USA > Iowa > Webster County > Fort Dodge > History of Fort Dodge and Webster County, Iowa, Volume I > Part 9
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The body remained in the log until the 14th of January, 1847, almost a month from the time it was placed there. Henry Lott, the father, came down from Boone river to Pea's Point on the 13th to attend the burial of his son. The 14th was Sunday ; the weather had moderated and the day was warm and beau- tiful ; warmer by many degrees than the day on which the poor boy met his death. At this date the county was not organized and there was not an established road in its borders. With axes, spades and guns, the men set out from Pea's Point afoot for the place of burial, a distance of eight miles. The names of those making up the number who attended the funeral were John Pea, Sr., Jolin , Pea, Jr., Jacob Pea. Thomas Sparks, John M. Crooks, William Crooks and Henry Lott, the father. of the boy. On arriving at the place where the body had been left, a part of the men were detailed to dig the grave, while the rest of them felled a tree, out of which they hewed enough of small pieces to construct a rude coffin. The body was then taken from the hollow log, a sheet was wrapped around it, and it was then lowered into the grave; dirt was then thrown in, the grave was filled and the little mound was rounded up. It was a funeral without ceremonial word. There was no scripture read; there was no prayer uttered and no hymn sung ; but there were tears in the eyes of those pioneers who stood around the grave of Milton Lott and paid their last tribute of respect to him.
The tree near the grave on which the boy's name was cut has long since yielded to the woodman's axe. No stone was set or stake driven to preserve the
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HISTORY OF WEBSTER COUNTY
identity of the spot. As time passed on the little mound was brought to a level with the surrounding surface and the identity of the grave was lost and forgotten.
After the death of his wife and son, Lott gathered up what property the Indians had left him and moved south to the settlements. He built a cabin on O. D. Smalley's claim in Dallas county, Iowa, about five miles southwest of Madrid, where he and his stepson lived during the spring and summer of 1847. In the spring of that year the first assessment of Dallas county was made. In the list of property owners appears the name of Henry Lott, to whom were assessed thirteen head of cattle. The records show that he was the largest cattle owner in the county at that time, owning one more than any other man. These were the cattle that the Sioux Indians tried to kill at the mouth of Boone river by shooting them with arrows. During the spring and summer these cattle grew fat upon the range and in the fall were sold for beef. A man named Ramsey bought one of these beeves and butchered it. Mr. Smalley bought a front quarter of this beef and while carving it found one of the arrow heads which the Indians had shot into it.
While living here Lott often spoke of his dead wife in a very sympathetic way, but would usually wind up his talk by declaring that he would some day wreak vengeance on the old Sioux chief who caused her death. In the fall of 1847 he moved to Fort Des Moines and remained there over a year, during which time he was married to a woman named McGuire. In the spring of 1849 he moved north and located at the mouth of Boone river again, occupying the same log cabin in which his first wife died, and from which his twelve year old son had fled from the Indians never more to be seen alive. It was a place around which the gloomiest recollections hovered. While living here three children were born to him and his second wife, the two oldest being girls and the youngest a boy. At the birth of the boy the wife died, making it necessary for him to find homes for the children. Her death occurred December 10, 1851, and she was buried on section 27, in Otho township, but all trace of her grave is now oblit- erated. The infant boy was adopted by a family named White, in whose care he grew to manhood and is now the head of a family, and is a citizen of Boone, Iowa. The two girls were raised by a family named Dickerson in Boone county, where they grew to womanhood and were married.
After finding homes for his children Lott sold his possessions at the mouth of Boone river, and, with his stepson, in the fall of 1853, moved north forty-five miles and located on a creek which still bears his name. Whether by purpose or by accident he was once more a neighbor to Si-dom-i-na-do-tah, the old chief he so much hated. By the terms of the treaty with the Sioux Indians their stay upon the territory then occupied by them would expire the following spring, at which time they would have to take up their line of march for regions farther west. If Lott was bent on having revenge, the time was growing short in which to get it. Numerous times he visited the chief in disguise and made himself agreeable by giving him presents. During one of these visits to the wigwam of Si-dom-i-na- do-tah, the old chief unsuspectingly exhibited to him the silverware which he took from Mrs. Lott at the mouth of Boone river. By his actions and expressions it was plain that he regarded them as a trophy of a great victory. The sight of this silverware brought vividly back to Lott's mind the memory of his dead wife and immediately his thirst for vengeance was aroused.
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This silverware consisted of a set of silver spoons and a set of silver knives and forks, which were a present to Mrs. Lott by Mr. Huntington, her first hus- band. Mrs. Lott had always prized them very highly.
It is not known whether the killing of Si-dom-i-na-do-tah and his family took place then and there or not, but it is known that Lott got possession of the silverware, for he exhibited it, when he reached the settlement, to Jolin Pea, William Dickerson and O. D. Smalley. He also told each of these men that the old Sioux chief would never rob another house or cause the death of another innocent woman.
There are two stories told as to the manner in which Lott committed this crime of murder, for murder it must be called. Some people have tried to palliate this act by calling it justifiable killing, which may be true so far as the killing of Si-dom-i-na-do-tah is concerned, but there is no justification in the killing of his family.
One story is that the killing was done on the evening the chief displayed the stolen silverware. The other one is that early one morning he went to the wig- wam of the old chief and reported to him that he had just seen in a beautiful valley not far away a large flock of elk and urged the chief to go with him in pursuit of them. This proposition so aroused his love for the chase that in a short time he was astride his pony and on the way to the beautiful valley where the flock of elk was to be found. But this story was only a ruse to get the chief a short distance from the wigwam, where his life was taken and the pony upon which he rode passed into the hands of a new owner. Lott then went back to the wigwam and killed the chief's family and he and his stepson made their escape to the settlements without being detected by the other Indians camped near by.
So wily was the manner in which this crime was committed that it took several weeks to find out who the perpetrators were, but in time the facts developed that Lott and his stepson were the parties who did the killing. The chief's pony was found in their possession and finally they were indicted by a grand jury at Des Moines. Before the officers could take them in charge they left for regions farther west and what became of them is not definitely known.
Granville Berkeley, pioneer lawyer of Webster City and also of the earlier town of Homer, the first county seat of Webster county, secured the skull of Si-dom-i- na-do-tah and kept it several years in his office. This skull showed many fractures, as though the head had been banged with a heavy club. Mr. Berkeley stated that he kept this ghastly relic because the murdered man had been his friend.
In September, 1903, almost fifty-seven years after the death of Milton Lott, Mr. C. L. Lucas started an inquiry through the press seeking to gain some information as to the location of the grave of the son of Henry Lott. This inquiry developed the fact that two men, John. Pea and Thomas Sparks, who had been present and assisted in the burial of the body of the dead boy, were still living in the city of Boone. Independent of each other these mnen visited the locality where the grave was supposed to be and agreed as to its location. The Madrid Historical Society then decided to permanently mark the spot and Decem- ber 18, 1905, erected a monument thereon.
The grave of Mrs. Lott in Otho township still remains unmarked.
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HISTORY OF WEBSTER COUNTY
THE "NEUTRAL LINE" AND OTHER SURVEYS
The "Neutral Line," which was to separate the warring Sacs and Foxes and the Sioux Indians, was surveyed by Captain Nathan Boone, who began the survey April 19, 1832. The line commenced at the month of Trout Run on the Iowa river, about six miles below Decorah. His next point was in or near section 23-97-7, and thence to the Des Moines river. The latter point was doubtless at the confluence of the east and west forks of the Des Moines, some three miles below Dakota City. The remainder of the treaty line to the Missouri river was never run. At the second Prairie du Chien council of July 15, 1830, the neutral strip was established, being a tract twenty miles in width each side of the "Neutral Line." The mere "line" had not been sufficient to keep the Indian tribes apart. The survey of the southern boundary of this strip was begun by Captain Boone. June 19, 1832. He, however, had proceeded but a short distance when he was forced to stop because of the hostility of the Indians. September 8, 1833, James Craig resumed the survey from where Captain Boone left off, and completed it to the Des Moines river. The southwest corner of the neutral strip was in section 15-87-27, at McGuire's Bend.
In 1848 government surveys of the land purchased north of the Raccoon Forks was commenced. James Marsh of Dubuque set out from that place to run the correction line from a point on the Mississippi near Dubuque west to the Missouri river. He progressed with his work without molestation until he and his company crossed the Sioux, or Des Moines river, when they were met by the Sioux Indians, led by a chief named Si-dom-i-na-do-tah (generally known afterwards by the name, "Two Fingers"), who ordered him to "pucachee," (clear out, be off ), and gave him to understand that the land belonged to them and that he should proceed no farther. The Indians then left the surveying squad on the west bank of the river.
After some hesitation Mr. Marsh concluded to proceed. He and his company had not proceeded a mile from the river, at a point at the head of a large ravine south of the section line of section 30, when they were surrounded by the Indians in force. The Sioux robbed them of everything, taking their horses, breaking their wagons and surveying instruments. The savages pulled up the stakes set by the party, tone down the mounds, and forced the party back across the river to find their way home as best they could. This surveying party under Marsh was not provided with firearms to make any resistance. The whole party had with them, it is said, but one or two guns for the purpose of shooting game ; consequently they surrendered at discretion. When the Indians surrounded them, Mrs. Marsh, who accompanied her husband, was the only one of the party who urged resistance, or wanted to fight the savages. She protested against sub- mission to the last.
THE FIRST SETTLERS
The first settlers in Webster county located in the neighborhood of the month of the Boone river. At that time, there was no other settlement beyond in the entire northwest. It was on the frontier of civilization. Henry Lott, who was the first, came in the summer of 1846. He was followed by Isaac Bell, L. Mericle, Jacob Mericle, D. B. Spaulding, Osborn Brannon, John Tolman, Frank McGuire,
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JACOB MERICLE
MRS. JACOB MERICLE (PHOEBE K.)
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENOX AND TILD N FOUNDATIONS.
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
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ASTOP, LENOX AND TILD N FOUNDATIONS.
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HISTORY OF WEBSTER COUNTY
Squire McGuire, William Pierce, Tolman Woolsey, Samuel Eslick, Thomas Holliday, E. Gatchell and Philemon Johnson. These settlers came principally from Missouri, North Carolina and Indiana. Three or four came from New York.
Very soon after the settlement was begun at the mouth of the Boone a unique character came and made his home among them. He was the Rev. John Johns, an itinerant Baptist preacher, and at one time coroner of Webster county. He was a hunter and a trapper. He could preach a sermon or locate a bee tree with equal success. He was a strong Abolitionist. As a delegate to the Republican state convention which met in Des Moines, in 1856, his speech was the "hit" of the convention. He was dressed in his hunter's garb, and this furnished some amusement for the rest of the delegates, an amusement which, however, changed to admiration before his speech ended. He had a fiery eloquence that compelled attention, and he was talking upon a theme which he felt deeply. Although not a regular delegate to the national convention, yet so great was hiis desire to attend that he walked from Border Plains to Dubuque, as he had no money to pay for a ride on the stage. He still wore his coon skin cap and carried his rifle, for he had hunted as he tramped his way across the state. At Dubuque he secured a passage to Chicago. As a delegate at large, he was a member of the Iowa dele- gation, and as such took part in the business of the convention.
The first child born in the county was Jackson Mericle, son of Jacob Mericle. The first recorded marriage was that of John Jacob Holmes, hospital steward at the fort, and Miss Emily Lyons, housekeeper for the officers, on May 14, 1853. The issuing of the license was the first official act of Judge William Pierce. The first death was that of the first wife of Henry Lott, who died January 1, 1847, and was buried on the summit of the bluff overlooking the junction of the Boone and Des Moines rivers. In 1852 the spot was used as a public burying ground and became known as Vegor's cemetery. The grave was marked by a grape vine, which it is said Lott himself planted, and which was afterwards kept growing by people, who knew the location of the grave. For sixty years the grave was unmarked, except in this way. At the meeting of the Old Settlers' Picnic Asso- ciation of Bell's Mill, held in 1908, a subscription was started to raise funds for the purpose of erecting a monument over her grave. These plans, however. were not completed until three years later, when the formal dedication took place, September 9, 1911. The monument is an obelisk of solid concrete, bearing upon one side an iron marker.
Fort Dodge, or as first named Fort Clarke, was established in 1850, chiefly because of the annoyance which the Indians had caused the early settlers and the fear that they might do worse. Outside of the troops at the fort the popu- lation of the county in August, 1853, was but 150; and the election returns for the first election. held the same month. show but sixty-three voters.
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CHAPTER VII
ORGANIZATION AND GOVERNMENT OF WEBSTER COUNTY
FIRST COUNTY ORGANIZATIONS-DUBUQUE AND DEMOINE COUNTIES-ACT OF JAN- UARY 15, 185I ESTABLISHES FIFTY COUNTIES IN IOWA-YELL AND RISLEY- WEBSTER BECOMES LARGEST COUNTY IN STATE-DUNCOMBE VS. PRINDLE-CLAIM CLUBS-WHAT CONSTITUTES A CLAIM-FIRST COUNTY OFFICERS-COUNTY SEAT LOCATED AT HOMER-FORT DODGE SECURES COUNTY SEAT- ORGANIZATION OF TOWNSHIPS-POLITICAL DIVISIONS.
ORGANIZATION AND GOVERNMENT OF WEBSTER COUNTY
The first counties in the present state of Iowa were established before there was any state or even territory of that name. While the history of the forma- tion of Webster county does not extend back this far, yet in order to get a clear understanding of the history of how Webster county came to be, it is necessary to go back to this early time.
In the "Ordinance for the Government of the Territory of the United States northwest of the river Ohio," the governor of the territory was given power to lay out into counties and townships those parts of the districts to which the Indian titles had been extinguished. This right was also given them under the acts of congress which established the territories of Indiana and Michigan. The last use of this authority was by Governor Cass in his proclamation issued Septem- ber 10, 1822. The next counties established in the territory were created in 1826 and 1829 by acts of the legislative council.
Upon the admission of Missouri to the Union as a state in 1821 the country included within the present bounds of Iowa was left without any established local government. Following the Black Hawk war a treaty was made on Sep- tember 21, 1832, with the Sac and Fox Indians by the terms of which there was ceded to the United States government a strip of territory in eastern Iowa. This district was vacated by the Indians and officially thrown open to settlement June I, 1833. Immediately a large number of prospective settlers entered the new purchase ; indeed, many had not waited for the date of the official opening. This new population found itself "beyond the pale of constitutional govern- ment." Some violence occurred. Out of the violence grew a petition to con- gress asking for the protection of the federal laws. The result was an act of congress approved on June 28, 1834, by which the area of the present state of Iowa was, "for the purpose of temporary government, attached to, and made a part of, the territory of Michigan."
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HISTORY OF WEBSTER COUNTY
September 1, 1834, the legislative council met in extra session at Detroit, where it had been convened by proclamation of the governor. In the message, which the governor sent the council on the second day of the session, the attention of the council was called to the needs of the people west of the Mississippi, in the territory recently attached to Michigan. The reference was clearly to the inhab- itants of the Black Hawk Purchase, since no other territory west of the Mis- sissippi had, as yet, been thrown open to settlement. In this district, the gov- ernor recommended the establishment of counties. townships, and courts. In response to the recommendation of the governor, the legislative council passed an act entitled, "An act to lay off and organize counties west of the Mississippi river." This act which constitutes the first step in the formation of counties in the Iowa country, was approved on September 6, 1834, to take effect on the first day of October of the same year. It applied only to that part of the present state of Iowa, "to which the Indian title had been extinguished." This refers to the "Iowa District," or the "Black Hawk Purchase," or "Scott's Purchase," as the Sac and Fox cession of September 21. 1832, was variously called. This act divided the district into two counties Dubuque and Demoine. With the admission of part of the territory of Michigan to the Union as a state, the remainder was by act of congress, approved on April 20, 1836, erected into the new Territory of Wisconsin. The area of the present state of lowa, with its two counties, was included in the new jurisdiction. The first session of the legislature of the Territory of Wisconsin met at Belmont on October 25, 1836. In the following December the legislature passed a law entitled "An act dividing the county of Des Moines, into several new counties." This act was approved December 7, 1836, and went into force immediately. This created out of the former county of Demoine seven new counties.
By the terms of a treaty made on October 21, 1837, the Sac and Fox Indians made a new cession of lowa lands to the United States government. The ter- ritory ceded comprised a triangular strip of 1,500,000 acres lying immediately west of the Black Hawk Purchase.
During the second annual session of the legislative assembly of the Territory of Wisconsin, which convened at Burlington in the county of Des Moines, on November 6, 1837, two very important acts were passed relative to the forma- tion of counties in lowa. The first of these laws, which was approved on Decem- ber 21, 1837, subdivided the former county of Dubuque into a number of new counties. The boundaries of these counties were very irregular and not definitely defined. Even the wording of the act, which created the counties, was capable of different constructions. Benton county extended entirely across the state of Iowa, while Buchanan did the same and also reached into South Dakota. Fayette county extended so far north and west that it included all of Wisconsin Territory west of the Mississippi river and north of the southern part of Clay- ton county, exclusive of the area of Clayton county. It included most of the territory of the two Dakotas and Minnesota together with a part of Iowa. Its area was upward of 140,000 square miles. Included in its area was the present county of Webster. Subsequent sessions of the legislature passed various acts. seeking to more clearly define the boundaries of existing counties.
By an act of congress approved on June 12. 1838, the original Territory of
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CHICO
FORT DODGE IN 1852 From pencil sketch by Major William Williams
THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY
ASTOR, LENOX AND TI.D N FOUNDATIONS.
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HISTORY OF WEBSTER COUNTY
Wisconsin was divided. The part west of the Mississippi river, and west of a line drawn due north from the source of the Mississippi, received the name of the Territory of lowa. It included not only the area of the present state of Iowa, but also that of the western part of Minnesota and of the eastern part of the two Dakotas. Its area was about three times that of the present state of Iowa. The Organic Act of the Territory of Iowa was to be in force from and after July 3, 1838. From this date the territory continued in existence until December 28, 1846, when the state of Iowa was finally admitted into the Union.
The first session of the legislature of the Territory of Iowa passed several acts in January, 1839, relative to counties. Some of these dealt with the organ- ization of counties, others relocated seats of justice, provided for the sale of public lands, and similar matters. Four acts created new counties or altered the boundaries of counties already created.
After the minor acts of January, 1839, no more new counties were created in Iowa for four years. In the meantime the Sac and Fox Indians had ceded to the United States a vast region in the central and south central part of the state of Iowa. Under various acts of the legislature, this territory was divided into counties. These acts also sought to define the boundaries of existing counties.
The first act of the federal congress authorizing the admission of Iowa into the Union was approved on March 3. 1845. Then followed nearly two years spent in the adoption of a constitution and in the adjustment of boundaries. The act which finally admitted the state was not passed and approved until Decem- ber 28, 1846.
At this time Iowa contained forty-four counties covering a little less than one-half of the state. On January 15, 1851, the general assembly of the state of Iowa passed the most important act in the whole history of the formation of counties in Iowa. At least it was the most comprehensive and created the largest number of counties. By this measure fifty counties were established embracing fully one-half of the state. Among the counties created by this act were the counties, of Risley and Yell, the former constituting the present county of Hamilton, and the latter the present county of Webster, with the exception of the northern tier of four townships. These townships were included in the confines of the county of Humboldt. The name Yell was in honor of Colonel Yell, who was killed in the Mexican war. While the majority of the counties as established under this act remained permanent, sixteen of them were changed by subsequent legislation. Four of them, Yell, Humboldt and Bancroft were subsequently blotted out. Before this occurred the name Risley had been changed to Webster ; and Humboldt, after having been blotted out, was restored.
On the whole, the law of January 15, 1851, is noticeable for the superior manner in which the boundaries of counties are defined. Compared with earlier laws its language is clear and simple. It is comparatively free from errors. This act fully completed the subdivision of the state of Iowa into counties. Sub- sequent acts only changed the names, or readjusted boundaries already estab- lished.
The fourth general assembly of the state of Iowa passed a law, which was approved January 12, 1853, and which changed the name of Risley to Webster ; and attached the county for revenue and election purposes to Boone county. On
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