Monona counties; and those north along the west boundary of the state. Its headquarters were at Hampton.

Both its colonel, C. W. Boutin, and lieutenant colonel, L. B. Raymond, were residents of Hampton.

A few years before his death, Mr. Raymond was elected state commander of Iowa, of the Grand Army of the Republic. A number of years ago the headquarters of the Sixth Regiment were removed from Hampton, and Company D has no longer a place in local history.

Vol. 1-11

CHAPTER X

REMINISCENT-LEANDER REEVE HARKS BACK TO THE EARLY DAYSAMONG MANY THINGS TELLS OF HUNTING BUFFALO JOB GARNER PREACHES FOR A FARM-TRIALS AND TRIUMPHS.

Mention already has been made of Leander C. Reeve, a brother of the pioneer. He came to the county in the spring of 1853 and joined the James B. Reeve family, later making a claim on the tract of land which S. H. Carter subsequently secured and on which he lived for many years. Here Mr. Reeve remained until a certain period in the year 1857, when he returned with his family to Ashtabula county, Ohio, whence he came. When the Civil war broke out, Mr. Reeve enlisted and attained the rank of captain in the One Hundred and Seventy-seventh Ohio Volunteer Infantry. After the cessation of hostilities between the states he returned to his Ohio home and through industry and great probity of character became prosperous and influential. His neighbors' estimation of his character and abilities assumed concrete form when they placed him in positions of trust and importance, sending him to the State Legislature in 1890-4 and returning him to local offices for which he was admirably fitted. For many years Mr. Reeve held the office of justice of the peace and was wont to prevail on all disputants to settle their differences out of court whenever possible.

In the fall of 1907 the Old Settlers' Association of Franklin County held its twenty-second annual reunion and Leander C. Reeve was one of the honored guests of the function. He was down on the program for a paper on "Recollections of a Pioneer" and to the edification and intense interest of a large assemblage of people read the following carefully prepared account of the early settlements in this county:

In the fall of 1852, James B. Reeve, with Mr. Phelps, his wife. and two girls about seven and nine years old, started from Trumbull, Ashtabula county, Ohio, with his team and spring wagon to find a home in Iowa. They knew very little of what part of the state they

might locate in. From Cedar Falls west there was no track further than Dr. Rockwell's, six miles from the Falls. In due time they came to Franklin county and came to the grove afterwards called Main's (Mayne's) Grove. They drove into the grove and halted at a spring by which Benjamin Butterfield located and built his log house, locating his farm on the prairie north of the grove. Soon after stopping at the spring one of the men shot a raccoon and the report of the rifle brought to them John Main and his wife Martha, with their three-year-old girl, Julia. They had been in the grove three or four weeks hunting and trapping. They had their wagon and two yoke of oxen and were about to leave for the settlements down the Iowa river to spend the winter, expecting to return in the spring and take a claim. The land was not then in the market. They held a consultation and decided that it would not be safe to leave it until spring, as hunters might discover the grove and locate a first choice of claims before spring. As a result, they decided to remain over the winter. They then drove down the stream to the lower or east side of a large bottom prairie which was surrounded with timber, except on the north side. There they built a cabin on the bank of the creek 10x12 feet and moved in and set up housekeeping. John Main being the first man in, had the first choice of claims. He chose the south side of the grove and secured some of the best timber in the grove. Reeve chose his on the east end of the grove and Mr. Phelps took his joining Mr. Reeve on the south. When winter came on, Mr. Main took his oxen down to the settlement on the Iowa river and had them wintered. Mr. Phelps commenced building a cabin on his claim one-half mile south of where James B. Reeve afterward built his log house. He got the body of his house up, building it long and narrow, calculating for a single roof.

During that time the three had spent considerable time hunting and had killed twelve buffaloes, besides much other small game. Some time in the winter Mrs. Phelps, whose maiden name was Chilson and was of a family far above this rough frontier life, tired of that way of living (I knew the family well and the little girls had been to school to me). Mr. and Mrs. Main were very kind-hearted people, but John Main was one of the most profane men in his language that I have ever known, and to be shut in that little cabin with such surroundings was more than her delicate character could endure and Mr. Phelps abandoned his claim and took Reeve's team and started for civilization, intending to go to Waverly, in Bremer county, where they had acquaintances. Some days after Mr. Phelps

had gone, Mr. Reeve became concerned about his team, as well as about the family.

There had been a heavy snow on the ground, which had become crusted, and then there came a heavy snow storm with extremely cold weather, and as soon as the snow was over he resolved to go to see what had become of his team and the family. The snow had then become three feet deep, with a crust about one foot below the surface of the snow. He expected to start in the morning and when morning came, Mr. Main persuaded him to remain and make a pair of snow shoes before starting, saying that it would be impossible for him to travel without. He consequently set about making the necessary snow shoes, which took both of them until noon. After dinner he started, intending to reach Boylan's Grove by night, which is two miles west of the town of Bristow, although there was no Bristow there then. Two of the Boylans lived at the grove. After traveling a few miles, the snow crust had cut the whangs of the raw elk skin. so that they gave out and he had to abandon the snow shoes. He still made his way as best he could until his strength failed and night came on. He then trod down the snow for a little space and broke brush from the bushes which had been killed by fire, and prepared to camp for the night. Having but one match in his pocket, he took the precaution to tear off a shirt sleeve to make sure of catching his fire. He stamped around his little fire, breaking brush, for he had not even a jack-knife with him, until at last he could move no longer, and sank down by the embers to await the coming of daylight. At daylight his feet were so frozen that he could not walk. Then he started on his hands and knees and covered the three miles to Boylan's in that manner. Arriving at Boylan's he found his team left by Phelps, who had met an opportunity to ride with another man the rest of his journey. There being no way of treating his frozen feet there, he drove to Janesville and stayed with John Barrick, who cared for him until he was able to return to Franklin county. While my brother was stopping at Janesville, he wrote me a good description of the country, particularly Franklin county, upon which I decided to join him and started in March, 1853, arriving at Main's Grove early in April, finding my brother yet with very sore feet. He had said nothing of his hardships or frozen feet in his letters. He said he would not have mother know it.

Mr. Main and my brother had gone down stream trapping for beaver and otter, when I arrived. I found Mrs. Main and her little girl, Julia, alone in the cabin, and the next day I went in search of