History of Johnson County, Iowa, containing a history of the county, and its townships, cities and villages from 1836 to 1882, Part 3

Author: Johnson Co., Ia. History. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Iowa City, Iowa.
Number of Pages: 980

USA > Iowa > Johnson County > History of Johnson County, Iowa, containing a history of the county, and its townships, cities and villages from 1836 to 1882 > Part 3

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In November, 1801, the United States Government received, through Rufus King, its Minister at the Court of St. James, a copy of the treaty between Spain and France, signed at Madrid March 21, 1801, by which the cession of Loui- siana to France, made the previous Autumn, was confirmed.

The change offered a favorable opportunity to secure the just rights of the United States, in relation to the free navigation of the Mississippi, and ended the attempt to dismember the Union by an effort to secure an independent government west of the Alleghany Mountains. On the 7th of January, 1803, the American House of Representatives adopted a resolution declaring their " unalterable determination to maintain the boundaries and the rights of navi- gation and commerce through the River Mississippi, as established by existing treaties."

In the same month, President Jefferson nominated and the Senate confirmed Robert R. Livingston and James Monroe as Envoys Plenipotentiary to the Court of France, and Charles Pinckney and James Monroe to the Court of Spain, with plenary powers to negotiate treaties to effect the object enunciated by the popular branch of the National Legislature. These envoys were in- structed to secure, if possible, the cession of Florida and New Orleans, but it does not appear that Mr. Jefferson and his Cabinet had any idea of purchasing that part of Louisiana lying on the west side of the Mississippi. In fact, on the 2d of March following, the instructions were sent to our Ministers, contain- ing a plan which expressly left to France "all her territory on the west side of the Mississippi." Had these instructions been followed, it might have been that there would not have been any State of Iowa or any other member of the glori- ous Union of States west of the "Father of Waters."

In obedience to his instructions, however, Mr. Livingston broached this plan to M. Talleyrand, Napoleon's Prime Minister, when that courtly diplo- matist quietly suggested to the American Minister that France might be willing to cede the whole French domain in North America to the United States, and asked how much the Federal Government would be willing to give for it. Liv- ingston intimated that twenty millions of franes might be a fair price. Talley- rand thought that not enough, but asked the Americans to "think of it." A few days later, Napoleon, in an interview with Mr. Livingston, in effect informed the American Envoy that he had secured Louisiana in a contract with Spain for the purpose of turning it over to the United States for a mere nominal sum. He had been compelled to provide for the safety of that province by the treaty, and he was "anxious to give the United States a magnificent bargain for a mere trifle." The price proposed was one hundred and twenty-five million francs. This was subsequently modified to fifteen million dollars, and on this basis a treaty was negotiated, and was signed on the 30th day of April, 1803.

This treaty was ratified by the Federal Government, and by act of Congress, approved October 31, 1803, the President of the United States was authorized to take possession of the territory and provide for it a temporary government. Accordingly, on the 20th day of December following. on behalf of the Presi- dent, Gov. Clairborne and Gen. Wilkinson took possession of the Louisiana

HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA.

purchase, and raised the American flag over the newly acquired domain, at New Orleans. Spain, although it had by treaty ceded the province to France in 1801, still held quasi possession, and at first objected to the transfer, but with- drew her opposition early in 1804.

By this treaty, thus successfully consummated, and the peaceable withdrawal of Spain, the then infant nation of the New World extended its dominion west of the Mississippi to the Pacific Ocean, and north from the Gulf of Mexico to British America.

If the original design of Jefferson's administration had been accomplished, the United States would have acquired only that portion of the French territory lying east of the Mississippi River, and while the American people would thus have acquired the free navigation of that great river, all of the vast and fertile empire on the west, so rich in its agricultural and inexhaustible mineral resources, would have remained under the dominion of a foreign power. To Napoleon's desire to sell the whole of his North American possessions, and Liv- ingston's act transcending his instructions, which was acquiesced in after it was done, does Iowa owe her position as a part of the United States by the Louisiana purchase.

By authority of an act of Congress, approved March 26, 1804, the newly acquired territory was, on the 1st day of October following, divided : that part lying south of the 33d parallel of north latitude was called the Territory of Orleans, and all north of that parallel the District of Louisiana, which was placed under the authority of the officers of Indiana Territory, until July 4, 1805, when it was organized, with territorial government of its own, and so remained until 1812, when the Territory of Orleans became the State of Louisiana, and the name of the Territory of Louisiana was changed to Missouri. On the 4th of July, 1814, that part of Missouri Territory comprising the present State of Arkansas, and the country to the westward, was organized into the Arkansas Territory.

On the 2d of March, 1821, the State of Missouri, being a part of the Terri- tory of that name, was admitted to the Union. June 28, 1834, the territory west of the Mississippi River and north of Missouri was made a part of the Territory of Michigan ; but two years later, on the 4th of July, 1836, Wiscon- sin Territory was erected, embracing within its limits the present States of Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota.

By act of Congress, approved June 12, 1838, the

TERRITORY OF IOWA

was erected, comprising, in addition to the present State, much the larger part of Minnesota, and extending north to the boundary of the British Possessions.

THE ORIGINAL OWNERS.

Having traced the early history of the great empire lying west of the Mis- sissippi, of which the State of Iowa constitutes a part, from the earliest dis- covery to the organization of the Territory of Iowa, it becomes necessary to give some history of

THE INDIANS OF IOWA.

According to the policy of the European nations, possession perfected title to any territory. We have seen that the country west of the Mississippi was first discovered by the Spaniards, but afterward, was visited and occupied by the French. It was ceded by France to Spain, and by Spain back to France again,

HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA.

and then was purchased and occupied by the United States. During all that time, it does not appear to have entered into the heads or hearts of the high contracting parties that the country they bought, sold and gave away was in the possession of a race of men who, although savage, owned the vast domain before Columbus first crossed the Atlantic. Having purchased the territory, the United States found it still in the possession of its original owners, who had never been dispossessed ; and it became necessary to purchase again what had already been bought before, or forcibly eject the occupants; therefore, the his- tory of the Indian nations who occupied Iowa prior to and during its early set- tlement by the whites, becomes an important chapter in the history of the State, that cannot be omitted.

For more than one hundred years after Marquette and Joliet trod the virgin soil of Iowa, not a single settlement had been made or attempted; not even a trading post had been established. The whole country remained in the undis- puted possession of the native tribes, who roamed at will over her beautiful and fertile prairies, hunted in her woods, fished in her streams, and often poured out their life-blood in obstinately contested contests for supremacy. That this State so aptly styled "The Beautiful Land," had been the theater of numerous, fierce and bloody struggles between rival nations, for possession of the favored region, long before its settlement by civilized man, there is .no room for doubt. In these savage wars, the weaker party, whether aggressive or defensive, was either exterminated or driven from their ancient hunting grounds.

In 1673, when Marquette discovered Iowa, the Illini were a very powerful people, occupying a large portion of the State; but when the country was again visited by the whites, not a remnant of that once powerful tribe remained on the west side of the Mississippi, and Iowa was principally in the possession of the Sacs and Foxes, a warlike tribe which, originally two distinct nations, residing in New York and on the waters of the St. Lawrence, had gradually fought their way westward, and united, probably, after the Foxes had been driven out of the Fox River country, in 1846, and crossed the Mississippi. The death of Pontiac, a famous Sac chieftain, was made the pretext for war against the Illini, and a fierce and bloody struggle ensued, which continued until the Illinois were nearly destroyed and. their hunting grounds possessed by their victorious foes. The Iowas also occupied a portion of the State for a time, in common with the Sacs, but they, too, were nearly destroyed by the Sacs and Foxes, and, in "The Beautiful Land," these natives met their equally warlike foes, the Northern Sioux, with whom they maintained a constant warfare for the posses- sion of the country for many years.

When the United States came in possession of the great valley of the Mis- sissippi, by the Louisiana purchase, the Sacs and Foxes and Iowas possessed the entire territory now comprising the State of Iowa. The Sacs and Foxes, also, occupied the most of the State of Illinois.

The Sacs had four principal villages, where most of them resided, viz. : Their largest and most important town-if an Indian village may be called such-and from which emanated most of the obstacles and difficulties encoun- tered by the Government in the extinguishment of Indian titles to land in this region, was on Rock River, near Rock Island; another was on the east bank of the Mississippi, near the mouth of Henderson River; the third was at the head of the Des Moines Rapids, near the present site of Montrose, and the fourth was near the mouth of the Upper Iowa.

The Foxes had three principal villages, viz. : One on the west side of the Mississippi, six miles above the rapids of Rock River; another about twelve

HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA.

miles from the river, in the rear of the Dubuque lead mines, and the third on Turkey River.

The Iowas, at one time identified with the Sacs, of Rock River, had with- drawn from them and become a separate tribe. Their principal village was on the Des Moines River, in Van Buren County, on the site where Iowaville now stands. Here the last great battle between the Sacs and Foxes and the Iowas was fought, in which Black Hawk, then a young man, commanded one division of the attacking forces. The following account of the battle has been given :

"Contrary to long established custom of Indian attack, this battle was commenced in the day time, the attending circumstances justifying this departure from the well settled usages of Indian warfare. The battle field was a level river bottom, about four miles in length, and two miles wide near the middle, narrowing to a point at either end. The main area of this bottom rises perhaps twenty feet above the river, leaving a narrow strip of low bottom along the shore, covered with trees that belted the prairie on the river side with a thick forest, and the immediate bank of the river was fringed with a dense growth of willows. Near the lower end of this prairie, near the river bank, was situated the Iowa village. About two miles above it and near the middle of the prairie is a mound, covered at the time with a tuft of small trees and underbrush growing on its summit. In the rear of this little elevation or mound lay a belt of wet prairie, covered, at that time, with a dense growth of rank, coarse grass. Bordering this wet prairie on the north, the country rises abruptly into elevated broken river bluffs, covered with a heavy forest for many miles in extent, and in places thickly clustered with undergrowth, affording a convenient shelter for the stealthy approach of the foe.

" Through this forest the Sac and Fox war party made their way in the night and secreted themselves in the tall grass spoken of above, intending to remain in ambush during the day and make such observations as this near proximity to their intended victim might afford, to aid them in their contemplated attack on the town during the following night. From this situation their spies could take a full survey of the village, and watch every movement of the inhabitants, by which means they were soon convinced that the Iowas had no suspicion of their presence.

" At the foot of the mound above mentioned, the Iowas had their race course, where they diverted themselves with the excitement of horse racing, and schooled their young warriors in cavalry evolutions. In these exercises mock battles were fought, and the Indian tactics of attack and defense carefully inculcated, by which means a skill in horsemanship was acquired rarely excelled. Unfortunately for them this day was selected for their equestrian sports, and wholly uncon- scious of the proximity of their foes, the warriors repaired to the race ground, leaving most of their arms in the village and their old men and women and children unprotected.

" Pash-a-po-po, who was chief in command of the Sacs and Foxes, perceived at once the advantage this state of things afforded for a complete surprise of his now doomed victims, and ordered Black Hawk to file off with his young warriors through the tall grass and gain the cover of the timber along the river bank, and with the utmost speed reach the village and commence the battle, while he remained with his division in the ambush to make a simultaneous assault on the unarmed men whose attention was engrossed with the excitement of the races. The plan was skillfully laid and most dexterously executed. Black Hawk with his forces reached the village undiscovered, and made a furious onslaught upon the defenseless inhabitants, by firing one general volley into their midst, and completing the slaughter with the tomahawk and scalp- ing knife, aided by the devouring flames with which they enveloped the village as soon as the fire brand could be spread from lodge to lodge.

"On the instant of the report of fire arms at the village, the forces under Pash-a-po-po leaped from their couchant position in the grass and sprang tiger-like upon the astonished and unarmed Iowas in the midst of their racing sports. The first impulse of the latter naturally led them to make the utmost speed toward their arms in the village, and protect if possible their wives and children from the attack of their merciless assailants. The distance from the place of attack on the prairie was two miles, and a great number fell in their flight by the bullets and tomahawks of their enemies, who pressed them closely with a running fire the whole way, and the survivors only reached their town in time to witness the horrors of its destruction. Their whole village was in flames, and the dearest objects of their lives lay in slaughtered heaps amidst the devouring element, and the agonizing groans of the dying, mingled with the exulting shouts of the victorious foe, filled their hearts with maddening despair. Their wives and children who had been spared the general massacre were prisoners, and together with their arms were in the hands of the victors ; and all that could now be done was to draw off their shattered and defenseless forces, and save as many lives as possible by a retreat across the Des Moines River, which they effected in the best possible manner, and took a position among the Soap Creek Hills."

The Sacs and Foxes, prior to the settlement of their village on Rock River, had a fierce conflict with the Winnebagoes, subdued them and took possession

HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA.

of their lands. Their village on Rock River, at one time, contained upward of sixty lodges, and was among the largest Indian villages on the continent. In 1825, the Secretary of War estimated the entire number of the Sacs and Foxes at 4,600 souls. Their village was situated in the immediate vicinity of the upper rapids of the Mississippi, where the beautiful and flourishing towns of Rock Island and Davenport are now situated. The beautiful scenery of the island, the extensive prairies, dotted over with groves; the picturesque bluffs along the river banks, the rich and fertile soil, producing large crops of corn, squash and other vegetables, with little labor; the abundance of wild fruit, game, fish, and almost everything calculated to make it a delightful spot for an Indian village, which was found there, had made this place a favorite home of the Sacs, and secured for it the strong attachment and veneration of the whole nation.

North of the hunting grounds of the Sacs and Foxes, were those of the Sioux, a fierce and warlike nation, who often disputed possession with their rivals in savage and bloody warfare. The possessions of these tribes were mostly located in Minnesota, but extended over a portion of Northern and Western Iowa to the Missouri River. Their descent from the north upon the hunting grounds of Iowa frequently brought them into collision with the Sacs and Foxes ; and after many a conflict and bloody struggle, a boundary line was established between them by the Government of the United States, in a treaty held at Prairie du Chien, in 1825. But this, instead of settling the difficulties, caused them to quarrel all the more, in consequence of alleged trespasses upon each other's side of the line. These contests were kept up and became so unre- lenting that, in 1830, Government bought of the respective tribes of the Sacs and Foxes, and the Sioux, a strip of land twenty miles in width, on both sides of the line, and thus throwing them forty miles apart by creating between them a "neutral ground," commanded them to cease their hostilities. Both the Sacs and Foxes and the Sioux, however, were allowed to fish and hunt on this ground unmolested, provided they did not interfere with each other on United States territory. The Sacs and Foxes and the Sioux were deadly enemies, and neither let an opportunity to punish the other pass unimproved.

In April, 1852, a fight occurred between the Musquaka band of Sacs and Foxes and a band of Sioux, about six miles above Algona, in Kossuth County, on the west side of the Des Moines River. The Saes and Foxes were under the leadership of Ko-ko-wah, a subordinate chief, and had gone up from their home in Tama County, by way of Clear Lake, to what was then the "neutral ground." At Clear Lake, Ko-ko-wah was informed that a party of Sioux were encamped on the west side of the East Fork of the Des Moines, and he deter- mined to attack them. With sixty of his warriors, he started and arrived at a point on the east side of the river, about a mile above the Sioux encampment, in the night, and concealed themselves in a grove, where they were able to dis- cover the position and strength of their hereditary foes. The next morning, after many of the Sioux braves had left their camp on hunting tours, the vin- dictive Sacs and Foxes crossed the river and suddenly attacked the camp. The conflict was desperate for a short time, but the advantage was with the assail- ants, and the Sioux were routed. Sixteen of them, including some of their women and children, were killed, and a boy 14 years old was captured. One of the Musquakas was shot in the breast by a squaw as they were rushing into the Sioux's camp. He started to run away, when the same brave squaw shot him through the body, at a distance of twenty rods, and he fell dead. Three other Sac braves were killed. But few of the Sioux escaped. The victorious

HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA.

party hurriedly buried their own dead, leaving the dead Sioux above ground, and made their way home, with their captive, with all possible expedition.

PIKE'S EXPEDITION.

Very soon after the acquisition of Louisiana, the United States Government adopted measures for the exploration of the new territory, having in view the conciliation of the numerous tribes of Indians by whom it was possessed, and, also, the selection of proper sites for the establishment of military posts and trading stations. The Army of the West, Gen. James Wilkinson commanding, had its headquarters at St. Louis. From this post, Captains Lewis and Clark, with a sufficient force, were detailed to explore the unknown sources of the Missouri, and Lieut. Zebulon M. Pike to ascend to the head waters of the Mis- sissippi. Lieut. Pike, with one Sergeant, two Corporals and seventeen privates, left the military camp, near St. Louis, in a keel-boat, with four months' rations. on the 9th day of August, 1805. On the 20th of the same month, the expe- dition arrived within the present limits of Iowa, at the foot of the Des Moines Rapids, where Pike met William Ewing, who had just been appointed Indian Agent at this point, a French interpreter and four chiefs and fifteen Sac and Fox warriors.

At the head of the Rapids, where Montrose is now situated, Pike held a council with the Indians, in which he addressed them substantially as follows : "Your great Father, the President of the United States, wished to be more intimately acquainted with the situation and wants of the different nations of red people in our newly acquired territory of Louisiana, and has ordered the General to send a number of his warriors in different directions to take them by the hand and make such inquiries as might afford the satisfaction required." At the close of the council he presented the red men with some knives, whisky and tobacco.

Pursuing his way up the river, he arrived, on the 23d of August, at what is supposed, from his description, to be the site of the present city of Burlington, which he selected as the location of a military post. He describes the place as being " on a hill, about forty miles above the River de Moyne Rapids, on the west side of the river, in latitude about 41º 21' north. The channel of the river runs on that shore; the hill in front is about sixty feet perpendicular ; nearly level on top; four hundred yards in the rear is a small prairie fit for gardening, and immediately under the hill is a limestone spring, sufficient for the consumption of a whole regiment." In addition to this description, which corresponds to Burlington, the spot is laid down on his map at a bend in the river, a short distance below the mouth of the Henderson, which pours its waters into the Mississippi from Illinois. The fort was built at Fort Madison, but from the distance, latitude, description and map furnished by Pike, it could not have been the place selected by him, while all the circumstances corroborate the opinion that the place he selected was the spot where Burlington is now located, called by the early voyagers on the Mississippi, "Flint Hills."

On the 24th, with one of his men, he went on shore on a hunting expedition, and following a stream which they supposed to be a part of the Mississippi, they were led away from their course. Owing to the intense heat and tall grass, his two favorite dogs, which he had taken with him, became exhausted and he left them on the prairie, supposing that they would follow him as soon as they should get rested, and went on to overtake his boat. Reaching the river, he waited some time for his canine friends, but they did not come, and as he deemed it inexpedient to detain the boat longer, two of his men volunteered to go in pur-

HISTORY OF THE STATE OF IOWA.

suit of them, and he continued on his way up the river, expecting that the two men would soon overtake him. They lost their way, however, and for six days were without food, except a few morsels gathered from the stream, and might have perished, had they not accidentally met a trader from St. Louis, who in- duced two Indians to take them up the river, and they overtook the boat at Dubuque.

At Dubuque, Pike was cordially received by Julien Dubuque, a Frenchman, who held a mining claim under a grant from Spain. Dubuque had an old field piece and fired a salute in honor of the advent of the first Americans who had visited that part of the Territory. Dubuque, however, was not disposed to pub- lish the wealth of his mines, and the young and evidently inquisitive officer obtained but little information from him.

After leaving this place, Pike pursued his way up the river, but as he passed beyond the limits of the present State of Iowa, a detailed history of his explo- rations on the upper waters of the Mississippi more properly belongs to the his- tory of another State.

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History of Johnson County, Iowa, containing a history of the county, and its townships, cities and villages from 1836 to 1882, Part 3

Author: Johnson Co., Ia. History. [from old catalog] Publication date: 1883 Publisher: Iowa City, Iowa. Number of Pages: 980

Author: Johnson Co., Ia. History. [from old catalog]
Publication date: 1883
Publisher: Iowa City, Iowa.
Number of Pages: 980