I love finding and sharing these little tidbits with you. I found this story about settler John Dean, who moved his family to Cass County in May, 1870.
"During his early, hard years in Missouri, John Dean suspected a thief had been stealing his corn from a log corncrib. He set a bear trap and the following morning he found a man, shivering from the cold, in the trap. John said, "Good morning, Sir," and set about feeding his livestock. When he had finished with his chores, he returned to the man and told him he would set him free if he would do exactly as he said. The man agreed. Taking the man to the house, he was fed a good breakfast, then made to accompany John to the corn crib where his sack was filled with corn. As a final word the thief was warned never to set foot on Dean land again."
This story comes from Cass County Histories, available on our website. https://cass-county-historical-society.square.site/.../56...
Original source can be found here.