Jackson County, Missouri - Chapter 16: Pioneer Times, 1920

When the old settler decided to stop and make a home, he needed tools to work with. First he needed his rifle and ammunition to kill game for his meat, a broad axe, a chopping axe, a grubbing hoe, a few cooking utensils, a shovel, plow and a few small tools such as augers of different sizes, a hatchet, hand saw and a few files, etc.

The broadaxe, with its crooked handle, with which to hew the logs to build his cabin and what few outbuildings he needed. As soon as the boys of the family got large enough to handle the broadaxe, he was taught the art, for it was an art to dress the logs down to a smooth surface on at least two sides, and the other side also if it was necessary to make them fit.

One, James Shepherd, came to Jackson County from Virginia in 1824. He brought a family of slaves with him, and like the rest, the men had been taught the use of the broadaxe. Among his slaves were two brothers, named Peter and Sam, and as the custom was in those days, they took the name of their master, hence they were known as Pete and Sam Shepherd. They were both powerful men and were known as about the strongest men in the country, either white or black. When the contract was let for the building of the first court house at Independence, the contract went to Mr. Shepherd and Sam hewed the logs. Most of these logs can be seen now in the old building standing on the rear of the city hall lot as a mark of his handicraft.

by Edwin A. Hickman, who then owned what is now Fairmount Park and on which there was a combined grist and saw-mill. In addition to run¬ ning the mill. Mr. Hickman farmed also. Mr. Lewis Jones, one ot the eary settlers had built a hotel at the northwest comer of the square where Watkins' Music Store now is located and had named it the "Neb¬ raska House". He conceived the idea of having a huge sign painted and put up. He went to Mr. Hickman and asked if he could hire Sam to hew a big post tor him on which to put his sign. Mr. Hickman replied that he could Mr. Jones then began inquiring to find the tallest straight white oak tree that he could get. He finally found one nearly 30 feet Igh, perfectly straight, without knots. He had it cut and brought it to be depended on to get game or fight Indians, as the case might be. For three years after Mr, Shepherd came, the only meat they had was wild game. The woods were full of deer, wild turkeys, prairie chickens, wild geese, quail and squirrels. They would kill the deer in the winter and salt it away for summer use. They would rarely kill turkeys or prairie chickens during the nesting season. The wild geese would go north to the breeding grounds in the summer and not return until late in the fall. The prairie chickens would go out south of town to the open prairie country for their nesting, and in the fall gather into great flocks and feed on the wheat and cornfields if they could find them.

In an early day, salt was found in Saline County and the water had to be boiled out of it, and it took a great deal of wood to do the boiling. Mr. Shepherd used to hire Sam and Pete out to the salt makers to cut cord-wood during the winter months. They were both experts with an axe and in ordinary timber they considered cutting four cords of wood each day only a fair day's work, Sam told me once that the only man that he ever saw that could beat him cutting wood was Judge Russell Hicks.

Hicks drifted into Saline County from where, no one heard him say, for when asked where the was from, his unusual answer was, "It's none of your business, Sir, where I am from." He would cut wood all day and then gather dry hickory bark and wood, make a fire, lie down and read law by the light of the fire. In that way, he made his start as a lawyer and he became one of the ablest lawyers of this western country. He located in Independence about 1828, and the first record that can be found of him was as a deputy clerk of the county court under Samuel C. Owens. He soon built up a good law practice and began to buy land. At one time he owned about 1,600 acres in Van Buren township, around where Hicks City now stands. He owned a good many slaves and depended upon them to run his farm while he was away. He was elected judge of the circuit court when this district was comprised of half a dozen or more counties. It was the custom then for judge and lawyer to travel on horse¬ back from one county seat to another and they would sometimes be away from home for a month at a time.

Like almost every thing else that is done by proxy, Mr. Hicks' farm¬ ing operations were not very successful. It is told that once a friend said to him, "Judge, how are you getting along farming?" He replied, "It takes about all that lawyer Hicks can make to keep farmer Hicks from starving."

The Judge was a very peculiar man in disposition. He was never known to laugh and seldom smiled. He despised women, children and dogs. He was never married and would not speak to a woman if he could avoid it. He was always very abrupt and positive in his speech and never used any more words than he had to and then always to the point. The judge had one besetting sin. He was a periodical drinker. He would go for months and never take a drink of liquor, then he would start in and never let up until "John Barleycorn" would lay him so low

On the bench he was rigid with everybody. Lawyers, jurors, officers and all, but, at all times, just. He was holding court at Harrisonville, when an old law partner of his, J. Brown Henry, of Independence, was trying a case. Some dispute arose as to the admission of certain evi¬ dence in the case and Mr. Henry differed with his honor to such an extent that he retorted rather hotly. The judge turned to the clerk of the court and said, "Mr. Clerk enter up a fine of $20 against. Mr. J. Brown Henry for contempt of court." Mr. Henry immediately with all the politeness of a dancing master, replied, "Your Honor, you know that I am a long ways from home and don't happen to have that much money with me, and I don't want to lay out the amount of the fine in jail, and will you be kind enough to loan me that much money to pay it with?" Not a muscle of the judge's face changed. He turned to the clerk and said, "Mr. Clerk, enter up an order remitting the fine of J. Brown Henry, just assessed against him for contempt of court, the State of Missouri is more able to' lose it, than I am." It was a closed incident and neither of them ever spoke of it afterwards and it made no difference.

When Judge Hicks was on the bench there was a law of the State of Missouri that made it a capital offense tor a slave to attack a white women.

A negro man of Saline County had been indicted under that law and was to have been tried at Marshall. The judges went there, opened the court and ordered the sheriff to summon a jury for the purpose of trying him. The jury was called, examined and sworn to try the case according to law. The completion of empanelling and swearing in the jury was com¬ pleted just at noon and put in charge of the sheriff with instructions to them to be back at one o'clock to proceed with the trial. The judge walked to the hotel for his dinner and while the deputy sheriff was taking his prisoner back to jail to give him his dinner a mob quickly took the prisoner from the deputy and hung him to a tree in the court house yard.

When the judge learned of what had been done he was wild with indignation. He went to the court house, mounted the steps and made them a speech. He called them everything his mind could think of that was low down, cowardly and mean and wound up by shouting, "If God Almighty will give me strength to ride out of Saline County today, I again." He went to the hotel and paid his bill and to the livery stable, got his horse and rode to the nearest telegraph office and wired his resig¬ nation to the governor. He kept his vow and never entered Saline County again, as long as he lived, although frequently asked to take cases there. Financial disaster overtook him during the Civil War. His slaves were freed, his stock stolen and his farm buildings destroyed. He died at Warrensburg almost penniless, about the year 1875, and when he died, another one of the strong men that had helped to subdue the wilderness passed away.