History of Butler and Bremer counties, Iowa, Part 6

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 6
USA > Iowa > Bremer County > History of Butler and Bremer counties, Iowa > Part 6

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7. Treaty of August 19, 1825 .- At this date a treaty was made by William Clark and Lewis Cass, at Prairie du Chien, be-

tween the United States and the Chippe- was, Sacs and Foxes, Menominees, Winne- bigos, and a portion of the Ottawas and Pot awatomies. In this treaty, in order make peace between the contending tribes as to the limits of their respective hunting grounds in Iowa, it was agreed that the United States Government should run a boundary line between the Sioux, on the north, and the Sacs and Foxes on the south, as follows :

Commencing at the mouth of the Upper Iowa river, on the west bank of the Mis- sissippi, and ascending said Iowa river to its west fork; thence up the fork to its source; thence crossing the fork of Red Cedar river in a direct line to the lower fork of the Calumet river, and down that fork to its junction with the Missouri river.

8. Treaty of 1830 .- On the 15th of July, 1830, the confederate tribes of the Sacs and Foxes ceded to the United States a strip of country lying south of the above line, twenty miles in width, and extending along the line aforesaid from the Missis- sippi to the Des Moines river. The Sioux also, whose possessions were north of the line, ceded to the Government, in the same treaty, a strip on the north side of the boundary. Thus the United States, at the ratification of this treaty, February 24, 1831, came into possession of a portion of Iowa forty miles wide, extending along the Clarke and Cass line of 1825, from the Mississippi to the Des Moines river. This territory was then known as the "Neutral Ground," and the tribes on either side of the line were allowed to fish and hunt on it unmolested until it was made a Winne- bago reservation, and the Winnebagos were removed to it.in 1841.

HISTORY OF IOWA.

9. Treaty with the Sacs and Foxes and other tribes .- At the same time of the above treaty respecting the "Neutral Ground" (July 15, 1830), the Sacs and Foxes, Western Sioux, Omahas, Iowas and Missouris ceded to the United States a por- tion of the western slope of Iowa, the boundaries of which were defined as fol- lows: Beginning at the upper fork of the Des Moines river, and passing the sources of the Little Sioux and Floyd rivers, to the bank of the first creek that falls into the Big Sioux, or Calumet, on the east side; thence down said creek and the Calumet river to the Missouri river; thence down said Missouri river to the Missouri State line above the Kansas; thence along said line to the northwest corner of said State; thence to the high lands between the waters falling into the Missouri and Des Moines, passing to said high lands along the dividing ridge between the forks of the Grand river; thence along said high lands or ridge separating the waters of the Missouri from those of the Des Moines, to a point opposite the source of the Boyer river, and thence in a direct line to the upper fork of the Des Moines, the place of beginning.

It was understood that the lands ceded and relinquished by this treaty were to be assigned and allotted, under the direction of the President of the United States, to the tribes then living thereon, or to such other tribes as the President might locate thereon for hunting and other purposes. In consideration of three tracts of land ceded in this treaty, the United States agreed to pay to the Sacs $3,000; to the Foxes, $3,000; to the Sioux, $2,000; to the Yankton and Santee bands of Sioux, $3,000;

to the Omahas, $1,500; and to the Ottoes and Missouris, $2,500-to be paid annually for ten successive years. In addition to these annuities, the Government agreed to furnish some of the tribes with black- smiths and agricultural implements to the amount of $200, at the expense of the United States, and to set apart $3,000 an- nually for the education of the children of these tribes. It does not appear that any fort was erected in this territory prior to the erection of Fort Atkinson on the Neu- tral Ground in 1840-'41.

This treaty was made by William Clark, Superintendent of Indian Affairs, and Col. Willoughby Morgan, of the United States First Infantry, and came into effect by proclamation, February 24, 1831.

10. Treaty with the Winnebagos .- Made at Fort Armstrong, Rock Island, September 15th, 1832, by General Winfield Scott and Hon. John Reynolds, Governor of Illinois. In this treaty the Winne- bagos ceded to the United States all their land lying on the east side of the Missis- sippi, and in part consideration therefor the United States granted to the Winne- bagos, to be held as other Indian lands are held, that portion of Iowa known as the Neutral Grounds, The exchange of the two tracts of country was to take place on or before the 1st day of June, 1833. In addition to the Neutral Grounds, it was stipulated that the United States should give the Winnebagos, beginning in Sep- tember, 1833, and continuing for twenty- seven successive years, $10,000 in specie, and establish a school among them with a farm and garden, and provide other facili- ties for the education of their chi dren, not to exceed in cost $3,000 a year, and to con-

HISTORY OF IOWA.

tinue the same twenty-seven successive years. Six agriculturists, twelve yoke of oxen, and plows and other farming tools were to be supplied by the Government.

11. Treaty of 1832 with the Sacs and Foxes .- Already mentioned as the Black Hawk purchase.

12. Treaty of 1836 with the Sacs and Foxes .- Ceding Keokuk's reserve to the United States, for which the Government stipulated to pay $30,000, and an annuity of $10,000 for ten successive years, to- gether with other sums and debts of the Indians to various parties.

13. Treaty of 1837 .- On the 21st of October, 1837, a treaty was made at the city of Washington, between Carey A. Harris, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, and the confederate tribes of Sacs and Foxes, ratified February 21, 1838, wherein another slice of the soil of Iowa was ob- tained, described in the treaty as follows:

"A tract of country containing 1,250,000 acres, lying west and adjoining the tract conveyed by them to the United States in the treaty of September 21, 1832. It is understood that the points of termination for the present cession shall be the north- ern and southern points of tract as fixed by the survey made under the authority of the United States, and that a line shall be drawn between them so as to intersect a line extended westwardly from the angle of said tract nearly opposite to Rock Island, as laid down in the above survey, so far as may be necessary to include the number of acres hereby ceded, which last mentioned

line, it is estimated, will be about twenty- five miles."

This piece of land was about twenty-five miles in the middle, and ran off to a point at both ends, lying directly back to the Black Hawk purchase, and of the same length.

14. Treaty of Relinquishment .- At the same date as the above treaty, in the city of Washington, Carey A. Harris, Commis- sioner, the Sacs and Foxes ceded to the United States all their right and interest in the country lying south of the boundary line between the Sacs, Foxes and Sioux, as described in the treaty of August 19, 1825, and between the Missouri and Mississippi rivers, the United S ates paying for the same $160,000. The Indians also gave up all claims and interests under the treaties previously made with them, for the satis- faction of which no appropriations had been made.

15. Treaty of 1842 .- The last treaty was made with the Sacs and Foxes October 11, 1842; ratified March 23, 1843. It was made at the Sac and Fox agency (Agency City), by John Chambers, Commissioner on behalf of the United States. In this treaty the Sac and Fox Indians ceded to the United States all their lands west of the Mississippi to which they had any claim or title. By the terms of this treaty they were to be removed from the country at the expiration of three years, and all who remained after that were to move at their own expense. Part of them were removed to Kansas in the fall of 1845, and the rest the spring following.

HISTORY OF IOWA.

CHAPTER IV.

EARLY

SETTLEMENTS.

The first permanent settlement made by whites within the limits of Iowa, was by Julien Dubuque, in 1788, when, with a small party of miners, he settled on the site of the city that now bears his name, where he lived until his death, in 1810. What was known as the Girard settlement, in Clayton county, was made by some parties prior to the commencement of the present century. It consisted of three cabins, in 1805. Louis Honori settled on the site of the present town of Montrose, probably in 1799, and resided there until 1805, when his property passed into other hands. Indian traders had established themselves at various points at an early date. Mr. Johnson, an agent of the American Fur Company, had a trading post below Burlington, where he carried on traffic with the Indians some- time before the United States purchased Louisiana. In 1820, LeMoliese, a French trader, had a station at what is now San- dusky, six miles above Keokuk, in Lee county. The same year, a cabin was built where the city of Keokuk now stands, by Dr. Samuel C. Muir, a surgeon in the United States Army. His marriage and subsequent life were very romantic. While stationed at a military post on the Upper Mississippi, the post was visited by a beau- tiful Indian maiden-whose native name, unfortunately, has not been preserved- who, in her dreams, had seen a white brave

unmoor his canoe, paddle it across the river, and come directly to her lodge. She felt assured, according to the superstitious belief of her race, that in her dreams she had seen her future husband, and had come to the fort to find him. Meeting Dr. Muir, she instantly recognized him as the hero of her dream, which, with childlike innocence and simplicity, she related to him. Her dream was indeed prophetic. Charmed with Sophia's beauty, innocence and devo- tion, the doctor honorably married her; but after awhile the sneers and gibes of his brother officers-less honorable than he, perhaps-made him feel ashamed of his dark-skinned wife, and when his regiment was ordered down the river to Bellefon- taine, it is said he embraced the opportu- nity to rid himself of her, never expecting to see her again, and little dreaming that she would have the courage to follow him. But, with her infant child, this intrepid wife and mother started alone in lier canoe, and after many days of weary labor and a lonely journey of 900 miles, she at last reached him. She afterward remarked, when speaking of this toilsome journey down the river in search of her husband: "When I got there I was all perished away-so thin !" The doctor, touched by such unexampled devotion, took her to his heart, and ever after, until his death, treat- ed her with marked respect. She always

HISTORY OF IOWA.

presided at his table with grace and dig- nity, but never abandoned her native style of dress. In 1819-'20 he was stationed at Fort Edward, now Warsaw, but the sense- less ridicule of some of his brother officers on account of his Indian wife induced him to resign his commission. He then built a cabin, as above stated, where Keokuk is now situated, and made a claim to some land. This claim he leased to Otis Rey- nolds and John Culver, of St. Louis, and went to La Pointe (afterward Galena), where he practiced his profession for ten years, when he returned to Keokuk. His Indian wife bore to him four children- Louise, James, Mary and Sophia. Dr. Muir died suddenly of cholera, in 1832, but left his property in such a condition that it was soon wasted in vexatious liti- gation, and his brave and faithful wife, left friendless and penniless, became discour- aged, and, with her two younger children, disappeared. It is said she returned to her people, on the Upper Missouri.

The gentleman who had leased Dr. Muir's claim at Keokuk, subsequently em- ployed as their agent Moses Stillwell, who arrived with his family in 1828, and took possession. His brothers in-law, Amos and Valencourt Van Ansdal, came with him and settled near. Mr. Stillwell's daughter Margaret (afterward Mrs. Ford), was born in 1831 at the foot of the rapids, called by the Indians Puckashetuck. She was prob- ably the first white American child born in Iowa.

In 1829 Dr. Isaac Gallaud made a set- tlement on the Lower Rapids, at what is now Nashville. The same year James S. Langworthy, who had been engaged in lead mining at Galena since 1824, resolved

to visit the Dubuque mines. The lead mines in the Dubuque region were an object of great interest to the miners about Galena, for they were known to be rich in lead ore. To explore these mines, and to obtain permission to work them was there- fore eminently desirable. Crossing the Mississippi at a point now known as Dun- leith, in a canoe, and swimming his horse by his side, he landed on the spot known as the Jones Street Levee. Before him was spread out a beautiful prairie, on which the city of Dubuque now stands. Two miles south, at the mouth of Catfish creek, was a village of Sacs and Foxes. Thither Mr. Langworthy proceeded, and was well received by the natives. He endeavored to obtain permission from them to mine in their hills; but this they refused. He, however, succeeded in gain- ing the confidence of the chief to such an extent as to be allowed to travel in the interior for three weeks, and explore the country. He'employed two young Indians as guides, and traversed in different direc- tions the whole region lying between the Maquoketa and Turkey rivers. He re- turned to the village, secured the good will of the Indians, and, returning to Galena, formed plans for future operations, to be executed as soon as the circumstances would permit. In the following year, with his brother, Lucius H., and others, having obtained the consent of the Indians, Mr. Langworthy crossed the Mississippi and commenced mining in the vicinity around Dubuque.

Although these lands had been pur- chased from France, they were not in the actual posession of the United States. The Indian titles had not been ex -.

HISTORY OF IOWA.

tinguished, and these adventurous persons were beyond the limits of any State or Territorial government. The first settlers were therefore obliged to be their own law-makers, and to agree to such regula- tions. as the exegencies of the case de- manded. The first act resembling civil legislation in Iowa was done by the miners at this point, in June, 1830. They met on the bank of the river, by the side of an old cottonwood drift log, at what is now the Jones Street Leevee, Dubuque, and elected a committee, consisting of J. C. Lang- worthy, H. F. Lander, James McPhetres, Samuel Scales and E. M. Wren. This may be called the first Legislature in Iowa, the members of which gathered around that old cottonwood log, and agreed to and re- ported the following, written by Mr. Lang- worthy, on a half sheet of coarse, unruled paper, the old log being the writing desk: "We, a committee, having been chosen to draft certain rules and regulations (laws), by which we, as miners, will be governed, and, having duly considered the subject, do unanimously agree that we will be governed by the regulations on the east side of the Mississippi river, with the fol- lowing exceptions, to-wit:

Article I. That each and every man shall hold two hundred yards square of ground by working said ground one day in six."

"Article II. We further agree that there shall be chosen by the majority of the miners present, a person who shall hold this article, and who shall grant letters of arbitration on application having been made, and that said letters of arbitration shall be obligatory on the parties so apply- ing."

The report was accepted by the miners present, who elected Dr. Jarote in accord- ance with article second. Here, then, we have, in 1830, a primitive Legislature elected by the people, the law drafted by it being submitted to the people for ap- proval, and under it Dr. Jarote was elected first Governor. And the laws thus enacted were as promptly obeyed as any have been ·since.

After this, the miners, who had thus erected an independent government of their own on the west side of the Missis- sippi river, continued to work successfully for a long time, and the new settlement attracted considerable attention. But the west side of the Mississippi belonged to the Sac and Fox Indians, and the Govern- ment, in order to preserve peace on the frontier, as well as to protect the Indians in their rights under the treaty, ordered the settlers not only to stop mining, but to remove from the Indian Territory. They were simply intruders. The execution of this order was intrusted to Col. Zachary Taylor, then in command of the military post at Prairie du Chien, who, early in July, sent an officer to the miners to forbid settlement, and to command the miners to remove, within ten days, to the east side of the Mississippi, or they would be driven off by armed force. The miners, how- ever, were reluctant about leaving the rich "leads" they had already discovered and opened, and were not disposed to obey the order to remove with any considerable degree of alacrity.

In due time Colonel Taylor dispatched a detachment of troops to enforce his order. The miners, anticipating their arrival, had, excepting three, recrossed the

HISTORY OF IOWA.

river, and from the east bank saw the troops land on the western shore. The three who had lingered a little too long were, however, permitted to make their escape unmolested. From this time a mil- itary force was stationed at Dubuque to prevent the settlers from returning, until June, 1832. The Indians returned, and were encouraged to operate the rich mines opened by the late white occupants.

In June, 1832, the troops were ordered to the east side of the Mississippi to assist in the annihilation of the very Indians whose rights they had been protecting on the west side. Immediately after the close of the Black Hawk war, and the negotia- tions of the treaty in September, 1832, by which the Sacs and Foxes ceded the tract known as the "Black Hawk Purchase," the settlers, supposing that now they had a right to re-enter the territory, returned and took possession of their claims, built cab- ins, erected furnaces and prepared large quantities of lead for market. But the prospects of the hardy and enterprising settlers and miners were again ruthlessly interferred with by the Government, on the ground that the treaty with the Indians would not go into force until June 1st, 1833, although they had withdrawn from the vicinity of the settlement. Col. Taylor was again ordered by the War Department to remove the miners, and, in January, 1833, troops were again sent from Prairie du Chien to Dubuque, for that purpose. This was a serious and perhaps unneces- sary hardship imposed upon the miners. They were compelled to abandon their cabins and homes in mid-winter. This, too, was only out of respect for forms, for the purchase had been made, and the In-

dians had retired. After the lapse of fifty years, no very satisfactory reason for this rigorous action of the Government can be given. But the orders had been given, and there was no alternative but to obey. Many of the settlers re-crossed the river, and did not return; a few, however, re- moved to an island near the east bank of the river, built rude cabins of poles, in which to store their lead until spring, when they could float the fruits of their labors to St. Louis for sale, and where they could remain until the treaty went into force, when they could return. Among these were the Langworthy brothers, who had on hand about 300,000 pounds of lead.

No sooner had the minere left than Lieu- tenant Covington, who had been placed in command at Dubuque, by Colonel Taylor, ordered some of the cabins of the settlers to be torn down, and wagons and other property to be destroyed. This wanton and inexcusable action on the part of, a subordinate, clothed with a little brief authority, was sternly rebuked by Col. Taylor, and Covington was superseded by Lieut. George Wilson, who pursued a just and friendly course with the pioneers, who were only waiting for the time when they could repossess their claims.

The treaty went formally into effect June, 1833; the troops were withdrawn, and the Langworthy brothers and a few others at once returned and resumed pos- session of their homes and claims. From this time must date the first permanent set- tlement of this portion of Iowa. Mr. John P. Sheldon was appointed superintendent of the mines, by the Government, and a system of permits to miners and licenses to smelters was adopted, similar to that

HISTORY OF IOWA.

which had been in operation at Galena since 1825, under Lieut. Martin Thomas and Capt. Thomas C. Legate. Substan- tially the primitive law enacted by the miners assembled around that old cotton- wood drift log in 1830, was adopted and enforced by the United States Govern- ment, except that miners were required to sell their mineral to licensed smelters, and the smelter was required to give bonds for the payment of six per cent. of all lead manufactured, to the Government.

The rule in the United States mines, on Fever river, in Illinois, had been, until 1830, that the miners must pay a ten per cent. tax. This tax upon the miners created much dissatisfaction among the miners on the west side, as it had on the east side of the Mississippi. They thought they had suffered hardships and privations enough in opening the way for civilization, without being subjected to the imposition of an odious Government tax upon their means of subsistence, when the Federal Government could better afford to aid than to extort from them. The measure soon became very unpopular. It was difficult to collect the taxes, and the whole system was abolished in about ten years.

About five hundred people arrived in the mining district in 1833, after the In- dian title was fully extinguished, of whom one hundred and fifty were from Galena. In the same year Mr. Langworthy assisted in building the first school-house in Iowa, and thus was formed the nucleus of the populous and thriving city of Dubuque. Mr. Langworthy lived to see the naked prairie on which he first settled become the site of a city of 15,000 inhabitants; the small school-house which he aided in con-

structing replaced by three substantial ed- ifices, wherein 2,000 children were being trained; churches erected in every part of the city, and railroads connecting the wil- derness, which he first explored, with all the eastern world. He died suddenly, on the 13th of March, 1865, while on a trip over the Dubuque & Southern railroad, at Monticello, and the evening train brought the news of his death, and his remains.

Lucius H. Langworthy, his brother, was one of the most worthy, gifted and influ- ential of the old settlers of this section of Iowa. He died greatly lamented by many friends, in June, 1865.

The name "Dubuque" was given to the settlement by the miners, at a meeting held in 1834.

Soon after the close of the Black Hawk war, in 1832, Zachariah Hawkins, Benja- min Jennings, Aaron White, Augustine Horton, Saniuel Gooch, Daniel Thompson and Peter Williams made claims at Fort Madison. In 1833, Gen. John H Knapp and Col. Nathaniel Knapp purchased these claims, and, in the summer of 1835, they laid out the town of "Fort Madison," and lots were exposed for sale early in 1836. The town was subsequently re-surveyed and platted by the United States Govern- ment. The population rapidly increased, and in less than two years the beautiful location was covered by a flourishing town containing nearly 600 inhabitants, with a large proportion of enterprising merchants, mechanics and manufacturers.

In the fall of 1832, Simpson S. White erected a cabin on the site of Burlington, 79 miles below Rock Island During the war, parties had looked longingly upon the "Flint Hills" from the opposite side of the

HISTORY OF IOWA.

river, and White was soon followed by others. David Tothers made a claim on the prairie, about three miles back from the river, at a place since known as the farm of Judge Morgan. The following winter the settlers were driven off by the military from Rock Island, as intruders upon the rights of the Indians. White's cabin was burned by the soldiers. He returned to Illinois, where he remained during the winter, and, in the following summer, as soon as the Indian title was extinguished, returned and re-built his cabin. White was joined by his brother- in-law, Doolittle, and they laid out the town of Burlington in 1834, on a beautiful area of sloping eminences and gentle de- clevities, enclosed within a natural amphi- theater formed by the surrounding hills, which were covered with luxuriant forests, and presented the most picturesque scenery. The same autumn witnessed the opening of the first dry goods stores, by Dr. W. R. Ross and Major Jeremiah Smith, each well supplied with Western merchandise. Such was the beginning of Burlington, which, in less than four years, became the seat of government for the territory of Wisconsin, and, in three years more, contained a pop- ulation of 1,400 persons.

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History of Butler and Bremer counties, Iowa, Part 6

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