Iowa Heritage Illustrated

Swaim, Ginalie

Succumbing 
to a strange fever
"The past winter there has been a 
strange fever raging here/' 
Kitturah Penton Belknap wrote in 
the spring of 1847 in Van Buren 
County, Iowa. "It seems to be con­
tagious and it is raging terribly, 
nothing seems to stop it but to 
tear up and take a six months trip 
across the plains with ox teams to 
the Pacific Ocean."
Kitturah's family eventually 
succumbed to the fever, as you'll 
read later in this issue. So did 
Albert Paschal from Louisa 
County, and James Cowden from 
Keosauqua. So did 17-year-old 
Eliza Ann McAuley from Mount 
Pleasant.
According to historians' esti­
mates, so did another quarter to a 
half million people. Iowans were 
certainly among thousands and 
thousands of "fever-struck" 
Americans who migrated west be­
tween the 1840s and the 1870s.
The migration is an American 
epic. The image of covered wag­
ons crossing the Great Plains is 
carved into our national memory 
as surely as are the wheel ruts that 
still scar the land.
But there is a tragic simplifica­
tion in seeing American westward 
expansion as a stream of wagons 
winding across open, empty land, 
as a flood of emigrants marking 
distance on a vacant landscape. 
The real story is one of complex 
interconnections and shifting dy­
namics involving diverse peoples.
Iowa's newest historic site— 
the Western Historic Trails Cen­
ter—reveals this complex story 
through intriguing combinations
of interactive exhibits, films, and 
historic images. In this issue of 
Iowa Heritage Illustrated, we'll tour 
the new Trails Center in Council 
Bluffs. And through excerpts from 
diaries, we'll experience the trails 
ourselves. We'll pack a wagon 
with Kitturah Belknap, ford icy 
streams with Albert Paschal, cross 
alkali swamps with Eliza Ann 
McAuley, and encounter a host of 
other people on the trail.
After all, the story of western 
expansion is a story of people— 
people who left home and people 
who were left behind; people who 
entered the West and people who 
already lived in the West; people 
who protected others and people 
who profited from others.
And it is a story of people in­
teracting with the land. Land that 
taunted travelers, starving their 
animals, busting their wheels. 
Land that awed them and 
humbled them. Land that prom­
ised gold.
Travelers had their own im­
pact on the land, leaving behind 
deep ruts, livestock carcasses, 
shallow graves, carved initials, 
cast-off belongings. And as the 
dynamics shifted between diverse 
peoples, the land itself was rede­
fined. Sacred Land. Great Ameri­
can Desert. Garden of Eden. Res­
ervations. Homesteader's Para­
dise. Wild West.
The story of America's west­
ern trails started long before the 
1840s—with the Lewis and Clark 
Trail in 1804-1806. And it did not 
end when the iron trail, the trans­
continental railroad, knit the East
h
.eS'rMfc
1̂- f-
V»-
9 min
V "t- -5
i / t
psr
>•
i , /
-viL-V™ v r- .“.V . '
0  • \  .  * •- ;  /
, • ,r ;■ , A '- *. ^ •;•*..-rf. ’ ?■ v.: - •• * ri- • . . v  r. 7?-r-
and the West together in the 
1870s. Eventually, ever more 
sophisticated trails—graded roads 
and paved highways—would 
weave together the mountains 
and plains and deserts. Automo­
bile tourists clutching maps of sce­
nic landmarks would become 
America's 20th-century emigrants.
As with all far-reaching 
events in history—wars, depres­
sions, epidemics—the westward
146 Iowa Heritage Illustrated
DENVER PUBLIC LIBRARY. WESTERN HISTORY DEPT
* -V».
** k , w—
expansion comprises countless in­
dividuals and experiences. Select­
ing material for this issue could be 
likened to the challenge faced by 
emigrants packing covered wag­
ons: How much will fit? What 
must be left out? Painful choices!
Reading 19th-century trail 
diaries is a compelling way to en­
counter the past. Toward that end, 
this issue presents portions of five 
diaries, each rich with experiences
on the western trails. Listen to 
these five travelers, and then mul­
tiply their experiences by the 
quarter or half million emigrants 
who went west. You will begin to 
sense the magnitude and mean­
ings of westward expansion for 
this continent and its people.
—The Editor
T h e  Joseph H e n ry  B y in g to n  fa m ily  was 
one o f thousands o f fa m ilie s  e m ig ra t ­
ing w es t in th e  m id  I 9 th  ce n tu ry . H e re , 
th e  fa m ily  rests nea r C a lls  F o rt, U ta h , 
c irca  I 870.
Winter 1997 147
T  TPM  JT>
. 1  ■Hr Ä di ■ *  * 2 1 M S  Jk ja h g


English

Succumbing to a Strange Fever

Iowa Heritage Illustrated, vol.78 no.2, Summer 1997

Morris, James McGrath

Leaves from a Lifer's Notebook: The Tom Runyon Story

The Trails Are About People

Juhnke, Eric

Demagogery in the Corn Belt: Iowa's Norman Baker

Hockett, Philip G

Exposing Iowa's True Colors: Early Color Photography

Deiss, Ron W

Shortening the River': Henry Bosse's Images of the Changing Mississippi

A Salute to Porches

Nash, Janice Olive

The Lincoln Hotel in Lowden: Capturing Trade on the Lincoln Highway

Peterson, Angy

Iowa Heritage Illustrated
1997 Index
compiled by A n g y  Peterson
(Note: Page numbers in bold denote images.)
Agriculture field work, 20-21 
Ahern, L. Dale, 38 
Allen, John, 155,155
American Medical Association, 121-22,127 
Architecture: porches, 50-62; and Franklin 
Hyde in Dubuque, 88-96; Western His­
toric Trails Center, 150 
Automobiles: Sec Lincoln Highway 
Baker Institute (Muscatine), 121-22,125, 
127, 120,121
Baker, Norman, 110-29, 111, 117-18,126 
Bathke, H.W., 58 
Battle Creek (Iowa), 57 
Beardsley, William S„ 33, 37 
Bedell, Virginia, 38
Behrens, Roy, Iowa's Contribution to 
Camouflage," 98-109
Belknap, Kitturah Penton, 146,172-74, 190 
Bennett, Mary, "How to Store and Pre­
serve Your Color Images," 25 
Bianco, Warren, 40
Bishop's Block (Dubuque), 88-95, 88-95 
Bissell, Lester C., 96 
Bosse, Henry Peter, 130-44, Fall cover 
Bridges, 135-37
Brookhart, Smith Wildman, 115 
Byington, Joseph Henry: family of, 147, 
Calibaugh, Peter, 186 
Camouflage, 98-109, 98-109 
Cancer, cures, 110-29 
Castner, W. H., 96
Cedar County Cow War (Iowa), 125 
Cedar Rapids (Iowa), 59 
Chinese immigrants, 168 
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day 
Saints: See Mormons 
Ciulla, Vincent, 153,153 
Clayton, William, 69 
Clemens, Andrew, 48 
Clemmens, A.F. "Frank," 44-45, 43 
Clemmens, Celia Daehn, 41, 43-46, 43 
Clemmens, Vera, 45, 43 
Clermont (Iowa), Summer interior cover 
Clinton (Iowa), 137
Close-To-Nature, Winter interior cover 
Community: and front porches, 50-61 
Congar, H L., 90 
Cook, William, 108 
Cooper, A. A., 90, 92
Council Bluffs (Iowa), 70, 148, 164, 174-75. 
Sec also Kanesville, Western Historic 
Trails Center
Covered wagons, 172-73,173,181 
Cowden, James S., 174-75,190-91 
Cram, D. C., 96 
Cranberg, Gilbert, 38 
Davenport (Iowa), 138 
Decorah (Iowa), 60 
Deichmann, H.L., 43 
Deiss, Ron W., "'Shortening the River": 
Henry Bosse's Images of the Changing 
Mississippi," 130-44 
"Demagoguery in the Corn Belt: Iowa's 
Norman Baker," by Eric Juhnke, 110-29 
Des Moines (Iowa): skyline, c. 1941,16-17 
Des Moines Rapids Canal, 140-44 
Diaries, 172-91
Dubuque (Iowa), 88-96, 88-96 
Dugan, Claire and Ira, 28-29 
Dutcher, Charles, 127 
Eddy, Lloyd, 32
Edwards, "Walnut Seed," 33-34 
Ely's Ford (Van Buren County), 68-69 
Emigration, 64-87,146-91 
"Exit IB: Touring the New Western His­
toric Trails Center," by Steven Ohrn, 
148-59
Exposing Iowa's True Colors: Early Color 
Photography/ by Philip G. Hockett, 2-23
Farley, Jesse P, 89, 96 
Faulkner, Barry, 100,102 
"The Finest Warehouse West of Chicago' 
Bishop's Block in Dubuque, by Carmen 
Tschofen, 88-95
"First Steps for Rehabilitating or Replac­
ing a Front Porch," 62 
Fishbein, Morris, 121-22, 125 
Fleming, W. and J , Sawmill and Lumber 
Company (North McGregor), 135 
Floods, 138
Fort Madison (Iowa): penitentiary, 26-40 
"Franklin Hyde's Houses," 96 
"From Porch to Patio: The Desire for Pri­
vacy and the Need for Community," by 
Richard H. Thomas, 52-61 
Fry, Sherry Edmundson, 99-102, 108,100 
Fur trade, 162 
Galland (Iowa), 140 
Gardner, Erie Stanley, 27, 35-40 
Gebhard, Charlie, 36 
Gibson, Claire and Ira, 28-29 
Gold rush and gold mining, 172, 177, 189, 
187
Gotz, Carlos, 29
Graven, Henry, 29, 37
Grundy County (Iowa) Courthouse, 14-15
Hancock, John T., 94
"The Hand-Colored Photo," by Philip G.
Hockett, 24 
Harger, Benton M , 96 
Haynes, Glenn, 30, 31 
Hennessey, John, 88, 89, 92, 96 
Henningsen, O. H , 38 
Henricksen, Hans, 21 
Herod, J., 96
Hickenlooper, Bourke B., 31, 37 
Historic preservation, 41-47, 52-62, 88-96 
Hockett, Philip G., "Exposing Iowa's True 
Colors: Early Color Photography/' 2-23; 
"The Hand-Colored Photo," 24 
Hoegh, Leo, 38 
Holidays: Sec Thanksgiving 
Hoover, Herbert, 116 
Housing, 50-62
"How to Store and Preserve Your Color 
Images,' by Mary Bennett, 25 
Hyde, Franklin D., 88-96 
"In the Wake of the Western Trails," by 
Ginalie Swaim, 190-91 
"Iowa's Contribution to Camouflage," by 
Roy R. Behrens, 98-109 
Iowa State Fair (Des Moines), Spring cover 
Iowa State Penitentiary (Fort Madison), 
26-40, 28, 30-33, 39 
Jackson, Addie, 33 
Johnson, Mandus, 113,122 
Journalism, 26-40 
Joy, Henry B., 42-43
Juhnke, Eric, "Demagoguery in the Corn 
Belt: Iowa's Norman Baker," 110-29 
Kanesville (Iowa), 70, 164,174-75,179. See 
also Council Bluffs 
Keen, Richard Augustus, 184-89, 191 
Kelly, Charles, 54 
Kemmann, H D., 45-46 
Kent, Barbara, 8, 23-24 
Kent, Charles, 4 
Kent, Clara, 5
Kent, Fred W., 3, 9,18, 23,18
Kent, Tom, 13, 9
Krembring, August L., 45
KTNT Radio, 110-29, 110-13,115-19,126
Lainson, Percy A., 31, 35-40
Lake City (Iowa), 53
Larrabee, William and Anna, Summer in­
tenor cover 
Latcham, George, 188 
Lawler, Joseph, 135
"Leaves from a Lifer's Notebook: The Tom 
Runyon Story," by James McGrath Mor­
ris, 26-40
Lee, Robert E., 140 
Licht, Sue, 46 
Lincoln Highway, 41-47 
Lincoln Hotel (Lowden), 41-47, 41, 43, 46, 
47
"The Lincoln Hotel in Lowden: Capturing 
Trade on the Lincoln Highway," by Jan 
Olive Nash, 41-47 
Lindquist, Ernest "Ole," 33, 35, 40 
Locust Creek (Wayne County), 69 
Lolas, John, 188 
Lowden (Iowa), 41-47, 41-47 
Lumber industry, 134, 132,135, 139 
Lunden, Walter, 32 
Lyons (Iowa), 136
MacGregor, Greg, "Photographing the 
Mormon Trail Across the West," 64-87, 
158, 158, Summer cover 
Mahaska, 99-100 
Mahlstedt, Emil, 44 
Maquoketa (Iowa), 173 
Markwood, Bob, 28-29 
Mary of the Angels Home (Dubuque), 89 
McAuley, Eliza Ann, 178-84,191 
McGregor, Alexander, 135 
Mechanic's Rock, 144 
Medical treatment, 18 See also Cancer 
cures
Meigs, Montgomery, 142 
Meigs, Montgomery C , 140 
M id w e s t Free Press, 121, 125, 127,124 
Mississippi River, 130-44/130-44, Tall 
cover
Monroe, Paul and W.H , Winter interior 
cover
Mormons: and Pioneer Trail, 64-87, 64-87, 
Summer cover, 166
Morris, James McGrath, "Leaves from a 
Lifer's Notebook: The Tom Runyon 
Story," 26-40
Mount Vernon (Iowa), track meet, 12 
Muscatine (Iowa): See Baker, Norman 
Music: pipe organs, Summer interior 
cover
Nash, Jan Olive, "The Lincoln Hotel in 
Lowden: Capturing Trade on the Lin­
coln Highway," 41-47 
Nashville (Iowa): Sec Galland 
Native Americans: and encounters with 
emigrants, 160-63, 167, 170, 176-77, 179, 
180-88,178-79, 190 
Nauvoo (Illinois), 66-67 
North McGregor (Iowa), 135, 135 
Norton, Brad, 46
Ohrn, Steven, Exit IB: Touring the New 
Western Historic Trails Center," 148-59, 
148
One in a Million" (appears on inside 
back cover of these issues): Andrew 
Clemens's sand paintings, by Rashelle 
Wagasky, Spring; Kimball pipe organ in 
Clermont, by Stacy Peterson, Summer; 
Thanksgiving postcards, by the editor. 
Fall; C lose-T o-N ature catalog, by Tracy 
Schoenle, Winter
Orange City (Iowa) Tulip Festival, 13 
Parker, A. J., 90 
Paschal, Albert G., 175-77, 191 
Peterson, Stacy: See "One in a Million" 
Photographing the Mormon Trail Across 
the West," by Greg MacGregor, 64-87, 
Summer cover
Photography: hand coloring, 24; history of 
color, 2-24; of Mississippi River, 130-44; 
of Mormon Trail, 64-87, Summer cover, 
158; preservation of, 25 
Plum, Jerry, 119
Political campaigns: See Baker, Norman 
Porches, 50-62, 50-62, Summer cover 
Post, Emily, 44 
Postcards, Fall interior cover 
P residio, The, 26-40 
Prison journalism, 26-40 
Questers Club, Summer interior cover 
Radio: See KTNT
Railroads, 168; and Mississippi River, 130- 
44
Rememund, Adam, 115-16 
Remsen (Iov/a), 59 
Reynolds, John, 35-36
Rich, Nellie and Joseph, Summer cover
Richards, B.B., 91, 96
Richmann, C.F., 43
Richter, Tom, 149,149
Rivers: See Mississippi River
Rogers, Anthony, 185-87
Runyon, Thomas Jefferson, 26-40, 26, 32,
37
Runyon. Thomas Jefferson, Jr., 35 
Runyon, Winnie, 31
"A Salute to Porches," by Ginalie Swaim. 
50-51
Sand painting, 48-49, 48-49 
Savage, Charles, 64, 85 
Schoenle, Tracy: See One in a Million" 
Service stations, 45-46,171, 45 
"Shortening the River' Henry Bosse s 
Images of the Changing Mississippi," by 
Ron W. Deiss, 130-44 
Sinovic, John, 150,150 
Smith, Joseph, Jr., 66 
Social customs: and porches, 50-61 
Spettel, Mike, 135 
Steamboats: See Mississippi River 
"Succumbing to a Strange Fever, by 
Ginalie Swaim, 146-47 
Sumner (Iowa), 58 
Sutter, Bud, 20
Swaim, Ginalie, "A Salute to Porches," 50- 
51; "In the Wake of the Western Trails," 
190-91; "Succumbing to a Strange Fe­
ver, 146-47; " 'Water plenty timber 
scarce gTass is poor'," 172; "Your Sneak 
Preview of the Western Historic Trails 
Center," 63
Thanksgiving, Fall interior cover 
Thayer, Abbott H., 99-100 
Thomas, Richard H., "From Porch to Pa­
tio: The Desire for Privacy and the Need 
for Community," 52-61 
T N T , 121-23,127
Tourism, 171,191, 191, Winter interior 
cover. See also Lincoln Highway 
"Trails Are About People, The," 161-71 
Transportation: See Emigration, Lincoln 
Highway, Mississippi River 
Tschofen, Carmen, '"The Finest Ware­
house West of Chicago': Bishop's Block 
in Dubuque," 88-95 
Turner, Dan, 125, 127 
Twain, Mark, 131-32 
Union Sunday School (Clermont), Sum­
mer interior cover
United Farm Federation of America, 125, 
129
United States Army Corps of Engineers, 
130-44, 130-44, Fall cover 
University of Iowa (Iowa City), 10-11 
Unrath, George and Carl, Fall interior 
cover
Vader, Daniel, 185 
Van Vechten, Carl, 109 
View-Master Company, 13 
Wagasky, Rashelle: See "One in a Million' 
Walker, M.M., 94, 96 
Wallace, John and Robert, 182 
Warehouses, 88-95, 88, 93-95 
Warner, Everett Longley, 105-8,108 
" 'Water plenty timber scarce grass is 
poor'," by Ginalie Swaim, 172 
West Branch (Iowa), 60 
Western Grocery Company (Dubuque), 94 
Western Historic Trails Center (Council 
Bluffs), 63, 146-71,149-59, 162-71 
Westward expansion, 64-87, 146-91; im­
ages throughout 
White, Helen, Summer cover 
Wilkinson, Norman, 106-7 
Wingen, Gerhard, 135 
Winter Quarters (Nebraska), 70-71,166 
Wood, Grant, 100,102, 104-5,108,102 
Wood, Jeremiah, 188 
Woodman, Timothy, 156-57, 157; sculp­
tures by, 162-71, Winter cover 
World War I, 6-7. See also Camouflage 
Young, Brigham, 66, 82-83, 85-86 
Young, W.J., 132
"Your Sneak Preview of the Western His­
toric Trails Center," by Ginalie Swaim,
63
Zrostlik, James, 28-29
192 h wa Heritage Illustrated


Iowa Heritage Illustrated 1997 Index

Not a member yet