Mason County, Illinois - The whole text, 1876 (part 1 of 6)

Illinois Historical Survey

This is the only Nursery in the West where you can procure the Dwarf Desert Plum, which bears equal to the Gooseberry, and is not injured by the Curculio. I have also a large stock of the Alexander and Amsden June Peaches, the earliest peaches grown. Also Huckelberries in abundance. The Thornless Blackberry has no thorns to lacerate your face or hands, or' tear your clothes ; several thousand plants for sale.

to sell good stock at reasonable rates and guarantee satisfaction to all favoring me with their patronage. J$tH=*Correspondence solicited from all needing Nursery Stock of any description.

Springfield, Ill

The origin and the object of this work is best set forth in the - following documents and proceedings. The work was engaged in \~i by the writer without fully comprehending the undertaking before - - him ; but, as new subjects and new interests have presented themselves, we have assumed to present them to the people fully, in the belief that the intelligent reading and appreciative people of Mason county will appreciate our efforts.

The scientific features of the work have been supplied by the - State Geologists of Illinois and of Michigan. To these gentlemen - we are under obligations for their assistance in "Exploring the hills £of scientific truth that shade the landscapes of eternity."

enabled to give. We arc also under large obligations to Mr. Ludlam, of the Secretary of State's office, for documents and data no where else obtainable. Also, to a careful and judicious use of "paste and scissors," for some of the most valuabjc extracts. In the defence of this I can only say, it is the general usage of writers. A noted author says: "I am not ashamed to borrow to enrich my own history." My own credit, if any shall he, in uniting the links to form a chain.

We are indebted, also, for information and assistance, to numerous individuals in every part of the county, and to acknowledge all would necessitate the publication of a county directory. All will please accept our thanks. This work has been assigned us without our solicitation, and we arc thus under obligations to do a work creditable alike to all, more than could be placed upon us by any pecuniary reward.

"History of Mason County. - We understand that many of our citizens have spoken favorably of our townsman, J. Cochrane, Esq., to prepare a history of Mason county, to be filed at our national capitol, in pursuance of the recommendation of their Governor. We earnestly hope that Mr. Cochrane may be appointed for the work - being an old citizen, thoroughly acquainted with the geography, soil and products of our county, and withal an interesting writer. We know of no one who is better fitted for the task."

In pursuance of previous call, a meeting was held at the court house on the evening of May 2y, to make arrangements for the celebration of the approaching Centennial Anniversary. The meeting was called to order by I. N. Mitchell, Mayor of Havana. Major H. Fullerton was elected Chairman, and F. Ketchum and S. Wheadon, Secretaries. The Chairman addressed the audience iu an able, patriotic speech, which elicited much applause.

Resolved, That the Committee of Conference with other towns be instructed to use every dibit to obtain the co-operation of every and each individual town in the county for a grand County Centennial Celebration on the coming anniversary of our National Independence, in conformity to the resolution of the Legislature, and the proclamation of the Governor.

Preface

cordance with the proclamation of the Governor, and that an appropriation be made by our Board of Supervisors to defray the necessary expenses of the same.

On motion of J. M. Ruggles, Esq., the Board of Aldermen of this city were requested to appropriate from three to five hundred dollars to defray the expenses of the celebration.

Be it resolved by the Se?iate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That it be and is hereby recommended by the Senate and House of Representatives, to the people of the several States, that they assemble in their several counties or towns on the approaching Centennial anniversary of our National Independence, and that they cause to have delivered on such a day an historical sketch of said county or town from its formation, and that a copy of said sketch may he filed, in print or manuscript, in the Clerk's office of said county, and an additional copy, in print or manuscript, be filed in the office of the Librarian of Congress, to the intent that a complete record may thus be obtained of the progress of our institutions during the first centennial of their existence. Approved March 13, 1S76.

Whereas, The Senate and the House of Representatives have issued, and the President of the United States has approved, a joint resolution on the celebration of the Centennial in the several counties or towns, which joint resolution is as follows, viz: mended by the Senate and House of Representatives, to the people of the several .States, that they assemble in the several counties or towns on the approaching Centennial anniversary of our National Independence, and that they cause to have delivered on such day an historical sketch of said counts' or town from its formation, and that a copy of said sketch may be filed, in print or manuscript, in the Clerk's office of said county, and an additional copy, in print or manuscript, be filed in the office of the Librarian of Congress, to the intent that a complete record may thus be obtained of the progress of our institutions during the first Centennial of their existence.

Now, therefore, I, John L. Bevcridge, Governor of Illinois, do hereby earnestly recommend to the people of our State, that prompt measures be taken in each county and town for the selection and appointment, in such manner as may be deemed best, of one or more persons, who shall prepare, as suggested in the resolution, complete, thorough and accurate historical sketches of each counts-, city, town or village, from the date of its first settlement to the present time; one copy of each of said sketches to be filed in the office of the County Clerk, and an additional copy to be filed in the office of the Librarian of Congress, at the City of Washington. That these sketches may be of the greatest ' historical value, I would especially urge the importance of the utmost care in their preparation, in order that they garner many interesting facts connected with the earliest days of our State, the knowledge of which, recorded only in the memories of our older citizens, is gradually passing away, and soon will be lost to us forever.

A Card

The position of Centennial Historian of Mason county being offered me by our citizens, and by the recommendation of the meeting of the 27th inst., to prepare for the approaching Anniversary, I hereby tender my thanks to those who have, with such entire unanimity, offered me this work. It will be my ambition to accomplish the work assigned, not only to the best of my ability, but have engaged the criticisms and advice of competent friends, to whom all manuscripts will be referred for examination. I desire that fullness, correctness and impartiality shall be characteristics of the work. I would be glad to receive from old residents such incidents of the early history of the county as may be at their command.

Introductory

We live in an age of light and of knowledge; an age in which the progress of science and of art is unprecedented in the history of the world. Their progress is onward with the step of a Collossus. We abide, too, in a land of civil and religious liberty. The

The trump of the warrior, the noise and confusion of battle, and the garments dyed in blood, have passed from our heritage, and we are living in the felicitous enjoyment of those twin boons of freedom and prosperity, purchased bv the blood of, and bequeathed to us by, our fathers. Let us emulate their deeds, practice their virtue-, and hand down to posteritv the rich legacy bequeathed to us. untarnished by them, unimpaired by us. Let us contemplate the edifice they reared, this magnificent temple of civil and religious liberty!

The permanent fruits of liberty are wisdom, moderation and mercy. Its abuse are crimes, conflicts, errors. It is at this latter crisis that its enemies love to exhibit it. The)- would pull down the scaffolding from the half-finished edifice, and point to the flying dust, the falling timbers and debris, and then ask in scorn, where is the promised comfort and splendor of the structure to be found r

But there stands this ancient architectural pile, with tokens of a century's age covering it from its corner-stone to its topmost turret. Some of its enemies point to these -ymbols of age as tokens of decay, while to its friends they indicate the years they have stood; and chronicle a massiveness that can yet defy more centuries than it has stood years. Its foundations are buried in the accumulated mould of an hundred years. Its walls are mantled by ornamental vines of ever green foliage.

Introductory Remarks

Dig away the mould of a century, and these foundations were, laid by no mortal hand. The Temple of Civil Liberty is founded on primitive rock. It strikes its roots to an unfathomable depth. No frost can heave - no convulsions shake it. The Centennial Anniversary of the Temple of Liberty to-day we celebrate. July 4, 1S76.

Leading To The Discovery Of America

However instructive to the student of history to trace the leading events from the creation, the deluge, the calling of Abraham, the exodus of Israel, and the giving of the Law, the foundation of Sparta, the death of Saul, the foundation of Rome, the destruction of Nineveh, the death of Cyrus, the battle of Marathon, the death of Darius, birth of Plato, the death of Socrates, the destruction of Thebes, Alexander invades Asia, completion of the Collossus of Rhodes, Hannibal crosses the Alps, death of Hannibal, birth of Julius Ceasar, death of Marius, Ceasar crosses the Rubicon, and is made Dictator, death of Cicero, of Anthony and Cleopetra, and the great central event of the world's history, the birth of Christ, it is not the province of this work to detail.

From the birth of Christ to the discovery of America, a period of nearly fifteen centuries, events thicken, as time rolls on, with apparently an accellerated velocity. Prominent among them, we note the death of Augustus, and the accession of Tiberius, and the crucifixion of Christ, Nero Emperor of Rome, and Titus of Jerusalem, Christianity preached in Britain, siege of Alexandria, Constantine the Great, Emperor of Rome, Anglo-Saxons in Britain, Persia conquered by the Saracens, descent of the Danes on England, Otho, the first King of Germany, America discovered, in 1S01, by Biorn and Lief, two Icelanders, accession of William the Conqueror, death of Abelard, the Tartar in Hungary, Palestine lost to the Christians, Turks in Europe, burning of Heretics in England, siege of Orleans, fall of the Byzantine Empire, Gibralter taken by the Moors, birth of Luther and Raphael, the inquisition in Spain, battle of Bosworth, Cape of Good Hope discovered, surrender of Grenada, end of the Moorish Dominion in Spain, expulsion of the Jews from Spain; and the discovery of America.

Discovery Of America

The province and scope of this work suggest extreme brevity, and the avoidance of detail in the part of the work before us. We will merely state in brief, in their chronological order, the events bearing on the discovery of America.

In the following year, Americus Vespucius conducted a vessel to the coast of South America, and told the story of his voyage so well that the Continent received his name; an error which the injustice of mankind has allowed to continue.

James Cartier, a French sailor, discovers the river St. Lawrence, in 1535. DeSoto, a Spaniard, discovers the Mississippi, discovers Indians, near where the city of Mobile now stands, residing in a walled citv, of several thousand inhabitants. He explored the Mississippi and Red rivers, and«died, near the mouth of the latter, May 21, 1542.

The first English settlement was contemplated in 1578, or about three centuries ago. Queen Elizabeth, of England, granted a patent to Sir Humphry Gilbert "to such remote heathen and barbarous lands as he should find in North America." Two unsuccessful attempts are made by him to establish colonies. He finally perishes, with his vessels, Sept. 23, 15S3. Sir Walter Raleigh is then sent with two vessels, and lands at Pamlico Sound; also makes an unsuccessful attempt on Roanoke Island. A third attempt, in 1587, was unsuccessful, by the interference of the Spanish Armada, and surrenders his charter to a company of merchants or Indian traders. The Plymouth company landed a colony at the mouth of Kenebec river, in 1607, are unsuccessful, and return to England; and the same year a London company establish a settlement at James river, which was the first permanent English settlement in America. English convicts are sent to Virginia, and slaves introduced in 1620. Vari-

Historical Events

The first germ of American Union, we find in a confederation of the Plymouth, Massachusetts, Connecticut and New Haven colonies, a confederation that lasted nearly forty years. Common school laws, an institution purely American, were passed in Connecticut, in 1650.

The growth of the colonies, by emigration and natural increase, continued to progress favorably, till they suffer the misfortune of the resignation of their distinguished friend, Mr. Pitt, in October 1761.

In 1763, a treaty of peace between England and France closed the war in America which was so disastrous to the colonies, by reason of the atrocities committed by the Indians at the instigation of the French. The colonics paid $16,000,000 war expenses, and lost 30,000 men, and the French lost their Canadian possessions and all of their immense territory east of the Mississippi river. These were preparatory steps; in the hands of an overseeing Providence other results that were to follow, namely : preparing the people for war, and the organization of the new confederation whose centennial anniversary we celebrate the present year.

The Colonial Commanders learned the art of war as they fought side by side with the veterans of Great Britain, and the soldiers of the western frontier compared favorably with the flower of the British army. This was illustrated in the notable defeat of Gen. Braddock. The skill and bravery of Washington saved the British army from annihilation in Pennsylvania.

Various acts were passed by the British Parliament in 1763 and 1764, acts obnoxious and adverse to the interest of the colonies, which our intended brevity compels us to omit, and refer to the obnoxious stamp act of 1765. Also, an act authorizing the British Ministry to send any number of troops to America, for whom the colonists were to find "quarters, firewood, bedding, drink, soap and candles."

Various colonies passed resolutions, in their House of Burgesses, claiming the rights of British subjects, and remonstrating with the mother country to the burdens thus imposed. On October 7, 1765, an assembly of committees or delegates from nine colonics met, in New York. This was the first Continental Congress. The ex-

While the colonies rejoiced over the repeal of the Stamp Act, the home government was framing laws for their more serious oppression, and in 1767 taxes were levied on tea, paint, paper, glass and lead, and so exorbitant were these demands, that the colonies determined to pay no more taxes or duties at all, illustrating a principle in that early day that has since became patent to the even casual observer, that the best way to get rid of an obnoxious law is to rigidly enforce it. In 176S, the Massachusetts General Court issued a circular to the other colonial assemblies, inviting co-operation for the defense of their common and mutual rights, and generally received most cordial replies.

In 1770 the indignation of the people of Boston at the British soldiers breaks out into an affray of so serious a nature that the troops fire on the citizens, killing three and wounding several others. Importations are nearly discontinued, and home manufactured goods superceded the foreign article, and so, popular did this become that the graduating class at Harvard College took their degrees in homespun this year.

Through 1770 the feeling becomes more intense, and the year following, a British Revenue Schooner was burned by a party of colonists, at Providence, Rhode Island.

Parliament offered $3,000 and a pardon to any one of that party who would betray his accomplices, that they might be arrested. Though they were known by all the colonies, no legal evidence was ever brought against them.

The year following the Tea Party, the feeling acquires intensity, and a Continental Congress was ordered by all the colonics but Georgia. They assemble in Philadelphia, and Peyton Randolph, of Virginia, is chosen President, and a "Declaration of Colonial Rights" is the result of their labors, and agree on fourteen articles as a basis of an "American Association." This body was henceforth the real government, and their requirements were the laws of the country, to which the people gave strict allegicnce.

The inauguration of the war of the Revolution, the variable successes of the contending armies, the progress of public opinion gradually growing stronger on the side of patriotism, ripened into the

The Declaration of Independence was followed by the Articles of Confederation, and they being, after a few years experience, found insufficient and unsatisfactory, were superceded by the Constitution of the United States, in the year 1787.

By a treaty between the general government and the Kaskaskia Indians, made January 13, 1803, a large part of Illinois was opened to settlement, though it was first visited by Europeans in the persons of French Jesuit missionaries in the year 1672, who explored the north part of the State. The oldest permanent settlement was made in 1720, at Kaskaskia, by the French. The name of the State is derived from the Indians, and the term " Illini" signifying in the Indian tongue, a perfect man. It was modified by the French into its present form.

This State was formed out of what was known as Northwestern Territory, and was the twenty-first of the great American Union, whose Centennial we celebrate the present year.

climate than any other State in the Union, and for fertility is unequaled hy any other territory of equal extent in the world. The great agricultural staples do not constitute her entire wealth, but she is rich in iron, lead, copper, zinc, lime, marble, gypsum, etc., etc. Some single counties contain as many square miles of coal-fields as all of England combined. Brevity compels important omissions, of which our State may boast, viz: her beautiful cities and her grand prairies, her thousands of miles of railroads and her majestic rivers, her schools and her churches, her law-abiding, intelligent population, her beneficent laws, and her noble constitution, second to none in the Union.

Governors Of Illinois

Perhaps it will afford some of our readers a little pleasure to see a list of all the early governors of Illinois, commencing with its organization as a territory in 1S09. If so, they can read the following :

Ninian Edwards was appointed Governor of the Territory in 1809, and held the office until it was admitted as a State in 18 18. His term of office expired in 1822, when he was succeeded by Edward Coles, second Governor. His term expired in 1S26, at which time Ninian Edwards succeeded as third Governor. He was succeeded, in 1830, by John Reynolds, commonly called the "Old Ranger," who was the fourth Governor. The fifth, Joseph Duncan, was inaugurated in 1834. Thomas Carlin, the sixth, in 1838. Thomas Ford, the seventh, in 1842. Augustus C. French, eighth Governor, was inaugurated first in 1S46, and again in 1S49, under the new Constitution. He was succeeded by Joel A. Matteson, ninth Governor, in 1S53; and he by Wm. H. Bissell, the tenth Governor, in 1S57.

Physical Peculiarities, Boundaries, Extent, Etc

The rich and highly favored region forming the State of Illinois is bounded on the north by Wisconsin, east by Lake Michigan and the States of Indiana and Kentucky, south by Kentucky, and west by the States of Missouri and Iowa. Its extent from north to south is from thirty-seven degrees to forty-two degrees thirty minutes north latitude, and cast and west from ten degrees thirty-two minutes to fourteen degrees thirty-three minutes longitude, west from Washington City. Its extreme length is three hundred and eighty miles, its breadth in the north one hundred and forty-five miles, but it extends in its centre to two hundred and twenty miles, from whence it contracts towards the south to a narrow point.

The whole area of the State is fifty-nine thousand square miles, of which fifty-five thousand square miles, or about thirty-five million acres, are capable of cultivation. The act of Congress admitting this State into the Union prescribes boundaries as follows: Beginning at the mouth of the Wabash river, thence up the middle of the main channel, thereof to a point where a line drawn due north from Vincennes last crosses that stream, thence due north to the northeast corner of the State of Indiana, thence east with the boundary line of the same State to the centime of Lake Michigan, thence due north along the middle of said lake to latitude forty degrees thirty minutes, thence west to the centre of the Mississippi river, thence down the middle of the main channel thereof to the mouth of the Ohio river, thence up the latter stream, along its northern or right shore to the place of beginning.

The outline of the State is in extent about one thousand one hundred and sixty miles, the whole of which, except three hundred and five, is formed by navigable streams and waters. As a physical section Illinois is the lower part of that inclined plane of which Lake Michigan and both its shores are a higher section, and which is extended into and embraces the greater part of Indiana. Down this plane, in a very nearly southwestern direction, flows the Wabash and its confluents, the Kaskaskia, the Illinois and its confluents, and the Rock and Wisconsin rivers. The lowest section of the plane is also the extreme southern angle of Illinois, at the mouth of the Ohio river, and is about three hundred and fifty feet above the level of the sea. Though the State of Illinois does contain some low hilly sections, as a whole it may be regarded as a gently inclining plane in the direction of the rivers, as already indicated. Without including minute parts, the extreme arable elevation may be safely stated at eight hundred feet above sea level, and the mean height at five hundred and fifty feet above the sea. Next to Louisana and Delaware, Illinois is the most level State in the Union. A small tract in the southern portion of the State is hilly, and the northern portion is also somewhat broken. There are likewise considerable elevations along the Illinois river, and the bluffs of the Mississippi in some places might almost pass for mountains. But by far the greater portion of the State is either distributed in vast plains, or barrens, that are gently rolling like the waves of the sea. We may travel on the wide prairie for days without encountering an elevation that is worthy to be called a hill. In no part of the peopled portion of the United States are there such vast sections of prairie country. One vast prairie, with but little interuption, spreads from the shore of the Mississippi to that of Lake Michigan. Undoubtedly, the most remarkable feature of the State of Illinois is its vast prairies, or unwooded plains. They begin on a comparatively small scale in the basin of Lake Erie, and increase as we proceed westward, already form the bulk of the land about Lake Michigan, the Upper Wabash and the Illinois, but west of the Mississippi they are still more extensive, covering the whole country, interspersed with groves of timber, or patches of wood land, chiefly confined to the river vallics and the borders of streams. The characteristic peculiarity of the prairies is the absence of timber; in other respects they present all the variety of soil and surface that are found elsewhere. Some are of inexhaustable fertility, others are of hopeless sterility. 'The latter condition, the exception, and by no means the rule. Some spread out in a vast boundless plain, others are undulating or rolling, while others are broken by hills. In general, they a re covered with a rich growth of grass, excellent natural meadows, from which circumstance they take their name.

Prairie is a French word, signifying meadow, and is applied to any description of surface that is destitute of timber, and clothed with grass. Wet, dry, level or undulating, are terms of description, merely, and apply to prairies in the same sense they do to forest lands. Indians and hunters annually set fire to the prairie grasses to dislodge their game; the fire spreads with tremendous rapidity, and presents one of the grandest and most terrible spectacles in nature. The flames rush through the long grass with a noise like thunder; dense clouds of smoke arise; and the sky itself seems almost on fire, particularly during the night. Travel on the prairies, during the burning season, is extremely dangerous, and when pursued by the fires the only escape is to fire the grass around them, and taking shelter on the burnt part, where the approaching flames must expire for want of fuel.

and furze, small sasafras shrubs, festooned with the wild grape vine and the amepolopsis, and in the season of flowers becomes beautifully decorated by a rich profusion of gaily colored herbaceous and perennial flowers. In March, and early in April, the forests are in bloom. The brilliant red bloom of the cercis canadensis, handsomely exhibits its charms. The yellow blossoms of the fragrant leonicera diffuses its fragrance, and the jasminum frtiticans impregnates the air with its delicious odors, and a vast variety of other odoriferous plants are passively engaged in the faithful discharge of their offices, either of the display of gay colors or the emission of rare odors. The pi-airies are thus referred to by one of the early western poets -

The deep, rich, black soils of the prairies are of exhaustless fertility, and equally adapted to the growth of vegetables, corn, wheat, rye, barley and oats. All the fruits of this latitude are grown with extraordinary success.

From May to October the prairies are covered with tall grass, and the flower producing weeds. In June and July they seem an ocean of flowers, of various hues, waving to the breezes that sweep over them. The numerous tall flowers that grow luxuriently over these plains, present a striking and delightful appearance. Early in the history of the settlements of these prairies, herds of deer were frequently seen bounding over these prairie undulations.

In the southern part of the State the prairies are comparatively small, varying in size from a few acres to several miles in extent. As we go northward, they widen and extend on the more elevated ground, between the water courses, to a vast distance, and are frequently from six to twelve miles wide. Their borders are by no means uniform, but are intersected in every direction by strips of forest land, advancing into and receding from the prairie towards the water courses, whose banks are always lined with timber, principally of luxuriant growth.

Between these streams are, in many instances, copses or groves of timber, containing from ioo to 2000 acres, in the midst of the prairie, like islands in the ocean. This is a common feature be- tween the Sangamon river and Lake Michigan, the region of Illinois in which our own Mason county, forms so conspicuous and desirable a part. The largest tract of prairie in Illinois is called Grand Prairie. Under this general name is embraced the country lying between the water which fall into the Mississippi, and those which enter the Wabash rivers. It does not consist of one vast tract boundless to the vision, and uninhabitable for want of timber, hut made up of continuous tracts, with points of timber projecting inward, and long arms of the prairie extending between the creeks and smaller streams. The southern points of the Grand Prairie arc formed in the northeastern parts of Jackson county, and extend in a northeastern course between the streams, of various widths, from one to ten or twelve miles, through Perry, Washington, Jefferson, Marion, the eastern part of Fayette, Effingham, through the western part of Coles, into Champaign and Iroquois counties, where it becomes connected with the prairies that project eastward from the Illinois river and its tributaries. This part alone is frequently called the Grand Prairie.

On the origin of the prairies, it is difficult to decide; various speculations have arisen on this subject, and have given rise to various opinions; the most practical of which is ably set forth by Prof. Winchell, in another part of this work, in the section entitled the "Treelessness of the Prairies." When Capt. John Smith visited the Chesapeake, he found extensive prairies, and first bore witness to the practice of circular tires as a mode of hunting among the savages. These tracts have been early inhabited and cultivated by the colonists, and the prairies have long since disappeared.

Probably one-half of the earth's surface, in a state of nature, consisted of prairies or barrens; much of it, like our western prairies, were covered with a luxurient coat of grass and herbage.

The Steppes of Central Asia, the Pampas of Buenos Ayres and Venezuela, the Savanahs of Louisiana ami Texas, and the prairies, designate identical, or at least similar, tracts of country. Mesopotamia, Syria and Judea had their ancient prairies, on which the Patriarchs pastured their flocks. Travelers in Burmah, in the interior of Africa and New Holland, mention the same description of country. Mungo Park describes the annual burnings of the plains of Manning, western Africa, in the same manner as the prairies of the western States, and the practice is attended with the

Forests Of Illinois

In general, Illinois is abundantly supplied with timber, and were it equally distributed through the State, there would be no part wanting. The growth of timber within the State is such, and its preservation an object with the inhabitants, that it is estimated that there is from one-fourth to one-third more timber in the State than there was forty years ago. The apparent scarcity of timber through the State, where the prairies predominate, is not an obstacle to settlement, as has been supposed. For many of the purposes to which timber is applied substitutes have been found.

The rapidity with which the young growth pushes itself forward, without a single effort on the part of man to accellerate it, and the readiness with which prairies become converted into thickets, and then into a forest of young timber, shows that in another generation timber will not be wanting in any part of Illinois.

The growth of the bottom lands consists of black walnut, several species of ash, three varieties of elm, hackberry, sugar maple, soft maple, and the ash-leaved maple or box-elder, honey locust, mulberry, buckeye, sycamore, cottonwood, pecan, and three or four other varieties of the hickory family, numerous varieties of the oak family, among them the cup oak, burr oak, swamp or water oak, white oak, red oak, black oak; of the shrubbery, we note the redbud, pawpaw, dogwood, two varieties, spice brush, hazel, greenbriar, and many others, even the names of which we have been unable to learn. We have now a collection of the native woods of Illinois, numbering ninety-eight varieties, and we have not all. Perhaps no other State in the Union can furnish such a variety of timber, and shrubs, and vines, as Illinois. Along the banks of streams the sycamore, the cottonwood, the elm and the pecan predominate, and attain to an immense size, and are of rapid growth.

Uplands are covered with various species of timber, among which are the post oak, white and black oak, of several varieties, and the black jack, a dwarfish gnarled tree, good for little else than firewood, for which purpose it is equal to any we have, of hickory, both the » shellbark and the smoothbark, black walnut, white walnut or butternut, American linn or basswood, several varieties of cherry, and many of the species produced on the bottoms. In some parts of this State yellow poplar prevails, principally in the south, interspersed with occasional clumps of beech. Near the Ohio, on low creek bottoms, the deciduous cypress is found.

No poplar is found on the eastern borders of the State till near Palestine, while on the opposite shore of the Wabash, in Indiana, poplar and beech predominate. Occasional clumps of stunted cedar are to be seen on the cliffs that overhang the bottoms along the Illinois river north of Peoria; but no pines have come to our knowledge that are natives of Illinois.

Timber not only grows more rapidly than in other States, but decays sooner when put into buildings, fences, or is in any way exposed to the weather. It is more porous, and will shrink and expand, as the weather becomes wet or dry, to a greater extent than the slow crowing- timbers of other States. From the above it will be perceived that Illinois does not labor under the great inconveniences for timber that many have supposed. Our excellent and numerous facilities for transportation assure us us that the future will be better provided for than the past. Timber may be artificially produced, with but little trouble or expense, to an indefinite extent.

The black locust, a native growth of Ohio and Kentucky, may be raised from the seed with far less trouble than a nursery of apple trees, and as it is of very rapid growth, a lasting timber for fencing, buildings and boats, it must claim the attention of farmers. Already it forms one of the cleanliest and most beautiful shades, and when in bloom presents a rich prospect, and sheds a most delicious fragrance.

The Illinois River And Its Tributaries

The Illinois river, which gives name to the State, may be considered the most important, whose whole course lies within the limits of the State, and whose waters lave the western line of Mason county. It is formed by the junction of the Kankakee and the Desplaines rivers, near the towns of Dresden and Kankakee. Thence it curves nearly to a west course, until a short distance above Hennepin. Here it curves to the south, and then to the southwest Passing the beautiful and flourishing cities of Peoria, Pekin, Havana and Beardstown, it reaches Naples. Hence to its mouth its course is nearly due south. It enters the Mississippi twenty miles above the mouth of the Missouri, and at that point is four hundred feet above the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. From Havana to the mouth there is fifteen feet fall, and from Peoria to Havana four feet eleven inches. At high floods this river overflows its banks and covers the bottoms for a considerable extent. The Mississippi, at extreme high water, backs the water seventymiles up the Illinois. The commerce of the Illinois river is veryextensive, and increases with a rapidity only known to the rich agricultural regions of the western states. Several steamboats are constantly employed in the Illinois river trade, and others make occasional trips. At as early a date as 1S36, thirty-five different steamboats passed and landed at Havana, and the total arrivals and departures for the season were four hundred and fifty. The year 1828 was the beginning of steam navigation on the Illinois river. Forty miles below the junction of the Kankakee and Desplaines rivers the Illinois receives the Fox river from the north. Both above and below the mouth of this river there is a succession of rapids in the Illinois, with intervals of deep and smooth water. From the mouth of Fox river to the foot of the rapids is nine miles, the descent in all eight feet, the rocks of soft sandstone mixed with gravel and shelly limestone. Nine miles above Fox river the rapids begin, and extend ten or twelve miles. They are formed by ledges of rocks in the river, and rocky islands. The whole descent from the surface of Lake Michigan, at Chicago, to the foot of the rapids, a distance of ninety-four and one-fourth miles, is one hundred and forty-one feet and ten inches.

At the foot of the rapids the Vermilion river enters the Illinois from the south, by a mouth about fifty yards wide. It is an excellent mill stream, and runs through extensive beds of bituminous coal. Sixty miles down the Illinois from the termination of the rapids, commences Peoria Lake, an expansion of the river, and about twenty miles in length by an average of two wide. Such is the depth and the regularity of the bottom, that it has no perceptible current. Its waters are very transparent, its margin exhibits beautiful scenery, and its surface is spotted with innumerable flocks of pelicans, swan, geese and ducks. It also abounds in all the varieties of fish, in bountiful supply, usually found in the western waters. A few miles below Peoria lake the Mackinaw river comes into the Illinois on the east side, from the south. It is about one hundred miles in length, and was formerly boatable for a considerable dis- tance. It rises in the prairie in the eastern part of McLean county, and, running southwest through Tazewell county, enters the Illinois about three miles below Pekin. The next stream entering the Illinois river is Quiver creek, from the east, a short distanceabove the city of Havana. An inconsiderable stream, but on whose banks are situated two fine mills, and along its shores lie some of the finest farms in the State of Illinois. The stream is abundantly stocked with fish. Twenty-five miles below the mouth of Mackinaw, and directly opposite the city of Havana, Spoon river - classic stream of many historical associations - enters the Illinois from the west. It is a beautiful stream, the most considerable of those which water the military tract. It was once navigable for a short distance. Its length is about one hundred and forty miles.

About eight miles above Beardstown the Sangamon enters the Illinois from the east. It is one of the most prominent branches of the Illinois, and forms the southeastern boundary of Mason county. It is one hundred and eighty miles in length, and has been, in seasons of high water, traversed with small steamers a long distance from its mouth. From its position and excellence of its lands, it is one of the most important streams in the State. Along its banks are some of the best grass and stock farms in Illinois. Crooked creek, next to Spoon river, is the most considerable stream that waters the military tract. From its volume and length it deserves the name of river, but it is mostly designated by the inferior title. It enters the Illinois from the west, a few miles below Beardstown, and is about one hundred miles in length. Below Crooked creek, and on the east side of the river, are Indian creek, Mauvaisterrc creek, and Sandy creek, in Morgan countv, and Apple and Macoupin creeks, in Green county. All these are beautiful streams, and meander through some of the best populated and most fertile regions of country of the garden State. McKee's creek, emptying on the west side, is the lowest of the tributaries of the Illinois of any note, from the military tract. The land on this creek and its branches is excellent, and well proportioned in timber and prairie; is gently undulating and rich.

In the Illinois river there are but few bars or obstructions to navigation until we reach Starved Rock, about one mile above the town of Utica. Here we meet the first permanent obstruction, being a ledge of sandstone rock immediately at the foot of the rapids, and extending entirely across the bed of the river. This point is two hundred and ten miles from its mouth by the course of the river. The town of Utica may properly be called the head of navigation, though steamers have gone to Ottawa, nine miles further. For a great distance above its mouth the river is almost straight as a canal, and during low water in summer has scarcely any perceptible current, and the water is quite transparent. The river is wide and deep, and enters the Mississippi by a mouth four hundred yards wide. No river in the western country is so fine for the purposes of navigation as the Illinois, or flows through so rich and fertile a region of country. On the banks of this noble stream the first French emigrants from Canada settled, and here was the scenery on which they founded their extravagant panegyrics on the western country.

By the Chicago and Illinois canal the waters of the Illinois river are united to those of Lake Michigan, and form one of the most important links in the chain of internal navigable waters of the United States. Nature performed a great share in the accomplishment of this grand improvement. The canal distance from the lake to its intersection with the river is one hundred miles. The navigation of the Illinois river was an indispensable necessity to the early settlers as a means of access and egress, and for the shipment of their immense superfluous crops.

The Sangamon River And Its Tributaries

The Sangamon river forms the southeast boundary of Mason county, and is one of the most important tributaries of the Illinois. It enters that river about one hundred miles above its mouth, and ten miles above Beardstown. It rises in Vermilion county, and heads with the Mackinaw, the Vermilion, the Big Vermilion, and other streams. Its length is about one hundred and eighty miles, and is navigable for small steamboats when waters are high, and before the stream was crossed by numerous railroad bridges, to the junction of the north and south forks, av distance from the Illinois of about seventy-five miles. In the spring of 1832 a steamboat of the larger class arrived within five miles of Springfield, and discharged its cargo. In 1S37 arrangements were made for running a small class of steamboats from the towns on the Illinois to Petersburg, on the left bank of the Sangamon, and forty-five miles from its mouth. All the streams that enter this river have sandy or - 4 pebbly bottoms, clear and transparent waters. The Sangamon bottoms have a soil of extraordinary fertility, and rear from their rich, black, mould forests of enormous sycamore and elms, and other forest trees; huge overgrown masses, and towering high heavenward.

The Sangamon and its branches flow through the richest and most delightful regions of the great west. The beautiful and fertile prairies on its banks afford range and rich pasturage for thousands of cattle. The general aspect of the country drained by the Sangamon and its branches is level, yet it is sufficiently undulating to permit the water to escape to the creeks. It now constitutes one of the richest grazing and agricultural districts in the State, or the United States, the soil being of such a nature that immense crops are raised with comparatively little agricultural labor. The railroads traversing this region to the great markets of the west and east, here receive their long trains of cattle, hogs, corn, wheat and rye.

The principal branches of the Sangamon are the South Fork and Salt creek. The latter being most identified with Mason county, is about ninety miles long, and heads near the main stream of the Sangamon, and receives in its course several unimportant tributaries. The same that was said of the Sangamon will apply to the country bordering on Salt creek, without the slightest diminution.

Productions Of The Soil

That region of Central Illinois - the western empire State - of which Mason county forms no inconsiderable part, having a vast extent of most fertile lands, must, of course, raise with greatest ease all the articles to which her soil and climate are favorable, to an amount far beyond her consumption.

All the grains, fruits and vegetables of the temperate regions of the earth here grow most luxuriently. The wheat is of an excellent quality, and there is no part of the western continent where corn is grown with greater ease and abundance, nor of equal quality. In the great corn markets of the country, Chicago and Boston, "Mason county yello'iv" is a standard quotation, and at higher rates than any other in those markets. When the frosts nip the corn on lower and less favored soils, we find men from almost every part of our great State sending to Central Illinois, and to Mason county especially, for their seed corn. When the millers of

Garden vegetables of all kinds succeed well. No country can exceed this in its adaptation to rearing the finest fruits and fruitbearing trees. (We make an exception here of dwarf pears and the quince, and will give the causes in detail in the section on Fruits, in another part of this work.) Wild fruits and berries are, in many places, abundant, and on some of the prairies the strawberries are remarkably fine. In some localities grapevines indigenous to the country are abundant, and yield a fruit from which can be manufactured an excellent wine. Indigenuous vines are very prolific, and are found in every variety of soil, interwoven in every thicket, bordering on the prairies, and climbing to the tops of the tallest trees on the bottom lands. The French, in early times, made so much wine from our native grapes in Illinois, as to export a quantity to France, upon which the government of that country, in 1774, passed laws prohibiting the importation of wines from their dependencies in America, lest it might injure the sale of that staple of the French Kingdom.

The native plum is produced in great abundance, variety and flavor, color and size ; are less subject to curculio than the tenderer varieties. Crab apples are abundant and prolific. Wild cherries are equally productive. The persimmon is abundant, and delicious when the frost has destroyed its astringency. The black mulberry is abundant and productive.

The gooseberry, the strawberry and the blackberry grow wild and in great profusion, proving from natural causes alone the beautiful adaptation of our soil and climate to the production of the improved and finer varieties of fruits.

Of nuts, the hickory, black walnut and pecan deserve notice. The later is an oblong, thin-shelled and delicious nut, that grows on a large tree of the same family as the hickory. ( Carya-olivejbrmis.)

The pawpaw grows on the bottoms and rich timbered uplands, and produces a large, pulpy, and luscious fruit. The Kentucky coffee tree is a native of the lands bordering on the Illinois river, and a desirable tree for shade and ornament.

Of the domestic fruits, the apple, peach and the pear are principally cultivated, the latter, however, with variable success. Pears were successfully grown as seedlings by the early French settlers in the southern part of the State. Many of their earliest plantings still survive. The quince cannot he successfully grown in Central Illinois. Peach trees grow with great rapidity, and decay proportionately soon. Our variable winters render them precarious and uncertain.

Sangamon, which included within its limits a part of Mason county, was formed from Bond and Madison counties in 1S21, and in 1837 was the largest and most populous in the State, being forty miles from north to south, and forty-two from east to west on its southern boundary, and upwards of sixty on its northern boundary; containing sixty full townships, or two thousand one hundred and sixty square miles. Previous to 1S19 there was not a white inhabitant on the Sangamon river; in 1837 tncv amounted to over twenty thousand.

The whole territory watered by the Sangamon and its branches is an Arcadian region, in which nature has delighted to bring together her happiest combination of landscape and scenery. There is in this region a happy combination of timber and prairie land, the soil is of great fertility, being of a rich, calcareous loam, from one to three feet deep, intermixed with fine sand. The summer range for cattle in inexhaustable. All who ever visit this fine tract of country admire the beauty of the landscape which nature has here displayed in primeval loveliness and freshness. So delightful a region was soon selected by emigrants from New York, New England, North Carolina, and Canada, and'more than two hundred families had settled themselves here before it was surveyed.

The county of Menard was taken from the northwestern part of Sangamon county, in 1S3S, and includes within its boundaries about sixty miles of the lower part of the Sangamon river, and a part of Salt creek. It was bounded on the north by Tazewell county, on the south by part of Sangamon county, on the northwest by Schuyler and Fulton counties. It towns are Petersburg, New Salem and Athens.

From which the northern part of Mason was taken, was originally bounded on the north by Putnam county, east, by McLean, south, by Sangamon, and west, by Peoria and Fulton, from which it was seperated by the Illinois river. Its length from north to south was forty-eight miles, and from east to west, on its southern boundary, forty-five miles, and on its northen, ten miles. Its area is about twelve hundred and twenty square miles. Tremont was the county seat, about ten miles east of the Illinois river, and nearly the centre of the county. It was laid out in 1835, and in 1S37 contained seventy houses, and about three hundred inhabitants. The other towns, in the original limits of the county, were Pekin, Wesley city, Havana, Mackinaw, Dillon, Bloomingdale, Washington, Detroit and Hanover.

Was the result of the union of the counties of Sangamon and Tazewell and Menard, and was born from the two latter, by an act approved January 20, 1S41. Parts of Menard were used in its construction. The adjoining counties, or the territory now forming the adjoining counties, were all settled prior to Mason. In 1S30 to 1835 there did not reside in the present limits of Mason county to exceed twenty-five families. Some years later, in 1S40 to 1S45, the tide of emigration and the progress of development was begun which has so rapidly increased, and placed Mason county in her present enviable position among the leading counties in the State of Illinois.

The best information now obtainable, indicates that Mr. Osian M. Ross was the first permanent white settler, and located at Havana, in the spring of 1S29.

Where the city of Havana now stands was a wilderness at that time, and was long after known as Ross' Ferry. To illustrate the primitiveness of this region at that time, we will here note that the first Postoffice was established in the county in the fall of 1S29, Osian M. Ross, Postmaster.

The present city of Chicago was then Fort Dearborn, and Cook county and its surroundings had no Postoffice in their limits. The first Postoffice in Cook county was established in 1S31.

Two offices were in Fulton county in 1S30. McLean had no office in 1S30; neither had LaSalle county an office in her then extended territory. McDonough and Mercer were without Postoffices. Peoria county had an office at Peoria, Norman Hyde, Postmaster. Mackinaw, then the county seat of Tazewell county, had a Postoffice in 1S30 and earlier. In that year there were but one hundred and thirty offices in Illinois.

Mr. John Williams, of Springfield, Illinois, informs me, that in 1825 he was a clerk in the office in that city. They received mails twice a week, and the surrounding regions were on hand for their mails at these arrivals. Though the first white settlers located I here permanently in 1829, this region had been traversed by white j men long before that date. Father Hennepin, with two companions, passed down the Illinois river in 16S0. LaSalle and others,/ early explorers, traded with the Indians along the banks of the/ Illinois, and at various succeeding periods.

In 1S33 a few other families settled in this vicinity. Dr. Chandler located where the town of Chandlerville is, in 1832. A maris, named Myers came to Havana, also, the Krebaum family, about \ this date. A Mr. Shepherd and Mr. Westervelt located at Matanzas about this time, and Mr. Barnes at the Mounds, north of this city. For the experiences and further details of the first settlers, we refer the reader to the Biographical department of this work. These early settlers were not troubled by the Indians to any serious extent, as in some other parts of the State, as nearly all had left prior to the arrival of the first white settlers. A couple of \ blockhouses, for defense, had been erected at Havana, previous toy the Black Hawk war, and stood for many yeai-s. The first school \ house, erected for the purpose of public instruction, was on what is ] now the Court House square. As population increased, these facilities were multiplied, to meet the wants of the pioneer. The first school houses in the eastern part of the county were built at Crane creek and Big Grove, and were known as the Turner and Virgin school houses. These were the voting places for the election preeincts in which they were situated, and supplied the place of church edifices for religious services. The log school house at Big Grove was built in the latter part of 1838. Mr. Lease, Sr., was the first teacher. A school was taught in the vicinity, however, at an earlier date, at the residence of Edward Sykes (see Biography), by his daughter, Mary A., then a girl of fourteen, now the intelligent, talented and amiable wife of S. D. Swing, Esq., of Mason city.

Churches were not erected at so early a date, though religious services were not neglected, but were held at the residences of the settlers, or in the groves which were God's first temples. The first ministers transiently visiting this county were, Rev. Peter Cart wright, who preached at Havana, in 1835, and at various times since, to near the date of his death. Rev. John Jenkins, from Fulton countv, may have visited here at an earlier date. In 1S36, Rev. J. A. Daniels, now a resident of Bath, organized a Baptist church at Sny Carte, assisted by Rev. Thos. Taylor, now of Oregon. The original members were Wm. Davis and wife, Richard Phelps and wife, Mr. Smith and wife, the parents of Mark A. Smith, Esq., now of that vicinity, and Mrs. J. W. Phelps. A very pleasant fact connected with that organization is, that Mr. Daniels, the first minister, is the pastor of it to this day, a period of forty years, with the exception of a brief absence. Thus have they labored together, in the good work before them, knowing in whom they trusted. Irregular services were held in the eastern part of the county, by different ministers, at various times and places. A Baptist church ] was built on Crane creek, in 1S56. The old Methodist church, in Havana, and a Presbyterian church, at Bath, were built at an earlier date, and were, as near as we can ascertain, the first church edifices in the county.

The subject of the formation of a new county having been for some time agitated; in 1S41, as before stated, an act was passed by the Legislature, and duly approved by the Governor, for that purpose. By the provisions of this law the legal voters of the district which was to compose the new countv, met at Havana on the first Monday in April, 1841, and proceeded to elect a sheriff, treasurer, and other county officers. The sheriff chosen was Francis Low, still a resident of this city, and President of the First National Bank, and who had been acting as deputy sheriff when part of the territory of the county lay within the limits of Tazewell county. George T. Virgin, John R. Chaney and Abner Baxter were county commissioners. Joseph A. Phelps was the first county clerk, and subsequently, at a meeting of the circuit court, he was appointed circuit clerk by the presiding judge. The population of Mason county at the time of its organization, as near as can be ascertained, was about two thousand, and at this election about four hundred votes were cast.

It was also directed by the Legislature that at the same time and place a vote should be taken for the purpose of determining the location of the county seat. Here began a struggle and a rivalry continuing many years, which was far from creditable to the parties engaged therein, on either side. They endeavored to accomplish by foul means what could not be accomplished by fair. It was the source of rivalry between the friends of the towns which were the candidates for the seat of justice. The two towns which were the competitors for the county seat were Havana and Bath. The contest was exciting, but the former was successful.

A bond donating a block of lots adjoining the public square, was executed by L. W. & H. L. Ross. Thus Havana was elected the county seat. It did not, however, long retain that honor. Dissatisfaction in the defeated town waxed strong and violent.

Agitation was kept up, and an act, approved January 19, 1843, was obtained from the legislature, authorizing another election on the second Monday of February, of that year. Polls were opened in Havana, Bath and Linchburg, where votes were received for and against Bath and Havana for county seat. The votes of Havana were for that town, and those at the others were against it being the county seat. Bath received a majority of the votes, and was declared the county seat. They soon had the records removed to that town. The June term of the circuit court, 1844, was held at Bath; the term for the previous year had been held at Havana. Bath continued the county seat for eight years. Havana still had aspirations for the seat of justice, and in February, 185 1, legislation was obtained which ordered another election on the second Monday in March, 1851, at which the question was again before the people for or against removal. This election, conducted as unfairly as the former one, resulted in again making Havana the county seat, which it has continued to be. The last term of court held in Bath was in November, 1850. The May term following / was held in Havana.

The first term of circuit court ever held in Havana was at the hotel of Osian M. Ross, beginnning November 12, 1841, S. H. Treat, Judge. The official bond of Joseph A. Phelps, first circuit/ clerk, was dated April 9, 1841.

At this date we find the following order: "That Joseph A. Phelps be allowed, for use of room to hold court in, one dollar per day for two and a half days. Total, two dollars and fifty cents."

November 28, 1849: Smith Turner, County Judge, and John Pemberton and Robert McReynolds, Associates. These continued till the 2Sth of November, 1853, when N. J. Rockwell, County Judge, and Daniel Corey and J. H. Daniels, Associates.

The vacancy in the clerkship caused by the death of Isaac N. Onstot, filled by Adolph Krebaum, by order of the court, November 7, 1856. J. P. West, Collector and Sheriff. Adolph Kre'- baum elected for a full term, and sworn into office March, 1S57.

The following persons have filled the office of Circuit Clerk since the organization of the county, in the order in which they are named, viz: Joseph A. Phelps, John S. Wilbourn, Richard Ritter, O. H. Wright, John H. Havighorst, George A. Blanchard, and Leonard Schwenk, the present competent and gentlemanly incumbent.

The gentlemen who have served Mason county in the capacity of Sheriff are named below, ad seriatum : Francis Low, who had, also, been deputy when this formed a part of Tazewell county; Isaac H. Hodge, John H. Havighorst, Robert Elkins, Robert H. Walker, James H. Hole, J. Price West, John H. Havighorst, Joseph Y. Hauthorn, John H. Havighorst, James L. Hastings, Lambert M. Hillyer, David B. Phelps, John H. Cleveland and Lambert M. Hillyer, whose efficiency and competency has placed him in this position the third term, which expires this fall.

The Judges of the county court, since the term of Judge Rockwell, before given, are: Joseph A. Phelps, Mathew Langston, H. Warner and John A. Mallory, who is the present incumbent, and serving his second term.

The Judges of the circuit court since the organization of the countyin 1841, are: Samuel Treat, William A. Marshall, Pinckney H. Walker, James Harriot, Charles Turner and Lyman Lacy, the able and popular present Judge of this judicial district.

The County Clerks have been: Joseph A. Phelps, Adolph Krebaum, Isaac N. Onstot, Adolph Krebaum, W. W. Stout, S. Elliott, Isaac N. Mitchell, William M. Ganson, who is the present very efficient incumbent.

A vote for and against the adoption of township organization was taken November 11, 1861, to take effect April, 1S62. Commissioners to divide into townships were: B. H. Gatton, Mathew Langston and Lyman Lacy.

Since then the following have heen County Treasurers, viz: J. D. W. Bowman, S. Wheadon, B. A. Rosebrough, Isaac N. Mitchell, Benjamin F. West and Samuel Bivens, the present Treasurer.

The School Commissioners and County Superintendents have been: S. D. Swing, E. B. Harpham, S. C. Conwell, S. Wheadon, O. H. Wright, W. E. Knox. IT. H. Moore, and S. M. Badger, the present incumbent.

Board Of Supervisors

further rapid increase had raised it to 16,250, although much retarded during this decade by the war. The same ratio of increase would place the population at this time, July 4, 1S76, at not less than 23,000, and it is, perhaps, even higher.

In 1870 there were 118,218 acres of unimproved lands, and 232,- 724 acres improved. There were 5,292 horses and 1,590 mules; 761 sheep, 19,706 hogs, and 7,810 cattle. The productions of the soil are treated of in another place.

C. W. Andrus, Esq., one of the oldest and most substantial residents; made his home in Havana, in 1836, since which time, a period of forty years, he has been prominently identified with the interests of this city.

By his courtesy, we are permitted to give to our readers a copy of the poll book below. The reader will bear in mind that this was then included in the limits of Tazewell county.

"Poll book of an election held at the town of Havana, in Havana precinct, in the county of Tazewell, and State of Illinois, on the 7th day of August, 1837. For County Clerk, John H. Morrison. For Probate Justice of the Peace, Joshua C. Morgan. For County Treasurer, Lewis Pi-ettyman. For Notary Public, Wm. H. Sandusky."

"At an election held at the house of O. E. Foster, in Havana precinct, in the county of Tazewell, and State of Illinois, on the 7th of August. 1837, the following named persons received the number of votes annexed to their respective names, for the following offices, to-wit:

John W. Morrison, twelve votes, for County Clerk. Joshua C. Morgan, twelve votes, for Probate Justice of the Peace. Lewis Pretty man, twelve votes, for County Treasurer. Wm. H. Sandusky, twelve votes, for Notary Public.

I, N. J. Rockwell, do solemnly swear that I will perform the duty of Judge; and I, B. F. Wiggington, do solemnly swear that I will perform the duty of Clerk of Election, according to law, and to the best of our abilities, and that we will studiously endeavor to prevent fraud, deceit or abuse in conducting the same.

The original document, of which the above is an exact copy, is now in the possession of Mr. Andrus. Mr. John H. Havighorst was also present at the above election, but had not yet attained his majority, nor was he naturalized. He is still a resident of this city.

The above named primitive work of art was one of the earliest triumphs of civilization that made its welcome appearance in Mason county. So very early was its advent, that but few of its contemporaries are in existence, and itself, like all else in this fleeting and transitory world, has passed away.

The upper stone was stationary and the lower one revolved, to grind the corn. It ground corn only, and its most rapid work was one and a half bushels per hour, and the meal was exceedingly coarse. Owing to the scarcity of mills, in this then new country, it was patronized from a large extent of territory.

On the settlement of Mr. Scovil in Havana, they received their ground corn from Beardstown. The Falkner family, sometimes from Fulton county, and from Mackinaw, and from this mill in 1S38 and '40.

What time it ceased to exist, we have been unable to ascertain, but having served its day and generation, like all else, it has passed away.

The early settlement of what is now the township of Salt creek was in and around what was then so generally known as Big Grove. For a long time the improvements wefe all near the timber. Land situated three or four miles from the timber was at a discount, and for a long time there were congress lands on the prairie, subject to entry, after all the land near the timber had been taken up. The original settlers never imagined that the time would come when they and their children could not have the benefit of all the prairies around Mason City for stock range. The first settler was Wm. Hagan, who came in 1830, and located on the bottom, near old Salt creek bridge, where he remained till 1850, when he sold out to Ephriam Wilcox, and removed to Missouri. None of his family have ever lived here since. The farm on which he lived is the one which has latterly been owned and occupied by Charles L. Montgomery.

Austin P. and Robert Melton came to Big Grove in 1832. Austin P. Melton settled on the farm afterwards owned by Geo. Virgin, where he remained a few years, and moved to Tazewell county and remained till 1S62, when he moved to Walker's Grove, in this county, where he now resides.

In 1835, Daniel Clark, from Warren county, Ohio, settled in the immediate neighborhood of Mr. Hagan, and remained until his death, in 1S54, leaving three sons, Daniel, now of Mason City (see Biography), Alfred, in Crane creek township, and William, in Du- Buque, Iowa.

In 1836, the Virgin's, George, Kinsey, Abram and Rezin all came and settled in the Grove, and remained till they died, which occurred as follows: Kinsey, in 1853; Rezin, in 1S72; George, in 1855; and Abram, in 1S73; the latter, the only one who left any children living in this county. He left three sons and three daughters, all here, and the only ones of that name in the county. Kinsey Virgin left one daughter, the wife of James Hoyt, in Cass county, Iowa. George and Rezin had no children. George, for a number of years previous to his death, kept a store at this place, first in a small log house, and afterwards in a frame house built for the purpose, near which George Young erected a mill, John Pritchett a blacksmith shop, and Louis Bushong a shoe shop. To all of these, and the residences necessary for themselves and families, they gave the romantic name of "Hiawatha."

For a number of years the place had some notoriety in the eastern part of the county, furnishing supplies to many of the inhabitants in the vicinity, but after the railroad was located through Mason City, instead of this place, as originally surveyed, notwithstanding the romance of its name, which, though of Indian origin, was said to have been suggested here by an eminent physician of the neighborhood, the town gradually dwindled away, till now Ed. Auxier's cornfield marks the site. Sic transit gloria mtindi.

Edward Sikes settled on the farm formerly occupied by Robert Melton, and now owned by F. Auxier, where he since died, leaving a numerous family. John Auxier settled in the eastern part of the Grove, where he acquired, by raising and feeding cattle, a large tract of land, where he died, in 1859, leaving a numerous family, who have since moved to Iowa. Eli Auxier had previously died, leaving a widow and two children, viz : Rev. E. E. Auxier, who now owns the site of the obsolete town of Hiawatha, and a dausrhter, the wife of Nelson Dody. John Young settled in the western part of the grove, near the farm of Col. Abner Baxter (who came a year afterwards), and died, leaving a numerous family, among whom were William, who settled on the north side of the Grove, and died in 1S65, leaving a family, and where his widow (since married to Joseph Lemley) now resides; and George, who was engaged in the practice of law in Mason City, and died there, in

John Y. Swaur, the only survivor of the party who came in 1837, now lives on the north side of the Grove, where he, with his sons, McDonald, William and George, have by their industry and discretion in raising and feeding stock, risen from poverty to affluence, and become the possessors of fine large tracts of land and fine herds of stock.

In evidence of the above fact, it may be here stated, that in this centennial year they gave the assessor the largest personal property list in Salt creek township, where many large lists are made.

Among the early settlers may also be named George II. Short, who settled and improved a farm, adjoining the Hagan's place, where he now resides, but owing to ill health for many years, has remained closely at home; and, also, Jonathan M. Logue, familiarly called Uncle "Jot," whose name has long been familiar to the inhabitants of Big Grove; Eli H. Sikes, who came to the Grove with the Virgins, when he was quite a youth, and settled on the north side of the Grove, married a daughter of Wm. Warnock, Sen., and died in 186S, leaving a widow and several children in affluent circumstances, the result of his industry, and the inheritance of his good name. Suplina Judd, best known as "Squire Judd," figured with, and for, considerable notoriety for several years on account of his judicial character.

Coming down to the present time, there are but few persons remaining that lived about Big Grove twenty-five years ago. John Y. Swaur and family, before named, E. E. and J. W. Virgin, sons of Abram Virgin, Edmund E., son of Eli Auxier, Robert A., son of Austin P. Melton, and Ludwig and Wm. L., sons of Granville Davis, are the only ones remaining of the original settlers and their descendants. While the place will compare favorably with any locality in the west for health, many have died; but make the same review of the changes wrought in twenty-five years, and the numbers who have died are below an average mortality. Since, the neighborhood has become somewhat isolated, being five miles from a railroad station, Big Grove, though possessing comparatively less notoriety than in former times, yet these early settlers have been succeeded by a class of unpretending citizens, that for industry, intelligence and prosperity will compare favorably with any part of the State, and consequently of the world.

F. Auxier, Wm. P. and John R. Falkner, John Hill, George Lumpce, H. C. Burnham, J. A. Hendrickson, J. H. Varnholt, Wm. Brown, Aaron Werner, Michael Malony, John McCarty, A. A. Blunt, and others.

The social habits of the place have of course changed in the last fourth of the century. While the present inhabitants are eager for the daily papers, lest their interests may be affected by the "spring" or "decline" in the "hog market," the pioneers were content with mails once a week, or less frequently during bad weather or high water. Yet they had their social enjoyments, and it is with no regret that we remember listening to their discussions of the respective merits of "gourd seed" and "flint" corn, or the prominent points of a favorite "coon dog."

The old "timber school house," long since removed but still remembered, "Though lost to sight, to memory dear," as the place where the people of the eastern part of the county went to vote, and the "spirited" manner in which elections were sometimes conducted, their opinions being sometimes defined, and arguments enforced by physical as well as logical means, yet they never dreamed of the crookedness of some of the political combinations of the present day. Where now stretch the broad farms of those we have named, the writer has seen growing prairie flowers,

Side by side, graceful, affianced, destined to meet and unite One by the other, in beauty, all decked in their coloring bright, Reaching and quickening, all their fragrance is scattering

Among the first settlers in Lynchburg township was Nelson Abbey, in the year 1S37. He built a log cabin near where the village of Sny Carte now stands, which is supposed to have been the first house in Lynchburg township. During the next year William Rodgers settled near, and was soon followed by John

Rodgers, his brother. There also came, in 1S3S, Amos Smith, Sr., with his sons, Amos, Jr., and B. F., who settled in the same vicinity. Then came John Camp and Richard J. Phelps. Then William Davis, James D. Reeves and George W. Phelps, all making a settlement in a radius of about four miles. Amos Smith, Sr., died in the fall of 1S41. Amos Smith, Jr., was elected Magistrate for Linchburg precinct, on the first organization of Mason county, the same year, which office he continued to hold until his death, in 1 85 1. He was also a county commissioner on the first organization. B. F. Smith, before named, engaged in farming and carpentering, accumulated a fine property, and died. March, 1867. His only surviving descendant, Benjamin B. Smith, resides on the old farm. The Smith family emigrated from Rochester, Windsor county, Vermont.

Most of the early settlers of Linchburg came west poor, and the trials and hardships of improving new farms on these frontiers were very great without the accustomed conveniences of the east. It was common to walk several miles and back, in the wet grass, before breakfast, to get up the oxen for the plow.

Their milling was done at Sugar creek, in Schuyler county; on Spoon river, in Fulton; Painter creek, in Cass county; and, in later years, at Quiver, in Mason county.

To describe the early elections of Lynchburg would be to repeat what we said on the preceding pages on the early elections of Salt creek, that their arguments were more forcible than elegant, but always conducted with energy. (See biography of M. A. Smith.)

Forest City

Forest City is situated on the Peoria, Pekin and Jacksonville Railroad, and laid out at the time of its first construction, and is seventeen miles from Pekin and thirteen from Havana. It was in what was originally Mason Plains precinct, but by an act of the Board of Supervisors, in 1S73, it was changed to Forest City township. The original town plat was purchased by Walker, Kemp, Waggenseller and Wright, in Havana, and surveyed in 1859. D. S. Broderic purchased forty acres of W. R. Nikirk, and in 1S66 had the same surveyed as Broderic's addition to Forest City. The town is favorably situated, geographically, for a fine commcr-

The growth of Mason City deducted from its trade on the east, and points on the I., B. and W. R. R. did the same on the south, but this was more than compensated for by the very rapid improvement of its immediate vicinity. The present population is about two hundred.

The first business house was built by A. Cross & Co.; the second by E. T. Nikirk. There is, in addition to the above, G. W. Pemberton, family groceries, T. A. Gibson, hardware and grain dealer, J. Miller, dealer in grain, V. H. Maxwell, family groceries, John Gavin, family groceries, Limbach & Maxwell, dry goods and groceries, Patrick Kane, family groceries, Eli T. Nikirk & Son, agents for the P., P. and J. Railroad, and F. M. Ellsworth, blacksmith, (and the first in the place,) and others, whose names we did not reach. The physicians of Forest City are Drs. James S. Walker and G. S. Mosteller, both very competent and educated members of their profession. (See biography of Walker family.)

Among the first settlers of this locality were Mr. Nikirk and John Bowser, both of Seneca county, Ohio, who located here twenty-three or four years ago. Mr. Nikirk purchased the entire landed estate of W. G. Green, now of Menard county, Illinois. The purchase was made in 1S52, and in 1S55 Mr. Nikirk died, leaving nearly two thousand acres of land to his family. Twenty years afterwards Elizabeth, his widow, died, leaving her children pleasant and comfortable homes, nearly all in sight of the old homestead.

The Nikirk sons are among the most substantial farmers and business men of that vicinity, and it is with great personal gratification that we here record them all pleasant, genial gentlemen, whose acquaintance we have ever valued, and whose sociability and hospitality we ever appreciate.

Mr. Bowser is residing on the farm first purchased, in affluent circumstances, a most substantial citizen, possessed of many broad acres of rich land within sight of his pleasant home, surrounded by all that makes life desirable, and that contributes to human happiness. We have had a personal acquaintance with Mr. Bowser for nearly thirty-five years. On that acquaintance, we must say, we have only known him as a neighbor, a gentleman and friend.

Reed and B. Heicks, Constables. We also note among her prominent mechanics: J. A. Beard, builder and contractor; J.Jackson, carpenter; T. G. Onstot, dealer in lumber, lime, cement, etc. The substantial character of the business men of Forest City, and it being the centre of a rich agricultural region, enjoying a fine local trade, it bids fair to hold its present prominent position in the business interests of Mason county.

$I>365>°33 2° The following statement of the amounts of corn and wheat raised in this county in 1853, is the aggregate from the Assessor's lists :

"Twenty years previous, the region of country then - in 1853 - known as Mason county was one unbroken wilderness. Here and there, near the point of some timber, near the bank of some creek or stream, the log cabin of the pioneer, with a few acres of land beginning to be cultivated, was the only indication of civilization. The government owned the land, and $1 25 per acre was no inducement to settlers so long as any quantity of what was considered vastly better soil could be purchased at the same price. Emigrants avoided these plains and sandridges as unworthy their notice. The productive qualities of the soil had not been tested, and very few were willing to run the risk and make the experiment. It was not until land was growing scarce, in what were considered more favored localities, that purchases began to be made here. The settler very soon found, however, that his prejudices were unfounded - that the forbidding apjDearance of the surface was a false indication - that an exuberance of productive power was here disguised under an exterior show of poverty. The facts becoming known, the settlers flocked in, and have continued to come, until now - 1S53 - there is scarcely any unentered lands to be found anywhere in the county. Thousands of acres have been taken up by speculators, in the confident expectation of realizing a fortune by selling again. Men who were conversant with this state of things, sixteen, or even ten years ago, are astonished to behold the changes even ten years have wrought; any amount of land that then could have been purchased at government price, is now held at from 10 to 25 dollars joer acre, and no anxiety to sell at that price. There has been a steady, uniform and onward progress. Many a farmer who came here a few years ago, with barely sufficient means to enter a small tract, forty or eighty acres, or perhaps a quarter section, is now in comfortable circumstances; some of them rich - became so by agriculture. Mason county may safely challenge the State, and if the State, the world, to raise better crops, with the same amount of cultivation. Indeed, the very fertility of the soil induces a system of farming, that in a soil of less strength would be less than useless. Scientific agriculture has as yet received very little attention from our farmers, and though we are happy to be able to record the fact that a movement has recently been made by a few, which, if carried out, will tend greatly to improve the modes of operation in this, the most beneficial of all the branches of human industry. Under the best system of management that science has yet discovered, the farmers of the older States are not able to compete with ours who have taken very little trouble in reference to the matter. How vastly more productive our virgin soil might be made by a practical application of all the knowledge that is attainable on this subject."

June 30, 1S57

Clerk. The progress of agriculture in this county and in the State has more than exceeded the expectations of the most sanguine. In the year 1867, we compiled from statistical reports the following, as to

The Crops In Illinois

Our people have but little conception of the amount of produce raised in our State. They know the soil is prolific, and that in their immediate vicinity there is a great yield. Further than this, thev have no idea of the aggregate of the crops of the State. It would astonish most of them to be told that last year there were in Illinois 4,931,783 acres of corn planted, and that the product from these acres amounts to 155,844,350 bushels; 2,195,263 acres were cropped with wheat, yielding 28,551,421 bushels; rye spread over

43,721, giving1 666,455 bushels, enough to make whisky sufficient to demoralize the whole State. In oats there were 883,952 acres, producing 30,054,370 bushels.

Barley occupied 41,510 acres, giving 1,037,753 bushels. Buckwheat, 16,250 acres, raising 273,010 bushels. Potatoes took up 58,982 acres, and yielded 4,102,035 bushels. The hay crop covered 1,591,880 acres, and turned off 2,340,063 tons, and 25,578 acres were in tobacco, yielding 17,546,981 pounds. The crops above enumerated occupied 9,788,920 acres, valued at $160,148,704. In this statement there is no account taken of the various fruit crops for which our State is so famous. With these counted in, the value of our products would be considerably swollen, and we should show a wealth of agricultural products which cannot be rivaled by any State in the Union.

It must be remembered that not more than one-sixth of our land is under cultivation, if there is more than one acre in seven. Truly, our State is a giant, rich in soil, and teeming with muscle and intellect. Running through five degrees of latitude, we present a climate and variety of soils which are truly the admiration of our sister States. From Galena to Cairo we present the various fruits and products raised in the temperate climates. Our grazing fields are not to be surpassed by any in the world. Our cotton grows luxuriantly, and our hemp, flax and tobacco are fast becoming staple articles.

In this showing no mention has been made of our sorghum crop. The number of acres in this article has not been ascertained; yet, from all we can gather, a large surface must have been put in, and the yield highly flattering and remunerative. The root crops, too, have not been considered, and yet there can be no doubt but thousands of acres were devoted to them last year, and that the value of their products reached millions of dollars.

Who can say that the dwellers in our State should not be proud of her? Her broad and beautiful prairies, and her groves of luxuriant timber, are objects over which we can feel a just pride. In all that goes to make up a great State, we can be excelled in but few, if any particulars. Our soil, our railroads, and other facilities, besides bordering on a great inland sea, peculiarly fit Illinois for the title of the Empire State of the great Northwest.

From the books of the State Auditor we eet the following as to the number of domestic animals on the first of May, 1S76, and the number of acres in grain last year.

[The Geology of Mason county being reported by the above author in connection with Tazewell, McLean and Logan, we are compelled to give data from those counties; also from Menard and Cass, from the fact that the geological formations of these six counties are so uniformly the same that a description of one is nearly a description of all. It is also true that the geological surveys of these six counties have been very superficial and neglected. Our State Geologist, Prof. A. H. Worthen, being only remarkable for giving little attention to the important work which the State employs him to do. We shall extract from the work of Mr. Bannister, done for the Geological office of this State, and add such personal investigations as we have been able to make.]

" The surface of the country over a great portion of the district composed of the counties of McLean, Logan, the greater part of Tazewell, and the eastern part of Mason, is a high, undulating prairie, with here and there groves and belts of timber.

The soil is generally a rich brown mould, varying somewhat in different localities in the proportions of clay, etc., which it contains, some portions being more argillaceous than others. In the timber, however, which occupies scarcely more than one-fifth or one-sixth of the entire surface, and the broken country along some of the principal streams, the soil is somewhat of a different character, the lighter colored and more argillaceous subsoil appearing at or near the surface.

In the greater part of Mason county, and over considerable tracts in the southwestern part of Tazewell county, the surface configuration varies from that which we have described. The prairies are low and comparatively flat, and in many places were originally overflowed, or marshy, at some seasons of the year. The soil of these prairies is a rich alluvium, generally more or less arenaceous, which forms, when sufficiently elevated or drained, one of the best producing soils in the State.

Along the Illinois and Sangamon rivers, in this region, we find rather extensive sandy tracts of river formation, and on the Sangamon river in Mason county, and on the Illinois in Mason and Tazewell, the bold bluffs of the Loess are, in some localities, conspicious features of the general landscape.

The principal streams occurring in this district, besides the Illinois and Sangamon rivers, which form a portion of its borders, are the Mackinaw, in Tazewell, Mason and McLean counties; Salt Creek, in Mason and Logan counties; Kickapoo and Sugar creeks, in Logan and McLean counties. These, with many minor streams and nameless tributaries, drain nearly the whole surface of this entire district. With the exception of the Illinois and Sangamon rivers, none of the streams have extensive tracts of bottoms adjoining them, and even along these rivers the bottoms are either of inconsiderable extent or wanting altogether.

The geological formations appearing in this district are almost entirely of the drift or later formations, the older rocks outcropping only at a comparatively few localities in Tazewell and Logan counties. The underlying rock, as far as can be ascertained from these outcroppings, as well as from artificial exposures, by shafts, etc., in various parts of the district, consists entirely of the diffei-ent beds of the coal measure series.

The Loess, the uppermost of the more recent geological formations, appears only in the vicinity of the Illinois and Sangamon rivers, and consists here, as elsewhere, of buff or ash colored marly sand, containing fresh water shells of existing species. It is not everywhere equally well developed, and in various localities along the Illinois river, in Mason and Tazewell counties, it either does not appear at all, or is inconspicuous. It may be well seen, however, in Mason county, where it appears in the bald, rounded bluffs, with occasional mural-appearing escarpments covering their summits, which forms so characteristic a feature of the landscape along the river below. In the northern part of Tazewell county, although this bluff marl sand appears to some extent in the bluffs along the Illinois river, it is not by any means as well exposed or prominent as farther south, in other counties.

The drift formation which covers the older rocks in almost every part of this district, is here composed of heds of blue and brown clay, sand and gravel, and varies in thickness in different portions from fifty feet in the western part of Tazewell county, to two hundred and fifty in the Bloomington shafts. It has been penetrated however at but comparatively few points, and over the greater part of this region, its depth can only be approximately estimated. It seems probable indeed that it may be of this thickness over a considerable portion of McLean county, as boring at Chatsworth in the adjoining portion of Livingston county, was reported to have penetrated to a depth of two hundred and fifty feet before striking rock. The material of the drift in this region appears to be roughly stratified; alternating beds of sand, gravel and clay are frequently met with in wells and borings. The sand and gravel beds make generally but a small part of the total thickness, though sometimes single beds attain a very considerable thickness, as, for instance, at Chenoa, in the northern part of McLean county, where a boring for coal passes through abed of sand and gravel thirty feet in thickness, overlaid by forty-five feet of the usual clays of this formation. Occasionally also a bed of black earth or vegetable mould, still containing pieces of wood, trunks of trees, leaves, &c, only partially decayed, is met with, and a bed of quicksand containing the usual fossil land or fresh-water shells of existing species.

The following section of the drift afforded by a shaft sunk in the city of Bloomington, is of special interest, as showing both of these conditions at unusual depths. The shaft was sunk by the Bloomington Coal Mining Company near the track of the Chicago and St. Louis Railroad, half a mile north of the depot:

Another shaft a little over a mile distant from this one passed through materially the same succession of strata, with only local variations in the thickness of the different beds. The quicksand, No. 8 of the above section, resembling the sands of the Loess in general appearance, and the only species of the contained shells which could be identified, was Helicina Occulta, which is also not uncommon in the Loess of the river valleys of this State. Beds of black vegetable mould are met with at less depths than in this section in various places in this district, as, for instance, in the vicinity of Pekin, Tazewell county, where it is said in few instances to have tainted the wells which have penetrated it to such an extent as to almost render them unfit for use. Sections of the drift are also afforded by the borings for coal which have been made in various parts of this district. In all cases they show variations of the material from blue to yellow clay, sand and gravel, but do not generally afford sections of such especial interest as the shafts at Bloomington, nor is the depth of the formation as great. At Chenoa the thickness is found to be ninety feet from the surface to the rock; at Lexington one hundred and eighty feet; at Atlanta one hundred and twentysix feet; at Lincoln seventy feet; at Cheney's Grove one hundred and twenty-two feet; and at several points in Tazewell county from sixty to one hundred feet and more. Its thickness is quite irregular, -but seems to be greatest in the central and eastern portions of the district.

In Mason county we have no reliable data on which to base our estimates, but its average thickness in that portion I think may be set down at not less than fifty feet, and is probably much more. In the western portion of Tazewell county in the ravines and broken country along the Illinois river, I observed in a number of places at the base of the drift a bed of cemented gravel or conglomerate showing sometimes an irregular stratification similar to that of beach deposits.

A ledge of this material may be seen, nine or ten feet in thickness, in the northwestern quarter of section 7, township 25, range 4, west of the third principal meridian, up one of the side ravines which comes down through the Illinois river bluffs a little south of Wesley city, in Tazewell county, Illinois, and other similar ledges appear in various places in the vicinity of Fon du Lac, and also on the Mackinaw, in the eastern portion of this county. Another similar bed of cemented gravel, of, however, a comparatively in- significant thickness, may be seen about half way up the bluff, at the steamboat landing in the city of Pekin, where it does not appear to be more than a few inches thick.

I have not observed any similar deposits in the eastern portions of this district, cither in Logan or McLean counties, nor have I heard of its having been met with in sinking the various shafts or borings.

Coal Measures

All the stratified rocks that outcrop within the limits of this district belong, as has been already stated, to the coal measures, and the actual surface exposures are confined for the most part to a thickness of sixty or eighty feet in the middle portion of the formation. In the whole district there is but one boring which affords an artificial section of the beds down to the base of this formation. This is one made by Voris & Co., on the bottom lands on the Tazewell county side of the Illinois river, and directly opposite the city of Peoria.

The first bed of the coal measure which is met with in the boring is about forty feet below the lower coal scam, which is worked in this section, number four of the Illinois river section, as given by Prof. Worthen.

The following is a section of the first four hundred and fiftynine feet of the boring. Below that depth the records kept by Mr. Voris & Co. are not complete, as to the thickness and material of all the different beds -