer would not know a jumping shovel plow should he meet one. Very few of them could cross off a field ■ in straight furrows the proper width for corn rows, and to drop the corn into the crosses with three to four grains to the hill would be bevond his or her skill, and then to cover the corn with an old- fashioned hoe, among stumps and roots, would be the limit ; and then to cultivate it with the single-shovel walking plow among roots, that too often would spring back and hit him on the shins, would precipitate a labor strike indeed. The modern fanner does none of these things. In the bright springtime, when the conditions are all right, he hitches three good horses to a modern breaking plow, drives out to a field where the memory of stumps and roots has almost faded away, and turns over the mellow soil and has nothing to suggest evil thoughts. And when the field is ready for planting he d(ies not go out and cross it of¥ with his single-shovel plow, but alone and unattended he hitches to his two-horse check row planter and plants twice as much in a day as did that force of five people in the elder day and does a lietter job : and when the green shoots are visible and can be seen across the field in the row, he drives out to the field with a riding cultivator and plows without fear of bodily injury. When the clover blooms are more than half brown and the bloom has fallen from the heads of the timothy stalks, this farmer does not get down his rusty mowing scythe and, after grinding to a keen edge, with a long sandstone whetrock in his pocket go out to 200 MORROW S HISTORY the field and in tlie burning sunshine swing his scythe back and forth, cutting the heavy growth of grass and throwing it into swaths to be afterwards scattered for drying, occasionally stopping to whet his scythe with the whetrock. After the hay is cured he does not throw it into windrows with a fork and then pitch it on a wagon and afterwards pitch it into the mow. HOW HAY IS NOW HARVESTED. No. The modern farmer hitches to an up-to-date mower, mows a field quickly, hitches to a tedder, kicks it up so as to pennit the air to pass through and dn,' it out quickly, and then backs his hay wagon up to a hay loader, hitches them together and drives around the field, while the loader gathers up the hay and delivers it on the wagon. After the wagon is loaded he drives to the bam and there a hayfork, drawn by horse power, picks up the hay from the wagon and deposits it in the mow. \M-ien the summer is past and the wintry storms have come, this farmer does not wrap himself up as best he can, go out and harness up a team, restless with cold, and drive to the field, and, brushing the snow off of his shocks of fodder, load and haul them to a wood lot or the straw pile and scatter the fodder on the ground for the stock to pick over and make a meal of. No. Last fall, while the weather was pleasant, he canned many acres of green corn in his silo and now, while the cold and snow are without, he feeds his well-housed stock in their separate stalls with a feed which they thoroughly relish ; and then, too, before the snow had fallen he had the shredder to tear his fodder into bits and blow it into mows in his bams convenient for feeding and where, under shelter and in the dry, he does his farm chores. He appreciates the value of warm, dry quarters for his stock and he largely has barnS for all OF HOWARD COUNTY. 20I his stock and thus feeds more economically and profitably. Not only has he made these wonderful advances in his industrial meth- ods but in his social life as well. Once he was shut in at his fann house for months at a time, because of impassable roads : now a good, free gravel road passes the front gate of nearly every home. Once he often passed more than a week without receiving any mail and then only by going a long distance in bad weather; now the rural mail carrier brings it to his home every day except Sunday. Once he often passed more than a week without receiving any mail to or from neighbors ; now any member of the family can, by stepping to an instrument on the wall, call up almost any one wanted, far or near. In the matter of schools, too, the countryside has been favored. Where a generation ago the scholars were compelled to dress for exposure and walked a mile, a mile and a half or two miles to school, in paths across field and through woods, returning in the evening- over the same path and often through storm, now the well- equipped school wagon carries the scholars from the home to the school and from the school to the home again. CONDITIONS ARE CHANGING. As wonderful as has been the industrial advance of the past, the end is not yet. Our rich soils and high-priced lands suggest changes in the industrial methods of farming — changes that are already tak- ing place : the canning factories and the city markets are making places for the small farmer and his intensive farming; the dairy- ing industr}' is being rapidly developed and the farmer of today is giving attention to the problem of preventing soil exhaustion. It is well that the conditions of the farming class are as favor- able as they are, for because of natural resources the leading indus- tr\' of Howard countv must continue to he agriculture. Befiire ever factories came into her midst, tlie farming com- munity was engaged in the liercnlean task of making the present well-improved farms. Their present and prospective high state of culture forecast a condition of continued prosperity, where homes abound in comfort and contentment. MERC.XXTILE LIFE. Contemporaneous and almost inseparably connected with these industrial activities of the farm have been the mercantile enterprises of the comity. These have kept pace with the demands of the time. The first stores or trading places were in keeping with the country, primitive establishment. The wants of the people were few and simple and their ability to buy quite limited. The purpose of the early merchants and manufacturers was to meet these simple wants. The first mill erected in the county was built in 1840. This was built just east of Xew London, on Little Honey creek. The Stone- braker mill was built in 1848. In various parts of the county grist- mill? and sawmills and combination mills — grist and saw in one — were built from time to time as the demand seemed to justify. Nearly all of the early mills were water mills. These mills have nearly all passed out of existence. David Foster was the first Kokomo merchant. Before coming to Kokonio he had a trading house at the boundary line, about twenty rods north of the crossing- of that line by the ^^'ild Cat pike. This house was a log house, stoutlv built, with portholes in the walls, and con- tained two rooms, the storeroom being on the Seven-mile Strip side of the line and the counter over which he dispensed goods on the Reserve side. It is said this peculiar constniction was to evade the law in selling whisky to Indians on government territon.-. John Bolian was the second merchant, coming here in 1844 from Ander- OF HOWARD COUXTV, 2O3 Still and commencing" on the southeast comer of the square where the Kokomo Bank is now located. Other early merchants were Austin North, J. D. Sharp and Samuel Rosenthal. At or near New London, Joshua Barnett was the first mer- chant, coming there in 1839. His stock of goods consisted of a few groceries, liquors and small notions that he could sell to the Indians. Soon after John Harrison came with a meager stock of goods, and, locating at Harrison's place, becoming the second trader in Monroe township. Charles Allison clerked for him in the spring of 1840, and tlius began his business career in Howard county. Burlington, in Carroll county, was the nearest village and trading point in the early history of the western part of the county. Because of the inconvenience of going so far to trade, Henry Stuart opened up a general store at or near Russiaville in 1842. His stock consisted of almost everything saleable — di"y goods, groceries, hard- ware, etc. Mr. Stuart purchased his goods at Lafayette, Cincin- nati and Chicago and transported them in wagons. The people had little money and made their purchases, for the most part, with "trade," exchanging ginseng, which grew abundantly in the wild state, wild meats, fur skins and honey. There appears to have been an abundance of wild honey in those early times. It is related of Joseph Taylor, who was afterwards sheriff of Howard county, that, when a young man, he had often carried a keg of wild honey, weigh- ing sixty pounds, on horseback to Burlington. Deer were also \-ery plentiful, as Mr. Stuart had at one time piled up in his cabin one hundred "saddles" or pairs of deer h(inis. Once he purchased a barrel of strained honey of Vincent Garner, a pioneer settler of that community. Mr. Stuart in turn tnok his trade to Lafayette and exchanged or traded it for goods. At one time a botanical doctor engaged Mr. Stuart to procure him five hundred pounds of yellow root and nerve vine. This afforded the 204 MORROW S HISTORY women an opportunity to earn some money. ]\Ir. Stuart traded witii tlie Indians, and the first wagon ever seen at Kokomo carried Mr. Stuart's goods, which he traded to the Indians. It required two days for Mr. Stuart and liis man to make the trip, and they spent only two hours in the Indian town. Mr. Stuart's store was not reahy in Russiaville. being just outside on the northwest. !\Iartin Burton was the first merchant really within the limits of Russia- ville. FIRST TRADING POINTS. Alto was the earliest trading place in Harrison township. R. Cobb was the first merchant there ; Milos Judkins was the first shoe- maker, and William P. Judkins was the first cabinetmaker. This was in 1848, or early in 1849; ^"c^ i" ^ short time there were three stores there stocked with well-selected goods, and three cabinet shops were operating prosperously. It is also said that there was as much business done there as in Kokomo at that time. Greentown was the first trading point in Liberty township, and its beginning was largely due to the demand of the neighborhood for a conveni- ent trading point. It was laid out in 1848 on the site of an old In- dian town known as Green Village, named thus, it is said, because the Indians having cut off the timber on the site of the village, grass had grown up. making a green landscape in contrast with the dark forest all around, and the name Greentown was adopted for the white man's town. The first merchants were L. ^^'. Bacon and his father in a double hewed log house l)uilt by them on the northeast corner of the intersection of Main and Meridian streets. They stocked their store room with a miscellaneous assortment of mer- chandise to the amount of about one thousand dollars and sold goods for two years. A little later C. O. Fry erected another store room on the southwest corner of the same street intersection. Dr. Barrett OF HOWARD COUNTY. 20$ 1); ught an interest in Fry's store and together they continned in business for several years. These were soon followed by others and Greentown soon became an important trading point. Jerome had its origin in much the same way. It is said of the earlv settlers in the \-icinity of Jerome that the greater amount of trading during the early days was done at Marion, Jonesboro, Peru, Logansport and Noblesville, some of the first settlers going as far as Indianapolis for their merchandise. Flour and meal were obtained from those places in the summer time: but during the winter seasons when the condition of the early roads precluded the possibility of travel, many families manufac- tured their own breadstuffs by hand, crushing the grain in a rude mortar made by hollowing out the top of a stump. One of those pioneers has said, "We were compelled to go to Jonesboro and Som- erset on the Mississinnewa and to points on the White river and the Wabash for grinding. It was a long, winding bush road through the woods, across the sloughs. We took mostly corn, as scarcely any wheat was raised in the county. The writer remembers riding on horseback to Somerset purposely to get flour for a house-raising, which he bought there and returned with before he slept after leav- ing town." IN" HONEY CREEK TOWNSHIP. From a description of pioneer life in Honey Creek township we are told, "Corn must be carried fourteen miles on horseback to ha\-e it converted into meal. Two miles below Burlington was the nearest mill — the old 'Crummel mill.' Often did the pioneer go six miles farther down Big Wildcat to the 'Adams mill." It required all of one day and the most part of the following night to make the trip. Doubtless a modern Honey Creek youth of twelve years would feel some timidity in undertaking such an errand through a wolf- 2o6 morrow's history infested wilderness." The founding of the early towns and the building of the first mills were prompted more by necessity than the desire of industrial gain, and so it is said of Jerome that the chief cause which led to its founding was a general desire on the part of the community for a trading point, there being no town nearer than Jonesboro on the east and Russiaville and New London on the west. The immediate outgrowth of this demand was the establishment of a small store and a blacksmith shop in 1847, which formed the nucleus around which several families located. Soon after Hampton Brown laid out the village and named it Jerome in compliment to his son Jerome. Thomas Banks bought a lot and built a store house and became the first merchant. He stocked his room with a miscel- laneous assortment of merchandise to the value of about fi\e hun- dred dollars and sold goods for three years, selling out to Joel and C. Murphy. Gofif & Allen erected a hewed log store building in 1853 and en- gaged in merchandising for four years, carrying a large stock valued at three thousand five hundred dollars. They sold out to Harvey Brown. West Liberty had its origin in the erection of a large water mill near its northeastern limits; this and a blacksmith shop led Moses Jones to plat a town site in the latter part of 1849. FIRST BUSINESS HOUSE. Moses Rich erected the first business house in 1850. This was a log building sixteen by twenty feet. Rich carried a stock valued at one thousand dollars, and did a good business. He carried on the business for twelve years. David Macy erected the second store building and was a prominent merchant and operated an extensive store for five years, when he closed out and left the place. Syca- OF HOWARD COUNTY. 20J mere Corners had its origin in the building of what is now the "Cfover Leaf raih^oad" and was laid out in 1881 by O. P. Hollings- worth. Allen Quick and Frank Houn were the first merchants-, who fitted up the old frame school house for a store room soon after the building of the railroad. This is a good shipping and trading point. \'ermont was laid oct in 1849 by Milton Hadley, who had obtained a part of float section No. 7. He appears to have been a man of considerable enterprise and ambition and in platting Ver- mont he laid out a very pretentious town, with a public square and a large number of town lots clustered around the square. A white oak tree standing on the blufif of Wild Cat was the starting point for the survey of this future metropolis of Howard county. The town plat suggests that he considered his town site so superior to any other that possibly others would appreciate it and thus would be influenced to change to the town he had planned. This hope, if hope it was, was disappointed, and after a brief and feeble exist- tence the town ceased to be and its site is now cultivated fields and the white oak doubtless, ere this, like the town whose sentinel it \vas, has disappeared. Charles Ellison was the first merchant of this town, carrying on a grocery store and a dramshop. His dram- shop was the resort of the tough characters of the surrounding country and gained for the place a bad reputation. Benjamin Jack- son and John Colescott were other early merchants. After the building of the Clover Leaf railroad, to the north of the old town, a station and trading point was established on the railroad a short dis- tance northwest of it. LAID OUT NEW LONDON. New London was laid out in 1845 by John Lamb and Reuben Edgerton. At that time there were three houses, or cabins, in the 2o8 morrow's history town. Jonathan Hawarth was at that time engaged in the sale of dry goods and groceries. He was succeeded by Isaac Ramsey. Soon after the organization Richard Nixon came to the town and engaged in the mercantile business. He remained there many years. Fairfield was laid out in 1849 by John J. Stephens in anticipa- tion of the building of the I. & P. Railroad, which had been sur- veyed through that point some time previously. On the completion of the railroad the place became a prominent shipping point and had a reputation of being one of the best shipping points and markets on the line between Peru and Indianapolis for a number of years; but because of the building of the Pan Handle railroad on the east, and the improvement of the highways leading into Kokomo, much of the trade has been diverted to other points. Bundy & Johnson were the first merchants in a little house west of the railroad. They did a fair business on a stock valued at $500. Overman & Stout started the second store. They erected a small storeroom just northeast of the railroad. After two years their stock was closed out. Thompson & E\-ans did the largest mercan- tile business of any finn in Fairfeld. Their storeroom was on the west side of the railroad and on the south side of the street. They also operated the large warehouse and elevator erected by Evans & Fortner. THE FIRST WAREHOUSE. The first warehouse was built by Bundy & Robinson and was in the south part of town and on the west side of the railroad tracks. Tampico was laid out in 1852 by Ephraim Trabue. Spencer Latty was the first merchant. Terre Hall was also laid out in 1852 by Asa Parker. Cable & Osborne were the first merchants, dealing in a miscellaneous assortment of articles. Both towns were the out- growth of the location and building of the P., C. & St. L. Rail- OF HOWARD COUNTY. 20g road and both had, in course of time, the accessories — blacksmith shops and sawmills. Cassville was laid out in 1848 by William and Xathan Stanley. Its origin was the survey for the construction of the I. & P. Rail- road, and after the building of the railroad for a time had quite a reputation as a trading point. The first stock of goods was brought to the place by John and David Evans, who erected a good frame sturehouse near the railroad and did a good business for four years and then sold out to Samuel Martindale. Poplar Grove was first settled in 1847 by Caleb Coate and the merchants were Coate & Morris, who conducted a dry goods and grocery store. These various trading points have been continued to the pres- ent time, with two or three exceptions, and outside of Russiaville and Greentown have just about held their own. A few points have been added as Plevna and Phlox and Guy in the east, and Kappa, Ridgeway and West Middleton in the west end. Russiaville and Greentown, in the opposite ends of the county, are flourishing and growing towns. SAWMILLS BECOMING SCARCE. Reference has already been made to the lumber industry of the county. In the years- that are past the great sawdust piles in fre- quently recurring intervals bore silent witness to the fact that here had been a sawmill. Since the exhaustion of the timber these mills are few in number and are found at the towns. It is therefore con- sidered not worth while to make further reference to them. The other class of mills, for grinding flour and meal, instead of going out of use have much increased their usefulness. Many of those early mills, with their simple and meager beginnings, have 2IO MORROW S HISTORY gone on from one improvement to anutlier until they are now up-to- date and prosperous mills; while the decaying and falling frame- work and the abandoned millraces mark the places where others were busy in a former generation, and it is deemed worth while to note these beginnings and to rehearse a history of that which is past but remains to the present. The Stonebraker mill, after sixty years, still does business at the old stand and is one of the best-known objects in the county. The mills and the various milling industries in the vicinity of New London, which were dependent upon the water power of Honey creek, have long since ceased to exist. The past sixty years have witnessed a wonderful shrinkage in the water supplies of the county. SOME OF THE FIRST MILLS. At Russiaville the first gristmill was built out of logs on Squir- rel creek, near the present site of the cemetery, and was a mere corn cracker and was operated by water power. In 1852 Martin Burton built the first flouring mill in Russiaville. At first it was a water power mill, but in a few years was changed to a steam mill. In 1870 it was destroyed by fire, but was rebuilt and has been improved until it is up-to-date and a good industry. The first gristmill in Harrison township was built by James Brooks just south of Alto in 1848. It was a small corn-cracker and wheat mill. A part of the old frame is still standing and a por- tion of the millrace is yet in existence. In 1850 Samuel Stratton erected a gristmill in connection with his sawmill on Little Wild Cat northwest of the site of West Middleton. THE WEST MIDDLETON STE.\M FLOURING MILL. Earlv in 1882 Samuel and Joseph Stratton and Amos C. and John Ratclift' formed a company and began the erection of a steam OF HOWARD COUNTY. 211 flouring mill at \\'est ^Middleton. It is a brick building, built upon a heavy stone foundation. The bod)- of the building is thirty-six by forty-eight feet and is four stories high. It is provided with a very complete outfit for handling and cleaning wheat and making flour and cornmeal. The original cost was ten thousand dollars, and it had a capacity for seveny-five barrels per day. The first mill in Taylor township was a handmill for grinding corn and was buih and owned by Nathan C. Beals, who lived about one mile northeast of the site of Fairfield. This mill he made out of two boulders taken from his farm in Section 20. The lower stone was fixed, and the upper stone was revolved on a pivot inserted in the lower stone. There was a woi.iden pin or post inserted in the outer edge of the upper stnne, by which it was turned. The meal- hoop was made of the inside bark of a shell-bark hickory tree and sewed together with leather wood bark. The mill was fed by a boy, who threw in a few kernels at a time. It is said the grinding on this mill was rather tedious, and }'et it served the milling pur- pose of the neighborhood. The Fairfield Steam Flouring Mill was built in the year 1858 by Joseph Haskett. The building is a frame and is two and a half stories high. New machinery has been added from time to time. keeping it fully up-to-date in milling processes. It has a good repu- tation and does good work. It has a capacity of one hundred bar- rels of flour per day of twenty-four hours. Reuben Hawkins, of Union township, built the first mill in the eastern part of the county. He settled on Lilly creek, about a mile northeast of Jerome, in 1844, and soon after built his mill. He manufactured the buhrs for the mill out of two large boulders near the mill site. The mill was operated by water power and ground very slowly, but made a A'ery fair article of meal. Hawkins attached a turning lathe and, being an expert workman in wood. soon had all the work he could do. making tables, stands, chairs and various other articles of furniture, which he sold to the settlers of the adjacent country. James Lancaster also had a small mill on Lilly creek just north- west of Jerome, which was a rude affair, operated by hand with some help from -the water of the creek. The proprietor took half of the grain for toll. In 1847 the Brown brothers erected a water mill on Big Wild Cat. just south of Jerome. It was a combination mill ; that is, it did both grinding and sawing and was thus operated until i860, when it was torn down and the machineiy used in the construction of a new mill on the same location. It has a grinding capacity of one hundred bushels of grain a day. Moses Jones, of West Liberty, erected a large water mill just northeast of the village in 1849. This was a large three-stor}' building with two runs of buhrs and a saw attached. It was an excellent water mill and was operated until 1862. when it was com- pletely destroyed by fire. In the year 1875 \\'illiam Jessup moved a steam flouring mill from Kokomo to West Liberty. It has since been remodeled and improved so that it is a modern, well-equipped mill and regarded as a good acquisition for that community. A COMBIN.\TION MILL. The first mill in Liberty township was erected by Luther Segraves and stood about one mile south of Greentown on Big Wild Cat. This was a combination mill, sawing lumber and grind- ing grain, as the customer desired. This mill did a good business and was in operation until about the year 1863. William Lindley erected a sawmill in the southern part of the township, on Big Wild Cat, and. in 1850, sold it to a man by the OF HOWARD COUNTY. 2I3 name of Dorman. Five years later Dorman built an addition to the original building, put in two runs of buhrs and added steam power and did a very good business. This was known as the Dor- man :\Iill. The Greentown roller flouring mills were built and began busi- ness in 1889. They are thirty-two by forty-two feet in dimension, with all needed outbuildings, and are built of brick. They have a daily capacity of seventy barrels of flour. The proprietors of the mill deal in flour, meal, feed, and grain of all kinds. In 1842 Joshua Barnett commenced a milklam across Wild Cat, in the southeast corner of Ervin township. He finished this dam in 1843 and built a sawmill with corn-cracker attachment in 1846. This mill was conve}-ed to Moses Cromwell, who converted it into a gristmill, and it became known as the Cromwell mill. In 1847 Robert Coate built a combined saw and gristmill at Poplar Grove. So great was the demand for lumber from this mill he ran it day and night, weekday and Sunday. WATER MILL FLOUR POPULAR. William Grant built a gristmill on Big Wild Cat, near the pres- ent location of the Critchlow Brothers' slaughter pens, in 1847, and a little later he built a sawmill near the gristmill. These events were the cause of great rejoicing among the inhabitants of the young county seat, who were thus afforded opportunity of getting both breadstuff and building material almost right at home. This mill was transferred to Mo.ses Cromwell, who, leaving the mill at the boundary line, came and operated it by water power very successfully for several years. Those water-power mills ground rather slowly, and as the mill- ers did not do an exchange business, but tolled each man's grist 214 MORROW S HISTORY and ground it for him, often compelling him to wait quite awhile for his "grinding," especially if there were others in ahead of him. The writer remembers as a boy taking grain to the mill to be ground, going as early in the day as he could, taking a lunch and fishing outfit and spending the day fishing in the millrace while the grist was being ground. It was an experience not altogether bad. The good housewives of the elder day thought at least that the flour ground at the old-time water-power mills was better than the flour made at the steam mills. The first steam flouring mill at Kokomo was the Leas mill, built nearly fifty years ago across the railroad and opposite the Lake Erie Elevator. W'orley Leas was, for many years, the proprietor. In later years it was known as the Howard Flouring Mills. The last proprietors were Darnall & Dawson. Lately it has been discon- tinued. The second mill was the Spring ]\Iills, built at tlie southeast corner of Jefferson street and Indiana avenue, by George W. Hocker more than forty years since. Its present proprietor is C. M. Barlow, who has had charge of it for fifteen or twenty years. Mr. Barlow also does an extensive feed and grain business through the L. E. & \\'. and P., C. & St. L. elevators. The third mill was erected in the fall of 1896 and is known as the Clover Leaf 'SUlh. and is a twenty-five barrel daily mill. It is a modern roller merchant and gristmill. L. AA". Smith is the pro- prietor. HAS UNDERGONE A CHANGE. The milling business has undergone a great change in the past sixty years. Formerly the mills ground each man"s grist separately and for the owner taking toll before grinding. That necessitated every cus- OF HOWARD COUNTY. 21 5 tomer waiting at the mill for his grinding or else returning home and going back another time for the flour and bran. Later they began an exchange business, weighing the grain and giving a given number of pounds of flour and bran for each bushel of wheat. At this time most men sell their grain and buy flour and feed as needed ; and the miller buys the grain, manufactures it into flour, meal and feed and sells it to the trade. In the early history of the county there were numerous tan- neries. All the towns and villages and many country communities had its shoemaker or shoemakers. Almost every family did its shoe repairing. Of the several tanneries it may be mentioned that just east of Xew London there was a good tannery : that the Judkin limthers, of Alto, had a small tannery on tlie north bank of Little AA'ild Cat just north ni :\It. Z'um church, which they later on moved nearer their places uf Inisiness at Alto, one of them being a shoemaker and the other a cabinet- maker. Barnhart Learner was then a resident of the township and a shoemaker also. It is said that Francis Galway was the first tanner at Jerome, starting a tannery in 1847. The enterprise proved very remunerative to the proprietor, who operated it successfully for twelve years. In 1859 it was purchased by John W'illitts, who ran it for four years and was then allowed to go down. Joshua Galway started a tanyard at Vermont in the year 1850 and kept it up five or six years. It proved a paying venture. Early residents of Kokomo remember that in very early times a tannery was commenced just west of the log jail. The exact date of the beginning and by whom started are forgotten. This much 2i6 morrow's history is authentic history, tliat the Cains came into possession of it in 1867. forty-one years ago. and that of all the tanyards of the county it is the sole survivor. The Cains have operated it in connec- tion with their harness making business during all these inter- vening years. tr.weling shoem.\kers. These early residents further say that in the early times there were traveling shoemakers, who went from house to house and made shoes and boots for the families, boarding and living with the family while making the family stock of toots and shoes. That was the protective principle in active operation : home-grown hides, home tanneries and home-made boots and shoes. Those whose memory goes back half a century will recall that there were then many good-bearing apple orchards; that the fruit was of superior excellence; that the Vandever Pippin, Yellow Bell- flower, ^laiden Blush, Golden Russet and Early Harvest varieties were the leading kinds ; and as they recall these facts will wonder where those early orchards in a country so new came from, and will be interested in these notes. Charles Harmon and J. ^^^ Heaton planted apple orchards at an early date. Harmon went to ^^'illiams' nursery, at Indianapolis, taking several days for the trip, and bought one hundred trees. Heaton bought forty trees of a tree peddler from Clinton county and set them out in a deadening from which the logs had not yet been removed. John Heaton planted the first nursery in Liberty township about two miles southwest of Green- town, near the site of Richville church, and many of the early orchards were started from this nurseiy. THE FIRST NURSERY. It is said that Joseph Brown, of Union township, had the first nursery in the county, starting it from stock brought from Rich- OF HOWARD COUNTY. 217 mond in 1850. The first orchards in Union township were set out in 1846 by Jesse Lancaster and Charles P. Baldwin, on the Far- rington and Galway farms joining Jerome on the east. The trees were carried from Fairmount. in Grant county, on horsel^ack. Lan- caster carried fifty-five trees and Baldwin thirty-five. They were tied in bundles, each having two bundles fastened together, a bun- dle on each side of the horse and the tops reaching backwards. In this way they threaded their way thnnigh the forest along a wagon trace, and there was along that way a distance of ten miles with- out a house. The pioneers of the county seemed to have been impressed that this was a good fruit country and they began early to plant orchards, and these citations are but a few examples of how the early settlers secured orchards. A\'ithiii a few >ears there were nurseries in various parts of the county, enabling the farmers to secure nursery stock conveniently and at little cost. Howard county has never grown apples in such quantities as tn ha\-e large quantities for export, but usually has had plenty for home consumption. The county could become a good apple-growing district if enough interest and care should be given the industry. Her other products are sufficiently profitable to call attention from this busi- ness. TR.XPPING .\ND HUXTIXG. Trapping and hunting ma}' rot be said to lia\'e been a regular industry of the county, but yet there have been a few trappers and hunters who were cpiite successful in this business in the early years of its settlement, and the great majority of the early settlers supple- mented their efforts to feed and clothe themselves and families by hunting. Of the early pioneers who engaged in trapping. "Uncle Jim" Brooks, of Harrison township, was probably chief. James, at 2i8 morrow's history the age of twenty-seven, and his father left Hamilton county in the fall of 1838 and followed an Indian trail through to the reserve and camped with a party of land hunters south of the present site of New London. In a few days they built some bark wigwams on Little Honey creek and trapped during the winter. The products of their toil were the skins of seventy otter. During the summer of 1839 the_\- caught one hundred and forty coons on Shaw's prairie. In the fall of 1840 they built some bark huts on the land afterwards owned my Foster, near Kokomo, and trapped above the town exten- sively. They caught a great many coons and wildcats. It being ver}- cold, they frequently found coons frozen in the snow. One evening the father, returning from up the creek, found a frozen tur- key, but before he bi:)t hi)me dropped it near a button bush pond near where the courthouse now stands. James, going out to look for it, found it in the clutches of a wildcat, so he set two otter traps and the next morning went out and found that he liad caught the wildcat. The next spring they found five bee-trees in an Indian sugar camp. These they cut down and by the use of moss strained out seventeen gallons of fine honey. In that day wolf hides sold for seventy-five cents and scalps for one dollar and fifty cents. \\'ildcat hides sold for eight dol- lars, otter hides from six to nine dollars, and deer hides from fifty cents to one dollar each. In a history of Honey Creek township is found: "The early pioneers had very little to sell, and what they had could not be sold for money. A\Mld game and wild honey seem to have been the principal articles offered in exchange for the neces- .sary commodities of life." A BEE HUNTER. Of one of the pioneer hunters and trappers of L'nion township it was said : "James Husted was an odd character, who achieved OF HOWARD COUNTY. 2I9 quite a reputation among the early settlers as a successful bee hunter and trapper. He was an unmarried man and lived entirely alone in a little rail pen, which he built about two and a half miles east of Jerome. He made no improvements but spent all his time in the woods, trapping during the fall and winter season and hunting wild honey in the summer. From the sale of the furs and wild honey he realized considerable money, which he hoarded away with miserly care. He remained in this part of the country until the game became scarce, when he packed his few household goods and, with them on his back, departed for more congenial quarters fur- ther west." Of the pioneers of Liberty township it is said: "The forest supplied the meat from the bountiful store of game, in quantity and Cjuality according to demand. Deer were everywhere abundant and afforded the chief means of subsistence to many families during the first two or three years' sojourn in the woods. Jonathan Fisher states that in one year he killed one hundred and twenty-five within a few miles of his home. A man by the name of Ray was a hunter of considerable note and frequently killed four or five deer a day, of which he kept nothing but the hams and hides. The other parts of the carcass were given to anyone who desired them, or left in the woods to be de\-oured by the wolves. Wild turkeys were so plentiful as to be no rarity and were considered game not worth the ammunition required to kill them. An occasional bear was seen, but the majority of these animals had disappeared several years prior to the first settlement by the whites. A large one was killed a short distance east of Greentown in 1846, which weighed over four hundred pounds. This was the only one ever killed in the township so far as now can be learned." Wolves roamed the woods in great numbers and proved very 220 MORROW S HISTORY tlestructive to stock. Farmers were obliged to build tight pens for their hogs and sheep ; yet despite all their precautions an occasional lamb or porker would fall a prey to these gaunt scourges of the forest. In time, these animals disappeared, many of them being killed by the early settlers for the reward offered by the state for their scalps. MONEY WAS SCARCE. Money in those early days was a scarce article and many fami- lies were compelled to deny themselves the luxuries which today are classed as necessities. Deer skins, ginseng and maple sugar, of which large quantities were made e\-ery spring, were articles of commercial importance, by means of which many families kept themselves supplied with groceries, dry goods, etc. In Howard township a man named Dix is recalled, who settled on the John Barnes farm and made a few improvements. He is remembered as a noted backwoodsman, whose greatest delight was hunting and trapping, which he followed very successfully. By the sale of ileer skins, venison hams and wild honey, he managed to supply his family with what groceries and few articles of wearing apparel they needed, while he went clad in the conventional buck- skin garb common among the pioneer hunters sixty years ago. After game became scarce he sold out and went West. MAPLE SUGAR INDUSTRY. Reference has already been made to the fact that the making and sale of maple sugar was a not inconsiderable industry in pioneer times. Milton Garrigus states he and his father made eight hun- dred pounds of sugar and a barrel of molasses in the spring of OF HOWARD COUNTY. 221 1847 '^'" their claim in Lilierty township. He further states that the Indians delighted to make sugar and molasses in their immense sugar orchards and that on the tract where he "squatted," in 1847, there was an abundance nf Ijark troughs and spiles, rude stables for ponies, big troughs for storing sugar water, where they had been used by the Indians for sugar making. The only recorded instance of trouble between the Indians and the early white settlers grew out of Charles O. Fry, in Union town- ship, settling too near an Indian sugar camp a short distance south- west of Jeroine. He erected his first cabin near an Indian sugar camp, which so exasperated the red men, who were in no wise friendly toward the settler, that serious results very nearly fol- lowed. The savages looked upon Fry's action as an encroachment, and gathering a number of their braves together, they rode througli the country, tore down a number of newly-erected huts and unoccu- pied cabins, burned fences and seized the stock belonging to several settlers. Fry and Joseph Brown visited the Indian camp to make reparation for the offense committed, which was rather more easily efifected than they expected. The chief said all would be well and no further depredations be committed, providing the white man (meaning Fry) would procure for them a load of hay for their ponies. Brown and Fry were compelled to go to Marion for the hay, an undertaking- attended with many difficulties, as thev were com- pelled to cut their road through the woods for almost half of the distance. The hay was unloaded at the Indian village in due time and thereafter all was peace l^etween the red skins and settlers. There were countless numbers of thrifty sugar trees all over the county, and if the county had had waste lands for their growth 222 MORROW S HISTORY and preservation, the maple sugar industry of Howard county would now outrival Vermont. The truth of the matter is the lands of Howard county are too fertile to permit their use for industries that are leaders in other states. HEAD OF THE HARDWARE BUSINESS. Of the commercial industries of Howard county, the hard- ware firm now known as the Armstrong-Landon Company is easily at the head, both in point of continuous existence and in the volume of business transacted, having had a continuous existence of more than fifty years. Very few of the residents of Howard county now hving can recall that small hardware establishment on the east side of the square just opened by the firm of Dr. J- A. James, Dr. Horace A. Armstrong and x\ddison F. Armstrong. That was in the spring of 1856. Two members of this new firm were prominent physicians of the growing town and the third was a young man just embark- ing in a business career- that was to prove eminently honorable and successful and whose business enterprise was to be of uncalculable benefit to the future city of Kokomo in many ways. The senior member. Dr. J. A. James, combined in a marked degree the intelli- gent physician and the public-spirited citizen. These two men con- tributed largely to the development of Kokomo on a broad and enduring basis. Two years after the beginning of their business it had outgrown its room and they were compelled to seek more roomy quarters. Accordingly they moved to the Bohan and Ashley corner, where the K., M. & ^^^ traction station now is, into a room sixteen by eighty feet, at that time the second largest business room in the village. They continued to occupy this for four years, or until 1862, OF HOWARD COUNTY. 223 and their business had increased so that they must have more room. They, therefore bought a lot on the east side of the square ne.\t to the southeast coi'ner and began the erection of a three-story buihl- ing. When nearly completed this building was blown down by a tornado and in the downfall carried with it the storeroom occupied by the firm and also the Tribune office. Undaunted by this double misfortune the firm immediately began to prepare to rebuild, and completed the new building the same year. They were, however, not through with misfortune, for in 1867 the block in which they were was destroyed by fire. They rebuilt the same year, but this time only a two-story building. During 1867 the senior member, J. A. James, retired from business and was succeeded by Josiah Beeson, the firm name being Armstrong, Beeson & Company., Before another year had passed Dr. Horace A. Armstrong died and his interest was purchased by Dr.. Edward A. Armstrong. For two years the firm remained under the old name, when ^Nlr. Beeson sold his interest to Messrs. Zimri, Xixon and Isaac Ellis, and the name of the firm was changed to Armstrong, Nixon & Company. This firm cuntinued until 1874, when the death of Mr. Nixon caused annther change. The mem- bers composing the new firm were A. F. Armstrong, Dr. E. A. Armstrong, J. C. Pickett and George W. Landon, under the firm name of Armstrong, Pickett & Company. In the spring of 1875, the firm, finding their business increased to such an e-xtent as demanded still further enlargement of their facilities, decided to erect a build- ing capable of accommodating it and began the constructinn i)f a storeroom opposite the southeast corner of the public square. It is sixty-six feet front on Sycamore street and one hundred and thirty- two feet long, and is four stories and a basement high, with heavy brick walls and stone foundation. 224 MORROW S HISTORY It is conveniently arranged and a building hard to surpass for the purposes for which it was erected. KEEP A LARGE STOCK. A large stock of the latest and best makes of farm machinery, builders" supplies. sto\es and ranges, a stock of buggies and harness and a complete stock of general hardware is carried by the firm. In addition they have a tin shop and a full line of tin and galvanized iron supplies. Xear by is a lumber yard, well stocked. They are thus enabled to supply the varied wants of a wide range of cus- tomers. They have a large, first-floor salesroom, thus providing their friends and customers with a comfortable waiting and rest- ing room. January i. 1883, Air. Pickett retired from the firm and E. S. Hunt entered, and the name of the firm was changed to Armstrong, Landon &: Company. In 1888 tlie firm name was changed to Arm- strong, Landon & Hunt Company. On the death of 'Sh. Hunt, some years later, the firm name was again changed to Armstrong, Landon & Company, which remains to the present time. A. F. Armstrong continued as president until his death about five years since. The present officers are: George W. Landon, president; Thomas C. Howe, vice-president: H. Xeck Landon, secretary, ^^^ A. Easter, treasurer. \\'hen E. S. Hunt entered the firm in January, 1883, the Hunt lumber yard was taken over into the property and management of the company. This property consisted of an extensive lumber yard at the intersection of the P. C. & St. L. Railroad and ^^lonroe street. Later the planing mill was added. The planing mill part of this industry seems to have had its beginning with the Hunt brothers. OF HOWARD COUNTY. 225 Henry and Ezra, at New London, while the water power was abun- dant and the industrial future of New London was radiant with hope. Later, with the coming of the F. & K. Railroad, Russiaville gave promise of more substantial business returns and the planing mill was moved to that place. A few years later the Hunt brothers transferred the business to the location referred to in Kokomo. A little while prior to 1883 Ezra had come into the sole management of the lumber business by the retirement of Henry. Since taking control of this branch of their work they have developed and expanded it until it is one of the important parts of the county's industries. They are engaged in the manufacture of doors and sash, the dealing in all kinds of lumber, the manufacture of all kinds of building material for the interior finish of private residences, consisting of stairways, offices and bank work, and the contracting for the construction and erection of all kinds of buildings. The company has engaged extensively in the manufacture of interior work for churches, church seats and pulpits, having done work of this kind in various parts of the Union. Although this firm began business here in the infancy of the county, much earlier than any other firm, and has continuously engaged in the same business, and has at all times put push and vigorous business methods into it, they have not monopolized their lines of business. PLANING MILL BUSINESS. S. C. Moore built the S. C. Moore planing mill at the north- west intersection of the L. E. & W. Railroad and Jefiferson street in 1S74 and operated it until his death in 1905, a period of thirty years. During the last ten years his son, Edward S., was associ- ated with him, and the finn Avas S. C. Moore & Son. At the death IS 226 morrow's history of the elder 2^Ioore, Elmer Danner became associated with Edward S. Moore and the firm is Moore & Banner, and do a general con- tracting; business in connection with their mill business. Since the organization of the first hardware firm there has been quite a number of others organized, and, after doing a good busi- ness for a number of years, for one reason or another have discon- tinued— George Hocker in the sixties, and later Bruner & Coate : Hutchings : Owen & Company, and others whose names are not remembered now. And so of the lumber business. HEADING AND STAVE BUSINESS. Prior to the discovery of natural gas in 1886, Lawrence Snider was probably the leading manufacturer of Kokomo, being in the heading and stave business. He purchased oak timber throughout Howard and adjoining counties and brought it to his factory at the north end of Kokomo and manufactured it into staves and head- ing, which he shipped to New York and Philadelphia. He began the business in 1878 and did ten tlKiusand dollars' worth of work the first year and four }'ears later increased it to seventy-five thou- sand dollars. Of those engaging in manufacturing enterprises were A\". H. Sumption and later \\'. H. Sumption & Son, who were engaged in the manufacture of buggies, carriages and spring wagons from 1S70 to many years later. They employed a number of men and did good work and a g"Ood business. MANUFACTURED BUGCxIES. Walter Hooper came to Kokomo in 1865 and erected a small blacksmith shop and began the manufacture of I^uggies. During his first year's business he sold one thousand, six hundred and sixtv- OF ItOWARD COUNTY. 22/ five dollars' worth of new work, and eight years later sold fourteen thousand five hundred and sixteen dollars' worth. He also made carriages, spring wagons and road wagons. The oldest continuous dry goods store in Kokomo is the Bee Hi\e. This store was commenced in 1872 by Samuel Davis. The firm name was S. Davis & Sons and was one of the leading business firms of the city. By the withdrawal of Walter and the death of Samuel, Henry C. was left as sole proprietor. In the year 1901 Mr. Davis sold to William H. Turner, who has continued the busi- ness since. Nearly thirty years ago Bl(.)ck & Thalman came to Kokomo and began merchandising on a diminutive scale, with a limited stock of notions and low-priced goods. By fair dealing- and catering to the wants of the masses they rapidly built up a trade, and with the increasing trade they increased their stock in ^•ariety, quantity and C[uality until now they have probably the fullest stock and greatest variety of goods in the city. The White House was built some eighteen years ago and has been extended across the alley since. The Kokomo Dry Goods Store is of considerably more recent date and does a fine business. VARIOUS KINDS OF STORES. Those whose memory goes back to the times immediately after the Ci\il war will recall the sign in front of the clothing store on the north side of the square and west of the alley which read, "D. Friday." Eveiybody then knew D. Friday and his obliging young clerk. King Kennedy. D. Friday's clothing store is the oldest in Kokomo today. D. Friday is no longer here to welcome his cus- tomers with a bland smile, and when he had put on a customer a coat two or three sizes too large for him. would take up the slack on 228 morrow's history the back with his hand and declare that the coat was ''shust a feat." King Kennedy has remained with the store and since the death of Mr. Friday has Ijeen the proprietor through the generosity of his friend. The Finch-Pennington Company rank second as successors to Strickland & Company. Walter H. Davis ranks third in point of time. In the fall of i860 the industrial interest of Kokomo received a large accession in the coming of T. Jay and family, Rufus Dol- man and family, and Ithamer Russell and family. Soon after com- ing to Kokomo they entered into parnership and began several lines of business. They established a packing plant on the east side of town next to the P., C. & St. L. Railroad, buying hogs and slaughtering them and curing and shipping the meat and lard. They continued this business for perhaps ten years. They also established and carried on an extensive grocery store establishment. They also bought grain at the Lake Erie elevators, known then as the Jay & Dolman warehouse. They also established a private bank, known as the T. Jay & Company banking house, which was continued until after the First National Bank was established in 1865. Mr. Jay was prominent in the industrial life of Kokomo until his death. After his death the business was continued under the firm name of Russell, Dolman & Company. Some of their earlier lines of business were discontinued. Buying and shipping of grain was their chief business. Mr. D. P. Davis was their gentlemanly foreman at the elex'ator and was a very expert grain inspector. ^Members of the firm held considerable stock in the First National Bank and were connected with the bank as officers. OF HOWARD COUNTY. 229 MAKING BRICK. The brick industry has been of more or less importance from very early times in the county. There has been an abundance of good clay in all parts of the county and in the earlier times cheap fuel everywhere — wood. Captain Harry Stewart is the authority that his father, Heniy C. Stewart, was the pioneer brick manufacturer of Kokomo. About the year 1847 he had a brickyard at the northeast corner of the intersection of High (Superior) and Buckeye streets. He obtained the clay for the bricks from Buckeye and Washington streets at the bluff of Wild Cat, the road supervisor allowing him to take the clay in making the cut for a roadway to the creek. The next year his brickyard was changed to the southwest comer of a six-acre tract of land lying just north of Walnut street, and whose western boun- dary was near Webster street. Wood was used for fuel. Mr. Stewart relates that instead of using the old-fashioned — as now known — mixing or tempering wheel, that oxen were used. They were driven round and round in the mud, tramping it until thor- oughly mixed. The oxen would step in the steps made in former rounds and thus would work the mud into ridges and ruts. To overcome this the driver would reverse the direction of the oxen. The first brick masons in Kokomo were John Albright and Harles Ashley, and the first brick buildings were built in 1848; one a store building on the corner where the Darby block now stands, and the other a blacksmith shop. The limestone industry has also been of considerable importance from very early times. John and Charles Morrow, brothers, began the quarrying of building stone nearh^ sixty years ago on Pete's branch, near the present Defenbaugh stone quarry, on a somewhat limited scale, but sufficient to supply the demand for several miles 230 MORROW S HISTORY around. A little later they also began burning lime to supply a demand for that article in plastering and stone and brick building. The first lime was burned on log heaps. Logs twelve to sixteen feet in length were cut and piled in heaps four or five feet high and to a length of fifteen or twenty feet, and upon the top of this heap sev- eral wagon loads of limestone were heaped and then the log heap was fired. \\'hen the heap was well fired and the mass of stone became hot the popping and exploding of the unbroken stone was like diminutive artillery. This was allowed to bum down and cool and made a fair article of lime. Somewhat later two kilns were erected for burning lime, and a far better quality of lime was burned with less fuel. In later years the demand for the stone for various building purposes consumed practically all the stone quarried, and, being more profitable than the lime business, the burning of lime was discontinued. The Morrow brothers sold to George \\\ Defenbaugh in the early sixties and he operated and developetl the quarries until his death in 1906, doing an extensive business in building and crushed stone. FIRST MACADAM STREETS. \\'hen Kokomo began building macadam streets the demand for broken stone increased amazingly and a stone quarry was opened on the east side of the L. E. & ^^^ Railroad. ab(iut forty rods snuth of Wild Cat creek. A vast quantity of stone was taken out and hauled upon the streets and there broken by hand. After this was aban- doned another quarry was opened on the west side of the railroad opposite the abandoned Cjuarry. A power stone crusher was intro- duced and the manufacture of crushed stone was commenced. This plant has been operated on an e.xtensive scale for several years by OF HOWARD COUNTY. 23 I J. "SI. Leach & Company. The demand has heen lieavy the present season for crushed stone for shipping and home use in building macadam roads. In recent years the K., M. & \\'. traction Hne opened a stone quarry on West Markland avenue, just west of Courtland avenue, for crushed stone for their raih'oad tracks. During the past year L. B. Hodgin and others have operated and expanded the business of the plant until they have been com- pelled to operate it day and night and are now arranging to expend ten thousand dollars for new machinery and improvements. Kokomo crushed stone is not only exclusively used at home, but is also shipped in large quantities to various parts of the state. Following Henry C. Stewart in the making of brick have been many. Chief of these have l^een ^^'illiam B. Morgan, on the north side, and John AI. Leach, on the suuth side. Mr. Morgan died several years since and his business has been discontinued. Soon after Kokomo began her rapid growth, because of the discovery of natural gas in her midst, John M. Leach & Company. foreseeing the demand and perhaps already realizing it for a far greater supply of brick, erected a brick plant on the L. E. & W. Rail- road just south of the city and began the manufacture of brick on a large scale, and found a ready market for his entire output. Several years since he had used all the clay within the immediate neighborhood of the plant and the company was compelled to go back from thq plant to buy clay and to ship it to the plant. For shipping purposes they operate a dummy railroad, having a small locomotive and a number of small railroad dump cars. For sev- eral vears they used natural gas for fuel in burning bricks : a few years since they changed to coal. The firm of J. M. Leach & Company do an ice business also. Thev began with the cutting of natural ice, first building an ice- 232 house above the city near the Ohio street bridge, and another at the north end of the stone quarry on the west side of the railroad. About fifteen years since they began the manufacture of artificial ice, using the natural ice to supplement the artificial in supplying the trade. Soon they were able to supply the demand with the artificial ice and they discontinued the storing of natural ice. Their original factory was on the south side of Wild Cat creek, near the east side of the Lake Erie Railroad. Their business had so increased that in the year 1903 they built a large, substantial brick building fronting on Main street and east of the original one for their ice factorv-. This is a modern, up-to-date ice factory. In the manufacture of ice they use distilled water taken from a well drilled eighty-five feet into the limestone. The stratum of water at this level seems to be inexhaustible. A test, made in 1901, near the ice plant well, of two eight-inch wells in this water stratum, showed that, pumping at the rate of two million gallons of water every twenty-four hours, the water could not be lowered below a given level. This test was made to determine the location of a mu- nicipal waterworks plant. WHEN KOKOMO WAS YOUNG. Prior to the fall of 1886, Howard county was solely an agri- cultural community and Kokomo and the other towns of the county were trading points. Kokomo was a thrifty town of about four thousand people and was located wholly upon the north side of Wild Cat creek. There were no factories as Kokomo of today knows them. There were several small factories supplying local demands. The citizens were wideawake and progressive and doing well in a moderate way. About this time natural gas, which had been known in Pennsylvania and Canada for a number of years. OF HOWARD COUNTY. 233 was being developed in Ohio in and about Findlay. No effort had as yet been made to learn if it underlaid Indiana territor_v. Some enterprising Howard count}- citizens determined to make a test. Accordingly a paper, which can hardly be called a subscription paper but rather a memorandum of an agreement, was drafted as follows : "KoKOMO, Indiana, March 22. 1886. "The object of this paper is to ascertain if there are a sufficient number of persons in this city willing to subscribe one hundred dol- lars each for the purpose of boring for gas a distance of not less than two thousand (2,000) feet. The names of those willing to subscribe the above amount ($100), pro\'ided the scheme is prop- erly and satisfactorily organized, are as follows : A. G. Com- stock. D. C. Spraker, J. C. Blacklidge, J. ]\I. Leach, S. Davis & Sons, Amistrong-Landon Company, R. O. \\'ilson, J. C. Dolman, John W. Slider, E. Quaintance, Russell Dolman & Company, J. O. Henderson. J. McLean Moulder, W. H. Sellers, J. A\\ Cooper, J. B. Michener, Henry Hunt, Dixon & Company, Bell & Purdum, \A^ A. Stuart, G. W. Defenbaugh, George Stidger." This paper, with the signatures, has recently been presented to the Carnegie Library for public preservation. A. Y. Comstock and D. C. Spraker did most ai the work of circulating the paper and securing subscribers. Although the citi- zenship of Kokomo and vicinity were liberal and progressive, they did not fall over each other in their eager haste to sign this agree- ment to pay one hundred dollars for boring a deep hole into the ground. Probably none of them had ever seen a real for-sure gas well. Some of them remembered the attempt to make a hole near the old Cromwell mill, and that, after going down several hundred feet, the tools became fast and the project had to be abandoned. i\Ir. Comstock had been instrumental in promoting other enter- prises, notably the F. & K. Railroad, and so was a man of experience !34 in such matters, but found he was up against the real thing in secur- ing the necessary signatures. The work of promoting this venture was commenced in March and it was mid-September before the necessary twenty-two subscribers were obtained and the prepara- tions for boring the two-thousand-foot hole were completed and the actual drilling commenced. After the work of circulating this paper had commenced, Init during the long wait while the necessary twenty-two men were being hunted, the first producing natural gas well in Indiana was drilled in near Eaton, in Delaware county. THE SEARCH FOR X.\TURAL GAS. The contract for drilling the well was let and the first "rig"' ever seen by citizens of Kokomo was put up on the south side of Wild Cat, in a cornfield belonging to A. F. Armstn^ng, near the southwest intersection of Armstrong avenue and ^^'ater street. All that section of country lying south of Wild Cat creek and west of the Lake Erie Railroad was then farm land and few and far between were the farm houses. On the 6th of October the drill penetrated Trenton rock and natural gas burst from its confinement and gas well Xo. i was a reality. The gas was cased in and a pipe elbowed off about twenty- fi\-e feet from the well and ignited. Thousands of people came {ram far and near to see the wonder. It was not a large pro- ducer; the flames did not shoot high in the air; neither did it roar s(i tremendously as did some of the mammoth wells drilled in later ; but the well, such as it was, was easily worth going miles to see. It was not necessary to "bore two thousand feet." Gas was found in the Trenton rock at a depth of a little more than nine hundred feet. All the subsequent drillings discovered the gas deposits at OF HOWARD COUNTY. 235 practically the same depth. Arrangements were soon made for drilling well Xo. 2 at a distance of about eighty rods southwest of Xo. I. Xo arrangements had as yet been made for utilizing the find. The news, however, went out over the country like wild fire that gas had been found at Kokomo and people of various classes began fiocking to Kokomo. The earlier ones were men who were interested in exploiting- gas wells, either in drilling gas wells or in leasing lands for gas wells and forming companies for piping and selling the gas. Another class of men were those who foresaw a rise in real estate because of the "find" and who rushed in to buy for the rise — the land speculator — and another class were the manufacturers, who were looking for a bonus and cheap fuel, ^\'ell X'o. 2, when drilled in. was a producing well and the belief was confirmed that Kokomo was in natural gas territory. A BOOM IN REAL EST.\TE. In the spring of 1887 real estate was on a boom. Several syn- dicates from abroad had come in and invested in Kokomo and adja- cent Howard county real estate. The John Sherman or Mansfield syndicate was the leader in the amount and character of its invest- ment. The John M. Hamlin or Hamlin-Patterson syndicate was a close second. Several Kokomo people awoke to the fact that Kokomo real estate was a good thing to possess and the active competition rapidly ad\-anced real estate. There was no less activity among natural gas men : lands were leased for gas, the lessor agree- ing to pay so much per well annually so long as it producetl gas in merchantable quantities, generally agreeing to drill a gas well for each forty acres of land within stated times, agreeing also to pay an animal rental of a certain price per acre until the wells 236 morrow's history were drilled. Companies were organized to pipe the gas to points where it could be used and to sell it when so piped. The Kokomo Natural Gas & Oil Company was organized to furnish Kokomo with gas. The first years of these natural gas companies they were very liberal in their terms of sale, giving all a flat rate of one dollar per month for cook stoves, and one dollar and fifty cents for first heater, one dollar for second heater and seventy-five cents for each addi- tional heater per month for seven months each }'ear; and the supply was not sparing, either. About the same time factory men began to appear, seeking locations in the gas belt and free fuel and a bonus in cash or its equivalent as an incentive to come. Meanwhile several rigs were busy drilling wells, and practically all wells drilled east of a line extending southwest through the west line of Kokomo were pro- ducing wells, some of them being of mammoth proportions, notably one, known as the Shrader well, located on the Fred Schrader farm one and one-half miles southeast of Kokomo. This was probably the strongest producer in this gas field. W'hen turned open and the gas ignited it sent up a great circular flame sixty to seventy- five feet in height, with a great roar that could be heard for miles. It lighted up the country for miles around and the farmers har- vested wheat after nightfall by its light. The Hon. Daniel W. Voorheis, who was at Kokomo engaged in a cause in court, soon after this well was drilled in was taken out one evening to see it. After witnessing the wonderful dis- play of the burning well he declared it to be a sight worth a trip half across the continent to see. People were very wasteful of the gas in the first years after the discovery. They acted as if there was an inexhaustible quantity. Strong wells were opened and fired and permitted to burn for weeks, sen'ing no good purpose except OF HOWARD COUNTY. 2}^J to light up the country. The writer recalls that the B)-ron Reed well south of town burned for several weeks, lighting up the coun- try for miles around and rendering the roads fairly light for a dis- tance of three or four miles out from town. In addition the farmers had large flambeaus burning throughout the night. Thus an im- mense quantity of this, the best of all fuels, was wasted. Prac- tically all the factories were operated by this fuel for se\-eral years. In addition two large pipe lines were put in to convey the gas to Chicago. Another line carried it to Logansport, another to Frank- fort and Lafayette and another to Peru. It appeared that everyone was making a heroic effort to exhaust the supply in the shortest possible time. And yet the suggestion at that time that the supply would be exhausted was scoffed at. EXTENDING THE PIPE LINES. The pipe lines that carried Howard county gas from home were: The Lafayette, which passed through Tipton county and into southeastern Howard. Murdock was at the head of this com- pany ; the Logansport line, which, passing to the west of Kokomo, entered the gas field on the Colonel Blanche farm and extended east on the south line of Center township and thence eastwardly almost to the east line of the county, with branches to the south reaching into Tipton count^^ Hon. S. P. Sheerin was at the head of this company and it drew away the gas for about eight years. Their leases provided that the landowner should have a well drilled within one year from the making of the lease ; it provided for a well for each forty acres of land, the deferred wells to be drilled at intervals of one year each; that the company was to furnish the owner or his tenant free gas for domestic use and to pay two hundred dol- lars annually for each well so long as it produced gas in merchant- 23S MORROW S HISTORY able quantities and to pay a rental for the land not drilled on. This company leased nearly all lands on the south side. The Indi- ana Natural Gas Company had their pipe lines laid diagonally thniugh Howard township to the pumping station west of Green- town, thence east into Grant county, and had the central and east- ern parts of the county leased for. The Peru pipe line extended into the northeastern part of the county ; the Kokomo Natural Gas Company covered the country adjacent to the city: the Plate Glass Company had a large pipe line reaching east from their factor}- sexxral miles: the J. ]\I. Leach Com- pany went east from the brick plant intu Grant coun- ty: and the manufacturers' line extended east fmm Xorth street to Jackson township. These several pipe lines were busily engaged in draining away the gas supply. Fur several years the pressure has been diminishing and the supjjly is mnv largely ex- hausted. The Indiana Natural Gas Company, to comply with a pro- vision of the statute that the business of the natural gas compan.ies should be to supply Indiana cities with gas before shipping to for- eign points, laid a system of gas mains in Kokomo soon after going into the gas field, established an office here and sold gas in competi- tion with the other company. Later, when the wells of the Kokomo company were exhausted, they supplied the Kokomo company's mains with gas and have been the chief source of the supply of gas for citizens of Kokomo since. For several years both companies furnished gas for the flat rate, but for the past six or seven years there has been a meter rate service of twenty-five cents per thousand feet. Not only has the rate been higher, but the ser\-ice has been inadequate at times and the citizens of Kokomo are largely turning to coal for heating purposes. The J. M. Leach Compan\- has practically abandoned supply- OF HOWARD COUNTY. 239 ing natural gas to factories and is now quite extensively engaged in furnishing gas for domestic use at a flat rate of three dollars for cook stoves and four dollars and fifty cents for heaters per month. PUMPING ST.VTIONS. Tu transport the gas in pipe lines to Chicago and other dis- tant points required additional pressure and thus pumping sta- tions along the pipe line was necessary. The main pumping station on the Indiana Natural Gas Company's line (Chicago) was located on the north side of the Kokomo and Greentown gravel road, on the west side of Wild Cat creek, one and one-half miles west of Greentown. A large, well-huilt pumping plant was constructed and a town plat was laid off atljoining, and quite a number of neat homes were built for their employes. Pipe lines from the various parts of their gas field converged to this plant. Recently, because of the failing pressure in the gas field, pumps have been put in the wells and the wells are now sooner exhausted by the jnimping- process. Xow, after twenty-two years' use, the natural gas supply is largely exhausted. The reckless waste of the early years, the wholesale use of it in the factories and shipping it a\\a\- in many pipe lines have done a perfect work and the people nf Howard county are now almost deprived of the liest fuel for domestic use Nature ever furnished. The first factory to locate at Kokomo because of the finding of natural gas was the Kokomo \\'indow Glass Compan}-. Richard Heagany, president. This company was subsidized by tine donation of a site at the northeast intersectoin of North street and the L. E. & \V.. Railroad, and a cash bonus paid by individual subscription. Tliey used natural gas in the making of the glass and did a good 240 :.,ORR0\V S HISTORY business for a few years, when a tire cumpletely destro3ed the build- ings. The company did not rebuild but removed to Hartford City and established a window glass factory at that point. Those who had contributed to the cash bonus for locating the factory at Kokomo were very much disappointed at this action and discussed the advisability of taking legal steps to compel the return of the money thus paid out, as the company had acted in bad faith in taking the money and then moving- away, presumably to get another cash bonus. The plant was built in 1887. PAPER MILLS. Another plant located and built in 1887 was the Kokomo Straw- board plant. This plant was built by Seiberling & Williams, on a ten-acre tract of land on the New London gravel road about one mile southwest of the city. This plant was subsidized by two thousand dollars by the Kokomo Improvement Company and was expended in the purchase of the ten acres of land from A. F. Armstrong. The plant con- sisted of several large brick buildings with all the necessary ma- chineiy for converting straw into paper board and apparently was a very permanent improvement. This factor}' used natural gas for fuel and for several years did a good business and used a vast quantity of straw, making a market for all of the straw for many miles around. For several years Mr. Thomas Bauer was a familiar figure among the farmers of the county in buying their straw. The old Cromwell millrace was utilized in filtering the water with the waste from the straw- board mill. Soon the farmers along Wild Cat below the mill began to complain of stream pollution, asserting that the poisonous chemicals OF HOWARD COUNTY. 24I used in bleaching the straw and board and escaping in tlie refuse from the mill poisoned the waters of ^^'ild Cat, rendering the water unfit and dangerous for stock to drink, and that the refuse killed the fish in the stream. Finally suit was brought to prevent the allowing of the refuse to go into the stream. Damage suits were threatened. This uprising extended almost to the west limits of the C(iunt}-. Meanwhile the American Strawboard Company had been fomied for taking over into one great corporation all the strawboard plants, and the Kokomo plant had thus been absorbed. Because of this opposition the Kokomo plant was closed and has since remained closed, except for a short time it was operated as a boxboard factory. It is not at all likely that the factory will ever again be operated. The silent walls only remain of this once active industiy. In the succeeding year two other paper mills were located south of the strawboard mill, on Kokomo creek. The first to locate was the woodpulp mill, with G. P. Wood as president. This mill con- verts quaking asp, second growth cottonwood and buckeye timber into wood pulp for the manufacture of paper. For several years after the location of this factory large quantities of buckeye and cottonwood timbers were purchased of the farmers of the county. Very little quaking asp timber is grown in the county. The spruce timber used in the mill was shipped from northern ]Michi- gan, two large shiploads or cargoes being used each year. The Newman Paper Company building was built adjoining the woodpulp mill and after a short time Mr. Newman sold out to Wood & Miller and the combined factory became known as the Kokomo Paper Company and the Kokomo Woodpulp Company, with I. N. Miller, president; G. P. Wood, secretar\': and C. L. Wood, treasurer. The two plants, including buildings and grounds occupied bAr the btisiness. covers three acres. They manufacture 16 ' 242 IIOKKOW'S HISTORY wood fibre, board, barrel and box layers and have a market all over the country. In the year 1888 William C. Smith, from Rockford, Illinois, came to Kokomo seeking a location for a bit factory in the gas belt. He was then engaged in operating a factory of this kind at Rock- ford. Upon arriving at Kokomo he fell in with J. R. Hall, Wick Russell and Garah Markland, innocent-appearing men but hustlers, who, providing a good conveyance, took him out past and beyond the extensive fami lands of A. F. Armstrong, on the south side, through Markland and Russell's farm lanes "beyond Pete's branch and almost to the blufifs of Kokomo creek, so far out that all that was visible of Kokomo was the top of the court house tower, and here in a beautiful woods pasture these gentlemen assured Mr. Smith would be an ideal location for a bit factory. It was at a point where the three farms owned by these gentlemen touched each other. Mr. Hall told Mr. Smith that if he would locate on his side he would donate six acres, including a part of a clover field : ]\Iessrs. Russell and Markland said they would each give three acres more, and actually talked this shrewd business man into locating there. Be it remembered that this location was awa}- out in the countr}- and in the interior of three farms, more than a quarter of a mile from any street or highway. When the writer of this expostulated with Hall, while sur\-eying the site, and asked him how he could do such an act, he replied: "I intend to make this one of the most beautiful parts of Kokomo." THE BIT WORKS. The Rockford Bit ^^'orks was built that same year and com- menced a prosperous career that has continued to the present. The plant is a large, permanent brick structure. \\'. C. Smith was presi- OB' HOWARD COUNTY. 243 dent for many years, and Millard F. Brand was superintendent till 1894, and George J. Costello succeeded him. In 1892 Henry C. Davis and his son, Henry C, Jr., bought an interest in the factory. In 1893 <^hey and H. A. Bruner bought in all outstanding stock. They manufacture augurs, augur bits and carpenter chisels. The present floor space is about 25,000 square feet. In 1892 the number of men employed was from thirty to forty. In 1908 the number is one hundred and tifty to one hundred and sixty, and the pay-roll is eighty thousand to one hundred thou- sand dollars per year." The cpital stock is seventy-five thousand dol- lars. The officers are: H. C. Davis, president; H. A. Bruner, viice-president ; H. C. Davis, Jr., treasurer; George L. Davis, secre- tary: George J. Costello, superintendent. INDIANA TUMBLER AND GOBLET COMPANY. The Indiana Tumbler and Goblet Company came to Kokomo from Greentown in 1900 and became known as the Kokomo Glass Manufacturing Company, after having burned out at Greentown. This plant was organized at Greentown in 1894 by D. C. Jenkins, who had many years' experience in the glass manufacturing busi- ness, and knows the business from all sides. The Kokomo Glass Manufacturing Company's plant was burned out in June, 1905. The plant was not rebuilt at once, as the company debated the rebuilding proposition at great length. Many of the skilled operatives moved away to other towns having similar factories. At last, by the citi- zens of Kokomo offering them a liberal bonus, they resolved to rebuild under a reorganization known as the D. C. Jenkins Glass Company. They accordingly rebuilt in 1906. The factory employs one hundred and fifty men and has a monthly pay-roll of eight thousand dollars. 244 MORROW S HISTORY Tlie output is a full line of glass table ware, milk bottles, fish globes and a general line of machine-made goods. They have two to three men on the road selling to jobbers. Seventy-five per cent, of their output is sold in carload lots. The officers are : D. C. Jenkins, president ; Addison Jenkins, secretaty and treasurer. The Kokomo Wood Enameling Company was organized and the building erected about the year 1890. Thomas Bauer, the hus- tling straw buyer of the Kokomo Strawboard Company, was the leading spirit in this enterprise. This industry was located on the southernmost of the factory sites platted in Hamlin's Highland ad- dition. Its output was the various kinds of enameled wooden ware made from hardwood lumber, as knobs, handles, etc. It was claimed bv the managers of this concern that they used five hundred thou- sand feet of hardwood lumber annually. They bought great num- bers of beech and sugar tree logs and thus made a considerable mar- ket for a class of timber that had not heretofore sold for lumber. ^^■hile the plant was operated as an enameling industry, the kilns were \-isited with two or three disastrous fires. It was capitalized at fifty thousand dollars and employed one hundred men. ^^■ith the exhaustion of hardwood lumber it was changed to the Kokomo Xail and Brad Company. KOKOMO RUBBER COMPANY. The Kokomo Rubber Company was organized and incorpo- rated in 1895 and put up the first building forty by one hun- dred feet, two stories and basement, and began the manufacture of bicycle tires January i, 1896. Each year afterward an equal floor space was added for seven years. Now the floor space is one hun- dred thousand square feet and employs two hundred and twenty- five men. It is incorporated for two hundred thousand dollars. OF HOWARD COUNTY. 245 The pay-roll is one hundred thousand dollars annually. D. C. Spraker is president and manager, Milton Krouse is vice-president, George W. Loudon is secretary, D. L. Spraker is treasurer. The manufactures are bicycle tires, automobile tires and a specialty is made of solid vehicle tires for buggies. The product is known as Kokomo tires the world over. Shipments are made not only to all parts of the United States, but to foreign countries as well. This plant is located on the Lake Erie & Western railroad, just south of Markland avenue and fronts on Main street. The Great Western Pottery Company was established in 1893 on West Morgan street by the present owners, the two Conrad brothers and Coxon, who is superintendent. The original size was four kilns. It now operates ten places. The buildings cover ninety thousand square feet of floor surface. When the factory was first built it was the only one west of Pittsburg. Nine years ago this company secured the same kind of a factory at Tifhn, Ohio, which has seven kilns, and has practically the same output. The Kokomo plant employs one hundred and fifty men, ninety per cent, of whom are skilled workmen. The pay-roll is about ten thousand dollars per month. Their output is sanitary pottery ware and their shipments are in carload lots. The Globe Stove and Range Works was organized in 1898. The plant is located on the P., C. & St. L. railroad and their grounds extend from the railroad to Market street and south from Broadway. The company began in a modest way, but have con- tinuously grown and expanded until the plant now consists_of six large and substantial fireproof brick buildings. The buildings are all practically new, steam heated, electrically lighted and well venti- lated. The growth of this industry has been constant and is a credit to the management and the citv and ccmntv as well. 246 morrow's history tojiato growing. Twent_v years ago the Charles Brothers came to Kokomo preaching the gospel of tomato growing. ]\Ir. A. A. Charles was especially enthusiastic in telling Howard county farmers what possi- bilities were in store for them in growing tomatoes on their fertile acres and recounted what had been done in Jersey and incidentally stated that he stood ready to help them by starting a canning fac- tory. The promoters of the Brookside addition proffered these gen- tlemen a site for a factory and as a further encouragement made a donation of some choice lots. A considerable number of farmers agreed to grow acres of tomatoes at so much per ton, where they had heretofore been content with a single plant, and the canning industry had a beginning in Howard county. During these twenty years it has been a profitable business both for the grower and the packer. The Charles Bros, operated the Brookside Canning Fac- tory for several years with eminent success, canning sweet corn and peas as well as tomatoes. CANNING FACTORIES. W. A. Bowlin and others operated a canning factory on the New London pike at the north end of Courtland avenue for several years, canning peas, corn and tomatoes. John Gennebeck and oth- ers started a third plant near the strawboard mill, which later passed into the possession of parties who have organized the Kokomo Can- ning Company and has been enlarged and improved until it is one of the best plants in the State. The Kokomo Canning Company was incorporated in 1904. having been started by Josiah Kelly, who operated it until his death OF HOWARD COUXTY. 24/ two years later. Upon the death of j\Ir. Kelly ^^^ A. Bowlin took charge of the property for a season and subsequently it was operated under the trusteeship of the Kokomo National Bank until the pres- ent company was formed in February, 1904, with a capital stock of twenty-five thousand diillars. the members nf which were ; T. C. McReynolds. L. J. Kirkpatrick, W. \\'. Barnes, J. W. Barnes. J. W. Learner, E. L. Danner, F. C. Falk and C. \\\ McReynolds. The plant was then located at the corner of Water street and Courtland avenue. In March, 1906, the company doubled its capital stock and bought out Grafton Johnson, owner of the Brookside and Howard County canning factories, the Kelly plant for the most part being removed to the grounds of the Howard County plant, which had in the start been the property of John Gennebeck. In the end Mr. Gennebeck had ceased the active ownership of this industry and G. W. Landon, W. F. Ruddell and Grafton Johnson took it in charge. It was during this period that the Howard County and the old Charles, or Brookside, canning industries were consolidated. Graf- ton Johnson operated the two consolidated properties, which he soon acquired, for some time, when the three plants were consolidated, as stated, in 1906. The grounds include six and one-half acres, about three acres of which is covered with buildings. The plant repre- sents an investment of one hundred thousand dollars, and has never paid less than ten per cent., and sometimes double, on the capital stock. The active manager, who began the operation under com- bined discouragements, is C. W. McReynolds, recently elected presi- dent of the State Canners' Association. It has facilities for packing a hundred thousand cans of vege- tables in a day without touching the ingredients with the hands. All is done by machinery. The machinery and equipment are the most improved. The company packed more than three million cans the present season. 248 Tlie company is capitalized at fifty thousand dollars and was incor- porated in 1904. C. W. McReynolds is secretary and manager. Homer Sailors and W. J. Dixon began a fourth packing plant in 1907 on the L. E. & W. railroad in the Park View addition. The canning industry in Howard county has proven to be as good as its most sanguine promoters promised. In 1888 the Opalescent Glass Factory was located upon one of the factory sites platted by Mr. R. E. Patterson in the Hamlin High- land addition. A Mr. Henry, with a Frenchman skilled in the art. secured this site in donation and proceeded to erect buildings and began the manufacture of this glass. After a short time he sold out to local men, who secured 'the skilled services of Mr. Francois. This is not a large concern, but is a good business and very profitable. The capital stock is twenty thousand dollars and employs twenty men and has a monthly pay-roll of eight hundred dollars. AUTOMOBILES. Of the various manufacturing industries that have located in Koknmo probably none have obtained so wide celebrity as the auto- mobiles. Kokomo is widely known as the Automobile City. This fame has resulted from the two automobile factories located here. The first was located here ten years ago. in 1898, just south of the rubber works. Like the rubber works, it had a modest be- ginning, but grew rapidly and is now a leading industry. It is said to be the oldest automobile factory in the United States. It is also said that Mr. Edwood Haynes is the pioneer automobile inventor of this country. In the beginning the Apperson Bros, were manbers of this automobile firm and it was known as the Haynes-Apperson Company. Somewhat later the Appersons withdrew and began the manufacture of automobiles independently. The Haynes cars have OF HOWARD COUNTY. 249 been entered in many races in competition with machines made in the best factories of this and foreign countries and have always given a good account of themseh^es, especially along endurance lines. The Apperson Automobile Company is located on South Main street on the south side of ^^'ildcat, where the Riverside Machine \\'orks were located. The Apperson Bros, were the proprietors of this machine shop and when they decided to embark in the automo- bile business independently they converted the works into an auto- mobile industry and erected a large three-story brick building and began the manufacture of automobiles on a large scale. Their ma- chines are noted for power and speed. Their business is increasing rapidly and steps have been taken recently to greatly enlarge the factory. PITTSBURG PLATE GLASS COMPANY. Probably the most important of Kokomo's industrial con- cerns has been the Pittsburg Plate Glass Company plant because of its size, the long time it has been here and the amount of business done. This company was organized in 1888 and located on the east side of the P., C. & St. L. railroad and south of Vaile avenue. avenue. The founders and promoters of this enterprise were individual capitalists, of whom Monroe Seiberling was chief. Conger and oth- ers helped, but Seiberling came here and made this city his home for years and did much in various ways for the material uplift of the city. He also associated some of the business men of this city with the company in building this plant. It has at all times been a large employer of labor, employing about five hundred and fifty men. and having a monthly pay-roll of thirty thousand dollars. This factory was an earlv and heavv user of natural gas and had its own natural 2^0 MORROW S HISTORY gas plant, pipe lines and wells, reaching far out into the gas terri- tnry. Several years after the founding of this company the Pittsburg Plate Glass Company, a corporation formed for the purpose of com- bining all plate glass companies under one management, bought the stock of this company and made it a part of the Pittsburg Plate Glass system. Kokomo has been fortunate in that the plant has b-een operated almost continuously since its absorption in this sys- tem. The plant is now being rebuilt and otherwise improved, bring- ing it up to date and giving assurance to Kokomo that it will still continue to be a live plant and furnish employment for the men of the plate glass district. MAKING WO\"EN WIRE. About fifteen years since some young men came to Kokomo from Ridgeville looking for a good business location for the manu- facture an,d sale of the Whitney woveu wire fence machine and of the wire for weaving the fence in place. They also planned to weave the fence in their facti^ry and sell it in rolls to fence builders. They located their factory at North and Union streets and soon were doing a fine business in the sale of machines and in building and selling different styles of fence, including many beautiful de- signs of ornamental fence. A few years since a number of the business men and manufac- turers of the city decided that it would be a profitable and wise thing to greatly enlarge this business by building a plant to make the wire used in the fence business and to greatly enlarge the fence building department, and thus the Kokomo Steel and ^^"ire Company was formed. The stock is very largely held by Kokomo and former Kokomo citizens. It is an independent company and is handicapped iw^'m^ KOKOA'IO STEEL & WIRE CO. OF HOWARD COUNTY. 25I by being compelled to bu}- billets from the steel trust. The ciim- pany has two plants, the fence plant on North street and the mill proper on West Markland avenue. They manufacture plain and galvanized fencing wire, wire rods, barljed wire, market wire, wire nails, staples, wire fencing, etc. They ship their goods to all parts of the L'nited States, Canada and Mexico. Both plants give em- ployment to a large number of men. A. A. Charles is president: A. V. Conradt, vice-president : George \\'. Charles, treasurer, and J. E. Fredrick, secretary. J. B. i\[ichener established the Star Machine ^¥orks on North Main street in 1874 and did a general repair business for various kinds of machinery, employing twelve men and doing a business of twenty-fi\-e thousand dollars per annum. After his death the busi- ness and plant passed into the control of the Standard Motor Com- pany. This company continued the repair business and manufac- tured small gasoline engines and saw swedges. In 1904 the K., 'M. & ^^'. Traction Company purchased the plant for a repair shop and car laarns. In 1906 the Superior Machine Tool Company occu- pied the building used for the repair of machinery, being a building thirty by three hundred feet. The company is engaged in the manu- facture of upright drills. They are in position to do all kinds of repair work and the building of special machinery. Ford & Donnelly, at the corner of North and Buckeye streets, have been operating a machine and repair shop for many years. These machine and repair shops are very useful industries to the people of Howard county. The Knerr Board and Paper Company's plant is located north of North street on the L. E. & W. Railroad, and is one of two like mills owned and operated by Cincinnati parties. The manufactures of the company are folding paper box boards, binders and trunk boards and double board used for bookbinders' and shipping cases. The plant employs seventy-five hands. JIORROW S HISTORY KOKOMO BALE TIE COMPANY. The Kokonio Bale Tie Company, formerly known as the Schild Fence Company, is located on North sti-eet hetween the L. E. & W. and the P., C, C. & St. L. railroads and manufactures the Schild fence, bale ties for baling hay and straw and fami gates, and is pre- pared to furnish standard makes of telephone and telegraph wires and wires for cement posts. The company handles plain and gal- vanized fence wire, barbed wire, nails and staples and high carbon coil spring wire. Fifteen men are employed. Of the many industries not already mentioned and contributing to the industrial life and growth of Kokomo and to the prosperity of Howard county may be mentioned the Columbia Pottery and Manufacturing Company, north of Morgan street, on the L. E. & \y. Railroad : the Kokomo Brass Works, on North Smith street, the Kokomo Box Company, located on North Smith street, occupying the Petroleum Hoop Company's former plant; the Kokomo Hoop and Lumber Company, at west end of Mulberry street ; the National ?vlitten Works, East High street; the Ulrich Manufacturing Com- pany, \\'all street; the Colonial Brick Company, East High street; the Kokomo Cash Lumber Company, West Elm, adjoining the L. E. « \\' Railroad ; the Pinnell-Stroup Lumber Company, Buckeye street between Elm and Broadway streets. It is claimed that the manufacture of the Hoosier Standard grain measures is the oldest manufacturing business of the county. This was commenced at Greentown in 1853 by Joseph M. Loop and removed to Kokomo in 1877 and continued by John N. Loop, the son. FLORICULTURE. In recent years there has sprung up a new industry in our midst. In 1891 W. \\'. Coles came to Kokomo from the \icinity OF HOWARD COUNTY. • 253 of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and engag'ed in floriculture on Enst Jefferson street in a modest \\a_\-. His business met a popular de- mand and grew rapidly until now he has seventy thousand square feet under glass, all fragrant with blooms of all kinds. ]\Ir. Coles does a large and profitable business. Mr. Coles is an active com- petitor at the state fairs for premiums in his department and wins a large share of the first premiums. Coles, the rose man of Kokomo, is giving the city a good name abroad. His place is known as the Maple Hill Rose Farm. Since Mr. Coles introduced the business into this community three other greenhouse plants have sprung up. Fred Kelly, on East Sycamore street ; Tom L. Knipe, on East Mark- land avenue, and W. A. Bitler, South Buckeye street. That this business is doing a good work among the people of the city and surrounding country is evidenced by the many homes that are rendered beautiful and attractive througlmut the growing season by the many cultivated blooming plants surrounding the home and in the winter season by indoor blooming plants. THE TRACTION COMPANY. The Kokomo, Marion & Western Traction Company is the suc- cessor of the Kokomo Railway and Light Company and was organ- ized in 1902 and besides furnishing interurban trafific operates the city street car system, lights the streets of Kokomo and provides electric lights for the homes of her citizens. The street car track mileage of Kokomo is ten miles and six street cars are run upon these lines for the regular service. There are fifty miles of electric light wires in the city and fourteen hundred consumers of electricity for light and power, where five years ago there were but three hun- dred and fifty. The power house is a large brick structure along the E. E. & W. Railroad, rendering- it easily accessible with fuel. 254 MORROW S HISTORY The whole system, including the interurban service, uses one hun- dred and ten men. The artificial gas plant was constructed for a city of four thou- sand people and is wholly inadequate for the present city of Kokomo. The city is amply provided with a water works system taking water from a series of deep Avells in a seemingly inexhaustible sup- ply of good water. Kokomo and Howard county possess more of the material ad- vantages of life and fewer of its disadvantages than almost any other like community. As has already been noted, its lands and im- provements are of the very best : the city of Kokomo has a ver}' large number of very busy factories of the verj- best kinds, affording steady employment to thousands of workmen. While the greater number of her factories were built for the consumption of natural gas for fuel when the gas began to fail they were changed to bum coal and practically all are now fitted for burning coal. Some eighteen years ago a belt railroad was built from the P., C. & St. L. Railroad around the south side of the city, reaching nearly all of the factories on the south side and providing them with convenient railroad facilities. The other factories of the city have been provided with railroad switches, spurs and side tracks until nearly all Kokomo factories are reached by railroad cars and can have coal direct from the cars. Rates have been made at the coal mines and \\ith the railroads until the factories are able to have cheap fuel. The facilities for shipping coal to the factories here are good now, but promise to be better in the near future. The city in a little more than twenty years has quadrupled in population. All that country south of Wild Cat , which was farm land when the bit fac- tory was located, is now improved city properties, with paved streets, city water and city lights and the bit factor,- itself, which was then KOKOMO RUBBER WORKS. OF HOWARD COUNTY. 255 far out in the country, is now well within the city. The future is bright with promise. Howard county and Kokomo in their prosperous career liave experienced very few disappointments. Two or three will here be referrd to. TROUBLE OVER RAILRC-VD BONDS. A matter over which there seems tn have been considerable dis- satisfaction at the time, grew out of the building of the Indianapolis & Peru Railroad. It appears that the company lacked fifty thou- sand dollars of having money enough to finish the road to Peru and were unable to sell their bonds. The company therefore decided to ask the counties through which the road was being built to aid by loaning the credit ©f the counties, that is, while the railroad bonds could not be sold, the bonds of the counties could be sold. The com- pany therefore proposed that if the counties would issue bonds and loan the money thus raised the company would reimburse the coun- ties as soon as possible for the loan. In accordance with this plan, nn the 2 1st of August, 1851, C. D. Murray and William J. Holman. representing the company, came before the commissioners and asked them, for the county, to issue bonds to the amount of ten thousand dollars and take railroad stock to that amount on condition that the other counties raise the balance. The board took the matter under consideration until the next day. when they agreed to do so, pro- vided the county could be indemnified against loss by any failure of the company. To meet this condition the following persons entered into a written obligation to indemnify the county against loss in the ratio of the respective amounts subscribed by each, nn condition tliat if they had to pay the losses the stock should be theirs : William J. Holman, $4,000: C. Richmond, $500: John Eohan, '■-^6 $i.ooo; Austin Xorth, $500: William Brown. $500: George Deffen- baugh, $500; John Dale, $500: J. D. Sharp, $1,000: F. S. Price, $1,000; J. M. Skein, $500. ^^'hereupon the board ordered the auditor to subscribe for four hundred shares of stock at twenty-five dollars each, and that county bonds bearing ten per cent, interest and to run for ten years be issued to the amount of ten thousand dollars. The bonds were subse- Cjuently issued and were signed by Tence Lindley, Richard Nixon and John Knight. Certificates of stock were issued on delivery of the bonds. At the December term. 1853. C. D. Murray, agent of the Peru & Indianapolis Railroad Company, came before the board and rep- resented that the Peru & Indianapolis Railroad and the Indianapolis & Madison Railroad companies had consolidated their interests, that this consolidation was a sufficient guarantee for the payment of the bonds and interests due the county and therefore moved that the certificates of stock be canceled and the guarantors be released. The commissioners made an order in accordance with the motion; the certificates were surrendered as collateral and the giiarantors were released as securities. The company for a time continued to pay the interest and par- tial payments on the principal. But the road was being operated in a new and sparsely settled region, which at best could furnish but a limited amount of business. Their business was not sufficient to pay a large operating expense and to pay ten per cent, interest on a large debt besides. The company therefore was forced into bankruptcy and the road was sold. The failure of the railroad company caused the county to lose the balance unpaid of the ten thousand dollars originally advanced to the company, which was about six thou- sand dollars, principal and interest. There was considerable criti- cism of the board for releasing the guarantors. OF HOWARD COUNTY. 257 This criticism by those pioneers throws a strong side hght upon tliem. They have appeared heretofore as men of great generosity and broad sympathy for each other, that the privations of the new country had developed a spirit of broad friendship and unselfishness that rendered them incapable of taking advantage of another's gen- erosity. It has been repeatedly asserted that they freely left their own work to help another without any thought of pay or help in re- turn ; but here we have an instance of certain public-spirited citizens of the community, pledging large amounts for an entei-prise that will help the entire community all alike, and which will be worth many times its cost, being held responsible for this debt by their fellow citizens and the commissioners, who released them criticized for do- ing so. It manifestly would have been unfair to have held these few men responsible, who were no more benefitted than others, for this debt when it was of vast general benefit to the whole county. This instead of being reckoned a misfortune to the county, was probably the best investment ever made. It was the pioneer rail- road and gave the county an early direct line to the business center of the state. THE DOXEY FACTORY. Another matter over which there was much dissatisfaction was the Doxey factory matter. In the spring of 1874 C. T. Doxey, of Anderson, came before the city council and represented that he was looking for a location for a large factoi-y and that if Kokomo wanted it she could have it by offering proper inducement. After returning home he sent the following letter which more fully explains his sclieme : 258 morrow's history "Anderson, Indiana. "To the Mayor and Honorable Council of the City of Kokomo, In- diana : "Gentlemen — Enclosed please find a plan of heading, sta\e and bent factory, which I have now arranged to put up at this place. The building will be brick, iron roof. Will be the largest and best arranged of any in the state and perhaps the best in the United States. Propose to make circled heading from beech and red oak ; lead keg staves and heading and oil barrel staves and heading. The above machinery will all be placed on first floor. The second story propose to use for bent work. My engine is from eighty to one hundred horse power ; will use two large boilers. The machinery to be all new or good as new. The factory will employ from forty to eighty hands besides those who may be engaged in cutting and hauling timber. It makes a market for your elm, red oak and beech timber ; and as have built three factories of this kind and have had four years' experience, and have had perhaps the largest trade in cooper business of any one in the state, think it would be safe in say- ing, 'It will be a success." "Have a good location here and in locating at your city will be a loss in many ways. Would respectfully make the following prop- osition : If your city will donate five thousand dollars, one-half to be paid when building is completed and one-half when it is in opera- tion, will locate at Kokomo. It may require from forty to sixty thousand dollars to carry on the business. Will bind myself to have said factory in operation by the ist of September this year. Would come at once. What action on the above proposition you choose to take, please do so tonight, as I have part of the machinery pur- chased and want to commence the building at once. Very respect- fully yours. C. T. Doxlev." This was read to the council May 15, 1874, and a committee OF HOWARD COUNTY. 259 was appointed to look after the matter. It is supposed to have acted favorably on the proposition, as we find this record, Septem- ber 4, 1874: committee's report on doxey factory. "Gentlemen — Your committee which was appointed to exam- ine the stave and heading factory of C. T. Doxey would respect- fully report that said factoi-y is now in operation according to the terms of Mr. Doxey's contract. Signed by committee. "Mr. Davis moved the report be concurred in and that an order for five thousand dollars be drawn in favor of C. T. Doxey. "This motion prevailed with one dissenting vote." There was not a little opposition to making this donation by some of the most substantial citizens, who asserted that it was illegal and bad policy to hire factories to locate here with money from the city treasury. The other party contended that property would be benefited by locating factories here and that the only real fair way to subsidize them was by taxation. As there was an overwhelm- ing sentiment for locating factories at Kokomo, and thus to increase industrial activity, the donation prevailed and Doxey's factory got the five thousand dollars. The factory operated for a few years and then from some cause stopped. The machinery was moved away and for several years the silent buildings bore mute testimony to where Doxey's fac- tory had been. The proprietors of Kirkpatrick & Scott's addition to Kokomo had made a liberal land donation to the factoiy expecting the operation of the factory would cause that part of Kokomo to build up. The closing of the factory stopped business in that part of town and there was no more market for lots. The closing of this factnrv was the sorest disappointment Knknmo has experienced. 26o morrow's history In the abundant i^rosperity of the past twenty years and in the location of many much more important factories than Doxey's ever was she had well-nigh forgotten this experience. The historian now consigns it to a place with the window glass company and the straw- board company and is glad that these are all. EARLY FINANCIAL HISTORY. BY MILTON GARRIGUS. Like all other states of equal age, Indiana has tinkered with many kinds of currency and learned by bitter experience. An inter- esting and intelligent review seems to require starting with colonial times and tracing theories, trade, banking laws and panics in nation and state to 1861. Great Britain required its American Colonies to trade exclu- sively with the mother country and to import manufactured articles in English ships, levied duties and required them to be paid in specie, forbade them to start banks, coin money, manufacture clothing, hats, iron or paper; to sell lands to any but British subjects, and to export only in English vessels. But the enterprising inhabitants built ves- sels and carried on a circuitous trade with the West Indies, thus ob- taining Spanish gold and silver for use, and bartering exports for necessary supplies. This was the chief dependence of the colonies for turning their industries to account. England, in 1764, to- raise revenue, laid a lieavy tax on this West India trade. This led to a clandestine trade and. with other impositions, finally to the Revolu- tionary war. It was a very unequal struggle. Thirteen colonies with no OF HOWARD COUNTY. 261 ships or navy. A coast more than a thousand miles long to defend ; not a fort or fortification ; not a bank ; no money or treasury ; no army or mihtary supphes, and without credit, pitted against the wealth and prestige of England, the greatest naval power of the world. And we were also handicapped by a wilderness in the rear of our scattered settlements filled with murderous savages, ever ready to burn and massacre the settlers. We had no strong central government, only a loose confederation of independent governments. Congress was nearly powerless, a sort of advisory board rather than a legislature. The states were jealous of Congress and of each other. The most necessary and excellent measures could not be en- forced. In war money is indispensable. Congress issued paper money, treasury notes, continental currency, as it had no constitu- tional power to raise money by taxation, and had no commerce. Dur- ing the first year of the war six million dollars of paper were put in circulation; in 1776, nineteen million dollars more; in 1777, thir- teen million dollars more; in 1778, sixty-three million, five hundred thousand dollars; in 1779, one hundred and forty million dollars; making a total of two hundred and forty-one million dollars. To this volume was added the notes issued by the states. An inevitable increase in prices followed, with a depreciation of the value of paper money. In 1779 a dollar in paper currency was worth only twelve cents in specie, and a year later only three cents. All specie disappeared from circulation. Congress had pledged the faith of the nation to redeem this flood of paper. It repudiated its pledge and passed a resolution to redeem all bills of credit at one- fortieth of their face value. The first parties were Whigs, who favored our independence, and the Tories, or Loyahsts, who stood for British rule. In 1 78 1 Robert Morris was by Congress made Superintendent of Finance and placed at the head of the Continental treasury. He 262 morrow's history was an opponent of paper money. He estalilished the Bank of Xorth America at Philadelphia with a capital of four hnndred thou- sand dollars, which was of great service to Congress. The army was on the verge of starvation and nearly naked for lack vi shoes and clothes. Nearly eight million dollars were borrowed in specie in Europe. Of this $6,352,000 was from France : $1,304,000 in Holland ; $174,- 000 in Spain, and nearly $12,000,000 at home. Nearly $6,000,000 were collected by states, and nearly $3,000,000 miscellaneously. Al- together the war cost about $100,000,000. COXVENTIOX OF DELEGATES. The Confederation, without general authority and witli the conflicting interests and theories of independent states, was seen to be a failure. So a convention of delegates was called to re\ise the Articles of Confederation. It assembled at Philadelphia, with Washington as its President. It was found to be utterly impracti- cable to amend them, and the delegates fc^rmed a constitution, to be in force when ratified by nine states. At once two political parties were formed. Those who favored ratification were called Federal- ists, those opposed, Anti-Federalists. The leaders of the Fed- eralists were Washington, Hamilton, Madison, Franklin, Harry Lee, Randolph. John ^Marshall and Jay. The Anti-Federalists were led by Patrick Henry, Richard Henry Lee, Samuel Adams. Jeffer- son. Elbridge Gerry. George Clinton. James ^Monroe and George ]\Iason. Dissensions and irreconcilable theories of government existed between these parties. Hamilton advocated a strong go\-ernment. a national bank, a protective tarifif — in short, a nation with one su- preme head. Jeflferson contended for state's rights, or state sover- OF HOWARD COUNTY. 263 eignty, a tariff for revenue only, and local sovereignty, including monetary affairs. Hamilt(.in was made Secretary of the Treasury in President \\'asiiington's Cabinet. Hamilton at once proposed that the government should assume the war debts of the states, and proceed to fund the same, and to establish the national credit. He advocated a national bank nf the United States. Congress adopted his views, including a protective tariff. Daniel Webster said of Hamilton: "He smote the rock of the national resources and abundant streams of revenue burst forth. The fabled birth of Minerva from the brain of Jupiter was hardly more sudden than the financial system of the United States as it burst from the conception of Alexander Hamilton." He declared we should legislate for American interests, and so raised funds for the treasury by customs duties on imports. The national bank was established by Congress in 1791 with a capital of ten million dollars, the charter to run twenty years, and the government to own one- fifth ()f the stock. The cimflict between the two schools, or parties, made a theoretical and practical \\-ar, which exists with some modi- fications to the present time. The Separatists, or State's Rights party, larought the Union to the verge of destruction by civil war. The national school which ^^'ashington and Hamilton founded has triumphed and the national principle is now supreme. A NATIONAL MINT. A nati^ stable, where he found the men mounted upon the stolen horses. He examined the animals and was soon satisfied that they were the horses described in a letter received by the sheriff. The men started to ride away, whereupon Stewart ordered ^Ir. Cooper to assist in their arrest. As Mr. Cooper reached toward the bridle. Thrall whipped out his revolver and sent a bullet into his brain, which bullet entered at the side of Cooper's nose, and he was instantly dead. Then Thrall opened fire upon Stewart, who was shot in the hand. The missile peeled the flesh back, and this same bullet sped toward the Rev. Lowe, whom it struck in the side wounding him fatally. To escape the next shot Stewart threw himself beneath the horse. Fearing his further safety Thrall started from the stable on a gallop, his companion having already fled, proffering Thrall no assistance. Proceeding west on Walnut street, Thrall was about to reach the railroad tracks, when confronted by Justice of the Peace Thomas Auter, a doughty character, who, in- spired by the excitement of the moment, without knowing its cause. but hearing the cries to stop Thrall, picked up a brickbat, which he hurled with a lusty aiTn at Thrall's head. The horse thief, to es- cape the missile, swung to one side, whereupon the saddle turned with him. Henry B. Steward, a son of Coroner John Steward, and an expert shot, just returned from the army on a furlough, was standing upon the Dennison comer and brought Thrall down by 19 290 a shot which shattered his leg. He had said upDii tlie instant that he wduld not kill Thrall, but he would wound and disal)le him. as he did. Thrall lay wounded in the street when Coroner John Steward advanced upon him to demand his arrest. Thrall yet held in his hand the weapon which had caused Cooper's death and mortally wounded the Rev. Lowe, but he made no attempt to use it on the coroner. He submitted to arrest peacefully and for safet}- was taken to the third story of the old Henderson hotel. The (jwner, — n(.t the man after whom th.e hotel was named — appeared in a frenzy of excitement, brandishing an ax, exclaiming that he didn't propose to have any murderer in his house, and declaring that he would kill Thrall. Coroner Steward, with Thrall's weapon, com- manded the landlord to immediately go below, which he lost no time in doing. Coroner Steward then conducted his prisoner to jail. IMeantime a searching party pursued Thrall's companion, who was followed to a swamp northeast of the city, but who man- aged to escape detection by hiding under a log over which his pur- suers passed. At night he escaped, and while it has been reported that he was subsequently apprehended and sent to the penitentiary, this appears a mistake, as Captain Stewart says that he made a thoroug'h investig-ation, even at the penitentiaries, and that Thrall's companion was never apprehended and convicted. Thrall was ver}- bitter toward his companion. He said that as they had approached Kokomo they had stopped at the ^Vashington street ford of \\'ild- cat creek and pledged themselves to escape ov die together, as they "swigged a slug of whiskey." Instead the companion deserted Thrall the moment trouble introduced itself. Thrall was happy in the death of Mr. Cooper, but regretted that of Mr. Lowe, and was Sony that he had not hit Captain Stewart. Public excitement reached its height on the night following the Rev. Lowe's death and a mob formed to execute summary justice to Thrall. He had JOHN STEWARD. OF HOWARD COUNTY. 29I expected something of the kind. His need of being in fear of the event had been shouted to him through the bars of his ceU, from outside of the windows. He noted these warnings mentally, but did not condescend to answer concerning them. But that he was impressed with the fate before him was evident in his sending for Coroner Steward. To that official he made a remarkable confes- sion. He said his name was not Thrall at all. He revealed to the coroner his real name, under pledge that it ne\er be revealed. Forty years Coroner Steward kept that secret in his breast and he carried it with him, as he had promised, to his grave. Tlirall — for that must be the name by which he is to be known — confided the infor- mation that he was from the southland, and that he was a member of a prominent family, and that his situation had once been an honorable and prosperous one. To save his aged mother and family from the shame of a knowledge of the true circumstances of his death he w.mld keep t(n-e\erer his identity a secret. He said that he had been a merchant, but a Union man in a southern state. Every attempt had been made to induce him to recant his sentiments and to impress him into the Confederate service, but without avail. His business was wrecked, he said, by a mob of southern sympathizers, and his property destroyed. Thrall saved five hundred dollars out of the wreck, bid his family "good bye," promising to return if all went well, and fled to the North. He landed in Indianapolis, Indi- ana, and worked a while in a tannery, but soon fell into dissipation and bad habits. Losing his situation as the result of a jealous quar- rel with his foreman, he become a peddler of fruits upon the streets of Indianapolis, but finally, attracted by the high prices horses were bringing, if sold for the use of the Union Army, he entered upon horse stealing upon a wholesale plan. He gave his watch to Sherifif Brown and his ring to Coroner Steward. That night the blows upon the iron doors of the jail resounded throughout the city, Init no man 29-; was calmer through all the excitement than Thrall. Xo man ever faced a mob more bra\ely. Roughly handled, despite his wound, he hobbled to the court house yard Avithout a murmur. He stood upon a box and faced the seekers of his life defiant!}-. Examining- the noose which hung above his head, he found that it was too long-, and with his own hand adjusted it to his neck. He whipped out a handkerchief and tied it around his body to symbolize his innocence over the guilt of the mob. which he defied to do its worst. While he was }-et speaking- he was swung off. Those popularly supposed to be connected with the mob never prospered afterward and suf- fered a great deal in consequence of it, leaving the locality ultimately and ever afterward expressing regret at the part they had taken in Thrall's death. His body was cut down, bttt refused burial in the old cemeten-. He was buried beneath a tree upon the east, just outside. It was even ditificult to secure burial of the remains, feel- ing ran so high. While Thrall was buried it was always the claim that his body had not a long- repose, and it was the general belief that the skeleton beneath the stairway of a prominent drug store of Kokomo, which rested there for years, was that of Thrall. The body of his victim, Xelson Cooper, was removed from the old cei-iie- ten- to Crown Point cemetery, forty years after the burial, and was laid not far from the Rev. John Lowe, the seconil of Thrall's victin-is. JE.ALOUSY LE.\DS TO .\ CRIME. Infiamed with jealousy. Dr. Heniy C. Cole shot dead, October, 1866, Chambers Allen, as Allen was leaving the jiostofiice, then on Buckeye street, near Walnut street. Dr. Cole and his first wife. Nellie Cole, a beautiful woman, had many domestic disagreenients. Upon one occasion, returning to Kokomo after an extended absence. Dr. Cole found a sale of his household goods in progress, which he OF HOWARD COUNTY. 293 declared unauthorized, and to which procedure he put an abnipt end. Despite their disagreements, he was greatly in love with her. He did even'thing- in his power to maintain the hannony of their domestic relations and did not divorce her until after he had shot Allen. Dr. Cole, in the shooting, acted upon the belief that Allen had invaded his home. He had warned Allen to keep away ivom Knko- mo; it is said he even wrote Allen a letter, warning him to remain away from Kokomo, plainly infomiing him that he would meet death if he ventured a retum. It was generally known in Kokomn, in that day, that Cole had threatened Allen's life. The first sight of Allen was enough to inspire Cole with a frenzy, and he fired three shots into Allen. Cole was arrested and at first denied bail, being confined within the Washington street jail, but later was re- leased upon ten thousand dollars bond. He took a change of venue December, 1866, to Tipton county, where he was tried for murder and acquitted upon a plea of emotional insanitw his defense in chief being conducted by Senator D. \\'. Voorhees. Dr. Cole was one of Kokomo's most picturesque personalities, and himself was the victim of a violent death. Dr. Cole was of a tall and graceful build, with lustrous eyes, and had a magnificent beard, which was w ith him a matter of great pride. He always dressed faultlessly in his da}-, the best tailor-made clothes gracing his figure. He wore an appropriate ornamentation of jewelry, and had delicate, small hands and feet, and was a man of fascination among women. His father, Jesse Cole, a Kentuckian, mo^•ing to Ripley count}-, where Dr. Cole was born, was noted through life as impulsive, self-willed, and a thoroughly determined man, and such was his son. Dr. Cole, who was a determined and admittedly desperate man. He would shoot, if he so decided, and this trait known, he was greatly feared. He inspired the most devoted, loyal and undying friendships, and enmities as bitter as could be imagined. He had been an armv 294 MORROW S HISTORY surgeon and had gained a wide reputation in liis day as a ph}sician of great sing was asked if he had anything- to say. He requested the i^rivilege of singing "See That My Grave Is Kept Green," and the strain was interrupted with the exclamation, "Shove a hot jxitato in his mouth." When the last words faded from Long's lips the box was kicked from beneath him and he swuiig- to his death. The Imdy was cut down next morning and exhibited in the nin-th corridor of the court house. His body was supposed to have l)een buried in the old cemetery, and for a season his grave was covered with a bunch of flowers, planted by unknown hands, which attention ceased finally altog'ether. Some said his body was never buried, but be that as it may, a coffin was at least. Long denied to the last bis guilt of outrage, and it seems 298 morrow's history tliat the proof of that point has never been clearly established and remains to this day a matter of grave doubt. Long confessed to horse stealing, and admitted that he had sen-ed in the Michigan City penitentiary, but denied the rape, evidences of which it was asserted were established by the condition of his clothing. During the administration of J. F. Elliott, prosecutor of Howard and Tipton counties, occurred one of the celebrated trials of this locality. William Dougherty was tried for homicide in the alleged felonious killing of Joseph VanHorn. in the saloon of the Howard House. The shooting grew out of alleged oflfensive re- marks made by VanHorn imputed against the chastity of Dough- erty's sister. Dougherty was tried at Tipton and acquitted. During the administration of A. B. Kirkpatrick as prosecutor William ]\Ialosh received a sentence of nine years in the peniten- tiary for burning the Union block. The trial was hatl in 1887. In the same year OUie Hawkins was convicted of the killing of Richard Hacse through jealousy and was defendetl by Senator D. W. Voorhees. Hawkins received a seven-year sentence, but was pardoned. December. 1888, John E. Fleming, an escape from the Marion, Indiana, jail, shot Robert L. Jones, sheritT of Grant county, in a house in Jerome, Indiana, where the sheriff was tr}-ing to effect Fleming's arrest. Fleming was captured and convicted, but es- caped even from the penitentiary, but was apprehended. His sen- tence was for life. In 1891 George Tykle received a sentence of two years in the penitentiary for criminal negligence in boiling- a man named Clark to death. Tykle conducted a bathing establishment ami it was shown that Clark was a helpless paralytic and. placed in a bath tub. was left alone, and while in this situation the natural gas in the burner either came up or was turned up liy third parties, with the OF HOWARD COUNTY. 299 result that Clark was literally boiled alive, the flesh from his bones floating about the tub when his body was discovered and removed. The fact is that Tykle, who was a well-read and well-educated man, but had his own theories about things, was grieved to death over the misfortune, as Clark was his best friend and a sincere believer in the water cure theories of Tykle. THE MOLIHAN GANG. During the seventies the Molihan gang flourished in the Junc- tion district. All manner of crimes were laid at the doors of this reputed gang, but if g-uilty its members were never ascertained, ap- prehended and brought to justice. It was claimed that its ramifi- cations extended so far that justice was nullified and detection ren- dered out of the case, and tliat it perpetrated crime with impunity and after a studied plan. A wholesale robbeiy of farm houses and city residences of silverware was one plan supposed tO' be backed by the gang, and several bodies cut to pieces upon the railroad tracks at the junction were said to have been men murdered and then placed there by this gang, the booty of which, it was claimed, was sold in Chicago by those whose names, if revealed, would have caused surprise. At any rate the terror of the gang- caused deep apprehension in the minds and heaiis of the Kokomo public, and when the ]\Iolihan saloon passed away and the reputed gang melted away the public breathed a sigh of relief. September 4, igoi, Jacob Dotterer was killed at his home in Howard township, near A'ermont. The aged man was attacked by four men, two of whom were masked, this fact leading the au- thorities to believe that they were Howard county men, while the unmasked men were strangers. The report seems to ha\'e got abroad that Mr. Dotterer was to receive, on the night that he was 300 MORROW S HISTORY fatally shot, the purchase price <~.t his farm, and his assailants planned to rob him of his money. Two of the men were seen to cross the fields from Vemiont station and lie in wait for the appear- ance of the purchaser of the farm, who, later, came to the Dotterer home, where he remained about half an hour. Soon a knock was heard at the front door of Mr. Dotterer's home, which summons he answered in person, lamp in hand. He was confronted by the two masked men. who commanded him to surrender. He hastily set the lamp upon a stand and gave battle to the strang-ers. knock- ing both down and worsting the rest of the party as they advanced upon him. Although a man of sixty-five years of age, he proved a "genuine surprise party" for his assailants. He was worsting them all, when one cried out, "Well, I guess we will have to kill the old man." With that a shot rang out and a bullet pli.iwed through the old man"s stomach, entering from the side. Dotterer fell and with a d}-ing strength reached into his pixket, and drawing out two hundred and forty-two dollars he had there, hurled it up a stair- way, where it fell unnoticed into a recess in which it was not dis- covered by the robbers. The old man being shot, the robbers com- pelled Mrs. Dotterer to open the safe, after she had fought one of the number and torn his shirt off, while they held Mrs. Roll Dot- terer at bay. In the safe was found sixty-five cents. A search of the house discovered fifteen dollars more, \\\vxh the robbers took away, but this was all they secured. For while the deeds to the farm had been made the money was not turned over on the tragic night. The amount would have been several thousand dollars, and the robbers expected a large haul. When they left the Dotterer heme they told the women that if they gave the alarm to the neigh- bors they would shoot them upon sight. It was some time therefore before the alarm was given. The authorities had parties under sus- picion, but as they were about to get evidence to warrant arrests tiie suspects left the city. OF HOWARD COUXTV. 3OI THE SUTTOX-VAGER MYSTERY. What is commonly sp )ken of as tlie Suttmi- Yager mystery is one which lias ne\-er been solved, it mystery it was, in tact. While the death of Francis Sutton. April 27. 1903, and that of Lewis Yager, jNIay 11, 1903, ai-e both claimed to have been suicides, these deaths, succeeding each other so closely, happening in the same lo- cality, and bearing so many evidences of similarity, roused the en- tire county to the belief that the young men had been murdered. ■J1ie best detective skill of the country was employed to no avail, working upon the theor}- cjf murder and with the intent of bringing the guilty parties — if any — to justice. All the great metropolitan dailies sent representatives to the locality to seek to clear up the myster\% but all these efforts came to naught. Francis Sutton was found lying near his horse and buggy, close to the gate at the Pe- ter's home, not far from Hemlock. Sutton had called the night Ije- fore (Sunday night) upon Miss Stella I'eters. and left lier home. He never got farther than the gate at the end of the lane, which opened into the public road. Here he is supposed to have taken his own life, or to have been killed. A large hole had been pawed into the ground Ijy the horse, indicating that it had stood at the gate a long time impatiently. A short distance to one side was found the body of Sutton, which had evidently lieen spilled comply with any (if his requests, and defied his threats, which. pre\iously made ag'ainst her. he renewed ujjon this occasion. Osli;irn, who had been drinking, whipped out his re\i)l\-er with the exclamation. "Fairy, you provoke me." and shot her twice in the head. She fell out of bed in a heap. Osljorn fled the .scene, although the night was stormy and the rain was fall- ing heavily. .\ search was instituted for him. Iiut without avail, for some* days. He had gone as far as Canada, but homesick, he ven- tured to return as far as Logansport. Here he was appreliended in the Fan Handle railroad yards by the cnmpan}-'s detecti\-es. while riding the bumpers of a freight train. Osborn made no resistance against arrest and was brought to Kokomo, his captors obtaining a reward of five hundred dollars offered by the countv commissioners. Osborn entered a plea of guilty and was sentencetl to the ]>eniten- tiary for life. He had, it developed, kept company with Miss Mc- Clain fir several vears, and she finallv decided to eet rid of him. A 304 MORROW" S HISTORY few weeks before the killing they had quarreled and he had struck the }'oung woman, for which offense he was given a jail sentence. While the young woman chose to bear her maiden name and did so. she was the wife of Levi ]\Iiller, but with whom she did not live. Charles Thresher and William Lindley lost their lives as the result of drink. September 28, 1908. On that date their bodies, stiff in death, were found in the gravel pit near Greentown. Sunday pre- ceding the}' were seen to leave Greentown, jug in hand, which ves- sel contained whisk}-, and they remarked to one they passed that they were "going out to celebrate the county local option law." which had just been passed by the special session of the legislature. The}- re- mained at the gravel pit throughout Sunday, drinking and eating paw-paws. The jug was replenished at least twice. Finally Charles Lindley, who was with them, staggered away from the place and ti-ied to get his companions to follow him. without success. Whe 1 he returned ne.xt day he found them cold in death, one body sub- merged in the water and the other staring- with g-lassy eyes towards the starry heavens. The bodies were taken to the Fulwider under- taking establishment at Greentown. where, under the direction of the Rev. Hall, they were viewed by school children who passed by, single file, as an object lesson in temperance. NEWSPAPERS. BY OTIS C. POLL.\RD. THE H0W.\Rn TRIBUNE. The (uitfit of the Pioneer office (the Pioneer was the first paper jjublished in the history of the county! was brought from New Lon- don to Kokomo early in the fifties. The equipment was installed in OF HOWARD COrXTY. 3O5 the west side of a double frame building, ou the north side of High street, just east of Main street. l"he name of the paper was changed to that of The Howard Tribune, witli C. D. Murray as editor. On the east side of the building- occupied by the Tribune office lived the parents of Daniel G. Wilkins. "Uncle" Dan, as Mr. Wilkins has been known for }-ears, became a printer by natural associations. He fre- quented the Tribune office just across the hallway from his home, and soon picked up a knowledge of the business. James Beard, the real owner of the printing ec[uipment, and who had come with it from Xew London, pulled the press — a ^^'ash^ng•ton hand press — and "Uncle" Dan ran the roller. Mr. ^^'ilkins was also given the emplov- ment of passing the papers, the circulation of the Tribune being at that time about three hundred. "Uncle" Dan, who, as a boy, had carried the mail from Delphi to Marion, relinquished this employ- ment. Such trips made upon horseback consumed four days in going and coming-. "Uncle" Dan settled down in earnest to learn the printer's trade, and soon had mastered the boxes. In those days type was set by hand instead of by machinery, and each type was picked from a box and placed in a composing stick. "Uncle" Dan soon learned all the technicalities of the ofifice and was not long in mastering the names of the type used, as the office was possessed of but few fonts of type at best. Mr. Beard was a very agreeable man under whom to work and took a great fancy to Mr. Wilkins, who acquired from him the thorough mastery of the printer's art, which distinguished him throughout life, Mr. ^^'il- kins became an expert and passed almost half a century in the prac- tice (if his craft, a certain testimonial to his efiicienc}', the entire time being with the office with which he had started, he remaining in its serx'ice throughout successive ownerships. The Tribune of- fice was finally moved from High street to the north side of the pub- lic square, occupying the second story of the building in which was 3o6 morrow's history situated below the Robert Birt tin shop, later owned by G. W. Hocker. Mr. Murray retired as editor of the paper, which was pur- chased by Clinton Boliver Hensley, of Logansport. Mr. Hensley was an unique newspaper men, but preferred the pleasure of hunt- ing to the drudger)' of the offica much of the time. But the inter- ests of the paper did not suffer. An unknown but brainy contrib- utor was Dr. L. D. Waterman, who later moved to Indianapolis. T. C. Phillips purchased the paper of Mr. Hensley and changed the name to The Kokomo Tribune, dropping the word Howard. ]\[r. Phillips was a notable editor of Indiana, and his fame extended even into other states. He was an able, trenchant editorial writer, abso- lutely fearless and aggressive. He was equally devoid of physical fear, and the indignant man who came around to settle scores for an article to which he objected usually decided to abandon the at- tack. Mr. Phillips was a strictly party man, being an uncompro- mising Republican, the only tangent upon which he ever left his strictly orthodox Republicanism being- when he, with Judge Linsday and a number of other leading Republicans, "swung around the circle" with President Andrew Johnson. But it was not long until he had returned to his party fold and his paper and personality were a tower of strength for the political cause which he espoused. His editorials were widely Cjuoted and he expended his best energies in making his paper the leading one' of Indiana. The office was graduallv improved and finally moved to the east side of the court house square, occup}-ing tw^. March, 1845, the record contains an allowance as follows: Suiweying donation, $1.50: plat of same, 50 cents: sixty-eight lots at 25 cents each, $17: plat of town. Si: total, $20. David Foster was one of the most conspicuous characters in the life of Kokomo for many years. He generally wore a fur cap, a lilue army coat and carried a basket. When he spoke he had a peculiar way of lifting his right hand to the level of his head and whistling, and then uttering whatever he had to say. His financial acumen was ever uppei-most. Having one afternoon bartered with S. C. ^loore, a pinneer lumber dealer and sawmill man of Kokomo, for the saje of a cow, he returned bv ^Moore's lumlier vard, at the foot of what is now 3-^0 MORROW S HISTORY South Union street, at tlie nortli creek bank, after his evening- meal, and was informed that "Fnrt Sumpter had been fired upon and civil war was imminent." h'uster tlirew up his hand and whistled. ".\h! Ah! Trying- to get my cnw cheaper?" He disljelieved the truth of the report. Learning- that a friend had sold his farm, and was pur- chasing many things for his children, Foster obseiwed : "Going! Going! A gold watch! A set of furs! This and that! Going! Going'!" The g-rowth of the town he had seen develop from his log cabin finally drove his family from the double frame house he had occupied for years and which stood originally in what is now Main street. The notable stn.icture was moved to the west of the newly laid-out street and finally given over to other occupancy until torn down. In his day Foster was a heavy landowner, being proprietor of five hundred and fifty-two acres in the reserve section in 1846, on which he had improvements assessed at one thousand five hundred and fifteen dollars. The land was returned for taxation at two thousand seven hundred and sixty dollars. He owned sixty-seven lots, most of which were returned at ten dollars each, but which aggregated one thousand and three dollars. He had seven hundred and eighty-six dollars' worth of personal property. His total as- sessment was six thousand and sixty-fi^ur dollars. His total tax was fifty-three dollars and twenty cents, which he was not able to pay at (-ince, handing o\-er to the treasurer twenty one dollars and twenty cents as the first payment. EARLY CITY AND TOWNSHIP LIFE. There was not much to mark the difference between the city and farm life surrounding Kokomo in that pioneer day. The snow DAVID FOSTER, Founder of Kokomo. CORYDON RICHMOND, M. D. OF HOWARD COUNTY. 32I was knee deep when Dr. Lewis Keni reached the home of George Sni.idgrass, on the banks of Little \\'ildcat creek, Harrison town- sliip, April 18, 1846, in compan}^ with his brother. Jacob Kern. The doctor was then fottrteen years of age. Here and there a patch of grotmd had been cleared. The country was one wild sweep of woods. The next morning he was awakened by ~Siv. Snodgrass caUing his son : "Newton! Have you fed the cattle yet. Xewton?" "No," answered Newton. "You had better feed them," came the response. The son shouldered his ax and advanced into the dejiths of the forest. He fed the cattle by cutting off the limbs