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