USA > Iowa > An illustrated history of the state of Iowa, being a complete civil, political, and military history of the state, from its first exploration down to 1875; > Part 17
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An enumeration of the inhabitants of the state, and her pro- ductive resources, was taken in June, 1856. The reports show that the state has increased in population from June, 1854, to June, 1856, from 326,014, to 503,625. The vote polled on the 4th of November last, reached 92.644, showing that the population at the present date is not far from 600,000. The assessed value of property is reported at $164,194,413; number of acres of im- proved land, 2,343,958, unimproved, 6,443,871.
" The amount in the treasury on the 31st of October, 1854, was $10,106.86 ; paid into the treasury from the first date to October 31, 1856, $250,399.45; amount paid out upon auditor's warrants during the same period, $249,149.85, leaving a balance in the
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treasury, October 31, 1856, of $11,156.46. The total available revenue is $246,380.21, of which there will be due taxes from the several counties on January 1, 1857, $205,243.02 ; from counties in arrears, $30,880.73, and $11,256.46, now in the treasury. There is also in the treasury of the United States as the proceeds of the sales of the public lands within the limits of the state, from Janu- ary 1, to December 31, 1855, $185,785.32. The governor recom- mends the passage of a registry law, and an investigation into the affairs of the Des Moines Improvement Company."
On the 17th of January, 1857, the two houses in joint conven- tion elected Hon. James Harlan United States senator for the un- expired term, ending from and after the 4th day of March, 1855.
The following are some of the important acts passed at this session : to provide for the payment of the state bonds due on the first day of January, 1857 ($57,500); transferring the school fund of the state from the hands of the superintendent of public instruc- tion to the state treasurer; providing for improvements in the Iowa penitentiary, and $20,000 appropriated ; appropriating $10,000 for the further prosecution of the state geological survey ; to amend the law in relation to the assessment of property ; an act in relation to insurance companies doing business in the state ; appropriating $40,000 for the further completion of the state in- sane asylum at Mount Pleasant ; for the suppression of intemper- ance; to authorize the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad to construct a bridge across the Mississippi river at Burlington ; to provide for the distribution of the five per cent. fund ; to provide for an annual appropriation for the state historical society and $250 appropriated ; to license and regulate the sale of malt, spirit- uous and vinous liquors in the state ; providing for the education of the blind and for the institution for the deaf and dumb, and a large number of bills incorporating counties, towns and cities ; for the change of name of towns and counties, and various local meas- ures.
By an act of the legislature approved January 25, 1855, com- missioners were appointed to relocate the state capitol, "within two miles of the junction of the Des Moines and Raccoon rivers in Polk county," and the provisions of the subsequent law fixing the seat of government at Des Moines were incorporated into the new
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CROSSCUP & WEST-SC.PHIL A.
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constitution of 1857. In the fall of this year, the furniture and effects of the capitol at Iowa City were removed to Des Moines, the point selected by the commissioners. The removal of the seat of government, as was reasonably expected, produced some feeling at Iowa City. No doubt existed in the mind of any one, that at some future time the public interest would require a relocation of the seat of government ; but that this step was called for by any considerable portion of the inhabitants of the state at that time was denied ; and with the exception of those in the immediate vi- cinity of the new capitol and a few speculators, the movement was looked upon by many as premature and entirely uncalled for ; and although the proceeding was strongly opposed by the citizens of Johnson county and adjoining counties, yet subsequent events have demonstrated that by exchanging the seat of government for the "state university," that section of the country has been vastly and permanently benefited, proving that those things the most far seeing looked upon as evils, often result in our greatest good.
CHAPTER XXX.
ADMINISTRATION OF GOV. LOWE.
Seventh Session of the State Legislature - Gov. Grimes' Last Message - State Institutions - Indian Troubles - Slavery.
THE SEVENTH regular session of the general assembly of the state convened at Des Moines on the 11th day of January, 1858, and was organized in the senate by the election of Daniel Ander- son of Monroe county as president pro tem., and Geo. E. Spencer as permanent secretary ; and in the house by the election of Stephen B. Shelledy as speaker, and Benj. F. Jones as chief clerk ; and adjourned March 23, 1858. The message of Gov. Grimes to the legislature was read in each house by the chief clerk and secretary on the 12th. He congratulates the legisla- ture on the continued prosperity of the state, and says they are convened under the provisions of a new organic law, and expected to provide proper methods for carrying the same into effect. He refers to the subject of special legislation, and recommends that the laws on this subject shall be full and specific. He recom- mends a registry law ; a revision of the revenue law; the taking of the census of 1859 by persons appointed by the census board instead of by county assessors. He calls attention to the revision of the school laws as prepared and submitted by Messrs. Horace Mann and Amos Dean, and recommends that the same be enacted into a law. He states that the capitol building at Iowa City has been surrendered to the trustees of the state university ; that the building is out of repair, and requires considerable change in its internal arrangements, to adapt it to the purposes for which it is to be used, and recommends the general assembly to appropriate a sum sufficient to put it in complete order for the uses for which it is now designed.
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TUTTLE'S HISTORY OF IOWA.
The deaf and dumb and blind asylums are in a prosperous condition, and the former only lacks the proper accommodations to answer all the reasonable desires of the friends of the institu- tion, and of the children in charge, and recommends that this in- stitution be permanently established at some point in the state, and that steps be taken to erect a proper asylum building. The pupils at the blind asylumn are so few that, in his opinion, it does not seem necessary to maintain an institution for their instruc- tion, and they can be educated by the state in similar institutions elsewhere, at less expense than is now annually appropriated for this purpose. The hospital for the insane, at Mount Pleasant, he says, has advanced rapidly towards completion, and can be made ready for occupancy during the present year. The amount already expended, including labor, materials of various descrip- tions on hand, glass, sash and window frames for the entire build- ing, stock, etc., is $138,548.01. The estimates of amount that may be necessary to complete the building, out-buildings, etc., are referred to in the reports of the commissioners herewith sent to the legislature.
He also states that he has caused the report of the geological survey of the state to be printed under the supervision of Prof. Jas. Hall, LL. D., of Albany, N. Y. The governor recommends a military organization of the state, as there is no law under which companies can be organized, or that would strictly author- ize the executive authority to call them into the field, in cases requiring their services. He gives the following summary of the financial condition of the state :
Amount in the treasury Oct. 31, 1856
$11,254 91
Paid into the treasury during the fiscal year 231,234 42
Making a total of $242,489 33
Disbursements from the treasury. 228,806 23
Leaving a balance in the treasury of
$13,683 10
There is in arrears from county treasurers 62,401 94
Due from counties upon the assessment of 1857 418, 709 59
The auditor of the state estimates the taxes for the year 1858 at $500,000, and for 1859 at $575,000.
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ADMINISTRATION OF GOV. LOWE.
The total resources of the state to January, 1860, when the next general assembly convenes $1,569,794 63
The auditor estimates the expenses of the state during the same period. $523,412 90
Outstanding auditor's warrants 155,003 56
678,416 46
Leaving an excess of resources $891,378 17
The expenses of the state during the past two years have been greatly increased by the extra session of the general assembly in July, 1855, rendered necessary by the grant of land to the state for railroad purposes, by the recent constitutional convention, and by the erection of a hospital for the insane. The amount expended for these three last purposes exceeds the sum of two hundred thousand dollars.
The governor recommends the borrowing, upon the bonds of the state, the amount allowed by the constitution. By so doing, the present liabilities of the state can be immediately discharged, the charitable institutions can be carried forward to completion, and the rate of taxation for the years 1858 and 1859 can be re- duced at least one-third. Referring to the Des Moines river im- provement, he says: "It is reported that the company have en- gaged in practices calculated to deceive and defraud innocent and unsuspecting persons, both at home and abroad," and sug- gests that " the attorney general be directed to institute proceed- ings to vacate the charter of said company, and thus prevent it from perpetrating any further wrongs under the authority of the state." He also refers to the act of congress admitting Iowa into the union, where it is declared "that five per cent. of the net proceeds of sales of all public lands lying within the state, which have been or shall be sold by congress shall (after deducting neces- sary expenses) be appropriated for making public roads and canals within the state, as the legislature may direct ;" and also "to appropriate the five per cent. of the net proceeds of lands which have been or shall he sold by congress from and after the admis- sion of said state, to the support of common schools." He com- plains that immense quantities of land have been entered by mil- itary land warrants, and the government receives a consideration
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TUTTLE'S HISTORY OF IOWA.
for the land thus entered, and that it is unjust to the state for the government to destroy the fund which it holds in trust for the state. Between private persons the same state of facts would justify a recovery in a court of law. and it seems to him that the same principle should prevail between the two governments. The military land warrants located in Iowa up to the 30th of June, 1856, covered 10,929,692.30 acres. The percentage due to the state thereon is $682,980.20, and probably the aggregate percentage to June 30, 1857, approaches very near $1,000,000. He recommends that congress be mernorialized on this subject, and that suit be authorized to be instituted against the United States for the recovery of the amount due, in the court of claims.
He also states that during the past three years his attention had been frequently called to the probability of a collision be- tween the Indians and the settlers in the west and northwestern counties of the state, and that he had addressed the president of the United States, the secretary of war, and the commissioner of Indian affairs on the subject. Fearing that some exigency might arise that would require prompt and energetic action, he had in January, 1855, requested Maj . Wm. Williams, of Fort Dodge, to assume a general charge of this subject, and authorized him as far as he (the governor) had power to do so, to act in his behalf in any contingency that might arise in connection with the Indians.
In February last, 1857, Ink-pa-du-tah's band of Sioux Indians made a hostile incursion into the state, and perpetrated most hor- rible atrocities in Dickinson county. When intelligence of this event reached Fort Dodge, Maj. Williams at once enrolled three companies of men under Capts. Richards and Duncomb and pro- ceeded to the scene of difficulty. These heroic men left their homes in the most inclement season of the year, and endured almost unheard of sufferings and privations; crossing swollen streams flooded with ice, and traversing uninhabited prairies in the most tempestuous weather, that they might save their fellow creatures from a savage butchery, or rescue them from a captivity worse than death. Two of their number, Capt. J. C. Johnson, of Hamilton county, and William Burkholder, of Webster county, perished on the march, others returned frozen and maimed. The expedition did not overtake the Indians; but they reached the
CROSSCUP & WEST-SC.PHIL A
Hon. James Cushing.
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TUTTLE'S HISTORY OF IOWA.
scene of their barbarities, gave to the dead a Christian burial, and brought back with them two children, the sole survivors of the slaughtered settlement. The men who thus gallantly and hu- manely perilled their lives, have received no compensation for the time employed in the expedition, or for their outfit. The federal government is in equity bound for their compensation, and the governor recommended that a memorial be addressed to the con gress of the United States, and that the state assume the payment and reserve the same from any appropriation that may be made.
The expenses of the state prison he reports for the past year as $9,448.95.
The governor gives his views at length on the subject of slavery, and says : "I trust that as the representatives of the freedom lov- ing citizens of Iowa, you will explicitly declare that you will never consent that this state shall become an integral part of a great slave republic by assenting to the abhorrent doctrines con- tained in the Dred Scott decision, let the consequences of dissent be what they may ;" and closes by saying. "the liberties of the people can only be preserved by maintaining the integrity of the state governments against the corrupting influence of federal patronage and power."
On the 14th of January, 1858, the two houses of the legislature met in joint convention for the purpose of hearing the result of the votes for the offices of governor and lieutenant governor, the president of the senate acting as president of the joint convention. The tellers announced, after duly canvassing the said votes, it appeared that there had been cast at the election in October, 1857, for the office of governor, 75,592 votes, of which number Ralph P. Lowe had received 38,498 ; Benj. M. Samuels 36,088, and T. F. Henry, 1,006, whereupon Ralph P. Lowe having received a majority of all the votes cast for said office, was declared duly elected governor of Iowa for the ensuing gubernatorial term. The tellers further announced that there had been cast at said election for the office of lieutenant governor, 74,953 votes, of which num- ber Oran Faville, had received 37,633 ; George Gillaspy 35,310, and Easton Morris 1,010 votes; whereupon it appearing that Mr. Faville had received a majority of all the votes cast at the elec- tion of October, 1857, for the office of lieutenant governor, was
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ADMINISTRATION OF Gov. LOWE.
declared elected to that office for the term of two years, or until his successor is elected and qualified.
At a later hour of the day the joint convention reassembled, when the governor and lieutenant governor appeared before them. The oath of office was then administered by Chief Justice Wright, of the supreme court, after which the governor elect delivered his inaugural address, after which the joint convention adjourned sine die.
Ex-Gov. Jas. W. Grimes, was elected United States senator for six years, from March 4, 1859.
The legislature adjourned on the 23d of March. The follow- ing are some of the most important bills passed at this session : To provide for issuing state bonds, and procuring a loan for the state ($200,000); to authorize the governor to arm and equip a company for the defense of the frontier ; providing for the public instruction of the state an elaborate school code of ninety-six sec- tions ; to reapportion the state into senate and assembly districts ; to incorporate the State Bank of Iowa ; to provide for the estab- lishment of an agricultural college ; to authorize the business of banking ; for the government of the Iowa insane hospital at Mt. Pleasant ; for the management of the school fund, and the school lands of the state ; for a revision of the laws of the state, and for a code of civil and criminal procedure ; disposing of the land grant made by congress to the Des Moines Valley Railroad ; to provide for the erection of an institution for the education of the blind at the town of Vinton. Benton county ; to provide for taking the state census ; for the government of the Iowa insane hospital.
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CHAPTER XXXI.
DES MOINES RIVER IMPROVEMENT.
IN THE preceding chapters reference has been made to the Des Moines river, its improvement and the grant of lands bestowed by congress upon the state, to aid in making the river a navigable stream. The record of this river improvement is prominent in Iowa history. For many years it entered largely into politics, and called forth much legislation. The late Hon. Charles Negus, in 1873, prepared a valuable paper on this subject, which was published in the " Annals of Iowa," a periodical issued by the state historical society. From this paper we have compiled the following account of the subject :
On the first settlement of Iowa, the building of railroads had just commenced, and but few in the west knew anything about this mode of conveyance for travel and commerce. At that time steamboats for these purposes were the great absorbing idea. The Des Moines river, in high stages of water, was thought to be sus- ceptible of steamboat navigation far into the interior of the state, and those who first settled in the vicinity of this river eagerly looked forward to the day when steamboats would move up and down these waters in large numbers, and for long distances from its banks, travel and commerce would seek a conveyance through this channel. These expectations were apparently well founded. In 1836 the Sacs and Foxes, having disposed of their reservation on the Iowa river, where they had their villages, moved west, and settled in the valley of the river Des Moines, in what is now called Wapello county, and as a natural consequence, trading posts were established in this vicinity, which had to be supplied with goods, and in the fall of 1837, the few settlers along the banks of this river were, for the first time, gladdened with the sound of the whistle of a steamboat making its way up the river (242)
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DES MOINES RIVER IMPROVEMENT.
with supplies for these trading posts. This boat was the " Sci- ence," commanded by Capt. Clark, which, by forcing her way against the swift current, passed safely over the concealed sand bars and hidden rocks, demonstrated that the waters of this river at high stages were navigable, much to the joy and satisfaction of those who lived in the vicinity, and afforded a theme of pleasant conversation for days and months.
By the treaty of 1842 by which the Sacs and Foxes sold all their lands in Iowa, they were permitted to retain possession of that portion which lay west of Red Rock for three years, and the Indians moved up the river, and located themselves near the Rac- coon Fork, and the government thought proper to locate a body of troops at this point; and for the conveyance of soldiers and their equipages to that place, the little steamer Ione was employed and laden with stores, and a detachment of troops landed upon the site where is now the city of Des Moines, on the 9th of May, 1843. This was the first steamboat that ever ventured to disturb the waters of this river so far from its mouth. The Ione having made a successful trip, added greatly to the expectation of the estimated importance and value of this thoroughfare - which was brought to the attention of congress - and on the 8th of August, 1846, congress enacted a law giving to Iowa, for the purpose of aiding to improve the navigation of the Des Moines from its mouth to the Raccoon Fork, an equal moiety in alternate sections of the public lands remaining unsold, on a strip five miles wide on each side of the river, to be selected within the territory of Iowa by an agent or agents, to be appointed by the governor of the territory, subject to the approval of the secretary of the United States treas- ury. When this grant was first made, it was not supposed by any one that it extended above Raccoon Fork, and Gov. Clarke, in communicating the intelligence to the legislature, estimated the grant to amount to about three hundred thousand acres. This part of the governor's message was referred to a select committee for them to take into consideration whether it was advisable for the state to accept the grant, and if so, to devise the method of disposing of the lands, and the mode of improving the river.
The committee, after having the matter under consideration several weeks, through their chairman, Dr. Jas. Davis, of Wapello
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TUTTLE'S HISTORY OF IOWA.
county, made a lengthy report, in which they took the ground that the grant was not limited to lands below the Raccoon fork, but extended to every alternate section for five miles on each side of the river to the northern boundary of the state, if not to the source of the river ; and they estimated the grant to contain four hundred thousand acres below the Raccoon fork, and five hun- dred and sixty-thousand above, making nine hundred and sixty thousand acres of land. The report of the committee at first was looked upon as visionary, and but very little calculation was made on getting any land above the fork of the river; but a matter of this much importance was not passed over without ex- amination and full discussion.
From this time on, for several years, the improvement of the river Des Moines entered largely into the politics of the state. Politicians became interested in it ; the construction put upon the grant by the committee was the popular side and found many ad- vocates, and scarcely any one opposed it. The committee re- ported in favor of receiving the grant, with provisos, and a bill for creating a board of public works. On this report, the legis- lature passed an act accepting the grant, with the proviso, that it was not to form a part of the five hundred thousand acres which the state was entitled to by an act of congress of 1841, giving to each new state that amount of land for internal improvements. This was conceded by the general government, and it also per- mitted the state to divert the five hundred thousand acres from works of internal improvement to the purposes of education. The legislature, on the 5th of February, 1847, also passed an act creating a board of public works, and providing for the improve- ment of the river. The board consisted of a president, secretary and treasurer, who were to be elected by the qualified electors of the state, on the first Monday of the following August. The president was to be the active agent of the work, and was re- quired to make monthly reports of his doings and of the progress of the work to the board. The secretary was to record the pro- ceedings of the board and sell the lands. The treasurer was to receive and disburse the moneys. The officers were required to commence the work on the Mississippi, near Keokuk, at the mouth of the Dead Slough, or of the Nassaw Slough, and then
CHOSSCUP D WEST-SC.PHIL A.
Hon. L. McCarty.
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TUTTLE'S HISTORY OF IOWA.
up the slough to the river ; and subsequently the work was com- menced by undertaking to dig a canal from the mouth of Nas- saw Slough to St. Francisville, the first place on the river, where it was thought practicable to build a dam.
About one hundred and fifty thousand dollars were expended in the effort, but the attempt proved to be an impracticable un- dertaking, and, after expending this amount of money, the work of digging a canal was abandoned. At the August election, Hugh W. Sample, of Jefferson county, was elected president ; Charles Corckery, of Dubuque county. secretary, and Paul Bra- ton, of Van Buren county, treasurer. The officers elected were qualified, and at first opened their offices at Fairfield. Samuel Curtiss, from Ohio, was selected by the board as chief engineer ; but there was very little done this season towards improving the river, further than to make surveys. The necessary surveys hav- ing been completed, early in the spring of 1848 the work was commenced, the canal and three dams were put under contract, and about five hundred hands were put upon the work. On the 21st of August, the building of ten more dams was contracted for, and there seemed to be a fair prospect for the speedy comple- tion of the entire improvement.
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