was laid through this county where it now runs and work was pushed upon it with such rapidity that it was completed into Webster City and a regular passenger train put on which made its first run December 6, 1880. A transfer stage was put in between Ellsworth and Callanan a distance of a little over a mile and now the people had railroad facilities both to Des Moines, south and east to Chicago. And now, after all the heated contests over voting railroad taxes the Chicago & Northwestern was found to be back of the T. & N. W. and to own the road and it refused to take the tax and the same was cancelled without being paid. The reason it refused the tax was that under the law, each tax payer was entitled to a certificate of stock for the amount of the tax paid, and as C. & N. W. stock was worth its face in cash, it was more convenient for that road to issue its stock direct than to be bothered with so much stock in such small certificates. A certain amount of money was collected however in another way. Certain citizens gave notes for the amount of their tax, released the company from its obligation to issue stock on account of tax, and the company released the tax of record. Later the notes were returned to the makers and the donation of the depot grounds was the only aid received by the road from the citizens. CHAPTER XI REMINISCENCES OF PIONEER LIFE PIONEER LIFE BY PETER LYON-CHRISTMAS IN 1857—A PIONEER CANDY PULL—A PIONEER LAW SUIT, BY E. G. WHALEY-EARLY LIFE IN WEBSTER-PIONEER COURTSHIP THE FIRST SCHOOLHOUSE--THE FIRST CHARIVARI, BY A. HASWELLHOW JOHN KEARNS HAULED FLOUR FROM VINTON TO WEBSTER CITY, BY J. V. KEARNS FISH TRAP FORD THE LAST ELK, BY ISAIAH DOANE-WEBSTER CITY'S FIRST QUARTER CENTURY, BY S. B. ROSENCRANS—A ROMANTIC WEDDING TRIP, BY MRS. H. H. KITTS. PIONEER LIFE. I came to Hamilton county in the summer of 1852. A yoke of stout cattle furnished the motive power to transport my family, our clothing, and a few necessary utensils over the then unbridged creeks and sloughs that lay in our route. I bought the quarter section now know as the Paine farm, just east of Webster City at the mouth of the creek which bears my name. For this land I paid $120, turning over as part pay a yoke of cattle, a few pounds of rools (wool), a fifteen gallon iron kettle and the balance cash. The improvements at this time were a small log cabin, a log stable and five acres of clearing. This being the 2d day of June I immediately set to work to see what could be done towards raising something to supply the needs of my family. As the land was largely covered with timber and an undergrowth of hazel, wild plums and crabapple trees, there was not much time for visiting, hunting and fishing during the growing season. But in the winter time I had many a lively day with the game that abounded along the streams, as well as on the prairie. The first deer I killed was during the winter of 1852-3. I had followed him for several hours and at last got a pop at him while he was crossing what is now the old fair ground near Rosencrans' park. This deer furnished our first venison, a very, very toothsome meat and highly esteemed by the settlers; in fact many of the settlers had but little meat except that which was furnished by the various kinds of wild game which was very plentiful in those days. To avoid the drudgery of "backing" the game home after it was killed, and to save time harnessing teams, we would tie a rope to the deer or elk and the other end to the tail of a horse and in this way "snake" or drag it quickly home. This may seem a little fishy to the young men of today, but I am still here and can vouch for the truth of it. For our convenience and to accommodate travelers, we kept a small ferry boat and when the water was up we would ferry them over the river, crossing near where the Illinois Central railroad bridge now stands. The boat would only carry about four persons and so we had to unload wagons and take them over in sections, next the load, and when all was over put them together again. The team could always swim over. PETER LYON. CHRISTMAS IN 1857 Emanuel Renner and Dave Hook used to catch wild turkeys by digging a pit about ten feet long and gradually deepening to about a foot and a half depth in the center, then over the deepest part of this ditch they would build a square rail pen and securely cover it. Corn would then be scattered along in this ditch and the unsuspecting fowl would walk along head down, eating the corn until it got into the pen, then its head went up and it became frightened and the more frightened it got, the higher it held its head, consequently, it could not get out. Emanuel Renner lived where Tunnel mill now stands in a little log house. He used to say that his latch string always hung on the outside of his door and any man, woman or child was at liberty to pull it and welcome of some sort was always found on the inside. In 1857, the young folks from Saratoga spent Christmas eve at what is now known as Rose Grove, but was then known as Skunk Grove. The party consisted of Louisa Doolan, Louisa Levanch, Adelaid Woodard, Ralph Osborn, Elisha Hill and myself. We went with a four horse team and left Saratoga about 4 o'clock in the afternoon. There was no laid out road across the wild prairie and we did not see a house, bush or briar from the time we left home until we arrived at our destination. But we did see something else. When we were about three miles east of where Kamrar now stands, the prairie wolves and coyotes commenced to howl and in less than half an hour, I believe as many as a hundred fell in behind us, and not as far behind as we could have wished either, for some came within five or ten feet of us and snarled and snapped at each other, and we hadn't even a club or a sled stake. It seemed for a while that they were about to take possession of us, and I got out my revolver but there were wiser heads in the party. and I was not permitted to use it, for if the wolves had once tasted of blood, it would have been good-bye to us. Our horses did noble work by landing us safely at the grove without a loss and in half an hour wolves and wild prairie were forgotten and we were on the floor dancing. At twelve o'clock our landlord called us to supper. The meal consisted of deer, elk and buffalo meat, corn bread baked on an iron griddle, fried cakes and pumpkin pie. After doing it ample justice. we danced on till morning. Elisha Hill lost his heart and one of old man Lakin's daughters got it, but she said even exchange was no robbery for he had her's too, and she gave him her hand. The wind did blow and the snow drifted and filled our tracks, and it was bitter cold the next day when we ate our breakfast and started for home. Our bill for the fun we had, was one dollar per couple. When we "fitched up," at Uncle Jimmie Adams you'd better believe there never was a more thankful crowd. And the nice dinner they had! I believe it was about as nice a Christmas dinner as I ever ate in all my life. Then Uncle Jimmie got some dry wood and built a big fire, and fed our teams and made us all wonderfully comfortable. After dinner we once more started for Saratoga We arrived there in due time and after peddling our load, I learned there was a |