Harrison County, Missouri - Chapter 8: Incidents of Early Days, 1921

GAME PLENTIFUl- - ALSO WILD FRUITS AND NUTS - HUNTING BEE TREES - BEESWAX AN IMPORTANT CTOMMGDITY - HONEY, BEESWAX AND FURS - TRADING POINTS - HONESTY OF PIONEERS - FIRST POSTOFFICE - CHARACTER OF SETTLERS - EARLY DAY CABINS - HUNTING WOLVES - ROBIDOUX TRADING POST - AN INCIDENT OF LI\aNG UP TO A CONTRACT.

When the county was first being settled game was plentiful, such as deer, turkeys, prairie chickens, quail and there were some elk. There were also a great many wolves, coons, squirrels and a few panthers. Wild plums, grapes, cherries, blackberries, strawberries and gooseberries were abundant in the timber, as were also hickory nuts, walnuts and acorns. Patches of hazel nuts skirted and dotted all the prairies and there was most nearly every fall enough to fatten all the hogs the settlers had.

Bees were found in many hollow trees with large amounts of honey and the amount of beeswax that could be made was measured by the wants and industry of the settlers. As stock was low priced, and really the settlers had none to spare, and their tillable land was limited in acreage, the principal sources of income were from the honey, beeswax, furs and venison taken to market.

For a few years after the first settling of the county the principal market place was at Liberty, Clay County. The settlers then co-operated together, meeting together at some convenient place and bringing their surplus products with them, would together load a wagon and splice team and send one of their number to Liberty, about eighty miles away, to sell their produce or trade it, and to get coffee, tea, salt, calico, domestic and ammunition and such other absolute necessaries as they could not raise or make themselves. Upon the return of the teamster they would meet again and make division of their goods and the money, if any remained, and the young lady who was so fortunate as to receive a calico dress was made happy as a queen just receiving a cro\vn.

These early settlers bore the reputation of great honesty and fair dealing, yet there were even among their number some whose greed for gain and littleness induced them to take undue advantage, and it is said the yellow cakes were sometimes counterfeited with cheaper alloy. At one time when the teamster arrived at the trading post a cake of beeswax was found with a corner broken off, exposing an inside filling of tallow. This counterfeit was returned to the dishonest owner, and so indignant were the honest settlers at his conduct and its tendency to bring their settlement into disrepute that no teamster would afterwards convey his produce to market and the small stream upon which he lived became known and was called "the tallow fork of beeswax," and is so known yet in that neighborhood.

Coon skins also passed current at fifty cents each, and mink skins at twenty-five cents. The state then paid fifty cents for wolf scalps and the small taxes were mostly paid with that currency.

There were at this time no postiffices or post roads in the county and what few letters were written by the settlers had to be sent to Cravensville, a small postoffice in Daviess County five or six miles north of Gallatin. This was a place that had been built by the Mormons and occupied by them, but after they left the village went to decay and the postoffice was discontinued.

The first postoffice in the county was established at Bethany in 1845. For several years it went by the name of Bethpage, and David Buck was appointed postmaster. The mail was carried on horseback to and from Cravensville once each week.

The settlers took but few newspapers and therefore as might be expected were not well and freshly posted upon all that was going on in the busy outside world, but they knew how to trail the deer or find the rich bee tree.

They often visited each other and related their successes and disappointments, rejoicing together over their prosperity and good fortune or sympathizing with each other in their troubles. Hypocrisy and deceit were almost unknown among them and honesty and hospitality distinguished them, and although often scant in basket and in store, there was no time that each would not have readily shared his provisions with a neighbor.

Their cabins were rude and diminutive but their latch strings, hke their generous hearts, hung on the outside. Occasionally a thief would pass through and take a horse and then the whole settlement would be aroused. Fortunately such losses did not occur often and there is no record of a horse thief being caught by the settlers of the county. It was a rule among them of the very highest authority that no settler should knowingly harbor a horse thief. There is a case reported of one man who violated this excellent rule and he was made to suffer the penalty, which was "linting." Of course lynching is not to be encouraged in well regulated communities, but among the early settlers it appeai'ed to be the dernier ressort. It was too far away to take the offenders to court, would occupy too much time and incur too great expense. The settlers found "linting" so much easier, speedy and economical and in this case it worked so admirably in making a good citizen of the victim that it was in very high favor.

There was very little sickness among the early settlers. This may have been owing to the fact that it was only the stout and hearty young people who had the hardihood to venture out upon the wild and unsubdued frontier, or it may have been that the open air life and rustic cabins vvere conducive to health. Most likely both reasons operated to produce the result.

Hunting and chasing wolves in the winter was a cheerful sport and a delightful pastime. About the year 1844 Dr. Hardin Oatman settled in the new country. He did not come, however, so much to practice his profession as to open out a farm. In cases of severe sickness he was usually called, but his calls for several years were not frequent, although he was a good physician and a clever gentleman and it is said his bills were not heavy.

About the year 1843 St. Joseph was first laid off and began to attract attention as a trading point. Up to that time the place had been merely an Indian trading post conducted by Joseph Robidoux, and was known as the Blacksnake Hills. It soon became a business place and as it was about twenty-five miles nearer than Liberty the settlers early commenced making paths and roads in that direction. The Grand River currency passed as readily and at as good rates there as at Liberty, hence the honey, wax and pelt trade soon turned almost exclusively to St. Joseph. No more attempts at counterfeiting were brought to light and the mer-

An incident illustrating' that this confidence was not misplaced is related of a certain Grand River settler. He was at St. Joseph doing some trading at the store of Bob Donnell, later a New York banker, and the goods he happened to want being more than his "produce" would pay for, he agreed to bring more honey and wax by a given day. The settler felt proud and elated that the merchant would take his word for the delivery of the honey, but Donnell was a pretty good judge of human nature and thought the settler had an honest face and would do to trust for a barrel of honey.

The squatter hastened home, told his wife of his good fortune, felt like a man of consequence and vowed that he would make his promise good. He accordingly struck out to hunt the bee trees and find his honey. He hunted all day and continued his search by moonlight, searching hollow trees and listening for the buzzing of bees. In a few days he had secured his barrel of honey, and returned home to prepare for his journey to St. Joseph.

Upon counting up his time he found he had only three days and his time would be out on Sunday, so he hurried up but failed to get to St. Joseph on Saturday. He hesitated about moving forward on the holy day, but thought that would not be so bad as failing to keep his promise, so he entered the city on Sunday and inquired for Bob Donnell, and was informed that he was at church. He hastened to the church and arriving just as the minister had commenced his sermon, he addressed him rather abruptly with "Hello, stranger! Will you hold on a minute? I want to inquire if Bob Donnell is in the house." Bob saw him and walked out, when the squatter in a loud voice told him, "Well, Bob, I have brought you that barrel of honey." At this every one in the house laughed, but the honest settler felt a proud consciousness of having made good his financial obligation that no mirth could remove. Since that time the reputation of the Grand River settlers for promptness and punctuality.