USA > Iowa > Kossuth County > History of Kossuth County, Iowa > Part 5
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Leaving the Sioux village July 21, the troops marched westward through the southern tier of Minnesota counties, and on their way circled around the lakes and marshes. As the result of that westward march, one of the lakes- Albert Lea-was named in honor of the engineer-lieutenant who was command- ing Company I. While near the state line and north of the headwaters of the east fork of the Des Moines, the command was attacked by a large body of Sioux and compelled to retreat toward the south. The point is indicated on Lieutenant Lea's map by a cross and the words "Battle Ground."
July 31, 1835, the dragoons entered what is now either Eagle or Grant town- ship from the north. The journal says about their march through this county : "We are wandering about like half-starved wolves, and no person appears to know in what direction we ought to steer." On the 2d of August they "crossed the north fork of the Des Moines" by means of rafts made by the men, and in doing so it took them six hours. After marching thirty miles that day they "encamped on the main branch of the Des Moines." They continued their course down the river and finally reached their southern destination, having been gone on the journey nearly three months.
Lieut. Albert M. Lea graduated as a military engineer from West Point in 1831 and was assigned to the artillery arm of the service. He was along with the dragoons in several of their marches, fought in the Black Hawk war, and
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with the southern forces in the Civil war, and died in Texas. when eighty-four years old. While he commanded Company I in the expedition that passed through Kossuth in 1835 and made copious notes of the journey, for his book and map, it is not believed that the journal of the dragoon march, so long in the possession of Charles W. Gaston, was written by him, but by some other member of that company. Although the writer of the journal twice signs his initial "L" to the record, there are statements in the journal which go to show that its author could not have been Lieutenant Lea. The journal account, how- ever, is in full accord with Lea's map.
Had Lieut. Albert Lea not been with the dragoons, it is quite probable that there never would have been any Territory of Iowa or State of Iowa ; but his hav- ing alluded to that portion of Wisconsin Territory lying west of the Mississippi in this region as the "Iowa District," others began using the term. In 1837, two years after the dragoon expedition, and one year after the appearance of Lea's little book, the great Territory of "Iowa" was established, and of course the state in 1846, at the time of its admission into the Union, received that name.
CAPTAIN ALLEN'S EXPEDITION-1844
The next expedition to cross Kossuth county soil was in 1844, when Capt. James Allen, in obedience to orders from Col. S. W. Kearney, who was then in command of the third military department at St. Louis, passed up the Des Moines river with Company I, of the first United States dragoons, to explore the country in the region of the sources of the Blue Earth and St. Peters rivers, and thence across to the Big Sioux valley.
The reader has already been informed who Colonel Kearney was, and has had an introduction to the Company I dragoons; for they were here with Lieutenant Lea in 1835. The command consisted of five officers and fifty rank and file of dragoons, and also two infantry privates. It took them fifty-four days to com- plete the 740-mile journey. The journal of the march was kept by Captain Allen himself, and under his direction Lieutenant Porter made the map of the route to accompany the report to his superior officer.
The company left Fort Des Moines August 11, 1844, and going up the west side of the river, camped on the evening of their fourth day's march on Bluff creek, having marched in the meantime fifty-nine miles. The next day they "passed the forks of the river" and then on the day following "crossed the Lizard about noon." Allen must have considered the Boone as one of the forks, for the real forks are some distance north of the Lizard. On the evening of their eighth day's march they camped "on a deep ravine leading to the Des Moines, the mouth of which is called Delaware battle ground-a place where a party of some twenty Delawares were killed by the Sioux, three years since." They had then marched about 108 miles. The next day-August 19-they went due north five miles, when they "struck the west branch of the Des Moines, at a place called Iron Banks, where they crossed at a rapid ford where the bottom was limerock and boulders, and where a little below was a limestone ledge, twenty feet high, on the east bank." They camped that night about ten miles above Iron Banks.
Where was that spot, known as Iron Banks, which Allen says they reached
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ALONZO FRANKLIN Born in 1812, the oldest man in the county
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after they had journeyed about 113 miles? It must have been in Humboldt, for it would be about that distance from Des Moines to the limestone region on the river in that county. Since they camped that night about ten miles north of that place, they were then well up toward the south line of Kossuth. For a while the next day they traveled over the limestone country, but in the afternoon they reached the marshes in Garfield and got floundered when they "attempted to head a sluggish stream," which led them "far out into the big prairie and away from timber," being compelled to camp three miles from the river at a little lake ex- pansion of that stream. If it was Goose lake they were trying to encircle they had some experience they did not forget. Their march for the next fifteen miles "was so wet and the sloughs so numerous that the wagons cut into the wet ground and stuck fast in every mire till pulled out by main strength of the com- mand."
The company by this time must have been crossing the flat in the region of the Cylinder, for they had marched fifteen miles that day. Allen has much to say about "the numerous grassy streams which seem to connect several little lakes." This country was full of them for thirty years after he passed through with his dragoons. Some days, he says, they only marched six or seven miles. In this way they crept along until they reached the source of the Des Moines where they called that lake the Lake of the Oaks. Judging from his notes, Cap- tain Allen must have been thoroughly disgusted with the country for he says: "There is not, for seventy or eighty miles below the source of the Des Moines enough of timber to supply a single row of farms along its border. At the Lake of the Oaks there are many hundred acres of excellent timber, but the country around is high and bleak, and looks so inhospitable that it will take many years before any settlement can be led to it." That man Allen would be surprised now if he were in that region and attempted to purchase a farm. After exploring the sources of the Blue Earth and St. Peters rivers, and the country west to the Big Sioux valley, they turned south and explored the Pottawattamie country before returning to Fort Des Moines.
The greatest range for elk and deer that Allen saw was between the Lizard and the headwaters of the west branch of the Des Moines and thence east to St. Peters. On that part of the journey the soldiers frequently saw large herds of them. They found the great buffalo range beginning about twenty-five miles west of the head of the Des Moines, thence extending westward to the Big Sioux river and thence down that stream for eighty miles. They saw large herds of these "titonkas" and some antelope. In that region they saw the first Indians, and they seemed afraid of the soldiers. They appeared to be gradually following the buffalo herds along as they grazed, and living a life of idleness.
OTHER PRE-SETTLEMENT VISITORS
Other white men may have passed over what is now Kossuth county prior to the first settlement, besides the soldiers who were along in the expeditions which have been noticed above in this chapter. There may have been other expeditions which pertain to the history of this county, but the journal record of them is yet in hiding. While Captain Allen was on his dragoon march in 1844, he saw evi- dences that white men had been in the region of the headwaters of the west Vol. 1-3
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branch of the. Des Moines, before his troop passed through. He found a loose stake on the prairie which must have been placed there by some white man. He thought it "was probably on the route of Capt. Boone and Capt. Canfield from Fort Leavenworth to Fort Snelling, made some years ago." Since there was no Captain Canfield along with Boone's dragoons in 1835, that must have been another expedition, and one that possibly passed through this county. Then again they crossed what some thought was "the trail of Capt. Summers' company," but Allen did not think Summer's had been "so far north and west." Here we have the testimony that there was a Summers expedition before that time, and that his command probably did not march as far north and west as Captain Allen was when that trail was discovered in the region of the headwaters of the Des Moines. Hence Captain Summers may have been as far north and west as Kossuth.
Major Williams was here in 1850, the year before the county was established. He had come up from Fort Dodge, where he was sutler at the post which was occupied by a detachment of the sixth United States Infantry. Just who were with him or what was the mission of his visit, the writer is unable to state. He wrote a lengthy account of his trip up into this section of the state, and the manu- script was with his other effects at the time of his death. Although the writer made a special trip to Fort Dodge recently for the purpose of learning from the manuscript just what month he was here, and what he had to say about the scenes in what is now this county, he failed to get any trace of the historic relic. Neither the Webster county historian nor the grandson of the major had ever heard of the manuscript. Harvey Ingham once had the pleasure of perusing it and obtaining from it some valuable data. Since he is positive that the manu- script stated that Major Williams was here in the year 1850, that information is sufficient for the purpose of this chapter.
There were at least three white men in the county in the winter of 1852-3, and one of them disappeared, never to be heard of again. William Frakes, Robert Downing and another man came up from Hamilton county that winter, on a hunting trip, into the northern part of this county. While in the region of where Swea City is, a mild snow storm came and they started towards a grove for shelter. They separated while hunting along the way with the understanding that they should all meet at the grove. The storm soon increased until it was furious. Frakes and the other man finally arrived at the designated spot, but Downing failed to appear. When it became evident that the situation was serious, the two companions began firing their guns in the hope of attracting Downing to them. They kept firing until all their ammunition was gone. When morning came they began searching for the missing man and kept at it until they gave up in despair. Their ammunition being gone and their food supply getting low, they returned to Hamilton county and told the sad news. The next day after their return, Downing's dog came home from the north. Not willing to give up the search, Frakes and his companion returned to this county with the dog and took him to the point where the three separated; but they again failed to discover any trace of the lost Downing. He had simply disappeared and was taking his last long sleep in the snow drifts of Northern Kossuth.
The truth of this story is vouched for by the relatives of William Frakes, one of whom is John P. Frakes of Swea City, others are living in Wright and Hamilton
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counties. They say that William Frakes located at Marshalltown in the year 1852, and that he came to Hamilton county that fall and preempted the land on which Webster City is located. While at that place, a short time since, the writer learned from the records that Frakes did own the site of the city, as the relatives claim. An early history of that county, however, places the date of the coming of Frakes one year later than is given in the above account. It is also silent about the loss of Downing. That, however, is no evidence that the story of his disappearance is not true; for that history may have been written by someone wholly unacquainted with the very early history of Hamilton county.
The Andrew Talcott surveying party, consisting of a force of some eighty members who ran the line between Iowa and Minnesota in the year 1852, of course traveled over the soil of this county during that service. He is the same Engineer Talcott who passed through the county with Captain Magee's expedition in 1820. Talcott's service in running the north line of the state is treated more fully in the chapter "Surveying Kossuth in the Early 50's."
John W. Ellis was also in the county before any settlers were here, when he and his surveying party ran the various township lines of the county in 1853. This subject is also treated at length in a subsequent chapter.
During the late fall of 1853 a portion of a military train went through this county from south to north. That event occurred when the Fort Dodge soldiers evacuated the fort, and moved their camp equipment one hundred and fifty miles north to Fort Ridgley in Minnesota. The detachment, with their train of heavily loaded wagons, came up the east side of the river, and after crossing the east fork, kept up the west branch on the east side of that stream. The wheels of the numerous wagons cutting through the sod, and the tramp of soldiers and horses, made a trail that was known to the old settlers for many years as the "Old Military Road." It was this road that the Calls followed from Fort Dodge up to the forks of the river, when they first came in the summer following. When this military train attempted to cross that treacherous stream, now between Whitte- more and Emmetsburg, the wagons so mired that it was with much difficulty that they were pulled through. The hardest work was done to get the wagons over that contained the engine equipment. The cylinder, having to be unloaded and then reloaded in the mud, slush, and water, caused the soldiers to name the stream "Cylinder" creek, a name by which it has ever since been called.
This route becoming known to be so difficult to travel over with heavy loads, a portion of the train went north from the fort, and passed through this county where the route was on higher and dryer land. A part of the trail, this portion of the train made extended from Johnson's point in Humboldt to Purcell's point in Kossuth county. The former is some ten miles south of Irvington, and the latter a couple of miles north. This military trail was still visible in 1855, and was observed by some of the early settlers. Lewis H. Smith, who located that year, having knowledge of these facts, verifies this account of the wagon train having passed between the two points above described. It has never come to the knowl- edge of the writer what course the soldiers took after leaving Purcell's point, or at what place, on their way northward, they crossed the county line.
The John Haggard surveying crew, which came into the northern part of the county August 25, 1854, began their service when there were no settlers in all that region, but it was some two weeks after the Call cabin had been raised,
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south of the river in what is now Cresco. This subject, being more fully treated in the chapter on surveying, needs no further mention at this time.
J. M. Hunt of Cerro Gordo county with Anthony Overacker and J. Argabrite crossed the county in the spring or summer of 1854. Mr. Hunt during the year 1894 told about their trip in the columns of the Mason City Republican. He stated that the three in the spring of 1854 started from Rock Grove on a trip to Spirit lake to see the country there and on their way to that place, the first night, he said, they camped at Clear lake where old Joe Hewitt was living. This old trapper, buffalo hunter, and pioneer scout warned them from attempting to cross the wilderness where there were so many savages. He tried hard to have them abandon their journey, but as they were determined to go on they proceeded on their way westward. They "struck the Des Moines river in Kossuth county, a little above the fork." From that expression it is hard to tell where they reached the river. If he was acquainted with the river, as it appeared on the map at that time, he certainly wouldn't have called any point in this county "a little above the fork."
In order to cross, he said, they built a raft of dry logs and then ferried over the wagon, oxen and mules. They remained there two days in a fine body of timber and killed two elk in the meantime. They went on. up to the lakes and returned two weeks later to their old camping spot on the Des Moines. There, he said, they took some claims but never returned to them. They probably did what scores of others had done-blaze a tree, write their names and date on the spot, and then leave with no intention of making a valid claim of the tract. Some in this county did that trick elsewhere, who had no thought of ever going there to perfect their claim rights. Just what satisfaction could come from such acts is not easy to perceive.
Trappers and hunters were in the county from time to time before any settle- ments were made. When they first came or who they were, is not now known. But it is known, if early reports are to be relied upon, that some of them got roughly handled by the Indians who stole their traps, stripped off their clothing and drove them out of the county.
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CHAPTER V EMIGRATION WESTWARD
When Senator Thomas H. Benton in one of his characteristic speeches pointed his index finger towards the setting sun and exclaimed: "Yonder is the East! I repeat it, Yonder is the East!" there were hundreds who could not understand his meaning. For many years previous to that time what had once been considered as the east had been gradually slipping in the direction to which he was pointing. Ohio, Indiana and Illinois were for a long term of years referred to by the Atlantic coast citizens "as being out west ;" but at the time Colonel Benton was speaking there were multitudes living west of the Missis- sippi who were referring to these same states as "back east." That portion of history which recounts the scenes of the east's passing westward with long emi- grant trains, is interesting ; it should be especially so to the readers of this volume, since our state and our county received many settlers from these trains. The varied causes which induced this emigration from the east should be within the knowledge of all those desiring to be informed about the growth of this section of the country.
The rush for cheap lands in the west landed many emigrants in Iowa, and when once in the state Kossuth received her full share in due time. The merits of this section of the country were well known to white men for many years before they were allowed to settle in this region, and for many years before Iowa became a state. Some of the government expeditions through this sec- tion, which were noted in the preceding chapter, did much to inform the eastern people about the quality of the lands in this region and make them have a de- sire to locate west of the Mississippi when the proper time should come. With each of these government expeditions there was always a historian or journalist whose business it was to record all the events of each day's march, the quality of the land passed over, the size and course of all the streams along the route, the size and location of the lakes, a description of the kind and amount of timber, and other details necessary to inform the administration as to the general nature of the traversed territory. These journals, which have been stored away in the dark corners of the government archives for many years, are gradually coming to light through the efforts of historians to make their contents known to the western public. They possess valuable information which is of interest to thou- sands of people who now live in the regions over which these expeditions passed in the long ago. No one can tell how many eastern people were induced through these reports, when first filed, to join in the cry of "on to the West!"
Capt. S. W. Kearney, the journalist along with Captain Magee's expedition
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in 1820, was not favorably impressed with this part of the country as a permanent abode for the white race of people, when he passed through it that year. His report to the government officials probably did not influence any to seriously consider coming west of the Mississippi river to procure farming lands in the future ; but it very probably influenced some to come for other purposes. His account of having seen five thousand buffaloes in one herd, just before the train swept across what is now Kossuth county, no doubt started many a rifleman to the hunter's paradise then in this region.
The Nathan Boone surveying party, that in the early 30's staked off the "Neutral Ground" which was to separate the warring Sioux from the warring Sacs and Foxes, had a fine opportunity to observe how the country appeared along their route. This strip, being forty miles wide and running southwesterly from near the northeast corner of the state to the Des Moines river, included a fine body of land. Their report to the administration of their work, when it had been completed, must have been such as to have caused some people in the east to contemplate seeing this section of the country some time themselves. While passing diagonally through what are now Sherman and Prairie townships, while running the north boundary line of the forty-mile strip, the surveying party must have seen large herds of elk and buffaloes, and also have noticed the excel- lent quality of the land. As their route took them across several rivers, through numerous large bodies of timber, and in sight of Clear lake, the party also must have been impressed with the beauty of the country.
Before the Black Hawk war had ended, some had defied the governmental authorities by crossing the river and squatting on lands west of the Black Hawk purchase. They penetrated far enough into the interior to learn that at least central Iowa was a land of milk and honey. From the Indians they learned about the prairies, groves, and soil of this region. After peace had been declared there was a rush in 1833, for the land along the western bank of the Mississippi. Many did not stop there, but outrunning the government surveyors, they located on tracts farther west with no assurance of obtaining titles to them. From In- dians, trappers, and hunters they learned much concerning northwestern Iowa. Their friends from the east joined them, and by degrees the settlements began spreading out in every direction. It was fortunate for northwestern Iowa that Lieut. Albert M. Lea was along with the three companies of dragoons that passed through this section in the summer of 1835. Although he was not the official journalist, his description of the country through which the command passed was the best advertisement this part of the state ever received in early days. Know- ing how he praised the country the citizens of Kossuth have just reasons of being proud of the fact that he was along with the dragoons when they marched through the entire length of the county from north to south during that year of 1835. An account of the march and the route traversed by these dragoons having been presented in the preceding chapter, it is only necessary in this chapter to inform the reader what Lieutenant Lea had to say in praise of this section of the country in his "Notes on the Wisconsin Territory, particularly with reference to the Iowa District," which he published the next year. Here is the glowing descrip- tion he gave :
"The soil is generally about two feet deep and is composed of clay and sand and vegetable mould. Much of it is too tenacious of water for the most con-
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venient production of such grains as are planted in the spring. It is of a dark brown color near the surface, and gradually becomes lighter and lighter in descending till it imperceptibly passes into yellow clay, which in turn is based upon a blue marl, containing pebbles, and which affords good water when pen- etrated. The later stratum is found from fifteen to thirty feet below the surface in the upland prairies, so that it is only necessary to sink a well to that depth to obtain excellent water whenever it is wanted.
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