USA > Iowa > Des Moines County > History of Des Moines County, Iowa, Volume I > Part 3
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65
16
HISTORY OF DES MOINES COUNTY
ning." The state was inhibited from creating a debt exceeding one hundred thousand dollars, twenty years was fixed as the limit of the life of all corporations, and stockholders were made liable for corporate debts. This constitution was for- warded to Hon. A. C. Dodge, the then delegate to Congress from Iowa Territory. When its consideration came up in Congress, a radical change was made in the territorial boundaries. The change made by Congress took away all that portion lying west of a due north and south line, commencing near the southwest corner of Ringold County and crossing the northern boundary line of the state at the northwest corner of Kossuth County, leaving out twenty-five counties now west of this line. Hon. A. C. Dodge did all he could to prevent the change. However, when the change was approved by Congress, he gave up the fight and advised his constituents not to oppose its ratification. He issued an address to his constituents. We will not set out this address, but state the reasons given for the change as given by Mr. Dodge. He tells his constituents that the delegate from Florida (which territory was at the time seeking to be admitted as a state) brought for- ward a proposal for admission of that proposed state, and in order to obtain a greater representation in the United States Senate the delegate offered to divide Florida. That the proposition of the delegate from Florida met with strong opposition from the non-slave holding states, and they came back with a counter proposition to cut down the territorial limits of Iowa. He says in his address : "After being fully discussed at various meetings of the committee, the propo- sition to divide Florida was carried, and that to divide Iowa was rejected by a strictly sectional vote. When the bill came before the House, the action of the committee was overruled by a large majority. The clause for the division of Florida was stricken out, and the boundaries of Iowa, in opposition to my earnest protest, was subjected to considerable curtaihnent." This curtailment of the proposed boundaries fell like a bombshell among the people of the territory. Party spirit was intense at the time, and the whigs, who were in a hopeless minority, at once grasped the situation as their opportunity. They believed in the establishment of banks, which was inhibited by the proposed constitution, and the lessening of the territorial limits of the proposed new state but added fuel to increase the flame of their zeal. There were a number of young men in the democratic party who, at this time, saw with a clear vision the outrage that was being perpetrated upon the people of the new state. Among them were Theodore S. Parvin, Enoch M. Eastman and Frederick D. Mills, who were joined by some older members of the party, among whom were Shepherd Leffler and James W. Woods (the latter known as Old Timber Woods). Messrs. Leffler, Woods and Mills lived at Burlington. At the incoming of a new administration, or on the formation of a state government, there is always a school of political tadpoles, swimming in the pool of politics, always ready to grab any crumbs which may be cast on the surface of its waters. But those men whose names we have mentioned were not of that order. They were big enough to see that the glory of a great state as well as the welfare of its people demanded the Missouri River should be the western line of the state, and they declared it should be placed there. They went into the contest and fought its ratification, held public meetings and eloquently set forth the outrage. They claimed that the two great rivers, the Missouri and the Mississippi, should mark its eastern and western boundaries. The result was, the constitution was rejected by the small majority
17
HISTORY OF DES MOINES COUNTY
of 421 votes. There cannot be any doubt but for the efforts of those young men the western boundary of Iowa would have been about forty miles west of the now City of Des Moines. The Legislature convened again on the ist of December, 1845. Ilon. James Clarke, the governor, in his message deplored the rejection of the constitution. The Legislature made provision for another constitutional convention, to consist of thirty-two members, to be chosen at the April election, and the members so selected to meet at Iowa City in May, 1846, to frame a con- stitution. The people of Des Moines County sent as delegates to this convention Enos Lowe, Shepherd Leffler and G. W. Bowie. The constitution framed by this convention fixed the boundaries of the state as they are at present. It contained a provision against the establishment of banks, which caused the whigs to oppose its ratification. There were cast for its adoption 9,492 votes and 9,024 against. The small majority for its adoption foreshadowed that in the near future it would have to be amended or a new one substituted. The delegates who composed, framed and signed this constitution were: Enos Lowe, president : Thomas Dib- ble, Erastus Hoskin, David Galland, Sullifand S. Ross, Shepherd Leffler, Curtiss Bates, William G. Coop, John Ronalds, Samuel A. Bissell, Socrates H. Tryron, Wareham G. Clark, William Hubbel, John J. Selman, George Berry, John Conrey, Josiah Kent, Joseph H. Hedrick, Sylvester G. Matson. S. B. Shelledy, James Grant, George Hobson, H. P. Haun, Stewart Goodrell, Sanford Harned, David Olmestead, G. W. Bowie, Alvin Saunders, William Steele, T. McCraney, F. K. O'Ferral, J. Scott Richman. Attest : William Thompson, secretary.
On its ratification by the vote of the electors and by act of Congress, it became the organic law of the state. In the foregoing pages we have covered the period showing the discovery of that part of the territory of the United States and its organization into municipal bodies out of which came into existence Des Moines County, Iowa.
Vol. 1-2
CHAPTER V
INDIAN OCCUPATION
In the preceding chapters we omitted to write concerning the Indian occupa- tion of that part of the territory which composes Des Moines County, for the reason we want to keep distinct and separate certain principal events from others, although having taken place at the same time.
At the place where Joliet and Father Marquette landed they found three Indian villages occupied by a part of the Illini. They were the first Indians seen by them after they left the village of the Miamis and Winnebagos on Fox River. When Lieutenant Pike ascended the Mississippi in 1805, he found where the Town of Montrose is now located four Sac villages, and on the Iowa River, were located some Sac villages. He found three Fox villages, one on the Iowa side of the Mississippi River above Rock Rapids, and one twelve miles west of the present site of the City of Dubuque, and another at the mouth of Turkey River. The largest Sac village, and the oldest one, was on Rock River. This was the birthplace of Black Hawk, and where his father Py-a-sa lived, who was a Sac chief. By some authorities it is claimed Black Hawk was not a chief (sachem). If he was, he must have been made chief, as there did not exist at the time among the Sacs, the law of descent of chieftainship, for by this law it was confined to the female line. If Black Hawk was chief of the Sacs it was because his mother was one, and his father belonged to some other tribe. Since Black Hawk's father was a Sac, and he a Sac, he was not chief by descent. The tribe called by the whites Sacs ; in their speech was called Sau-kies which in their language means "men with a yellow badge." The tribe called the Foxes, in their dialect, was called "Mus-qua-kies," meaning "Men with a red badge." The French called them "Reynoes," Reynard being the proper name of the Fox ("Roman de Renart"). According to the report of Lieutenant Pike, the population of the two tribes in Iowa was 2,800, including men, women and children. Whence they came is not known. They belonged to the Algonquin family and spoke their dialect with some modification. In 1671, both tribes dwelt east of Lake Michigan and not far from the Mississippi. They were known at this time among traders in pelts, as the "Far away Indians." The letters of Father Marquette state, that at this time (1670) "the Illinois lived beyond the Mississippi thirty days' journey from LaPointe; whither they had been driven by the Iroquois, from their former abode near Lake Michigan."
There existed among the North American Indians, although it may not have been so with all the tribes, a social institution which may be called "totemism," and its existence was very great in determining their political conditions. Inde- pendent of their tribal relation, there existed among them distinct clans. Each
18
19
HISTORY OF DES MOINES COUNTY
member of a clan wore an emblem, which told of what clan the wearer was a member. There was the clan of the Wolf, the flawk, the Eagle. These emblems were known as totems. The emblem always consisted of some animal, bird or reptile. Some members of a clan would have the emblem signifying the clan to which he belonged, tattooed on his body, some would have the image suspended around their neck by a string of deer skin. According to this social institution, a member of one clan was forbidden to marry a member of the same clan. A Wolf could not marry a Wolf, but could a Hawk. And a peculiar characteristic of this custom was, the children belonged to the clan of which the mother was a member. If a Wolf married an Eagle their children were Eagles. This cus- tom was strictly adhered to among the Iroquois. There existed among the Iroquois eight totem clans, and it was by this means they became the most power- ful of all the confederations of Indians in North America. The members of the same clan, though they spoke different dialects, and lived far apart, and did not know cach other, were bound together in the closest bonds. If a member of a clan had been killed, the clan was bound to avenge his death. Whether totemship existed among the Sacs and Foxes I do not know, but would say it did not.
Just what time the Sac and Fox Indians came here is unknown. In 1820 Tamea (Tama), "The man who makes the rocks tremble," had a village where Burlington now stands. Subsequently he and his band had moved about nine miles further north on what is known as Tama Town Prairie. His village when located on the present site of Burlington was called "Shock-o-con." Lietuenant Pike in his report says: "Ten miles up the Iowa from its mouth is a village of the lowa Indians." In the treaty made with the Indians on the 9th of July, 1789, at Fort Harmon, the Indian tribes represented in that treaty were the Wyandots, Chippewas, Delawares, Ottawas and Sacs, and the territory in which Iowa is situated was represented by two Sac chiefs. The Sacs and Foxes by virtue of a confederation entered into between them became practically one tribe.
In 1690 the lowa Indians dwelt in the northern section of the country near the Great Lakes. They migrated westward, but at what time is unknown. When first found in Iowa, they were living on the Iowa River. Lewis and Clark refer to them as the Ayouways. It was from their name the word "lowa" came. They were the same as the Kiowas. Much discussion has been had as to the meaning of the word "Iowa." Antoine Le Claire, a half-breed Frenchman, who knew the Algonquin dialect, says: "It signified 'This is the place.'" Mr. Parvin, an early settler, and one who was well acquainted with Indian traditions, says: "These tribes separated from the Sacs and Foxes and in their wanderings crossed the Mississippi and in their journey southward reached a high bluff near the mouth of the Iowa River. Looking out on the beautiful valley spread out before them, they halted, exclaiming 'Iowa,' or, 'This is the place."" That such meaning can be given to the word "lowa" is very improbable. It will do for romance, but for history on investigation it will not bear the stamp of truth. If the word "lowa" is derived from the name of the tribe "Aoway." which is indicated by the spelling, it is no proof that the meaning of the word "Iowa" is "This is the place." for long before they came to lowa they bore that name. It is more reasonable that the name was given to this section of territory by the whites who first explored it, at which time the "Aoways" or ".Attoways" lived here.
20
HISTORY OF DES MOINES COUNTY
As we have stated, the Sacs and Foxes occupied this section of the country just prior to its first settlement by the whites. In 1832 and 1833, Black Hawk was a Sac chief, and here he dwelt with his tribe. He was a most remarkable man in many respects. Historians have thrown around his name the glamour of romance, which tends to make him an object of hero worship. He cannot be compared with Pontiac and other Indian chiefs known in history, but for the time and the conditions surrounding him he was a great chief. The date of his birth is not accurately known. It is generally conceded from the best authority, that he was born in 1767 in a Sac village situated about three miles from where the Rock River empties into the Mississippi. He was the son of a Sac chief called Py-a-sa. Black Hawk had certain heroic elements that appeal to the mind and heart. He clearly saw what would be the destiny of his race, and with almost unequaled heroism, contended against the decrees of fate. It was this which makes him spectacular. He was the implacable foe of the whites, and so remained to the time of his death. He was closely attached to the country of his birth and with veneration looked upon the graves of his fathers. He saw the Indian could and would not assimilate with white men, adopt their customs, habits and laws. It was not in their nature. He could not do it himself. Stung with resentment, he was bold and fearless in all the ways of the Indians. On June 27, 1804, William Henry Harrison negotiated a treaty with the Sacs and Foxes by which was granted to the United States 51,000,000 acres on the east side of the Mississippi, extending from a point opposite St. Louis to the mouth of the Wisconsin, for the small sum of $2,234.00 worth of goods, consisting mostly of trinkets, and an annuity of $1,000 for five years. They had agreed to convey away the homes of his and their fathers. His pride was stung by the transaction, and with other chiefs, he repudiated the treaty, and refused to be bound by its terms. While it is claimed he afterwards ratified this treaty, he always insisted its ratification by him was procured by deception and fraud. This treaty in terms provided that the Indians could remain in occupation of their lands until sur- veyed and sold to the settlers. Before they were surveyed the whites came and began to stake out claims. The Indians insisted this was a violation of the treaty and young Black Hawk at the head of a party of Sacs and Foxes made an attack on Fort Jefferson which had been built on the west side of the river as a means of protection to the whites ; which assault was repulsed. In 1814 Maj. Zachary Taylor with 300 soldiers was given orders to destroy the corn fields of the Sacs and Foxes, and burn their towns on Rock River. The Indians were joined by some British soldiers then located at Prairie du Chien. In the engagement Black Hawk displayed great prowess. The hero of Buena Vista was repulsed and con- pelled to retreat. Black Hawk had become an ally of Great Britain at this oppor- tune time, when the United States was at war with that country. What is known as the Black Hawk war has no place in this history, but properly belongs to that of Illinois, and we have to pass over that important period in the life of Black Hawk. What we say concerning this war is to illustrate the character of this Sac chief. Black Hawk always felt his people had been wronged by the treaty of 1804. The white settlers had come in and taken possession of their homes and fields when his people were away on their annual hunting expedition. This aroused his indignation. He drove them out and took possession. It was this which precipitated the Black Hawk war. In time the Indians were driven out
CHIEF KEOKUK-"THE WATCHFUL FOX"
This half tone portrait is from a daguerreotype taken in 1847. When the great chief was Of years of age. This has been generally accepted by historical writers as at faithful likeness of that celebrated lowa chief.
21
HISTORY OF DES MOINES COUNTY
and compelled to move to the west side of the Mississippi. By the terms of treaty made on the 30th of June, 1831, Black Hawk and his Indians were for- bidden to return to the east side of the river, but in April, 1832, Black Hawk with those Indians whom he could persuade, with their wives and children, crossed to the east side of the Mississippi at the mouth of Rock River. He was warned by General Atkinson, then stationed at Fort Armstrong, to immediately return. This he refused to do. He said his purpose was not to make war on the whites, that their mission was a peaceable one to the Winnebagoes, who had invited them to come to help in raising their crop of corn. Whether his mission was peaceful or not, Black Hawk must have known war would be the result. When he and his warriors were near Dixons Ferry, General Whiteside sent Major Stillman with a small force to see what Black Hawk was about, Black Hawk hearing of Stillman's approach, met these young men with a flag of truce and asked Major Stillman to come into his camp. Black Hawk's messengers were taken prisoners and one of them shot. War was then commenced which ended in the battle of "Bad Axe," where more than three hundred Indians were slaugh- tered. Men, women and children were murdered while they sought to escape by swimming the Mississippi River. Black Hawk was an Indian Spartacus, proud and defiant to the last. He attributed his downfall to Keokuk ("The Watchful Fox"), a Sac chief who was his junior by three years. Ile was more cunning than Black Hawk, the better politician. His ambition was to supplant Black Hawk and in this he succeeded. Keokuk was the leader of what was known as the peace party. He foresaw the result of Black Hawk's movement in re-crossing the Mississippi in violation of the treaty he had made, and used every endeavor to thwart his plans. He called his warriors together and said to them, "As their chief it was his duty to lead them to war if they were determined to go. That the United States was a great nation, and unless it was conquered they must all perish. He would lead them, but only on one condition, that they would put to death all their women and children, and having done so, cross the river not to return, but to perish among the graves of their fathers rather than yield to the white men." Through his persuasive powers of eloquence he succeeded in dividing the Sacs, so Black Hawk was left with a small following to undertake his perilous adventure. After Black Hawk's overthrow, Keokuk was installed chief in his stead. This was the piosoned arrow that entered Black Hawk's heart, and he and his followers ever afterwards were the implacable enemies of Keokuk. They said he did not have the soul of an Indian. Keokuk delighted in gaudy dress and to be noticed. He was the proud husband of four squaws. Became a confirmed inebriate, and in 1848 was poisoned by a member of his tribe.
It cannot be denied that the treaty of 1804 was an infamous one. At that time Pasheha-ho ("The Stabber") was head chief of the Sacs. It is charged he and other chiefs with him were made drunk and compelled for a pitiful sum to convey to the United States 51,000,000 acres of the best land on this continent. This was done by a people called civilized and enlightened. Draw a parallel between Black Hawk, the savage, and the white man who stole the land of Black Hawk and his fathers. It was said in a time long ago. "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them ; for this is the law." When measured by this Divine command, who violated it, the savage, Black Hawk, or the white man ?
CHAPTER VI
BLACK HAWK PURCHASE
What we have written in the foregoing pages is merely an introduction to the main purpose of this book, which is to preserve to future generations a his- tory of Des Moines County and its people.
This history commences on the extinguishment of the Indian title to the land within its corporate limits. The Black Hawk war terminated in 1832, and at its termination, on the 21st of September, 1832, where is now situated the City of Davenport, a treaty was entered into between the United States, which was represented by Gen. Winfield Scott and Governor Reynolds of Illinois, and the Indians by Keokuk, Pash-e-pa-ho ("The Stabber"), who was a party to the infamous treaty of 1804, and some thirty other chiefs of the Sacs and Foxes. By this treaty the Sac and Fox Indians ceded to the United States 6,000,000 acres of land bordering on the Mississippi River, commencing at the northern boundary line of Missouri : thence northward along the Mississippi to the mouth of the Upper Iowa River, thence west fifty miles, then south to the Missouri line, thence to the place of beginning. The consideration for this cession was $20,000 annually for thirty consecutive years, and the payment of the debts of the Indians, which amounted to $50,000.
Before the extinguishment of the Indian title white settlements had been made at several places along the Mississippi. Dr. Samuel C. Muir, a Scotchman by birth, who had married an Indian girl, had built a cabin where is located the City of Keokuk; this was in 1821. A Frenchman named M. Blondieu had a cabin further up the river. At the head of the Des Moines Rapids, Louis Honore Tesson had a trading post. In 1829 Dr. Isaac Galland settled where the Town of Nashville is located ; his place was called Ap-wip-e-tuck. Here was born to the doctor and his good wife, in 1830, Eleanor Galland, who was the first white child born within the now limits of Iowa. At Shok-ko-kon (Burlington) Maurice Blaundeau, a halfbreed, had a trading post. Here he died and here was his grave. When the first white settlers came, they found the grave enclosed by a fence made of palings, and at its head had been erected a wooden cross. His remains were taken up and interred, very probably in the old cemetery grounds on which is now built the Burlington City High School.
By the terms of the treaty ceding to the Government what is known as the Black Hawk Purchase there was reserved what is known as Keokuk's Reserve. Mr. Arthur Springer, historian of Louisa County, has examined very thoroughly this matter and I quote what he says: "Keokuk's Reserve has been described in so many different publications, and in so many different ways, that there are many conflicting views extant as to its original shape and location. Doctor Pickard in
22
23
HISTORY OF DES MOINES COUNTY
his historical lectures upon the Indians of lowa has a map which gives it in one form. Doctor Salter gives it in a different form, and both of these usually excel- lent authorities are wrong. From the fact that this reservation included a con- siderable part of the best land in this county, we deemed it best to procure an accurate description of it. By the treaty of 1832 this reserve was to be marked off under the direction of the President of the United States. Accordingly it was surveyed by Charles D. Ward, assistant surveyor for William Gordon, surveyor. The survey commenced on April 30, 1835, and was finished October, 1835. Robert Neil and Joseph Prepi were chain carriers, Etienne Tourville was axman, Francis Ray was flagman, and Michael Dennis, Coles Olivier and Narcis Blaycamp were camp keepers and hunters. The shape and location of this reserve is shown on the map of Louisa County as it was first established, which appears in this work. This map was prepared by W. S. Kremer, county surveyor of Louisa County, and according to his judgment, the southwest corner of the Keokuk Reserve was situated about fifty-two rods (thirteen chains) south of the quarter post between sections 16 and 21, township 73 north, range 2 west, and extended north 20° west forty-two miles and thirty chains to the Indian boundary line. It then extended southwest along the Indian boundary line nine miles and thirty-seven hundredths chains ; thence south 29° east forty-two miles and thirty chains to a point a little south of latitude 41° : thence north 28° to the place of beginning. The information we give in regard to the Keokuk Reserve is derived from a cer- tified copy of the original blue print, and a portion of the field notes, and was furnished us by the commissioner of Indian affairs." AAccording to the map to which Mr. Springer refers, the southwest corner of the reserve commenced at the southeast corner of the southeast quarter of section 33, township 72 north, range 3 west (Yellow Springs Township). But it will be remembered that the northern boundary of old Des Moines County was a line drawn due west from the lower end of Rock Island to the Missouri River. Such being the case, a large part of this reservation must have been in old Des Moines County. It is a well-known fact that in Yellow Springs Township a large portion of the western part of the township was not settled until after this reserve had been extinguished, which was in 1836.
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.