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 6
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TUTTLE'S HISTORY OF IOWA.
ter, at their village at Catfish Creek, created the greatest alarm among the Indians, and they fled from their village in great con- fusion, most of them never to return. Previous to this, there had been some white settlements on the east side of the Mississippi, in the vicinity of Galena. As early as 1823, Col. Johnson, from Kentucky, with a large force of negro slaves, commenced mining near Fever river, and found some profitable diggings. In 1824, other parties came on and worked the mines nine miles north of Galena, in the present state of Wisconsin, at a place which was named Hardscrabble, which received its name from a fierce contest which was had here by contending parties for the possession of the mines. The emigration to this part of the country was so great that previous to 1830, Galena was known at a long distance as a town, and mining was carried on to a considerable extent.
The whites on the east side of the river, learning that the Indians had deserted their village on the Catfish creek, thought they might venture across and look at a country they had long been anxious to explore; and in the month of June, Mr. L. H. Langworthy and his brother came over to what was looked upon as the promised land. At this time there was not a white settlement north of the Des Moines, and west of the Mississippi to Astoria in Oregon, with the exception of a few Indian trading posts and establishments. These gentlemen crossed the river in a canoe, swimming their horses by its side, and stood upon the soil of an unknown land. The place where has since been built the city of Dubuque, had been cultivated by the Indians as a cornfield, and the stalks of the last year's crop were still standing. About seventy buildings, constructed with poles and the bark of trees, remained to tell of those who had so recently inhabited them. But this village soon disappeared before the whites. It was set on fire by some visitors that summer, and burned to the ground, much to the regret of the new settlers.
A short distance below this place is the Sioux bluff, noted from Indian tradition as the place where the Sac and Fox nations fought a great battle with the Sioux. It is an isolated bluff, about two hundred feet high. The side next to the river is nearly per- pendicular, and separated on all sides from the neighboring bluffs by a wide valley. The Sioux had fled from their enemies to this
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HALF-BREEDS - MINING - INDIAN TROUBLES.
place for safety, and had fortified their position on the summit of this bluff, by cutting down the trees and brush, interlocking them together, forming a rude parapet, behind which with their wives and children, they sought to protect themselves from the assaults of the enemy. The Sacs and Foxes, learning their position, thought it not prudent to commence an attack by day light, but chose a time when their enemy could not watch their movements. At the dead hour of night, they commenced to ascend the hill : they proceeded in a slow, quiet manner, unobserved by the Sioux to the very outposts of their camp. They then made a desperate assault, dispersed the sentinels, and were over the breast-works and attacking the camp before the main body of the Sioux were aware of their approach. They set fire to the brush fortifications and fell back, and the fire illuminated the camp of the enemy, and they fought with the advantage of darkness around them, while the Sioux were exposed by the light of the burning camp to the deadly aim of the arrows and guns of the assailants. The fight continued around the illuminated outlines of the camp till the Sioux, thinned in numbers, began to yield the ground. The Sacs and Foxes now made a charge with their tomahawks and war-clubs; short and terrible was the conflict which now ensued upon the summit of this towering bluff, for the Sioux, driven to the very brink of the precipice, next to the river, and their enemies occupying the front ground, had no chance to retreat, and were all slaughtered on the spot or hurled headlong down the precipice, and their bleaching bones were to be seen along the margin of the bluff after the country was settled by the whites.
The miners who crossed over the river made some valuable dis- coveries, and were about commencing to mine on an extensive scale, when they were visited about the 4th of July, by Capt. Zachary Taylor, (afterwards president of the United States), then in command of the United States troops at Prairie du Chien, who ordered them not to make any settlements upon the Indian lands, and also to recross the river. These lands had not then been pur- chased from the Indians, and it became the duty of Capt. Taylor, as he was then called, to protect them against the encroachments of the whites. The captain ordered them to leave within one week, but the miners at first told him they would not go, saying to him,
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TUTTLE'S HISTORY OF IOWA.
that the country had been abandoned by the Indians, and that they had discovered some valuable mines; that the lands would soon be purchased, and they intended to retain possession of their mines. To this, Taylor replied: "We shall see to that my boys," and in the course of a week a detachment of troops was dispatched, with orders to clear the country of whites. But most of the miners believing that Taylor would execute his order by force if not obeyed, recrossed the river before the troops arrived, so that when the soldiers landed they only found three of them remain- ing. These were taken into custody and retained as prisoners, but not being watched very closely, they soon made their escape; but the whites were not permitted to engage in mining at that time. Soon after, a military force was stationed at this point, after which the Indians veutured to return to their old home, and aided by the traders and settlers from the east side of the river, they worked the mines which had been opened by the whites, with good success.
CROSSCUP & WEST- SC.PHILA.
Robert A. Sankey.
CHAPTER IX.
BLACK HAWK AND HIS WAR.
He refuses to leave his Old Home -Militia called out - His Removal and Subsequent Return - The War - Bravery of Black Hawk - His Last Days.
IN THE SPRING of 1831, the government agent at Rock Island informed Black Hawk that he must remove, and that if he did not, the government would oblige him to do so. The former offered to remove for the sum of $6,000. This was refused. The squaws had now planted their corn and it was beginning to grow, when the whites again commenced plowing it up. Black Hawk having threatened violence, a force of troops was sent against the Indians which alarmed him and on the night of June 25th, he passed with all his party to the west bank of the river, and on the 30th a treaty was entered into in which the " British Band " as Black Hawk's party was termed, was required to submit to the chiefs of the Sac and Fox nations, who resided on the west side of the Mississippi. The period of the removal of Black Hawk and his band to the west side of the river was too late in the sea- son to enable them to plant corn and beans a second time, and before autumn they were out of provisions.
In the early part of April 1832, Black Hawk and his whole party, rashly and in violation of the treaty of the previous year, crossed to the east side of the Mississippi, for the avowed purpose of ascending Rock river to the territory of their friends, the Win- nebagoes, and raising a crop of corn and beans with them. Gen. Armstrong with 300 regulars and 300 militia ascended Rock river in boats to Dixon's Ferry ; but the first to come up with Black Hawk, was Maj. Stillman, who, on the 14th of May, with 275 mounted militia, arrived within eight miles of Black Hawk's camp. The latter sent to him three young men and a flag of
(78)
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BLACK HAWK AND HIS WAR.
truce. The bearers were fired upon and one killed. Upon learn- ing this, Black Hawk desperatly started to meet the enemy with about forty men. He soon met Stillman's command and charged upon them with such tremendous energy that they fled with the utmost consternation, and continued running such an astonishing length of time, that the battle ever after went by the name of Stillman's run.
War ensued. Three thousand Illinois militia marched to Rock river, where they were joined by the United States troops. Six hundred mounted men were also ordered out, while Gen. Scott, with nine companies of artillery, moved with such celerity as to pass from Fort Monroe on the Chesapeake to Chicago - a dis- tance of eighteen hundred miles in eighteen days ; but long be- fore they reached the scene of action the western troops had closed the contest. After several battles had been fought, Black Hawk was taken on the 27th of August (1832), which virtually ended all the disturbances of the Indians in this section of the country, and from which time we may date the permanent growth of the country.
On the 15th of September, 1832, a treaty was held with the Sacs and Foxes by Gen. Scott, by which a small strip of land only, was ceded to the United States, called the " Black Hawk Purchase " which relinquished to the white men 6,000,000 acres of land, constituting the eastern portion of the state of Iowa, for which stipulated annuities were to be paid. To Keokuk and his party a reservation of forty square miles (since purchased) was given, including his village, in consideration of his fidelity, while Black Hawk and some of his most sanguiue followers were sent as hostages to Fort Monroe where they remained until June, 1833. At the last date the Indians peaceably removed from the Black Hawk purchase, and thus gave to the whites free access to this beautiful country.
When Keokuk and his associates, after making the treaty of 1837, for the purchasing of another tract, came back from the east, Black Hawk did not return to their village on the Des Moines river, but spent the winter on Devil creek in Lee county. The old man doubtless feeling his degradation, preferring to be isolated from those whom he had been accustomed to command, he erected
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TUTTLE'S HISTORY OF IOWA.
his lodge outside of the boundary of the Indian country, where with his own family, and a few favorite braves, he made a tem- porary residence. His family consisted of his wife, two sons Nash-she-ar-kuk and Sam-e-sett, a daughter, Nan-ne-qua and her husband. Here his companions passed their time mostly in hunt- ing deer, turkeys and prairie chickens which were very abundant and afforded them a good supply of provisions, while he spent most of his time in fixing his cabin, and exercising his skill with mechanical tools. In the spring of the year 1838, he removed into the Indian country, and built his lodge on the Des Moines river, a short distance above the old Indian village, where was subsequently laid out the town of Iowaville. "Here he had a very comfortable bark cabin, which he furnished in imitation of the whites, with chairs, a table, a mirror and mattrasses. His dress was that of the other chiefs with the exception of a broad brimmed black hat which he usually wore."
He kept a cow, and adopted many of the habits of civilized life. During the summer he cultivated a few acres of ground and raised quite a crop of corn, melons and other vegetables. His lodge was often visited by the whites, who were always received by the old chief hospitably, and treated to the best his cabin afforded.
On the 4th of July, 1838, the citizens of Fort Madison got up a celebration, and gave Black Hawk a special invitation to attend, which was accepted ; and the old man was decidedly the lion of the day. In reply to the toast : "Our illustrious guest, Black Hawk - may his declining years be calm and serene as his pre- vious life has been boisterous and full of warlike incidents. His attachment and friendship to his white brethren may fully entitle him to a seat at our festal board," he arose and replied :
"It has pleased the Great Spirit that I am here to-day. I have eaten with my white friends. The earth is our mother; we are now on it, with the Great Spirit above us - it is good. I hope we are all friends here. A few winters ago I was fighting against you ; I did wrong, perhaps, but that is past ; it is buried - let it be forgotten. Rock river was a beautiful country ; I liked my towns and my cornfields, and the homes of my people ; I fought for it -it is now yours ; keep it as we did ; it will produce you good
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BLACK HAWK AND HIS WAR.
crops. I thank the Great Spirit that I am now friendly with my white brothers; we are here together, we have eaten together, we are friends. It is his wish and mine; I thank you for your friendship. I was once a great warrior ; I am now poor ; Keo- kuk has been the cause of my present condition ; but do not attach blame to him. I am now old; I have looked upon the Mississippi river since I have been a child; I love the great river ; I have dwelt upon its banks from the time I was an infant. I look upon it now. I shake hands with you, and it is my wish you are my friends."
Early in October, 1838, the commissioner for adjusting claims with the Sac and Fox tribe was to meet them at Rock Island, and most of the Indians were there on the first of the month. Black Hawk had been taken sick with a violent billious fever, and was unable to go with them, and on the third of October, after a sickness of only seven days, he died. His wife, who was much devoted to him, was deeply distressed during his sickness. She seemed to have a presentiment that he was about to leave her, and said, some days before he died : "He is getting old ; he must die. Monotah (God) calls him home." After he was dead, his corpse was dressed in the uniform which had been given him when at Washington, and placed upon a bier made of two poles with bark laid across them, and carried by four braves to his grave, "followed by his family and about fifty of the tribe (the chiefs all being absent), who were deeply affected at the death of their once powerful and distinguished chief. The grave was six feet deep, and of the usual length, situated upon a little emi- nence, about fifty yards from his wigwam. The body was placed in the grave in a sitting posture, upon a seat constructed for the purpose. On his left side the cane given him by Henry Clay was placed upright with his right hand resting upon it. Many of the old warrior's trophies were placed on the grave, and some Indian garments, together with his favorite weapons." The grave was then covered with plank, and a mound of earth several feet high "sodded over with the blue grass sod " raised over the spot. At the head of the grave there was raised a flagstaff, bearing the national flag, and at the foot there was placed a post, on which were in- scribed in Indian characters, many of the warrior's heroic deeds,
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TUTTLE'S HISTORY OF IOWA.
and his age, which was supposed to be about seveney-two years ; and the whole was inclosed with a picket fence about twelve feet high.
But his remains were not permitted to rest in quietude in their narrow abode to which his friends had consigned them. It was subsequently ascertained that a Dr. Turner, a resident of Lexing- ton, Van Buren county, from pecuniary motives, disinterred them and carried away the bones with the trophies and habiliments which had been deposited in the grave, with a design of taking them through the country to exhibit them for money.
The whole nation, and particularly the family of Black Hawk, were very much incensed at the desecration of the grave of the distinguished chief, and Black Hawk's son and many of the prin- cipal Indians called on Gov. Lucas and desired him to have the wrong redressed. The governor succeeded in recovering the remains, but not in punishing the offender, and the Indians were informed that the bones were at his office, ready to be delivered to them. They expressed much gratitude for what the governor had done, but on account of some superstitious notions enter- tained by the Indians, they never took them away. The bones, clothes, and other articles which had been deposited in the grave were kept in the office of the governor at Burlington for some time, and were afterwards given in charge of the Historical So- ciety, and in a conflagration, were consumed by fire with many other valuable collections of the society.
" Black Hawk," says Mr. Clemens, " was one of the noblest of Indians, and an able and patriotic chief. With the intelligence and power to plan a great project, and to execute it, he united the lofty spirit which secures the respect, and confidence of the people. He loved his people and fought for them with as true patriotism as ever animated any man's heart. He was about five feet eight inches high, with a stoop in his shoulders, an aquiline nose, a re- treating forehead, and eyes of a dark hazel color. He was always polite and pleasant, but never seemed to forget the treatment he had met with from the whites."
On his return from captivity at Fort Monroe, Black Hawk was formally deposed from his authority as chief, and was informed that the President wished him to listen and conform to Keokuk's
CROSSCUP & WEST-SC.PHILA
J.J. Jalerton
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TUTTLE'S HISTORY OF IOWA.
counsels, and he also was given to understand that his band was thenceforth to be merged into that of Keokuk, whom the Presi- dent would thereafter receive and acknowledge as the principal chief of the Sac and Fox nation. This was done at Fort Arm- strong in August 1833. Black Hawk and his family deeply felt the degradation, and afterwards associated but little with other Indians. He never had but one wife, and she was the neatest and most provident woman of her tribe. He had a daughter who was very beautiful, and was engaged to be married to a merchant of Fort Madison, but the match was broken off by the influence of a relation. He had also two sons, the eldest of whom accom- panied him in his tour through the United States.
CHAPTER X.
MINING - DUBUQUE.
Difficulties between Miners and the Government - Early Incidents in Du- buque - A Tragedy - Lynch Law - Indian Troubles - Early Settle- ments.
IN 1832, as soon as it was known in the mines at Helena, that the war with the Indians had closed, and they had disposed of a portion of their lands on the west side of the Mississippi, the whites again crossed over the river and commenced to work the mines which had been discovered is 1830. They built houses, erected furnaces for smelting, cut hay and made every preparation for a winter's work, and before the first of January, 1833, there were over two hundred persons collected about the mines, and many valuable lodes had been discovered and a large amount of lead manufactured ; but in the month of January, the United States soldiers again interposed, and forced the miners to again leave their work and recross to the east side of the river. Many of the miners thought this a great hardship, and severely censured the government authorities for driving them away after these lands had been purchased from the Indians; but the treaty had not then been ratified by the senate of the United States, and under its stipulations the Indians had the right to occupy the lands till the first of the following June, unmolested by the whites ; and for the government to maintain good faith towards the In- dians, it was necessary to prevent the whites from occupying any of the purchase until the time it was to be given up to the whites.
The duty of keeping the whites from intruding upon the rights of the Indians did not produce a good feeling between the sol- diers and the miners, and there were several of the cabins erected by the miners torn down by the soldiers stationed there, and some wagons engagel in moving mineral which had been dug. (85)
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TUTTLE'S HISTORY OF IOWA.
were cut to pieces by the order of .Lieut. Covington, who had command of the troops at that point, and saw fit to use his au- thority to the injury of the miners. Complaints of the conduct of Covington were made to Capt. Z. Taylor at Prairie du Chien, and he was recalled and Lieut. Gen. Wilson was sent to take his place. This gentleman proved more acceptable to the settlers, and there was no more trouble with the miners about intruding on Indian territory.
On the first of June 1833, the whites were permitted to make settlements in Iowa. The miners about the mineral region had waited anxiously for the arrival of the time when they might lawfully be permitted to work the mines, and immediately a large quantity of these lands was taken into possession; but just as the miners had fairly become engaged in raising the mineral, they were again molested in their operations, for the United States government assumed control of the mineral lands, and sent out John P. Sheldon as their agent to superintend the mines. No one could work the mines without the agent's consent. He gave permits to the miners, which authorized each one to stake off two hundred yards square of land where there was no previous claim, and hold possession of the same on condition that all the mineral which was dug should be delivered to a licensed smelter. A licensed smelter, before he could do any business, was required to give bond with condition that he should pay the government a percentage on all the lead which he manufactured. These re- strictions were, as long as imposed, very objectionable to the miners, and hard to be enforced, and they became so odious that the government was induced to change its policy, and under the provisions of an act passed on the 11th of February, 1846, regu- lating mineral lands, these lands were brought into market and sold.
The immigration to the mining regions was rapid, and in the winter of 1833-4, a town was laid off at the mines, and by a vote of the citizens assembled in a public meeting, was called Du- buque, after the person of that name before mentioned, who ob- tained a grant from the Spanish government, and worked the mines as early as 1788. The new town progressed rapidly ; stores were erected, " the mines increased in richness, and as a consequence,
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MINING - DUBUQUE.
emigration began to increase rapidly, becoming a prosperous com- munity in the midst of this then lone - and from its reputed bar- renness - dreary wilderness."
In the first settlement of the country at Dubuque, there were many exciting scenes. The people collected about these mines were not generally persons of the strictest moral character; drink- ing, gambling and fighting were amusements of common pastime, and there being no established law, every one, to a great extent, regulated his conduct as he thought proper. A man by the name of O'Connor shot his partner dead with a rifle. This act en- raged the community to such an extent, that he was arrested withont due process of the law, and the citizens immediately or- ganized a court from among their own number, impaneled a jury, assigned the prisoner counsel and put him on trial. The jury found him guilty, and he was sentenced to be hung. After giv- ing him a reasonable time to prepare for death, and receive relig- ious consolation from a priest of his own choice, he was executed upon a mound which for a long time bore his name; but it has dis- appeared before the hand of improvement, and substantial build- ings are erected on the site. The population of the place at that time was about 1,000, nearly the whole of which were witnesses to the final act of that dreadful tragedy.
Burlington was quite a noted place before it was settled by the whites, and was known by the name of Flint Hills (or by the In- dian name of Shak-o-quon), and had been for a long time a post for carrying on trade with the Indians. At the time when the whites were first permitted to make settlements here, there were a number of old trading houses, boat houses, and a number of graves along the bank of the river, "and the remains of other Indians deposited in canoes with their trinkets, suspended in the trees, which were fastened to the limbs with bark ropes ; among the graves was that of the noted French or half-breed, Maurice Blondeau, who previous to his death lived and had an extensive improvement near the head of the Des Moines rapids, between Montrose and Keokuk."
In October, 1832, some twelve or fifteen persons crossed the Mississippi in canoes at the head of " Big Island," and made a landing about two miles below Burlington, took an excursion
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TUTTLE'S HISTORY OF IOWA,
through the surrounding country, and laid claims for future set- tlements. They built for themselves cabins, and in February, 1833, brought over their stock and commenced making fences and preparing the ground for cultivation. But to their great annoy- ance, they were driven away from their claims by the "govern- ment soldiers from Rock Island," and they recrossed the river and stopped on " Big Island," taking with them their implements of husbandry and their stock. All the labor which they liad per- formed availed them nothing, for their cabins and fences were set on fire by the soldiers and burned up; but notwithstanding these molestations, they resolved to hold on to their sites selected for their homes. They held a council and "agreed to strike their tents and went to work to build a flat-boat so that they could cross over the river, and improve their claims whenever they had an opportunity."
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