Cooper County, Missouri - Chapter 3: Early Settlements, 1919

DANIEL BOONE - BOONSLICK COUNTRV - FIRST TEMPORARY SETTLEMENTS - LEWIS AND CLARK - NATHAN AND DANIEL BOONE MAKE SALT - CHRIST V AND HEATH - BENJAMIN COOPER - FIGHT WITH INDIANS - INDIANS MEET GENERAL CLARK - COOPERS AND COLES SETTLE PERMANENTLY - FIRST SETTLERS SOUTH OF RIVER - CONDITIONS MET - FIRST SETTLERS IN BOONSLICK COUNTRY - OTHER SETTLERS SOUTH OF RIVER - ENGLISH STIR UP INDIANS - FIRST DEEDS RECORDED.

While the preceding chapters deal with history, largely speculative and inferential, leading up to the year 1804, when the United States took possession of Upper Louisiana, the present chapter is the story based on actual facts from 1804 to 1812, of the Central Boonslick country, and particularly that portion of the same on the south and north banks of the Missouri, in what is now the northern part of Cooper County and the southern part of Howard. So intimately correlated are the events on both banks of the river, that the story of one is the story of the other.

Over a century of time has elapsed since the first hardy pioneer built his cabin in the wilderness which is now known to the world as Cooper county. During the period which has passed since the first settler braved the hardships and privations of the unknown and undeveloped country bordering upon the shores of the mighty Missouri, a wonderful transformation has taken place.

Cooper County has risen to become one of the wealthiest in Missouri and is one of the leaders in value of farm crops and farm wealth. It has become famous for enterprise and industry, and ranks among the first counties of the great state of Missouri in the prosperity of her citizens. All this has been accomplished by the men and women who

It has furnished to the state and nation men eminent in the councils of both and famed in statesmanship. Its citizens have won distinction in the professions and in letters, have been in the van of advanced agriculture, horticulture and stock-breeding, and have in remote sections of our great country, carried with them the vigor of mind and body that shed luster in their adopted homes.

Schools have multiplied and towns have been built upon the broad expanse of her territory ; the old trails have given away to well-kept highways; steam locomotives haul palatial trains where once the slow moving ox-teams transported merchandise to and from the Missouri.

Even the buggy and carriage, once the evidence of prosperity, have been superceded lay the more elegant, more comfortable and speedier means of travel, the automobile. The telegraph, the telephone and the wireless have bound together distant communities. Distance has been eliminated and time conserved.

The history of Cooper County, from t^he time of the red men and the first hardy adventurers and pioneers, involves a wondrous story which is well worth preserving. States and nations preserve their history, but the story of a county and its creation and development touches a chord of home life and home making which is dearer and nearer than that which is purely informational.

Danie! Boone, whose name is so intimately connected with the early pioneer history of Kentucky, when an old man, lost his holdings in that state by reason of defective land titles. Though learned in woodcraft and versatile in Indian lore, he knew little of man-made laws. Chagrined and baffled, but with never quailing heart, he determined to move farther west where he would not be elbowed by a crowding civilization. He secured a grant of land on the Femme Osage, in what is now St. Charles County, in the state of Missouri, and eventually located there about 1797. He was strong and vigorous, and for several years thereafter hunted and trapped up and down the Missouri River, depending solely and alone upon nature and his trusty rifle for all his wants.

When Hunt, in his expedition across the continent, on Jan. 17, 1811, touched with his boats at Charette, one of the old villages founded by the original French colonists, he met with Daniel Boone. This renowned patriarch of Kentucky, who had kept in advance of civilization and on the borders of the wilderness, was still leading a hunter's life, though then in his 83d year. He had but recently returned from a hunting and trapping expedition, and had brought nearly 60 beaver skins as trophies of his skill. This old man was still erect in form, strong of limb and unflinching in spirit. As he stood on the river bank, watching the departure of an expedition destined to traverse the wilderness to the very shores of the Pacific, very probably his pulse beat the faster and he felt a throb of his old pioneer spirit impelling him to shoulder his rifle, and join the adventurous band that was to travel lands heretofore unexplored, again braving the wilderness and the savage.

Boone flourished several yeai-s after this meeting in a vigorous old age, the master of hunters and backwoodsmen, and he died full of sylvan honor and renown, in 1820, in his 92d year.

"His high, bold forehead was slightly bald, and his silvered locks were combed smooth, his countenance was ruddy and fair and exhibited the simplicity of a child, a smile frequently played over his countenance; in conversation his voice was soft and melodious; at repeated interviews an irritable expression was never heard ; his clothing was the coarse, plain manufacture of the family, but every thing denoted that kind of comfort that was congenial to his habits and feelings, and evinced a busy, happy old age. His room was a part of a range of log cabins kept in order by his affectionate daughters and grand daughters. Every member of the household appeared to take delight in administering to his comforts ; he was sociable and communicative in replying to questions, but did not introduce incidents of his own history. He was intelligent, for he had treasured up the experience and observation of more than fourscore years "not moody and unsociable as if desirous of shunning society and civilization." This was in 1816, four years before the death of Boone.

This brief mention of Daniel Boone is but a small tribute to the man from whom, because of his noble traits and unique career, the Boonslick Country. Boone County, and Boonville take their names.

Boonslick Country. - In one of his many hunting and trapping expeditions, Boone came into Hov/ard County and discovered certain salt ings, about eight miles northwest of what is now Now Franklin. These springs were for many years thereafter known as Boonslick, from them this section of country took its name. All of the present state of Missouri lying west of Cedar Creek and north and west of the Osage river, and extending practically to what is now the state line on the west and north, was for many years known as the Boonslick Country. The first settlers who came to this section knew it only by that name, as at that time no counties were formed in the central part of the state. There is no reliable evidence nor substantial tradition that Boone ever permanently resided at this Lick, but it is certain that he camped near there, probably on many occasions. Nor is there substantial evidence that be ever resided in the present county of Cooper, yet it is very probable that he frequently crossed to the south side of the Missouri river, and trapped and hunted along the Missouri in what is now Cooper County.

Samuel Cole, a member of one of the first white families which settled in the present limits of Cooper County, has been positive in his statement that Daniel Boone never lived farther west than St. Charles County. The conclusion, therefore, is inevitable that those who have assumed that Boone ever resided permanently in either Howard or Cooper County are in error. However, John W. Peck, who in the early days traveled in this section, gives a very interesting account of his observations and experiences.

A few years before the old hunter's death, Peck visited him in his home in what is now St. Charles County. He states that Boone pitched his tent for one winter at the salt springs, afterwards known as Boone's Lick, and later put up a cabin there. Mr. Peck does not give the date. The presumption is that he got his information from the lips of the old hunter himself, and we would further suppose that Boone camped there between the years 1797 and 1804, likely nearer the former date than the latter for the reason that he was at that time younger and more robust, and more inclined than he was later to enjoy sylvan sports, the chase and the hunt.

First Temporary Settlements. - Joseph Marie, in the year 1800, settled upon lands situated near what is known as "Eagle's Nest", about one mile southwest of where Fort Kincaid was afterward erected, in what is now Franklin township, Howard County, and erected improvements thereon. This has been controverted, but we give it again for what it is worth.

The" first authentic record we have dealing with any settlement is a deed executed in the year 1816, transferring the above lands by this same Joseph Marie to Asa Morgan, whose name is so intimately connected with some of the first land deals in this section, and who with Lucas laid out the town of Boonville. We give this deed at the end of this chapter.

Charles Dehault Delasus, granted to Ira P. Nash, a large tract of land in what is now Howard County. This land was surveyed on Jan. 26, 1804, and certified to on Feb. 15th of that year. We also append at the end of this chapter a copy of the deed transferring this land. In the latter part of February, Ira P. Nash the above named, a Deputy United States surveyor, together with Stephen Hancock and Stephen Jackson, came up the Missouri River and located a claim on public lands nearly opposite the mouth of the Lamine River, north of Cooper County. They remained there until March, of the same year, employing their time in surveying, hunting and fishing, and during that month returned to their homes, on the Missouri River, about five miles above St. Charles.

In July of the same year, Ira P. Nash, with James H. Whiteside, William Clark arid Daniel Hubbard came again into what is now Howard County, and surveyed a tract of land near the present site of Old Franklin. On this trip, it is stated, Mr. Nash claimed that on his former trip when he came up the river in February, he had left a compass in a certain hollow tree. He and two other companions started out to find it, and agreed to meet the remainder of the company the next day at what was known as "Boone's and Barkley's Lick." This he did, bringing the compass with him, thus proving beyond a doubt that he had visited the country before. This incident is remembered as having been important, in the early days, in bearing on the title of Nash's land.

Lewis and Clark Expedition. - When Lewis and Clark in their wonderful exploring expedition across the continent to the Pacific Ocean, came up the Missouri river, they arrived near where the Boone Femme flows into the Missouri river, on the north side, and camped there for the night. This was on June 7, 1804. < When they arrived at the mouth of the Big Moniteau Creek, they found a point of rocks covered with strange heiroglyphic paintings that deeply aroused their interest, but this place was infested with such a large number of rattlesnakes, that a closer examination was rendered hazardous and practically impossible. As they traveled up the river they arrived at the mouth of the Lamine on June 8th and on the 9th they reached what is now Arrow Rock. This expedition returned from its journey in 1806, after thrilling experiences, having successfully accomplished all the purposes for which it was sent out.

In passing down the Missouri River, on Sept. 18th, the expedition camped on the north side of the Missouri river, opposite the mouth of the Lamine. Passing up the Missouri in 1804, and down on their return trip

Nathan and Daniel Boone Make Salt at Boonslick. - In 1807, Nathan and Daniel M. Boone, sons of old Daniel Boone, who lived with their father in what is now St. Charles County, about 25 miles west of the city of St. Charles, on the Femme Osage Creek, came up the Missouri River and manufactured salt at Boone's Lick in what is now Howard County. After they had manufactured a considerable amount of salt they shipped it down the river to St. Louis, where they sold it. It is thought by many that this is the first instance of salt being manufactured in what was at that time a part of the territory of Louisiana, now the state of Missouri, however soon after this sale was manufactured in large quantiitiies, salt licks being discovered in many parts of the state.

These were the first white persons who remained for any length of time in the Boonslick country, but they were not permanent settlers. They came only to make salt or hunt, and left soon thereafter.

So far as authentic records give us light, the foregoing were the first white settlers who came to this section of the Boonslick country. Thus we see that prior to 1808 three parties had entered it while on exploring and surveying expeditions. Two parties had been to its fine salt licks to make salt. It must not be assumed, however, that these were the first white men who came into this section of the state. There had been for many years settlements in the eastern part of the state and especially on the Mississippi River. Doubtless many of these hardy pioneers, on their hunting expeditions, tracked the forest to the Boonslick country. Many years before 1800, French traders and Spanish voyageurs were wont to trap, hunt and traffic with the Indians, up and down the Missouri River. Suffice it to say that these white men who came to this section were not looked upon by the Indians in surprise and wonder. They knew the ways of the white man, and gave evidence of having had previous dealings with him.

Christy and Heath Make Salt in Cooper County. - William Christy and John J. Heath came up from St. Louis in 1808, and manufactured salt in what is now Blackwater township, Cooper County, at a place now known as Heath's Lick. For years afterwards, Heath made salt at the same place every summer and shipped it to St. Louis, in hollow logs closed at each end by chunks of wood and clay. The salt springs where Heath's salt works were located is known as Heath's Creek, named after him, as was also Heath's Lick.

In 1804, when the United States took formal possession of the province of of Louisiana, it became the territory of Louisiana, and was afterwards divided into the Upper Louisiana Territory, and the Orleans, or Lower Louisiana Territory, to the former of which this section belonged. It was then that the rugged American pioneer looked with longing eyes towards the West, seeking cheap lands, a new home and adventure. Soon there started a stream of immigration from the south, east and north, but the first settlers were principally from the southern states.

Benjamin Cooper First Settler in Boonslick Country. - Benjamin Cooper was the first permanent settler in the section. In the spring of the year 1808, he and his family, consisting of his wife and five sons, moved to the Boonslick country, about two miles southwest of Boonslick in the Missouri River bottom. Here he had sought cheaper lands and a new home, together with the necessary adventures second to his sturdy nature. He built a cabin cleared a small piece of ground and began the preliminary work for a permanent home. However, he was located so far beyond the protection of the government that Governor Merriweather Lewis, then governor of the territory issued an order directing him to return below the mouth of the Gasconade River. Cooper was so far advanced in the Indian country, and so far away from the protection of the government, that in case of Indian wars, he would be without other aid and unable to protect himself against the depredations of the ruthless savages. So he returned to Loutre Island, about four miles below the mouth of the Gasconade River, and remained there until the year 1810. This precaution was perhaps due to the fact that Indians were being stirred and exploited by our then quandam friends, the English, in some cases being supplied by them with guns and ammunition.

As Stephen Cole and Hannah Cole and families were the first permanent settlers in Cooper County, it may be of special interest to the reader to learn something about them.

Stephen Cole ;ind William Temple Cole Fight With Indians. - Stephen Cole and William Temple Cole were bora in New River, Wythe County. Virginia. There they married sisters named Allison, and emigrated to the southern part of the Cumberland, Wayne County. Kentucky. In 1807, they came to Upper Louisiana, and settled on or near Loutre Island, about the same time that the Coopers settled on that island.

In 1810, a roving band of about eighteen Pottowattomies, led by a war chief named Nessotingineg, stole a number of horses from the settlers of Loutre Island on the Missouri. A volunteer company consisting of Stephen Cole, William Temple Cole, Sarshall Brown, Nicholas Gooch, Abraham Potts, and James Mordock, was formed with Stephen Cole, then captain of the militia of Loutre Island, as leader. The company proposed to follow the Indians and recapture the stolen property.

The volunteer company followed the Indians up the Loutre Creek, about 20 miles, and came to a place where the Indians had peeled bark, evidently to make halters, there the white men stopped for the night. The next morning they followed the Indian trail about thirty miles across Grand Prairie, just as they emerged from a small patch of timber, suddenly discovered the Indians with the horses.

William Temple Cole and Sarshall Brown, on the fastest horses, started in pursuit, the others following them. So hard did they press their pursuit upon the Indians, who did not know the number of whites chasing them, and who were apprehensive that they might be captured in their wild flight, that they threw their packs into a plum thicket near a pool of water, and they scattered in the woods. These packs, consisting of buffalo robes, deer skins and partly tanned leather, they had stolen from Sarshall Brown.

Night overtaking the party, they went into camp on the Waters of Salt River at a place known as Bonelick, 65 miles from the Loutre settlement, and about a mile or two northwest of the present city of Mexico, in Audrain County. Here contrary to the advice of their leader Stephen Cole, they without posting any sentinels, tied their horses in the thicket. After broiling some meat for supper, they went to sleep, with the exception of Stephen Cole, who with the sagacity of the experienced frontiersman, was apprehensive of an attack. They had not been asleep long, when Cole thought he heard the cracking of a bush. He told his bi-other to get up, for he believed the Indians were near. However everything remained still, and solemn quietude prevailed. Stephen Cole pulled his saddle against his back and shoulders, and sought again his repose after the hard day's chase, but still impressed with impending danger. The Indians, who had crawled up so near that, by the light of the little camp fire, they could see the faces of their unsuspecting victims, waited but a short time till all was quiet then they opened a volley upon the party, instantly killing Gooch and Brown, wounding William Temple Cole and another one of the men. A hand-to-hand struggle between the Indians and Stephen Cole then took place in which Cole killed four Indians and wounded a fifth ; the remaining members of the Indian band disappeared.

Stephen Cole then went into a nearby pool and squatted in the water to wash the blood from the many wounds which he had received. After a little while the Indians returned, found Temple Cole and killed him. Patton, who had managed to get off some distance, also was found dead near a little sapling. Stephen Cole, after stanching the flow of blood from his wounds left the scene of the bloody encounter. The next morning, after he had gone about two or three miles, he sat down on a small gopher hill to rest, when he discovered two mounted Indians some distance away. They eyed him for a few minutes, then wheeled their horses and disappeared. He reached the settlement on the third day nearly famished, having had not a morsel to eat during all this time. James Moredock escaped unhurt, and it is said that if he had acted with one-half the bravery of Stephen Cole, the Indians would have been defeated.

Samuel Cole, a son of William Temple Cole, says that the Indians did not scalp the whites in this encounter. Peace was supposed to prevail between the Indians and settlers. This skirmish proved to be the beginning of the Indian troubles on the Missouri River.

It is possible that this band of Pottowattomies had been on the war path against the Osages, and since the war trail from the Pottowattomies' led to the mouth of the Gasconade, near which Loutre Island is situated in the Missouri River, the temptation to steal some of the horses of the settlers had been too great for the Indians to forego. At any rate, so far as we know they did no personal injury to the settlers, except yielding to their penchant for stealing. If they had been bent upon more serious mischief, they undoubtedly could and would have perpetrated it.

James Cole, a son of Stephen Cole, says that in this fight Stephen Cole received 26 wounds, and that on his way home he chewed some elm bark and placed it on his wounds. Stephen Cole was killed by the Indians on the banks of the Rio Grande near El Paso in 1824. Cole was a strong, virile, robust, uneducated, but sagacious frontiersman. On one occasion he was present at a session of the legislature, says Houck, when two members who had been opponents in a spirited debate during the session, engaged in a fight, after adjournment for the day and clinched. This was a common occurrence in those days when physical strength and prowess were so greatly esteemed. Governor McNair, who happened to be present, tried to separate them, but Cole seized the governor and pulled him

Saukees and Renards Meet with General Clark. - It was shortly after the Loutre Island incident that a delegation of the Saukees or Sacs, and the Renards or Foxes, had a meeting with General Clark in St. Louis and assured him that they were peaceably inclined. Quashquama, in a speech to Clark, said: "My father, I left my home to see my great-grandfather, the president of the United States, but as I cannot proceed to see him, I give you my hand as to himself. I have no father to whom I have paid any attention but yourself. If you hear anything, I hope that you will let me know, and I will do the same. I have been advised several times to raise the tomahawk. Since the last war we have looked upon the Americans as friends, and I shall hold you fast by the hand. The Great Spirit has not put us on the earth to war with the whites. We have never struck a white man. If we go to war it is with the red flesh. Other nations send belts among us, and urge us to war. They say that if we do not, the Americans will encroach upon us, and drive us off our lands."

This was fine-sounding and very romantic speech in light of what followed. In the war that started in 1812, and from then until its close, in 1815, these same Saukees and Renards, some of whom lived in this section, committed atrocious deeds, and gave the early pioneer settlers much trouble. But all the tribulations of the settlers at this time cannot be attributed to these tribes alone, as other roving bands of savages infested 'the country.

This section of the Boonslick country was not destined to be left long to the reign of the wild beasts and the savage Indians. It was attractive and presented advantages which those seeking homes where they could find the richest of lands and the most healthful of climates, could not and did not fail to perceive. Its fertile soil promised, with little labor, the most abundant of harvests. Its forests were filled with every variety of game, and its streams with all kinds of fish. It is no wonder that those seeking homes looked upon this section as a "promised land", where provisions could be found, and that they should select and settle the rich lands here, accomodating themselves to the scanty fare of the wilderness, and risking all the dangers from the wild beasts and the Indians who lived in great numbers nearby.

Coopers and Coles Settle Permanently. - On Feb. 20, 1810, Benjamin Cooper with several others returned to what is now Howard County. They came up on the north side of the Missouri from Loutre Island, and all of ' them, except Hannah Cole, the widow of William Temple Cole, and her family and Stephen Cole and his family, settled in Howard County, north of the Missouri River.

Hannah Cole and Stephen Cole, together with their families, settled in what is now Cooper County; Stephen Cole settled about one and onehalf miles east of Boonville, at what is now called the old "Fort Field" once owned by J. L. Stephens ; and Hannah Cole, in what is now East Boonville, on the big bluffs overlooking the river at a point of rocks where the old lime kiln was located.

Benjamin Cooper settled in Howard County, at the same pmce and in the cabin which he had built two years before. This cabin had not been disturbed by the Indians, although they had occupied all the adjacent country, and doubtless had passed it many times.

When the families of Hannah Cole and Stephen Cole, settled in what is now Cooper County, there was no white American living in Missouri west of Franklin and south of the Missouri. Those who came with them and settled north of the Missouri were their nearest white neighbors, but most of these were two or three miles distant from them.

Names of First Permanent Settlers South of River. - The families' that were the first settlers south of the river were composed of the following members: Hannah Cole, the widow of William Temple Cole, and her children Jennie, Mattie, Dickey, Nellie, James, Holburt, Stephen, William and Samuel ; Stephen Cole, and Phoebe, his wife, and their children, James. Rhoda, Mark, Nellie and Polly, making seventeen members in the two families who made the first settlement in what is now Cooper County, but what was then a wilderness, untrodden save by savages. Here they were surrounded on all sides by the Indians, who pretended to be friendly, and who stoically camouflaged their malice, but sought every opportunity to commit petit larceny and other depredations upon the settlers. All of these have gone beyond the Great Divide. They have passed their brief hour upon a stage, filled with thrilling adventures. Each lived in his own limited sphere, has passed on and is seen no more. Their memories are perpetrated; their noble deeds and self-sacrifices are cherished. Their descendants are many and are scattered throughout the different counties of this state, and the west from the Mississippi river to the Pacific coast.

Conditions Met. - When the Coopers and the Coles came to this section, there was neither road nor path for them to pass through the wilderness, save here and there the trail of the savage or the path of the wild beast. They had to take care as the course in which to travel any opening which they could find in the thickets or through the forest, that would permit the passage of their wagons and animals, and frequently were compelled to chop their way through with the axe, an essential accouterment of the early pioneer.

When they arrived where old Franklin now stands, Hannah and Stephen Cole looked with longing eyes to the beckoning forests on the south side of the river, and desiring to cross the river with their families, were compelled to use a large canoe or perogue, as it was then called, compelling their horses to swim behind them. At this time throughout Cooper County up and down the south side of the Missouri, the land was covered by a vast forest, extending several miles inland. The Saukee, or Sacs, and Renards, or Foxes, were their only neighbors. The Saukee under their leader, Quashquami, lived on the Moniteau Creek in the south part of Cooper County. They were in a measure nomadic, and moved from place to place seeking the easier and better hunting ground.

When these brave settlers first came here, the Indians professed to be friendly to them, and gave apparent evidence of desiring to live in peace and amity, but as is generally true with all savages, they were petty thieves, stole horses and committed various other depredations. During the war of 1812, these Indians took sides with the British against the Americans. After the conclusion of the war the Saukee Indians were ordered off to the Grand River, and from thence to Rock River. Other chiefs with whom the early settlers came in contact during this time, were Keokuk and Blundo, the latter one, half French, the other a full blooded Indiana.

The whites of that day, although they well knew the treachery of the Indians, were accustomed to hunt and fish with them and at times to visit them at their villages. When in the presence of the whites, the Indians were kind and accomodating, yet the settlers always endeavored to guard against the wary savage and his treachery.

but Black Hawk, a wily and restless agitator, seemed to sway his fellow savages and became in this war the leader of the Saukees and Renards, sometimes called the Sacs and Foxes.

When the first settlers came to what is now Cooper County, wild game of all kinds was very abundant, and was so tame as not to be easily frightened at the approach of the white man. This game furnished the settlers with all their meat, and, in fact, with all the provisions that they used for most of the time they had little else than meat.

There were large numbers of deer, wild turkeys, elk, and large animals, and to use the expression of an old settler, "They could be killed as easily as sheep are now killed in our pastures." The settlers spent most of their time hunting and fishing, as it was a needless waste to plant crops to be destroyed by the wild game. Small game, such as squirrels, rabbits and the like swarmed so abundantly around the homes of the settlers and in such numbers that when the men attempted to raise a crop of any kind they were forced to kill the small game in large numbers in order to save a part of it. But these inoffensive animals, dangerous only to their crops, were not the only ones which filled the forests. Such terrible and blood thirsty wild beasts as the bear and the panther could be seen very often lying in wait for any unwary traveler who ventured near their lairs.

Where the present residences of E. A. Windsor and M. E. Schmidt now stand in the city of Boonville, a panther which measured eleven feet from the end of its nose to the tip of its tail, was one day killed by Samuel Cole. This panther was thought to be one of the largest ever killed in the state of Missouri.

Thus were the early settlers and their families abundantly provided with meat and food by nature. Their menu was brief, but it was enough to supply with vitality the red corpuscles that coursed through their veins and gave them rugged health, vigor and strength of body. The domestic animals also were furnished with everything necessary to their well-being. The grasses were so good during the whole year that the stock lived without being fed by their owners. Even when the ground was covered with snow, the animals, taught by instinct, would in a few minutes claw from under the snow enough grass to last them for the day. The only use for corn, of which the settlers planted very little, was to make bread. Bread made from corn was the only kind they had.

side of the Missouri. For nearly two years they encountered alone the dangers of the forest, and lived in peace and quietness, although at times they feared an attack from the Indians who lived south and west of them. The treacherous nature of the Indian as well as because Cooper was in fact trespassing upon the lands of the Indians, was the reason that Merriweather Lewis, then governor of the territory, issued the order directing Benjamin Cooper to return below the mouth of the Gasconade River, from his first settlement in what is now known as Howard County.

The Indians with which our early settlers had to contend were idle, shiftless, vicious and treacherous. In the presence of the white settlers they were apparently frank, accomodating and kind, yet they nursed the tradition that the white man was their natural enemy, and would eventually dispossess them of their "happy hunting grounds."

Names of First Settlers in Boonslick Country and Whence They Came. - Those who settled in the Central Boonslick country in 1810 are as follows: From Madison County, Ky., Lieut.-Col. Benjamin Cooper. Francis Cooper, William Cooper, Daniel Cooper, John Cooper, Capt. Sarshall Cooper, Braxton Cooper, Sr., Joseph Cooper, Stephen Cooper, Braxton Cooper, Jr., Robert Cooper, James Hancock, Albert Hancock, William Berry, John Berry, Robert Irvin, Robert Brown, Joseph Wolfscale, William Thorpe, John Thorpe, Josiah Thorpe, James Thorpe, Gilead Rupe, James Jones, John Peak, William Wolfscale, Adam Woods. From Estill County, Ky., Amos Ashcraft, Otho Ashcraft, Jesse Ashcraft, James Alexander. From Tennessee, John Ferrell, Henry Ferrell, Robert Hancock. From Virginia, James Kile. From South Carolina, Gray Bynum. From Georgia, Stephen Jackson. From Ste. Genevieve, Peter Popineau. Previous residence unknown, John Busby, James Anderson, Middleton Anderson, William Anderson. From Wayne County, Ky., Hannah, Jennie, Mattie, Dickie, Nellie, James, Holbert, Stephen, William, Samuel, Stephen, Phoebe (Stephen's wife), James, Rhoda, Mark, Nellie, and Polly Cole.

Those from Wayne County, Kentucky, settled south of the river. The women belonging to some of these families on the north side of the river did not arrive until the following July or August. There may have been others, but the above list is all that we are able to trace.

There can be no doubt that a daring Frenchman had even prior to the year 1800 explored this section lying contiguous to the Missouri River, several years before its settlement proper and before there existed within (5) the present limits of this county a trading post. The names of the streams, such as Bonne Femme, Moniteau, etc., attest the fact that they were of French origin, and had been seen and named by the French traders and explorers.

Levens and Drake, in their condensed but carefully prepared history of Cooper County say: "While Nash and his companions were in Howard County (1840), they visited Barclay's and Boon's Lick, also a trading post, situated about two miles northwest of Old Franklin. This trading post was kept by a white man by the name of Prewitt. The existence of the trading post, and the fact that Barclay's and Boone's licks had already received their names from the white men who visited them, show conclusively that this portion of the country had been explored by Americans even before this. But no history mentions this trading post, nor does any give the name of Prewitt, hence, we are unable to determine when he came to the Boonslick country, how long he remained, or where he went; he evidently left before the year 1808, as Benjamin Cooper, who moved to Howard county in that year, said there was then no settlement in this part of the state.

Other Settlers Move South of River. - In the latter part of the year 1811 some more adventurous spirits moved to the south side of the river, and began to settle around and near the present site of Boonville. They were Joseph Jolly, Joseph Yarnell, Gilliard Rupe, Mike Box, Delaney Bolin, William Savage, John Savage, Walter and David Burriss and families. They settled near one another, so that in time of danger they could readily gather at one place. This timely arrival revived the spirits of the settlers, for already could be heard the dim mutterings in the distance, which foreshadowed a long and bloody conflict with the Indians who had been induced by the emissaries of the British government to take sides with that country against the United States of America.

English Stir Up Indians. - Several years before the War of 1812, the British along the lakes and in the Northwest industriously fomented dissatisfaction among the Indians; consequently they were restless even before the declaration of war; dissatisfied and openly hostile. Frequently these Indians, between 1809 and 1812, visited the British agents on the lakes, and by them were generously supplied with rifles and fusils, powder and lead, and liberally with almost everything else that they needed.

As early as 1808 the subagent on the Missouri wrote General Clark, Superintendent of Indian affairs at St. Louis, that the Indians had fired upon one John Rufty about six miles above Fort Osage and killed him. Nicholas Jarret, in 1809, made an affidavit that the British agents were stnring up the Indians at that place and on the frontiers of Canada, but this statement was denied by these British agents. The Osages and the Iowas also were on the warpath in 1810 and in that year some of the Osages were killed not far from the present city of Liberty.

The first marriage was that of Robert Cooper and Elizabeth Carson, in 1810, at the home of Lindsay Carson, the father of "Kit" Carson, the great Indian scout.

These people lived on the north side of the river from what is now Boonville, and the settlers on the south side were for some time served by them.

Lindsay Carson apprenticed his son "Kit" to David Workman, a saddler, to learn that trade, but this vocation did not suit "Kit's" roving and adventurous nature, and 1826, he literally shook the dust from his feet and sought the Rockies, gaining national renown as an Indian scout. He died in 1869.

First Deed Recorded. - The first deed executed and recorded in the Boonslick country was as follows : "Know all men by these presents that I. Joseph Marie, of the county and town of St. Charles, and territory of Missouri, have this day given, granted, bargained, sold and possession delivered unto Asa Morgan, of the county of Howard, and territory aforesaid, all the right, title, claim, and interest, and property that I, the said Joseph Marie have or may possess or am in any legally and equitably entitled to in a certain settlement right on the north side of the Missouri River, in the aforesaid county of Howard, near a certain place known and called by the name of Eagle's Nest, and lying about one mile, a little west of south from Kincaid's Fort, in the said county of Howard, which said settlement was made by me sometime in the year 1800, for and in consideration of value by me received, the receipt whereof, is hereby acknowledged, and him the said Asa Morgan forever discharged and acquitted. And I do by these presents, sell, transfer, convoy and quit-claim to the aforesaid Asa Morgan all the claims and interest which I might be entitled to either in law or equity from the aforesaid improvement of settlement right, together with all and singular, all the appurtenances to the same belonging, or in any wise appertaining to have and to hold free from me, or any person claiming by or through me.

Second Deed Recorded. - The second deed we also give because of its peculiar phraseology and terms. It will be noted that the word "arpent" is used instead of "acre." An arpent is practically five-sixths of an acre.

"To all to whom these presence shall come greeting; - Know ye that we, Risdon H. Price, and Mary, his wife, both of the town and county of St. Louis, and territory of Missouri, for and in consideration of the sum of four thousand eight hundred dollars, lawful money of the United States to us in hand before the delivery of the presents well and fully paid by Elias Rector of the same place, the receipt whereof is hereby acknowledged and thereto, we do hereby acquit and discharge the said Elias Rector, his heirs and assigns forever. Have given bargained, granted, and sold, and do hereby give, grant, bargain and sell unto the said Elias Rector, his heirs and assigns forever, subject to the conditions hereinafter expressed, one certain tract and parcel of land, containing one thousand six hundred arpens, situate in the county of Howard, in the territory of Missouri, granted originally by the late Lieutenant-Governor Charles Dehault Delassus, to one Ira Nash, on the 18th day of January, 1800, surveyed on the 26th day of January, 1804, and certified on the 15th day of February, of the same year, the reference being had to the record of said claim in the office of the recorder of land titles for the territory of Missouri, for the concession and the boundaries thereof as set forth in or upon the said certificate or plat of survey thereof will more fully, certainly, and at large appear, and which said survey is hereto annexed and makes part and parcel of this deed, and being the same tract of land which the said Risdon H. Price claims as assigned of the sheriff of the county of St. Charles, who sold the same as property of said Ira Nash, as by deed thereof dated the 15th day of October, 1815. reference thereto being had will more fully and at large appear.

said Elias Rector, his heirs and assigns forever. And it is hereby declared to be the agreement, understanding and intention of the parties aforesaid, that should the said tract of land be finally rejected by the United States within three years from this date, or should the same not be sanctioned and confirmed by the government of the United States at or before the period last mentioned, or in case the said Elias R. Rector, his heirs, executors, administrators, or assigns, shall by due process and judgment at law, be evicted, dispossessed, and finally deprived of said tract of land, then and in that case, the said Risdon H. Price, his heirs, executors, or administrator, shall only pay or cause to be paid to the said Elias Rector, his heirs, executors, administrators or assigns, the said sum of four thousand eight hundred dollars, lawful money of the United States, with the lawful interest thereon, at the rate of six percentum per annum, from the date of this deed, until the time of such rejection, not being sanctioned as aforesaid, or until such eviction as aforesaid, with the legal cost upon such suit or suits at law, and which shall be in full of all damages under any covenants in this deal, and if such claim be rejected as aforesaid or not confirmed as aforesaid, or in case the said Elias Rector, his heirs, executors or assigns, shall be evicted therefrom as aforesaid, that then, and either of these cases, the said Elias Rector, his heirs, executors, or assigns, shall by proper deed of release and quit-claim, transfer to said Risdon H. Price, his heirs, executors, administrators and assigns, the claim of said Elias Rector, his heirs, executors, and assigns, said premises at tte time of receiving the said consideration money, interest, and costs tforesaid.