Cooper County, Missouri - Chapter 4, 1876

Howard County Organized. - First Court held in New County, and proceedings of same. - Judge Barton and Stephen Cole Fine one Another for Contempt of Court. - Town of Old Franklin laid off, and Land Office Established There. - Wm. Gibson appointed Constable, and Eesigns. - Samuel Cole's Bull Ride. - Joseph Stephens and Family arrive at Boonville. - Visit of Samuel Cole to their Camp. - Discovery of the body of a British Officer Buried in a Mound.

On the 23rd day of January, 1816, that portion of the State of Missouri, lying north and west of the Osage river, and west of Cedar creek, and the dividing ridge between the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, and which formerly' had been known as the "Boone's Lick Country," was -organized under the territorial laws, and was called "Howard county." Previous to this time, the settlers of this part of the country had made their own laws, and executed them rigorously when occasion demanded, which, it is true, was very seldom. Although the eastern portion of the State, had been, previous to this time, organized into counties; and the territorial laws, by means of the territorial courts, had been extended over them, still the "Boone's Lick Country" had not been sufficiently thickly settled to justify its organization, and the expense of holding terms of court within its limits.

But even during the war with the Indians, the countr}^ adjacent to the forts was settled very rapidly, although few ventured to locate, except near enough to reach the fort at the first approach of danger. So that, at the time of the organization of Howard county, it contained a considerable number of settlers, although they lived in what was then called *' neighborhoods," so as to be of protection to one another in times of danger from their savage foes.

The first court within the territorial limits of Howard county, was held at Hannah Cole's fort, which was situated in what is now "East Bo©nville ;" on the 8th day of July 1816, and discharged, under the territorial laws, all the duties of the circuit, county and probate courts.

The officers of this court were David Barton, Judge ; Gray Braynum, Clerk; John G. Heath, Circuit Attorney; and Nicholas S. Burkhart, Sheriff. The attorneys who attended this court, were Edward Bates, Charles Lucus, Joshua Barton, and Lucius Easton.

John Muroe was appointed coroner of Howard county, and Benjamin Estill, David Jones, David Kincaid, William Head, and Stephen Cole were appointed commissioners to locate the county seat, which was first located by the territorial legislature at Hannah Cole's fort.

On the i6th day of June, 1816, the above mentioned commissioners settled upon Old Franklin as the most suitable place for the location of the county seat, and to that place the records, documents, &c., were removed, in the year 1817. The county seat remained at Old Franklin until the year 1823, when it was removed to Fayette.

During this term of the court, Maj. Stephen Cole was fined, by Judge Barton, one dollar, for contempt, for misconduct in the presence of the court. Cole objected to pa}^- ing the fine, but supposing he would be able to retaliate sometime, at last paid it. And his time for retaliation came sooner than he expected. That afternoon, Cole, who was a justice of the peace, organized his court on a log in front of the fort. As Judge Barton was returning from dinner, he stopped in front of Cole and leaned against a tree, watching the proceedings of the justice and smoking his pipe. Cole looked up, and assuming the stern look of insulted dignity, said, "Judge Barton, I fine you one dollar for contempt of my court, for smoking in its presence." Judge Barton smilingly paid his fine, and went to open his own court, acknowledging that he had been beaten at his own game.

The town of Old Franklin was laid off opposite the present site of Boonville, during the year 1816. It was located on fifty acres of land, donated by different individuals for that purpose. It grew very rapidly, soon became very populous, and commanded a large trade. It was for a time the largest and most flourishing town in the State, west of St. Louis, and the starting point for all the Santa. Fe traders.

But in the year 1826, the waters of the turbulent Missouri river commenced encroaching upon this beautiful and populous city, and despite the utmost endeavors of its citizens, house after house ws^ swept away, until, in a few years afterwards, the current of the river rolled through her streets, and the whole of the city was engulfed in its hungry waters. Within the last few years, a small village still called "Old Franklin," has sprung up just back of the site of the old town, but not a single house or any other mark remains to suggest to the traveler that he stands near the site of a once large city.

The land office for this district of Missouri was located at Old Franklin, in the year 1818, Gen. Thomas A. Smith was appointed receiver, and Charles Carroll, register. The first land sales west of St. Louis took place here during

Sometime during the year 1817, William Gibson, now living a short distance east of the City of Boonville, was appointed by the Territorial court constable of that part of Howard county lying south of the Missouri river. His jurisdiction extended from the Missouri river, on the north, to the Osage river on the south. Soon after his appointment, there being some trouble down on the Osage, he was sent there with a warrant for the arrest of the man who had caused the trouble. The distance was between sixty and seventy miles. After arresting the man, he returned to Boonville with his prisoner. As he w^as on his journey back, having an execution against a man who lived on the road, he stopped at his house and proceeded to levy on the feather beds, as nothing in those days was exempt from levy under execution. But, as soon as he made his purpose known, four women, w^ho were the only persons at home, threatened to give him a thrashing, so he was forced to retire as fast as he could, and return the execution unsatisfied. To add to this, the court only allowed him, for his journey of one hundred and ^rty miles, which occupied four days, the mag7iijicent sum of twenty-five cents. Mr. Gibson thinking the office not quite lucrative enough to justify him in devoting his whole time to its duties, and not wishing to risk his life at the hands of angry women, quietly sent in his resignation, thus furnishing the example of one officer who resigns, although few have the same inducements.

While Samuel Cole was living at his mother's fort in East Boonville, in the year 1817, there was a dance at William Bartlett's boarding house, on the flat near the ferry landing, at the mouth of Ruppe's Branch. Although Samuel wished very much to attend, his mother refused to permit him, as his wardrobe at that time was entirely too limited to permit him to associate with the "elite." He had no pants, his sole garment consisting of a long tow shirt, which reached entirely to his heels. But Samuel, although always, from his own statement^ an obedient son, was not to be deprived of so great a pleasure, by this, to him, very trivial excuse. So he determined to attend that dance, and then make the best arrangement he could to meet the "wrath to come." Not having any horse, he bridled a tame bull, which was at the fort, and thus mounted, rode up to the door of the house in which they were dancing. After looking in for some time, and by his strange looking steed and attire, attracting a large crowd around him, he drove his bull down to the river, and riding in, he slid back over its haunches, and caught hold of its tail. In this way they swam down the river to Hannah Cole's Fort, when he and his strange companion came out of the water and sought their homes. ' This story has often been published, but never correctly, as all former accounts represented him as swimming the river to attend a wedding, but our version is correct^ as it was obtained directly from Samuel Cole himself.

About the 15th day of N(^'ember, 1817, Joseph Stephens with his large family and several friends, crossed the river where Boonville now stands, and camped near the foot of Main street. The next day after they crossed, Samuel Cole, who was then a boy of sixteen years of age, appeared at their camp and asked Mrs. Stephens if she would like to have some venison. Upon her replying that she would, as she was nearly out of meat, Samuel shouldered his gun and marched off into the w^oods, telling her to wait a few minutes and he would kill her some. Samuel Cole, at that time, although there was a slight snow on the ground, was bare-footed and bare-headed, his breeches reached only to bis knees, the collar of his shirt was open, and he carried an old flint lock rifle. About fifteen minutes after he left the camp, Stephens and his family heard two shots in the direction in which he had gone. Pretty soon Samuel appeared, and told them that he had killed two fine deer, that they must go out and bring them to the camp, as he could not by himself bring in even one of them. So they started out and found the two deer lying on the side of the hill just north of the present residence of William H. Trigg. After they skinned them and cut them up, the party brought them to the camp and presented them to Mrs. Stevens. This shows what little exertion was necessary at that day to obtain meat.

A few days afterwards, Joseph Stephens moved, with his family, to the farm which he had bought about, one-quarter of a mile north of the present site of Bunceton. About Christmas, in the same year, Samuel Cole rode up t© Joseph Stephens' camp, and Mrs. Stephens asked him to alight and take dinner. He asked her whether she had any honey, and she told him she had not. He said he c©uld not eat without honey. And although she insistedthat he should remain, he still refused. In the meantime, Larry and Joseph, two of her sor^,^, and a negro man named Basil, came up to the camp carrying their axes, as they had been cutting wood. Samuel turned to them, and told them to go with him and get some honey for dinner. They at first, supposing him to be joking, refused to go. But as he still insisted, they consented. After going some two hundred yards east of the camp, Samuel suddenly stopped, and pointing to a tree, told them to cut it down. The others not seeing anything about the tree that would induce anyone to think that it contained honey, yet willing to accommodate company, cut it down, and it was found filled with nice honey. While they were cutting down this tree, Sam- uel found another a short distance away, and having cut down this one also, they returned home with six buckets of fine honey, having taken nothing but the clear part. Before he left, Samuel taught them the way in which he found the trees. He told them, that if they would examine the ground around the tree, they would find small pieces of beebread, and occasionally a dead bee. This was an infallible sign of a bee tree. They afterwards, following his direction, searched and found, in a small space, thirteen trees which were filled with honey ; and as they had no sugar, this was a great help to them. They sometimes had as much as four hundred pounds of honey on hand at one time.

In the year 1818, Joseph Stevens, who died in 1836, Major Stephen Cole and Wm. Ross, the hatter, started west on a hunting and exploring tour, and traveled as far as the present site of Knob Noster. At that time, all the country west of the present boundary line of Cooper county, was a wilderness, no person living in it. About six miles southeast of the present site of Sedalia, in Pettis county, on the farm now owned by a man by the name of Warren, near Flat Creek, they discovered what appeared to be a large, high and peculiarly .shaped Indian mound. They examined it pretty closely, and found on one side that the wolves had scratched an opening into it. After enlarging it, so as to admit them, they beheld a remarkable sight. They found themselves in what resembled a room, about eight feet square, with a ceiling of logs, just high enough to permit a tall man to stand erect. On the side opposite where they had entered, sat an officer dressed in full military uniform, with gold epaulettes upon his shoulders, gold lace fringing every seam of his coat, cocked military hat, knee breeches, lace stockings and morocco slippers. As he sat erect upon a. seat hewed out of a log, nothing but the ghastly hue and leathery appearance of his skin would have suggested but that he was alive. By his side stood a heavy gold-headed cane. His features were complete, and his flesh free from decay, though dried to the consistency of leather. The place in which the body was found, was very peculiar. A place about eight feet square and two feet deep had been dug in the earth. The sides had been walled up with sod, until it was high enough for the purpose, reaching several feet above the surface of the ground. The top was then covered with poles, which ran up to a point in the center like the roof of a house. Then the poles and the surrounding walls were covered with sod two or three feet deep, cut from the prairie near by, thus excluding entirely the rain and air. When they left the place, William Ross, being the oldest man of the party, took the cane as a memento, but nothing else was touched.

Who this officer was, from whence he came, what he was doing in this part of the country, what was the cause of his death, and when and by whom he was thus singularly entombed, has not, and perhaps never will be known. But he was supposed, by many, to have been a British officer, who, during the war of 1812, passed around by way of Canada into the Indian country, to incite the Indians against the whites ; yet this is only conjecture, though those who discovered his body, account for him in that way.

Soon after this, Joseph Stephens, Sr., now living near Petersburg, on the O, V. & S. K. Railroad, in company with James D. Campbell, went into that part of the country bee hunting, and visited the burial place of this officer. They found that part of the roof had fallen in, and that the wolves had eaten all of the flesh off' the body, so that nothing but the skeleton and clothes remained. Joseph Stephens took the epaulettes, as a memento, but nothing else was disturbed. As his mother objected to his keeping the epaulettes, he melted them into a large ball, which was worth fifteen or twenty dollars, as it was solid gold. This description of the burial place, &c., was obtained from the last mentioned Joseph Stephens, and is correct^ although several different accounts have been published.

The first newspaper published within the present limits of Howard county, was established at Old Franklin, by a gentleman by the name of Nathaniel Patten, in April 1819. This newspaper w^as called the Missouri Intelligencer *