spent in scouting, skirmishing and outpost duty. It was on one of these occasions that Company D saw its hardest service and won its greatest renown. On June 15, 1899, the company was ordered to an old sugar mill, about a mile and a half from San Fernando, to watch the movements of the enemy. Captain Butterfield and Lieutenant Hoover were both in the hospital and Lieutenant Mentzer was serving on the staff of General Hale, leaving First Sergeant Woodruff in command of the company. Upon arriving at the sugar mill, Sergeant Woodruff sent eight men, under the command of Corporal Stevens, to the extreme right, and a similar squad, under Corporal Bellamy, to the extreme left. During the day a lookout was maintained on top of the mill and at night a line of pickets was thrown out to the right and left, to connect the two outposts under the corporals with the main body at the mill. These pickets were instructed to retire at the first appearance of dawn, so as not to be observed by any of the enemy that might be lurking in the neighborhood. Just as the pickets were coming in on the morning of the 16th a volley was fired from a growth of timber near by. Company D promptly responded, and the "Song of the Mauser" was soon heard along the entire line. Sergeant Woodruff succeeded in holding back the enemy until the company could reach the sugar mill, where the men were protected to some extent. General MacArthur, the commanding officer, thought this action of the enemy was a feint and declined to send reinforcements to the company, fearing a stronger attack would be made at some other point. For over an hour Company D held its position and kept back about a thousand of the enemy before relief came. The men had exhausted their ammunition and it looked bad for the heroic little band of Iowa boys. Prior to this time the Fifty-first had taken part in several charges, and at the beginning of the charge it was the custom of the men to yell at the top of their voices. Recalling this fact, Sergeant Woodruff ordered the men to yell, as though they were going to charge, but to remain under cover. The order was carried out and almost immediately the enemy's fire ceased. That the company gave a good account of itself in this engagement was evidenced by the fact that 389 Filipinos were found dead on the field and were buried by the American troops in the cemetery at San Fernando. Sergeant Woodruff was brevetted captain by the state and was offered a lieutenant's commission in the Thirty-ninth United States Volunteer Infantry, which he declined, preferring to remain with his own company.

Ten companies of the Fifty-first took part in the movement against Calulut on August 9, 1899, and after the capture of that

place a scouting party of fifty men, commanded by Lieutenant Mentzer, of Company D, and Lieutenant Van Arnam, of Company L, had a lively skirmish with the enemy near Angeles, and came off victorious. Orders were received on September 4, 1899, to move by rail to Manila, and on the 22nd of the same month the regiment embarked on board the transport "Senator" for San Francisco, where it arrived on October 22, 1899. It was assigned to its old camp at the Presidio and remained there until the 2nd of November, when it was mustered out and the men returned to their homes, Company D being given an enthusiastic reception by the people of Knoxville upon its arrival. Concerning the personnel and discipline of the regiment, Colonel Loper said in his official report: "They were gentlemen as well as soldiers, and they did not fail to uphold the honor of the regiment and the dignity of the state from which they were sent."

The commission offered Sergeant Woodruff, in the Thirty-ninth United States Volunteer Infantry, was later given to Frank C. Burnette, a Company D boy, who has since risen to the rank of captain in the regular army. Carl C. Jones, who went out as third sergeant of Company D, is now a captain in the regular army, and Robert Blaine is also still in the regular service.

IOWA NATIONAL GUARD

Article VI of the state constitution of 1857 relates to the militia of the state and reads as follows:

"Section 1. The militia of this state shall be composed of all able-bodied male citizens, between the ages of eighteen and fortyfive years, except such as are or may hereafter be exempt by the laws of the United States, or of this state; and shall be armed, equipped and trained as the General Assembly may provide by law.

"Section 2. No person or persons conscientiously scrupulous of bearing arms shall be compelled to do military duty in time of peace; provided that such person or persons shall pay an equivalent for such exemption in the same manner as other citizens.

"Section 3. All commissioned officers of the militia (staff officers excepted) shall be elected by the persons liable to perform military duty, and shall be commissioned by the governor.”

Supplementary to these constitutional provisions, the Legislature has, from time to time, enacted laws for the organization, support and regulation of the state troops. Under the act of 1902 the Iowa National Guard was declared to consist of "four regiments of infantry, one signal company, and, at the discretion of the commanderin-chief, two batteries of artillery."

The Marion County company that enlisted for the SpanishAmerican war and served in the Philippines was reorganized as part of the National Guard on December 11, 1899. Following the act of 1902 the four regiments of the Guard were numbered to succeed. the last regiment serving in the war with Spain, becoming the Fiftysecond, Fifty-third, Fifty-fourth and Fifty-fifth. In the general reorganization the Marion company was made Company D, Fifty-fifth Regiment. On January 11, 1911, the company was mustered out, but during the year it was reorganized and again mustered in, with its former letter and regiment, on January 8, 1912. It then continued in the Iowa National Guard as Company D, Fifty-fifth Regiment, until December 31, 1914, when it was again mustered out of service. At that time the company numbered sixty-four men, rank and file, Capt. R. S. Mentzer being the only commissioned officer.

SOLDIERS' MONUMENT

Albert Hobbs Circle, No. 57, Ladies of the Grand Army of the Republic, was organized at Pella on December 10, 1907, with fourteen charter members, and Mrs. Edna Dennis as president. About a year later the circle started the movement for the erection of a monument in the public square at Pella, to be dedicated to those who served in the army or navy of the United States during the Civil war. The first money paid into the monument fund was the sum of $10, which was received from the sale of white carnations for "Mothers' Day" in 1909. With this $10 as a nucleus, the circle began giving socials and other entertainments, each adding a few dollars to the fund.

After more than two years of this labor of love on the part of these patriotic women, a monument was erected, at a cost of $650, on the corner of the public square at the junction of Main and Franklin streets, and was formally dedicated on Memorial Day, 1911. On the front of the monument—that is, the side facing the streets-is the inscription:

"Erected by

Albert Hobbs

Circle No. 57,

Ladies of

G. A. R.

May 30, 1911."

On the reverse side of the monument is the inscription:

"Dedicated

to the

Soldiers and

Sailors of the

Civil War 1861-1865."

On the occasion of the unveiling or dedication of this memorial Gen. James B. Weaver was the orator of the day, and paid a glowing tribute to the "Boys in Blue," to whom the monument was dedicated. An address was also delivered by John F. Lacy, and others made short speeches. In 1912 Albert Hobbs Post, No. 404, obtained two 3-inch rifled cannon and mounted them on concrete blocks in front of the monument. Measured in dollars and cents, the Pella soldiers' monument is indeed a modest affair, but measured in true patriotic sentiment; in loyalty to the principles for which those to whom it is consecrated fought; in gratitude to the veterans of the Civil war, it is as large as any monument in the country. It was not erected for show, but to give expression to the loyalty, patriotism and gratitude of a generation many of whom were unborn when the tocsin of war was sounded through the country in 1861.

CHAPTER XIII

INTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS

CONDITIONS IN 1843-DEVELOPMENT OF SEVENTY-TWO YEARS—RIVER

TRANSPORTATION-DES MOINES RIVER LAND GRANT-STEAMBOATS ON THE DES MOINES-PUBLIC HIGHWAYS-OLD INDIAN TRAILSCORDUROY—FIRST ROADS ESTABLISHED BY THE COUNTY—FERRIES AND BRIDGES THE RAILROAD ERA-EARLY OPPOSITION TO RAIL

ROADS RAILROAD MEETING AT KNOXVILLE IN 1853-THE VARIOUS

LINES OF RAILWAY IN MARION COUNTY-MILEAGE AND VALUATION.

When the first white men came to what is now Marion County the country was in its primeval state, inhabited only by the savage Indian, or the roving uncertain hunters, trappers and agents of the great fur companies, who rarely remained long enough in one place to attempt anything in the way of internal improvements. Here and there an Indian trail wound through the forest or over the prairie, and these were the only thoroughfares. They were mere paths, to accommodate the Indian custom of traveling single file, and were not adapted to the passage of vehicles. No roads had been opened by the white man for his convenience, the streams were not bridged, and it was not an unusual sight to find some immigrant camped upon the bank of a creek or river, waiting for the waters to subside so that he could continue his journey. Then there were not more than five thousand miles of railroad in the United States, and not a mile. of that west of the State of Ohio.

What changes have come since the Government of the United States acquired title to the Indian lands that now comprise Marion County in 1843! When the citizen of the county has occasion to make a trip to the county seat, or to some neighboring town, it is an easy matter to hitch a horse to a buggy or step into his automobile, and pass along a public highway to his destination. If he finds it necessary to make a longer journey, he can take his seat in a reclining chair car, or in a Pullman coach, if he desires to travel in state, and be whirled to some distant city at the rate of fifty miles an hour on one

Vol. I-15