Eleazer Munsell

As printed in 1874

Eleazer Munsell was born July 28, 1824, in Seneca County, Ohio. His father's name was Roswell Munsell and his mother's name was Sarah Austin. Eleazer Munsell lived in Ohio until the year 1831, when he came with his father's family to Laporte County, Indiana. There he lived until 1837 when he came to Illinois.

While he lived in Indiana he was often accustomed to go hunting with the little Indian boys and kill birds and sqirrels with their bows and arrows. He frequently attended Indian dances, and has often seen the Pottawatomies perform their war dance, smoke the pipe of peace and go through with their religious ceremonies. At their war dances they had weasel skins to which bells were attached. They would divide into two parties and come together with their weasel skins and war clubs, and pretend to kill each other. Some would fall down, apparently lifeless, while others would go through the motions of scalping. They would often collect together in a wigwam and dance to the music of a gourd containing stones or shot. Sometimes they would hit each other a tap with a weasel skin; this was an invitation to dance. The young braves asked the young squaws to dance by tapping them with the weasel skin, and the young squaws asked the braves to dance in the same way. They began dancing in the morning, and at about one o'clock stopped for dinner, which consisted of soup made of dried meat, dried corn and dried blood, all boiled together in copper kettles. They ate their dinner out of large wooden bowls, which held six or eight gallons. Each had a ladle and helped himself. About a dozen of them sat down in a place, and ate out of a bowl. The dance was o-generally continued in the afternoon and evening and lasted usually two days. At the end of two days they had a religious ceremony, the sacrifice of a white dog. On one of these grand occasions, when about five hundred Indians were present, the chief became drunk, and the white dog was not burned as the ceremony required. AVhen it was pretty well roasted, it was snatched finn the fire and eaten up. The sacrifice of the white dog usually ended the dance. While the young braves and squaws were dancing, the old folks would gather into a wigwam and smoke the pipe of peace. Each would smoke and hand the pipe to his neighbor until it went clear around. The Indians were very still in their dances and said nothing until one of them struck another with a weasel skin, as an invitation to dance. The striking with the weasel skin Avas accompanied by an exclamation "ye pooh," and no other words were spoken. Mr. Munsell says that so far as he had any dealings with the Indians he found them very honorable and friendly. They were peaceable even when drunk. The Indian braves never failed to get drunk whenever they had an opportunity. They raised corn sometimes, which was tended by squaws, who cultivated it with hoes altogether, digging up the hills as high as if for sweet potatoes. Whenever they moved they packed everything on their ponies, even their do2:s and squaws. Their pappooses were carried lashed to a board, from which they were not usually taken for several months. These boards had attached to them pieces of buckskin, which Avent around the heads of the squaws. When the squaws came into camy) they cut branches of trees and set them up and hung the pappooses to them or to the limbs of trees. It was the duty of the squa'S to chop the wood and build the fires in the middle C)f the wigwams. Around a fire sat an Indian and his family on mattresscis made of rushes. The Indians cooked fish, chickens, muskrats, s(piirrels, coons, denison, and in fact every kind of meat they might happen to have, in a kettle at once. In the spring-time the Indians caught sugar water in troughs made of birch l)ark, with the endt stopped up by drawing them together and sewing them tight. These troughs would usually be large enough to hold a bucket of water.

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Eleazer Munsell has often driven stock to Chicago. He remembers one very exciting adventure with a drove of cattle and sheep, which he was taking to Chicago. When he arrived near Pontiac they became frightened one night at about eleven o'clock, by wolves, and stampeded. The cattle ran over the sheep and killed some thirty of them. The men in charge of the cattle did ever-thing possible for two hours to quiet them, but notwithstanding all exertions, about fifty head of cattle broke away. Their trail was folloAA-ed the next day, and they were found near Lexington and brought back. Mr. Munsell says that the excitement during a stampede is intense, and he never wishes to see another.

The prices of cattle formerly varied very much and sometimes were so low as to seem almost to be given away. Mr. Munsell bought good cows for six dollars apiece, and good yokes of oxen for twenty-f'e dollars. He has bought sheep for fifty cents per head. He has sold number one fall wheat for twenty-five cents per bushel, and oats for five cents.

Mr. Munsell married, October 24, 1850, Zerilda Perry, and has seven children living. Mrs. Munsell is a very kind lady, and thinks everything of her children. She likes to see them do well at school, and takes a great interest in the progress they make in their studies.

Eleazer Munsell is six feet in height. His hair begins to show the effect of time, and a few gray hairs make their appearance in his beard. He is very clever, loves a joke as well as Abraham Lincoln ever did; is very kind to his family; is careful in the management of his farm; has been successful in life, and is much respected By his neiglibors. His face is broad and goodnatured, and it indicates good feeling and good sense.

Mr. Munsell's eliildren are: liloii, who attends school at Eureka; Stephen Alpheus, Zerilda, John Roswell, Josephine, Minnie Warren, and Austin Eleazer, who all live at home.

Robert Franklin Dickerson.

As Mr. Dickerson is known to be quite lively with his quill, the author requested him to write a sketch of his life, and he has given the following, which is very interesting:

I was born in Hamilton County, Illinois, October 30, 1822. My father, Michael Dickerson, died in 1836. My mother is yet living and is seventy-one years old past. "We emigrated to this county, then Fayette, in 1825, and settled near Sugar Creek, near the western line of the county. In 1826 my parents moved to Randolph's Grove, to the place where Martin L. Bishop now lives. My father built a small water mill on Kickapoo, where the early settlers came to get their grinding done. Many a day I have sat and fed in the flour to be bolted.

On the 28rd of June, 1827, the great storm came, which rooted up and blew down the trees in its course through Old Town timber. In the fall of 1828 my father sold his claim and his mill to William Hampton, a Tennesseean, udio is remembered by many who are yet living. My father then settled at Long Point, now in DeWitt County, and lived there until the fall of 1830. He then sold his claim to Frederick Troxwell and purchased the claim of Mr. Bennett, where Henry C. Dickerson now lives, near the present town of Leroy. He moved on this place November 2, 1830. The famous deep snow began falling December 3 of the following winter, and continued nearly every day through the fore part of January, 1831. I well remember the events of those days and could give the names of all old settlers around the groves of McLean County.

The hydrophobia broke out among the canine race domesticated, in 1832, and two persons were said to have been bitten; but the only suffering they endured resulted from distress of mind. I am no great over of dogs.

The great fall of meteors occurred November 14, 1833. They seemed to be showers of j&ery rain falling to the ground.

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At the first school I ever attended I was allowed to do pretty much as I pleased. I went out of the school-room and came back when I pleased, and no one dared to molest me or make me afraid. But at the next school I attended, in 1832, 1 was obliged to do a little as others said. I went to school for a while to lame William Johnson, now of Kansas and learned to spell as far as " baker," " brief," etc. I next went to Amasa C. Washburn, now of your city. He once chastised me for fighting, but the boys had to be dealt Avith severely then, though not more so than some boys should be dealt with now. A larger boy kicked my dog and I gave the vicious lad a blow in the eye. Mr. Washburn caught us at this interesting performance and at evening after prayer he said: "Reuben, 'I will have to chastise you," and Reuben received five gentle strokes with a SAvitch, and was dismissed. I and Mr. Washburn then remained about half an hour enjoying each other's society. That licking hurt me.

Mr. Washburn and his lady taught the first Sabbath school I ever attended.

I am sorry to say that in my youthful days I played some rather practical jokes. Old Uncle Thomas Tovery, M. E. preacher, once held church at the school-house, and during the progress of the serdces I and another boy outside arranged a cat and dog fight, and the terrible scrimmage, the howls of the cat and the barking of the dog, broke, up the services. The people ran out and said: "Kill the cat, it's mad; take up the dog, run;" etc. We were obliged to tell what we did, in order to save the cat's life. Uncle Tom's text was: " I am the bright and the morning star, the first and the last." Old Uncle Tom is dead; he departed this life at Oskaloosa, Iowa.

This grove was settled by John Buckles, sr., in 1828. He was a heavy man, weighing three hundred and eighty pounds. The Buckles family were Virginians, but part of them are Suckers, being born in this State. Some of them live among us yet. They are kind-hearted, generous and hospitable people, and love to hunt and fish. James Merrifield, sr., now deceased, Avith his family, settled here in the spring of 1830. Daniel and Henry Crumbaugh and Otho Merrifield, are early settlers, now ling. Ambrose Hall, now of Atlanta, Logan County, Illinois, was an early settler. Thomas 0. Rutledge, sr., was about to remove to this grove, but he sickened and died, August 20, 1830, and was buried in the cemetery east of Leroy. We have one soklier of the war of 1812; it is Daniel Crumbaugh, who fought under General Harrison.

I grew up to manhood very much as other boys have done. I have worked hard, have plowed for twenty-five cents per day, chopped wood for thirty, reaped wheat for titty cents per day and cradle for fifty. I carried from Salt Creek the stone which was placed at the northeast corner of Leroy, and for this I received from A. Gridley the sum of twenty-iive cents. I have had many dealings with Grridley and Covel, and always found them gentlemen. I paid my first tax of sixty-six cents to William McCullough, and received a receipt from his deputy, B. H. Coffey. It reads:

" Rec'd of Robert F. Dickerson 66 cts in full of his State & County Tax for the year 1844.

" Wm. McCullough, Col. By B. H. Coffey."

I was married, January 1, 1845, to Miss Harriet R. Xarr. We kept house for three months on rented lands, without bedstead, chair or table. I had one pony, but no cow, hog, sheep or money. My wife, Harriet, was the only daughter of her father, Jacob Karr, by his first marriage. We have raised nine children, all of whom are living. When the rebellion broke out I sent two of my sons into the army. In political matters I have voted for men, when I knew them, regardless of party, but if I was unacquainted with the candidates I voted the Democratic ticket. I voted for Stephen A. Douglas. I took the stump for the Indianapolis, Blooming-ton and Western Railroad. I have considered it a"privilege to help the soldiers and their widows and orphans. My children are nine in number. They are:

Merrit M. Dickerson, who lives in Monticello, Illinois. He was in the army for a short time during the rebellion. He enlisted, February 15, 1865, in the Mnety-fourth Illinois, and was present at the battles of Spanish Fort and Fort Blakele3\ He was afterwards transferred to the Thirty-seventh Illinois, became clerk at headquarters at Galveston, Texas, and was discharged in February, 1866, at Houston, Texas.

James L. Dickerson lives one mile northeast of Leroy.

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Martha E., wife of George Pray, lives at Smitliland, Jolansoii County, Kansas.

As printed in The good old times in McLean County, Illinois / containing two hundred and sixty-one sketches of old settlers, a complete historical sketch of the Black Hawk War and ... all matters of interest relate (1874). See the original pages. Wording is the original; obvious scanning errors have been corrected, and a few may remain.