OCR Text |
Show j (!)------r--W--S---- HISTORiCAL I I DEPARTMENT. I k u :--------------- SOME EARLY IOWA HISTORY. Nebraska Case Brings to Mind a Famous Fa-mous Episode. (Sioux City Tribune.) Judge Griminson has entered a decree at Columbus, Jeb., awarding the $50.-000 $50.-000 estate of Guy C. Barnum to his widow, formerly Maria C. Delomel, Galveston, Gal-veston, Tex. The court thus recognized as valid the wedding that took place at Los Angeles, An-geles, CaL, Dec. 10, IS!)!). Barnum met the southern lady in the morning, and they were married in the afternoon. The other heirs of Barnum fought the will giving her his property. They claimed the California marriage was flueneed the old man unduly, but they fiuenced the old man unduly, ut they were overruled. Barnum died last .summer. P.arnum a few years ago was worth $100,000. He had been in the legislature. legisla-ture. He stood high in Columbus. But his mind failed him. He spent several years in the Nebraska asylum, and when allowed his liberty he roamed the whole country, spending his money-right money-right and left and finally ending with the Los Angeles marriage. In southern Monona country, Iowa, where the picturesque Soldier river sweeps proudly about a high, wooded hill, are nestled a half-dozen venerable houses, a diminutive store, and a depot. One train stops there each day. The brakeman calls, "Preparation." Here, in this memory of a town, was set up the first printing press in western west-ern Iowa; here was jirlnted the first publication west of Des Moines: here was established that wild, fanatical : dream, the Jehovah Presbytery of Zion. Guy C. Barnum was one of the two men who named this town "Preparatlon"for it was here that men were to be groomed for transmission to heaven; it was to be the earthly! preparation for the life beyond. i 4 When Joseph Smith, father of the Mormons, was shot in Carthage. 111., jail that June night in 1844, the Mormon faith was more or less demoralized. Numerous candidates for the mantle of Smith sprang up. Living in St. Louis was a man named Charles B. Thompson. Little more than an adventurer, ad-venturer, he was attracted to the Mormon Mor-mon church, as a glorious opportunity for a rare escapade. He became a teacher in the faith. He gathered about him in St. Louis a constantly increasing increas-ing flock. He enlisted as assistant the services of Guy C. Barnum, then a young man. Thompson possessed a personality of rare hypnotic qualities. Soon he had collected about him a small army of pilgrims. One night he had a vision. Next morning he announced to hi3 llock that iod had appeared to him the night before. be-fore. "My children," he said, "it is the divine will that we shall journey to the far west, and there set up an earthly-kingdom earthly-kingdom to prepare for the better life beyond." A few months later some hundred prairie schooners, that had lumbered slowly all the way from St. Louis, carrying car-rying some 400 persons, halted at a bend in the Soldier river, where grass and trees grew verdant in fertile soil. Wagons were unloaded, men fell to work hewing logs, and a few weeks later appeared a branch community of the Mormon church that lived and died without winning a place on history's page. This was in 1S35. ' Thompson had another vision. To Lis credulous following he announced the deity had again appeared to him. "The divine spirit has appointed me his steward," he said. "I am the steward stew-ard of God. You are my stewards. As your steward I must, under the divine will, possess all you possess. Go, then, buy lands, and deed them to your steward." stew-ard." The community, now grown to full j 1.200 men. obeyed. They pre-empted two whole townships. They established stores and blacksmith shops and livery barns and hotels. Every dollar of profit was religiously turned over to the steward of God, through Barnum. assistant as-sistant steward. One man had gone on a several days' journey to bring back a load of lumber. He was met by a messenger of the steward. "You must stop where you are; you must journey to Virginia; you must enter en-ter the halls of the legislature at Richmond; Rich-mond; you must pronounce the curse of the steward upon the legislature, because be-cause it has said things and done things that reflect upon the steward of God and his divine master." mis was tne command. The lumberman lumber-man obeyed. The messenger took the seat on the wagon and drove back to Preparation. The lumberman, after weeks of laborious toiling, reached the Richmond legislature, pronounced the curse, and Journeyed back again to his Iowa home. ' $ j But. by the time the Jehovah Presbytery Presby-tery of Zion had reached its third anniversary anni-versary the faithful at last began to grumble. The steward was insatiable in his demand for the profits. When the people demanded a share, he would have another vision, and play upon their superstition to make way with the money. His absence from the community became more and more frequent. fre-quent. In reality he went ba'jf ti St. Louis and indulged in the jbs't violent vio-lent debauches, leaving the community in charge of Barnum. When he returned re-turned he would resort to the visional exercise to replete his finances. But his followers found at last the nature of his mysterious pilgrimages. Visions become more Q nrl niA no'.oaco ir an constantly less impressive. One night in 1860, when the steward and Barnum were gone, the people held an indignation meeting. It was solemnly solemn-ly decided to hang both Thompson and Barnum. The entire community set out for Onawa, to carry out their purpose. pur-pose. Thompson and Barnum had just left Onawa for Preparation. They came near driving straight into the mob. When but a quarter of a mile away from the angry people they were met by a girl who had worked In Thompson's Thomp-son's household a mere slip of a thing. "Run. run for your lives," she shouted. shout-ed. "They are going to hang you." 4 t The two men needed no second warning. warn-ing. Horses werejashed to a run. The mob caught sight of the fugitives and gave hot chase. When in the shelter of a high hill the horses were loosed from the wagon, and, each man mounting mount-ing a horse, rode like wild men to Onawa. Ona-wa. still pursued by the infuriated mob. 'No, I don't believe any one knew they hid themselves," says Judge Addison Addi-son Oliver of Onawa, still living. "I know they were kept in my attic for nearly three weeks. The men from Preparation searched the whole town for them, but could not find them." One dark night Thompson slunk from the Oliver home."" A horse and wagon were ready. He: took his wife, a peck or two of cash anct jewelry, ana made quick flight to Fort Dodge. From there he made his way" bacic to St. Louis. He tried to start another colony and failed. Finally he died in Philadelphia, penniless. penni-less. Barnum went to Nebraska, where he later became a rich and prominent citizen. The under stewards ot God, at Preparation, took their $500,000 of property prop-erty into the courts. There an apportionment appor-tionment was made, but many of the suits went to the Iowa supreme court for final determination. , Today there is no one In the decrepit little village still bearing the brand of the wild adventur- who knows aught of the Jehovah . Presbytery, of Zion, save by tradition-. Not a steward lives today in Monona county. They have scattered to the ends of the country. N?rv that Barnum has passed atva?, only the name of the town remains to bear witness to the first and boldest confidence game of Iowa's history. |