USA > Iowa > Muscatine County > The History of Muscatine county, Iowa, containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, &c. > Part 1
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90
HISTORY
MUSCATINE COUNTY
1879
OWA
1800
THE
HISTORY
OF
MUSCATINE COUNTY,
IOWA,
CONTAINING
A history of the County, its Cities, Botuns, I++
1.
Biographical Sketches of Citizens, War Record of its Volunteers in the late Rebellion, General and Local Statistics, Portraits of Early Settlers and Prominent Men, History of the Northwest, History of Iowa, Map of Muscatine County, Constitution of the United States, Miscellaneous Matters, &c., &c.
ILLUSTRATED.
CHICAGO : WESTERN HISTORICAL COMPANY, 1879.
Foz" .Ma-H62
PREFACE.
TT has been the purpose of the Publishers to condense, into the convenient form of a single volume, the scattered fragments of local history, and to give. for the sake of reference, an abstract of the many records of the county. In addition to such topics of value. there is herein given a very satisfactory paper on the geologie formations and history of the region, from the pen of PROF. F. M. WITTER. whose research in and acquaintance with the locality. as well as with the abstract science. have peculiarly qualified him for such a task. The entomology of the county is also treated in a practical manner by MIss ALICE B. WALTON, who has made that branch of science a special study. The meteorological record, compiled by MR. J. P. WALTON, is a notable feature of the work. The Indian history is prepared from many sources, and contains several original conclusions, based upon accurate information. Of the history proper. it can be said that careful and painstaking efforts have been put forth to please the present and to benefit future generations of readers. The com- pilers desire to express their sense of obligation to the Press. the Pulpit. and the Pioneers, for their cordial co-operation : and, also, to venture the hope that the product of their labors may not prove unacceptable. It would be impos- sible to name individuals who have aided in the preparation of this volume. and we can, therefore, offer but a general acknowledgment of the courtesy extended. That the HISTORY OF MUSCATINE COUNTY. as here presented, may be satisfactory to all-a sentiment, we confess, that is a bold one, in view of the freedom and diversity of public opinion - is the sincere prayer of
May. 1879.
THE PUBLISHERS.
CULVER, PAGE, HOVNE & CO., PRINTERS, CHICAGO.
CONTENTS.
HISTORY NORTHWEST AND STATE OF IOWA.
PAGE.
History Northwest Territory.
19
Geographical Position .... 19 Early Explorations.
Discovery of the Ohio.
English Explorations and Set- tlenients. 35
American Settlements. 60 Division of the Northwest Ter- ritory. 66
Tecumseh and the War of 1812 :0
Black Hawk and the Black Hawk War ..
Other Indian Troubles.
Present Condition of the North- west
Chicago ..
95
Illinois
257
Indians
259
Iowa .. ..
.260
Michigan
203
Wisconsin
264
Minnesota.
266
Nebraska
267
History of Iowa :
Geographical Situation 10g
Topography
109
Drainage System.
.110
PAGE.
History of Iowa :
Rivers
111
Lakes
118
Springs
119
Prairies.
120
Geology.
.. 120
Climatology
.137
Discovery and Occupation .139
Territory
147
Indians ....
145
Pike's Expedition.
151
Indian Wars.
152
Black Hawk War.
.157
Indian Purchase, Reserves and
Treaties ...
159
Spanish Grants
163
Half-Breed Tract ..
164
Artillery
Early Settlements.
166
Territorial History
1-3
Boundary Question
State Organization 181
Growth and Progress 185
Agricultural College and Farm.1$6
State University ..
State Historical Society
193
Penitentiaries.
.194
History of lowa :
FAGE
Insane Hospitals
195
College for the Blind.
19%
Deaf and Dumb Institution ....
.. 199
Soldiers' Orphans' Homes
199
State Normal School. 201
Asylum for Feeble Minded
Children. 201
Reform School
202
Fish Hatching Establishment .. 203
Public Lands
204
Public Schools
.215
Political Recont.
War Record
Infantry
Cavalry ..
.244
Miscellaneous
Promotions from Iowa Reg- iments.
Number Casualties-Officers.250
Number Casualties-Enlist-
ed Men ...
.259
Number Volunteers
054
Population ..
.25,5
Agricultural Statistics
320
ABSTRACT OF IOWA STATE LAWS.
PAGE.
PAGE.
Adoption of Children.
.303 Forms:
Chattel Mortgage ..
.. 314
Confession of Judgment.
.306
Landlord and Tenant ...
Lease
.. 312
Married Women ...
208
Mortgages.
.. 310
Notes
.306,313
Orders 306
Quit Claim Deed .315
Receipts.
.306
Wills and Codicils
.309
Warranty Deed. 314
Fences .. 300
Interest.
Intoxicating Liquors ...
Bills of Purchase
.306 Jurisdiction of Courts,
997
ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE.
A Pioneer Irwening. 61
Breaking Prairie .... 63
Tecumseh, the Shawande Chieftain 69
Indians Attacking s Stockade. ...
Black Hawk, the Sac Chieftain.
A Pioneer School House 7 A Prairie Storm .. 59
MMISCELLANEOUS.
PAGE.
Surveyor's Measure .. . 2SS How to Keep Accounts .2ss Interest Table .289
Miscellaneous Table.
989
Names of the States of the Union
and their Significations 200 Measure
Population of the United States ..... 291
PAGE.
Pioneers' First Winter
94
Great Iron Bridge of C., R. I. & P.
R. R., Crossing the Mississippi at
Davenport, Iowa ..
91
Chicago in 1833
95
Old Fort Dearborn, 1$30.
OS
Present Site Lake Street Bridge,
Chicago, 1833 ...
OS
Iroquois Chief.
34
A Representative Pioneer.
ST
Ruins of Chicago ..
104
View of the City of Chicago
106
Indians Attacking Frontiersmen .. 56
PAGE.
Map of Muscatine County Front. Constitution of United States ......... 269
Vote for President, Governor and Congressmen .. 983
Practical Rules for Every-Day U'se .. 284
United States Government Land
PAGE.
Month of the Mississippi. 21 Source of the Mississippi
Wild Prairie ... 23
Charitable, Scientific and Religious Associations .. 316
Descent ..:
Damages from Trespass.
.300
Exemptions from Execution
.20g
Estrays
Forms :
Articles of Agreement ... 30
Bills of Sale ... 308 Bond for Deed. .315
La Salle Landing on the Shore of Green Bay 25 Buffalo Hunt 27 Big Eagle $3 Captain Jack, the Modoc Chieftain Kinzie House ..
Trapping 29
Hunting 32
Pontiac, the Ottawa Chieftain. 43
Lincoln Monument.
Hunting Prairie Wolves
265
PAGE
Population of Fifty Principal Cities of the United States ... .. 291 Population and Area of the United States ...
Population of the Principal Coun- tries in the World
Bills of Exchange and Promissory Notes 203
Commercial Terms. .305 Capital Punishment
Marks and Brands
.800
Notice to Quit ...
309
Mechanics' Liens.
.301
Roads and Bridge4
302
Surveyors and Surveys.
303
Suggestion .0 Persons Purchasing
Books ' subscription
319
Supp . { Poor
.303
Wils and Estates.
.203
Weights and Measures
305
Wolf Scalps
.300
Jurors
PAGE.
Limitation of Actions
CONTENTS.
HISTORY OF MUSCATINE COUNTY.
PAGE.
PAGE.
First Grand Jury. .425
Geographic and Geologic Features .. 323
Fire Department.
.
First Ferry
426
515
Drainage and Surface Charac-
Water Works.
517
teristics.
.323
First Petit Jury
.426
Post Office ..
.521
Geological .. 325
Land and Fresh Water Mol- lusks. 332
Prehistoric Remains. 333
Entomology .334
338
Indian Occupancy.
346
Keokuk 349 Population 431
Black Hawk 362
Poweshiek and Other Notables,373
A Scene on the Border. 377
Sacs and Foxes.
380
Maj. Beach's Indian Papers ..... 382
The Missouri War.
The Name " Muscatine"
453
The Name " Hawkeye"
.453
Settlement of the County ..
395
War History.
454
Introductory 395 Soldiers' Monument .456
Who Was the First Settler. .. 398
The First Post Office ..
402
Early Mills.
402
First Survey
403
How " Claims" were made ... 403
Other Papers
496
How Pioneers Lived.
405
Incident of 1839.
411
West Liberty Enterprise
Organization of Old Des Moines ... 412 Educational
Wisconsin Territory Formed ... 413
County Superintendents 500
Post Offices.
500
Bloomington
.501
Nichols
580
School
581
Churches
581
Lodge
582
Incidents
582
584
Conesville
585
Improvement of the Slough ... 507 Incorporation 507 Atalissa 586
Muscatine in 1855.
.509
Port Allen ....
588
Town Records.
510
Adamıs.
Court House ..
420
County Judge System
421
Supervisor System.
422
District Court 425
Police Court.
515
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
PAGE.
PAGE.
PAOK.
Bloomingtor. Lawnship. .625
Montpelier Township.
.. 656
Sweetland Township ..
......
.. 633
Cedar Town sh .. .660 Muscatine City. .593
Seventy-six Township ........... .. 653
Fulton Township. .. 663
Moscow Township.
665
Wilton Township ....
.668
Goshen Township ... 682
Orono Township.
.. 640
Wapsinonoc Township.
.689
Lake Township.
645
Pike Township.
649
LITHOGRAPHIC PORTRAITS.
PAGE.
Carskaddan, J
.. 321
Richmanr., D. C.
... .......... .355
. ............
Stein, S. G ..
491
......
Hanna, Thos
.389
Robbins, A. B. .. 423
PAOK.
Circuit Court
427
Railroad Interests.
522
River Navigation.
.523
Ferry
523
Religious 523
Schools.
535
Academy of Science ..
541
Conchological Club ..
.545
Secret Associations and Be- nevolent Societies .... 545
Miscellaneous Organizations ... 549 Banks and Corporations .. .550
The Nye Tragedy
438
Some Pioneers
439
Horse Stock.
.553
442
Star Creamery
554
Business Interests. 554
West Liberty
555
Schools
557
Churches
558
Lodges
559
Inc .porations ..
.560
Falls and Anecdotes 561
495 Wilton 570
First Settlers
570
Disastrous Fire. 573
City Officers.
.574
Schoolhouse.
574
Churches
575
Lodgesand Bands 578
Corporations.
579
Temporary Scat of Govern- ment 414 First Road west of the River ... 414
Subdivision of Old Des Moines, 415
Revision of the Organizing Act 416
The Oldest Records
417
Commissioners' Records
418
First Jail
420
School District No. 1 420
High Rate of Interest 420
City Official Roster.
.511
Fairport ..
588
.588
Public Buildings
.515
History
of Muscatine
County
Police Department.
515
Horses
589
Roster
461
Newspapers
493
Muscatine Journal.
493
Muscatine Tribune.
Wilton Press.
.496
.498
498
Belmont Legislature .. 413 Wisconsin Judiciary 413 Muscatine .501
First Frame Building.
501
The First Three Years .....
..: 03
Anecdotes of Indians. .504
Bloomington & Cedar River Canal Co ... 506 Moscow
583
Second Survey .. 507 Stockton
-128
Marriage Records.
Recorder's Records.
429
429
Legislative Representation
Constitutional Coventions. 429
County Officers.
430
432
Statistical Items ..
Old Settlers' Association.
432
Advancing Civilization. 385 Arrival of the White Man .393
Meteorological
Probate Court ..
427
PAGE ..
PAGE.
-
CEDAR R IY W
R III W.
C
VI
6
5
L
P. R.R
L
a
.
WEST LIBERTY
ATALISSA
-
13
11
10
N
PS
NONOIS 2.3
19
20
22
-
1
0
-1
18
35
30
29
28
26
25
30
..
39
3+
35
6
39
33
-
T
SHENICHOLS
. -
19
15
17
13
-
K
TERRY + F
MUSCATINE
22
23
15
1625
27
20
.93
37
36
31
4
5
ATINE
LORONO
115
16
CÔNESVILLE
SEVENTY
·
SIX
LAKE
2.
--
27
-20
7
13
KY
36
27
LOUISA
CO.
+
philic
16
N
WESTERN
8
10
--
7
"1
ADAMS
5
3
-
CRIS
-
8
GOSTE
1.4
MOS 20 11
$5
33
GASWAS FERRY
CC R.
SOUTH WESTERN BRANCH C R .L.& P
CEDAR
KEOKUR
SCOTT CO.
r.lW.
R.I E.
DURANTE
'C
STOCK
ON
WILTON-
12
7
9
₾ 10
11
12
1
SOUTH WESTERN BR CR.I& P. AA
1 /6
TPO 15
N
18
17
UITO
N
2.3
24
19
20
22
7.9
20
22
27
25
20
30
29
27
26
25
-- PLEASANT PRAN:EL
35
36 9 31
32
33
3.4
35
36
SUMMIT
MELPINE PO
L
2
1
55
3
1
SWEETLAND CENTRE ROL
MONTPELIER
Ins Cr.
SWEE
NID
137
16
15
14
PINE MILL PORY
20
26
25
HAD
FAIRPORT
RIVER
CITY OF MUSCATINE
ILLINOIS
STATE
MAP OF MUSCATINE COUNTY IOWA
CO.
LLLODS
12
7
0 -
1 10
13
18
16
15
30
28
1
31
+
23
13
MISSISSIPPI
---
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION.
When the Northwestern Territory was ceded to the United States by Virginia in 1784, it embraced only the territory lying between the Ohio and the Mississippi Rivers, and north to the northern limits of the United States. It coincided with the area now embraced in the States of Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, and that portion of Minnesota lying on the east side of the Mississippi River. The United States itself at that period extended no farther west than the Mississippi River ; but by the purchase of Louisiana in 1803, the western boundary of the United States was extended to the Rocky Mountains and the Northern Pacific Ocean. The new territory thus added to the National domain, and subsequently opened to settlement, has been called the "New Northwest," in contradistinction from the old "Northwestern Territory."
In comparison with the old Northwest this is a territory of vast magnitude. It includes an area of 1,887,850 square miles ; being greater in extent than the united areas of all the Middle and Southern States, including Texas. Out of this magnificent territory have been erected eleven sovereign States and eight Territories, with an aggregate popula- tion, at the present time, of 13,000,000 inhabitants, or nearly one third of the entire population of the United States.
Its lakes are fresh-water seas, and the larger rivers of the continent flow for a thousand miles through its rich alluvial valleys and far- stretching prairies, more acres of which are arable and productive of the highest percentage of the cereals than of any other area of like extent on the globe.
For the last twenty years the increase of population in the North- west has been about as three to one in any other portion of the United States.
(19)
20
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
EARLY EXPLORATIONS.
In the year 1541, DeSoto first saw the Great West in the New World. He, however, penetrated no farther north than the 35th parallel of latitude. The expedition resulted in his death and that of more than half his army, the remainder of whom found their way to Cuba, thence to Spain, in a famished and demoralized condition. DeSoto founded no settlements, produced no results, and left no traces, unless it were that he awakened the hostility of the red man against the white man, and disheartened such as might desire to follow up the career of discovery. for better purposes. The French nation were eager and ready to seize upon any news from this extensive domain, and were the first to profit by DeSoto's defeat. Yet it was more than a century before any adventurer took advantage of these discoveries.
In 1616, four years before the pilgrims " moored their bark on the wild New England shore," Le Caron, a French Franciscan, had pene- trated through the Iroquois and Wyandots (Hurons) to the streams which run into Lake Huron ; and in 1634, two Jesuit missionaries founded the first mission among the lake tribes. It was just one hundred years from the discovery of the Mississippi by DeSoto (1541) until the Canadian envoys met the savage nations of the Northwest at the Falls of St. Mary, below the outlet of Lake Superior. This visit led to no permanent result ; yet it was not until 1659 that any of the adventurous fur traders attempted to spend a Winter in the frozen wilds about the great lakes, nor was it until 1660 that a station was established upon their borders by Mesnard, who perished in the woods a few months after. In 1665, Claude Allouez built the earliest lasting habitation of the white man among the Indians of the Northwest. In 1668, Claude Dablon and James Marquette founded the mission of Sault Ste. Marie at the Falls of St. Mary, and two years afterward, Nicholas Perrot, as agent for M. Talon, Governor Gen- eral of Canada, explored Lake Illinois (Michigan) as far south as the present City of Chicago, and invited the Indian nations to meet him at a grand council at Sault Ste. Marie the following Spring, where they were taken under the protection of the king, and formal possession was taken of the Northwest. This same year Marquette established a mission at Point St. Ignatius, where was founded the old town of Michillimackinac.
During M. Talon's explorations and Marquette's residence at St. Ignatius, they learned of a great river away to the west, and fancied -as all others did then-that upon its fertile banks whole tribes of God's children resided, to whom the sound of the Gospel had never come. Filled with a wish to go and preach to them, and in compliance with a
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
SOURCE OF THE MISSISSIPPI.
BRIGHAM
MOUTH OF TIIE MISSISSIPPI.
21
22
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
request of M. Talon, who earnestly desired to extend the domain of his king, and to ascertain whether the river flowed into the Gulf of Mexico or the Pacific Ocean, Marquette with Joliet, as commander of the expe- dition, prepared for the undertaking.
On the 13th of May, 1673, the explorers, accompanied by five assist- ant French Canadians, set out from Mackinaw on their daring voyage of discovery. The Indians, who gathered to witness their departure, were astonished at the boldness of the undertaking, and endeavored to dissuade them from their purpose by representing the tribes on the Mississippi as exceedingly savage and cruel, and the river itself as full of all sorts of frightful monsters ready to swallow them and their canoes together. But, nothing daunted by these terrific descriptions, Marquette told them he was willing not only to encounter all the perils of the unknown region they were about to explore, but to lay down his life in a cause in which the salvation of souls was involved ; and having prayed together they separated. Coasting along the northern shore of Lake Michigan, the adventurers entered Green Bay, and passed thence up the Fox River and Lake Winnebago to a village of the Miamis and Kickapoos. Here Mar- quette was delighted to find a beautiful cross planted in the middle of the town ornamented with white skins, red girdles and bows and arrows, which these good people had offered to the Great Manitou, or God, to thank him for the pity he had bestowed on them during the Winter in giving them an abundant " chase." This was the farthest outpost to which Dablon and Allouez had extended their missionary labors the year previous. Here Marquette drank mineral waters and was instructed in the secret of a root which cures the bite of the venomous rattlesnake. He assembled the chiefs and old men of the village, and, pointing to Joliet, said : "My friend is an envoy of France, to discover new coun- tries, and I am an ambassador from God to enlighten them with the truths of the Gospel." Two Miami guides were here furnished to conduct them to the Wisconsin River, and they set out from the Indian village on the 10th of June, amidst a great crowd of natives who had assembled to witness their departure into a region where no white man had ever yet ventured. The guides, having conducted them across the portage, returned. The explorers launched their canoes upon the Wisconsin, which they descended to the Mississippi and proceeded down its unknown waters. What emotions must have swelled their breasts as they struck out into the broadening current and became conscious that they were now upon the bosom of the Father of Waters. The mystery was about to be lifted from the long-sought river. The scenery in that locality is beautiful, and on that delightful seventeenth of June must have been clad in all its primeval loveliness as it had been adorned by the hand of
23
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
Nature. Drifting rapidly, it is said that the bold bluffs on either hand "reminded them of the castled shores of their own beautiful rivers of France." By-and-by, as they drifted along, great herds of buffalo appeared on the banks. On going to the heads of the valley they could see a country of the greatest beauty and fertility, apparently destitute of inhab- itants yet presenting the appearance of extensive manors, under the fas- tidious cultivation of lordly proprietors.
THE WILD PRAIRIE.
On June 25, they went ashore and found some fresh traces of men upon the sand, and a path which led to the prairie. The men remained in the boat, and Marquette and Joliet followed the path till they discovered a village on the banks of a river, and two other villages on a hill, within a half league of the first, inhabited by Indians. They were received most hospitably by these natives, who had never before seen a white person. After remaining a few days they re-embarked and descended the river to about latitude 33°, where they found a village of the Arkansas, and being satisfied that the river flowed into the Gulf of Mexico, turned their course
24
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
up the river, and ascending the stream to the mouth of the Illinois, rowed up that stream to its source, and procured guides from that point to the lakes. "Nowhere on this journey," says Marquette, " did we see such grounds, meadows, woods, stags, buffaloes, deer, wildcats, bustards, swans, ducks, parroquets, and even beavers, as on the Illinois River." The party, without loss or injury, reached Green Bay in September, and reported their discovery-one of the most important of the age, but of which no record was preserved save Marquette's, Joliet losing his by the upsetting of his canoe on his way to Quebec. Afterward Marquette returned to the Illinois Indians by their request, and ministered to them until 1675. On the 18th of May, in that year, as he was passing the mouth of a stream-going with his boatmen up Lake Michigan-he asked to land at its mouth and celebrate Mass. Leaving his men with the canoe, he retired a short distance and began his devotions. As much time passed and he did not return, his men went in search of him, and found him upon his knees, dead. He had peacefully passed away while at prayer. He was buried at this spot. Charlevoix, who visited the place fifty years after, found the waters had retreated from the grave, leaving the beloved missionary to repose in peace. The river has since been ealled Marquette.
While Marquette and his companions were pursuing their labors in the West, two men, differing widely from him and each other. were pre- paring to follow in his footsteps and perfect the discoveries so well begun by him. These were Robert de La Salle and Louis Hennepin.
After La Salle's return from the discovery of the Ohio River (see the narrative elsewhere), he established himself again among the French trading posts in Canada. Here he mused long upon the pet project of those ages-a short way to China and the East, and was busily planning an expedition up the great lakes, and so across the continent to the Pacific, when Marquette returned from the Mississippi. At once the vigorous mind of LaSalle received from his and his companions'stories the idea that by fol- lowing the Great River northward, or by turning up some of the numerous western tributaries, the object could easily be gained. He applied to Frontenac, Governor General of Canada, and laid before him the plan. dim bat gigantic. Frontenac entered warmly into his plans. and saw that LaSalle's idea to connect the great lakes by a chain of forts with the Gulf of Mexico would bind the country so wonderfully together, give un- measured power to France, and glory to himself, under whose adminis- tration he earnestly hoped all would be realized.
LaSalle now repaired to France, laid his plans before the King, who warmly approved of them, and made him a Chevalier. He also received from all the noblemen the warmest wishes for his success. 'The Cher ..
25
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
alier returned to Canada, and busily entered upon his work. He at once rebuilt Fort Frontenac and constructed the first ship to sail on these fresh-water seas. On the 7th of August, 1679. having been joined by Hennepin, he began his voyage in the Griffin up Lake Erie. He passed over this lake, through the straits beyond, up Lake St. Clair and into Huron. In this lake they encountered heavy storms. They were some time at Michillimackinac, where LaSalle founded a fort, and passed on to Green Bay, the " Baie des Puans " of the French. where he found a large quantity of furs collected for him. He loaded the Griffin with these, and placing her under the care of a pilot and fourteen sailors,
LA SALLE LANDING ON THE SHORE OF GREEN BAY.
started her on her return voyage. The vessel was never afterward heard of. He remained about these parts until early in the Winter, when, hear- ing nothing from the Griffin. he collected all the men-thirty working men and three monks-and started again upon his great undertaking.
By a short portage they passed to the Illinois or Kankakee, called by the Indians, "Theakeke." wolf. because of the tribes of Indians called by that name, commonly known as the Malingans, dwelling there. The French pronounced it Kiakiki, which became corrupted to Kankakee. "Falling down the said river by easy journeys, the better to observe the country," about the last of December they reached a village of the Illi- nois Indians, containing some five hundred cabins, but at that moment
26
THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
no inhabitants. The Seur de LaSalle being in want of some breadstuffs, took advantage of the absence of the Indians to help himself to a suffi- ciency of maize, large quantities of which he found concealed in holes under the wigwams. This village was situated near the present village of Utica in LaSalle County, Illinois. The corn being securely stored, the voyagers again betook themselves to the stream, and toward evening, on the 4th day of January, 1680, they came into a lake which must have been the lake of Peoria. This was called by the Indians Pim-i-te-wi, that is, a place where there are many fat beasts. Here the natives were met with in large numbers, but they were gentle and kind, and having spent some time with them, LaSalle determined to erect another fort in that place, for he had heard rumors that some of the adjoining tribes were trying to disturb the good feeling which existed, and some of his men were disposed to complain, owing to the hardships and perils of the travel. He called this fort " Crevecœur " (broken-heart), a name expressive of the very natural sorrow and anxiety which the pretty certain loss of his ship, Griffin, and his consequent impoverishment, the danger of hostility on the part of the Indians, and of mutiny among his own men, might well cause him. His fears were not entirely groundless. At one time poison was placed in his food, but fortunately was discovered.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.