Jordan Township (part 4 of 5)

The characters of the people dealt with, were of the most desperate sort. Emboldened by success in one class of crime, burglary and murder were added to the list, and isolated settlers, who could give evidence, were so terrorized by whippings or threats, that few could be got to testify against them. The company organized here was known as the Jasper County Rangers (the two counties being one at that time), and was composed of men noted for their nerve. The effect of its work was prompt and salutary. Within two weeks of its first organization, it had effected the capture of a noted criminal, and a week later had him incarcerated in the penitentiary, undergoing a sentence of a five years' penalty. The honest residents of the county cordially aided the company, which in a year or two rid the county of the gang which infested this region. This organization was successful in ferreting out the retreat of these outlaws, and destroyed their dens in McClellan Township, Bogus Island and further west. These places were evidently the workshops of the band, and contained guns, ammunition, saddles, bridles, counterfeit coin, dies, provisions, etc. There was no serious encounter at this time, though armed men appeared to dispute the party's advance. Finding a determined show of force would not turn the Rangers from their course, they made a hurried retreat. These encounters were not always so harmless. Many a deed of violence is related, and several of the noted characters were killed here. With the growth of the settlements, this species of outlawry was crowded out, and Newton County possesses a reputation as a law-abiding community second to none in the State.

The Game

The settler placed in Newton County, though deprived of any near source of supplies, found no difficulty in finding support for himself and family. A new-comer brought with him a limited amount of flour, coffee, tea and sugar. With this stock, he found no difiiculty in furnishing his table with all that he needed. Deer were found in great abundance, and the earliest settler found no difiiculty, even if not an adept in the use of the rifle, to kill all he needed without leaving the precincts of his cabin. Large droves of these animals were seen on the prairie, and the pioneer, who was in the habit of carrying his gun wherever he went, need not spend much time in the special duty of providing meat for his family. Grouse were found here in unlimited numbers, and, while it required a marksman to secure them, no cabin was deprived of this delicacy. Wild geese, cranes, herons and the whole list of the varieties of ducks were found here, and shot in great numbers, and are still here in scarcely diminished profusion. The Iroquois River, the praise of which was upon the lips of every hunter and trapper before the coming of the settler, furnished bass, bream, pike, salmon and less noted varieties of fish, and the older residents never tire of telling the famous catches that have been made all along its length. The wild hog, a gaunt, long-legged species, which had escaped from older settlements and run wild in the course of nature, were almost as plentiful as the regular game of the region. These were not so desirable eating as the tame hog, but they furnished a variety in the fare, and their hides, it is said, were very serviceable on occasion, when properly dressed, to patch the harness, or make a collar. They were often hunted for the sport. Wolves, however, were better for this purpose, while their scalps at the same time brought in a very respectable revenue. The coyote was the principal variety found here, and these haunted the prairie in great numbers. They were a small animal, and dangerous only to sheep, small pigs and, occasionally, calves. They were of the most cowardly nature, and were never known to attack a person, though their howling at night did not tend to impress the hearer with their friendly disposition. In the winter, when driven to desperation by hunger, or attracted to the cabin by the scent of food, the inmates could distinguish their footsteps about the door and hear their vicious snapping at each other. When only a blanket guarded the entrance, as was frequently the case, the sound was anything but assuring. They were no match singly with a well-trained dog, and whenever overtaken would fall upon the ground and fight like a cat. Tliey were sometimes hunted on horseback, and when heavy with a recent meal could readily be overtaken and dispatched with a club. Tiiey were no kin to the timber wolf, and would be captured rather than take refuge in the woods. In the timber, the larger species were found. They were a bolder and fiercer variety, but never attacked persons. There was therefore no dearth of food, nor of material for tlie best of sport for the hunter. There were 8onie wlio devoteil their time to hunting, and for the time made more prcifit than the farmer. The trapper was always well repaid for his intelligent efforts, and found a good market right in the county for all the peltries he had for sale. But the prime reason for the presence of most of the pioneers in this county was to build up a home, and lay the foundation of a future competence, and to achieve this end there was little capital to employ save energy and hard work. The early thoroughfares leadiTig from one principal point to another did not pass through this rei:ion.

and the first comers often broke the first trail to their destination. Thus cut ofi' from the source of supplies, the greatest privation in the matter of food was the lack of those necessities which are so common to-day that we overlook them in our estimates. Salt was one of the luxuries of pioneer days and often so expensive that a wagon-load of grain would scarcely suffice to buy a barrel of it. Flour could not be secured at any price. No wheat was raised at first, and when a crop was secured the first mills were so distant that it required a long journey, a week's valuable time, to secure the flour. The ordinary meal of to-day was a luxury in that early day of hominy and corn cakes. Fortunately, there was generally a supply of milk, and butter could be had. With this, the grated corn, or, when the corn became hard, the pounded meal supplied the lack of more palatable food.

The Cabin

The regulation cabin seems to have been from sixteen to twenty feet square, daubed with mud, covered with clapboards, a log cut for a window, with a greased paper in lieu of glass, and a stone fire-place, surmounted by a " cat and clay " chimney. Often the cabin had nothing better than a dirt floor. The furniture was such as the settler could manufacture with an ax and auger. Hand tools, when possessed, were always part of the load, and nothing were more advantageous to the pioneer in setting up housekeeping in a new country. Bedsteads were often made by boring a hole in the cabin wall, in which rested one end of a pole, the other end of which was supported by a forked stick in the ground. Upon this svas placed impromptu slats, supported by one side of the cabin and this foot-rail, and upon this structure prairie hay was placed. This composed the bed of many of the first settlers, and. though scarcely as soft " as downy pillows" are, sufficed until more elaborate accomodations could be provided. Chairs were blocks of wood, with holes bored in them, in which legs were put; and tables were a packing box fortunately brought with the family, or were constructed of puncheons, split from the tree, provided with legs as were the chairs. These characteristics were true in only the earliest cabins, and were seldom all combined in any one. A few nails and some glass and hardware were occasionally brought in by some rather well-to-do immigrant or thoughtful pioneer, but the other picture had its counterpart in every settlement in the county. But with such inconveniences, the people, many of whom had known something of refinement in older communities, had no time for repining or melancholy, and it is often said by those who survive to the present that they seemed to enjoy themselves more then than to-day. People were more sociable then; all were neighbors for miles and miles about. A man would divide his last crust with another, and loan him anything he had, and to know that a man needed help to raise his cabin or roll his logs was all the invitation he needed. " The latch-string is always out," was the type of the early hospitality. This latch and its string were novelties in their way, and could not have been evolved except from the brain of the pioneer, whose necessities were truly the mother of many inventions. The latch was made in the form of an ordinary barn door or gate-latch, only it was of large size and made of wood. The latch, instead of being outside, was placed inside of the door, and to enable one without the door to raise it a hole was bored a few inches above and a leather thong was attached and drawn through the hole, with one end hanging out. At night, this string was withdrawn, and thus the door was locked in such a manner as to render it diiBcult for a burglar to pick. When the string hung out, it was taken to mean, " Come in without knocking."

The site chosen for the erection of the earlier cabins was in the edge of the timber. Most of the pioneers who came to this county were familiar with the experiences to be met with in a frontier settlement, but most of them had been reared in a timber country and knew but little of the difficulties or advantages of the prairie. The wisdom of the first settlers in clinging to the line of timber, and beginning their farms by laboriously clearing off a space here, when the prairie seemed to offer a place 80 much easier adapted to their purposes, has been often challenged. But such criticism proceeds too often upon a misconception of the early character of the open country. The luxuriant growth of joint grass. after fall, unless burned over, became a tangled mass that was not easily penetrated. The new grass sprung up and presented the ajipearance of a beautiful meadow, which, however, was grossly deceptive. The rainfall during the year saturated the ground, and the dense growth of grass, shielding it from the sun, the natural drainage being deficient, the surface for a large part of the year was too wet to till. There was room enough at first in the timber, and. acquainted with its demands, the pioneer wisely began here. This nearness to the streams, however, exposed the inhabitants to the miasmas of which they were the fruitful source. The " shakes " seem to be the inevitable companion of the pioneer wherever he may be, and it may be doubtful whether there is any escape from their baleful presence. The clearing off of timber, or the breaking of prairie sod, which involve the decay of largo amounts of vegetable matter, bred disease, and no settler was considered naturalized until he had experienced the distress of cliills and fever. Sickness of this kind was generally confined to the latter part of summer and fall. The cold of winter seemed to destroy the germs of the disease, and there was but little sickness in this season, save a few lingering cases which had become chronic. The spring and early summer were generally healthy, and the old nurses were in the habit of saying that when the resin weed and other yellow flowers appeared it was time to look for ague. Particular localities were more marked than others for the prevalence of this trouble. High water in the spring, which flooded the lagoons and low places along the bottoms, which slowly dried out under the hot suns of July and August, was a fruitful cause of this disorder, and in such localities there was considerable sickness, when in more elevated places it was perfectly healthful.

Against these evils, the pioneer was forced to contend single-handed. Boneset, Culler's physic, and a long list of herbs, of which teas were made, were familiar to every housewife, and were found in every cabin. Doctors were not to be had, or were situated at long distances from the isolated cabins, but when they were to be had within practical distance, the former, impelled by the urgent necessity to practice every economy, led the settler to depend upon the skill of his own family. Such attacks were not looked upon as serious, and were generally deemed the natural way of becoming acclimated. But these frequent attacks made their effects to be seriously felt. The new-comer, who brought buoyant spirits and a fresh, healthful countenance to his new home, soon took on the pale, sallow hue of semi-invalids, and some never outgrew these evil effects. None were spared, and it was no uncommon thing for a whole neighborhood to be prostrated at once, and to be so confined and incapacitated as to be unable to attend to outside duties. Sometimes the whole family would be sick at the same time and only the more resolute left to care for the younger and weaker. But with the clearing of the country, the wider spread of the cultivated area brought about great changes, and the succeeding generations reaped the result of the toil and suffering of the pioneers.

The Farm

The pioneers brought but a meager outfit of this world's goods, but, strong in faith and hope, expected to increase their worldly store and provide a home in old age. Some came in frontier wagons, drawn by horses or oxen, and some used the more primitive pack-horse as means of migration. Either way was slow compared to the more modern modes of travel; but as they then knew of no other way than that mentioned, unless a river lay in their course, they were content. While on their journey, if away from the settled route, their encampment for the night was made wherever night overtook them. A fire was built by the wayside, over which an iron kettle was suspended, in which the evening meal was cooked. The father's gun through the day provided abundance of fresh meat, for game was abundant, and deer could be had for the shooting. Yet, let the advantages of the journey be the best, it was one of toil and privation. Then there were no bridges over the streams, no fences by the roadside, no well-trodden highway. Each emigrant followed the general trail, but each sought a new track for his own team. This cut the way into innumei'able ditches and ruts made by the wheel of the waa-on or the hoof of the horse or ox. If the season was one of much rain, the swamps they were often compelled to cross would be almost impassable, and the roads heavy. If dry, the roads were rough, so that at its best, the journey could not be said to be pleasant. Under such circumstances, nothing but the necessities and those small in bulk could be brought hither. For farming implements the farmer was forced to depend upon what could be secured at the nearest village. The plows of that time, everywhere, were rude, ungainly tools, and not at all fitted to do the work of "breaking the prairie." As before intimated, the early settlers all sought the timber and cleared out farms. Here the land, thickly shaded, had not produced the heavy, tough grass roots of the prairie, and was comparatively easy of cultivation. The roots of the prairie grass were almost as tough and hard as hickory withes, and the small bar-share, wooden mold-board was not equal to this tougher soil. The question of cultivating the prairie was often discussed, but the conclusion generally arrived at was that this broad expanse of natural meadow was designed for a great pasture-field, and must forever remain such. But the necessity of the occasion developed the heavy sod plow, which, though in comparison to modern inventions seems illy-conceived, nevertheless revolutionized the farming of the pioneer da vs. This was an immense machine, with a beam ten or fifteen feet in length, a share that would cut about two feet in width, and a mold-board constructed of iron bars. To this giant plow was attached all the team power the farmer couUl command, and it was no infreijuent thing to see six voke of cattle attached. The sod was found tough, and so tenacious that the share turned out one unbroken strip of earth of several rods' length. Occasionally tliia stubborn glebe would turn back to its natural position, and the plowman was then forced to lift by hand yards of this unwilling turf. The expenditure of all this labor was generally well repaid the first vear, if the sod became thoroughly rotted, even though it produced only a small cidp. The second year, a " Gary." or some other kind of two horse side }ilow was useil to turn the dead sod hack again. Besides this, a small side pfow, or shovel plow, was subsequently added, which, with the hoe, made up the sum of the farmers' implements, until the harvest, when the old reap hook, the cradle and the scythe and flail came into use. Corn was the crop usually first planted. Some experimented with wheat, but it grew too rank and produced sickness, or else miserably failed under the conbined attack of insects and unpropitious weather. Corn was for a niniiber of years the only crop, and furnished food for man and beast. While the sod was being turned over, it was customary to drop the corn in the edge of the furrow which grew and produced an inferior crop. Each settler brought in at first his team and cows. Horses were generally brought first, but oxen were soon found to be more serviceable, and involved a less outlay of capital, and one horse was often traded off for a yoke of oxen, which for years became the motive power of the farmer's business. Hogs were soon secured, and multiplied. These, fattening upon the mast which the timber supplied in abundance, not only afforded the farmer with a good, substantial meat, but also afforded a source of income, which, though not as considerable as now, was of great advantage when a "little money went a great way." Though what he had to sell brought the farmer but little money, it generally cost him still less to produce it, so far as stock was concerned. The wide range of wild grass afforded the most nutritious of pasturage, and this sufiiced for his stock with a very little addition of corn.

Mills And Markets

It is diflBcult at this day to imagine a state of society where even the commonest means of social progress must be invented and set in motion, but the pioneer found this fact a very prominent and practical one in his early experience. The supplies brought into the country by the immigrant were occasionally by the closest economy made to last until the growing crop or garden could supply the necessities of the family. For years, in some of tRe settlements here, the people were thrown entirely upon their own resources. The nearest point where flour could be got or wheat could be ground was at La Fayette and other older points on the Wabash River. A temporary supply of corn was occasionally secured from some older settler who had harvested a crop, which sufficed until the growing corn became of sufficient size to eat. When the kernel was sufficiently firm, the grater was brought into requisition, and a sort of bread and porridge was made. The grater often got the name of blood mills," from the mishap which befell the fingers of the operator. This simple machine was made by perforating the bottom of a worn-out tin pan with numerous small holes, which were punched with a nail or similar instrument, and upon the ragged edges of these perforations the immature corn was fubbed until little but the cob remained. This old grater was an eye-sore to most of the children, as it occupied the greater portion of their leisure time. It might be fun at first, but it soon became real work that was exceedingly tiresome in its monotony. Still food must be had, and the task of supplying a family of hearty eaters with meal thus manufactured took considerable time and labor. When the grain became hard, and the grater no longer effective, the mortar was brought into requisition. This consisted of a large block or stump in which a kettle-ahaped excavation was made by burning and scraping. A pestle was made of a heavy pole, to the end of which was often fixed an iron wedge. This was suspended to a sweep, such as is still seen at wells, the lower end of which was fixed to the ground by stakes, converting it into a s»pring pole. Every cabin had )ts " hominy block," and among the earlier sounds about the cabin was the monotonous pounding of the frontier mill. This machine furnished several grades of meal, from fairly fine meal to simply cracked grains, and this was separated by sieves that were often constructed with a deer skin tightly stretched over a frame, and punctured with small-sized holes. The finer part was transformed into the dodger which was baked upon the hearth, while the courser product was served up as hominy. Some of the better provided settlers possessed hand mills which were made of "nigger-head" buhrs. In the upper stone was made an "eye" and a handle inserted, and the boys would grind hour after hour at this slow method. The meal was of a finer quality, but the progress was much slower than the mortar. Others on especial occasion resorted to the coffee mill for meal to furnish the material for the entertainment of some guest. Although the streams afforded good sites for the construction of water mills, the necessary machinery and the mechanical skill was for a long time wanting. Horse mills came in to supply this need, and while they were called corn-crackers, did a much more effective service than the name would implv. These consisted of a small set of " nioftrer head buhrs," propelled by a large cog wheel set upon a perpendicular axis. This wheel was often ten or fifteen feet in diameter. In the lower part of this axis horizontal levers were attached, so that two teams mic^ht be attached to give motion to the machinery. Such a mill was constructed in several places in the county at different dates, and greatly relieved the farmers in the task of making meal. They ground very slowly, and the patron was obliged not only to furnish teams, but often was obliged to wait several days for an opportunity to use it. Several water mills were attempted, but the character of the streams made the experiment verv unsatisfactory. During the larger part of the year, the mill could not run for the lack of water, and other times the sudden rising of the water would wash out the rudely constructed dams. But all of these mills were adapted only to the grinding of corn. Wheat was ground in them, hut it was a slow and unsatisfactory method, and the flour was bolted by hand. Of course, such mills were only employed on custom work, and had no capacity for other work, even if circumstances would warrant it. Markets were reached only by a long journey over tedious roads. Chicago furnished the only market for the surplus produce, and shelled corn was wagoned to that place and sold for 30 cents per bushel. Shelling corn for market was the evening work for the whole family. The ear was held in one hand, while with a sharpened stick or other similar instrument a row of grains was stripped from the cob. Hundreds of bushels of corn have been shelled in the county in this way. Another method sometimes resorted to, was to seta pole horizontally upon legs. On this, by means of pegs and boards, a shallow trough was made in which the corn was placed, and beaten with a flail. A little later, stock formed a considerable source of income and was driven to market, though the farmer generally disposed of his surplus animals to buyers who found their way among the settlers. In addition to the peltries taken at such seasons as the demands of the farm would permit, honey formed quite an article of trade for some time. Bee-trees were found in every piece of timber, and large quantities ware sold. The bees were easily domesticated, and a great many of the farmers prepared rude hives and thus established a source of regular supply. In addition to its market value, it served a much more valuable purpose in the culinary department of the cabin. Newton County had the advantage of the surrounding region in the possession of some sugar trees, from which the Indians made sugar, and the settlers after them, but it never was produced in such quantities as to become an article of commerce.

Prairie Travel

In this day of established roads and multiplied landmarks, when what was prairie can only with difBculty be distinguished from the original woodland, it is not easy to understand the inconvenience and peril of the early traveling from one neighborhood to another. And yet the reminiscences of almost every settlement are marked by incidents of death or extreme danger arising from the vagueness of early 4ine3 of travel across these plains. This region was especially dangerous, from the fact that at an early date none of the great thoroughfares leading to Chicago from the older settlements passed through here. The first settlers found their way here guided only by surveyors' stakes, or the natural landmarks of groves or streams. Each one made his own road, and so light was the travel that even after a considerable settlement had formed, the usual wagon trail was discovered only by the low flower that springs up where the sod of the prairie had been bruised by the wheel. The traveler who felt confident in his ability to maintain a given direction took no heed to the usual course of travel, but made his own way unhindered by fence or boundary. Like distance at sea, the broad expanse of the prairie was deceptive to all but the most expert. Horseback was the prevailing mode of travel save when the whole family or a load was to be taken, and the settlers soon learned to have little fear in their own immediate neighborhood. But new-comers and transient visitors were constantly exposed to the danger of being lost in broad daylight. At night, crossing an uncultivated prairie was a very uncertain adventure to all save the most expert. When clear, the moon and stars were a very reliable guide to the experienced, and many of the pioneers became as proficient in making a desired course as the pilot upon the water. The tendency, when the traveler becomes confused, is to travel in a circle, and when this is once observed, the only safe plan is to wait until daylight reveals some point of timber, or other recognized landmark. It was generally safe, when no other course seemed open, to make for the timber, as some sign of habitation or trail was likely to be met with tliere. In a cloudy night, or in the midst of a fog by day, the danger and difficulty were increased, and nothing but necessity induced the experienced pioneer to venture off the well-marked trail. When one of the family was belated on such a night there was the greatest anxiety manifested in the household, and a light was kept at the window to mark the site of home to the belated traveler. When it was necessary to make a journey which involved a late return home, some signal was agreed upon, and many were in the habit of hoisting one of the old perforated tin lanterns upon a pole near the chimney of the cabin. In the winter the danger was increased. The broad expanse, covered with an untracked fall of snow and swept by an icy blast which pierced the heaviest clothing, was a route that the stoutest heart might well hesitate to attempt, and one in which many a traveler perished.

Prtmitive Society

Society can hardly be said to have had much organization here before the year 1850. The population was small and widely scattered. Many were squatters, and save in one or two more thickly settled localities, few knew anything of the antecedents of their nearest neighbors. The earliest settlers of Newton County came principally from Southeastern Indiana, but were originally emigrants from and natives of Virginia, Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Ohio. Later years have brought considerable numbers from New York State, Maryland and Illinois. The date of the principal settlement of this county is of so recent a date that many of the characteristics so prominent in early communities were lacking here. There was, however, sufficient of that disregard of self-restrait and ignorance of the general rights of the community, so common in frontier society, to mark society here as in the early formation period found in a new country. There were many who were betrayed into counterfeiting that could not be justly termed outlaws. They were almost as open in their operations as when engaged in legal occupations, and manufactured the coin more as righteous plunder of the government than to defraud their neighbors. There were others who affiliated with the outlaws who infested this region, but they were never received as a part of the community, and were gradually shunned out of the county. When law and order reigned supreme their occupation was gone, and they left for a more congenial locality. The majority of the permanent settlers who came here before 1850 were such as had known something of the advantages of older settlements, and brought with them a desire for the best development of the new society which they founded in Newton County. Whisky never played the prominent part here that it did in many a new settlement. It was made and freely drank, but unseemly carousals and fighting was not characteristic of the pioneers of this county.

Owing to the early relations of Newton to Jasper County, there was not that early division of society into smaller communities. A welldefined settlement existed on the west side, and another on the east side of the present county limits, but the inmates of the cabins along the Iroquois on either side found themselves members of the same social circle. There was no marked difi"erence in wealth, and no observance of ranks. In such a community, where " the richest were poor and the poor lived in abundance," there was no chance for the growth of caste, and families for miles around were linked together as one neighborhood by the social customs of the time, which in the spirit of true democracy drew the line at moral worth alone. The amusements of a people, taking their character from the natural surroundings of the community, were here chiefly adapted to the masculine taste. Hunting and fishing were always liberally rewarded, while log cabin raisings, the opening of court with its jury duty, and the Saturday afternoon holiday with its scrub horse race, its wrestling match, its jumping or quoit-pitching, afforded entertainments that never lost their zest. It was a common remark, however, that a new country furnished an easy berth for men and oxen, but a hard one for women and horses. Outside of visiting and campmeetings, the diversions in which women participated at that early day were very few ; husking and spinning bees, and " large " weddings, where the larger part of the night was spent in dancing, did not have the frequent occurrence so characteristic of the Eastern States, and nothing here seemed to offer any substitute.

Pioneer customs and habits have passed away with the times and circumstances that gave them existence. Although the pioneers possessed some characteristics repellent to refined ideas and modern culture, yet in their social intercourse with each other they displayed those exemplary traits of character which might well be esteemed a bright legacy to a more advanced age. If they deviated from the strict rules of morality and indulged themselves in habits and excesses which have been discarded by progressive civilization as enervating and ruinous, they still retained those estimable virtues which are the token of a generous and sympathetic people. Unpretentious and unostentatious, they tendered whatever of hospitality their houses afforded, and were assiduous in their efforts to provide for those whom chance brought within the circle of their charities. AflFectation had no place in the cordial entertainment tendered visitor or stranger, and self-seeking was never the incentive which prompted their open-doored hospitality. It is worthy the remark that society had not yet matured enough at that time to produce the " tramp,'' and the footsore traveler was likely to be a worthy recipient of their kindness. But while this modern infliction had not then been grown to sour the pioneer's disposition, his unquestioning and unsuspicious disposition often made him the victim of the miscreants that infested the country in the form of highwaymen. It was dilScult to discriminate between the worthy stranger and the bandit, and the stranger taken in too often proved a robber in disguise. Notwithstanding such discouragements, the passing stranger had but to solicit entertainment, when the "sissing hog " and steaming hominy bespoke the stranger's welcome.

The early society made no allowance for middlemen. Every man and woman was a worker, with enough to do to keep them busy the year around. The frontier house, as a rule, had but one room, which served all the domestic and social purposes of the family alike. Laborsaving appliances were unknown. The crane, hung with iron pots and kettles, and the Dutch oven, half submerged in coals, were, in all cabins, the instruments with which the cook worked her magic. A few years' residence in the settlement placed the industrious family in that " forehanded " condition tliat enabled them to indulge in liop-yeast or salt- rising bread, ciiickens and a variety of fresh, luscious vegetables. Pearlash, which was prepared from the ordinary potash by the housewife, was the early substitute for the " baking powder " of to-day. But this part of woman's work was made to occupy but the smaller part of her attention. The necessities of the situation required that the family depend upon themselves for all they required. The surplus product of the farm scarcely sufficed to purchase a slender stock of tea, coffee and spices, with an occasional hat for the man and a calico dress for the woman ; all else must be derived from the soil. Flax was grown, and most farmers kept a few sheep. There were no factories near, or carding machines for years, and the raw material was placed in the hands of the women to adapt to the use of the family. How well they wrought, is the burden of the reminiscences of that day. To dye and weave, to card and spin, were accomplishments that all women possessed and put in daily practice. The women's clothing was made of linsey-woolsey, a mixture of linen and wool, and the children's and men's apparel of the same. It was not uncommon for young ladies to attend gatherings in homespun dresses and sun bonnets, and without shoes and stockings. It was a mark of improved circumstances when the women could wear calico and the men wear jeans.

With all this activity and self-helpfulness in the cabin, there was plenty to engage the energy of the men out of doors. The common remark that women and horses found a hard berth, and men and oxen an easy one in a new country, was true here in many respects. Men found time for attending court, logging frolics and hunting, though it was not difScult to find those who had never indulged in the latter sport. But the duties of a farmer were in the main severe amd numerous enough to satisfy the general equilibrium of the share of work among the sexes. Loggings and cabin-raisings, while they involved an element of sport, were none the less fatiguing and necessary. In a community where there were few or no independent mechanics and no place for loafers, each one was forced to depend upon his fellows for assistance in times of especial emergency. "Changing work" was the only way to secure help, and the " hired man" only came in vogue when the great stress of pioneer work had been accomplished. What with insufficient tools, and too often an inadequate supply of these, and the debilitating effect of disease, there was little in his lot that any one should desire to exchange for it. Nowhere in the world were husband and wife more necessary to the general success as right here in the days of the pioneer. Without a wife the farmer was a hopeless failure, and it was no infrequeat thing that a settler left his improvement without a cent for his labor, or at best a great sacrifice of its value, when his wife died. There were no supernumerary men and women, and the older settlements of the East among friends of the family was the only resource left in such a case.

The discouragements of the farmer need to be felt to be appreciated. The opinion is too often entertained that the men lead a rollicking sort of life, with some privations to be sure, but sure in the outcome to achieve a comfortable competence. There could be no greater mistake. Failure and abandonment of improvements were too frequent to lead any pioneer to imbibe such a notion. Each man was the architect of his own fortune here, and it was achieved not by brilliant strokes of policy, but by daily effort, self-sacrifice and a courage that surmounted difficulties. How this country was settled and improved under the meager inducements held out by the situation can be explained upon none of the settled principles of political economy. The men who settled and labored here were not such as had capital upon which they could afli'ord to wait and see the result of their labors. A life-time success or failure, which involved their families with them, hung upon the result of their experiment, and it was probably this daily struggle for subsistence which gave no time for weigh, ing the chances, that led them to struggle on through disappointments and difficulties. Perhaps one of the most serious of the many discouragements was the little value of the crop, which the farmer had labored for through heat and cold and sickness. The markets were distant, the cost of transportation considerable, and the crop when sold would scarcelv bring the cost of getting it to the purchaser. But they had learned from the traditions of their parents "'to labor and to wait." and in due time thev triumphed. When roads began to be established and the flow of immigration began to build up towns, a home market was established, and, stimulated by this improvement in his prospects, the settler betran to look beyond the difficulties of the present and renew his couraofe. The influence of good roads and thoroughfares upon the society of a country is too often ignored. So long as a community is isolated, it lacks the public spirit and emulation begotten by constant contact and contrast with others. The change of the old law, which allowed the whole county ou general elections to vote at the county seat was another powerful influence in the right direction. The large community embracing the whole county was thus broken into smaller ones, and a proper spirit of emulation was begotten within the counties. With better means of access to the older settlements, improvements were brought in, invention was stimulated, and some adequate idea of the necessities and possibilities of the situation was gained. The rough freedom of society was more subject to the control of the more sober minded and industrious; churches and

With the general settlement of the prairie, and the laying-out of regular roads, traveling became less dangerous, though scarcely less diiBcult. The amount of labor which could be bestowed upon them by the few people in the scattered settlements made but little effect upon the highways of a country which seemed particularly exposed, by the character of the soil and the conformation of the surface, to the unfavorable action of rain, and even now the farming community of Newton County pays a heavy annual tribute to muddy, impassable roads.

Political Organization

The County Seat. - The question of the highest importance next to the formation oT the county, to the people of Newton, was the location of the seat of justice. On this issue, the sentiment and united eifort which succeeded, in spite of so many diflSculties in respect to the first, was entirely wanting. The prime moving cause which led to a division of Jasper County, was the remoteness of the county seat from most of the western part of the county, and the large majority of the people in the new county desired a central location for the new county seat. On the formation of the county. Gov. Willard promptly appointed Livingston Dunlap, of Marion County, John B. Winstandley, of Floyd County, and Joseph Allen, of Montgomery County, to fix upon the location. The event clearly showed that the Governor was actuated by personal motives in the appointment of this committee, and was present on the ground when the Legislative Commission came to view the situation. Samuel H. Owen was subsequently substituted for Mr. Windstandley, and on March 15, 1860, the Commissioners thus constituted submitted the following report : To THB Hon. A. P. Willahd, Governor :

The undersigned Commissioners, appointed by tlie Govei-nor of tlie State of Indiana, to locate the county seat of the county of Newton, in said State, after a full and faithful consideration of the subject, a view of the various sites proposed by the inhabitants of said countj'of Newton, and after having given an opportunity for the maliing of donations, and having duly considered the same, report that they by a majority of said board do locate said county seat of Newton County at the proposed and platted town of Kent, on part of Section 22, in Township 27 north, and Range 9 west, of the lands in said county; and we return herewith the original proposition of donations to said county for said location, to wit: Cash, A. .J. Kent, $.500; subscription by sundry persons, $245; one hundred and sixty acres of land, being the southeast quarter of Section 23, Township 28 north. Range 8 west, as described in patent, 195 lots of 30 by 150 feet each, as per proposition, court house .square, 350 by 250 feet, to be selected by the County Commissioners.

It is needless to say that this decision gave rise to the liveliest dissatisfaction. Charges of bribery and every unworthy motive were freely made, and the facts in the case certainly gave very good grounds for suspicions. A little east of the point selected lay a considerable tract of land, the title of which rested in the name of the Governor's wife ; the Governor, by his presence here during the visit of the Commissioners, gave color to the report that he did not care to trust even his own henchmen out of his sight, and his own intimate relations with Mr. Kent formed a combination of circumstances that might well give circulation to such charges, even among a people less willing to believe them. An effort was at once made to change the location thus decided upon, and, under the mistaken supposition :liat if a court house was erected near the center of the county the court would ilecide to remove the county seat to that point, a small town was accordingly projected in the southeast corner of Beaver Township, a court house erected, and on the 4th of September, 1860, a petition was prssented to the new Board of Country Commissioners, bv John Darroch, John Coffelt, F. W. Hamey, Andrew Hess, Silas Johnston and James Archibald, for the removal of the county seat, and for its re-loc:ition at and on the south half of the northwest quarter of Section 36, Township 29 north. Range 9 west, averring that the petition contained the signatures of two-thirds of the legal voters in the county, and by affidavits proving that the petitioners were legal voters of the county, and thnt their signatures were genuine, and also at the same time filed a deed for a site for county buildings, at and on the point above named, containing three and one-quarter acres and upward : also, at the same time, deposited $50, as provided by the statute, to employ an architect, etc.; all of which was laid before the board by the Auditor. This movement was promptly met by a remonstrance numerously signed and headed by A. J. Kent, and after several days of legal sparring the Commissioners gave their decision as follows :

We fiml tluU, said petitious had 3S3 signatures, and after the parties had investigated tlie petitions, tlie remonstrants, being permitted to introduce evidence that persons who were on said petition had since signed a remonstanee a-gaiust said removal, and aiso tliat persoTis whose names were on said petitions liad died or removed out, of the county; and after lieariiig the evidence of parties as to who were properly on the petition for removal, we liud that there was, for cause, sixtv-two names struck from Ihe list of said petitioners, reducing the number to 3-1 legal voters, at the time said petitions were tiled; and in making up our opinion as to The testimony introduced by the parties, we believe that when the petitions were tiled with the Auditor that all the persons whose signatures were on said petition at that time, and that were residents and legal voters in the county, and who previouslv to said tiling of the petition had not signed a remonstrance against said petitions, were properly in eovirt.

And we lind farther, that the remonstrants against said removal introilueed a remonstrance whicli we believe was eireiilated, and the signatures obtained after the filing of said petitions, by which there was twenty-one names stricken from the list of signatures for the removal of the county seat; we, therefore, add said twentyone names to the list of petitioners, making 342 signatures on the petitions for removal of the county seat at the time said petitions were filed, which we determine to be the true number of persons who are properly on the petitions for the removal of the county seat at the time said petitions were filed

The petitioners introduced the poll of the last spring election, duly ccl*ftfi«cl, as the number of voters in the county; and the remonstrants ofEered as evidence the number of names whose signatures were on the petitions for removal, as also the number who were properly on the remonstrances against the removal, as evidence of the number of legal voters in said county.

We are of the opinion that the act of 1855, under which the petitioners are acting, leaves the question as to the basis upon which Boards of Commissioners are to ascertain the number of voters an open question, and to be decided by the board as any other fact by the best evidence before them. We, therefore, determine that the legal voters in the county at the time when said petitions were filed is the number that the act of 1855 requires, that two-thirds of whom shall be on the petition for the removal and relocation of the county seat. We are of the opinion that the 493 votes cast at the last spring election would fall short of the number of voters in the county at the time the petitions were filed, for the reason that there was only township and county officers to be elected, which never draws out a full vote as do our annual elections, when State and county officers are to be elected; and also that it is supposed that there is an increase in the voters annually. We therefore are of the opinion that the 343 names that are on the petitions, and those who are properly on the remonstrances against said petition, and verified by tlie affidavits, amounting to 303 names, making 544 as the true number of legal voters in the county at the time of filing said petitions.

It is our opinion that the petitioners have failed, not having two-tiiirds of the legal voters in the county; and it is Ordered that the case be dismissed.

This explicit statement, with its legal verbiage, may be taken as an exposition of the points upon which an effort to remove the county seat depends, and the manner of procedure in the case of both petitioner and remonstrant.

On June 3, 1861, C. E. Triplet, Z. Spitler, E. Bridgeman, John Lyons, Andrew Hess, etal., presented another petition " for the removal and re-location of the county seat," the site designated this time being " near the town of Brook, to wit : On the northeast quarter of the northeast quarter of Section 19, Township 28 north, Range 8 west." Ten petitions, said to contain 390 signatures, a deed conveying five acres for public buildings, a bond conveying a tract of land not less than 160 acres for the use of the county, a further donation of every third lot in the proposed plat of the town, and a bond for the payment of $1,000 in lawful money, were the inducements offered at this time. This movement was also met by a counter movement, but fate seemed kind to the beleaguered minority, and a flaw in the money-bond threw the petitioners' case out of court.

On the 3d of March, 1870, another " petition for the removal and relocation of the county seat," signed by Daniel Ash and 609 others, was broutrht before the Board of Commissioners by Messrs. Hammond k Spitler, attorneys for the petitioners. The object at this time was to move the seat of justice to Morocco. The usual remonstrance was filed, but the case was summarily withilrawn by the petitioners without a hearing of the case. It afterward transpired that they had been made the victims of misplaced confidence, some of the important papers pertaining to tlie case having been stolen. Again in December, 1872, John W. Deaner, John Thompson and 952 petitioned for the removal of the county seat to Brook. This was opposed by a remonstrance signed by C. B. Cone, A. J. Kent and 580 others. This remonstrance was at first excluded for insufficiency, but was subsequently amended and filed, whereupon the petition was summarily withdrawn.

On June 20, 1876, the last and most determined attempt to remove the county seat was made by Daniel Ash, et al., in favor of Morocco. The petitioners retained Hon. J. R. CoftVoth. Hon. R. S. Dwiggins, Carmichael and Darroeh. The remonstr.nnce, headed by J. G. Perry and Patrick Keefe. was supported by Col, R. DeHart, E. 0. Brian, W. H. Mailin and J.T. Sanderson. In this case, the petitioners made the fatal error of neglecting to deposit with the Auditor the money required by law to hire an architect and pay expense of assessing damages. A tender of this money was made at the time of liearing. but the Board of Commissioners refused to accept it, and an appeal was taken to the Circuit Court. A change of venue was taken to Jasper County, and subsequently to Tippecanoe County. Here the case was finally dismissed, upon motion, on the ground that tlie Commissioners' Court had original and filial jurisdiction.

But the end is not yet. There is little question tliat the merits of the case are with the petitioners in these efl'orts to remove the county Seat to a more central location, but the management of details has been faulty in every instance, while the minority have shrewdly availed themselves of every technical right the law granted them. Tliere has been -.i marked lack of unanimity between the two rival points, Morocco and iirook, and tlie remonstrants have not been slow in taking advantage of tJiis lact to foment discord, and in every instance the remonstrants have been materially aided by those who were naturally opposed to them. There is but one voice as to the final issue. Circumstances may delay the event, and eacli year will add difficulty to such removal, but that the county seat will eventually be removed is felt to be well assured.

the public business proceeded as steadily as though there was no public agitation. The Governor appointed Thomas Barker Organizing Sheriff for the new county, who issued his call for a special election to be held April 2, 1860. There were six voting precincts, one in Beaver, Jackson, Iroquois and Lake Townships, and two in Washington. There was a total vote of 492, resulting in the election of Z. Spitler, Clerk ; Alexander Sharp, Auditor; Samuel McCullough, Treasurer; John Ade, Recorder; Elijah Shriver, Sheriff; A. W. Shidler, Surveyor; Jared Yeoman, Coroner ; Thomas R. Barker, William Russell and Michael Coffelt, Commissioners. On the 22d day of April, 1860, these ofScers filed their respective bonds and assumed the duties of their offices. On the following day the Commissioners held their Srst session in a building belonging to Mr. Kent, facing the railroad.

The new Board of Commissioners found the county divided into five townships, as mentioned above, the oldest of which were Beaver and Jackson. How the territory embraced within the limits of Newton County was originally divided cannot be ascertained. The Commissioners' records of Jasper County previous to 1849 are destroyed. At that date these were the only townships in this territory, and it is probable that the line of division was the Iroquois River. Subsequently Hess Township was formed of that portion of Beaver lying in Ranges 8, 9 and 10 north, and north of Township 30. In the March term, 1853, the Commissioners of Jasper corrected the boundaries of all the townships in the county, and at that time made the township of Jackson to consist of all that territory in Range 8 west, and Townships 29, 30, 81 and fractional 32, to the Kankakee River ; Beaver embraced all the territory in Range 9 and fractional 10, in Townships 29 and 30 ; Hess, its name changed to Lake, occupied the territory in Range 9 and fractional 10: north of Township 30 ; and Iroquois, was formed to embrace the territory in Townships 27 and 28 north, in Ranges 8, 9 and fractional 10 west. In September of the same year, Iroquois, twelve by fifteen miles in area, was found to be too large, and for the sake of " harmony," Townships 27 and 28 north, in Range 9 and fractional 10 west, were struck off and formed into a township called Washington. At the session of March, 1857, Lake Township was enlarged to take in that part of Jackson lying in Townships 31 and 32, in Range 8. This was the condition of the townships when Newton County assumed control of her own affairs. The first business to come before the new board was a petition signed by Ralph Swiggert and others, for the division of Washington Township on the line of the Iroquois River, that part north of the river to retain the name of Washington, and the part south of the Iroquois to be called Jefferson, which was granted. The designating number of townships was provided in 1861 as follows : Iroquois, No. 1 ; Jackson, No. 2; Lake, No. 3; Beaver, No. 4; Washington, No. 5; and Jefferson, No. 6. In September, 1861, Jackson Township was reconstructed, taking a portion of Lake, so that its territory should consist of Townships 29, 30, 31 and fractional 32. in Range 8, leaving Lake to consist of Township 31 north, in Range 9 and fractional 10. as at present.

In December, 1862, Z. T. VVheaton presented a petition of himself and others to strike off a portion of Beaver Township to be called Mc- Clellan, which should consist of Township 30 north, in Range 9 and fractional 10. leaving both townships as at present.

On December 6. 1865, Ziba W. AVood and John C. McMasters presented a petition for themselves and others asking for a division of Iroquois Township. This petition, signed by R. C. Currens, Blake Wilson, F. E. Pierce, and thirty others, set forth the inconvenience of the present size of the township, and desired the Commissioners to name the new township Grant, as an expression of the petitioners' admiration for the successful Union General. This petition was granted, the new township to consist of Congressional Township 27 north. Range 8 west, and Iroquois of Township 28 north. Range 8 west, leaviag both townships in their present shape.

On March 9, 1871, a petition by Philip Miller and others was presented asking for the erection of a township out of the territory lying in Townships 30, 31 and fractional 32, in Range 8, to be called Colfax. This was granted, and on the 8th of June, 1^72, Aaron Wilson and fourteen others petitioned for the division of Colfax Township on the Congressional township line between the Townships 30 and 31, to be called Lincoln.

There has been no minor changes, and the geographv of the county is fortunately freed from those arbitrary meanderings of division lines which breed so many difficulties. The map presents a symmetrical arrangement of political divisions, which is a striking exception to the most of the State.

Among the earliest transactions of the Commissioners of Newton County was the appointment of Reuben White as agent to receive the donations for the county seat, and the selection of a site for the court house. The latter was fixed on Block 16, containing thirty lots, the whole area being 450x322 feet in size. On March 6, 1861, the Auditor, Recorder, and Clerk of the Circuit Court were appointed a committee, with full powers to contract for and superintend the erection of a building for court room and connty offices, not to exceed $1,000, which was to be paid out of the donation fund. In the meanwhile, the Commissioners contracted for the use of Joel Anderson's store building, which had been erected on a lot adjoining Kent's store, for six months, at $6 per month. In June, 1861, the new court house was completed and accepted. As provided by the original order of the Commissioners, the other officers declining to take any responsibility in regard to the erection of the building, A. Sharpe, taking the assistance of Reuben White, advertised for bids, and found the lowest made by James Van Natta. This bid, of $974, was accepted by the committee, but the contractor refused to accept the terms of payment and did not make out the necessary papers. The contract was accordingly awarded to J. B. Cheesbrough, the next lowest among those bidding, but at the price of Van Natta's bid. This price, however, was increased to §1,000, and the porticos on either end of the building added to the specifications. The building was a plain, framed structure, with court and jury rooms above and four offices below. These lower rooms were appropriated by the Clerk, Auditor, Recorder and Treasurer, the Sheriff finding such quarters as he could. This state of things continued until 1867, the grand jury being forced to meet on one occasion in the discarded calaboose of the village. In this year, the small building fronting the north side of the court house was erected for a jury room. One room was immediately appropriated by the Clerk, and soon afterward the Recorder appropriated the other, the Auditor's office being enlarged to take in the whole south side of the court house below, and the Sheriff appropriating the quarter deserted by the Recorder. This leaves the jury as poorly provided as before, the grand jury occupying such quarters as occasion offers.

No jail has ever been built. The only public building, other than the court house, is the poor house. This is an ordinary farm dwelling on the farm situated on Section 33, in Washington Township. The poor of the county were " farmed out " at first, but in September, 1868, a farm was purchased of Mary and Solomon Warren for $5,500. This was on Section 13, in Iroquois Township, and in 1871 a part was sold and later the whole was disposed of, the county going back to the primitive way of caring for the dependent poor. January 24, 1878, in settling with D. A. Pfrimmer, a former Treasurer, the present poor farm consisting of 102 77-100 acres, was taken, at $35 per acre, in part settlement of his indebtedness to the county. The Superintendent of the farm leases the property at about $225 per year, and is allowed a certain amount per week for maintaining the inmates.

proof vaults for the storage of the county records, and the Auditor was supplied with a large safe, purchased in 1867 at an expense of $1,600 and previously used by the Recorder.

The question of more commodious buildings is rapidly becoming an . important one. and will not be kept in abeyance much longer. Aside from the usual principle of economy supposed to be the dominating influence with all Boards of Commissioners, the bearing a request for a vote of money for such expenditure would have on the question of the county seat removal will have a tendency to defer the agitation for new public buildings as long as possible. The court house square, indebted to the taste of Jira Skinner, a former Sheriff, for its fine grove of trees, is a marked feature in the village.

County Officials

The gentlemen who have filled the oflice of Clerk of the Circuit Court of Newton County are : Z. Spitler, from 1860 to 1864 ; E. L. Urmston, from 1864 to 186S : Nath. West, from 1S68 to December, 1870, when he resigned. Andrew Hall was appointed to fill the vacancy, and was subsequently elected his own successor, filling the oiBce until 1876. W. W. Gilman was Clerk from 1877 to 1880, and John G. Davis from 1880, and is the present incumbent.

Alexander Sharpe was the first Auditor, and served from 1860 to 1864; John Ade, from 1864 to 1868: Alex Ekey, from 1868 to 1871, when he absconded. John S. Veatch was appointed to fill the vacancy, and was elected to fill the succeeding term, serving until 1876. John Z. Johnston was Auditor from 1876 to 1880; Alexander Sharpe, from 1880 to April, 1883, when he died. John Z. Johnston was appointed to fill the vacancy, and was elected to fill the office, so that his term will not expire until 1884.

John Ade was the first Recorder, serving from 1860 to 1864 : John Peacock from 1864 to 1872 ; EzraB. Jones, from 1872 to 1880 ; George M. Bridgeman, from 1880, and is the present incumbent.

The Treasurers of the county have been : Samuel McOollough, from 1860 to 1864 ; Samuel Bramble, from 1864 to 1868 ; Abraham A. Myers, from 1868 to 1872 ; D. A. Pfrimmer, from 1872 to 1876 ; John F. Johnstin, from 1876 to 1880; George G. Jenkins, from 1880. and is the ])rcsent official. Each Treasurer has been honored with the second term.

Patrick was elected in 1872, but served only a short time, when he resigned ; Jira Skinner was appointed to fill the vacancy, and was subsequently twice elected, filling the office from 1873 to 1878 ; Hugh Parker followed, from 1878 to 1880, and J. W. S. Ulrey from 1880,"and is the present officer.

The Surveyors of the county have been : A. W. Shidler, from 1860 to 1864; Barnett Hawkins, 1864 to 1870 ; C. W. Clilfton was elected in 1870, but did not qualify for the position, and Hawkins held over until the election of Joseph Chambers, who served from 1872 to 1874 ; Milton Cook succeeded from 1874 to 1876 ; Benjamin Harris, from 1876 to 1878, and Otis Shepard from 1878, and is the present incumbent.

The Coroners have been : John Vandyke, from 1870 to 1872 ; H. K. Warren, from 1872 to 1874 ; J. B. Wescott was elected his successor, but refused to qualify, and the office went begging until 1879, when H. K. Warren assumed its duties until 1880 ; then J. C. M. Chaffee, discharged its duties from 1880 to 1882, and Anson Coppocks from 1882, and is the present official.

In 1860, the Board of Commissioners divided the county into three districts. No. 1 to be composed of Township 27 north. Ranges 8, 9 and fractional 10 west, and Township 28 north. Range 9, and fractional 10 ; jSTo. 2 to be composed of Township 28 north. Range 8 west and Township 29 north. Ranges 8, 9 and fractional 10 ; No. 3 to be composed of all territory in the county north of Congressional Township 29 north, in Ranges 8, 9 and fractional 10. From the District No. 1, William Russell served as Commissioner from 1860 to 1865; Reuben White, from 1865 to 1868 ; John F. Johnson, from 1868 to 1871 ; R. S. L. Curren, from 1871 until his death in 1872 ; the vacancy was filled by the appointment of Blake Wilson, on June 3, 1872, until the election of Daniel Gray, in October, 1872, who completed the term. 0. G. Mcllvaiu succeeded from 1874 to 1877 ; T. S. Brecount, from 1877 to 18-^S, and J. A. Timmons from 1883, who is the present member from that district.

DistT'ict No. 2 has been represented by Thomas R. Barker, from 1860 to 1864, his first term being for one year only ; Daniel Deardorf, from 1864 to 1867 ; Andrew Hess, from 18(57 to 1873 ; W. W. Wishard, from 1873 to 1878, when he resigned , John D. Spohn was appointed to fill the vacancy, and was elected his own successor, holding the office until 1882, and was succeeded by Ebenezer Hunter, the present incumbent.

The First Settlers. - The early reputation of Newton County (or rather the western part of Jasper) in regard to its social as well as physical characteristics, greatly retarded the coming in of settlers. There were no railroads, no newspapers, and but very few people until about 1860, and so long as these characteristics remained prominent, the unsettled portions of other parts of the State secured the larger part of the westward emigration. The tide began to change, however, about 1853, and the prospects of the county began to improve until tlie coming of the railroad in 1860, when its growth received a decided impulse.

The pioneers of Newton County came principally from Southeastern Indiana, but natives, however, of Virginia, Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Ohio. Succeeding years have brought the principal contributions to the population of the county from New York State. Maryland, Pennsylvania and Illinois. The early families had been pioneers in older settlements from which they came, or had grown up in frontier colonies which their fathers had founded, and had been trained in the stern school of e.xperience to meet and conquer the difficulties of a new country. But the problem here, nevertheless, presented experiences entirely difterent from those with which their earlier life had acquainted them. The Iroquois Kiver, with its fringe of timber, divided the vast open plain of grass and flowers into two divisions. North of the river the meadow stretched out to the marshes of the Kankakee and Beaver Lake ; while to the southward the broad expanse of the Grand Prairie, marked here and there by a stray clump of stunted trees, stretched away, unbounded save by the horizon, and the pioneer with his little retinue of wagons was lost in this luxuriant wilderness like a convoy of sloops in mid-ocean.

The first sight of a great prairie in the height of its native beauty is one never to be forgotten. The beholder strains his eyes to take in its extent until the effort becomes painful, while its beauty and variety foils the power of expression. It is a new and wonderful revelation. Strange sights and sounds greet the senses on every side. The piping cry of the ground squirrel, as he drops from his erect position and seeks the protection of his burrow at the first alarm, the slirill notes of the plover, scattered about in countless numbers, fitfully starting and running over the meadow ; the booming of the prairie-cock ; the mad scream of the crookedbill curlew, as you approach its nest ; the distant whoop of the crane; the pump-sounding note of the bittern ; the lithe and graceful forms of the deer, in companies of three or five, lightly bounding over the swell of

Every immigrant supplied his own means of reaching his destined home. The pioneer from Pennsylvania or the Southern States, betrayed his nativity and prejudice in the schooner-shaped wagon box, the stiff tongue, the hinder wheels double the size of the forward ones, and closely coupled together, the whole drawn by a team of four or six horses which were guided by a single line in the hands of a teamster riding the " nigh wheeler." His harness was of gigantic proportions. What between the massive leather breeching, the heavy hames and collar, the immense housing of bear-skin upon the hames, the heavy iron trace chains, and the ponderous double-tree, the poor beasts seemed like humanity in a chain gang, or some terrible monsters that human ingenuity could scarcely fetter securely. The Eastern immigrant, from New York or farther east, was marked as far as his caravan could be seen, by a long coupled, low boxed, two-horse wagon, provided with a seat, from which with double lines the driver guided his lightly harnessed pair of horses. There was about each part of the outfit evidences of the close calculation of means to an end, and an air of utility which left no room to doubt the purpose of the maker in every part of it.

In such a community, where " the richest were poor and the poor lived ' in abundance," there was no chance for the growth of caste, and families for miles around were linked together as one neighborhood, by the social customs of the time, which in the spirit of true democracy drew the line at moral worth alone. The amusements of a people, taking their character from the natural surroundings of the community, were here chiefly adapted to the masculine taste. Hunting and fishing were always liberally rewarded, while log cabin raisings, the opening of court with its jury duty, and the Saturday afternoon holiday with its scrub horse race, its wrestling match, its jumping or quoit-pitching, afforded entertainments that never lost their zest. It was a common remark, however, that a new country furnished an easy berth for men and oxen, but a hard one for women and horses. Outside of visiting and camp meetings, the diversions in which women participated at that early day were very few; husking and spinning bees, and "large " weddings, where the larger part of the night was spent in dancing, did not have the frequent occurrence so characteristic of the Eastern States, and nothing here seemed to offer any substitute.

Early Roads

The fact that Newton and Jasper Counties were one during the early years of the former county's history,had an important bearing- upon its devel- opment. That portion of the consolidated area which is now included in the limits of Jasper took the leading place in public matters. It afforded the site of the county seat, it was more thickly settled, and had less marsh land and low, wet prairie than the territory of Newton County. This made a settlement in the eastern part of the old county in many respects the more desirable, and had the effect to advance the interests of that section, while it proportionately retarded this. It is natural, therefore, to find all the early interests tending toward the common county seat at Rensselaer. The associations of the Indians were in the same direction before the whites. Their trails led eastward along the river to Blue Grass, and thence on to La Porte. The first lines of travel followed by the settlers were these trails until they became sure enough of their surroundings to locate lines independent of them. An early if not the first road through Newton County was from Buncombe, III., to Rensselaer. Another was from jMorocco to Rensselaer; a third was one direct to La Fayette, and another to Momence, 111., and thence on to Chicago. A mail route was earl}^ between Logansport. Rensselaer and Buncombe, 111., with an office at White Post, the residence of Zachariah Spitler. This was maintained between the two latter places until 1864. In the fall of 1854, a post office was established at the town of Morocco, and a mail route allowed from there to Rensselaer on condition that it was to be sustained entirely by the citizens along the route. At the same time, or shortly after, a post office was established at Pilot Grove. The first Postmaster at Morocco was John Ade, who remained in oflSce some three or four years. The first Postmaster at Pilot Grove was Stephen Ellett, who was shortly afterward superseded by Mr. Brenner. This state of things existed until about 1859, when the Government adopted the route and placed it under the same rules and provisions governing other mail routes.

These lines of communication served the demand of the earlv community until the thicker settlements ami the conflicting claims of the various farm owners demanded a more complete system of roads, when the numerous local trails from one neighbor to anotlier were made to give way to regularly established highways. The marshy character of the streams and the unfortunate character of the general conformation of the land has made roads and bridges an important and difficult subject. The character of the streams has changed from the rather sluggish current and pretty constant stage of water to a rapid rise and fall of water. This change, with the unfavorable character of the banks, has made brid>^in>^ expensive, and a. spirit of short-sighted economy has kept public improvements in tliis particular in a rather backward state. Three iron brid^'es have been constructed at a cost of upward of $20,000 ; four wooden bridges made up the seven which spanned the water-ways of the county ; but all of these latter structures have been swept away by the high water of the winter of 1882-83. They are now being supplied by more substantial structui'es of wood. La Fayette was the point at which the early merchants got their goods, and these were brought on wagons over the thirtyodd miles of tedious road that intervened. It was, perhaps, not an unmixed good that the county had a railroad before its growth actually demanded it, and while its location has aided in its symmetrical development, had greatly aided in its growth.

Hopes of securing railroad facilities were entertained as early as 1852, but it was not until two years later that any definite plan was urged. About this time, a line of road was projected from New London, Ohio, to Chicago. This passed through the usual changes incident to railroad organizations until 1857, when the money stringency of that time killed the project. Early in this year, the question in which Jasper and Newton Counties were intei-ested with reference to their road, was the course the line should take from Fort Wayne. Kankakee and Rensselaer were ostensible competitors, and the projectors of the road shrewdly kept the two places straining their resources to outbid each other in the amount of contributions. In this contest, the people in the present area of Newton was interested in common with Rensselaer, Rochester and Winamac, which made the struggle not altogether uneven. It was held in the first named town, as a self-evident truth, that, if the road diverged to Kankakee, " Rensselaer would be killed dead as a mackerel," and the conviction was just as strong that Newton would share in the general " deadness " that would follow. It cannot be said that the latter county shared fully in the feverish anxiety which possessed the eastern part, as there was expectation that the road might not reach the western part of the original territory of Jasper. The heavy defalcation of the Ohio State Treasurer, upon whose bond some of the men most prominent in this railroad scheme were involved, sounded the first note of failure. The air line to Rock Island from the proposed junction at Rensselaer, which was to pass through Newton, was deferred, and after a vain effort to secure the subscription payable when the grade should be made and ties placed upon it, the enterprise succumbed to the financial pressure of the times, and was heard of no more.

charters were revived, a special charter obtained in Illinois and New- Jersey, and the line projected to Council Bluffs under the general laws of Iowa. In Pennsylvania, this combination purchased an old charter granted to the Continental Railway Company of Pennsylvania, which gave the new combination its name of " The Continental Railway Company." .Through each State the organization was independent of any other, and when these several organizations were complete a gradual consolidation combined the various fragments of the great line into the Continental Company with a line of road projected in practically a straight line from New York City to Council Bluffs. The local organization in Indiana was known as the Fort Wayne & Western Railroad. Hon. R. S. Dwiggins, of Rensselaer, was and is still President of this company, and under the plan of consolidation, a Vice President and Director in the general company. A branch to Chicago was also projected, and arrangements made to locate important shops of the company there. In 1872, some fifteen miles of grade was made eastward of Rensselaer, and some one hundred and twenty miles in Ohio from New London to Tiffin, and elsewhere along the line. In 1870, the Commissioners of Newton County granted a petition of a number of the citizens to submit a proposition to raise $21,500 (one per cent on the valuation of 1869), by tax, to a vote of the people. This proposition w;is defeated, however, by a vote of 529 to 367. A liberal private subscription, however, was raised, and the prospect of a railroad seemed bright, though its former failure guarded against too sanguine expectations.

The Continental Railway, as projected, consumed only Hfty-nine miles in curvature over the geographical distance between New York and Chicago, and only nineti/-uinf miles between New Y'ork and Council Bluffs, a geographical distance of 1,131 miles. The line was to be constructed with double tracks of heavy steel rails as far as Chicago, and with a single track from Rensselaer westward. The whole equipment was intended to be first-chiss in every respect, and the whole cost placed at ijf l.')0,000,000. There is no (|iiostiou that the construction of this road would liave been of immense advantage to Newton County, though there was not that general eutlmsiasm upon tlie suliject which one might naturally expect. Tiie existence of the other railroad divided the interests of tlie [leople here, and led those in the southern part of the county to view Its construction as hostile to their advanceiueut. Still the ijrading of the road-bed in Jasper, raiseil the hopeful anticipations of the peol)le to a high pitch when the financial disaster of 1873 doomed the enter- ]irise to fiiluro and the people to another disappointment. Tlie project IS still occasionally heard from, but the golden opportunitv is lost. Its construction through Newton on the original line, would work great and valuable changes here, but the general distrust in its final success would operate very much to the discouragement of subscriptions in its aid if it should now be revived.

The Logansport ifc Peoria Railroad was built through the southern part of Newton County in 1809, the first train passing over the road December 25, in that year. The name of the road was changed before its completion here to the Toledo, Peoria & Warsaw, the final designation, changing from that to Oquawka, and later to Burlington. It subsequently was operated by the C, C. & I. C, and later by the Pittsburgh, Chicago & St. Louis, which has recently changed this nomenclature to Chicago, St. Louis & Pittsburgh. This road was constructed before there was any general settlement in this part of the county, and ran most of the way through an open prairie country, where there were not enough people to sell the "right of way." This latter formality has only been attended to in the past year. The report of the Superintendent of this road, dated .July, 1S60, reports the gross earnings of the road from Logansport to State line, for the first six months, at $25,000, and the expenditures at §20,000. The Superintendent adds :

The local business of the road is quite small. From the dividing line between the States of Indiana and IHinois, eastward to Eeynold's Station, the junction with the New Albany & Salem Railroad, a distance of tbirty-tiye miles, the country is very thinly settled and but slighth' improved. There is not a town or village in this entire distance, and at the time of opening the road, there were but two or three dwellings. Improvements are now being made which will add materially to the business of the road. At Kent's Station, four miles east of the Dlinois State line, a village is rapidly springing up, wliich will tend to draw grain and other produce to this point for shipment, which has hitherto sought a market at La Fayette. The same may be said of Carpenter's Creek Station, a point seventeen miles east of Kent.

The Plymouth, Kankakee & Pacific Railroad is a line that has been agitated for some ten or twelve years. It is now known as the Indiana, Illinois & Iowa Railroad Company, and at the present writing, is building through Jasper and Newton Counties. This line passes through the northeast corner of Lincoln Township, but does not aifect the interest of the county at large.

The Chicago & Great Southern Railroad is another recent but more important enterprise. A railroad which should connect the coal-fields of this State with Chicago, has been the subject of considerable agitation for the past twenty -five years. Most of the various enterprises that have been entertained have projected lines through Jasper or Newton Counties, but none have " materialized " until about 1879, when the Indiana & Great Southern road came before the public. This road proposes to connect at Attica with southern roads, and join the Louisville, New Albany & Chicago at Fair Oaks, in Jasper County. . From Oxford, a point on the Lake Erie & Western road, in Benton County, to the junction in Jasper County, the track is laid and traiEc begun.

In 1880, the townships of Grant and Iroquois voted $15,000 and $10,000, respectively, in aid of this road, and considerable subscriptions from private parties were received in addition. The line passes through Goodland, and along the west line of Sections 1, 12, 13, 24, 25 and 36, in Iroquois Township, where some considerable aid was secured from persons interested in its construction. The township aid was voted on the supposition that a two per cent tax upon the valuation of 1879 would aiford the amount. It is found, however, that property has really or ostensibly depreciated, so that the tax is likely to fall short of the promised amount by some $4,000 or $5,000. A case is now before the courts to compel the Commissioners to levy an additional tax to make up the sum voted.

The effect of this road upon the development of the county is yet to be fully determined. It is too far east to affect the general interests of the county largely. Several towns have sprung into existence along 'its line, only one of which now promises to have any assured prosperity in the future.

The Press And Politics

Politics in Newton County has not been an absorbing topic. There has been a healthful division of political sentiment here, and "independent" tickets have resulted in the election of members of the Democratic party ; but, as a rule, the Republican organization has borne rule in the county. Before the organization of Newton, the sentiment up to 1857 was largely in sympathy with the Democratic party. But with the agitation of that period there was a very general turning to the Douglas school of Democracy, or to the rapidly growing party, which had assumed the name of Republican. The swamp land diflSculty, and the supposed action of Gov. Willard in the matter of the county seat, had a tendency to further alienate the sympathy of the people from the "Old Line" party. With the opening of the war, these subtile distinctions in the Democratic ranks were suddenly swept away, and men became Republican or Democratic as indicative of their attitude in regard to the prosecution of that struggle. The first paper, however, was not started as an "organ," but rather as an indispensable piece of furniture for a new county, and on September 26, 1861, the first issue of the '' m-wtim Ohrono'type" was given to the expectant people. V. B. Cowen was the editor, and Cowen & Schoonover, proprietors. It was a six-column folio. Price, per year, $1.50. April 2, 1863, Bissell, Ade & Ross bought the office and changed the name of the paper to the Neivton County Union. December 16, 1863, H. Wyatt became editor. June 23, 1864, John Myei's became a partner in the paper, and March 24, 1864, it suspended till May 5, 1864. February 2, 1865, Streight & Watson bought the office, and changed the name of the paper to the Newton County Gazette. May 22, 1864, the office was sold to J. I. Horrell & Co. Afterward Horrell & Streight became proprietors. In August, 1865, J. I. Horrell again became proprietor, and November 28, 1865, he changed the name to the Citizen. February 15, 1866, H. 0. Bowden purchased the office and became publisher, and changed the name to Neivto7i County Gazette. February 22, it was enlarged to a seven-column folio, and July 21, 1866, McKernan & Horrell became publishers and proprietors. October 27,

1867, 0. P. Hervey becameeditor and proprietor. May 25, 1867, D. S. McKernan again became editor and proprietor. Up to this time it had been Republican in politics, but it was now run as a neutral paper until August 3, 1867, when J. B. Conner became editor and proprietor, and made it a Republican paper again. July 23, 1874, the Gazette was purchased by J. M. Arnout and S. P. Conner, the present proprietors, who enlarged it to a seven-column quarto. May 24, 1877, John French bought the interest of Arnout, and the business was continued under the firm name of French & Conner. April 17, 1879, Edwin Graham purchased the interest of S. P. Conner, and the firm became French & Graham, which was finally changed to French & Conner, by R. A. Conner's purchase of Mr. Graham's interest.

On the 13th of December, 1870, the entire office, with presses, type and material was consumed ; but on the 24th inst. a half sheet was issued, giving the editor's idea of what had "hit 'em." In April, 1883, another fire swept a large part of the business part of the town away, and destroyed two papers. The Kentland Gazette still survives. Owing to the improved outlook and the natural ambition of progressive men, the proprietors now propose to enlarge the facilities of the office and the size of the paper, which is now a five-column quarto.

The Newton Democrat was established August 6, 1862, with W. C. Rose, editor. In the spring of 1863, the office passed into other hands and Mr. John McCarthy became editor and publisher, continuing to run the paper till the fall of 1865. The paper then suspended for a time, but was re-established August 24, 1867, with W. C. Rose, editor. Novem- ber 19, 1867, J. B. Spotswood became editor. May 13, 1868, E. M. Howard and J. B. Spotswood, were its editors and publishers, and August 12, 1869, Mr. Howard retired. March 13, 1873, C. Root and Ed Graham became the publishers. June 13, Mr. Boot retired and Mr. Spotswood became editor. July 10, 1873, the Democrat suspended, as its editor stated in its obituary, from eating too much crow. August 28, 1874, the paper came forth again under the name of the People's Press, with J. B. Spotswood and W. L. Dempster as editors and publishers. November, 1874, Mr. Spotswood became sole editor and proprietor. Under its last name the paper was allied to the " Greenback " interests, with notalarge constituency. The fire of 1883 destroyed the office, and no attempt has since been made to revive its publication, but it is expected that the summer will see its revival in the form of a neutral paper.

The Neu'ton County Neivs was a late venture in the interests of the Democratic party. It was started by D. J. Eastburn in December, 1881. In March, 1883, it was leased by Abram Yager, but its career was summarily ended by the fire. It was a five-column quarto, with co-operative inside pages.

The Goodland Saturday Herald was founded in 1877, by Ingraham & Keyes, who published it for upward of two years. The paper was then sold to William C. Coppock, who continued its publication until September, 1878, when the office was destroyed by fire. It was revived in the following January, and soon afterward purchased by A. J. Kitt, who has been publisher, editor and proprietor ever since. On the 28th of December, 1882, the office was again swept away by fire, but in a few weeks new presses and new material, with the renewed energy of the proprietor, were again sending forth the Herald. The paper is now enjoying a healthful "boom " of business prosperity, and circulates very extensively in the adjoining county of Benton. The office is supplied with a good job outfit, and facilities equal to the best country offices. The Herald is now a six-column quarto, at this writing the largest sized paper in the county.

Ill the early settlement of the county, the United Brethren were the most numerous denomination here, and under the ministry of Frederick and Jacob Kenoyer, father and sou, and both now deceased, was an important influence in shaping the character of the early comraunitv. Newton County owes a <lebt of gratitude to these early pioneer preachers, wlio, at their own e.xpense, labored for the spiritual advancement of its people, at a time when " no other help was nigh."

county, and located it on the farm of Frederick Kenoyer. This was a log cabin, and -was afterward replaced by a hewed log structure. The first church edifice erected in Kentland was by this denomination, and was mainly due to the efforts of Frederick Kenoyer and Mr. Merz. The church in Kentland has lost ground, however, and has recently sold its church building. Elsewhere in the county the denomination has increased in numbers and in influence, and has six organizations with two good church buildings in Washington Township.

The First Methodist Episcopal Church was organized at Morocco prior to 1850. At that time it seems to have been recognized by the General Conference as Morocco Mission, which embraced the whole county, and numbered some 100 members. Since then its progress has been marked and now it has some fifteen organizations in the county. In 1862, Kent Station was left to be supplied. In 1871, Kentland Circuit was organized by A. E. Anderson, Presiding Elder, and in 1872, both Goodland and Beaver Lake Circuits were formed. There are now five charges in the county, at Brook. Goodland, Kentland, Morocco and Rose Lawn. Each of these have good places of worship. The church at Kentland was organized about 1861, and subsequently erected a good frame building at a cost of some §4,000.

The first class organized at Goodland was in 1855, and was called Cherry Grove Class." There were ten original members, but others were united, making a vigorous organization for a time. In 1860, the class was re-organized, and named ''Tivoli class," from the name of the town at that time. In 1863, the name of the class was changed to " Goodland," and in 1872 a fine frame church building was erected at a cost of §8,000, and is the finest building of its kind in the county.

The Baptist denomination was early represented here, and were early gathered about Brook. There is an organization at Goodland with a neat place of worship, and another in Washington Township.

The Presbyterian denomination has a church in Kentland, which was organized in 1867, by Rev. C. Palmer, of Watseka, 111. There were ten members who united in the organization of the church. Rev. A. Jones preached for the church nearly two years. On the od of October, 1870, Rev. J. B. Smith was called to the pastorate, who built up the church, and largely increased its numbers. Mr. Smith continued to labor here until 1872, when he was followed by Rev. R. E. Hawley. In 1875, Rev. C. McCain began pastoral labor for the church, and continued with eminent success until 1882. He was succeded by Rev. J. MacHatton, who is the present pastor. A neat frame church edifice was erected in 1870 at a cost of about $1,000.

The Goodland Presbyterian Church was organized November 11, 1866, with six members. It has a pleasant church building and parsonage, and is one of the stable churches of the county.

The Christian denomination has two organizations in the county, one at Kentland and one in Washington Township. At Kentland the church has bought the building formerly occupied by the United Brethren.

Other denominations are represented here ; the German Reform have two organizations, and the Mennonitea one. The following statistics were gathered by the County Superintendent of Schools, W. H. Hershman, and are the best information upon the topic at this date :