Marshall County, Indiana - The whole text, 1908 (part 3 of 12)

"We traveled from Lake Michigan a southeasterly course, and descended a hill of more than one hundred feet, and soon found ourselves in the neighborhood of these celebrated Kankikee ponds. The river of that name rises near the center of Indiana, from east to west, and flows west through a low valley, which is from four to eleven miles wide, and in the spring is covered with water. After the summer season sets in the quantity of water decreases, but there remains a marsh or swamp which is said to be sixty miles in length from east to west, and impossible at most places for man or horse to pass ; the river crosses the line dividing Indiana and Illinois about thirty-five miles south of Lake Michigan and uniting the River Auxplaines from the Illinois river. The ponds above mentioned extend along the north side of the river beyond the state line. ]\Iost of the land on this river within Indiana is exceedingly poor. We crossed the Kankikee, which from its appearance we believed sufficiently 'large for boats to pass down it, from a point thirty or forty miles within the state of Indiana, part of the year. The trace on which we traveled led us southeast to Yellow river, a large branch of the Kankikee, within the country now owned bv the Pottawattomies, and the whole distance between these rivers we saw no land suitable for farming, it being mostly wet prairie, or if timbered, with low black oak, and the soil of the most inferior quality. After crossing Yellow river and traveling about four miles we passed a beautiful lake from seven to ten miles in circumference, called by the Pottawattomie Indians Mix-inkuk-kee. It is surrounded with rolling land of good quality and is formed from springs, and seems to occupy the highest summit between the Tippecanoe and Kankikee rivers. From it flows to the south a large creek, forming one of the principal of the former river, and distant from it about five miles. The lake will probably some day supply a feeder for a canal to connect the Wabash and Illinois rivers. From this lake we proceeded a short distance east and found the line of the ]\Iichigan road, on which we traveled to the Wabash at the mouth of Eel river. Most of that country is good and susceptible of making a fine road. Should the legislature authorize, as they most likely will, the location of the donation of the Michigan road in the prairie between the St. Joseph and Lake Michigan, and on the line of the United States road from Detroit to Chicago, it will sell for an immense sum of money, and within two or three years will form one of the best settlements in Indiana. The country lately purchased is susceptible of forming from three to five counties, and in five years after it is sold by the United States will have sufficient population to send an additional member to congress."

The following description of a trip from Lafayette to Turkey creek prairie, by way of Bennack's village, in Tippecanoe township, Marshall county, in 1834, which is copied from "Recollections of the Early Settlements of the Wabash Valley," published by Sanford C. Cox in i86o, is interesting as showing the condition of the country and inhabitants here threequarters of a century ago: whoever he may have been, that Sanford C. Cox, as he relates in the extract of his book under consideration, according to previous arrangements, set out from Lafayette to explore that portion of northern Indiana comprised within the present boundaries of the counties of Fulton, Pulaski, Marshall, Stark, Kosciusko and Elkhart, A journey of one or two hundred miles was not then, as now, performed in a few hours. The first day they passed through Delphi and stayed over night at Lockport. The second day they passed through Logansport and stayed all night at a farm house six miles farther north on the Michigan road, having ridden leisurely and examined lands on Eel river most of the afternoon - being land hunters on the lookout for land to enter. Their landlord advised them to go on to the Pottawattomie mills, erected at the outlet of Manatau lake some twenty miles north, and from that point to keep up the Tippecanoe river to its head near the Turkey Creek prairie. Continuing, Mr. Cox said:

"We followed his directions and took up our lonesome journey along the frozen Michigan road, which led through a dense, continuous forest. In the afternoon we arrived at a Mr. Bozarth's, near the Pottawattomie mills. His small, double cabin, which stood near where the town of Rochester now stands, was a welcome sight to us, being the only house we had seen after we started in the morning. Here we stopped for the night and were well entertained by Mr. Bozarth and his pleasant and interesting family, who, though domiciled in the wilderness, would have graced the better circles of metropolitan life.

"After earlv breakfast we started on our journey, passing the Pottawattomie mills during the first half hour's ride. We stopped for a short time and viewed the celebrated Lake Manitau, or "Devil's lake," where the Indians averred a huge monster had been seen in the shape of a serpent, which defied all human eft'orts to snare it. There was a tradition existing among the Pottawattomie Indians that there was a monster in the shape

"Their superstitious dread of this lake was such that they would not hunt upon its borders nor fish in its waters for fear of incurring the anger of the evil spirit that made its home in this little woodland lake, which perhaps is some three or four miles in length, with a breadth averaging from one-fourth to a half mile, quite irregular, sometimes quite narrow for several hundred yards, resembling a narrow, sluggish river, at other places widening into bays and more extended sheets of water that reflected sky and forest like a mirror. The appearance of the ground- indicated that it had originally been much larger and that its waters had gradually receded ; which fact was confirmed by some of the earliest settlers of the neighborhood, who said they had fished years before in portions of the lake which had become partially or entirely dry land.

"When the government officers were about erecting the Pottawattomie mills the Indians strenuously objected to the erection of a dam at the outlet of the lake, lest its accumulated waters might disturb and overflow the subterranean chambers of Manitau and the exasperated demon rush forth from his watery dominions and take indiscriminate vengeance on all those who resided near the sacred lake ; and to convince the government officials of the real existence of this monster and his terrible paroxysms of rage, which were periodical, they stated that certain seasons of the year the fishes became so alarmed that they rushed pellmell to the outlet of the lake in large schools or shoals to escape the exasperated monster that threatened their destruction. "I have been informed that Austin W. Morris, who completed the survey of the lake for the erection of the mills, said that several of his flagmen while assisting in its survey had become alarmed and made to shore, declaring that they had seen a monster in the water, and for a while it was difficult for him to get a man to carry the red flag. Whether they really saw anything terrible in the water, or their fears were merely the result of an excited imagination after hearing the Indian legends, Mr. Morris never pretended to say.

"In confirmation of the tradition above alluded to, in the year 1837 there appeared in the columns of the Logansport Telegraph a communication, supposed to have been written by our artist George Winter, giving a more particular and circumstantial description of the monster from an account given to him by a fishing party who said they had seen the serpent, which they represented as being about sixty feet long, the frontal bone three feet across, with eyes as large as saucers.

"The correspondent's description of the monster produced quite a sensation among the good people of Logansport and the surrounding country, and a party of fifteen or twenty daring spirits, including several scientific gentlemen, was formed to go to the lake on a certain day, with fishing tackle, after the manner of Barry Cornwall's fishermen, harpoons, spears, etc., to fish out the leviathan demon, or whatever it might be, that by this time had got a character equal to a first-class sea serpent.

"A sickly season, combined with other circumstances, prevented this grand piscatorial enterprise, which had been planned on a magnificent scale and publicly advertised throughout the country for weeks ; and his wonderful snakeship escaped the leviathan hooks and snares which had been prepared

"From Lake Manitau we proceeded on our journey up the Tippecanoe. Our trace passed through the timber land of the Yellow river country. We were told that we would not see a house after leaving the mills, except that of Ben-niack, a half-breed and one of the headmen among the Pottawattomies, at the crossing of the Tippecanoe river, until we arrived at McCartney's, an old Indian trader on Turkey Creek prairie; but as examining the face of the country with a view of entering land was the object of our trip, we had no objection to see it in its primitive grandeur, unmarred and unmolested by the hand of man.

"About 12 o'clock we arrived at the crossing of Tippecanoe, about half a mile below Ben-nack's village. Here we alighted and partook of our noon lunch, and examined the ford where our road crossed the river. The ice had melted away from the shore where we were for more than a rod, while the rest of the stream was covered with ice which appeared sufficiently strong to bear up our horses provided we could get them upon it. As the horse I rode was the lightest, we concluded to lead him in and pass him over first, which was done with much difficulty, as the edge of the ice where the horse first reached it struck him about the middle of his breast, and he, by much urging, sprung upon it with a bound. It bore him up and he was led to the opposite shore. With difficulty we got the major's horse to the edge of the ice, and after much coaxing and patting him upon his head we got him to make a bound - the ice broke ; he made another spring and it broke again ; he made one plunge after another until he broke the ford open from one side of the stream to the other, the major meanwhile clinging hold of the bridle reins on the upper side to prevent the deep strong current from drawing the horse under the ice. We mounted our horses shivering with cold and rattling with icicles, and hastened to Ben-nack's to warm and dry ourselves and horses. Imagine our surprise and chagrin when, calling at his cabin door for admittance, he after much delay cautiously opened the door a few inches only, and asked what we wanted. We told him our sad plight, and that we wished to stop a few minutes to warm by his fire. He made no reply, but immediately closed the door in our face. The Indians peeped out from their wigwams, which surrounded Ben-nack's cabin, with evident surprise and mortification at his want of hospitality. For a moment we thought we would stop at a wigwam and warm at the Indians' campfire, but changed our mind and rode on along the trace to Turkey Creek prairie, wet, cold and slightly out of humor.

"Late in the evening we arrived at McCartney's, on the south side of Turkey Creek prairie, near the cluster of lakes that form the head of Tippecanoe. McCartney had married a daughter of Bennack, and was absent on a trip to Washington city to procure a patent, as we were informed, for a section of reserve land which he had married with his 'pretty young squaw.' Ben Hurst, one of Indiana's oldest lawyers and one of Gen. Harrison's aids at the battle of Tippecanoe, resided at McCartney's during his absence at Washington to superintend his business, and to guard his wife, Mary, from being spirited away by her father, who had become dissatisfied with the match and declared the marriage a nullity, having been solemnized by an

"We spent two or three dajs looking at the country surrounding the big and little Turkey Creek prairies, and passing over portions of what now lies within the limits of Marshall, Elkhart and Kosciusko counties, then a wild, uncultivated region which contained fifty Indians for every white man. But few white families had penetrated this frontier region, and the major and myself concluded that although the land was rich and productive it was so remote from schools, churches and other advantages of civilization that we did not feel like pitching our tabernacles in that out-of-the-way place. Every day we met with Indians who were exceedingly friendly and invariably inquired for 'good-ne-tosh' (whisky), offering to exchange moccasins, fur skins, or even pay the cash for it. One morning a troop of about twenty squaws and papooses mounted on ponies followed us for more than a mile beseeching us for whisky, which was a contraband article, prohibited by law from being bartered to the Indians. In order to get rid of such an escort over the prairies, the major pulled out a pint flask of whisky from his saddle bags, which we had taken along with us to doctor our horses in case they became sick, and held it up as a prize to whoever could ride and take it out of his hand, meanwhile spurring up his horse to a gallop. Helterskelter dashed along the squaws on the ponies to seize the prize, the major urging up his horse, and the squaws and papooses goading on their ponies to full speed. One old squaw dashed ahead of the rest and seized the bottle. The rest soon circled around her. She took out the cork and drank our 'very good health,' and handed it to another until it passed around, the younger women and children touching it but lightly. The major told them to pass it around again, which was done, and the empty bottle thrown hi the grass. The old squaw thanked us politely for the whisky and a few crackers we had given to the children, and invited us to their camp, about a mile ofif, which invitation we courteously declined.

"The liquor soon made the old woman feel like exhibiting her powers of horsemanship, and after telling the little urchin that rode behind her to 'hold fast,' dashed ofif at full speed of her pony, followed by the rest, the children clinging on behind their mothers and aunts, dashed from side to side, up and down, as far as we could see them, and their wild halloo rung upon the air for several minutes after they turned into the timber where their village stood.

"While at McCartney's we got sight of his 'handsome young squaw,' of whose beauty we had heard so much. She appeared to be about twenty years of age, of medium stature, thickset, and was handsomely dressed in Indian costume. I have seen many handsomer Indian women, and thought at the time that her being Bennack's daughter, and owning a section of land, added charms that could not be appreciated by every beholder.

"A graphic likeness of Bennack may be seen in a group of portraits of distinguished chiefs, headmen and warriors of the Pottawattomie nation in the studio of our able artist, George Winter, whose paintings are much admired by all judges of the fine arts."

Xhl Old Time Taverns

In the earliest settlement of the county what is now known as "hotel" or "house," as applied to places of public entertainment, was at that time universally called "tavern," every one of which, before the proprietor could open up for business, was required to apply to the board of commissioners for a license, for which he was charged $io a year, more or less, according to the amount of business done. There was no state law at that time governing the sale of intoxicating liquors, and the tavern license was in reality . a license to sell liquor, as every tavern keeper was supposed to keep a little brown jug with something in it for the stomach's sake!

The first license granted for keeping tavern was to Grove Pomeroy for one year from April i, 1836. His tavern was the building on the southwest corner of Michigan and La Porte streets. It was built of logs and lumber, two stories high. For several years it had quite a run of travel, the stage coaches from the north and south on the Michigan road and the hacks on the La Porte road stopping there. Mr. Pomeroy does not seem to have taken out tavern license after that, and it is likely that Robert Beattie succeeded him in 1837, judging from the following petition for license and the order for the same. A copy of this is reproduced here to show how the tavern business was conducted in those days.

Now at this time, to-wit: on the 3 day of January 1837 comes Robert Beattie and files in open court a certificate for divers freeholders, citizens of Plymouth and vicinity for a Tavern License to keep a house of public entertainment in the town of Plymouth in the following words and figures towit:

To the Honorable the Board of Commissioners: The undersigned citizens of Plymouth and vicinity certify that Robert Beattie is a man of good moral character and well qualified to keep a house of public entertainment, and that we believe a Tavern to be highly necessary in the town of Plymouth, Marshall County, Indiana:

There was nothing stated in the petition as to where the tavern was located, but the fact that Grove Pomeroy, the owner of the building, signed the petition, is almost conclusive evidence that it was the Pomeroy building.

Prior to the organization of the county in July, 1836, the board of commissioners granted several "tavern licenses," among which were the following : Gustavus A. Cone, tavern license in North township for one year from April i, 1836. This was probably the place afterwards owned by the Sherlands, and was a regular stopping place for the stage coaches passing that way north and south.

July 19, 1836, Charles Osterhaut was granted license for one year to keep tavern. His place was about two miles south of Plymouth, on the west side of the Michigan road. He was a member of the board of commissioners, and the board met at his house until the first courthouse was erected after the county was organized, when it began holding its meetings in that

There were several other taverns in various portions of the county, so that wherever people happened to be when night came on, they were pretty sure to find a tavern where they could obtain food and shelter for the night, although they might have for a bed a quilt on a puncheon floor to sleep on.

After the Pomeroy tavern the next house of importance was the old American House, still standing at the south end of the river bridge on the east side of Michigan street. It was built by Adam Vinnedge, Sr., about the time of the organization of the county, but its location was not desirable, and at no time since it was first erected has it been self-sustaining.

The Baldwin House was on the southwest corner of Michigan and Washington streets. It was kept by Ayers Baldwin for several years, but after his death was used as a dwelling house.

The Doddridge House, also known as the Edwards House, and the Parker House, was erected in the early '50s, and for many years was one of the most pretentious caravansaries of its kind in this part of the country. During its existence it had a great many landlords, among those best remembered being William C. Edwards, O. H. P. Bailey, Joel Parker, U. S. Dodge, George B. Steadman, W. K. Swallow and others. In 1858 Mr. Steadman, who was then proprietor of the hotel, got into an altercation with a man who kept a livery barn near by, and in the melee was so badly stabbed that he died not long afterwards. Several years ago it caught fire and was partially consumed, after which the remains were purchased and removed to the north part of town, where it was worked over into a dwelling, and thus ended Plymouth's first real house of entertainment.

A. Gambrill, or "Gabe" Gambrill as he was familiarly known, erected a hotel and eating house on the north side of the Fort Wayne railroad opposite the elevator, about 1857-8, which he continued with indifferent success for a few years, when it caught fire and was burnt to the ground.

There are few people in Plymouth who know how the Ross House happened to be called by that name. It was built in its present form by Mr. Robert H. Cox, who died several years ago. About the time it was ready to be opened to the public Mr. Cox was in a quandary as to an appropriate name for the new caravansary, not wishing to perpetuate his own name by calling it the Cox House, because he was fearful the traveling men would nickname it the "Coxey House" after Coxey and his army of "ragamuffins" who were just then marching on to Washington. About that time, too, the country was greatly excited over the kidnaping of Charley Ross, which is still well remembered by the older citizens. One evening Mr. Cox was talking to a traveling man about the difficulty he had in selecting a suitable name for his hotel, when the gentleman suggested, "Why not call it the

'Ross House,' in memory of Charley Ross, the kidnaped boy?" It appealed to Mr. Cox's sympathy for the bereaved parents of the boy, and from that day to the present it has been known as the "Ross House."

The Grand Hotel is owned by Charles Kellison and was erected about 1890. It is modern in all its equipments and its management is kept up to the highest standard.

George Pomeroy was probably the first tavern keeper in Bremen, as he was one among the earliest residents there. In 1859 John Prottsman erected the American House, and kept really the first hotel in that place. In 1865 Jacob Knoblock erected in Bremen a large and commodious hotel which was the pride of the town. ]\Ir. Knoblock managed it until 1869, when he died. It was afterwards kept by his son-in-law and H. M. Carver until 1879, when it caught fire and went up in smoke.

In Bourbon, so far as is known, Henry H. Baxter was the first tavern keeper. That was in the early '50s, and he continued as such for many years. In the later '50s, prior to the civil war and after the completion of the Fort Wayne & Chicago railroad, Henry Sheets erected a hotel building on Main street, near the railroad, which he called the Railroad House and later the Sheets House, which he kept for many years. Several years ago it was removed and the present splendid brick and stone structure erected by Mr. Ringenberger. Prior to this the "Central House," erected one block north of the railroad in the center of the town by S. E. O'Brien, was the first really first-class hotel structure erected in the town. The American House, located on the block north of the railroad, was kept by Andrew Rice for many years, and later by M. C. Henshaw. It is now used as a residence.

In Argos - which was then called Sidney - the first tavern was erected by Sidney Williams, and by him sold prior to 1850 to Clark Bliven, who continued to keep the tavern until about 1845, when M. L. Smith purchased the property and managed the place until his death many years ago. A new hotel was then erected on the street leading to the Lake Erie railroad station. It is a large and commodious structure, having the modern improvements, and in every way is first-class.

Xiv. A Pioneer Exploring Party

In the summer of 1835 an exploring expedition was formed in the southern part of the state for the purpose of visiting the country north of the Wabash river, and if they were pleased with "the lay of the land" it was understood they were to make selections of homes for themselves and neighbors who had determined to change their place of abode, and make the proper entry in the land office, which was at that time at La Porte. The currency of the realm at that time was mostly the good old-fashioned silver dollar of the daddies, and it required but ninety of them to purchase the best eightyacre lot of land in Marshall county. These dollars were generally sewed up in a belt of cotton shirting, or some goods of that sort, or put into an Indian

These primitive explorers, of course, were provided with rifles with which to protect themselves, and also for the purpose of providing game for food. These rifles were generally of the flintlock pattern - "percussion caps" not having at that time made their appearance this far west. A part of the outfit was a pair of bullet molds made of iron. Bar lead was a necessaryarticle of merchandise, and with a wooden ladle to melt it in and pour it into the molds a sufficient number of bullets could be made in a short time to last several days. If, however, a long journey was to be taken, the molds and lead were carried along for use in case of emergency. A gun pouch made of dressed deerskin with the hair on, with a turn-over flap at the top, was adjusted over the right shoulder and carried at the side under the left arm. Ox or cow horns were used to carry powder in. Some of these horns were made by the Indians and were really quite artistic. Pictures, rude though they might be, of various animals were cut on the horns, and frequently they were inlaid with silver.

Having selected the lands they wished to enter, one of the number would be delegated to go to the land office and transact the business for himself and all the others, in order to save the time and expense of making the trip. The land office was afterwards removed to Winamac, for what particular reason the general public never found out, and Amzi L. Wheeler of Plymouth appointed receiver. During most of the time Johnson Brownlee was employed by Mr. Wheeler as clerk and messenger. All the money received for entries of land was either gold or silver coins, mostly silver dollars. This money the receiver was required to deposit in a designated bank at Chicago, 111., and as there were no railroads or express lines it had to be sent by special messenger, and it fell to the lot of Mr. Brownlee to perform that hazardous duty. As fast as three or four thousand dollars were received they would be put up in square boxes containing $500 and $1,000 each of silver and double that amount of gold. The boxes were securely fastened with screws and plainly directed to the government depository at Chicago. Mr. Brownlee had been previously sent to the southern part of the state, into Fayette and Rush counties, where he had formerly lived, to purchase a team of horses to haul the money between the points. It was a fine team of chestnut sorrels that was secured for the service. A light covered wagon was also procured as a part of the outfit. The receiver was allowed $150 for each trip in the delivery of the money, and, as there was considerable profit in that part of the perquisites, the loads were quite numerous for that reason, and for the further reason that if the messenger should be met by highway robbers and the money taken away from him the loss would not be so great. During the time Mr. Brownlee was connected with the land office at Winamac he said he must have made as many as fifty trips to Chicago with money. His route was by way of Maxinkuckee lake, through the "prairie" as it was then called, where "Uncle Piatt Dickson" and others lived, southwest of where Wolf Creek mills formerly were. That neighborhood was generally his stopping place the first night out. The next day he would reach La Porte, where he would stay all night with Capt. Ely, who was an old-time personal friend of the receiver. When Mr. Brownlee retired to bed at night he piled the money boxes up in his room, or under his bed if others slept in the room with him. The next day he would reach Michigan City by noon, and a place now called ^liller's station on the Michigan Central railroad, half way between ^Michigan City and Chicago, was reached for the night. The next day would take him into Chicago, where he deposited his boxes with the bank and drove to his hotel. After the money was counted the next morning and he had procured a receipt for the same he started on the return trip. In all the numerous trips he made over that very sparsely settled country he never met with an accident and was never molested in any particular.

Chicago became a village of whites in 1833. In 1837 an unofificial census showed a population of about 4,000. The official census of 1840 showed a population of 4,853, so that about the period of Mr. Brownlee's visits there the population was not far from 10,000. Old Fort Dearborn was still standing at that time, and the Chicago of today, "the zenith city of the unsalted seas," a city of more than two million inhabitants, was a typical frontier town. It was reached by the lake by small sailing vessels, and overland by stage coaches, etc. There was not at that time a railroad pointing in that direction. The telegraph had not been invented ; steamboat navigation was an experiment ; such things as reapers and mowers, sewing machines and the numerous labor-saving machines that have come into use as if bv magic, and electricity and all the marvelous uses to which it has been applied were not then dreamed of. No other three score and ten years since the world began has witnessed such marvelous inventions and such astounding progress in discoveries and the arts and sciences, in civilization, education and all that tends to advance civilization. As the poet has well said :

^^'hen the pioneers came there was nothing here but a wilderness. No evidences of civilization were to be seen anywhere. Telegraphing had not then been discovered, and there wasn't a railroad within a thousand miles in any direction, and at that time there was not even a stage line within forty miles.

The Indians, their manners and customs and characteristics having been quite fully set forth in these sketches, the inquiry may naturally be made, who were the pioneers who first settled this region and took the places of the Indians after they finally left the country, and what were their habits, manners and customs?

Those who first came here, or their parents, were originally mostly from Pennsylvania, Virginia and the coast states, and were of Scotch, German, Irish, English and French descent. Upon the opening of the great Northwestern Territory, of which this was a part, they began moving westward, and, striking the Ohio river at various points, floated down on rafts and boats of rude construction to various settlements, such as Marietta,

G4 History Of Marshall Couxty

The first settlers here were from southern Ohio and Indiana and northern Kentuclc\-. Butler and Preble counties, in Ohio, and Rush, Fayette, Franklin and Union counties, in southern Indiana, furnished nearlv the entire emigration the first eight or ten years.

Xo better class of people could be found any place than were the first settlers in this county. They were the cream of the settlements they had left ; resolute and determined ; moral, honest, upright and generally of a religious turn of mind, and were social and neighborly in a degree that would put to confusion and shame the average of those who make up the population in these days.

Many of them were fairly well educated and all were endowed with what is commonly known as "good common sense." Everything goes to show that. They laid the foundations of our present county government broad and deep, firm and solid. They began at once to build schoolhouses and provide places of worship; they built a courthouse and other public buildings, and provided an asylum for the helpless poor. They chopped down the forests ; plowed and sowed the ground ; erected saw mills and grist mills, and brick yards, blacksmith and wagon shops ; cut out and bridged, and made the roads passable ; established mail routes and stage lines ; opened up facilities for trade and reciprocal intercourse with neighboring towns and villages ; elected officers who set the legal machinery to work, all of which gave us the start that has brought us on and up to our present advanced stage of civilization.

As we review the past, the forms and faces of these early pioneers - those who "blazed the way" through the almost impassable wilderness - "in shadowy design," come up in vivid remembrance, and in their life's history present much that is worthy of admiration and emulation. Leaving their early homes, and the scenes of civilization, with ax and gim, they wended their lonely way through the unexplored wilderness until they reached the place where their future home was to be. Here, among the wild men of the forest that were still here when many of them came, the wolves and wild beasts of prey that infested the country, a wigwam of brush and poles was erected, a campfire built, and "the ax laid at the root of the tree." There, in the lonely woods, away from friends and family, the original pioneer labored, day in and day out, clearing a little "patch" of ground and preparing a rude log cabin for the reception of his wife and little ones. Finally they came, thinly clad in "home spun," sick and weary from weeks of traveling with ox teams, over roads that had to be made as they w'ent, breaking an axle here, a tongue there; sleeping on the ground in the night air; fighting myriads of mosquitos and braving the storms that overtook them on their journey.

Here, and in this way, was the battle of life again renewed ; and right manfully was it pressed to a glorious victory. How the memory of their hardships looms up, as the past, like a panorama, is spread out before us ! It is well those who are living here now, gathering the fruits of the toil of those early pioneers, cannot realize the sufifering and deprivation they passed through in forming and handing down the blessed heritage we now enjoy.

Those were days that tested true friendship. The question was never asked: "Who is my neighbor?" All were neighbors. All were friends. And let us hope that the friendships formed under so many trying circumstances, in those early days, may serve to cement the rising generation with the past, and that it may continue for all time to come.

When the Northwestern Territory was declared opened for settlement, about 1800, most of them made their way in boats down the Ohio river as far as where Cincinnati now stands and settled in Hamilton, Butler and adjoining counties, and from there gradually found their way into southern Indiana, settling in the river counties.

Emigration from southern Indiana to Marshall county began in 1835, but it did not commence in earnest until 1836. In the spring of that year, in the vicinity of iNIaxinkuckee lake and farther north and east in the direction of Plymouth, the Logans, \^oreises, Morrises, Thompsons, Dicksons. McDonalds, Brownlees, Houghtons, Blakeleys, Lawsons, and others, arrived and made a permanent settlement. From this on, the settlement of this region was rapid and permanent. Except that portion of Union township known as the "Burr Oak Flats," the land was thickly timbered and full of undcr-rnwth.

Cabins of the roughest kind of logs were erected and covered with clapboards, "rived" with an implement called a "fro," out of red oak timber, which were held to their places by logs fastened on the laps. Chimneys were built of small poles, and the cracks in the cabin and chimney were "daubed" with a very inferior quality of mud. If it was desirable to have a window, part of a log was taken out and a rough frame covered with white paper greased would be put in. The furniture, except such portions as had been transported by wagons when the movers came, was of the most primitive workmanship.

it was uncertain whether the treaty entered into between them and the government, by which they were to leave the country, could be carried out. The average Indian that inhabited this region at that period could hardly be made to see the justice of being forced to leave his hunting grounds for the accommodation of those he looked upon as being only a few white adventurers, and until those untutored savages were driven away two years later they were the imaginary terror of timid men, women and children. They were peaceable, however, and the anticipations of danger were never, in a single instance, realized. No disturbance of any kind ever occurred.

There were no roads or bridges in those days, and he who did the milling for the neighborhood blazed his way as he went, and if he succeeded in making the trip to Delphi or Logansport, the nearest grist mills, and return in a week or ten days he was applauded as having accomplished a great feat. Sometimes he would break his wagon, frequently his oxen would get stuck in the mire, and other unforeseen accidents would befall him by which he would be delayed. Then the rations would run short, and those dependent upon his return for bread would have to crack corn with such appliances as were at hand, live on lye hominy made out of Indian corn, and such wild game as the hunters of the neighborhood could procure.

If the fire went out at night, which w'as not an uncommon occurrence, a chunk of fire had to be brought from the nearest neighbor, or a jack knife and a piece of "punk" attached to a flint stone had to be brougtit into requisition. In those days these articles were considered essential in all well regulated families. People then knew nothing about friction matches, nor did they enjoy the luxury of tea, cofifee, pepper, spices or anything of that kind. They were not to be had, and if they could have been bought there was no money to buy them with. There were no churches then, and no schoolhouses, no country stores, no shoe shops, no blacksmith shops, no wagon shops, in fact nothing that the people needed. Homespun flax pants and shirts of a little finer material, the sleeves and collars fastened with a needle and thread, an inferior straw hat made by hand of oats or rye straw and boots or shoes made by the shoemaker of the neighborhood, generally badly worn, constituted the average Sunday outfit at that period and for some time afterwards.

The country was full of swamps and wet places, and the malaria that arose therefrom in the spring and summer was sufficient to prostrate more than half the population. Such a time with bilious fever, "ager," and other bilious diseases as prevailed for several years was never known before nor since. The proper remedies were not to be had for love or money, and many died for want of care and proper medical attention. Dr. Thomas Logan, who came with those who arrived in 1836, was the first doctor who practiced his profession in that section of the county. He was sent for far and wide and saved many lives and did much to alleviate the suffering that was everywhere prevalent.

People of these days often wonder how it happened that the earliest settlers found their way into Marshal! county and into this section of the state, which was at that time a howling wilderness inhabited only by Indians and wild animals, and what induced them to leave the scenes of their earlv childhood and settle in the woods to labor and toil in building up homes for themselves and children away from their friends and the influences of civilized society? It would be difficult to tell what influenced those who first came to locate permanently here.

Treaties had been made with the Indians by which they were to give up their lands and hunting grounds to the whites. Gangs of government surveyors had been sent here ; the lands had been surveyed and platted, and opened to entry b}^ the government at $1.25 per acre. Through these government suri'cyors, axmen and chainmen, it soon became noised abroad that a most delightful and productive country had been found, with beautiful lakes and water courses, and every kind of fish and wild game, fruits and nuts and roots in abundance.

Prior to the treaty ceding the lands to the L'nited States by the Pottawattomie Indians, a scheme had been entered into by some speculators looking to the building of a great national thoroughfare between Lake JMichigan and the Ohio river, through the center of Indiana, which was, in the course of time, built and named bv the legislature, "The Michigan Road."

It was this JMichigan road that probably induced many of the early settlers to come here ; in fact, otherwise they could hardly have found their way through the wilderness. Nearly all the pioneers that settled in the county up to 1840 came from the south on the line of that road, especially the' large colony that settled in Union township in the region of Maxinkuckee lake.

The first settlers about the lake came in 1836. Several heads of families came in 1835 and entered lands, and early in the following spring built log cabins, cleared off little patches of ground, planted corn, potatoes, etc., and early in the summer returned to bring their families and take up their permanent residences in Marshall county. They came in a caravan from southern Indiana in wagons drawn by ox teams, on horseback and on foot. They started on their long and tiresome journey on the twelfth of July, and arrived on the east side of Maxinkuckee lake July 26, 1836, just six days after the county had been organized and the county seat located at Plymouth, which occurred July 20, 1836. At that time there were only about 600 white people in the county and about 1,500 Pottawattomie Indians. The household goods of the members of the caravan were carefully packed away in the wagons, leaving room for the women and children and the supply of eatables prepared for the journey. The wagons were covered with sheeting for protection against rain and the hot rays of the sun. Fourteen days were occupied in making the journey. The roads most of the way were through swamps and over log bridges, and much of the way was but little better than Indian trails. From Indianapolis the Michigan road was followed. At that time it had only just been opened through this part of the state, and that only to such an extent as to make it passable by cutting down the trees and bushes along the line and bridging over the worst places with brush, poles and logs.

fruit? of all kinds, which the hunters of the little band brought into camp. The lack of pure water to drink was the most serious difficulty they had to contend with. There were seldom any springs along the way and the water for drinking and cooking purposes was mostly from stagnant ponds and small streams which were not much better. Every night on the way they camped wherever darkness overtook them, slept in the wagons and under the trees, the cattle and horses browsing about the camp and resting from the day's toil as best they could. The mosquitos and flies were terrible pests, much more so than people nowadays can imagine.

It was late in the afternoon of July 26, 1836, when the tired and wornout caravan obtained the first sight of the ever beautiful Maxinkuckee lake. The glorious sun was just making its golden setting, "and by the track of his fiery car, gave token of a goodly day tomorrow." It was indeed, as our own "Hoosier Poet" has so beautifully expressed it, "a pictur' that no painter has the coloring to mock." A sunset on JNIaxinkuckee is always beautiful, and. no matter how often seen, never loses its charm to the beholder. None of them had ever seen a lake before, and the beauty of the scene, the rippling water, the rays of the golden sunset, and the shore lines, with their "etchings of forest and prairie," left a picture on their memory that lasted during life. The final stop was made not far east of the lake, near the residence of the late David R. Voreis. It was twilight then. A signal of their arrival in the neighborhood had been agreed upon before they started, and as the ox teams were halted at the end of the journey, a long, loud blast was given on a conch shell, which resounded and echoed and re-echoed through the trees and over the hills for miles in every direction. The night birds began to carol their sweetest melodies and sing their glad songs of welcome. And then the weary travelers listened eagerly for the response. It soon came from the residence of Vincent Brownlee, a short distance farther away in the wilderness. The echo of that response still rings loud and clear in the ears of the few still living who heard it. It was in one sense a most joyous occasion. The women who had borne the burden and heat of the long and wearisome days and were well nigh exhausted cried for joy, and even the stalwart men of the party let fall a silent tear that the hardships of the journey to the new country were at an end. Less than half a dozen who came at that time are known to be living. All the others have "gone to that undiscovered country from whose bourne no traveler returns."

The same year that white settlers came, they set about devising ways and means by which they could secure the establishing of mills by which they could get their corn "cracked" at home, and the little lumber they needed for doors and floors to their cabins without being compelled to drive their ox-wagons thirty or forty miles and back to procure it. Such a thing as steam boilers or steam grist mills were not known then. Mill sites were numerous and all that could be desired, but it was hard to find one close by a dam-site ! There were few rivers or streams that could be dammed so as to hold the necessary amount of water, and with fall sufficient to furnish power to run the machinery. The first effort at dam building was across the outlet of the lower Twin lake and the erection of a small n'lill known as "Barber's Mill," now known as "Zehner's Mill." It was built about 1836, by Timothy Barber and others. It proved to be a great convenience all over the central', southern and western part of the county in the grinding of corn, there being no wheat until several years later. The dam was quite substantially built, and as the Twin lakes were not affected by the heavy rains and floods as were the rivers, the owner was not annoyed by the dam washing out every time the heavy rains and flood came. A dam was built across Pine creek in Polk township, not far from where Tyner is now located, and a sawmill built there, also about 1836. It furnished lumber for the neighborhood round about when there was sufficient water to keep the mill running, but when there was a dry season there was not enough water to run the mill. It went into retirement more than half a century ago.

The mill dam across Wolf creek, six miles southwest of Plymouth, was built about 1840, by Clark Bliven. Wolf creek was a very small stream at that time, being fed by the drainage of the swamp lands through which it meandered. A small grist mill was erected on the south side of the dam, and later a saw mill was built on the north side. At this mill the lumber for the second courthouse was sawed. It was here, too, about 1850, when the creek was overflowed by the high water, that ;\Ir. Bliven, the owner of the property, in attempting to save the dam from washing out lost his footing, was washed out with the dam and drowned. In backing up the water the dam caused much valuable land to be overflowed, and for many years, on this account and because it was a breeder of malaria, efforts had been made to have the dam removed. Proceedings were instituted in court at various times, but "the law's delay" suffered it to remain until the early part of 1907, when the court ordered the dam to be taken out and the channel of the creek dredged, which was done, and this historic spot is now only a memory. No wonder it had such a checkered history. The Pottawattomies called it "Katam-wah-see-te-wah," the Indian name for Black Wolf.

In the late '40s a dam was built across the Tippecanoe river at what was afterwards, and is now, Tippecanoe town. There was considerable opposition to the dam from the first, and as the countiy became more and more thickly settled, the feeling that the dam ought to be removed grew stronger and stronger. No effort being made to remove it, one night in 1878 the woolen mill was set fire to and burned to the ground. An attempt was made to burn the grist mill, but it failed. Finally the dam went out, and no one has since had the courage to rebuild it, and it is now also a thing of the past.

A dam was built across Yellow river near the northeast line of Plymouth, in 1836, by Milburn Coe, and a saw mill erected nearby. The dam was not substantially built, and every time there came a freshet, which was about every time it rained, the dam either went out, or was damaged so it had to be repaired. Traces of this old dam are still visible, and especially the location of the circular mill race, a few hundred feet to the northeast of the present Zehner's grist mill. It was not long after this dam and mill was abandoned until the present dam, some distance above, was commenced on a larger and more substantial scale by Austin Fuller and others. This was probably in the later '40s or the early '50s. Notwithstanding the dam had been built solidly of large stones, trees and brush, and every sort of material to make it permanent, the high water frequently tore it out, and damaged it, and it was many years before it solidified itself so that the high water had no eff'ect on it. The mills were burned down two or three times, and several efforts have been made to compel the owners to remove the dam, as it is claimed that the backwater damages by overflow large quantities of land. A case looking to this end is now pending in the court of Marshall county. This dam and surroundings are also historical. Below the dam, and between the race and the river proper to where they unite, is a beautiful little park of two or three acres, on which has been sunk a flowing well fourteen inches in diameter, from which flows a continuous stream oi clear, pure water. In this little park have been held numerous picnics, old settlers' society's meetings, soldiers' camp fires, and political meetings. Some of the great men of Indiana and elsewhere have walked through this beautiful park, and laved their thirst at the flowing well fountain : and it is only the truth to say that many a "Robert Burns and his Highland Mary," or a "Romeo and Juliet" have sauntered through these most delightful grounds under the shade of the umbrageous trees, and by the light of the pale and inconstant moon, listening to the music of the flowing well and the gentle murmur of the water as it fell in gentle cadences over "The Old Mill Dam." It was here that the poet was inspired to write the following:

The Old Mill Dam

Alas; that "imaginary sweetheart of mine," Disappeared like the mist from the stream, For when the old town clock was just striking nine I awoke - it was only a dream I

Marshall county was a part of the territory belonging to the Menominee tribe of Indians, and included in the government purchase under the treaty of Tippecanoe river made in 1832. It is a timbered region interspersed with prairies, formerly regarded as marsh lands and valueless, now held most valuable. The heavy timber lies in the shape of a reversed letter 3, the open part to the west, the upright body of the letter represented by a tract fifteen by twenty-one miles on the east side of the county ; the cross line by a tract six to eight miles wide at the south end, with some smaller tracts in the center of the west side representing the cross in the middle of the letter. The remainder is made up of prairie and "barrens" (not barren land, but light timber) and prairies.

The heavy timber consists of all the hard and soft timbers, except the resinous - oak, ash, hickory, maple, beech, elm, walnut, butternut, linn, poplar, etc., and in all the varieties of these woods. The barrens are variously timbered with white, burr, yellow, and black oak and hickory, and the heavy barrens have the heavy timbers scattered without undergrowth, while the light barrens are like large orchards. The face of the land is gently undulating, with no abrupt elevations or declivities. There is every variety of soil, the greater portion being the deep, rich, black loam of the heavy timbered lands. The burr oak barrens have rich sandy loam. The white oak barrens, clay and sand. The black and yellow oak. light sandy soil with clay bottom. The marshes, the richest and finest of alluvium, producing heavy growths of the best hay.

Yellow river rises in the northeast part of the county, and flows through it southwesterly. From eighteen to twenty-five miles distant from the county seat, on the east and south of the county and partly through it, flows the Tippecanoe river ; on the north and west, the Kankakee ; on the northeast the St. Joseph, and about forty-two miles northwest and north lies Lake Michigan.

Pine creek in the northwestern portion of the county, and Wolf creek in the center are the only streams of note. Small streams flow through all the wet prairies, and good water is abundant almost everywhere. In almost every portion of the county flowing wells of pure artesian water are secured at a depth of from fifty to lOO feet.

Pretty lake, three miles west of the county seat, is a beautiful sheet of water about two miles in circumference. Since the organization of the county it has of late years become a noted summer resort, and around its beautiful shores have been built nearly fifty summer cottages.

Lake of the JVoods, known also as "Big lake," in the northeast part of the county, not far from Bremen, is about five miles in circumference, and is famous for fish.

Tzvin lakes, three in number, extending from the center of the county to the west line of West township, are all beautiful sheets of water, and good fishing is had in all of them. The middle Twin lake is noted for the Menominee Indian village that stood on its north bank, where the old Indian chapel formerly stood, and from which place the Pottawattomie Indians were driven away in 1838. At the end of the lower Twin lake was built the first grist mill in Marshall county, in 1836-37.

Maxinkuckec lake in the southwest part of the county, is about twelve miles in circumference, three miles long and two and one-half wide. It is fed entirely by springs that burst up from the bottom, and the natural rainfall. In its primitive state, before the forest trees that lined its shores were cut down bv the wliite men who settled there, it was the most beautiful sheet of water anywhere to be found. In the early times deer and other wild animals drank of its rippling waters unmolested. Fish and wild game of all kinds were abundant, and it was indeed a most charming spot.

Marshall county is in what is known as the '"Yellow River Valley," which was beautifully pictured by the late C. H. Reeve, in an address a few years before his death, and it is reproduced here as setting forth historical facts worthy of being perpetuated. Mr. Reeve said:

"Those who are residents and read the newspapers should rejoice that they live in the safe and beautiful Yellow river valley. I suppose few of them ever stop to think that they do live in a valley ; that westward the land rises from thirty to fifty or more feet to the mile, until it reaches the summit a few miles out, and then slopes away on the great Kankakee plains, at only about six to eight inches to the mile to the Kankakee river, and then rises again to the high tableland of the prairies ; while on the nortli and northeast it rises in like manner to the summit and then slopes away to the St. Joseph river; the same on the east, southeast and south to the Tippecanoe river.

"Nor do they regard our inland position and timbered protection, where the wild storms sweeping up the valleys of the larger streams above named, and from Lake Michigan and the great western prairies are carried up by the rising land toward us, and so high over our heads instead of tearing us in pieces, while the timber, obstructing the currents, makes clouds and rain, and saves us from droughts. As day after day the reports of the terrible storms all over the country come to us, and the wailing of the victims of pestilence leaving knowledge of the awful desolation in their track, our quiet valley is full of peace and safety - no failure of crops, no epidemics, no floods or great droughts, with good lands, ready and convenient markets, no public local debts, schools and churches convenient on every hand, the farmers of the Yellow river valley should hug themselves with delight in their safety and prosperity! We have passed the excitement and trials of pioneer life, and are settling into the permanency and stability of slow and progressive prosperity in place of the wild and speculative rush for wealth that constitute the movements of new localities. But more than all we have safety. Here the elements do not war. While we have no coal, or iron, or stone, or precious metals in mines, or great waterpower, we have nearly 500 square miles of as good land as is in the world, taken as a body; we have health, abundance of valuable timber, good and certain crops, good water easily obtained ; our lovely and now famous Maxinkuckee lake, and our unsurpassed Yellow river valley.

"The proud and ambitious, the restless and the grumbling, may emigrate, but the wise will be content with our quiet valley, where, in fact, they have what they caiuiot find elsewhere, with so few discomforts and evils, and which should be. if it is not, held at its true value. Sixtv years of personal knowledge and half a century of continuous residence should enable me to know, and in that belief I pay this brief and truthful tribute to one of the fairest spots in all the land."

There is no more delightful scenery to be found anywhere in this country than along the rivers and lakes and over the hills and valleys in Marshall county, and especially in the autumn days when the leaves are receiving the golden tints that present to view a "picture that no painter has the coloring to mock!" The reader will pardon the writer of this history, if he pauses a moment from the dry compilation of historical information to add a slight tribute to "The Beauties of Autumn," in connection with his late friend Reeve's beautiful address on "our unsurpassed Yellow river valley." As he writes the autumn tints are just beginning to give the maple and other forest leaves their farewell kiss, and soon the whole country will be a golden picture of rare beauty ! During the golden days of which these are typical, the period known as "Indian summer," v^^hen the golden rod, the national flower, is adding charm to the scene in every direction, it has been the custom of the writer for many years past to spend a few days in the country, about the rivers and lakes, through the woods and hazelnut patches, among the grape vines and hawthorn bushes, and listen to the birds singing in the branches, and watch the squirrels as they jump from limb to limb gathering nuts for the winter's supply of food, and for the time being get out of sight and hearing distance of the petty annoyances that continually confront one in the every-'day humdrum of life in the struggle for existence.

If you do not own a bicycle or an automobile, or a horse and buggy, and are too poor to hire one, take your lunch basket and hammock, and a kodak, if you have one, and start for the woods. Never mind the traveled roads. Climb the fences and tramp through the fields, and so on through the woods, following some cowpath, or an old Indian trail, of which there are still a few that can be traced. Don't hurry to get to some given point. Just take your time. When you get tired, hang your hammock and take a rest. Don't take any novels or stories of "the villain still pursued her" kind with you. You probably read too much trash of that sort when at home. Take out your pencil and scratch book, make rough sketches of the beautiful scenes that especially attract your attention, and jot down your impressions of the beauties and grandeur of nature that come under your observation.

You have probably traveled much and visited many places of interest, both in your, own country and in foreign lands, and yet, likely you have never been outside of the towns and villages in your own county, and some of them possibly you have never seen. Around all the lakes, big and little ; up and down the rivers and creeks in various parts of the county, and through the cultivated and uncultivated regions, the highways and byways, the long shaded lanes, over gravel roads, and on an occasional cut-off through the w^oods, you will see sights as grand and beautiful as can be seen anywhere on the globe. You can spend several days in this way that will open your eyes and give you a better opinion of the beautiful Yellow river valley and your own county and its possibilities than you ever had before.

The United States Department, of Agriculture sent Frank Bennett and Charles W. Ely into Marshall county during the year 1905, who made a soil survey, giving location and boundaries of the area, climate, physiography and geology, soils, the different loams and agricultural conditions, from which the following is reproduced as being of special interest to the farming community of the county :

Prior to the organization of Marshall county this region was inhabited almost exclusively by Pottawattomie Indians, who were very numerous here. The first cession of lands now embraced in Marshall county was made by the Indians at a treaty near Rochester, whereby they gave up a strip of land one mile in width through the present limits of the county to enable the whites to establish the Michigan road, a highway extending from Indianapolis to ]\Iich!gan City via Logansport and South Bend. These road lands were offered for sale in 1832, and the proceeds were devoted to the building of the ^Michigan road, which extends through the center of the county in a north and south direction, following the boundary between the level and the rolling topography of the county.

A few years after the sale of the ^lichigan road lands, most of the lands within the present limits of the county were given up by the Indians, who, after 1838, ceased to be an important factor in the history of Ma.rshall county.

At this time emigrants from Ohio, Pennsylvania and other eastern states were rapidly coming into the county, and as the Michigan road was the first one opened, they naturally established themselves in its vicinity. Many of the settlers were Germans, some of whom came direct from the mother country.

The greater part of the county was originally covered with a heavy growth of timber, consisting principally of walnut, oak and poplar. This timber, except the little that was used for building material, was either burned or destroyed in any possible way to clear the land. As the country became more thickly settled and transportation facilities improved, the lumber business became an important industry in the development of the county. The period -from i860 to 1870 was the most prosperous for this industry.

The first crops grown in Marshall county were corn, wheat, oats, rye, and beans. The soil was prepared by what was known as a "jumping plow" or "breaking shovel," drawn by several yoke of oxen. Grain was sown broadcast and dragged in with a brush. Corn yielded from twentyfive to fifty bushels per acre. Wheat was frequently a failure, but in favorable years produced from fourteen to eighteen bushels. Oats were not a great success. Rye was used principally for feed and pasture, rarely being "thrashed. Potatoes gave a large yield, and seemed to be of better quality than those produced at the present time. The sandy soils were best adapted to this crop. The early settlers grew a little tame hay, but depended mostly upon marsh hay or corn fodder for their stock feed. When hay was scarce the stock often hved on the buds of the basswood for long periods. Fla.x was also grown for many years and manufactured into homespun clothing.

About 1865 the farmers began to realize that the soils were becoming less productive,' and began to grow clover to maintain their productiveness. Timothy was also introduced about the same time.

when first settled a large part of the county comprised swampy areas, but as it became more thickfy settled some attention was given to drainage, though no well-planned system was inaugurated until 1876. Since that time more or less drainage work has been in progress every year, and a great many open ditches and tile drains have been constructed, while the Yellow river, in the northeastern part of the county, has recently been dredged. Many open ditches, into which tile drains empty, are seen in the eastern and' northeastern parts of the county. Some of the most productive lands in the county have been made available for agricultural purposes by artificial drainage, and at the present time there is little land that is not well drained, aside from the muck areas, and in some of the latter drainage work is now in progress.

There are some small areas where the soil is heavier in texture and darker in color than the typical phase, and often extends to a depth of eighteen or twenty inches. The subsoil in such places is a yellowish-drab sandy clav. A small portion of this phase had to be artificially drained before cultivation was a success.

The Marshall loam occupies the largest and most uniform areas of anv soil type in the county, though frequently small areas of the other types are found scattered through it. It occupies the greater part of the eastern half of the county, while west of the central dividing line it occurs in comparativelv small areas, except in the extreme northwestern corner, where a spur of the main body of the type extends beyond the line.

The farmers of Marshall county are in a fairly prosperous condition. In the eastern half of the county, which is largely occupied by the Marshall loam, nearly every acre of which can be cultivated, the farmers as a rule are more prosperous than those living on the sandy soils in the extreme western portion. The houses though often small, are nearly always painted, and the barns are of sufficient size to shelter all the live stock and machinery. Many silos are also seen. As a rule, the houses are smaller and not quite so good on the more sandy soils and a good dwelling with no barn is frequently seen.

The value of farm land ranges from $20 to $100 per acre. The Marshall loam is generally held at from $65 to $100; the Marshall sandy loam at from $65 to $75 ; the Marshall sand at from $30 to $40 when in cultivation ; and other lands at from $20 to $60 an acre. Muck undrained sells at from $20 to $30, and when drained at from $40 to $70 an acre.

About 75 per cent of the land in this county is under cultivation or in a condition to be cultivated. The remainder consists of sand, marshes, timber land, and rough broken land, and, aside from the marshes, the greater part of this land lies in the western half of the countv. Much of this uncultivated

About $2,000,000 in mortgages is held against the farms of Marshall county, which is between 15 and 25 per cent of their value. While these farm mortgages apply generally throughout the county and are not confined to any one soil type, yet they are fewer in proportion to the total number in the northern and northeastern parts of the county than in other sections. A great many German farmers live in those parts of the area, and, being of industrious and prudent habits, they have maintained a better financial standing.

About 60 per cent of the farms are operated by the owners. The remainder are cultivated by tenants, who pay a rental of from two-fifths to one-half of the crop made, or, very rarely, a cash rent, which ranges from $3 to $4.50 an acre. The proportion of grain paid varies in different sections. For corn lands one-half of the crop is more often paid, while for wheat and rye either two-fifths or one-half is paid, according to the amount of seed furnished and the proportion of the thrashing bill paid by the owner and tenant, respectively.

About ninety acres is the average size of farms in this county. Where onions and potatoes are grown the farms are below the average in size, but where much live stock is kept they are usually larger. There are several farms of 640 or more acres, but as a rule these large holdings are divided up and rented in smaller tracts.

The smaller farms are generally operated by the owner or tenant and his family, assisted to some extent by labor hired by the day or week during harvest and other pressing seasons. The wealthier farmers usually hire by the month, paying from $20 to $25 and board, and employing the men from the first of March to the first of November. The harvest season is from June 15 to August 15, during which time there is a great demand for laborers, and efficient men receive from $1.75 to $2 a day. At other times day laborers receive $1.25 a day and dinner. During the corn-husking season labor is much in demand, and at times farmers find difficulty ,in getting the crop out as fast as they desire. The labor is exclusively white and is usually efficient, but the supply is often inadequate.

Corn and wheat are the principal products of Marshall county. From 15 to 25 per cent of the cultivated lands is planted to each of these grains. The average yield of corn in the county is thirty-five bushels per acre and of wheat ten bushels. Winter wheat only is grown. Owing to severe damage to wheat by freezing and by the Hessian fly, there has been a tendency in recent years to reduce the acreage somewhat and to give more attention to the growing of rye, but as yet rye is an unimportant crop. The corn is planted in checked rows and cultivated with two-horse machinery. A great part of it is cut for fodder, both by hand and by corn binders and binders and shockers. The fodder is sometimes shredded, and thus prepared it may be substituted for hay. A part of the crop is put into the silo and utilized in that way. Wheat is generally sown in drills, and is thrashed either in the field or at the barn. Clover is an important crop, about 15,000 acres being cut every year. It is generally sown with wheat or oats, and produces two crops, one of hay and one of seed, a considerable proportion of the seed being shipped out of the county. Timothy is grown on all soils except the sand, and will thrive in low, damp places where clover or corn does not do well. Both clover and timothy hay are baled and shipped to eastern markets. Oats are grown largely for home use, but some are shipped.

Among the minor crops cucumbers are probably the most important. They are grown chiefly on the more sandy soils and are sold at the salting stations, of which there are seven within the area. The managers of these stations contract with the farmers, giving them 60 cents a bushel and providing the seed. Cucumbers are rarely grown in large fields, the patches ranging from two to five acres. Onions are grown chiefly on the muck and potatoes on the more sandy soils. On nearly every farm there is an orchard, which supplies the needs of the owner. A great many apples are made into cider, to be sold later as vinegar.

Except on the most sandy land every farmer keeps one or more milch cows. A great many sell milk to the creameries, of which there are several within the area. According to the census of 1900 the value of dairy products in Marshall county was $163,028. A great many beef cattle, hogs, and sheep are kept also, this being more particularly true in the eastern lialf of the county. The Shorthorns, Angus, and Herefords are the chief breeds of cattle, and the Chester Whites, Poland Chinas, and Berkshires are the breeds of hogs most in favor. Almost the entire grain crop produced in some sections of the Marshall loam is consumed upon the farm. The raising of live stock is to be commended, for the more manure produced the more productive the lands should become. Increased interest is being shown in the live stock industry.

The farmers of Marshall county have a fair understanding of the adaptation of soils to crops. The ]\Iarshall loam is generally recognized as the best soil in the county for general farming and the more sandy soils are best for the special crops. The possibilities of the Marshall sandy loam and the Marshall sand for Irish potatoes, however, are not fully appreciated, especially in the case of the latter type of soil, which produces fair yields of corn and rye, but is excellently adapted to potatoes, which, with liberal applications of manure, give very large yields. It is suggested that where the type lies near muck areas a dressing of the muck would prove very beneficial.

Marshall county is well supplied with railroad facilities. The Baltimore & Ohio crosses the northern part of the county in an east and west direction ; the Pittsburg, Ft. Wayne & Chicago the central part; the New York, Chicago & St. Louis, the southern part; the Lake Erie «& Western, the western half in a northwest and southeast direction, and the Logansport division of the Terre Haute & Indianapolis passes through the southwestern, central and northern parts of the county. Few points in the area are more than seven miles by wagon road from a station. The three east and west lines are trunk lines from Chicago to the east, so that all produce can be quickly shipped either way from any point in the county.

Good dirt roads are found on nearly every section line, and many of them have been graveled. Except in the most sandy areas there is rarely any difficulty in getting products to market.

Plymouth, the largest town in the county, had a population in 1900 of 3,65'6. Other smaller towns are Bremen, iSourbon, Argos and Culver. Only a comparatively small portion of the produce can be consumed within the county, so that "it is necessary to seek larger markets. Plymouth is only eighty-four miles from Chicago by rail; but as this large western market is supplied with enormous shipments from all over the northern part of the Mississippi valley, the farmers of Marshall county find better markets elsewhere. Some of the products are shipped to the larger towns around the state, while a great deal of live stock, hay, etc., is shipped to Buffalo and Pittsburg. Nearly every railroad station in the county has an elevator, and the exceptionally good railroad facilities enable the farmers to send their products wherever they may desire.

The soils of Marshall county have been classified into nine types, including muck and meadow. They range in texture from sand to clay loam, and thus offer opportunity for the production of a diversity of crops.

The IMarshaU loam, to a depth of fourteen inches, consists of a brown loam containing much sand, underlain to a depth of eighteen inches by a yellowish-brown loam, which is slightly more tenacious than the surface soil. The subsoil, from eighteen inches to three feet, is a yellow sticky sandy loam, often containing some gravel.

A few bowlders, sometimes measuring three or four feet in diameter, and some smaller stones are occasionally scattered over the surface, but the greater part of these has been removed. Large piles are often seen in the fields, and they are sometimes used in constructing fences.

The soil is often heavy enough to form clods, but these are easily broken by the harrow and roller. When put in a good state of tilth the soil becomes a very mellow loam.

The following table, taken from the records of the Weather Bureau stations at Syracuse and South Bend, shows the mean normal monthly and annual temperature and rainfall. South Bend is about twenty-four miles north and Syracuse twenty-six miles northeast of the center of the county.

The figures show a fairly uniform distribution of rainfall throughout the year, with the maximum during the growing season. The temperature is characterized by sudden changes during the period from October to April, and by alternate freezes and thaws, which sometimes seriously damage crops.

The average date of the last killing frost in spring is April 20, and of the first in fall October 10, giving a growing season of approximately 172 days.

Prior to the organization of Marshall county it was a part of the Northwest Territory, which was ceded by Virginia to the United States as provided in the Ordinance of 1787. The government had it surveyed into congressional townships, six miles square, containing 640 acres. In the course of time these townships were divided by the government surveyors into sections, half sections and quarter sections. The lands in northern Indiana were surveyed under the direction of Jerry Smith, sent out by the government to survey the lands yet unsurveyed, and especially the lands secured from the Indians by the various treaties. All of Marshall county was surveyed by him and liis assistants, as well as the Kankakee reservations in La Porte, Starke, Pulaski, Porter and Lake counties.

Jerry Smith was an educated man, well read in ancient literature and the classics, and besides had a large vein of humor running through his mental organization. Those who were familiar with the Kankakee swamps in the region of the mouth of the Yellow river will appreciate the following introduction by him to the report of his survey of this part of the lands ceded to the government by the Pottawattomie Indians. He said :

"The River Sty.v. - That the River Styx is a fabled stream and that it never existed except in the brain of ancient poets and priests is a proposition which I am now fully prepared to deny and disprove ; that Charon ever existed, ever kept a boat and ferry landing; that the drear region of which ancient poets speak and through which the souls of the unburied wandered for loo years before his majesty of the frail bark would give them passage, " and that the Elysian fields, where the souls of the just reveled in never-ending scenes of pleasure and delight, are imaginary regions, are equally false.

"The Kankakee, as it slops over Indiana and eastern Illinois, is the ancient Acheron, and English lake is the Stygian pool, at the head of which, between ranges 3 and 4, still remains indisputable evidence of Charon's e-xistence, of the identical spot where he so often landed his boat and took on board the souls of the departed, and last, but most of all, as a precious relic of antiquity which would make even an ordinary antiquarian leap with ecstasy of joy: the very paddle of the old gentleman is in existence.

"The dreary regions from the mouth of AIarkum"s creek to the head of English lake, and particularly about the mouth of Yellow river, is where so many poor souls have wandered their 100 years: and, in fact, as the use of the magnetic needle was not then known, I am not surprised at it taking a poor man so long to get out of that place when he was once fairly sent into it without compass, chart, grog or tobacco.

"The "Door prairie,' and the smaller ones about it, I take to be what remains of the Elysian fields ! What has become of its ancient occupants and why the order of things has changed, both in the Elysian fields and the Stygian pool, neither the present natives along the Kankakee, nor the owners, preemptioners and occupants of 'Door prairie' could tell me. I leave this to be ferreted out by historical societies and future antiquarians, having myself done sufficient to render me immortal by finding the prototype of the long-lost Styx, Charon's ferry landing, etc., without telling what has become of the old gentleman !

"To have a correct idea of the township, the ancient poets should be well studied. Everything said by them respecting the nether regions and the abode of the wicked should be applied to it. and the whole will make a correct, faithful and true description thereof. The very thought of it makes my blood run cold !"

The first meeting of the board of comiuissioners of Marshall county, after the organization of the county, was held at the house of Grove Pomeroy, on the second day of May, 1836. j\Ir. Pomeroy was then a resident of Plymouth and resided in a log house situated on lot No. 42, corner La Porte and Michigan streets, the same now being occupied by the Corbin brick building. Mr. Pomeroy was a man of robust build, 5 feet 8 in height, 180 pounds weight; was a man of good business qualifications and strong in his convictions in regard to matters of public or private import, and in politics held to views in opposition to the Democrats, although he never took a very active part in local politics.

At this meeting Robert Blair, Abraham Johnson and Charles Ousterhaute were the commissioners. Mr. Ousterhaute was perhaps the best known to the people at that time of any who participated in the preliminary organization of the county. He resided on a farm on the west side of the jNIichigan road, about one and one-half miles south of Plymouth. He was a robust, athletic man, a Canadian by birth, and had seen a great deal of the world in his time. He spoke fluently the language of the Pottawattomie and ]\Iiami tribes of Indians, also French and German. He was engaged in the war of 1812. serving his country as a spy. He was a sort of dare-devil and was never satisfied unless he was, so to speak, "at the head of the procession." He figured extensively in the politics of his time, and was partially successful. He died early in his career in this county, of a disease known as gangrene of the foot, or "Pott's sore toe." His leg was amputated twice, but his system had become so thoroughly inoculated with the disease that he lived but a short time after the last operation.

After appointing Jeremiah Muncy clerk during the term, the board adjourned to meet at the house of Charles Ousterhaute at i o'clock the same day. The first business transacted was :

Ordered by the board, That the seal of said commissioners shall be a wafer with a paper placed on it in the shape of a diamond, sealed with a seal in the shape of a heart.

Beginning at the northwest corner of said county, and running a due south course with the county line seven miles to the corner of sections 19 and 30, in congressional township No. 34 north; thence east with said line to the eastern boundary of said county. Said district to be known as District No. 1.

Ordered, That district No. 2 begin on the western boundary line of said county at the corner of District No. 1, and running with the said county line seven miles to the corner of sections 30 and 31 in congressional township No. 33 north; thence east on the line of said section 21 miles to the eastern boundary line of said county. Said district to be known as District No. 2.

Ordered, That District No. 3 begin at the western boundary line of said county, commencing at the south corner of District No. 2, thence south with said county line seven miles to the southern boundaiy line of said county, thence east with the line of said county twenty-one miles to the eastern boundary line of said county. Said district to be known as District No. 3.

It was also ordered that District No. i be known by the name of North township : District No. 2 by the name of Center township, and District No. 3 by the name of Green township.

It will be observed by reference to the county map that the territory embraced in North township was what is now German, North and Polk townships; Center township embraced what is now Bourbon, Center and West townships, and Green township embraced what is now Tippecanoe, Green, Walnut and Union.

The residence of Adam Vinnedge, the place designated for holding elections in North township, was on the Michigan road about six miles north of Plymouth. Mr. Vinnedge was the father of Adam Vinnedge, many years a resident of Plymouth, some time since deceased. He was a man of energy and ability, and took an active part in the preliminary organization of the county.

The residence of Charles Ousterhaut, as previously stated, was on the west side of the Michigan road about a mile and a half south of Plymouth, it being more convenient for a majority of the voters of the township as then constituted to reach that place than Plymouth, it being composed then of only about three dwelling houses.

Williams, which was at or near where Argos now stands. Air. Williams owned the land at that place, and laid out a village which he called Sidney, to perpetuate his own name, that bein^ his given name. Mr. Williams sold his farm not many years afterwards and went overland to California during the gold excitement of '49 and the early '50s. Not many years later additions were made to the embryo village, one of which was called Fremont, in honor of John C. Fremont, who was about that time the first Republican candidate for President. Through some political manipulation the postoffice was removed from Sidney to Fremont. Through the efforts of Congressman Schuyler Colfax it was, however, not long afterwards removed backto Sidney, and the name of the postoffice changed from Sidney to Argos. With the defeat of Fremont for President, the town of Fremont went out of existence, and in course of time the legal name of Sidney was discontinued and that of Argos substituted. Once after he went to California Mr. Williams returned to Marshall county, but he had gone blind and was unable to behold the marvelous changes that had taken place during his absence of more than a third of a century. He died in Illinois several years ago.

The first election after the organization of the county was held on the first day of August, 1836, for the purpose of electing a senator, representative in the state legislature, sheriff, probate judge, county commissioners, school commissioner, coroner and justices of the peace.

In North township there were thirty-seven votes cast. John Johnson, James Palmer and Adam Snyder were judges of said election, and James Jones and Abraham Johnson clerks. Thomas Packard and Robert Johnson were elected justices of the peace of North township.

In Center township there were eighty-three votes cast. Of these not one is living. Samuel D. Taber was inspector of the election, John Ray and William Bishop judges, Harrison Metcalf and John Blair clerks.

In Green township there were nineteen votes cast. Ewell Kendall was inspector, Fielding Bowles and Samuel B. Patterson judges, Jeremiah Muncy and John A. Boots clerks.

The act passed by the legislature for the organization of Marshall county was approved February 4, 1836. By whom it was introduced, and the preliminaries connected with its passage, nothing is known.

At that time Marshall county was designated as "unorganized territory," and of course it had no members of the legislature to look after its interests in the general assembly. St. Joseph and La Porte counties had been organized six years previously, and it is probable the members of the legislature from those counties secured the passage of the act.

Section 1. Be it enacted by the general assembly of the state of Indiana: That from and after the first day of April next, the county of Marshall shall enjoy all the rights and jurisdiction which belongs to separate and independent counties.

Section 2. That Hiram Wheeler and Griffin Treadway, of La Porte county, and Samuel C. Sample and Peter Johnson, of St. Joseph county, and John Rohrer, of Elkhart county, be and they are hereby appointed commissioners for the purpose of fixing the permanent seat of justice for the said county of Marshall agreeable to the provisions of "An act to establish the seats of justice in new counties," approved

January 14, 1S24. The commissioners above named, or a majority of tliem, shall convene at the house of Grove Pomeroy in said county on the second Monday of June next or as soon thereafter as a majority of them shall agree upon.

Section 3. It shall be the duty of the sheriff of St. Joseph county to notify the commissioners above named, either by person or in writing, of their appointment and place appointed for them to convene ; and the board doing county business shall allow said sheriff reasonable compensation for his services out of any money in the treasury in said county of Marshall.

Section 4. Circuit and other courts of said county shall be held at the house of Grove Pomeroy, or at any other place in said county where said courts may adjourn to, until suitable accommodations can be furnished at the seat of justice thereof, after which the courts shall be holden at the county seat.

Section 5. The agent who shall be appointed to superintend the sale of lots at the county seat of said county of Marshall shall reserve 10 per cent out of all donations to said county, and shall pay the same over to such person or persons as shall be authorized to receive the same for the use of a library for said county.

Section 6. The board doing county business of said Marshall county, when elected and qualified, may hold special sessions not exceeding three days the first year after the organization of said county, and shall appoint a lister and make all other necessary appointments, and do and perform all other business which might have been necessary to be performed at any regular session, and take all necessary steps to collect the state and county revenue.

Section 8. The northern boundary line of the county of Marshall! shall be extended to an east and west line running through the center of township 35 north.

On the 20th day of July, 1836, the county seat was located at Plymouth by three of the commissioners named by the legislature for that purpose. This was done at a special session of the board of county commissioners. Their report was as follows :

"July special session, 1836, of commissioners' court. Now come Peter Johnson, Griffin Treadway and Samuel C. Sample, three of the commissioners appointed by the act entitled 'An Act to organize the county of j\Iarshall, approved the 4th of February,' and make the following report of their doings as locating commissioners of the permanent seat of justice of said county-to-wit" :