History of Butler and Bremer counties, Iowa, Part 3

Author: Union publishing company, Springfield, Ill
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Springfield, Ill., Union publishing company
Number of Pages: 1316

USA > Iowa > Butler County > History of Butler and Bremer counties, Iowa > Part 3
USA > Iowa > Bremer County > History of Butler and Bremer counties, Iowa > Part 3

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P. P. Parker, James Griffith, Solomon Sturtz,

-Coldwater Township.

Edward Coyle, W. Watson, -Madison Township.

John Leverich,

Mrs Elizabeth Adair,

J. W. Stewart,

J. H. Carter,

J. L. Stewart,

W. A. Stewart,

Charles Ensign, James Collar, G. E. Fitch,

A. D. Youug,

-Beaver Township. S. Bonwell,

Fremont Township.

James Harlan, M. S. Needham, W. R. Jamison, S. K. Dearmoun, .- Pittsford Township.

M. Parriott,

C. Stockdale,

-Washington Township.

Milton Wilson, Oliver Evans, Cyrus Doty, -Bennezette Township. M. S. Wamsley

-Jackson Township.

J. Perrin, Geo. W. Poisal, J. J. Eichar, -Butler Township.

W. C. Thompson, P. E. Dunson, -Jefferson Township.

Henry Trotter,

James Hunter,

-Ripley Township.

C. L. Jones,

Frank S. Kelson,

-West Point Township.

James Leaman, Timothy Clary, -Douglas Township.

Mark Gillett, G. N. Bowers, -Frederika Township.

Asa Martin, Andrew Carstesen, -Fremont Township.

Richard Daniels, Daniel Downey, -Albion Township. Hugh Thomas, J. V. Boggs,

-Dayton Township,

James M. Caldwell, W. F. Qninn, -Monroe Township. -Shell Rock Township.

HISTORY OF IOWA.

CHAPTER I.

HE traveler, in wending his way across the fair State of Iowa, with its evidences of civilization upon every hand; its magnificent churches with spires pointing heavenward; its school-houses almost upon every hill; palatial residences evincing wealth and refinement, cannot realize that, less than a half century ago, this "beautiful land" was the home only of the red man, who roamed at will over the fair and fertile prairies, hunting in the woods and fishing in its streams. The change would seem too great for him to realize. But it is indeed true. These churches, these school-houses, these pala- tial residences, these railroads, these tele- graph and telephone wires, all have been erected or placed here within the space of a half century.

Before the advent of the Red Men, who were found in possession by the Europeans, who inhabited this country, is a subject yet unsolved, and is shrouded in mystery. That there were human beings of a distinct race from the red men of later days, is gen-

erally conceded, but scientists fail as yet to agree as to their nature and origin. That this continent is co-existent with the world of the ancients cannot be questioned. Every investigation instituted under the auspices of modern civilization confirms this fact. It is thought by many that the first inhabitants came from Asia, by way of Behring's Strait, and in large numbers. Magnificent cities and monuments were raised at the bidding of tribal leaders, and populous settlements centered with thriv- ing villages sprang up everywhere in man- ifestation of the progress of the people. For the last four hundred years the colo- nizing Caucasian has trodden on the ruins of a civilization whose greatness he could only surmise. Among these ruins are pyramids similar to those which have ren- dered Egypt famous. The pyramid of Chalula is square, each side of its base being 1,335 feet, and its height 172 feet. Another pyramid north of Vera Cruz is formed of large blocks of highly polished porphyry, and bears upon its front hiero-

HISTORY OF IOWA.

glyphic inscriptions and curious sculpture. It is 82 feet square, and a flight of 57 steps conducts to its summit, which is 65 feet- high. The ruins of Palenque are said to extend 20 miles along the ridge of a moun- tain, and the remains of an Aztec city, near the banks of the Gila, are spread over more than a square league. The principal feature of the Aztec civilization which has come down to us was its religion, which we are told was of a dark and gloomy character. Each new god created by their priesthood, instead of arousing new life in the people, brought death to thousands; and their grotesque idols cxposed to drown the senses of the beholders in fear, wrought wretchedness rather than spiritual happi- ness. In fact, fear was the great animating principal, the motive power which sustained this terrible religion. Their altars were sprinkled with blood drawn from their own bodies in large quantities, and on them thousands of human victims were sacri- ficed in honor of the demons whom they worshipped. The head and heart of every captive taken in war were offered up as a sacrifice to the god of battles, while the victorious legions feasted on the remaining portions of the bodies. It is said that during the ceremonies attendant on the consecration of two of their tem- ples, the number of prisoners offercd up in sacrifice was 12,210, while they them- selves contributed large numbers of volun- tary victims to the terrible belief.

The race known as the Mound-Builders next attracts the attention of the ethnolo- gists. Throughout the Mississippi Valley, including many portions of Iowa, are found mounds and wal's of earth or stone, which

can only have a human origin. These mounds vary in size from a few feet to hundreds of feet in diameter. In them are often found stone axes, pestles, arrow- heads, spear-points, pieces of flint, and other articles. Pottery of various dc- signs is very common in them, and from the material of which they are made geol- ogists have attempted to assign their age.

Somc have thought that the Mound- Builders were a race quite distinct from the modern Indians, and that they were in an advanced state of civilization. The best authorities now agree that while the comparatively civilized people called the Aztecs built the citics whose ruins are occasionally found, the Mound-Builders were the immediate ancestors of the In- . dians De Soto first saw, and little different from the Indians of to-day.

The origin of the Red Men, or Ameri- can Indians, is a subject which interests as well as instructs. It is a favorite topic with the ethnologist, even as it is one of deep concern to the ordinary reader. A review of two works lately published on the origin of the Indians, treats the matter in a peculiarly reasonable light. It says :

"Recently a German writer has put for- ward one theory on the subject, and an English writer has put forward another and directly opposite theory. The differ- ence in opinion concerning our aboriginals among authors who have made a profound study of races, is at once curious and in- teresting. Blumenbach treats them in his classifications as a distinct variety of the human family; but, in the three-fold divi- sion of Dr. Latham, they are ranked among the Mongolidæ. Other writers on races

HISTORY OF IOWA.

regard them as a branch of the great Mon- golian family, which at a distant period found its way from Asia to this continent, and remained here for centuries separate from the rest of mankind, passing, mean- while, through divers phases of barbarism and civilization. Morton, our eminent ethnologist, and his followers, Nott and Gliddon, claim for our native Red Men an origin as distinct as the flora and fauna of this continent. Prichard, whose views are apt to differ from Morton's, finds reason to believe, on comparing the American tribes together, that they must have formed a separate department of nations from the earliest period of the world. The era of their existence as a distinct and isolated people must probably be dated back to the time which separated into nations the in- habitants of the Old World, and gave to each its individuality and primitive lan- guage. Dr. Robert Brown, the latest authority, attributes, in his 'Races of Man- kind,' an Asiatic origin to our aboriginals. He says that the Western Indians not only personally resemble their nearest neighbors -the Northeastern Asiatics-but they re- semble them in language and tradition. The Esquimaux on the American and the Tchuktcis on the Asiatic side understand one another perfectly. Modern anthro- pologists, indeed, are disposed to think that Japan, the Kuriles, and neighboring regions, may be regarded as the original home of the greater part of the native American race. It is also admitted by them that between the tribes scattered from the Arctic sea to Cape Horn there is more uniformity of physical feature than is seen in any other quarter of the globe. The weiglit of evidence and au-

thority is altogether in favor of the opin- ion that our so-called Indians are a branch of the Mongolian family, and all additional researches strengthen the opinion. The tribes of both North and South America are unquestionably homogeneous, and, in all likelihood, had their origin in Asia, though they have been altered and modi- fied by thousands of years of total separa- tion from the present stock." .

If the conclusions arrived at by the reviewer is correct, how can one account for the vast difference in manner and form . between the Red Man as he is now known, or even as he appeared to Columbus and his successors in the field of discovery, and the comparatively civilized inhabitants of Mexico, as seen in 1521 by Cortez, and of Peru, as witnessed by Pizarro in 1532 ? The subject is worthy of investigation.

In the year 1541, Ferdinand DeSoto, a Spaniard, discovered the Mississippi river, at the mouth of the Washita. He, how- ever, penetrated no further north than the 35th parallel of latitude, his death ter- minating the expedition. It was thus left for a later discoverer to first view the "beautiful land."

In a grand council of Indians on the shores of Lake Superior, they told the Frenchmen glowing stories of the "great river" and the countries near it. Mar- quette, a Jesuit father, became inspired with the idea of discovering this noble river. He was delayed in this great un- dertaking, however, and spent the interval in studying the language and habits of the Illinois Indians, among whom he expected to travel. In 1673 he completed his pre- parations for the journey, in which he was to be accompanied by Joliet, an agent of

HISTORY OF IOWA.

the French Government. The Indians, who had gathered in large numbers to wit- ness his departure, tried to dissuade him from the undertaking, representing that the Indians of the Mississippi Valley were cruel and blood-thirsty, and would resent the intrusion of strangers upon their do- main. The great river itself, they said, was the abode of terrible monsters, who could swallow both canoes and men. But Marquette was not diverted from his pur- pose by these reports, and set out on his adventurous trip May 13; he reached, first, an Indian village where once had been a mission, and where he was treated hospit- ably; thence, with the aid of two Miami guides, he proceeded to the Wisconsin, down which he sailed to the great Missis- sippi, which had so long been anxiously looked for; floating down its unknown waters, the explorer discovered, on the 25th of June, traces of Indians on the west bank of the river, and landed a little above the river now known as the Des Moines. For the first time Europeans trod the soil of Iowa. Marquette remained here a short time, becoming acquainted with the In- dians, and then proceeded on his explora- tions. He descended the Mississippi to the Illinois, by which and Lake Michigan he returned to French settlements.

Nine years later, in 1682, La Salle de- scended the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico, and, in the name of the king of France, took formal posession of all the immense region watered by the great river and its tributaries from its source to its mouth, and named it Louisiana, in honor of his master, Louis XIV. The river he called "Colbert," in honor of the French Minister, and at its mouth erected a column

and a cross bearing the inscription, in French:

''LOUIS TIIE GREAT, KING OF FRANCE AND NAVARRE, REIGNING APRIL 9, 1682."

France then claimed by right of dis- covery and occupancy the whole valley of the Mississippi and its tributaries, includ- ing Texas. Spain at the same time laid claim to all the region about the Gulf of Mexico, and thus these two great nations were brought into collision. But the country was actually held and occupied by the native Indians, especially the great Miami Confederacy, the Miamis proper (anciently the Twightwees) being the east- ern and most powerful tribe.

Spain having failed to make any settle- ment in the newly-discovered country, it was left for France to occupy the land, and that government, soon after the dis- covery of the mouth of the Mississippi by La Salle, in 1682, began to encourage the policy of establishing a line of trading posts and missionary stations, extending through the west from Canada to Louis- iana.

In 1762, France, in a time of extreme weakness, ceded all the territory west of the Mississippi, including what is now Iowa, to Spain, which power retained pos- session until October 1, 1800, when it retroceded it to France. This latter power ceded it to the United States in 1803, for the sum of $15,000,000.

On assuming control, the United States organized all that region west of the Mis- sissippi and north of the Territory of Orleans as the District of Louisiana. In 1805 the District of Louisiana was organ- ized into the Territory of Louisiana.

HISTORY OF IOWA.

This Territory was subsequently divided, and now forms seven great States-Louis-

iana, Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Kansas and Nebraska.

CHAPTER II.

INDIANS AND INDIAN WARS. =

For more than one hundred years after Marquette and Joliet trod the virgin soil of Iowa, and admired its fertile plains, not a single settlement had been made or attempted, nor even a trading post estab- lished. The whole country remained in the undisputed possession of the native tribes, who often poured out their life blood in obstinate contest for supremacy. That this State, so aptly styled "The Beautiful Land," had been the theatre of numerous fierce and bloody struggles be- tween the rival nations for possession of the favored region long before its settle- ment by civilized man, there is no room for doubt. In these savage wars the weaker party, whether aggressive or de- fensive, was either exterminated or driven from its ancient hunting grounds.

When Marquette visited this country in 1673, the Illini were a very powerful people, occupying a large portion of the State ; but when the country was again visited by the whites, not a remnant of that once powerful tribe remained on the west side of the Mississippi, and Iowa was principally in the possession of the

Sacs and Foxes, a warlike tribe which, originally two distinct nations, residing in New York and on the waters of the St. Lawrence, had gradually fought their way westward, and united, probably after the Foxes had been driven out of the Fox River country in 1846, and crossed the Mississippi. The death of Pontiac, a famous Sac chieftain, was made the pre- text for war against the Illini, and a fierce and bloody struggle ensued, which con- tinued until the Illini were nearly de- stroyed, and their hunting grounds pos- - sessed by their victorious foes. The Iowas also occupied a portion of the State, for a time, in common with the Sacs, but they, too, were nearly destroyed by the Sacs and Foxes, and in " The Beautiful Land " these natives met their equally warlike foes, the northern Sioux, with whom they maintained a constant warfare for the pos- session of the country for many years.

In 1803, when Louisiana was purchased by the United States, the Sacs, Foxes and Iowas possessed the entire State of Iowa, and the two former tribes, also, occupied most of Illinois.

HISTORY OF IOWA.

The Sacs had four principal villages, where most of them resided. Their largest and most important town-if an Indian village may le called such-and from which emanated most of the ob- stacles encountered by the Government in the extinguishment of Indian titles to land in this region, was on Rock river, near Rock Island ; another was on the east bauk of the Mississippi, near the mouth of Henderson river; the third was at the head of the Des Moines Rap- ids, near the present site of Montrosc ; . and the fourth was near the mouth of the upper Iowa.

The Foxes had three principal villages. One was on the west side of the Missis- sippi, six miles above the rapids of Rock river; another was about twelve miles from the river, in the rear of the Dubuque leid mines ; and the third was on Turkey river.

The Iowas, at one time identificd with the Sacs of Rock river, had withdrawn from them and become a separate tribe. Their principal village was on the Des Moines river, in Van Buren county, on the site where Iowaville now stands. Here the last great battle between the Sacs and Foxes and the Iowas was fought, in which Black Hawk, then a young man, com- manded one division of the attacking forces. The following account of the bat- tle has been given:

"Contrary to long established custom of Indian attack, this battle was commenced in the day-time, the attending circum- stances justifying this departure from the well-settled usages of Indian warfare. The battle-field was a level river bottom, about four miles in length, and two miles wide

near the middle, narrowing to a point at either cnd. The main area of this bottom riscs perhaps twenty feet above the river, leaving a narrow strip of low bottom along the shore, covered with trees that belted the prairie on the river side with a thick forest, and the immediate bank of the river was fringed with a dense growth of wil- low. Near the lower end of this prairie, near the river bank, was situated the Iowa village. About two miles above it and . near the middle of the prairie is a mound, covered at the time with a tuft of small trees and underbrush growing on its sum- mit. In the rear of this little elevation or mound lay a belt of wet prairie, covered, at that time, with a dense growth of rank, coarse grass. Bordering this wet prairie on the north, the country rises abruptly into elevated broken river bluffs, covered with a heavy forcst for many miles in ex- tent, and in places thickly clustered with undergrowth, affording convenient shelter for the stealthy approach of the foe.

"Through this forest the Sacand Fox war party made their way in the night, and secreted themselves in the tall grass spoken of above, intending to remain in ambush during the day and make such observa- tions as this near proximity to their in- tended victims might afford, to aid them in their contemplated attack on the town during the following night. From this situation their spies could take a full sur- vey of the village, and watch every move- ment of the inhabitants, by which means they were soon convinced that the Iowas had no suspicion of their presence.

"At the foot of the mound above men- tioned the Iowas had their race course, where they diverted themselves with the

HISTORY OF IOWA.

excitement of horse-racing, and schooled their young warriors in cavalry evolutions. In these exercises mock battles were fought, and the Indian tactics of attack and defense carefully inculcated, by which means a skill in horsemanship was acquired that is rarely excelled. Unfortunately for them this day was selected for their equestrian sports, and, wholly unconscious of the proximity of their foes, the warriors re- paired to the face-ground, leaving most of their arms in the village, and their old men, women and children unprotected.

"Pash-a-po-po, who was chief in com- mand of the Sacs and Foxes, perceived at once the advantage this state of things afforded for a complete surprise of his now doomed victims, and ordered Black Hawk to file off with his young warriors through the tall grass and gain the cover of the timber along the river bank, and with the utmost speed reach the village and com- mence the battle, while he remained with his division in the ambush to make a sim- ultaneous assault on the unarmed men whose attention was engrossed with the excitement of the races. The plan was skillfully laid and most dexterously exe- cuted. Black Hawk with his forces reached the village undiscovered, and made a·furious onslaught upon the de- fenseless inhabitants by firing one general volley into their midst, and completing the slaughter with the tomahawk and scalping- knife, aided by the devouring flames with which they enveloped the village as soon as the fire-brand could be spread from lodge to lodge.

"On the instant of the report of fire-arms at the village, the forces under Pash-a-po-po leaped from their couchant position in the

grass, and sprang, tiger-like, upon the un- armed Iowas in the midst of their racing sports. The first impulse of the latter natur- ally led them to make the utmost speed to- ward their arms in the village, and protect, if possible, their wives and children from the attack of their merciless assailants. The distance from the place of attack on the prairie was two miles, and a great number fell in their flight by the bullets and tomahawks of their enemies, who pressed them closely with a running file the whole way, and the survivors only reached their town in time to witness the horrors of its destruction. Their whole village was in flames, and the dearest objects of their lives lay in slaughtered heaps amidst the devouring element, and the agonizing groans of the dying, mingled with the exulting shouts of the victorious foe, filled their hearts with maddening despair. Their wives and children who had been spared the general massacre were prisoners, and together with their arms in the hands of their victors; and all that could now be done was to draw off their shattered and defenseless forces, and save as many lives as possible by a retreat across the Des Moines river, which they effected in the best possible manner, and took a position among the Soap Creek hills."

Previous to the settlement of their vil- lage on Rock river, the Sacs and Foxes had a fierce conflict with the Winnebagos, subdued them and took possession of their lands. At one time this village contained upward of 60 lodges, and was among the largest Indian villages on the continent. The number of Sacs and Foxes in 1825 was estimated by the Secretary of War to

HISTORY OF IOWA.

be 4,600. Their village was situated in the immediate vicinity of the upper rapids of the Mississippi, where the flourishing towns of Roek Island and Davenport are now situated. The extensive prairies dotted over with groves, the beautiful seenery, the picturesque bluffs along the river banks, the rieh and fertile soil pro- due ng large erops of eorn, squash and other vegetables with little labor, the abundanee of wild fruit, game, fish, and almost every- thing ealeulated to make it a delightful spot for an Indian village, which was found there, had made this place a favorite home of the Saes, and secured for it the strong attachment and veneration of the whole nation.

The Sioux located their hunting grounds north of the Saes and Foxes They were a fieree and warlike nation, who often dis- puted possessions with their rivals in savage and bloody warfare. The possessions of these tribes were mostly located in Minne- sota, but extended over a portion of Northern and Western Iowa to the Mis- souri river. Their deseent from the north upon the hunting grounds of Iowa fre- quently brought them into collision with the Sacs and Foxes, avd after many a con- fliet and bloody struggle, a boundary line was established between them by the Government of the United States, in a treaty held at Prairie du Chien in 1825. Instead of settling the difficulties, this caused them to quarrel ail the more, in eonsequence of alleged trespasses upon each other's side of the line. So bitter and unrelenting became these eontests, that, in 1830, the Government purchased of the respective tribes of the Sacs and Foxes, and the Sioux, a strip of land twenty miles

wide on both sides of the line, tl. us throw- ing them forty miles apart by creating a "neutral ground," and commanded them to eease their hostilities. They were, however, allowed to fish and hunt on the ground unmolested, provided they did not interfere with each other on United States territory.

Soon after the acquisition of Louisiana, the United States Government adopted measures for the exploration of the new Territory, having in view the eoneiliation of the numerous tribes of Indians by whom it was possessed, and also the se- leetion of proper sites for the establish- ment of military posts and trading sta- tions. The Army of the West, Gen. Wil- kinson commanding, had its headquarters at St. Louis. From this post Captains Lewis and Clarke, with a sufficient foree, were detailed to explore the unknown sources of the Missouri, and Lieut. Zebu- lon M. Pike to ascend to the head waters of the Mississippi. Lieut. Pike, with one sergeant, two corporals and seven- teen privates, left the military eamp, near St. Louis, in a keel boat, with four months' rations, August 9th, 1805. On the 20th of the same month the expedition arrived within the present limits of Iowa, at the foot of the Des Moines . Rapids, where Pike met William Ewing, who had just been appointed Indian Agent at this point, a French interpreter, four chiefs, fifteen Sacs and Fox warriors. At the head of the rapids, where Montrose is now situated, Pike held a eouneil with the Indians, in which he addressed them sub- stantially as follows:

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History of Butler and Bremer counties, Iowa, Part 3

Author: Union publishing company, Springfield, Ill Publication date: 1883 Publisher: Springfield, Ill., Union publishing company Number of Pages: 1316

Author: Union publishing company, Springfield, Ill
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Springfield, Ill., Union publishing company
Number of Pages: 1316