INDUSTRIES FOUNDED ON NATURE--NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL DRAINAGE—IN A STATE OF NATURE — EFFECT OF PRAIRIE FIRES--USEFUL TREES-- SOIL AS VARIED AS TIMBER—EARLY PREJUDICE AGAINST PRAIRIE LANDS--THE PRAIRIE'S BLUE-JOINT GRASS— NATURE AS MOLDED BY MAN— DISAGREEABLE ANIMALS AND REPTILES DISAPPEAR—MOST EDIBLE BIRDS GONE--BIRDS THAT ARE LEFT—NATURE CHANGED FOR THE BETTER.
Speaking in terms of Nature, White County lies in a gently undulating bed of limestone, within the arms of the great prairie of Illinois which stretches away toward the West and the Northwest. Geologically, it is embraced by the Niagara limestones of the Upper Silurian period, overlaid with drift deposits contributed by glacial action, or by the slower accumulations added by the waters of prehistoric as well as historic times. The result is a superabundance of loam, clay and sand, often thoroughly intermixed, and the formation of a soil which has brought rich returns to the agriculturist, the horticulturist and the live stock man.
At least half of the area of the county is easily farmed and the remainder has been made wonderfully productive by a thoroughly conceived and well executed system of drainage. In this latter feature it is one with much of Northwestern Indiana. Both naturally and artificially, White County is finely adapted to the raising of wheat, corn, oats, root crops and fruit. It is a good apple country and becoming better every year. Its deposits of limestone and fire clays are being utilized commercially, in the manufacture of tiling, building and paving blocks, and the former, in some localities, is crushed into fertilizing products.
Tracts of rich and beautiful prairie are found in various portions of the county, and there is scarcely a square foot of land which cannot either be cultivated or turned over with profit to cattle, horses, hogs and poultry. Considerable heavy timber is still found on the Tippecanoe River and its tributaries, and clusters of oaks and other native trees occur on the sandier tracts far away from the larger water courses. The high bluffs along the river vary the natural beauties of the country and these charms of scenery add to the insurance of permanent homes and contented residents.
The beautiful and historic Tippecanoe River enters the county six miles west of its northeast corner in Liberty Township and flows in a southerly direction about half way through its area, and a short distance southeast of Monticello commences to form the Carroll County division, continuing along that boundary for some six miles, after which it winds into Carroll County on its southerly course to the Wabash. Although it receives such tributaries as the Big and Little Monon from the northwestern sections and Honey and Big creeks from the central portions, the actual drainage of the county has long ago been delegated to the "ditches" which network the land everywhere. These ditches serve both to drain and to fertilize, relying primarily for their usefulness on the natural water courses.
Thus Nature, as always, has given to man in White County all the main elements of his prosperity and general development.
The surface of White County is comparatively level; the hills never exceed 150 feet in height and the valleys are therefore shallow and but a few acres in extent. Originally the county was quite heavily timbered, especially that portion east of the Tippecanoe River. The timber land on the west side was entirely free from undergrowth and often appeared in the shape of groves of oak, hickory, black walnut, ash, sugar maple and sycamore, the last named confined to the immediate neighborhood of the river and its tributaries.
The absence of undergrowth on the west side of the Tippecanoe is thus explained by a pioneer and local writer: "The rank growth of grass in the prairie land in the western part of the county, often attaining a height of six feet or more during the summer, would be killed by the frosts of autumn and when thoroughly dried furnished fuel for the devastating prairie fires that yearly swept over the country from west to east, burning every living thing in its course but the hardy oak, which had gained a footing on the higher land while yet the lower prairie was covered with water. The river formed a barrier which these fires could not pass, and hence, while there was little, if any, undergrowth on the west side, on the east side was found an almost impenetrable mass of hazel, sassafras, soft maple, paw-paw, white hickory and poplar, with young oaks and other young timber in great variety. How the prairie fires were started was a matter of conjecture, but it was believed that the Indians in pursuit of game were the authors, as there were few whites west of the Tippecanoe in the times of the heavy prairie fires. The Indians always denied their responsibility in that matter. It was 'bad chemokeman' (white man) who had done the evil deed; 'nishnobby' (Indian) 'always good'."
Red cedar grew in limited quantities on the rocky bluffs of the river and was much used for fence posts; the black locust also was found occasionally and was also used for that purpose. Willows flourished to the great annoyance of the pioneer tanners, in the low grounds and on the banks of the streams. It was next to impossible to wholly eradicate them when once they started to grow, as a simple slip placed in the ground would soon become a tree with sprouts running in all directions. The twigs were extensively used for baskets, but the supply was always more than equal to the demand.
The soil of White County was of as great variety as the timber; the past tense is used even in dealing with this topic, since, with the removal of so much of the timber, the almost universal drainage of the lands and the adoption of such modern agricultural methods as crop rotation and artificial fertilization, the soil itself has undergone marked changes as compared with its composition in the times of the pioneer farmers. In the prairie tracts it was originally a uniform heavy loam with a subsoil of clay, sand or gravel, and underneath all a solid bed of limestone, varying in thickness from two to three feet in the northern part of the county to fifty or sixty feet further south. In the timbered portions the soil was lighter, alternating between ridges of sand and low, level land, little higher than the water in the ponds and sloughs, but all of such fertility that roots, fruits, vegetables, melons, and all kinds of grain could often be grown on a farm of 160 acres. More specifically, however, the prairie was best adapted to the raising of corn, oats and grasses and the timber land to wheat, fruits, melons, vegetables (including potatoes), and all garden products.
The first settlers located in the timbered districts, as they were generally from the East and South and were unfamiliar with the prairies, so bleak and forbidding during many months of the year. It was also a hide-bound and ancient saying, whose complete eradication required the experiences of several generations, that the soil of the timbered lands was necessarily the "strongest" and the most fertile. A few of the pioneer skeptics located in the groves and points of timber reaching out into the prairies, where they could experiment with the comparative qualities of prairie and timber soils, but for years the principal settlement was confined to the heavily timbered lands near the Tippecanoe. "Those who ventured out to the prairie's edge," says one who passed through the change of opinion among the White County farmers, "were well rewarded at the opening of spring when Nature put forth her mantle of green and the prairie became a great flower garden. With the stately golden rod, the wild rose, the gay and variegated cow-slip and the more humble, not less beautiful violet and wild strawberry plant, besides others of lesser note, in full bloom, it presented a picture worthy of the greatest of painters to depict."
The prairie country of White County, before it was settled to any extent, has not been better described than in Turpie's "Sketches of My Own Times," from which we quote: "It was during the campaign of 1852 that I became really acquainted with the prairie and its people. The country was very sparsely settled; there were few roads and the traveler might ride for hours without meeting or seeing anyone; he directed his course by the sun, or, if it was a cloudy day, by the distant groves, which looked like islands in this vast expanse of grassy plain. Sometimes he traveled in solitude a tract where he could not see timber at all, like the sailor out of sight of land; the landscape in every direction was bounded by a horizon wherein nothing appeared but the green below and the blue above. The surface was generally level, broken only by slight undulations, and had the monotony of an ocean view with the same pleasing variety--whenever the wind blew, the tall grass rippled, fell and rose again in marvelous similitude to the sea. When the sun was not to be seen, and the weather was so hazy that the groves were not visible, the stranger had better retrace his steps; to be lost on the prairie was by no means a pleasant experience.
"The most notable plant in these great natural meadows was the blue-joint grass, so called from the color of its stalks and leaves, which was dark green with a bluish tint near the ground. It was indigenous to the prairie, not found in the woodlands. The blue-stem ordinarily grew to the height of a man's shoulder, sometimes so tall as to conceal a man on horseback. Cattle, sheep and horses were all fond of it; during the whole growing season and until late in the fall it was tender, juicy and succulent; cut and cured as hay, it was by many thought to be as good as the best varieties of cultivated grasses. It was not at all like the swamp or marsh grass, being found on rich and comparatively dry land. The acreage of this wild meadow growth was coextensive with the prairie.
"Although the range was pastured by numerous and large herds, there were many miles of blue-stem that seemed never to have been grazed upon save by the deer. When the deer, tempted by curiosity more than by hunger, made a visit to the fields and clearings in the timber, a chase followed. As long as the pursuit was confined to the woods he might be overtaken or brought to bay; but when the stag reached the open prairie he ran no longer; he jumped, he leaped twenty or thirty feet at a bound; the hounds entangled in the long thick grass soon lost both scent and sight, and the game escaped. The prairie was a grand resort for game, both great and small, but it was hard to draw the cover.
"The blue-stem was a free-born native of the soil. It would endure burning and thrived lustily after its cremation, but it could not bear captivity. It scorned enclosure, resented being too often trodden under foot, and brooked not cultivation in any form. Thus when fields and fences came into vogue, it soon disappeared and has now become almost extinct."
As stated by a close observer and thinker of this section on the Wabash Valley: The changed conditions have driven out many plants that were found here by the pioneer. The forests have been cut down and many plants whose habitat is in the shade cannot survive and have become extinct. The drainage of wet places has driven out many other varieties which depended upon constant dampness for their existence. The old-time rail fence furnished a home for many species to which the modern wire fence gives no protection. The changes due to advancing civilization have also opened the way for new plants, brought in by railroads and other agencies. The writer well remembered fifty-five years ago of gathering medicinal plants such as spignet, yellow root, ginseng, may-apple and snake-root; wild grapes, plums, paw-paw, cherries and black and red haws, and walnuts, butternuts, hickory nuts, hazel nuts and acorns. Many of these have become extinct and others a rarity.
Of the animals found in the early times, only an occasional skunk and woodchuck may be found in the woodlands along the river or creeks, and, with more frequency, appear squirrels, rabbits, chipmunks, moles and ground-mice, but the old-time bear, deer, beavers, otter, panther, wild-cat, wild hog and lynx have disappeared from these parts forever.
Rattlesnakes, copperheads, black, water and land snakes, green snakes, tree snakes, blue racer, garter snake, hard and soft shelled turtle, bull frog, green frog, salamanders, eels and toads were numerous in all parts of the country in the "good old times of yore," hut the clearing of the forests, drainage of the ponds and careful cultivation of the soil have destroyed most of these reptiles; even the hoarse croak of the big bull frog is now seldom heard.
In the first settlement of the county wild turkeys, geese, ducks, pheasants, prairie chickens, pigeons, snipe, plover, eagles, sandhill cranes and several allied species were abundant, all of which have virtually disappeared before the advances and harsh noises of the modern period.
"The edible birds and animals were quite a source of food for the early settlers; in fact, these were the only meats they had until the land could be cleared and corn raised to fatten hogs and cattle. Quite a number of small birds, with crows, hawks and buzzards, are still numerous, but no edible birds are left except a few quail. The boo of the prairie hen and the rumble of the pheasant, the gobble of the wild turkey, the cry of the eagle, the thunder of the thunder-pumper, the mournful sound of the whip-poor-will and the the hooting of the owl are seldom now heard.
"Removing the timber and breaking the ground and draining the swamps began to show their effects upon the springs and water courses. Many became dry during the warm season. All life, be it salamander, fishes, mollusks, insects or plants that found therein a home, died. The birds that lived among the reeds and flags, mingling their voices with the frogs, disappeared, and the land reclaimed tells, in its luxuriant growth of corn, no story to the casual passerby of the inhabitants which formerly occupied it.
"The following list of birds may still be found, but not in such numbers as formerly: Robin, meadow-lark, blue-jay, blackbird, bluebird, woodpecker, dove, peewee, chipbird, catbird, thrush, kingbird, hawk, crow, owl, swallow and English sparrow. The last named, introduced some years ago is very hardy and prolific and is becoming a nuisance rather than otherwise. It has great endurance, its fighting qualities and audacity are unheard of, and it is driving out such birds as the martin, bluebird, peewee and barn swallow, with which it comes so intimately in contact."
Altogether, however, the evolution of the local fauna and flora, forced by the agencies of modern advancement and clearly traced in the lifespan of old men and women, is for the betterment of humankind. Prosperous villages have replaced the forest-haunts of wild beasts; ploughed and teeming fields appear instead of swamps and bogs alive with noxious and dangerous reptiles, and the wild tangle of plants and bitter fruits has disappeared before the cultivated grasses and fruits, the pastures covered with hardy livestock, and the orchards of the contented homesteaders loaded with apples, peaches, and other products of care and industry.
Thus we believe we have laid the basis and painted in the several backgrounds necessary to continue the narrative showing the development of White County in the details which the reader will naturally crave.