USA > Iowa > Polk County > Des Moines > Des Moines, the pioneer of municipal progress and reform of the middle West, together with the history of Polk County, Iowa, the largest, most populous and most prosperous county in the state of Iowa; Volume I > Part 4
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1 Annals of Iowa, Aldrich series, v. 3, p. 351.
2 Spelled "Kearney" by Parkman and Schoolcraft; but spelled without the "e" in the official reports.
3 Gue-History of Iowa, v. I, p. 104.
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of the First Dragoons on their way to plant the flag of the Union over a forti- fication which should be known in history as Fort Des Moines.4
In time, new causes of disquiet and danger arose. One of these was the presence on the reservation of a band of horse thieves and surreptitious traders who stole horses from Indians and white men alike, and drove a profitable illicit trade with the Indians by selling them whisky. The occasional depre- dations of the fierce Sioux on the north and the eagerly waiting and fast- increasing throng of home-seekers and land speculators on the east, united with the demoralizing presence of these outlaws to compel the Government, in justice to its wards, to take active measures for their protection in their treaty right to undisturbed possession of the lands allotted to them for the three years following "the Treaty of '42." Thus confronted with conditions which did not measurably exist in 1835, when Colonel Kearny reported ad- versely on the question of a fort at "the Forks," General Scott was quick to act. Captain James Allen, of the First Dragoons, then stationed at Fort Sandford, lower down the river, in a letter to the War Department dated December 30, 1842, gives us this interesting picture of conditions as he had seen them, the month before, at the junction of the two rivers, a point of land in the heart of the present county of Polk, and almost under the shadow of Iowa's State Capital : 5
"I went up, as you know, last month as high as the mouth of the Raccoon River, and had in view at the time to look out a suitable point for the station- ing of troops for the time required. 'And I did select, with a view to recom- mend it, the point made by the junction of the Raccoon with the Des Moines.
"My reasons for selecting that point are these: The soil is rich; and wood, stone, water and grass are all at hand. It will be high enough up the river to protect these Indians against the Sioux, and is in the heart of the best part of their new country, where the greatest effort will be made by the squatters to get in. It is about equidistant from the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers, and offers a good route to both, the direct route to the Missouri passing around the heads of many ugly branches of Grand River. It will be 25 miles within; the new line, about the right distance from the settlements, and above all of the Indian villages and trading houses (all of the Sacs have determined to make their villages on a larger prairie bottom that commences about two miles below, and the traders have selected their sites there also). It will also be about the head of keel-boat navigation on the Des Moines. I think it better than any point farther up, because it will be harder to get supplies higher up, and no point or post that may be established on this river need be kept up more than three years, or until these Indians shall leave. A post for the north- ern boundary of future Ioway will go far above the sources of the Des Moines. "Now, as to the process of establishing this post. I do not seek the job; but I am willing to undertake it, if my suggestions for that purpose shall be approved. I would build but common log cabins, or huts, for both men and officers, giving them good floors, windows and doors, stables, very common, but close and roomy, Pickets, Block-houses and such like, not at all. The buildings to be placed in relations of comfort, convenience and good taste; and of defense, so far as the same may comply with the first rule.
"Ten mechanics, and five laborers, and four yoke of oxen, and tools and implements, and the small material, ought to be furnished by the Qr. Master's Dept. All to be ready to go up and begin early in the spring. Pine lumber for the most necessary parts of the buildings ought to be sent up in keel-boats, in the spring rise of the river. Provisions, and corn, &c., may be sent up at the same time.
"With such means and the force of my company, I could make a good and
4 C. L. Lucas-Recollections of Early Times in Iowa, Annals of Iowa, v. 6, p. 380. 5 Annals of Iowa, v. 4, pp. 164-65.
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comfortable establishment at the mouth of the Raccoon during the next sum- mer, and, in the meantime, give to the Indians all necessary protection. One of their agents has told me that the Am. Fur Company would probably send up a steamboat to the Raccoon on the spring rise. If they do, it will be a good time to send up army supplies.
"I could easily have corn raised for me in that country if I could now con- tract for it, and permit a person to open a farm there. Such is the desire of people to get a footing in the country that I believe that now I could hire corn to be raised there, next summer, for 25 cts. per bushel. I could get lum- ber on as good terms, by allowing some one to build a mill. In short, there will be no difficulty in establishing and maintaining a post there if notice of such a design shall be given in time. But I hope that it will not be required of my company that they shall build this new post without the assistance of the hired labor that I have suggested. I have not the necessary mechanics for the purpose; and if I had, it would be requiring too much of them. It is not competent for dragoons to build their quarters and stables, and get their wood and do their duty as soldiers.
"I have but little to add to what is contained in the foregoing extract of my letter to the colonel. The new post will be so purely temporary that this char- acter of it ought to be kept in view in its. construction. According to the plan and method that I have recommended, this post may be built and established, for one company of dragoons, for about twenty-five hundred dollars.
"If a company of infantry could also be sent to this new post, it would be well, although it would increase somewhat the expense of its establishment. Of the propriety of such an arrangement, the Department will best judge.
"But I will respectfully urge upon the Department the necessity for a speedy decision on the subject of this new post, that if it is to be established early measures may be taken to secure the timely transportation of the neces- sary materials and supplies. The rise of the Des Moines will occur in March.
"In regard to the point recommended for the new post, I may remark, that I have seen much of the territory of Ioway, and particularly of the valley of the Des Moines, having, in addition to my observations from there to the mouth of Raccoon, crossed the territory with my company last Summer, on a direct route from Ft. Leavenworth to Ft. Atkinson, crossing the Des Moines above Raccoon, and from all that I have seen and learned I would recommend the point that I have designated as the most suitable for the post in question.
"All of this is predicated on the supposition that the late treaty with the. Sac and Fox Indians will be approved and ratified; but this treaty is so very favorable and advantageous to the United States that I feel no apprehensions. for its fate."
Captain Allen's recommendations found favor with General Scott, and with the War Department, and Colonel Kearny was directed to proceed to establish, soon as the weather would permit, "a temporary post on the River Des Moines, at or near the junction of the Raccoon, for the protection of the Sac and Fox Indians, and the interests of the Government on the frontier." 6 The order designated Captain Allen's company of dragoons and a company of infantry from Fort Crawford, on the Mississippi, for garrison duty at the new fort. The site of the post was to be designated by Captain Allen. The Captain was also given full charge of the erection of the requisite buildings for the accom- modation of the command. The only limitation put upon him was that the buildings should be constructed "with as strict a regard to economy as may be consistent with the health of the troops."
Not until the 29th day of April, 1843, was the weather deemed sufficiently settled to warrant a start up the river. On that date, Captain Allen, with a
6 Order No. 6, Headquarters 3d Military Department, Jefferson Barracks, February 20th,. 1843. See Annals of Iowa, v. 4, p. 166.
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few of his men and a small quantity of supplies, started on his history-making expedition. A small steamer, which had but just arrived, with supplies from St. Louis for the Agency near Fort Sandford, conveyed the party to its desti- nation.
The pioneer historian of Des Moines, in his valuable little book of "His- torical Reminiscences," published in 1857, gives the name of the pioneer steamer as "Ione," and most subsequent writers have followed Mr. Turrill's account : but Aaron W. Harlan states that the Ione was sunk near Clarksville, Mo., late in the fall of 1838.
Leaving his men at "the Forks" to guard the stores, Captain Allen re- turned to Fort Sandford for the rest of his company and additional stores. On the 10th of May, writing from Fort Sandford, the Captain reported :
"I have located the post on the point I selected for it last fall, the point made by the junction of the Raccoon with the Des Moines. . I have delayed taking up my horses or removing my whole company because of the lateness of the Spring and the consequent scarcity of grass. It is too expen- sive now to take up full rations of corn, and, the Des Moines river being low, I could not induce the steamboat that took up the corn and quartermaster's stores to make another trip at reasonable rates. I am using a small keel-boat and wagons, all public, for transportation of corn and some other stores, and will move with my company on the 18th instant. Fairfield, Ioway Territory, will be my first convenient postoffice, until another shall be established in the new territory just vacated by the Indians."
The return trip to "the Forks." begun on the 18th of May, was accom- plished by means of keel-boats. It proved to be very difficult and laborious. We are indebted to Tacitus Hussey. of Des Moines, for drawing out, and to W. C. Morris, of Van Buren county, for the publication of an extremely inter- esting reminiscence of this journey, from which the following passages will be found of especial interest to Des Moines and Polk county readers :
A few days after the ice went out, a steamboat by the name of 'The Agatha,' came up to Farmington and tied up just below Death's Mill. The captain of the boat, J. M. Lafferty, was afraid of the condition of the dam at Plymouth Mill. There was a beginning of a lock for the benefit of boats but it was not in a condition for them to pass through. He made the attempt, however, and got about half way through and had to stop. As she dropped back she raked off about twelve feet of her guard against the corner of the mill. Then she went back down the river and was gone a few days, return- ing with two large keel-boats, which were to be used in case the steamboat could not reach Raccoon Forks with her load of supplies for the garrison there. This time she hired fourteen men to push these keel-boats up to the Forks, provided the steamboat could not get there. I give the names of the men who were engaged to take up the keel-boats, with the assistance of the Agatha, which divided her load with them :
"Captain, Charlie Millard, Pilot, Levi Millard, Clerk, Mr. Ward, Charles Davis, poleman, Moses Davis, poleman, George Ten Eych, poleman, John Ellis, poleman, Jim Willits, poleman, Tom Burns, poleman. Ed. Slaughter, poleman, Eli Sellgroves, poleman, Eli Glimpse, poleman, Sam Snow, poleman, W. C. Morris, poleman.
"I was the youngest of the fourteen, being eighteen years old. They had poles made about twelve feet long and two inches thick with a knob on one end to place against the shoulder, and on the other end was an iron socket and point. When a pole was provided for each pusher, the start was made. This time the steamboat took the left hand side of the island lying just below the dam, which was made of brush and stones
" Hussey-Early Steamboating on the Des Moines, Annals of Iowa, v. 4, P. 331.
8 Hussey-Early Steamboating on the Des Moines. Annals of Iowa, v. 4, pp. 333-35.
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"The next stop we made was at Fort Sandford, a place where Captain Allen had been stationed with a company of dragoons. It was almost deserted, as most of the soldiers had gone to Raccoon Forks with their horses some days before. Captain Allen, a few soldiers, and their belongings remained until we arrived.
"We had been towing a small keel-boat all the way. It belonged to the soldiers and it was brought up empty to Fort Sandford. It was there loaded with their property, and if anything was put into our boats I do not remember it. Captain Allen and a few soldiers took passage on the Agatha. A short distance above we came to an island. The pilot chose the south side, and just above the head of the island there was a sharp bend in the river. Just before we came to the turn the keel grounded on a ledge of rock which extended clear across the river, and was called at that time 'Appanoose Rapids.' We worked from four o'clock in the afternoon until dark and then tied up. We began again at daylight next morning and about sunrise we succeeded in shoving the boat off.
"The next stop we made was at Eddy's Trading Post. From this point we had no stop unless it was to chop wood for the steamboat, or take on board some of the big Indian chiefs, such as Keokuk,9 Appanoose, and their squaws. They were on board two or three days. We found several islands before we reached the Forks, and had to stop at most of them, sepa- rate the three boats and take them through the narrow channels one at a time, as the current was very swift. We had to chop all the wood used for making steam after we struck the new purchase. About seven miles below the Forks we found the last island and just as we reached the head of it the steamboat went fast on a rock. Then we keel-boat fellows had to push the keel-boat seven miles against a stiff current, up a very crooked channel, which I after- wards learned was called 'Rattlesnake Bend.' We landed at the point of land where the Raccoon river empties into the Des Moines in the evening, about sundown, and set to work unloading at once. It was a big job to handle a boat load of barrels, mostly pork and flour, and it was about two o'clock in the morning when we started for the steamboat. It was one of the windiest nights I ever saw, and the river being crooked, sometimes we were going straight down, and then sometimes crosswise. When we were within two hundred yards of the steamboat the wind blew our keel-boat against the shore and on to some rocks, where she stuck fast. We had to get out into the water and lift her off with levers, and finally managed to get her alongside the steam- boat. The freight was then divided, which lightened the Agatha, and we started for the Forks, which we reached by the middle of the afternoon.
"On attempting to make a landing the steamboat grounded on the sand, and it was dark before we got to work unloading. We worked all night and about
9 There is now living in Des Moines one Lois Octave de Louis, who lays what seems to be a valid claim to direct descent from Keokuk. Miss de Louis is the daughter of Henri de Louis, a member of the Legion of Honor of France, and Elizabeth Hunt, the Indian daughter of Keokuk. The mother was baptised in the Roman Catholic church and given the English name by which she was married. Father Lucian Gaultier performed the wed- ding ceremony, proof of which event is retained by her daughter. De Louis and his Indian bride lived in luxury in the city of Keokuk, for a number of years, and here their two chil- dren were born to them. When Lois was eleven months old her mother died, and before she reached her eleventh year her father died. Some time prior to his death, the father gave his children over to the care of one James L. Estes, a Keokuk merchant. Miss de Louis believes that the fortune which should have come down to her from her father and mother was wrongfully diverted into other channels. Friends have tried to interest her in making claim for land under legislation granting land to half-breed Indians; but she has taken no action in the matter, preferring, with true Indian pride, to retain her independence and make her own way. She is a music teacher by profession. Mrs. Virginia W. Ivins, of Keokuk, was present at the marriage above referred to, and recently wrote Miss de Louis enclosing a copy of the description of land claimed by her mother in the division of the half-breed land under the court decree of petition recorded at the time.
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sunrise we had the last article ashore. The temporary barracks were about four hundred yards from where we unloaded, but we did not have time to go out and see the soldiers. As soon as the unloading was done, we shoved across the river and cut a lot of wood, as there was none suitable on the point where we landed. Then with a good head of steam we started down the river at a lively pace. · .. We made the trip to Raccoon Forks and back with a steamboat crew, fourteen of us 'country pick-ups,' and never had a fight nor even a quar- rel. There was plenty of whisky on the boat but we had only one drunk."
Returning to Captain Allen's report,10 after having selected a site, the Cap- tain asked the Secretary of War to sanction his choice of a name for the pro- posed fort. That choice was "Fort Raccoon." "I have recommended this name," he adds, "because the place has a great notoriety under such designa- · tion for a great distance around it, as Raccoon River, Raccoon Forks, Raccoon, The Raccoon, &c., &c., by all of which it is known as perhaps the most conspicu- ous point in the territory, and no other name will so well designate the position of the new post." Adjutant General Jones forwarded the report to the Secre- tary of War with the endorsement: "Fort Iowa would be a very good name : but Raccoon would be shocking; at least in very bad taste." A few days later, General Scott informed Captain Allen that the word Raccoon was not considered a proper designation for a military post and that unless otherwise directed he would call the post "Fort Des Moines." But the Captain still remained of the same opinion, for he replied expressing fear lest the name chosen might di- vert mail and supplies to the late post of the same name on the Mississippi, the recollection of which was yet in the minds of many of the postmasters and public carriers. He recommended that some name be given the post to which this inconvenience might not attach. The outcome illustrates the axiom of the modern business world: that no single letter should carry a double burden.
The letter of Captain Allen contained also a request for "double rations" for the garrison. The question of double rations happened at the time to be a subject of controversy between the War and Treasury Departments. Prob- ably because of that embarrassment, the letter was temporarily pigeon-holed, and it did not see the light until nearly two years afterwards. By that time, General Scott's choice of name' had' become well fixed in men's minds and settled in official and general correspondence. To this mischance, the Capital city of Iowa probably owes its present name,-a name of value because it has no duplicates, also because of its inevitable association with the historic "middle river," or "river of the mounds," or "river of the monks," and, too, because of its liquid quality, as pronounced by the French,11 or even as it is commonly pronounced at the present time,-with the letter "s" eliminated from each syllable.12
10 Annals of Iowa, v. 4, pp. 167-68.
11 "Day Mwoin."
12 "De Moin."
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Sos. M. Faxet
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THE OLD INDIAN AGENCY
The official residence of Gen. J. M. Street while acting as agent for the Sacs and Foxes. It is just below the present village of Agency City, Wapello County, Iowa. Gen. Street died here and was buried a few rods distant and near the grave of the Indian Chief Wapello.
CHAPTER X.
THE RED MEN OF THE DES MOINES VALLEY-THE TREATY OF 1842.
There is no discoverable link connecting the so-called Mound Builders and the Indians whom the first white settlers found in possession of the valley of the Des Moines.
In their westward retreat before the onrush of the whites, the allied Sac and Fox Indians found the bottom lands of the Des Moines an inviting halt- ing place, its forests and prairies teeming with game, its streams swarming with fish. Here they remained protected by treaty until the 12th day of Oc- tober, 1845, when, having sold to the general government, three years before, their right and title to the reservation, and the period fixed for their departure having arrived, they reluctantly took up their line of march toward the reser- vation provided for them beyond the Missouri.
The Sacs and Foxes whom the whites found in the Des Moines valley are described by Fulton in his "Red Men of Iowa" as belonging to the great Al- gonquin group of Indians. Though the two tribes after their union resided together as one people, they retained their distinctive tribal name and lineage. Each tribe had its chief, "though in later years the principal chief of the Sacs was recognized as the head chief of the united tribes." This same author con- cludes that their language, customs and traditions indicate a common origin. They were well organized and obedient to authority. According to their meas- ure of justice, they were just. They were warlike and brave, more humane than most other tribes, and far more considerate in the treatment of their wives. They were athletic and fond of contests of strength and skill. They were religious in their own way, attaching much importance to rites and ceremonies.
In their part in the negotiations which resulted in the treaty of 1842, they were dignified throughout, their chiefs evincing not a little business shrewd- ness, and yet not disposed to make exorbitant demands. In carrying out the provisions of that treaty, three years later, they were reluctant to leave their hunting grounds; but, at the same time, most of them evinced a fine sense of honor in carrying out the provisions of the treaty to the letter.
Fulton describes the Sacs and Foxes after their removal to Kansas as still "proud and independent, pursuing the chase during the hunting season, not as much given to intemperance as the Iowas, who were placed in the same agency, and entertaining greater respect for the whites than the Iowas."
The Treaty of October II, 1842, quickly following that of 1837, evinced more liberality than its predecessor in its provision for the future of these wards of the nation. The treaty was executed by John Chambers, Governor of the Territory, representing the United States, and twenty-two representative Sacs (or Sauks) and the same number of Foxes. Ke-o-kuk was the chief negotiator for the Sacs and Pow-e-shick (Poweshiek) for the Foxes. The witnesses to the treaty were: John Beach, United States Indian agent and sec- retary ; Antoine Le Claire and Josiah Swart, interpreters; Capt. James Allen, of the First Dragoons, who later was placed in command at Fort Des Moines ; Lieut. C. F. Ruff. also of the First Dragoons; Arthur Bridgman, Alfred Hebard and Jacob O. Phister, Indian traders.
The time was ripe for the treaty. The Indian had begun to feel the pres-
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sure of the oncoming millions ; game was becoming scarce; the vices of the fron- tier, and particularly the vice of intemperance, were making inroads among their braves, not even sparing their chiefs ; and many of them were hopelessly in debt to the traders, their indebtedness aggregating nearly a half-million dollars.1
After sifting the claims against the Indians, the total was reduced to $258,- 566.34. The claims of one company of traders were scaled 75 per cent. Among the items in their bills were "Italian cravats," "Sattinette coats," "looking glasses," "fine satin vests," "dress coats," "surtout coats," "super overcoats,' etc., and these at exorbitant prices. Two traders, who had built their house upon the line of the reservation, and had been guilty of selling whisky to the Indians, presented a bill of over six thousand dollars, but realized nothing. The biographer of Governor Chambers pronounces this treaty "the most important ever negotiated upon Iowa soil."
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