USA > Iowa > Pottawattamie County > History of Pottawattamie County, Iowa. Containing a history from the earliest settlement to the present time biographical sketches; portraits of some of the early settlers, prominent men, etc. > Part 9
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HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY.
his place, the good and bad were found scat- tered around promisenously, and it was very hard to tell who had most faith in his calling, for every one pursued his avocation with an earnestness and energy that led the lookers on to suppose that the performer was honest in his convictions, or else why should he endeavor to accomplish his work with such effort ? But it is said " the devil is never idle," and it appeared as if the men who were making their living by fraud were ever on the alert. As an evidence of this fact, we will recite a case. It is said that a notorious character, named Philip Mc- Guire, who had been doing all manner of evil things, was found suspended from a tree on cemetery hill dead, and a card was attached to the body, on which were inseribed these words: " Hung for all kinds of rascality."
Lynch law in the early days on the slope, when prisons were worthless, seemed to be a necessity, for the villains were constantly at work and had to be checked. No other law was feared by desperate characters.
As late as 1860, three colored people, one a a woman, were kidnaped in the southwestern part of Pottawattamie County, and rushed into Missouri. As soon as this kidnaping was heard of, Sheriff Craig and City Marshal Smith followed the villains who were engaged in the crime, and recovered John Williams and brought him home. Not long after the return of Will- iams the other two were found in Missouri, and also returned home. It was ascertained that these persons were stolen by three desperadoes, who were captured, but broke jail and made their escape. At an earlier period a different result would have followed, for as soon as an arrest for such a crime had taken place, hang- ing would have followed, and no escape could set the villains free.
Coming down along the line of events from the early days of Iowa, we arrive up to the present time, 1882, and on the 27th day of June, this year, we find the people wonderfully
excited at an election. Even the women have determined to make a bold stand, and in Coun- eil Bluffs and at other polls in the county, some of them stand at the places of voting and pass tickets to the men, asking them in the "names of their families, their homes and their God," to place them in the ballot boxes. The election was called to take a ballot of the legal voters of Iowa, to decide upon an amend- ment to be placed in the constitution of Iowa, "to prohibit the manufacture and sale of all liquors, wine and beer in said State." This question has always been one that was preg- naut with strong friends and bitter enemies, and as the day for the contest drew near the bitterness increased. The beer and liquor men arrayed themselves on one side and the prohi- bitionists on the other side, and at an early hour bands were sent out upon the streets of Council Bluffs, in wagons, playing fine music. These bands were employed by the liquor men, and on the sides of the wagons, painted on ean- vas, were these mottos : " Down fanaticism ; Give us liberty ;" " Let every man drink what he pleases ;" "Vote against prohibition ;" " Vote against the destruction of $3,000,000 of property," etc. On one carriage was a sign which read : " Vote for prohibition. Vote to protect your homes and your families. Vote for God and your country."
This was an unusually heated contest throughout the State of Iowa, and a large amount of money was expended to defeat the proposition, but all opposition was in vain, and the amendment to the constitution was carried by a large majority. During the time the re- turns were arriving in Des Moines, an exciting temperance meeting was held, the temperance committee sent word out over the country that the majority for the amendment would be from forty to sixty thousand ; but in this they were mistaken, for the majority is 29,757. In this county the majority against the amendment was 892. In most of the large towns and cities
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HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY.
the vote was largely against the amendment, but the vote in the rural districts was very strong in behalf of prohibition, and now the amendment becomes a part of the constitution of Iowa.
It is frequently predicted by the one side, that this amendment will be destructive of the best interests of the State ; that it will drive out capital ; that it will ruin many well-to-do citizens ; that it will not stop the sale and use of liquor, and some even contend that the sale and use of liquor will be increased.
But we now turn to the advocates of the amendment, and they urge, "It will destroy drunkenness; it will restore peace, happiness and health to families; it will enrich the State; it will prevent the manufacture, sale and use of liquors, wine and beer; it will spread knowl- edge and prosperity all over Iowa." It is very doubtful if either side will see the extremes predicted in consequence of the adoption of this amendment. Time and a trial of the law must determine what will be its fruits. Those who may live in the future will be enabled to tell of the results of the amendment, be they good or evil.
The evidence is rapidly increasing to con- vince the world of the exceeding rich rewards that are in store for Council Bluffs and Potta- wattamie Connty. Go where you will, in city or country, and you will find on every hand sings of progress and prosperity. In the city you will see massive brick buildings rising, four or five stories high; the water-works are being completed; extensive elevators are going up, while packing-houses are being erected, mills improved, and all manner of manufacturing and business of every description are increas- ing. Then go with ns to the country, and you will behold improvements that would do credit to the oldest settlement in the east-farmers are growing finer stock, planting orchards, and their new houses and barns will compare favorably with those in the city.
In passing over the county we find some of the very nicest railroad stations, where mer- chants buy vast amounts of grain and large numbers of cattle, hogs and sheep for the Eastern markets. It is difficult to tell whether the country or city is making the greater prog- ress, but one thing is certain, both bespeak a great and wonderful future for this section. There can be no mistaking the facts, and these go far to stimulate all on to action and to pros- perity.
The old settlers begin to look about, and ex- press surprise at what they behold, while a few of this class begin to show signs of discontent at the crowded condition of things. One farmer and stock-grower expressed himself as very much dissatisfied at the numerous settlers in his section. Said he, "I only have 320 acres of land, and before the speculators sold, I had thousands of acres, and I wish I had not a neighbor within five or ten miles, so I could have plenty of range for my stock." Such men never do much for any country, and are really no benefit to any community, and when death overtakes them it is a general blessing to all. Too many worship money not for what it will get, but for the sake of having it. If God ever intended this portion of creation for any good purpose it is doubtful, for they would not do anything to improve a country or invite a settler. The day for such is rapidly passing away, and he who would prosper and become respected, must be up and doing-must be- come civilized, and not act the part of the Indian.
This country will sustain a large population, and it will be thickly inhabited, and he who does not want neighbors must remove to some other frontier country. This section, with its richness and beauty, was created for the use of men, and nothing will stop its settlement. The human family will search out and locate upon productive lands where they can live well and grow rich, and this they can do here, so the
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HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY.
drone who only lives to count over his dollars must seek some new spot upon the face of the earth if he would have any peace. This county has had many drones-men who only made money for the sake of having it, but time and enterprising people are rapidly pushing these people to the wall, and like the Indian, they will be without a home.
The people of this country need have no fears in relation to the growth and advance to be made here, but at the same time they can do much to hasten the work of placing this city and county in the very foremost rank, not only in Iowa, but in the nation. It is not necessary to here go into any extended argument, or to refer to the numerous advantages enjoyed by this section, to prove that our statements are true, for the facts must be apparent to every reflecting, intelligent mind. With a navigable river, innumerable railroads, and more making, a soil that is unsurpassed, no one can tell what wealth, growth and prosperity await Pottawat- tamie County and the people who settle here in the next ten years. It is almost idle to even hope to approximate what may reasonably be looked for in the period mentioned, for, in the writer's opinion, much greater advance will be made than is anticipated by the most ex- travagant well-wisher or prognosticator. Time alone can tell what the future of this country will be. But the promise is plain, if location, good soil and facilities can produce a rich har- vest and great results, no speculation need to be entered into, but the people should go right forward in good earnest, and, as certainly as time will elapse, the fruit will ripen and the re- ward become perfectly satisfactory. This is no speculation, but a reality that a few years will prove, and then those who shall have remained
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steadfast will rejoice in their gains, while those who may be looking for more speedy fortunes may regret their changes. If the young men who read this history will ponder over these facts, he will be posted as to the best course to pursue in the future. It is useless to go about guessing and speculating upon results, for what has been in the past will occur in the future. Select a central location in any new country and remain on it for a few years, and the return will be ample and satisfactory. In looking over the histories of the past we cannot find an exception to the rule here given. It is as true as stated, " history repeats itself," and as cer- tainly as fine locations in the East became for- tunes to the early settlers, so will the locations in this western country become fortunes to the early settlers who hold them for a few years. The advantages here are far superior to those possessed by many of the eastern settlements, and the gains must be proportionately that much better. If the young men will read what is here stated to any purpose they can and will avoid many of the difficulties of those who have gone before them, and reap the rewards of those who have been successful. It is only by looking at the past that we can tell how to act in the future. and prepare ourselves for the ups and downs of life. In the language of the poet, we can sing :
" Pleiades of nation's liberty and men,
What a bright and glorious heritage is yours; What matchless symmetry. Here stalwart men May feed and fatten, still the soil endures.
"Your mighty waters, mellow, sweet and pure, From veins and arteries profusely pour'd Throughout the land, unconseions shall allure A multitude immense to come and hoard
The wealth exhaustless in thy bosom stored."
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HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY.
CHAPTER VIII .*
COUNCIL BLUFFS-ITS FIRST ERA-THE SITE FIFTY YEARS AGO-AMERICAN FUR COMPANY AND TRAPPERS-LA SALLE'S EXPLORATION-SACS AND FOXES AND SIOUX BANDS-SALE OF LOUISIANA-TREATY OF ST. ILDEFONSO-LEWIS AND CLARK'S EX- PLORATIONS-DISCOVERY OF THE COLUMBIA RIVER.
T THE origin and growth of any important town, city or center of industry, or in- fluence, is always of intense interest, not only to those who have participated in the devel- opment, but to those who may come after, to share in the work of their predecessors. This is particularly the case with reference to Council Bluffs. In this utilitarian age, when romance has been eliminated, to a great ex- tent, fron social and industrial life, cities are founded for commercial reasons, and their location fixed upon through that intlu- ence alone. That is not the case, however, to the fullest extent, with reference to Coun- cil Bluffs. Its development in its later history, of course, is owing to commercial in- terests, but its foundation is as much of an epic as that of ancient Rome, though not in- volved in the same obscurity or dependent upon mere myths for the source of its annals.
No fair comprehension can be had of the city in its present condition, and its existing stage of growth, without a broad view of what has preceded the present, and even of the situation before a single white inhabitant set foot upon the soil now devoted to civiliz- ing purposes. Fifty years ago. the site was unoccupied for any purpose, and far off to the Pacific Ocean was an expanse of plain, a barrier of mountain and a wilderness of tim- ber. Eastward almost to the Mississippi,
there was a stretch of rolling prairie, broken here and there by patches of timber, and traversed by streams, but no inhabitants, ex- cept nomads, and no trails but those of Indian hunting parties, or of the trappers and trad- ers of the American Fur Company. An old French map before the writer at this moment, giving the outline of the territory traversed by Marquette, Hennepin and LaSalle, in 1680, gives some idea of how the country bordering on the Missouri River appeared, in outline, to those explorers.
LaSalle graphically describes a winter on the great river which now flows on the bor- ders of Council Bluffs. What he and his companions endured to reach this point is a dark and wierd romance, and more thrilling than any imagined drama. It was a gloomy and lonely scene; the river gliding dark and cold between its banks of clay, rushes and overhanging cottonwoods; the empty and abandoned Indian lodges, covered with crusted snow; the vast white meadows on either side; the cliffs and bluffs, bearded with shining icicles, or rolling in gray masses for hun- dreds of miles northward and southward tree- less and abrupt. Yet there was some life even in this savage landscape. They saw buffalo wading in the snow; they discovered tracks of moccasins, denoting human existence not far away. True to that social impulse which seeks even savage society, they cut
*By Cul. John U Kratley.
HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY.
rushes and ridges, piled them on the bluffs and fired them, in the hope of attracting the attention of Indians, hostile or friendly, they cared not which. Not only in winter did these French explorers, thousands of miles from civilization, experience the vastness and the grandeur of the solitude which they trav- ersed, but they witnessed the glories even of its matchless summer time. There is a vast lapse between when they first looked upon the turgid waters of the Missouri rolling away in solitude to the ocean, and the next advent of the white man.
It is difficult to determine, in the absence of anything but tradition, the boundary lines of the claims of the various Indian tribes who exercised savage jurisdiction over the soil of Iowa, and especially over the western portion of the State. The Sacs and Foxes, a confederato tribe, occupied and assumed to control both banks of the Mississippi River, in that part of Iowa which constitutes the eastern boundary. The Sioux, or Dakotas, roamed as far east as that river, raided the territory bordering the Missouri in Iowa, and claimed to be lawful masters of the country surrounding Council Bluffs. Their title to the country on both sides of the river was disputed by force by the Grand Pawnees, the Pawnee Loups, the Republican Pawnees, the Otoes and the Omahas. These bands were confederated, and, about 1836. had for their principal chief Addurrison, a descend- ant of the ancient Mohawks, of New York.
The connecting link between these tribes and bands and civilization in the States, was the American Fur Company, whose agents roamed to the head-waters of the Missouri in search of pelts, carrying with them for barter such stores and supplies as were suitable alone to Indian traffic.
At the close of the last century the soil of Council Bluffs was Spanish territory, and em-
braced within Louisiana Province. In 1797, Miranda, a Spanish American adventurer, in conjunction with Lucre, Salas and Duperon, concocted a plan or convention, in Paris, for the purpose of freeing the Spanish American colonies and creating from them independent republics, by securing the aid of an English fleet, and military forces from the United States, the latter to be indemnified by the possession of Florida and Louisiana. This plot was shared by Aaron Burr and the ill- fated Gen. Wilkinson, both distinguished officers of the Revolutionary army, but, by due vigilance of the United States, the scheme was rendered abortive. Thomas Jefferson was justly credited as the leader of that great mass of the people who regarded the powers of the Federal Government as limited by the express terms of the constitution, but when he became President, through the election of 1800, he at once recognized the overshadow- ing necessity of acquiring that vast area of territory which extended from the Gulf of Mexico to the British Possessions, and which controlled the mouths of the Mississippi River. A glance at the situation will enable one to comprehend the importance of the acqui- sition. By a private article in the treaty of St. Ildefonso, dated the 18th of October, 1800, Spain receded to France the territory of Louisiana. This embraced the region north of Florida. west of the Mississippi and east of the Rocky Mountains, and a line drawn through the Sabine, the Red and the Arkansas Rivers. Napoleon Bonaparte was then first Consul of France. Jefferson was President and Edward Livingston the Ameri- can Minister to the French Republic. The latter was at peace with England, but Bona- parte apprehended a rupture that soon came. He felt confident that England's supremacy at sea would endanger the colonial posses- sions of France, and immediately proposed
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HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY.
to sell all this vast territory to the United States for 100,000,000 of francs or about $20,000,000. The proposal was astounding. not so much on account of the price, as from the fact that France should be willing to part with such a vast empire in the new world, on any terms, short of having it wrested fiom her, by conquest. Marbois, the French ne- gotiator, was instructed to take 50,000,000 francs, if he could get no more. Livingston held to his instructions and refused to yield, and the bargaining ended by France accept- ing 50,000,000 francs, and an agreement on the part of the United States to pay a fur- ther indemnity to her, not to exceed 20,000, - 000, for the spoliation of French commerce, by American vessels, during a quasi state of war between the two countries a few years before. As this indemnity has never yet been paid by the United States, the vast area of country, including that occupied by Coun- cil Bluffs, was acquired at a cost of $10,000,- 000 only, a few million dollars over and above the present assessed value of the real estate in that city alone, eighty-two years after the negotiation for its transfer ended. Jefferson himself conceded that there was no express warrant in the constitution for this purchase, but, like many other events in our history, facts and development, and the necessity of development, were more potent than constitu- tional limitations.
Having acquired Louisiana territory in the manner just stated, President, Jefferson com- missioned two officers of the army, Merri- wether Lewis and William Clarke, to make an exploration of the Missouri River coun- try, and to eross the Rocky Mountain range and descend to the Pacific Ocean. Steam- boats had just been invented, but their utili- ty was not fully demonstrated, and, in 1804, Lewis and Clarke set out to navigate the Missouri River, for more than 2.600 miles,
in canoes. Having accomplished this arduous task, when reaching the head-waters of that great stream, and having passed through the country of tribes who had never seen the face of a white man before, they abandoned their flotilla, and, mounted on Indian ponies, which they captured wild, resumed their journey, descending the western slope of the continent to the Pacific Ocean, to the mouth of the Columbia River. This stream had been discovered in 1792 by a seaman, Capt. Robert Gray, of Salem, Mass., when on a whaling voyage.
The American Fur Company, of which the celebrated John Jacob Astor was one of the mainstays, soon began to develop on the ter- ritory acquired from France. Steamboats came into use on the Ohio River in 1812, and shortly afterward they were employed in navigating the Missouri in the interests of the fur company. The origin of this move- ment is definitely traced to Ramsay Crooks, of New York, and Russell Farnum, of Mas- sachusetts, who had been in the employment of John Jacob Astor, in the foundation of Astoria, in the then inchoate territory of Oregon, and who, in the winter of 1820-21, songht the action of Congress for an authori- zation to occupy the country for fur trade purposes. In Thomas H. Benton they found an able advocate in the Senate, from Missouri, just made one of the States of the Union. The proposition passed into legisla- tion, in the shape of a law to regulate inter- eourse with the Indian tribes of the country on the Missouri River and beyond that. This gave to the American Fur Company a status, and they proceeded at once on a large scale to develop their great interests.
St. Louis was then a mere French village. All beyond that, to the head-waters of the Yellowstone, was a dismal, desolate waste. The fur company found the French voyageur
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HISTORY OF POTTAWATTAMIE COUNTY.
the most useful agent in the Indian country, and the men who undertook their most diffi- cult enterprises were the descendants of the early French pioneers of the Mississippi Val- ley. Many who started from St. Louis to traffic with the Indian tribes within the boun- daries of Western Iowa and Nebraska are
lost to sight. but a few are still left to look with admiration upon the wonderful changes worked in the new country in the past fifty years. Clermont Lambert. Benjamin Potra, Leonard Benoit, Francois La Talipe, Francis Badeau and Augusta Janisse have not been entirely forgotten.
CHAPTER IX .*
COUNCIL BLUFFS-THE MISSOURI VALLEY - FRANK GUITTAR -THE PAWNEES, OTOES AND OMAHAS - WILLIAM MENARY, THE CANADIAN-THE POTTAWATTAMIE -IOWA IN- DIAN RAIDS-FIGHT AT OTTER RIVER-COL. HARDIN AS INDIAN AGENT.
H ROM one who still survives the events of those days, the writer has caught an idea of the appearance then of the site of Council Bluffs. Placing one's self on one of the loft- iest of its bare peaks, and looking westward. one's eye catches one of the grandest sights ever beheld by man. In a clear day, the vision was not limited for thirty miles to the north, nor for the same distance to the south. Everywhere it rested on the flanks of undu- lating lines of bluffs, almost bare of all else than grass. Here and there, patches of tim - ber, in green bunches, ran from the valley upward to the crest, marking the outlines of lateral gorges and cañons, and out in front lay a plain in places twelve or fifteen miles wide, as level as a floor, covered with green, luxurious grass, dotted with sparkling lakes and traversed by the great Missouri, whose meandering was in huge, bright coils to the south. Beyond this were the blue hills of Nebraska which came timber-covered in many places to the river bank. All was as solitary and still as death, and one turned nervously at the crackling of a twig under the feet, so desolate and so silent was everything. Not even the friendly smoke of an Indian wig-
wam was in sight when Frank Guittar, a French voyageur, first set foot on the soil of Council Bluffs, and gazed for the first time, in 1826, over the broad expanse of the valley at this point and at his feet.
At the period of this writing, Mr. Guittar is still living, at the age of seventy-two, a hale. hearty. prosperous citizen of Council Bluffs. In years to come, the inquirer may desire to know the appearance of the man who has thus survived all the ordinary, and a good many of the extraordinary, incidents of life. Even with all the vicissitudes of his early career of hardship on the frontier, he is still a man of great physical endurance. He is also an interesting study. He is of medium height and of a fleshy, full-rounded frame. His complexion is swarthy, and his hair, notwithstanding his age, coal black. His movements are still quick and nervous, and his accent strongly French. From the very beginning of his career among the In- dians of the Missouri Valley, and as far west as the Rocky Mountains. he acquired their utmost confidence and respect. When he left St. Louis, in 1826, to make this. a lone- ly frontier, his home, not a white man had a cabin on the river between St. Louis and
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