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Going through my school materials preparing for a new year, I found my copy of A Country So Full Of Game--The Story of Wildlife in Iowa by James J. Dinsmore. I summarize some points in the book here in the hopes it may be of value for an 1860s Iowan impression for knowledge of the common game animals harvested. Hunting and trapping were likely very common methods of getting food on the table for us in the 15th.
Major game species in Iowa, according to Dinsmore, included (but were not limited to) bison, elk, white-tailed deer, passenger pigeons, prairie-chickens, and wild turkeys. For the purposes of an 1860s impression, elk and bison are essentially non-entities in Iowa. Both had been extirpated from eastern and central Iowa by the mid-1850s and would be extirpated from western Iowa by 1870.
White-tailed deer seem to have been a major source of game meat for Iowans through the 1880s and for an historical interpreter representing an 1860s Iowan would be very appropriate knowledge. Dinsmore speaks large harvests of deer in varying locations in Iowa during the 1840s, and tells of a severe winter from 1856-57 in Iowa that had a major impact on the deer and elk populations, forcing them into river valleys near towns that made hunting them fairly easy. The common way of harvesting deer was by shooting them; he does cite a few instances of people clubbing deer trapped in snow drifts near houses during the severe 1856-57 winter more for curiosity’s sake. Dinsmore states that deer numbers statewide began declining after 1857, and by 1900 they had been extirpated from Iowa. Through escapes from game farms and restocking efforts Iowa has recovered a white-tailed deer population.
Passenger pigeons were also hunted and trapped in Iowa during the 1850s. Pigeons migrated yearly from south to north in the spring and from north to south in the fall and large flocks were seen in areas paralleling the Mississippi River. Dinsmore states that major overflights of birds happened in 1854, 1855, 1857, and 1859, and relates an account by a Homer Seerley in Keokuk County in the 1850s that he had eaten so much passenger pigeon and prairie-chicken that he longed for domestic chicken to eat. Dinsmore also relates that farmers near McGregor, Iowa (northeastern Iowa on the Mississippi) would sell wagonloads of harvested pigeons in the 1860s apparently destined for out of state markets, likely Chicago, IL or Milwaukee, WI. It seems that the primary methods of harvesting pigeons did not involve firearms, but primarily by netting roosted birds, using cane poles to club them out of trees or while in flight (apparently, the birds flew very fast but low), and “stool pigeons” to trick flocks to land in areas where netters waited. For an historical interpreter representing an 1860s Iowan, it is highly likely that at least in eastern areas of Iowa pigeon meat would have been largely consumed. However, this knowledge no longer exists as we all know that these animals are now extinct.
Prairie-chickens and wild turkey are also written about in the book. Dinsmore states that historical accounts indicate that firearms use was the primary method of harvest with trapping also occurring. With prairie-chickens, apparently one well-placed shotgun round could harvest several birds at once; with turkeys it seems as though night hunting roosted birds was the most common method. Trapping of both birds was also done. In the case of the prairie-chicken a box was constructed with a counterbalanced top on one end and at the other end was placed some grain. The prairie-chickens would try to get to the bait, land on the counterbalanced top, and fall through into the box. The top would then reset itself for the next bird. In the case of the turkey, trenches were dug parallel to grain fields. These trenches gradually sloped down to 18 inches in depth and at the end of the trench a latticework was constructed over the trench and disguised. Grain was placed through the length of the trench ending in a small pile in the trap area. According to Dinsmore, the birds would enter the trench and begin eating the grain. When they got to the end of the trench and had finished eating the turkey’s instinct is to raise its head—through the latticework where it would be trapped, unable to escape. The trapper can then harvest it at will. Both birds were heavily used as food sources by early Iowans and were uncommon by 1900 with turkeys soon after being extirpated; while prairie-chicken populations statewide have not recovered, turkey populations reintroduced to Iowa in the 1960s have established a high-quality bird population. Knowledge of these birds would be very common to an Iowan of the 1860s.
There are many other animals spoken of in the book but I wish to keep this focus on animals we (15th members) would have been regularly familiar with on our dinner tables in the 1850s-61. The book is engaging, seems to be thoroughly researched (the primary accounts are all footnoted), and may help flesh out an 1862 Iowan impression. I hope this is found to be of value, and should anyone have more current information or research supporting or refuting this book I'd welcome that knowledge.
Source Material:
A Country So Full of Game by James J. Dinsmore, Iowa City, IA: University of Iowa Press, 1994.
Best wishes,
Alexander Vasquez
Major game species in Iowa, according to Dinsmore, included (but were not limited to) bison, elk, white-tailed deer, passenger pigeons, prairie-chickens, and wild turkeys. For the purposes of an 1860s impression, elk and bison are essentially non-entities in Iowa. Both had been extirpated from eastern and central Iowa by the mid-1850s and would be extirpated from western Iowa by 1870.
White-tailed deer seem to have been a major source of game meat for Iowans through the 1880s and for an historical interpreter representing an 1860s Iowan would be very appropriate knowledge. Dinsmore speaks large harvests of deer in varying locations in Iowa during the 1840s, and tells of a severe winter from 1856-57 in Iowa that had a major impact on the deer and elk populations, forcing them into river valleys near towns that made hunting them fairly easy. The common way of harvesting deer was by shooting them; he does cite a few instances of people clubbing deer trapped in snow drifts near houses during the severe 1856-57 winter more for curiosity’s sake. Dinsmore states that deer numbers statewide began declining after 1857, and by 1900 they had been extirpated from Iowa. Through escapes from game farms and restocking efforts Iowa has recovered a white-tailed deer population.
Passenger pigeons were also hunted and trapped in Iowa during the 1850s. Pigeons migrated yearly from south to north in the spring and from north to south in the fall and large flocks were seen in areas paralleling the Mississippi River. Dinsmore states that major overflights of birds happened in 1854, 1855, 1857, and 1859, and relates an account by a Homer Seerley in Keokuk County in the 1850s that he had eaten so much passenger pigeon and prairie-chicken that he longed for domestic chicken to eat. Dinsmore also relates that farmers near McGregor, Iowa (northeastern Iowa on the Mississippi) would sell wagonloads of harvested pigeons in the 1860s apparently destined for out of state markets, likely Chicago, IL or Milwaukee, WI. It seems that the primary methods of harvesting pigeons did not involve firearms, but primarily by netting roosted birds, using cane poles to club them out of trees or while in flight (apparently, the birds flew very fast but low), and “stool pigeons” to trick flocks to land in areas where netters waited. For an historical interpreter representing an 1860s Iowan, it is highly likely that at least in eastern areas of Iowa pigeon meat would have been largely consumed. However, this knowledge no longer exists as we all know that these animals are now extinct.
Prairie-chickens and wild turkey are also written about in the book. Dinsmore states that historical accounts indicate that firearms use was the primary method of harvest with trapping also occurring. With prairie-chickens, apparently one well-placed shotgun round could harvest several birds at once; with turkeys it seems as though night hunting roosted birds was the most common method. Trapping of both birds was also done. In the case of the prairie-chicken a box was constructed with a counterbalanced top on one end and at the other end was placed some grain. The prairie-chickens would try to get to the bait, land on the counterbalanced top, and fall through into the box. The top would then reset itself for the next bird. In the case of the turkey, trenches were dug parallel to grain fields. These trenches gradually sloped down to 18 inches in depth and at the end of the trench a latticework was constructed over the trench and disguised. Grain was placed through the length of the trench ending in a small pile in the trap area. According to Dinsmore, the birds would enter the trench and begin eating the grain. When they got to the end of the trench and had finished eating the turkey’s instinct is to raise its head—through the latticework where it would be trapped, unable to escape. The trapper can then harvest it at will. Both birds were heavily used as food sources by early Iowans and were uncommon by 1900 with turkeys soon after being extirpated; while prairie-chicken populations statewide have not recovered, turkey populations reintroduced to Iowa in the 1960s have established a high-quality bird population. Knowledge of these birds would be very common to an Iowan of the 1860s.
There are many other animals spoken of in the book but I wish to keep this focus on animals we (15th members) would have been regularly familiar with on our dinner tables in the 1850s-61. The book is engaging, seems to be thoroughly researched (the primary accounts are all footnoted), and may help flesh out an 1862 Iowan impression. I hope this is found to be of value, and should anyone have more current information or research supporting or refuting this book I'd welcome that knowledge.
Source Material:
A Country So Full of Game by James J. Dinsmore, Iowa City, IA: University of Iowa Press, 1994.
Best wishes,
Alexander Vasquez
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