The Turnbo Manuscripts
by Silas Claiborne Turnbo
1844-1925
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SCARED BY THE INDIANS AND STUNG BY NETTLES
By S. C. Turnbo
Some of the early residents of Green County, Mo. was William Stacy, Joe Price, "Goody" (John) Wilkerson, Billy Fullbright, Joe Leeper, John Roberts, Beeze Hayden and Jess Boyles. Stacy came from Jackson County Tennessee in 1832 and settled on the north bank of the James River near where the old wooden bridge was built across this stream some 7 miles from Springfield. Leeper Prairie derived its name from Joe Leeper. John Roberts built a little mill near 4 miles from Springfield and Beeze Hayden succeeded Roberts in the ownership of this mill, The man Bayles was a miner and worked on the same stream that Roberts built his mill on. Away back in the early days of the James Fork of White River or soon after this stream began to be settled by the whites, the Indians would pass through on their way to the west and the white women and children were afraid of them. On one occasion a large number of Indians gathered in the settlement on the James where it passed through Green County and seared the women and children Into a hollow or deep ravine where the children got into a patch of nettles and got their feet and legs stung. Some of them began to cry so loudly that their frightened mothers had to put their hands on the little ones mouths to prevent their cries reaching the quick ears of the red men. This scared the children so dreadfully that they thought they were going to be choked to death to save them from being tortured by the Aborgines and could not see much to recommend the maternal plan of salvation. The settlers were uneasy for they expected an attack and they all congregated together with guns in hand and started and circled around through the Woods and watched the Indians until went on their way to the new lands."
The foregoing accounts was given me by Dr. Silas S. Stacy son of Bill Stacy while he lived at Isabella Ozark Co. Mo. in 1869.
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