USA > Iowa > Floyd County > History of Floyd County, Iowa : together with sketches of its cities, villages and townships, educational, religious, civil, military, and political history; portraits of prominent persons, and biographies of representative citizens > Part 12
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In 1795, a tract of land was granted to Basil Girard by the Lieut. Governor of Upper Louisiana. There were 5,860 acres in this tract, and was on the site of what is now Clayton County, and was known as the " Girard Tract." He occupied the land during the time that Iowa passed from Spain to France, and from France to the United States, in consideration of which the Federal Govern-
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ment granted a patent of the same to Girard in his own right. His heirs sold the whole tract to James H. Lockwood and Thomas P. Burnett, of Prairie du Chien, for $300.
EARLY SETTLEMENTS.
We have already alluded to the first permanent settlement made by whites within the limits of Iowa, 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, opposite Prairie du Chien, 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, Le Moliese, a French trader, had a station at what is now Sandusky, six miles above Keokuk, in Lee County. The same year a cabin was built in Lee County 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 so romantic that we give a brief sketch:
While stationed at a military post on the Upper Mississippi, the post was visited by a beautiful 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. Meet- ing 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 So- phia's beauty, innocence and devotion, the Doctor honorably mar- ried her, but after a while 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 Bellefontaine, it is said he embraced the opportunity › to rid himself of her, and left her, never expecting to see her again,
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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 her canoe, and after many days of weary labor and a lonely journey of 900 miles, she at last reached him. She afterward re- marked, 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 devo- tion, took her to his heart, and ever after until his death treated her with marked respect. She always presided at his table with grace and dignity, but never abandoned her native style of dress. In 1819 -- '20 he was stationed at Fort Edward, now Warsaw, but the senseless 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 Reynolds and John Culver, of St. Louis, and went to La Pointe (afterward Ga- lena), where he practiced his profession for 10 years, when he re- turned 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 litigation, and his brave and faithful wife, left friendless and penniless, became discouraged, 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, sub- sequently employed 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 probably the first white American child born in Iowa.
In 1829 Dr. Isaac Gallaud made a settlement 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 therefore eminently desirable. Crossing the Mississippi at a point now known as Dunleith in a canoe, and swimming his horse by his
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side, he landed on the spot now 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 gaining 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 directions the whole region lying between the Maquoketa and Turkey Rivers. He returned to the village, secured the good will of the Indians, and, returning to Galena, formed plans for future operations, to be exe- cuted 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 purchased from France, they were not in the actual possession of the United States. The Indian titles had not been extinguished, 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 regulations as the exigencies of the case demanded. 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 Levee, Dubuque, and elected a committee, con- sisting of J. L. Langworthy, H. F. Lander, James McPhetres, Sam'l 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 reported the following, written by Mr. Langworthy 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 Missis- sippi River, with the following exceptions, to-wit:
"Article I. That each and every man shall hold 200 yards square of ground by working said ground one day in six.
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"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 applying."
The report was accepted by the miners present, who elected Dr. Jarote in accordance 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 approval, 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 Mississippi River, continued to work successfully for a long time, and the new settle. ment 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 pro- tect the Indians in their rights under the treaty, ordered the set- tlers not only to stop mining, but to remove from the Indian Ter- ritory. 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 offi- cer to the miners to forbid settlement, and to command the miners to remove within 10 days to the east side of the Mississippi, or they would be driven off by armed force. The miners, however, 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 Col. Taylor dispatched a detachment of troops to enforce his order. The miners, anticipating their arrival, had, excepting three, recrossed the 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 military 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 clo-e of the Black Hawk war, and the negotiations of
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the treaty in Sept., 1832, by which the Sacs and Foxes ceded the tract known as the "Black Hawk Purchase," the settlers, suppos- ing that now they had a right to re-enter the territory, returned and took possession of their claims, built cabins, erected furnaces and prepared large quantities of lead for market. But the pros- pects of the hardy and enterprising settlers and miners were again ruthlessly interfered with by the Government, on the ground that the treaty with the Indians would not go into force until June 1, 1833, although they had withdrawn from the vicinity of the settle- ment. 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 unnecessary hardship imposed upon the mi- ners. 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 Indians had retired. After the lapse of 50 years, no very satisfactory reason for this rigor- ous 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, how- ever, removed 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 conld float the fruits of their labor 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 miners left than Lieut. Covington, who had been placed in command at Dubuque, by Col. 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 au- thority, was sternly rebuked by Col. Taylor, and Covington was superseded by Lieut. Geo. Wilson, who pursued a just and friendly course with the pioneers, that were only waiting for the time when they could repossess their claims.
The treaty went formally into effect June, 1803, the troops were withdrawn, and the Langworthy brothers and a few others at once returned and resumed possession of their homes and claims. From this time must date the first permanent settlement 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
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and licenses to smelters was adopted, similar to that which had been in operation at Galena since 1825, under Lieut. Martin Thomas and Capt. Thomas C. Legate. Substantially the primitive law enacted by the miners assembled around that old cottonwood drift log in 1830, was adopted and enforced by the United States Government, except that miners were required to sell their minera) to licensed smelters, and the smelter was required to give bonds for the payment of six per cent. of all lead manufactured to the Govern- ment. The rule in the United States mines on Fever River in Illinois had been, until 1830, that the miners must pay a 10 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 priva- tions 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 10 years.
About 500 people arrived in the mining district in 1833, after the Indian title was fully extinguished, of whom 150 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 constructing replaced by three substantial edifices, wherein 2,000 children were being trained, churches erected in every part of the city, and railroads connecting the wilderness which he first explored with all the eastern world. He died sud- denly on the 13th of March, 1865, while on a trip over the Du- buque & 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 influential 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, Benjamin Jennings, Aaron White, Augustine Horton, Samuel Gooch, Daniel Thompson and Peter Williams made claims .
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at Fort Madison. In 1833 Gen. Jolin H. Knapp and Col. Nathaniel Knapp purchased these claims, and in the summer of 1835 they laid out the town of "Fort Madison." Lots were exposed for sale early in 1836. The town was subsequently re-surveyed and platted by the United States Government. The population rapidly in- creased, and in less than two years the beautiful location was cov- ered by a flourishing town, containing nearly 600 inhabitants, with a large proportion of enterprising merchants, mechanics and man- ufacturers.
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 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 Mor- gan. The following winter the settlers were driven off by the mil- itary 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 sum- mer, as soon as the Indian title was extinguished, returned and rebuilt his cabin. White was joined by his brother-in-law, Doo- little, and they laid out the town of Burlington in 1834, on a beau- tiful area of sloping eminences and gentle declivities, enclosed within a natural amphitheater formed by the surrounding hills, which were crowned 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 population of 1,400 persons.
Immediately after the treaty with the Sacs and Foxes, in Sept., 1832, Col. George Davenport made the first claim on the site of the present thriving city of Davenport. As early as 1827, Col. Davenport had established a flat-boat ferry, which ran between the island and the main shore of Iowa, by which he carried on a trade with the Indians west of the Mississippi. In 1833, Capt. Benjamin W. Clark moved from Illinois, and laid the foundation of the town of Buffalo, in Scott county, which was the first actual settlement within the limits of that county.
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The first settlers of Davenport were Antoine Le Claire, Col. George Davenport, Major Thomas Smith, Major Wm. Gordon, . Philip Hambough, Alexander W. McGregor, Levi S. Colton, Capt. James May and others.
A settlement was made in Clayton County in the spring of 1832, on Turkey River, by Robert Hatfield and Wm. W. Wayman. No. further settlement was made in this part of the State until 1836.
The first settlers of Muscatine County were Benjamin Nye, John Vanater, and G. W. Kasey, all of whom came in 1834. E. E. Fay, Wm. St. John, N. Fullington, H. Reece, Jona Pettibone, R. P. Lowe, Stephen Whicher, Abijah Whitney, J. E. Fletcher, W. D. Abernethy and Alexis Smith were also early settlers of Musca tine.
As early as 1824, a French trader named Hart had established a trading post, and built a cabin on the bluffs above the large spring now known as "Mynster Spring," within the limits of the present city of Council Bluffs, and had probably been there some time, as the post was known to the employes of the American Fur Com- pany as " La Cote de Hart," or " Hart's Bluff."
In 1827 an agent of the American Fur Company, Francis Guit- tar, with others, encamped in the timber at the foot of the bluffs, about on the present location of Broadway, and afterward settled there. In 1839 a block house was built on the bluff in the east part of the city. The Pottawatomie Indians occupied this part of the State until 1846-7, when they relinquished the territory and removed to Kansas. Billy Caldwell was then principal chief. There were no white settlers in that part of the State except Indian traders, until the arrival of the Mormons under the lead of Brig- ham Young. These people on their way westward halted for the winter of 1846-'7, on the west bank of the Missouri River, about five miles above Omaha, at a place now called Florence. Some of them had reached the eastern bank of the river the spring before in season to plant a crop. In the spring of 1847 Young and a portion of the colony pursued their journey to Salt Lake, but a large portion of them returned to the Iowa side and settled mainly within the present limits of Pottawatomie County. The princi- pal settlement of this strange community was at a place first called " Miller's Hollow," on Indian Creek, and afterward named Kanes- ville, in honor of Col. Kane, of Pennsylvania, who visited them soon afterward. The Mormon settlement extended over the county and into neighboring counties, wherever timber and water fur-
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nished desirable locations. Orson Hyde, priest, lawyer and editor, was installed as President of the Quorum of Twelve, and all that part of the State remained under Mormon control for several years. In 1847 they raised a battalion numbering 500 men, for the Mexi- can war. In 1848 Hyde started a paper called the Frontier Guar- dian, at Kanesville. In 1849, after many of the faithful had left to join Brigham Young at Salt Lake, the Mormons in this section of Iowa numbered 6,552, and in 1850, 7,828, but they were not all within the limits of Pottawatomie County. This county was organized in 1848, all the first officials being Mormons. In 1852 the order was promulgated that all the true believers should gather together at Salt Lake. Gentiles flocked in, and in a few years nearly all the first settlers were gone.
May 9, 1843, Capt. James Allen, with a small detachment of troops on board the steamer " Ione," arrived at the present site of the capital of the State, Des Moines. This was the first steamer to ascend the Des Moines River to this point. The troops and stores were landed at what is now the foot of Court Avenue, Des Moines, and Capt. Allen returned in the steamer to Fort Sanford to arrange for bringing up more soldiers and supplies. In due time they too arrived, and a fort was built near the mouth of Rac- coon Fork, at its confluence with the Des Moines, and named Fort Des Moines. Soon after the arrival of the troops, a trading post was established on the east side of the river by two noted Indian traders named Ewing, from Ohio. Among the first settlers in this part of Iowa were Benjamin Bryant, J. B. Scott, James Drake (gunsmith), John Sturtevant, Robert Kinzie, Alexander Turner, Peter Newcomer and others.
Such was the first advance of the Anglo-American population west of the Upper Mississippi within the district and territory of Iowa.
6
PIONEER LIFE.
Most of the early settlers of Iowa came from older States, as Pennsylvania, New York and Ohio, where their prospects for even a competency were very poor. They found those States good-to emigrate from. Their entire stock of furniture, implements and family necessities were easily stored in one wagon, and sometimes a cart was their only vehicle.
THE LOG CABIN.
After arriving and selecting a suitable location, the next thing to do was to build a log cabin, a description of which may be interesting to many of our younger readers, as in some sections these old-time structures are no more to be seen. Trees of uniform size were chosen and cut into logs of the desired length, generally 12 to 15 feet, and hauled to the spot selected for the future dwelling. On an appointed day the few neighbors who were available would assemble and have a " house-raising." Each end of every log was saddled and notched so that they would lie as close down as possible; the next day the proprietor would proceed to " chink " and "daub " the cabin, to keep out the rain, wind and cold. The house had to be re-daubed every fall, as the rains of the intervening time would wash out a great part of the mortar. The usual height of the house was seven or eight feet. The gables were formed by shortening the logs gradually at each end of the building near the top. The roof was made by laying very straight small logs or stout poles suitable distances apart, and on these were laid the clapboards, somewhat like shingling, generally about two and a half feet to the weather. These clapboards were fastened to their place by " weight-poles " corresponding in place with the joists just described, and these again were held in their place by " runs" or " knees " which were chunks of wood about 18 or 20 inches long fitted between them near the ends. Clapboards were made from the nicest oaks in the vicinity, by chopping or sawing them into four-foot blocks and riving these with a frow, which was a simple blade fixed at right angles to its handles. This was driven into the blocks of wood by a mallet.
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As the frow was wrenched down through the wood, the latter was turned alternately over from side to side, one end being held by a forked piece of timber.
The chimney to the Western pioneer's cabin was made by leaving in the original building a large open place in one wall, or by cutting one after the structure was up, and by building on the out- side from the ground up, a stone column, or a column of sticks and mud, the sticks being laid up cob-house fashion. The fire-place thus made was often large enough to receive fire-wood six to eight feet long. Sometimes this wood, especially the " back-log," would be nearly as large as a saw-log. The more rapidly the pioneer could burn up the wood in his vicinity the sooner he had his little farm cleared and ready for cultivation. For a window, a piece about two feet long was cut out of one of the wall logs, and the hole closed, sometimes by glass, but generally with greased paper. Even greased deer-hide was sometimes used. A doorway was cut through one of the walls if a saw was to be had; otherwise the door would be left by shortened logs in the original building. The door was made by pinning clap-boards to two or three wood bars, and was hung upon wooden hinges. A wooden latch, with catch, then finished the door, and the latch was raised by any one on the outside by pulling a leather string. For security at night this latch-string was drawn in; but for friends and neighbors, and even strangers, the "latch- string was always hanging out," as a welcome. In the interior over the fire-place would be a shelf, called "the mantel," on which stood the candlestick or lamp, some cooking and table ware, possibly an old clock, and other articles; in the fire-place would be the crane, sometimes of iron, sometimes of wood; on it the pots were hung for cooking; over the door, in forked cleats, hung the ever-trustful rifle and powder-horn; in one corner stood the larger bed for the " old folks," and under it the trundle-bed for the children; in another stood the old-fashioned spinning-wheel, with a smaller one by its side; in another the heavy table, the only table, of course, there was in the house; in the remaining was a rude cupboard holding the table-ware, which consisted of a few cups and saucers, and blue- edged plates, standing singly on their edges against the back, to make the display of table-furniture more conspicuous; while around the room were scattered a few splint-bottom or Windsor chairs, and two or three stools.
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