History of Butler and Bremer counties, Iowa, Part 5

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 5
USA > Iowa > Bremer County > History of Butler and Bremer counties, Iowa > Part 5

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

"In a very little time the rout became general, the Indians were soon upon our flanks, and threatened the destruction of our entire detachment. About this time Maj. Stillman, Col. Stephenson, Maj. Per- kins, Capt. Adams, Mr. Hackelton and my- self, with some others, threw ourselves into the rear to rally the fugitives and protect the retreat. But in a short time all my companions fell bravely fighting hand-to- hand with the savage enemy, and I alone was left upon the field of battle. About this time I discovered not far to the left a corps of horsemen, which seemed to be in tolerable order. I immediately deployed to the left, when, leaning down and placing my body in a recumbent posture upon the mane of my horse, so as to bring the heads of the horsemen between my eye and the horizon, I discovered, by the light of the moon, that they were gentlemen who did not wear hats, by which token I knew they were no friends of mine. I therefore made a retrograde movement, and recovered my position, where I remained some time, in thinking what further I could do for my country, when a random ball came whist- ling by my ear, and plainly whispered to me, 'Stranger, you have no further busi- ness here.' Upon hearing this, I followed the example of my companions-in-arms, and broke for tall timber, and the way I ran was not a little."

For a long time afterward Maj. Stillman and his men were subjects of ridicule and merriment, which was as undeserving as their expedition was disastrous. Still- man's defeat spread consternation through-

HISTORY OF IOWA.

out the State and nation. The number of Indians was greatly exaggerated, and the · name of Black Hawk carried with it asso- ciations of great military talent, savage cunning and cruelty.

A regiment sent to spy out the country between Galena and Rock Island, was sur- prised by a party of seventy Indians, and was on the point of being thrown into dis- order, when Gen. Whiteside, then serving as a private, shouted out that he would shoot the first man who turned his back on the enemy. Order being restored, the bat- tle began. At its very outset Gen. White- side shot the leader of the Indians, who thereupon commenced a hasty retreat.

In June, 1832, Black Hawk, with a band of one hundred and fifty warriors, attacked the Apple River Fort, near Galena, de- fended by twenty-five men. This fort, a mere palisade of logs, was erected to afford protection to the miners. For fifteen con- secutive hours the garrison had to sustain the assault of the savage enemy; but, knowing very well that no quarter would be given them, they fought with such fury and desperation that the Indians, after losing many of their warriors, were com- pelled to retreat.

Another party of eleven Indians mur- dered two men near Fort Hamilton. They were afterward overtaken by a company of twenty men, and every one of them killed.

A new regimert, under the command of Gen. Atkinson, assembled on the banks of the Illinois, in the latter part of June. Major Dement, with a small party, was sent out to reconnoiter the movements of a large body of Indians, whose endeavors to surround him made it advisable for him

to retire. Upon hearing of this engage- ment, Gen Atkinson sent a detachment to intercept the Indians, while he with the main body of his army, moved north to meet the Indians under Black Hawk. They moved slowly and cautiously through the country, passed through Turtle Vil- lage, and marched up along Rock river. On their arrival news was brought of the discovery of the main trail of the Indians. Considerable search was made, but they were unable to discover any vestige of In- dians, save two, who had shot two soldiers the day previous.

Hearing that Black Hawk was encamped on Rock River, at the Manitou village, they resolved at once to advance upon the enemy, but in the execution of their de- sign they met with opposition from their officers and men. The officers of Gen. Henry handed to him a written protest; but he, a man equal to any emergency, ordered the officers to be arrested and escorted to Gen Atkinson. Within a few minutes after the stern order was given, the officers all collected around the Gen- eral's quarters, many of them with tears in their eyes, pledging themselves that if for- given they would return to duty and never do the like again. The General rescinded the order, and they at once resumed duty.

THE BATTLE OF BAD-AXE.

Gen. Henry marched, on the 15th of July, in pursuit of the Indians, reaching Rock river after three days' journey, where he learned Black Hawk was encamped further up the river. On July 19 the troops were ordered to commence their march. After having made 50 miles, they

HISTORY OF IOWA.

were overtaken by a terrible thunder storni, which lasted all night. Nothing cooled, however, in their courage and zeal, they marched again 50 miles the next day, encamping near the place where the In- dians encamped the night before. Hurrying along as fast as they could, the infantry keeping up an equal pace with the mounted force, the troops, on the morning of the 2:st, crossed the river connecting two of the four lakes, by which the Indians had been endeavoring to escape. They found, on their way, the ground strewn with ket- tles and articles of baggage, which, in the haste of retreat, the Indians were obliged to throw away. The troops, inspired with new ardor, advanced so rapidly that at noon they fell in with the rear guard of the Indians. Those who closely pursued them were saluted by a sudden fire of musketry from a body of Indians who had concealed them elves in the high grass of the prairie. A most desperate charge was made upon the Indians, who, unable to resist, retreated obliquely in order to out- flank the volunteers on the right; but the latter charged the Indians in their ambush and expelled them from their thickets at the point of the bayonet, and dispersed them. Night set in and the battle ended, having cost the Indians sixty-eight of their bravest men, while the loss of the Illinois- ans amounted to but one killed and eight wounded.

Soon after this battle, Gens. Atkinson and Henry joined their forces and pursued the Indians. Gen. Henry struck the main trail, left his horses behind, formed an advance guard of eight men, and marched forward upon their trail. When these eight men came within sight of the river,

they were suddenly fired upon, and five of them killed, the remaining three maintain- ing their ground till Gen. Henry came up. Then the Indians, charged upon with the bayonet, fell back upon their main force; the battle now became general; the In- dians fought with desperate valor, but were furiously assailed by the volunteers with their bayonets, cutting many of the Indians to pieces and driving the rest into the river. Those who escaped from being drowned found refuge on an island. On hearing the frequent discharge of mus- ketry, indicating-a general engagement, Gen. Atkinson abandoned the pursuit of the twenty Indians under Black Hawk himself, and hurried to the scene of action, where he arrived too late to take part in the battle. He immediately forded the river with his troops, the water reaching up to their necks, and landed on the island where the Indians had secreted them- selves. The soldiers rushed upon the Indians, killed several of them, took the others prisoners, and chased the restinto the river, where they were either drowned or shot before reaching the opposite shore. Thus ended the battle, the Indians .losing three hundred, besides fifty prisoners; the whites, but seventeen killed and twelve wounded.

Black Hawk, with his twenty braves, retreated up the Wisconsin river. The Winnebagos, desirous of securing the friendship of the whites, went in pursuit and captured and delivered them to Gen. Street, the United States Indian Agent. Among the prisoners were the son of Black Hawk and the prophet of the tribe. These, with Black Hawk, were taken to

HISTORY OF IOWA.

Washington, D. C., and soon consigne l as prisoners at Fortress Monroe.

At the interview Black Hawk had with the President, he closed his speech deliv- ered on the occasion in the following words: "We did not expect to conquer the whites. They have too many houses, too many men. I took up the hatchet, for my part, to revenge injuries which my people could no longer endure. Had I borne them longer without striking, my people would have said: 'Black Hawk is a woman; he is too old to be a chief; he is no Sac.' These reflections caused me to raise the war-whoop. I say no more. It is known to you. Keokuk once was here; you took him by the hand, and when he wished to return to his home, you were willing. Black Hawk expects, like Keo- kuk, he shall be permitted to return, too."

By order of the President, Black Hawk and his companions, who were in confine- ment at Fortress Monroe, were set free on the 4th day of June, 1833.

After their release from prison they were conducted in charge of Major Gar- land, through some of the principal cities, that they might witness the power of the United States and learn their own inability to cope with them in war. Great multi- tudes flocked to see them wherever they were taken, and the attention paid them rendered their progress through the conn- try a triumphal procession, instead of the transportation of prisoners by an officer. At Rock Island the prisoners were given their liberty amid great and impressive ceremony. In 1838 Black Hawk built him

a dwelling near Des Moines, this State, and furnished it after the manner of the whites, and engaged in agricultural pur- suits and hunting and fishing. Here, with his wife, to whom he was greatly attached, he passed the few remaining days of his life. To his credit, it may be said that Black Hawk remained true to his wife, and served her with a devotion uncommon among Indians, living with her upward of forty years.

1186762

At all times when Black Hawk visited the whites he was received with marked attention. He was an honored guest at the old settlers' reunion in Lee county, Illinois, at some of their meetings, and received marked tokens of esteem. In September, 1838, while on his way to Rock Island to receive his annuity from the Government, he contracted a severe cold, which resulted in a severe attack of bilious fever, and terminated his life Oct. 3. After his death he was dressed in the uniform presented to him by the President while in Washington. He was buried in a grave six feet in depth, situated upon a beautiful eminence. The body was placed in the middle of the grave, in a sitting position 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. His remains were afterwards stolen and car- ried away, but they were recovered by the Governor of Iowa, and placed in the museum of the Historical Society at Bur- lington, where they were finally destroyed by fire.

HISTORY OF IOWA.

CHAPTER III. -

INDIAN TREATIES.

As has already becn stated, all Iowa was in actual possession of the Indians when purchased by the United States Govern- ment, and for purposes of settlement by the whites, could only be obtained by forcible ejectment or re-purchase from those inhabiting the country. This was effected in a series of treaties and pur- chases, of which a synopsis is given:

The territory known as the "Black Hawk Purchase," although not the first portion of Iowa ceded to the United States by the Sacs and Foxes, was the first opened to actual settlement by the tide of emi- gration which flowed across the Missis- sippi as soon as the Indian title was extinguished. The treaty which provided for this cession was made at a council held on the west bank of the Mississippi, where now stands the thriving city of Davenport, on ground now occupied by the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific R. R. Co , Sept. 21, 1832. This was just after the "Black Hawk War," and the defeated savages had retired from east of the Mississippi. At the council the Government was repre- sented by Gen. Winfield Scott and Gov. Reynolds, of Illinois. Keokuk, Pashapaho and some thirty other chiefs and warriors were present. By this treaty the Sacs and Foxes ceded to the United States a strip of land on the eastern border of Iowa, fifty miles wide, from the northern boundary of

Missouri to the mouth of the Upper Iowa river, containing about 6,000,000 acres. The western line of the purchase was parallel with the Mississippi. In consider- ation of this cession, the United States Government stipulated to pay annually to the confederated tribes, for thirty con- secutive years, $20,000 in specie, and to pay the debts of the Indians at Rock Island, which had been accumulating for seventeen years, and amounted to $50,000, due to Davenport & Farnham, Indian traders. The Government also generously donated to the Sac and Fox women and children whose husbands and fathers had fallen in the Black Hawk War, 35 beef cattle, 12 bushels of salt, 30 barrels of pork, 50 barrels of flour, and 6,000 bushels of corn.

The treaty was ratified February 13, 1833, and took effect on the 1st of June following, when the Indians quietly re- moved from the ceded territory, and this fertile and beautiful region was opened to white settlers.

By terms of the treaty, out of the Black Hawk purchase was reserved for the Sacs and Foxes 400 square miles of land, sit- uated on the Iowa River, and including within its limits Keokuk village, on the right bank of that river. This tract was known as Keokuk's reserve, and was occu- pied by the Indians until 1836, when, by

HISTORY OF IOWA.

a treaty made in September between them and Gov. Dodge, of Wisconsin Territory, it was ceded to the United States. The council was held on the banks of the Mis- sissippi, above Davenport, and was the largest assemblage of the kind ever held by the Sacs and Foxes to treat for the sale of lands. About one thousand of their chiefs and braves were present, and Keokuk· was the leading spirit of the occasion, and their principal speaker.

By the terms of this treaty, the Sacs and Foxes were removed to another reser- vation on the Des Moines river, where an agency was established at what is now the town of Agency City. The Government also gave out of the Black Hawk purchase to Antoine LeClare, interpreter, in fee simple, one section of land opposite Rock Island, and another at the head of the first rapids above the island on the Iowa side. This was the first land title granted by the United States to an individual in Iowa.

Gen. Joseph M. Street established an agency among the Sacs and Foxes very soon after the removal of the latter to their new reservation, He was transferred from the agency of the Winnebagos for this purpose. A farm wasselected, upon which the necessary buildings were erected, in- cluding a comfortable farm house for the agent and his family, at the expense of the Indian fund. A salaried agent was em- ployed to superintend the farm and dispose of the crops. Two mills were erected- one on Soap creek, and the other on Sugar creek. The latter was soon swept away by a flood, but the former remained and did good service for many years.

Connected with the agency were Joseph Smart and John Goodell, interpreters. The

latter was interpreter for Hard Fishes' band. Three of the Indian chiefs-Keo- kuk, Wapello and Appanoose-had each a large field improved, the two former on the right bank of the Des Moines, back from the river, in what is now " Keokuk's Prairie," and the latter on the present site of the city of Ottumwa. Among the traders connected with their agency were the Messrs. Ewing, from Ohio, and Phelps & Co , from Illinois, and also J. P. Eddy, who established his post at what is now the site of Eddyville. The Indians at this agency became idle and listless in the ab- sence of their natural and wonted excite- ments, and many of them plunged into dissipation. Keokuk himself became dis- sipated in the latter years of his life, and it has been reported that he died of de- lirium tremens after his removal with his tribe to Kansas. On May, 1843, most of the Indians were removed up the Des Moines river, above the temporary line of Red Rock, having ceded the remnant of their lands in Iowa to the United States, Sept. 21, 1837, and Oct. 11, 1842. By the terms of the latter treaty, they held pos- session of the "New Purchase" till the autumn of 1845, when most of them were removed to their reservation in Kansas, the balance being removed in 1846.

Before any permanent settlement was made in the Territory of Iowa, white ad- venturers, trappers and traders, many of whom were scattered along the Mississippi and its tributaries, as agents and employes of the American Fur Company, intermar- ried with the females of the Sac and Fox Indians, producing a race of half-breeds, whose number was never definitely ascer- tained. There were some respectable and

HISTORY OF IOWA.

excellent people among them, children of some refinement and education. For in- stance: Dr. Muir, a gentleman educated at Edinburg, Scotland, a Surgeon in the United States Army, stationed at a mili- tary post located on the present site of Warsaw, married an Indian woman, and reared his family of three daughters in the city of Keokuk. Other examples might be cited, but they are probably exceptions to the general rule, and the race is now nearly or quite extinct in Iowa.

August 4, 1824, a treaty was made be- tween the United States and the Sacs and Foxes, by which that portion ( f Lee county was reserved to the half-breeds of those tribes, and which was afterward known as the " half-breed tract." This reservation is the triangular piece of land containing about 119,000 acres, lying between the Mississippi and the Des Moines rivers. It is bounded on the north by the prolonga- tion of the northern line of Missouri. This line was intended to be a straight one, run- ning due east, which would have caused it to strike the Mississippi river at or below Montrose; but the surveyor who run it took no notice of the change in the variation of the needle, as he proceeded eastward, and, in consequence, the line he run was bent, deviating more and more to the north ward of a direct line as he approached the Mis- sissippi river, so that it struck that river at the lower edge of the town of Fort Madi- son. "This erroneous line," says Judge Mason, "has been acquiesced in as well in fixing the northern limit of the half-breed tract as in determining the northern boundary line of the State of Missouri." The line thus run included in the reserva- tion a portion of the lower part of the city

of Fort Madison, and all of the present townships of Van Buren, Charleston, Jef- ferson, Des Moines, Montrose and Jackson.

Under the treaty of 1824, the half-breeds had the right to occupy the soil, but could not convey it, the reversion being reserved to the United States. But January 30th, 1843, by act of Congress, this reversionary right was relinquished, and the half-breeds acquired the lands in fee simple. This no sooner done than a horde of speculators rushed in to buy land of the half-breed owners, and, in many instances, a gun, blanket, a pony or a few quarts of whisky was sufficient for the purchase of large estates. There was a deal of sharp prac- tice on both sides. Indians would often claim ownership of land by virtue of being half-breeds, and had no difficulty in prov- ing their mixed blood by the Indians, and they would cheat the speculators by selling land to which they had no rightful title. On the other hand, speculators often claimed land in which they had no owner- ship. It was diamond cut diamond, until at last things became badly mixed. There were no authorized surveys, and no boun- dary lines to claim, and, as a natural result, numerous conflicts and quarrels ensued.

January 16, 1838, Edward Johnstone, Thomas S. Wilson and David Brigham were appointed commissioners by the Wis- consin Legislature, clothed with power to settle their difficulties, and to decide upon the validity of claims, or sell them for the benefit of the real owners. The act pro- vided that these commissioners should be paid six dollars a day each. The commis- sion entered upon its duties, and continued until the next session of the Legislature,

HISTORY OF IOWA.

when the act creating it was repealed, in- validating all that had been done, and depriving the commissioners of their pay. The repealing act, however, authorized the commissioners to commence action against the owners of the half-breed tract, to re- ceive pay for their services in the District of Lee county. Two judgements were obtained, and on execution the whole tract was sold to Hugh T. Reid, the sheriff exe- cuting the deed. Mr. Reid sold portions of it to various parties; but his own title was questioned, and he became involved in litigation. Decisions in favor of Reid and those holding under him were made by both District and Supreme Courts; but in December, 1850, these decisions were finally reversed by the Supreme Court of the United States, in the case of Joseph Webster, plaintiff in error, vs. Hugh T. Reid, and judgement titles failed.

About nine years before the judgement titles were finally abrogated as above, another class of titles were brought into competition with them, and, in the conflict between the two, the final decision was obtained. These were the titles based on the " decree of partition " issued by the United States District Court for the Ter- ritory of Iowa, May 8, 1841, and certified to by the clerk on the 2d day of June of the same year. Edward Johnstone and Hngh T. Reid, then law partners at Fort Madison, filed the petition for the decree in behalf of the St. Louis claimants of half-breed lands. Francis S. Key, author of the Star-Spangled Banner, who was then attorney for the New York Land Company, which held heavy interests in these lands, took a leading part in the measure, and drew up the documents in

which it was presented to the court. Judge Charles Mason, of Burlington, pre- sided. The plan of partition divided the the tract into 101 shares, and arranged that' each claimant should draw his proportion by lot, and should abide the result, what- ever it might be. The arrangement was entered into, the lots drawn, and the plat of the same filed in the Recorder's office, October 6, 1841. Upon this basis the titles to the land in the Half-Breed Tract are now held.

We subjoin a synopsis of the different treaties made with the Indians of Iowa:

1. Treaty with the Sioux -Made July 15, 1815; ratified December 16, 1815, This treaty was made at Portage des Sioux of Minnesota and Upper Iowa, and the United States, by William Clark and Ninian Ed- wards, Commissioners, and was merely a treatise of peace and friendship on the part of these Indians toward the United States at the close of the war of 1812.

2. Treaty with the Sacs .- A similar treaty of peace was made at Portage des Sioux, between the United States and the Sacs, by William Clark, Ninian Edwards and Auguste Choteau, on the 13th of Sep- tember, 1815, and ratified at the same date as the above. In this the treaty of 1804 was re-affirmed, and the Sac; here repre- sented promised for themselves and their bands to keep entirely separate from the Sacs of Rock river, who, under Black Hawk, had joined the British in the war just then closed.

3. Treaty with the Foxes .- A separate treaty of peace was made with the Foxes at Portage des Sioux, by the same commis- sioners, on the 14th of September, 1815, and ratified the same as the ab >ve, wherein

HISTORY OF IOWA.

the Foxes re-affirmed the treaty of St. Louis, of November 3d, 1804, and agreed to de- liver up all their prisoners to the officer in command at Fort Clark, now Peoria, Illi- nois.

Treaty with the Iowas .- A treaty of 4 peace and mutual good-will was made between the United States and the Iowa tribe of Indians, at Portage des Sioux, by the same commissioners as above, on the 16th of September, 1815, at the close of the war with Great Britain, and ratified at the same date as the others.

5. Treaty with the Sacs of Rock River .- Made at St. Louis, on the 13th of May, 1816, between the United States and the Sacs of Rock river, by the Commis- sioners, William Clark, Ninian Edwards and Auguste Choteau; and ratified Dec. 30, 1816. In this treaty that of 1804 was re- established and enforced by the chiefs and head men of the Sacs of Rock river, and Black Hawk himself attached to it his sig- nature, or, as he said, "touched the goose- quill."

6. Treaty of 1824 .- On the 4th of August, 1824, a treaty was made between the United States and the Sacs and Foxes, in the city of Washington, by William Clark, Commissioner, wherein the Sac and Fox nations relinquished their title to all lands in Missouri, and that portion of the south- east corner of Iowa known as the "half- breed tract" was set off and reserved for the use of the half breeds of the Sacs and Foxes, they holding title in the same man- ner as Indians. Ratified Jan. 18, 1825.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Butler and Bremer counties, Iowa, Part 5

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