Entered According to Act of Congress, in the year 1896,
By FRANK HICKENLOOPER,
In the office office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D.C.
TO
THE OLD SETTLERS WHOSE FAITH IN THE FUTURE OF
MONROE COUNTY
WAS UNSHAKEN BY THE MIDNIGHT
CHORUS OF THE WILD WOLVES, THE
STING OF THE WINTER FROST CREEPING THROUGH THE "CHINK-
ING" OF THE CABIN WALLS, THE SWEEP OF THE PRAIRIE FIRES.
THE DEPLETED MEAL-CHEST, THE STROKE OF THE PRAIRIE
RATTLESNAKE, THE PALL OF THE "DEEP SNOW," AND THE
LONELINESS OF THE PRAIRIE CABIN—HUSBANDS AND
WIVES, YOUTHS AND MAIDENS, WHOSE BRAVE,
TRUE HEARTS AND WILLING HANDS DEFIED
THE WILDERNESS; AND IN AFTER YEARS
MADE IT TO BLOSSOM AS THE ROSE,
THIS VOLUME IS MOST SINCERELY DEDICATED.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT.
Before unfolding the contents of this
volume, the Author desires to express his deep sense of obligation to those who
have kindly aided in the preparation of this work, and especially to Rev. E. L.
Waring, of Oskaloosa, Iowa, and A. R. Barnes, of Albia - two gentlemen pursuing
parallel paths in life: the former a minister of the gospel and one of the
"pathfinders" in pioneer church mission work; and the latter a veteran
in both journalism and the War of the Rebellion.
To the former the Author is indebted for
valuable assistance in tracing the history of the Methodist Episcopal Church in
Monroe County. From the latter the Author has received various forms of
encouragement and valuable aid, especially in having granted him access to the
historical data contained in the preserved files of the newspapers of the county
from 1854 to the present time.
THE AUTHOR