Moses Bates was an early settler of Black Hawk County. His family was one of only 26 families and was one of 135 people in the county in 1850. I linked the middle of section 14 of the township in the location field below. More info at Rootsweb - Rea Genealogy.
The history of Black Hawk County - Google Books
Couldn't Scare Him.
About 1847, Moses Bates, from Western Indiana, located on Section 14, Township 87, Range 11 (Spring Creek Township), on the bank of Spring Creek. Bates appears to have been connected with the gang of prairie bandits, and was a 'hard case.' On one occasion he went to the cabin of Henry Gray, who had settled near him. Abruptly entering his neighbor's house, he roughly inquired of Gray if he knew who his visitor was. Gray said he had that honor, whereupon Bates, who was armed with a rifle, tomahawk, three revolvers and a bowie-knife, informed his quiet neighbor that he might have just three days to pack up his 'traps' and leave the county. Gray, however, did not belong to a timid family ; he didn't ' scare' worth a cent. His trusty rifle was hanging just over his head. He coolly took it down, 'drew a bead' on his surly neighbor and exclaimed, 'D--n you, Bates, I'll give you just three minutes to get out from here. Git!' It is needless to add that before the three minutes had expired, Bates had placed himself at a safe distance from Gray's rifle.
On another occasion a German from Allamakee County, in search of some horses that had been stolen, found them in Bates' possession. There were other evidences of Bates' propensity to appropriate to his own use the property of others, without rendering compensation, and about a dozen stalwart settlers gathered, took the offender into the woods, stripped him and tied him securely to a tree. The men then prudently formed a ring with their backs to the center while the irate owner of the stolen horses applied a liberal dose of hickory to his bare back. Bates afterward had his castigator arrested, but as there were no witnesses who had seen him chastised, he was unable to maintain his accusation. Bates sold out to John Clark in 1852, and removed to Boone County, where he died.
