Thursday, December 23, 2010

NORWAY TOWNSHIP AND VILLAGE

The Indians lived in this land of ours for countless years before any white man arrived.  Coronado and his band came first in 1540 looking for gold which he did not find.  His second expedition, according to most historians, came to Kansas in 1542 as far north as Saline County, the Smoky Hill River, and to Junction City.  His journals say that the expedition found the blackest loam they had ever seen, that any grains, fruits, or vegetables grown in Spain could be grown here and more abundantly than in any lands of Spain.

We do not know much more about Kansas until nearly three hundred years later when in 1806 Lieutenant Pike was sent out in command of an exploring party, to visit the Indian Tribes in Kansas.  He entered Kansas at a point which is now Linn County.

He traveled northwest and by the time he had crossed the Solomon River he found that a Spanish expedition was ahead of him.  He came to a Pawnee Village and here found blankets, bridles, saddles, and other things the Indians had received from the Spaniards.  After having been visited by this lordly army, the Indians were not inclined to be courteous to Pike and his small band of dusty bedraggled men.

After much unpleasantness and delay a council attended by four hundred braves was held.  Pike addressed the council and spoke of the Spanish flag flying above the old Chief's tent.  The Indians paid little attention to Pike.  He demanded that this flag be lowered and the American flag be raised and that they must choose between American and Spanish governments.

Finally, the old Chief arose, hauled down the Spanish flag, laid it a Pike's feed received the American flag, and unfurled it above the old Chief's tent.  As far as is known, this is the first time the Stars and Stripes had floated over Kansas.

Later Major Steven Long was sent to Kansas by the United States government in 1819 and 1820.  Neither man liked Kansas.  They said the land west of the 98th meridian was excellent pasture for millions of bison but of no value for human habitation.  Pike thought the plains made a barrier against settlement of the mountain regions, which did not appear to him to be of any value whatever.

Before 1855 there were very few white people in Kansas.  Some missionaries who had come to try to teach the Indians religion and a better way of life and some other white people who had married Indians and accepted their ways of life.

One hundred years ago when Kansas became a state, all was virgin prairie covered with bluestem and other luxurious grass and with trees along its streams.  Its inhabitants were Indians and the bison.  Beautiful country, described by an early Kansas writer as "God's Masterpiece".

The first mention we have of Republic County is by the Kansas Legislature of 1860 which defined its boundaries and gave it a name from the Republican River, which enters  this county at its northwest boundary and leaves it about eight miles east of the Southwest boundary.  Norway Township was platted on April 3, 1870.  In less than ten years civilization had moved westward and the first settler built a log house on the S. E. 4 of Section 17.  He broke prairie and planted corn.  He left in the spring of 1869.  The Indians and the soldiers harvested his ????, ??? ??? ?????? ???????? ??? ????? ??? ????? ???? ??? ??????? years.  When Indians took his good team, he too, became discouraged and moved to Jamestown where he died a few years later.

The first permanent settler was Rasmus Rimol who came to America from Tronhjeim in Norway, Europe.  After working for two years in Chicago, he came to Norway Township at the age of thirty-two years.  He settled on his homestead N. W. 4 of Section 27 on February 11, 1869.  This was his home until his death in 1917 at the age of sixty-nine years.  Mrs. Anna Pherson settled on her homestead in July 1869 and lived there many years.

Mr. Rimol was soon followed by the rest of the Norwegian colony of ten families who also came from Norway in Europe.  The river valley and its tributary streams on the east side of the river were nearly all settled in 1869 and 1870.  The prairie on the east side of the township was settled in 1871 by a good thrifty colony of eight families from eastern Indiana.

West of the river was settled in 1872 by people from many states and foreign countries.  Agents had scoured Europe offering every inducement possible, to get the frontier settled up.  The results were that most of these settlers were poorly equipped, poorly armed and ignorant of the dangers of this new country so primitive and so different,  They had very little money.

Those who came between 1865 and 1870 encountered severe Indian trouble, but it was fairly quiet after 1870.  Before that time very early settlers found it necessary to eat, sleep and work with a gun nearby.  There was some dissatisfaction with the government for furnishing the Indians with Spencer Carbines which could fire eight shots without reloading while the colonists had only muzzle loading guns such as the Civil War soldiers used.  These Indians had a contract with the government as to land and had been given Spencers to protect themselves from hostile tribes and later used these guns on the settlers, that they considered also hostile.  They had horses other than those taken from the settlers.

Olaf Peterson had his team taken from him by Indians one very hot day.  He was carrying a water jug, seed corn, and gun, and everything seemed peaceful, had had laid down his gun.  The Indians were hidden close by and he was fortunate to escape with his life.  After the arrival of the United States Cavalry, the Indians did not make much trouble.



The blizzard of Saturday, April 3, 1873, following fine weather and a mild day, increased in fury and lasted three days.  The air was filled with thick powdery snow and did not subside until Tuesday.  A new settler and family had arrived on Saturday.  He found a dugout and took his family and cow into this shelter.  People were frozen to death and also lost their lives in other ways.  Much stock perished and no one could venture out to care for them stock for three days.

In 1872, '73 and '74 considerable wheat was raised.  In 1874 the rainfall was ????? ??????? ????????? ????????? ???????? ????????? ???????? since the settlements in the Township.  In '72 and '73 there had been 22 and 28 inches of rain.  In 1874 the prospects were bright.  The drouth set in on June 15th with temperatures reaching 110° on July 25.  On September 10th rain fell in abundance, with sixteen rainy days in September and eight inches of rain.  But on July 26th the grasshoppers came.  They ate every green thing in an incredibly short time.  Onions, peppers, and tobacco they seemed to like extremely well.  Sorghum cane was all they spared.  No grass, corn, weeds, gardens or leaves on the trees were left and even the clothes on the lines were devoured.

Nothing was left except people and livestock.  Some wheat had been raised.  That fall abundant rainfall.  In the spring a crop of grasshoppers was hatched from the eggs left in the fall but these soon moved on and did no damage.  Nothing was left that fall and people faced a hard winter.  1874 was the Aid Winter.  The government provided some money but not enough to be of much help.  The people in the East sent all kinds of food and clothing and Eastern Kansas sent some help although they, too, had suffered, but not as badly, from the hopper invasion as this locality.  People came through the winter and faced another year.

In the spring of 1875 many gave everything they possessed for a team and wagon and enough money to get back to their former homes.   At the end of twenty-five years there were only five homesteaders remaining west of the river.  Dr. Scott, Erastus Stanton, James Nelson and two other families.  In 1875 these remaining went to work with whatever corn and wheat they were able to obtain for seed and had a fair crop that year.

After the Blizzard of 1873 and Grasshopper invasion of 1874, it does not take a very vivid imagination to see why so many were so thoroughly discouraged.  There was still some threat of Indians although they had made very little trouble after the arrival of the United States Cavalry and the local arming of the settlers.  In the fall of 1874 all the food available for their stock was a small amount of wheat which they fed to their hogs, butchering them for whatever meat they would make, when the wheat was gone.  Corn was much more profitable because it could be fed to stock while wheat had to be hauled many miles to market.  These farmers took their wheat to Waterville.

Among the settlers were carpenters, cabinet makers, stone masons, brick layers, blacksmiths, farmers, lawyers, teachers, doctors, clergymen, merchants, and many more.  In 1864 the editor of "The Kansas Annual Register for Farmers" said in his paper that Kansas had everything needed to make a farmer happy and prosperous--water, stone, for all purposes needed, sufficient timber, coal and prairies ready for the plow.  Daniel Wilder, State Auditor wrote, "One year a large tract of country without homes, or cultivated fields; Indians wander over it without doing a thing to change the face of nature.  Ten years hence, this desolate waste has become the homes of thousands of people from every state in the union and from territory of every European power."  Norway township is a part of this vast territory and now does its share in making Kansas the bread basket of the nation.

Those who weathered the first few years in Norway Township were the sturdy pioneers with vision.  They came with plows, guns, teams and Bibles.  Whatever kind of house they were able to establish was Home and they had come to stay.  They wanted comfortable homes for themselves and their families, education and a good life.  Probably our most valuable heritage is being descended from these people.  They worked together, their ties were very strong and the joys and sorrows of one where the joys and sorrows of all.

The food of the Pioneers was very simple.  For meat they had fish, wild turkeys, geese, ducks, prairie chickens, and rabbits in the valley.  Antelope, deer and bison for those who were good shots.  Cornbread was a standby and later wheat made bread.  Vegetables were scarce and the women picked greens to go with the salt pork.  Sugar was rarely on hand and homemade sorghum and molasses were the pioneers' "sweetening".  When no one had any money, they roasted corn, wheat, or rye, and ground it in a coffee mill, or more often between two flat stones and made "coffee".  They used a weed called "shoestring," dried, for tea and shoestring was also used for tobacco.

Waterville and Junction City were the "out posts" where those who had a little money could buy sugar, coffee, and bacon.  The Indians came to call sometimes and to see what they could get from the settlers.  While under protest they were given Limberger cheese and then were sure that they were poisoned.


Clothing, like every thing else the pioneer possessed was simple, coarse and homemade.  Much clothing was made from floursacks and many pioneer babies began their lives in floursack clothing.  The women and girls knit mufflers and mittens for the families and some families kept a few sheep, carded and spun the wool into yarn.  Occasionally cloth was woven.  Calico dresses with several muslin petticoats, slat sun-bonnets and high-topped shoes were worn.  Blue and black were the colors.  For Sunday wear, a few women had poplin dresses.  Silk dresses were rare indeed.  When the men's shoes were worn out they were resoled with wood.

Only two holidays were observed during these times.  Christmas was nearly always kept, ad was the only holiday.  Little trees were wound with paper and decorated with strings of popcorn and popcorn balls.  For Christmas dinner there was head cheese and pickled pigs feet and a little later, cookies made with molasses.  If there was a little money, there were little 10¢ gifts and at other times home knitted mufflers and mittens brought just as much happiness.  A little later Christmas included cake and pumpkin pie, and sometimes the flour used was rye flour.

Grease lamps and homemade tallow candles were the pioneers first lighting equipment.  Any time there was a kerosene lamp, it was cleaned and polished for use at Christmas time.

After the first hard years, the fourth of July always meant a country wide picnic with a barbeque and political speeches and some read the Declaration of Independence.  There was gunpowder for noise.  In the early '80's the celebration included a concert by the Norway band, composed of eight pioneers, in the '90's the Clod Hopper Band and later a younger Norway Band.  Doctor Scott's Grove perhaps could tell of many July 4th picnics and also John Hugos' grove saw many such celebrations.

In the earliest pioneer times life was incredibly hard but still people were happy and very close.

The earliest pioneer marriage was Jerusha McCathron and Reuben Everhart on May 30th, 1871.  Nels Rimol was the first white child born in Norway Township.  He was the son of Rasum and Ann Lehn Rimal and was born on October 13, 1870.

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