Wabash County, Indiana - ^ Piiy.sical and Descriptive . ,," ., 1914

^ Piiy.sical and Descriptive ,," .

STiioNG Soil. - (iooD Ti.MiiEii Land - IIard Wood Industries - Drainage - T(ji'0(iKAi'iiY - xVlong the Wabash and Eel Rivers - The Lake Country - Timber Lands Replaced by Farms - Unsanitary Reputation OF THE Early Wabash Country - Scientific and Practical Investigations - "Where to Build and Not to Build" - Now in the List of Dealthful Places - Arcii.eological Remains - Mastodon CiiiANTEUsoF Wabash County (Pleasant Township).

Till' only logical way to writt> history is to follow Nature. Tliis truth holds whether otic is writing a universal history or tlie story of a locality. The introiluetiun to the ehai)ter dealing with mankind, his works, his failui'es anil his aeeoinplislnneiits, should always be a narrative of how kind Nature has prepared a home for him on this earth - a habitation which he has sometimes improveil, swept and garnished, and at other times sadly neglected.

Ill tJie ease of Wabash County Nature was very kind, for it nestles ill the lap of one of the most I^eautiful and fertile valleys in the world, and one of the gi'eat natural ]~)assagcs for the i)rimitive races of men before ownership in land \vas even a dream. It would lie stretching tiie subject biyonil reasonable proi)ortions to revert to the dim i)eriod when that i)art of the woi'ld was "^^-ithout form and void;" so the stoi-y eomnn-nccs with the laying down of the great limestone beds of Central and Northwestern Indiana. Then by glacial action and the slower scouring of the receding waters, the graceful grooves which we call the valleys of the Wabash, the Wliite and the Kankakee, were worn in the limestone beds, and iiiialh' clad with soil, verdure and forests.

(;rol()y:irally speaking, Wahash County and the Upper Waba.sli Valley belon-' to the Uj^per Silurian agv, tlie more solid betls of limestone having usually a thiek blanket of shales, in plaees liftoen feet through. The soils derived from the tlisintegration of the rocks of this age are, as a rule, ratlier heavy elays, although in many pai'ts of the county the surface rocks are limestones in thin layers (as in the southern parts of Wabash City), which materially changes the character of the soil. In the northern portioii of the county, the soil is quite sandy. Tliese mixtures of rlays. sand and disintegrated limestone give a variety of soil, which, with ai'titicial stimulants, modern drainage and other improvements, pro(hiees good croi)s of grain, grasses, vegetables and fruits - although liortirulture has found more favorable habitats along the Eastern shore of Southern Lake ^lichigan.

Various geologists connected with the State Survey have reported the results of their examinations. Tlieoretieally, they have sliced down through the several layers of soil and rork eiid)raced l)y the upper strata of the geological division assigned to AVal)ash County. One of the examinations conducted in the bluffs of tiie Wabash Jviver near the city results as follows :

Loose and thin limestones, 15 to 20 feet ; chert and flag-stones, 8 to 10 feet; aluminous shales, 15 feet; silico-calcareous rock, 15 to 20 feet; good l)uilding rock, 20 to 25 feet; hydraulic limestone, 5 to S feet; good building stone, thickness of stratum unknown.

Another expert deduces the following, his table illustrating how the various layei-s of soil and stone vary in thickness: - Soil and drift, 5 to 00 feet; porous limestone for burning, 0 to 40 feet; i)aving stones, 0 to 8 feet; com}nu-t argillaceous limestone, 0 to 20 feet; hydraulic limestone and mud-.stones, 10 to 50 feet.

The gray limestone, seen at Logansport and a few localities in IMiami County, tirst becomes laminated and then elierty (flint-like), while at AVabash it is thin-bedded and furnishes an unlimited amount of the best paving stone. The bed of paving stone crowns the higher hills along the rivt-r at Wabasli, and is found underlying all the adjacent talilelands when not eroded. It is generally about eight feet thick,

Experiments on the liydraitlie limestone of AVahash County have heen ])r(igi'essing for more than forty years, and some good cement has heen ])rodueed. An analysis of the stone in eomparisou with that of staiiilaid liy^lraulie limestone seems to show a disproportion in certain essential elements, the chemical combination of whitdi tinder water, foiiiis the well known cement of commerce.

" h'or h\(lraiilic i)urposes," says I'rofessor Cox, foiauer Indiana state geologist, -'the essential constituents of a cement stone are carbonate of lime and silica. The hardening under water is nuiinly due to the chemical eoml)ination of these constituents through the agency of water, ])roducing hydrated silica of lime; where other ba.ses are present, such as alumina and nuignesia, double silicates are formed that become \'ery hard and stiong. in order to bring about this chenucal change, the silica must be bi'ought to that condition which will enable it to form a gelatinous paste with acids. A portion of the silica may be in tins condition naturally, l)iit by far the larger portion remains unacted upon by acids until brought to a white heat in the presence of carbonate of lime.

"There is a ver\' wide ditference noticeable in the relation of the silicic acid and the earth bases with which it combint'S - lime, magnesia and alumina. I mention these earths, since they alone are serviceable in connection A\ith the silicic ai'id to form a good hydraulic mortar. If these substances are in-esent in condiining proportions, the ratio of silicic acid to bases may be lUU of the former to 3GG of the latter. If lime and magnesia form the base, the ratio shoidd be about 100 to 277. If lime alone constitutes the base, the silicic acid should be 100 to 200, and when of lime and alumina, 100 to 3!)8. AVhen foreign substances are I)resent, which we tind alwa}s to be the case, then these ratios will, of course, have to lie varied."

For purposi'S of comparison tlie propoi-tion of these essentials in tile foiuposition of cement stones quarried from sevei-al of the famo\is dei)osit.s of the world is given, witli the showing of the Wahasli County iiydraulie limestone :

The prevailing strong soil of Wabasli County made it a good timber land. There was comparatively a suudl area of prairie in the northwestern part, north of Eel J\iver, known as the Bai-rens. When the first farmers commenced to take up land to cultivate, there was virtually 110 convenient market for the hard woods whieh pi'e\ailed, such as oak, hickory, walnut, beech, sugar, ash and sycamore. Their jiressing object was to clear the timber from their lands, which they accomplished generally by burning. Thus a wholesale desti'uction of tiiuber was inaugurated, and by the early 70s, residents of the county were voicing their regret through the public {)rints. For instance, a writer of that day says: "A tine quality of tindier has now become scarce and valuable. I31ack walnut, a species of tindjcr once quite abundant and often burned in log-heaj)s, has reached such a i)rice in the imirkets that if one were fortunate enough to own a (lu.ii'ter section covered witli this kind of timber he would be ranked among th(; wealthiest citizens.

"The demand for nearly every kind of timljer is increasing, from the fact that in the older states most of the forests have been cut away, wtiile many of the states and territories lying west of Indiana being practically destitute of timber are depending on Western Ohio and Indiana for their supplies of hard wood.

"The number and variety of manufactures from the products of the forest are constantly increasing and bid fair to become a leading industry. Among the most impoi'tant of the artk-h'S made are furniture, wagons and carriages, and inu'ts of them staves, agricultural implements, etc. At prest'iit the i)rice of timber is such that a tract of timbered land is about equal in value to a tract that is cleared oft'. If there is much good timber, or the facilities for shipment, good liy reason of being near to a town or raili-oad, it is more valuable, but if the timber is poor and back from the railroad it is worth less than cleari'd land."

A most valuable supi)k'iii('iit to the riclint-ss and variety of the soil, is tlic ffcc drainage of the suid'aee of the eaiint ry and the abundant sui)])ly of water tlirough running streams and living springs. These features give it a solid standing as a live stoek eountry.

The northern portion of the eounty is watered by Eel River and its tributaries. The AVabash River passes through the South-Central portions from southwest to northeast, and is interseeted by the Salamonie four mihs from the county line on the east, and the ]\lissi.ssinewa Riv(^r drains the southern townships.

AVabasli County has an area of 42tj square miles, the surface of which is g<'nera]ly level. There are no very high hills, notwithstanding the land is rolling or undulating near all the water-eourses, exeept at the head of tlicni, which is usually h-vel. Taken as a whole, the eounty is l»leasantly diversilied.

Along and iiear the AVabash River, are found I'oeky bluffs of consich'rable altitude. Along the margin of that stream to the northward the I'idges extend to the southward, the sloi)es fi'onting to the southeast and the northwest, while on the Oj^posite side of the river they run toward the northwest with less gentle undulations to the right and left, affording gootl drainage in the direction of the water-courses that traverse the eountry at no great distances from each other.

Jhat portioji of the country north of Eel River was originally composed of sandy prairies, or oak openings, interspersed with niany small lakes vai\ving in area from two to one hundred acres. Pleasant Township, in the northwestern part of the county, is the favored locality. Long Lake, the largest of the score of pretty little bodies of water, is about a mile long and one-third in width. Lukens, the next in size, is I)er]iaps two-thirds as large, and situated half a mile east of the ]\Iiami County line. Then there are Round, Flora, Bull, Mud, Bear, Flat and Twin lakes, others too small for names, but all contributing to make the eountry cheerful and pleasant. Their outlets are generally into tributaries of Eel River. Several of the prettiest of them cluster around the little Town of Laketon, which has some reasonable ambitions to become a lively summer resort.

Of course, the tirst growths of timber have long sinee disappeart'd, the largest areas having been replaced by rich tields of corn, oats and wlu'at, while the lake country and other tracts widely scattered, i)roduce luxuriantly of clover and timothy. Horses, cattle and nnleh cows, swine and poultry aiv lai'ge soui-ces of wealth to the people of Wabash County, Nature, with the energetic assistance of nmn, having i)rovided th(>m with the pi'oper conditions for tiieir support and increase.

liefore settlement luid loug progressed in Wabash County, it was feared that its comparatively level surface and rather slow-moving waters \veie un.favorable conditions to healthful residence. Malaria, typhoid fe\H'i-s. ilii)litheria and like diseases gave the country such a bad reputation that the settlers ct)uniienced to doubt whether it would ever be lit for habitation; but, with the stmly and practice of i)ublie sanitation, the introduction of scientific drainage to city and countr\- and the establishment of pure water supplies in every connuuinty, howevfi- suudl, Wabash County fell into line with the other healthful spots of (iod's country. It has been many a long day since any of its residents has dared bi-eathe a hint that there is any di'awback to long-life from residence in any section of Indiana, least of all to any locality in tlu' I'ljper Wabash \'alley. "That very fact is one of the wonders of my day,'" i-emai'ked a Wabash City pioiKH'r not man>' weeks ago. "If I had been tohl even forty years ago that the Wabash \'^alley would l)e fi'ee of nialai'ia, as healthful a place in which to live as Xorthei'u New Yoi-k or any of the highlands of New Kngbunl, I wovdd have S(.'orned such a ]-)roi)het. liut it is but anothei- illustration of what modern science is doing foi' the comfort, happiut ss, and longevity of man."

Iiistokv Of Wabash Cocnty

In the light of tliat remark, it is of interest to note some of tlie eonelusions reaehed ])y a sanitary exi)ert of forty years ago - Dr. James Ford (U. S. Surgeon), wlio made a tliorough examination of the AVahash Valley in tliis eounty, for the veiy purpose of suggesting i)reeautions against tlie diseases jiceuliar to the loeality. The doetor was liotli seit'iitilie and ])i'aetieal, as is evident fi'om th.e 1)rief extracts whieh we take from his extended treatment of the suhjeet. He sa.A's : "The ol),]\'et of the fodowiiig i)ages is to iiud^e known an original discovery in sanitary sidence of gi'cat to the peO])le.

"The air, in dry valleys in summer and fall seasons is warmer, hence lightei', than that of adjacent highlands and that immediately over the vaHey.

"The cool air of the highlands undc-rruns the warmci- higher atmosi)hei-e of the valley; the lightei- Hows up over the cooler on the "levated lands, cools otf. settles down and runs hack into tlie valley; thus forming a revolving elliptical ring, Avhicli carries and distrihutes the heat, malai-ia and germs of disease of the valle\- on the dry lands. These movements take place alike and at the same time on hoth sides of the valley, and continue at this place (Wahash) until U o'clock P. ,M.

"The air in the valley hy the loss of heat shi'inks in volume, causing a sag in the u|)])er air, which 1)\- its dynannc force continues with an accelei-ated motion, sidttending hoth the other t'Ui-rents. It settles down in a wedge-sha])ed hody. with its i\\)r\ owv the center of the valley, revei-ses hoth the lateral currents, and when its point is heatetl hy the soil it parts in the nuddle and runs upon the hillside on the elevated lands. These movements coidinue until the sun's rays in the )norning change them.

"All these ail- curreiils deserihed ahove form a gi'eat i)neumatie engine to carry the heat and va])or from the heated lowlands and to disti-ihu1e them over the high gi-o\ui(ls and hills. If it lie in a valley, the machine moves up at the rate of fi'om one to f<jur miles per hour. [Malaria and the gei-ms of disease are carried and distrihuted over the country wiierever these ail' currents move.

"The question of health or disease in any locality may he determined within 100 feet (a priori) hy u.nderstanding the to])ography of the locality, as well in prairies as among the hills and v<dle\s.

"Tiie.se observations and exi)eriinents were always made of still nights. During the day time tlie sun's rays render the atmosi)here so unsteady that accurate observations cannot be made in this tlirection."

"In selecting a site for a dwelling house, shun ground in whieli tlie water level is high and the soil is wet or very damp, and in which there may be a large amount of humus or decaying aninud or vegetable matter and where thorough drainage cannot be obtained. Test the water supply first. If much vegetable or animal matter is found in it select another site. Mists and fogs are always unhealthy.

"Never locate at the mouth of a valley that empties into a larger one, nor upon the banks if the fogs settle there. These valleys act as venti-ducts or chimneys to carry air loaded with moisture and the germs of disease to the high lands along the banks for great distances. If the prevailing winds pass over marshy lands or water where mists or fogs abound, avoid their track. Avoid damp, dark valleys and low places surrounded by hills. Avoid locations where the air passing up running streams will strike the residence. In mountainous countries shun places where the cold winds, after a hot day, run down their slopes and cover the dwelling. The variation in temperature in winter on slopes facing to the noi'thwest is too great for health and comfort if it can be avoided. Neither the top nor the bottom of high hills is eligible for a dwelling place; the former is too changeable, the latter too damp.

"Houses should not be erected on what is called 'made-up ground,' ufiless thoroughly under-drained before the fill is made, especially if it was a hollow through which the water flowed after wet spells. Rains and melting snow fill the interstices of the ground for many feert beneath its surface. This water percolates through the earth into these hollows and carries out particle by particle of the finer constituents of the soil until a natural conduit or waterway is formed. Through this, the land above is relieved of its surplus water, so far as the trend is in this direction. The places are usually filled up with ashes, street cleanings, dirt from cellars, and every variety of garbage from the town or city. W^hen this ground is filled Avith water, the natural outlet being blocked up, the hydraulic pressure above forces this water through the interstices of the made-up ground, carrying out its carbonic acid and other noxious t'as(.-.s, filling till' air in its locality with tlaiiipiu's.s and malaria. These are dangerous locations and should never be occupied by living beings until thoroughly drained below the filling. I will venture the opinion that such places may be traced out in cities today which have not been completely under-drained l)y the cases of sickness that occur alone. These ncgativ(- observations are written for the rural population; in cities and towns, it is oidy the privileged few who have the advantage of selecting sites for new houses."

Having told "Where Not to Build a House," Dr. Ford directs 'AVhere to Build a House," as follows: "Select an elevated situation where the water is pure, where it does not rise and fall by accessions of surface water aftei' hard rains and where its level does not range above Mfteeii feet below the surface; where the drainag<? is or may be made ])ei-fect ; where the air is line and pure and not contaminated by enuinations from the soil; whei't; tlie sun's rays are not obstructed by high hills or forest trees. Fear not his rays, for by them all animated nature lives, moves and grows. Select a soil, if possible, not too retentive of moisture, but a dry, gravelly, sandy loam or limestone formation, compact clay or clay with gravel; and a low water level with thorough drainage makes a commendable site. A bench, jiart way up the hill near a break or a hollow in it, facing the southeast, south or southwest, other things being equal, makes a very pleasant place for a dwelling house on such formations.

"On level lands it is needful to proceed with more circumspection. It is necessary, not onl\' to make accurate observations on air currents, l)Ut tlic thermometer uuist be used to settle these important questions. Dig or bore down from one to three feet in several places, on dry as well ;is damp grounds; take the temperature at the bottom and top of all the excavations, and then conipare them. The soil that will carry the lai'g(st amount of heat the lowest down, in a given time is, in the main, ihe di'vest. A soil that will not conduct the sun's heat downward is unfit to live upon; it is too damp or too wet."

"DamjuK'SS is the exciting cause of colds, bronchitis, rheumatism, consumption and doubtless many other diseases. Polluted air and water give rise to a large class of nudadies known as 'filth diseases,' too nunu'rous to name, but typhoid fever and diphthei-ia are specimens of them.

mass of tlie ik'01)1l' know little or nothing about the first principles of hygiene. To them it is a sealed hook; they have no means of gaining knowledge in this dii-eetion. Piiysieians, as a body, are not learned in this seie)iee, and au- too liusy to impart knowhnlge to their patrons. TIk- daily and weekly press liave adequate faeilitii's for dis- .Seminatiiig knowledge of this kind among the peOi)le; l)ut they, too, like the piiysieians, are not skilled in this department of seii'iiee."

It is fortunate that the remai'ks eontaiiied in the last paragraph no longei' appl\- to th(,' jjresent times, in their entirety. The residents of AVahash County, as elsewhere, ai-e fairly wi'll ])osted as to hygienic conditions - the neet-ssity of good air and water, and the careful selection of resilience sites; and, with the atlvancement of public hygiene, these ai'e now within the I'l'aeli of all. Thaid^s largely to the physicians, as a l)ody, and the pu))lie jjress throughout the country. .;.,.m*"

The Oliio V^alley is I'ieh in ai'clueologieal remains - the valley of the Wabash, less so. In the latter are few of tho.se distinctive mounds attributed to pi'chistoric num ; but Xorthern Indiana has furnished several moi'e striking evidences of prelustoric animal life than those foiuid in the earth works of the Ohio ^"alley. In the dim ages the groat glaciers of the North arc supposed to have Ijrought to the soil of Northern Indiana the cai'easses of those mastodons whieh wei'c tlie forefathers of the eh'phaids of tile Soidh.

That Wabash County is fortunate in the luiearthing of such monsters is evident from the following publishi-d in the Plain Dealer of Septembi'r 5, 1872: '' Having been infoi'uied last Friday (August 80, 1872) by a fi'iend M'ho resides in Pleasant Township, in this eoiuity, tiuit the bones of a gigaidie animal wei-e l)eing dug up a cou])le of mih's wt st of Laketon, accompaided by Elijah Ilaekleiiuui, Ksq., Kev. L. J.. Car- ]ici!t. !- and I)i'. li. P. Plount, tlie senior of tlie Plain l>\'ali'r started at daylight on the day following to visit the grouiul, to investigate for ourselves and ascertain ^vhetller this was wiiat we lioped, a material adtlition to the realm of seientifie discovery. AVe went immediately to where the bones were said to have been diseovei'ed - on tlii' old Aieiiden- lijill fanu ill J'lrasaiit 'I'owiiship - wlifi-c wc i'ouiid iiotliiii;^' but a lioli:: ill the yi-ouiitl aiiil our old friends, Janu's Scott, Amos Nye, Stevens ami others, tryiiij^' to make it larirer. We wei'e told, however, that a good many bones of some very large animal had been taken out of tlie hole, but that they were most of them then at Laketon, and a part of them at the residence of Mr. Seott, a short distance away.

"Tins discovery \\-as made on tlie L'S-th ultimo, about five or six feet undi'i'groiind, by men engaged in digging a ditch in a wet prairie or mai'sli. The ground abo\-e the bones was a black swamp muck, and that part immediately surrounding them a bluish sand mixed with white particles. AVe wrvv told hy the woi'kmeii that .just below where the bones were found is a stratum of tine gravel. As the i)resent has l)eeii a very dry season and as water stood where the bones were found, the opinion that they had always ])een cox'ired by water as well as earth, seems \\arraiite(l.

"Having satisfied our curiosity hei'C, accompanied by Air. Xye, we jiroceeded to Laketon, \\!u're We were shown a sight truly astonisliing. Mr. Xye emptii-d box after box of immense bones in a most remarkable state of j)reservation. Except the decomiiosition of cartilaginous .substances and discoloration, these fossils are as ]»erfect as they were when the animal died. It re(piire(l little stretch of the imagination to fancy these mammoths of a distant jiericKl making the earth around us tremble with their pomh'rous tread. We liave no doubt from the shape and character of these l)ones as to the class of animals to which they belonged. This \\as evidently a Alastodon (Jiganteiis, many of the bones we examined corresiX)nding in shape and structure with those described by I)i'. Warren, of ]^oston.

"Several measurements were made of these wonderful fossils. Although this in its lifetime was a monster, the bones are not so great as some others \vliich have l)efore been found. The knee-joint is twentyseven inches around one end. The femur is three feet long. At its greatest circumference aroniul the joint. thirt\--two and one-half inches. The distance across the glenoid cavity, eight inches. A i)ortion of the dorsal \-crtelirae have Vi'vy hjng spinous processes. One of these mcasnres as follows: Transverse diameter, eleven inches; longitudinal, twenty-four inches; distance around the lower extremity, Iwenty-six inches. The patella, or knee-])an, five inches in dianu'tiM', and nearl}' globular. The longest rib is forty-seven and one-half inches long. I'nlike the ribs of most animals, instead of the broadest part being on a line with the outer surface of tin; animal, its widi-st part extended in the direction of the peritoneal cavity.

to sliow tlie magnitiulc of the beast when alive. JMany if not all the bones of the baek have been found. In the collection at Laketon tliere were innety-eight bones, and in that at Mr. Scott's enough to raise the wliolc nuiii])er to 120."

Consequently, tliis history of AYabash County covers a period from the days of .Alastodon Giganteus to those of the automobile - wldch ou-ht to satisfy Its patrons.