USA > Iowa > Louisa County > History of Louisa County, Iowa, from its earliest settlement to 1912, Volume I > Part 9
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On November 6, 1837, a convention of delegates from the portion of Wiscon- sin Territory west of the Mississippi river, met in Burlington and was attended by delegates from the counties of Dubuque, Des Moines, Van Buren, Henry. Musquitine, Lee and Louisa. C. S. Jacobs was made president, J. M. Clark and W. H. Wallace, vice presidents, and J. W. Parker and J. R. Struthers, secre- taries. The convention was in session for three days. On the second day, after inviting the governor, members of the legislative council, judges and members of the bar of Burlington to take seats in the convention, three committees were appointed as follows: (Ist). A committee of seven to draft a memorial to congress on the subject of the attempt of Missouri to extend her northern boundary line. Mr. Toole was the Louisa county member of this committee.
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(2d). A committee of six was appointed to prepare a memorial to the congress of the United States for the passage of a preemption act, Louisa county was not represented on this committee. ( 3d). \ committee of seven was appointed to draft a memorial to congress in relation to the organization of a separate territorial government in that part of Wisconsin west of the Mississippi.
The report of the convention states that this committee consisted of Messrs. Rorer, Hastings, Caldwell, Myers, Claypool, Harris and Rinearson, the latter being the Louisa county member. This was undoubtedly John J. Rinearson, though his name is given as S. J. Rinearson in one place. These committees prepared memorials on the subjects assigned to them, each of which were unani- mously approved by the convention.
There is no better way for one to get a fair idea of the conditions then ex- isting west of the Mississippi river, and of the ability and character of the men who composed this assembly than by reading the memorials adopted. There is history in every line of them. The following is the memorial adopted by the convention in regard to the division of the territory :
"To the Honorable the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States, in Congress assembled :
"The memorial of a general Convention of Delegates, from the respective counties in the Territory of Wisconsin, west of the Mississippi river, convened at the capitol in Burlington, in said territory. November 5. 1837.
Respectfully represents :
"That the citizens of that part of the territory west of the Mississippi river. taking into consideration their remote and isolated position, and the vast extent of country included within the limits of the present territory, and the utter im- practicability of the same being governed as an entire whole, by the wisest and best administration of our municipal affairs, in such manner as to fully secure individual right and the right of property, as well as to maintain domestic tran- quility. and the good order of society, have by their respective representatives. convened in general convention as aforesaid. for the purpose of availing them- selves of their right of petition as free citizens, by representing their situation and wishes to your honorable body, and asking for the organization of a separate territorial government over that part of the territory west of the Mississippi river.
"Without, in the least, designing to question the official conduct of those in whose hands the fate of our infant territory has been confided, and in whose patriotism and wisdom we have the utmost confidence, your memorialists cannot refrain from the frank expression of their belief that, taking into consideration the geographical extent of her country, in connection with the probable popula- tion of western Wisconsin, perhaps no territory of the United States has been so much neglected by the parent government, so illy protected in the political and individual rights of her citizens.
"Western Wisconsin came into the possession of our government in June. 1833. Settlements were made, and crops grown, during the same season ; and even then, at that early day, was the impulse given to the mighty throng of
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emigration that has subsequently filled our lovely and desirable country with people, intelligence, wealth and enterprise. From that period until the present, being a little over four years, what has been the territory of western Wisconsin? Literally and practically, a large portion of the time without a government. With a population of thousands, she has remained ungoverned, and has been quietly left by the parent government to take care of herself, without the privilege on the one hand to provide a government of her own, and without any existing authority on the other to govern her.
"From June, 1833, until June, 1834, a period of one year, there was not even the shadow of government or law, in all western Wisconsin. In June, 1834, congress attached her to the then existing territory of Michigan, of which territory she nominally continued a part, until July, 1836, a period of little more than two years. During the whole of this time, the whole country west, sufficient of itself for a respectable state, was included in two counties, Du Buque and Des Moines. In each of these two counties there were holden, during the term of two years, two terms of a county court (a court of inferior jurisdiction), as the only sources of judicial relief up to the passage of the act of congress creating the territory of Wisconsin. That act took effect on the 3d day of July, 1836, and the first judicial relief afforded under that act, was at the April term fol- lowing, 1837, a period of nine months after its passage; subsequent to which time there has been a court holden in but one county in Western Wisconsin only. This, your memorialists are aware, has recently been owing to the unfortunate indisposition of the esteemed and meritorious judge of our district; but they are equally aware of the fact, that had western Wisconsin existed under a separate organization, we should have found relief in the services of other members of the judiciary, who are at present, in consequence of the great extent of our territory, and the small number of judges dispersed at too great a distance, and too constantly engaged in the discharge of the duties of their own districts, to be enabled to afford relief to other portions of the territory. Thus, with a population of not less than twenty-five thousand now, and of near half that number at the organization of the territory, it will appear that we have existed as a portion of an organized territory, for sixteen months, with but one term of court only.
"Your memorialists look upon those evils as growing exclusively out of the immense extent of country included within the present boundaries of the terri- tory, and express their conviction and belief, that nothing would so effectually remedy the evil as the organization of western Wisconsin into a separate terri- torial government. To this your memorialists conceive themselves entitled by principles of moral right-by the sacred obligation that rests upon their present government to protect them in the free enjoyment of their rights, until such time as they shall be permitted to provide protection for themselves; as well as from the uniform practice and policy of the government in relation to other territories.
"The territory of Indiana, including the present states of Indiana, Illinois and Michigan, and also much of the eastern portion of the present territory of Wisconsin, was placed under one separate territorial government, in the year 1800, at a time when the population amounted to only five thousand, six hundred and forty, or thereabouts.
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"The territory of Arkansas was erected into a distinct territory, in 1820, with a population of about fourteen thousand. The territory of Illinois was established in 1809, being formed by dividing the Indiana territory. The exact population of Illinois territory at the time of her separation from Indiana, is not known to your memorialists, but the population in 1810, one year subsequent to that event, amounted to but eleven thousand, five hundred and one whites, and a few blacks-in all, to less than twelve thousand inhabitants.
"The territory of Michigan was formed in 1805, by again dividing the Indiana territory, of which until then, she composed a part. The population of Michigan, at the time of her separation from Indiana, your memorialists have been unable to ascertain, but in the year 1810, a period of five years subsequent to her separate organization, her population amounted to but about four thou- sand, seven hundred and sixty ; and in the year 1820, less than nine thousand- so that Michigan existed some fifteen years, as a distinct territory, with a population of less than half of western Wisconsin at present : and each of the above named territories, now composing so many proud and flourishing states, were created into separate territorial governments, with a much less population than that of western Wisconsin, and that, too, at a time with a national debt of millions. Your memorialists therefore pray for the organization of a separate territorial government over that part of the territory of Wisconsin west of the Mississippi river."
The legislative assembly of Wisconsin which was then in session in Burling- ton, immediately took this matter in hand, resulting in the adoption by it of a memorial to congress, strongly urging a division of the territory. Among other things this memorial states: "That owing to the great extent of country em- braced in the limits of Wisconsin territory, and that vast extent of territory being separated by a natural division ( the Mississippi river), which renders the application of the same laws oppressive or unequal to one section or the other : the true policy of the two sections of the territory being as widely different as their locations : and the impracticability of the officers of the general govern- ment to administer the laws: render it highly important in the opinion of your memorialists that that portion of the territory lying west of the Mississippi river be formed into a separate territorial government."
The memorial further stated that the territory of Wisconsin at that time contained fifty thousand inhabitants, at least one-half of whom resided on the west side of the Mississippi, and that the population of Wisconsin was increas- ing with a rapidity unparalleled in the history of the country. This memorial further states: "Without any intention of censuring the official conduct of the officers in whose hands the administration of our infant territory has been en- trusted . your memorialists would respectfully represent, that the west- ern portion of Wisconsin, with a population of twenty-five thousand souls, reaps but a small portion of the benefits and advantages of the fostering care and protection of the mother government."
The memorials adopted by the territorial convention and the legislative assembly with petitions on the same subject, were referred to the appropriate committees in the house and senate. There was considerable opposition in con- gress to the formation of lowa territory and it will be interesting to us to know
FIRST COURTHOUSE IN LOUISA COUNTY, BUILT IN 1840
PUBLII LY
ASTOR, I NOX TILDEN F& N .1 8 B
L
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what some of the members of congress thought of the men who were then trying to build up this great commonwealth. Many questions seem to have entered into the matter other than those which relate to the necessities of the people who were asking for a new territory, such as the slavery extension, the annexation of Texas, and the preservation of the balance of power between the northern and western states on one hand and the southern states on the other. The most violent and virulent objector seems to have been Mr. Shepard of North Carolina. This is a fair sample of his speech: "Who are these that . pray for the establishment of a new territory? Individuals who have left their own homes and seized on the public land. These men pounced on the choicest spots, cut down the timber, built houses, and cultivated the soil as if it were their own property. Without the authority of law and in defiance of the government, they have taken possession of what belongs to the whole nation, and appropriated to a private use that which was intended for the public wel- fare. These are they who require a governor and council, judges, and marshals. when every act of their lives is contrary to justice, and every petition which they make is an evidence of their guilt and violence. We, who are insulted. whose authority is trampled under foot, are asked for new favors and privileges : the guardians of the law are approached by its open contemners, and begged to erect these modest gentlemen into a dignified government. I cannot sanction their conduct ; if they would not move peaceably, they should go at the point of the bayonet ; if they forget what is due to their country and their dis- tant fellow citizens, they ought to be punished The majesty of the laws should be vindicated."
Dr. Shambaugh, in his "Constitutions of lowa," from which we have taken the foregoing and some other quotations on this subject, speaking of the debate in congress, says: "The spirited debate, which took place in the house of repre- sentatives, on the question of the establishment of the territorial government of Iowa disclosed the fact that the creation of a new territory at this time west of the Mississippi and north of Missouri was of more than local interest : it was, indeed, an event in the larger history of America. Some few men were begin- ning to realize that the rapid settlement of the Iowa country was not an isolated provincial episode but the surface manifestation of a current that was of national depth. Far-sighted statesmen whose eyes were neither blinded by the lights of the moment nor yet always riveted upon that which for the time was most brilliant, saw that a plain, common looking pioneer farmer from across the Mississippi had come upon the stage of national politics and had already begun to play a role in the great drama of American democracy."
On June 12, 1838, President Martin Van Buren approved "An Act to Divide the Territory of Wisconsin and to Establish the Territorial Government of Iowa." This act, usually called The Organic Law of Iowa, was built upon the same general lines as the organic act of Wisconsin. Two amendments were made to it by congress on March 3, 1839, and these amendments, together with the act itself, are to be found in numerous state publications, and especially in the Code.
There is more than one opinion as to the origin of the name Iowa as applied to this territory, but the best opinion seems to be that the author of the name as thus applied is Lieutenant Albert M. Lea, and that the name was given, not Vol. 1-5
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after the Wisconsin county of that name, but after our own beautiful river Iowa. In the first chapter of "Notes on Wisconsin," Lieutenant Lea, after speaking of the treaty of 1832, says: "General Scott was one of the commis- sioners appointed by the president to make this treaty ; hence, the district under review has been often called 'Scott's Purchase,' and it is sometimes called the 'Black Hawk Purchase :' but from the extent and beauty of the Iowa river, which runs centrally through the district and gives character to most of it, the name of that stream being euphoneous and appropriate, has been given to the district itself." It is believed that this is the first instance of this name being applied to this district in any published work.
In a brief article in the "Annals of Iowa," Third Series, Vol. 3. Page 641, Dr. Shambaugh states that for at least a century before Lieutenant Lea's pub- lication, the river that runs centrally through Iowa was generally indicated by the name of "Ioway." Back of this, however, are the very natural questions of how and whence did our beautiful river get its name? There are, of course, many explanations both as to the meaning of the word Iowa, and as to the particular place, at which and to which, it was first applied. As these explana- tions are all based upon tradition, we shall take it for granted that that tradition is best which is best located. Here is what William L. Toole says: "It is con- ceded that the name Iowa arose in this way: Many years ago, and before any Indians had fixed their homes in what is now Iowa, some Indians in search of a new home, encamped on the high bluff of the Iowa river near its mouth, and where those ancient mounds are, and being much pleased with the location and country around it-in their native dialect exclaimed-Iowa, Iowa, Iowa (beau- tiful, beautiful, beautiful), hence the name of lowa to the river, and to those Indians, a remnant of which tribe are now in Kansas. Another company of Indians afterward, on the same errand, in search of a new home, ascending the lowa river in their canoes, at some point that they were pleased with, made a similar exclamation, adding, 'This is the place for us! And still another band or tribe, with similar exclamation, continued the name to the river, and so on by Black Hawk, Keokuk, Wapello and Poweshiek, each of whom had their vil- lages on the banks of the lowa river, up to 1836. And the ancient mounds and fort on this high bluff of the Iowa near its mouth, show that this was a favorite location by the ancients who made these mounds." The most competent authori- ties say that the word "Iowa" means : "This is the place :" some are of the opinion that the original word was "Kiowa," but they give it the same meaning as is given to the word "Iowa."
CHAPTER VII.
THE KEOKUK RESERVE-TREATY CEDING IT TO THE UNITED STATES-DES MOINES COUNTY DIVIDED-LOUISA COUNTY ESTABLISHED-ORIGIN OF NAME-FIRST TERM OF COURT-FIRST SHERIFF-FIRST BOARD OF SUPERVISORS-CHANGE IN COUNTY BOUNDARIES.
Henry Dodge, a hero of the Black Hawk war, was made governor of Wis- consin, and immediately began to interest himself in procuring further cessions of lands from the Indians. Already the settlers in this county had been looking with longing eyes on the fertile lands contained within the four hundred square miles set apart for Keokuk by the treaty of the Black Hawk Purchase made in 1832, and they were extremely anxious that the Indian title to that land should be obtained by the government, so that it could be thrown open to settlement. Indeed, many of the settlers had either taken up claims on the Keokuk reserve, regardless of the Indian title, or had bought Indian claims. This Keokuk reserve has been described in so many different publications, and in so many different ways, that there are many conflicting views extant as to its original shape and its precise location.
Dr. Pickard, in his historical lecture upon the Indians of Iowa, has a map which gives it in one form ; Dr. Salter gives it in a different form, and both of these usually excellent authorities are wrong. From the fact that this reservation included a considerable part of the best land in this county, including also the sites of several of its important towns, we deemed it best to procure an accurate description of it.
It will be remembered that by the treaty of 1832, this reserve was to be marked off under the direction of the president of the United States. Accord- ingly. it was surveyed by "Charles De Ward, assistant surveyor for William Gordon, surveyor." The survey was commenced on April 30, 1835, and finished in October, 1835. Robert Neil, and Joseph Prepé were chain carriers; Etienne Tourville was axman, Francis Roy was flagman, and Michael Dennis, Coles Olivier and Narcis Blaycamp were the camp keepers and hunters. The shape and location of this reserve is shown on the map of Louisa county as it was first established, which appears elsewhere in this work. This map was prepared by W. S. Kremer, county surveyor of Louisa county, and according to his judgment the southeast corner of the Keokuk reserve was situated about fifty-two rods (13 chains) south of the quarter post between sections 16 and 21, township 73 north, range 2 west, and extended north twenty-nine degrees west forty-two miles and thirty chains to the Indian boundary line. It extended thence south- west along the Indian boundary line nine miles and thirty-seven and seventeen hundredths chains, thence south 29 degrees east 42 miles and 30 chains, to a
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point a little south of latitude 41 degrees : thence north 28 degrees east to the place of beginning. The starting point was on the north side of the Iowa river and the line seems to have crossed the Iowa river almost exactly at the mouth of Smith creek. Keokuk's principal village is noted as being on the south or southwest side of the Iowa. a little north of the mouth of Smith creek and quite a little distance below Otter creek. Wapello's village seems to be pretty near where Wapello now is. These are the only two Indian villages shown in Louisa county.
The information we give in regard to the Keokuk reserve is derived from a certified copy of the original blue print, and a portion of the field notes, and was furnished by the commissioner of Indian affairs. On this blue print the Iowa river is called "Iowa or Lecotosikay" river, the Cedar is called "Red Cedar, or Mesquawaquay river," while our Long creek has the name of . Pacan- anico river, and Goose creek is compelled to struggle along under the name of Colaquatuckico.
The Keokuk reserve was ceded to the United States by a treaty made on the right bank of the Mississippi river, opposite Rock Island. September 28, 1836. Henry Dodge was the commissioner on the part of the United States. There was a very large representation of the Sac and Fox Indians present and this treaty was signed by several Indian chiefs, including "Wapella," "Powa- sheek," Keokuck and Pashapahoo. This treaty refers to the fact that in the former treaty (1832) a reservation of four hundred sections of land was made to the Sac and Fox Indians to be laid off under the direction of the president of the United States, and states that it had been so laid off.
James W. Grimes, afterwards governor and United States senator, acted as Governor Dodge's secretary in negotiating this treaty, and the treaty was witnessed by Antoine LeClaire, the noted interpreter. P. R. Chouteau, Jr., George Davenport. George Catlin and L. D. Stockton, afterward one of the justices of the lowa supreme court ; also by Jeremiah Smith, Jr., who was one of the original proprietors of Lower Wapello.
It provided for the payment, to and for the Indians, of various sums aggre- gating about $195,000, and this made the lands cost the government a little over seventy-five cents per acre. As this treaty has an important bearing on Louisa county's history, we give the account of it as found in "Iowa Historical Record," Vol. 8, as follows: "The two bands of Foxes ( Wapello's and Poweshiek's) were camped on the west side of the Mississippi on the slope of the bluffs oppo- site Rock Island. At a distance the encampment looked picturesque. as the Indians arrayed in their green or red blankets flitted about the bulrush and bark tents, their horses browsing on the bluff tops. The scene appeared like a picture of an Arab encampment. A nearer view showed the dirty paraphernalia of skinning, jerking meat, and cooking, around the tents.
"Half a mile above, nearer the river bank, on a kind of promontory, were the more neatly arranged tents of the Sacs, in the form of a crescent. Above them. fronting the hollow of the crescent, was the council lodge. At one end were Governor Dodge, Captain Boone, Lieutenant Lea, General Street and the traders ; of the east side were the tawny warriors decked in their finery, the mass of them standing, the chiefs and headmen sitting in front, all listening to the
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propositions of the governor, and as each sentence was interpreted, signifying their approbation by the exclamation, 'Hugh!'
"Wapello commands respect amid his apparent indifference and air of non- chalance. Appanoose is a young looking fellow, talented but dissipated. Pasha- popo, with his uncombed, unshorn hair, and his fierce countenance, is rendered hideous by smearing it fantastically with black.
"Keokuk is of noble countenance, fine contour, tall and portly ; his chest, shoulders and right arm bare, save a necklace of bears' claws, and a large snake skin encircling and pendant from his right arm. In the left hand he sported a fine Pongee silk handkerchief. The snake skin was lined with some rich ma- terial, and had little bells attached to it, giving a tinkling sound at every gesture that added grace and impressiveness to his elocution. He advanced with stately step; the trappings of his white buckskin leggings set off his finely formed and comparatively small foot to advantage. He advanced to the governor's stand and shook hands with him. Then, falling back half a dozen steps, with eyes fixed on the governor. he began his speech. His voice rang clear as a trumpet. Fluent in words, he was energetic and graceful in action."
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