Hoosier Hunting Grounds or The Beaver Lake Trail
Written by Bill Bat, 1904
The Family
History Division is pleased to announce the republication of “Hoosier
Hunting Grounds, or The Beaver
Lake Trail.” Written in 1904 by Bill Bat,
aka John Alter of Union Township, Jasper County is a work of fiction, based on
fact, which depicts the life of trappers, horse thieves, counterfeiters,
Indians and the wildlife of our area in 1840.
Former
Family History Director Jim Robbins, to whom the book is dedicated, suggested
that we reprint this book
because of its accurate description of the Beaver
Lake Country, which included Lake, Lincoln, McClellan, Beaver and Colfax
Townships in Newton County, as well as bordering townships of Jasper County,
specifically Union Township, where the
author grew up and walked the Indian
trails, hunted and trapped in the Beaver Lake Country.
From the
first chapter, Mr. Alter draws the reader in by detailing a trapper’s cavern;
the flora and fauna of Beaver
Lake; the antics and anxieties of hunting and
trapping as a lifestyle; to sitting amongst the Bogus Island counterfeiters
while they
listen to a man named Barker deliver a sermon on living a “straight
and narrow” life.
The
characters are of mixed heritages, all coming together in several seasons
sharing their own stories of horse thieving,
honor and friendship.
Josie
(Pullin) Zacher, a descendent of John Alter, has an original copy of the book,
which had been leather bound, and
included a drawing on it’s cover of the
homestead of the Alter family, which was dated 1912. We have reproduced that
cover
in paperback form.
After reading the book, several
members of the Family History Division felt the book revealed very vivid
pictures in the reader’s mind, and decided to enlist the help of local artists
to illustrate several of the events in the book.
Mary
Krueger, Greta Taylor, Mary Turnbull, and Ruth Warrick were sent copies of the
book, which they read, and
submitted the original artwork for illustrations in
the book. Members also indexed the book of places, even though many of
those
mentioned in the book were merely landmarks, not actual towns. Descendents of
John Alter have added family pictures
and biographical sketches of John Alter,
adding to the authenticity of the book.
If you are
a fan of the tales of Bogus Island, curious about the lifestyle, layout of the
land, of the residents of the Beaver
Lake Country, this book will be a definite
asset to your collection of local histories.
Pick up
your copy for $15.00 each, tax included. If mail orders are needed, there will
be a shipping and handling charge
of $5.00 for each book. Send your check
payable to the Newton County Historical Society, P.O. Box 303, Kentland,
Indiana
47951. Contact the
Newton County Historical Society at 219-474-6944, or email newtonhs@ffni.com for additional
information. There are a limited number of copies available.
About the Author
Written by
William O. Henry
Bill Bat was the pen name of
John Edward Alter, known to his friends and family as “John E.” He was born on
Valentines Day
morning, February 14, 1853, at Davissonville, Walker Township,
Jasper County, Indiana, located on the Pinkamink River, the first
child of
Isaac Van Ausdall and Eliza (Willet) Alter.
Isaac’s two brothers, David and John, came to
Jasper County in the 1840’s with two yoke of oxen looking for good prairie farm
ground. They settled along the banks of a small creek and planted several acres
of wheat. Returning home in the fall, they
reported success. Isaac and David
returned the following year, built a sod shanty, and stayed. Isaac’s father,
Rev. John Alter
moved his family to Carpenter Township, Jasper County, in 1848.
Rev. John and Charity (Van Ausdall) Alter had moved their
family from
Westmoreland County, PA to Greenfield, Hancock County, IN, in 1835. Charity
died in 1836 leaving John with eight
small children ages 3 to 14. The family
moved in 1841 to Howard County, IN. Rev. John Alter was a Methodist Protestant
minister and as a circuit rider traveled across a wide area of northwest
Indiana.
Isaac V. Alter and Eliza
Willet married in Jasper County on Christmas Day, 1851. Two and a half years
after John E. was born
they moved to Crawford County, WI, near the Mississippi
river. John E. started school in a log schoolhouse on Buck Creek. Five
years
later Isaac and Charity and their family, then including sons John E., George
Spitler (born September 27, 1855), and Amos
Hubbard (born January 2, 1859),
returned to the village of Rensselaer, Indiana, where they stayed for a while
with Moses B.
Alter. Isaac “traded” ground located about a mile south of
Rensselaer in Marion Township, with Caleb C. Hopkins for a lot in
Rensselaer on
August 9, 1862. Isaac put up a steam-powered mill on Curtis Creek, about four
miles west of Rensselaer. The
family lived in the area and John E. attended
school at the Mallot School. Isaac bought property from Samuel Chesnut on
November
13, 1863 in Union Township, and a water powered mill and 8 acres on the
Iroquois river adjacent to the first purchase
in Union Township, Jasper County,
from David and Phebe Nowels in January 1864. The mill was located on the west
side of CR
N 700W just north of where it crosses the Iroquois river. This area
was John E’s home for the rest of his life. Isaac and Eliza had
three children
after returning to Indiana: David Simon (born August 3, 1861), Isaac Franklin
(born June 3, 1864), and Mary Louise
(born April 6, 1873, died August 3, 1882).
John
E wrote in a later account of his boyhood in Union Township, “My chums were
Joseph “Zip” and Jonnie Guss, Billie Bull,
Steve and Jim Comer, Andy Ryan, Bert
Braskett and my brothers. Zip Goose, as we called him, was the main guy, the
side
partner in most of my exploits. He was a good shot, an expert trapper,
could climb trees like a squirrel, and knew every pond, sand
hill, and Jack Oak
flat from Tailholt (Davissonville, in Walker Township, Jasper County) to Beaver
Lake.” The knowledge he
gained from this association must have proven
invaluable in writing “Hoosier Hunting Ground”.
John E. became a
schoolteacher and taught for 20 years, teaching in the winter and farming and
helping in his father’s mill in the
summer. He studied civil engineering and
surveying under the tutelage of his uncle Lewis S. Alter. His engineering
studies were
of practical value, as he served as deputy county surveyor, and
subsequently as county surveyor for three terms. During his last
term, the
question of building gravel roads came up and through his scientific knowledge
he was instrumental in getting this public
improvement well started. In 1916 he
was one of the board of engineers employed by the trustees of Union, Newton,
Barkley, and
Marion townships to plan for the improvement of the ditches in the
area.
John E. was small of stature
and very active. His daughter, Iva, later recounted, “I never knew a man who
could keep his pace
for a day walking over the fields while surveying.” He was
known as a fine musician, public speaker, and actor. He played the
fiddle,
French harp (harmonica), jaw harp, bones, and organ. He wrote parodies of songs
for special occasions and wrote and
produced plays. He knew the names of fish,
birds, trees, and flowers and enjoyed telling others. As his daughter Iva put
it, “He
had a way of maneuvering everyone about him into activity, but he led
the way. He lived to be almost 83, a man of courage and
optimism.”
John E. Alter was united
in marriage with Harriett “Hattie” McColly (born April 24, 1853, died September
7, 1947), the
daughter of Clark and Mary (Hance) McColly. John E. and Hattie
had five children: Harry Edward (born February 2, 1876,
died September 1,
1876), Iva Letona (born September 25, 1877, died April 23, 1962) married Joseph
Pullins July 26 1903,
and was a life long resident of Rensselaer, IN; John
Cecil (born March 30 1879, died 29 May 1964) worked in the western
states for
the National Weather service; Charles Leslie (born November 22, 1881, died
December 20, 1955) married Electa
W.“Lettie” Willis April 8, 1906, resided in
California; and Fern (born November 1, 1887, died August 3, 1980) married
Arthur McAuly June 28, 1908, resided in the Oakmont, PA area. John E. Alter
passed November 12, 1934.
John
E. Alter belonged to the Indiana Literary Guild, and the 1916 History of
Jasper and Newton Counties describes “The
Hoosier Hunting Ground, or Beaver
Lake Trail,” as a romantic story. His book is told in a very interesting form,
the base is of fact
and authentic in every degree.” Sources: Information in this
biography comes from notes and writings of John E. Alter, Lewis S.
Alter, Iva
(Alter) Pullins, and volumes of genealogy and local history information
researched and collected by my parents, William
C. Henry and Betty Jane (Alter)
Henry. Many thanks are due to those who made this information available.William O.
Henry, April 20, 2008
Mission Statement: It is the hope of the volunteers and members of the Newton County Historical Society will bring together those people
interested in the history of Newton County, and will promote an understanding
and appreciation for the people and community of Newton County through research,
preservation, restoration, education and publications.
(c) 2011 Newton County Historical Society. All rights reserved. A 501-3(c) non-profit organization.
Contact us at 219-474-6944 or by email: newtonhs@ffni.com