USA > Iowa > Wapello County > History of Wapello County, Iowa, and representative citizens > Part 3
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24
HISTORY OF WAAPELLO COUNTY
hand, and call him brother. The white man is the older of the two; but perhaps you have heard that my tribe is respected by all others, and is the oldest among the tribes. I have shaken hands with a great many different tribes of people. I am very much gratified that I have lived to come and talk with the white man in this house where my fathers talked, which I have heard of so many years ago. [ will go home and tell all I have seen, and it shall never be forgotten by my children.'
"In the spring of 1842 Wapello had left his village on the Des Moines, not far from the site of the present city of Ottumwa, to visit the grand scenes of his former hunting exploits. It was in March-the dreary month of storms -but there were days when all nature seemed to rejoice at the near approach of the season of springing grass and budding leaves. Alas! The good chief had numbered his winters on carth. llis moccasins were never again to press the green carpet of the prairies, nor fol- low the trail of the deer amid the coverlets of the forest. While encamped with his hunting party on Rock Creek, in what is now Jackson township, Keokuk county, he was taken sud- denly ill. Surrounded by his faithful follow- ers, he lingered but a few days, and then on the 15th of March. 1842, his spirit passed away to the better hunting grounds. To the curious it may in the years to come be a matter of in- terest to know that the closing scene in the earthly carcer of this good Indian chief was
on the northwest quarter of the northeast quar- ter of section 21. township 74, range II.
"In accordance with a request made by Wapello some time before his death, his re- mains were conveyed to the agency for inter- ment near those of General Street, the former beloved agent of the Sacs and Foxes. The funeral cortege accompanying the remains con- sisted of 25 Indians, three of whom were squaws. (Samuel Hardesty drove the ox wagon, in which the body was conveyed.) In the presence of Keokuk. Appanoose and most of the leading men of the tribes, on the same evening of the arrival of the body, after the usual Indian ceremonies, the interment took place. Since then the remains of Wapello have peacefully reposed beside those of his pale- faced friend, and suitable monuments mark the resting place of both. Many years ago the author copied from their gravestones the fol- lowing inscriptions :
In Memory of Gen. Joseph MI. Street, Son of Anthony and Molly Street. Born Oct. 18th, 1782, in Virginia; Died at the Sac and Fox .Agency, May 5th, 1840.
In Memory of Wa-pel-lo, Born at Prairie du Chien, 1787; Died near the Forks of Skunk, March 15, 1812 .- Sac and Fox Nation.
CHAPTER III
INDIAN CENSUS
NAMES OF INDIANS OF THE SAC AND FOX TRIBE, AS REVEALED BY THE ACCOUNT BOOK OF J. P. EDDY, THE INDIAN TRADER.
In the year 1840, J. P. Eddy was ap- pointed Indian trader at the Ilard Fish vil- lage, on the site now occupied by Eddyville. The author of this work has in his possession the book of accounts kept by Eddy, in which the names of the heads of families and single Indians are preserved, giving the number in family and the articles purchased. This is, perhaps, the only document in existence that contains the names of the Indians of that period, and is therefore very valuable. The book was presented to the writer by Richard Butcher, of Eddyville ( now deceased ), who was a clerk or assistant in the trading house Mink Col Che Roc .. of Mr. Eddy. The names are written in a Paw caw caw .. very plain handwriting, and with ink that still Waw pe mah Whey preserves its glossy black color to a remark- Mashe wac quah. Pam me po Ko. able degree. We have, therefore, not only Assaw waw mink. the names but as nearly an accurate census Lah Lah waw pit Nam maw Reah. as could possibly be taken. The names of some of the prominent chiefs and leading men ! Ke we Tshah cooss sat
appear in the list that follows. The total number of persons represented is 2.004. The purchases made by the Indians were calico, blankets, powder, lead, scalping knives, a few parasols, saddles, bridles, handkerchiefs, mus- lin, broadcloth, pocket knives, ribbons, ver- milion paint for the purposes of decoration, hunting knives, coffee, sugar, etc. Kishke- kosh, who was a chief, ran up a bill amount- ing to nearly two hundred dollars. The names of other chiefs appear, such as Wa- pello, Pashepaho, and Keokuk's wife.
No. in family.
4
We Shick ( Ma Qual ℃
3
I
4
7
Pup pe qua pac quac. 5
Ne Kall ack quack 8
3
26
HISTORY OF WAPELLO COUNTY
Paw Po Tray
3
Ka tan no qua.
5
Sha Sho want
2
Sah Kash Kec.
3
Fah she Kah Tshik.
I
Ken Niss a ...
5
She pe pec
6
Pe at taw we o Ke mant. 8
Wass ay hon wa
7
Nac ot to cop paw.
5
Tshah Kat Taw cos see.
7
Ah tah moon e qua.
7
Not Taw Tass cee ..
2
Wac Kam mo.
2
Kac Kenaw watassee
4
Wah Kaw pe Shick.
Kot tac que
II
Kat Tac qua.
[I
Minsh co
2
Pash Ko whah.
3
Ah Taic
2
Min Cup pay
4
No Ten o Kah
I
Assaw watah quat
3
Ah Shah :
8
Ke cool ass
I
Kash Ke put.
5
Tsha cal a ma.
5
Wap pwa ah Tuc.
4
Nock Kah whay
4
Ah put tah honc.
I
Assaw wash Koow
3
Peu Keen nack.
5
Mink che pah
6
Moot a 1
7
Wah pe Koss pah
1
Quas Quis
4
WVah co Shaw.
2
Mash que quah Tah
2 As aw wee
2
Watch che wca.
2
Pam me hat
I 1
Shah maw Kaw ...
2
Nan Ne maw wha
2
Mack quaw Tas.
2
Wah pusha Kac qua
3
We te munt.
3 Resh Rat tap pe qua
2
Mack atq Hah quata
3 WVe sha pit
-
We Yah. .
I
Mo Me te ne
I
Mash que pac Ke ..
6
She Col ah wah.
2
Saw Pee quac que.
2
Mah che ne no
5
Man Whay.
7 Puss ays
4
Wah we so.
4
Ass aw assam mo
T
Ah cow we mah.
3
Ro Raw ho
I
Mack cat tan can.
3
Ke we nin ne
Nam me pash qua.
I
Wah pee moy whay
Mat che seppo.
4 Kush Ko maw
Ne Kal oo Sah hat
4
Paw ne to te
Mash quah Ka.
7 No shay co
3
Mink coh che Ke.
Ah tshe qnaw Lo na
7
Muk quaw.
2
Quos que ton
I
Waw push e con.
7
Mack cah tow con
3
Kah tah Kow wah
3 Ash qua Mah
I
Me Kass se qua ...
5 Tac cum messac
3
Pam ine Tuck Wuc Tshe.
2
Mah tah pay.
I
Mant hi Ke ne.
6 Tshah tsah coos sah qua
5
O Ke mant.
5 Meshe muh tuck quah
4
Pam me po Ko ..
4 O tac Kone.
3
Wass ay hon wa.
7 Mank ke we na
3
Tshh cat taw quah.
6 O Ke maw assam
4
Wah pe Kac Kaic White Hawk
7 Meal wa ma qua
5
Nam maw Kea
4
Tshe Qui
Wass at tan no qua.
3
As si wal i Ri.
3 3222 2
Kat tat talı.
3 Kah Ke os sa qua
27
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS.
Os Kush
I
Pshah Tshah
Wah Wah Ke.
2
No tut tiz Eu
Allem Peen
7
Tsho wah
3
Ah Pah am p pee
3 Was ash Kee
I
Mash qua Tah
4
Ash ke packaw whah
1
Pan e nan nese
5
Kish Kee Kosh
1
Que yam ma
3
Pey new nese
5
Ne mah Ka Wha
5
Wah tass sah ko
Ah Shah soo
8
Muk que bol lah Shaw
2
Mu or Re mo tah
I
Ilah not taw
Sac ko wa Kah
5
Nis so Kat or Pam ma ho
I
Pal ah See
1
Puck Cut tup pu
I
Wah cum mo
3
Mack Kose
Kow we Kul Suck
4
Ke Ke Kep sah
Pwa E nak kee
3
1 moo ass
5
Kiesh kow tamp pee
4
Sho wa kea
I
The son of Shackeo
1
Mack oss penia
4
Kook
1
She co Call an ke
Nan to wa ka
IO
Kac ke na wa Tase
Pallo qua
7
Ke o tah quah
I
Nam ma Enin nee
1
Am mo wah
3
Mash co kaw
I
Ko ko at cha
5
Mack e nee
1
Ap pah lah nose
4 Caw is see
Chaw Ko Kaw wah
3 Assaw E cah ak
Pam mas sah hat
5
Kah Ke mo
I
Me shat che qua
I
Kah Kah Kee cak quaw
1
Wah pal nah tuck
5 No Kuh qua
2
Kash ke pai
- Ka ke me
I ah wa che.
3
Nah pwe Ta hat
5
She koo kaw kac
I
Way sa han nue
5
Wa pa pe qua
1 Wah we Tah Cah
2
Wah Saw pen ent
4 Mank kek qua.
4
Wapo low
I Saw wall
6
Mal ah quaw
I
Packe ses So.
I
Mint taw waw kaw pit
3
Pat tac quee.
6
Pal La noss al
3 Tshe quass
3
Nin cot ta hit
3 Re mant
5
Kot Tah whah
I At che kaw hon
I
Ash Shish ke we
I Pe qual lo
I
No Ro Mack
I No tak kay
3
Mol Cat te Cat Tul.
1 Tshe quaho
1
Mal taw taw
2 Miss aw wat
2
Nut che min
4
Me ah Kee
3
Mash quah wat
3
Sha Ra ho
I
Sackitto
6 Chow ko cow wah
10
Ni an no
I
Wah posh e mock que
3
Kee wa wic kay
10 Ah quam mant
1
No Tick Kah
Ashe came
Push Ko
6 U's cos She quah
I
Mackata qua
4
I am o us .
2
Ac kan nee
3
3
2
28
HISTORY OF WAPELLO COUNTY
Quah quee cas
I
Kat che kam equa.
4
Shaw ma Kole
2
Ko shah a
3
Wah wah cassam
4
No kah whay
2
Equa enint tomant.
.1 Assam mit
3
Mat taw we qua
1
Ke shus oo muk o kuc
2
Nan nass wa we wa
1
Ke she asa
3
Wah pe caw paw
I
Kat ah may
Wah puss aye
1 Be nos see
5
Mush quee packce
6
Shah kah pe
1
Wah camm mee
3
Me kes e ne ne
1
Auck que Sok
I
Qu ak kah
2
No Tah Ra
3
Ne Sho Ta
2
Cass ah quu
I
Que ah que yes 1
IO
Wah wa sah
4
Cap pen na qua
Pie maush kee
3
Tshe cah pa
4
Wah pas as mo que
2
No tan osh kuck
7
Assaw wishe no qua
I
O ne e She
5
Mack Kat Tow as se
2 Ne kah tah quak
7
Sho na Kee
7 Com mc
12
Ke wah ma hoo wha
I
Batiste
I
Kat tac qua
I
Pam mah ho
3
I Ke maw qua
3
Wis con sin
1
Mint che
3
Kesh Co
La wah Re wah
I
Kal O mah
I
Wah pe mauk
C
No a hawk
L
Kat che Okemant.
6 Qu ash qu et an
5
Not tuw nur
5 Mat she nam mas
5
Kash Kat lap pequa
Nin naw ke
3
Ka pe co ma
5 Wa pap peu
I
Ash ke pack ka
5 Mack E Naw.
I
Ma kas al
6 Wah pah she con
2
Mack at tah na na macke
I
Ash ah he qua
3
An o Tal
1 Kab sham maw nee
I
Ah Lah me
5 At tan no qua
I
Shah La quah uk
0
Tshee cam mack qua
I
Shay Pur
5 Me Couh U quah
2
Mee Kess Talı
3
Pea qualo co
? Sha ne Kah
S
Mac Kata Equa
I
Che quat e mo
I
We Ne Kan nawk
1
Sah we Yah co se
1
To kon e qua
I Pash ke Lah sant
2
Ash ken Tah
7 We Shick O ma quet
I
Ka To To Se
7 Kew wa taw wappee.
3
Nay qu ash K
3 Kish kah tah
I
Nah mass we hah
2 Ke o Kuck
I
Wah we Yah tan
3 Was see quaw ko
Mala Okemant
4
Mash quah pose
Ne sho we na
2 Che nah pec
Ne Po quah
Wah cam mee
3 We t mough.
We tah wah nawpe
3
Pas e tak nah tuk
Wah pee Mo Wha
2 Mack e naw
29
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS.
Ke wat che
Ne she wash kuck.
4 Matche mo ho cos
Peat taw we ok maw
.\ tah me ho
3
Shah way
() Sah kah pan no qua
I
Shah cat tap pe
5
Pam a maky
I
Shah pot taw
5
Mash que pa Ky
G
Wah ko pushito
(
Pass o quia
3
Na mass we cah pah
I Am a wah
4
We sha kah wah
1 4
No pot
Wah pe sha qua mink
10 Not ah Ke
I
Kos sa quaw
3
Noo ah Kuck
1
Kai shay Okemant
3
Wah Co shah sha
2
We kal oos sah hat
Ne pope
1.1
Mank is say
1 Nay quah Huck
3
Mack et che
4 No See Kec
g
Ah kah qua
No Kese
Mack e paw
Pat ta sah
3
Pe wee nec
I
Wah wah seek kee caw
Ma nay
Tehah hah pe we
3
Tshe Kas Kuk
Nam me peay
Batist. Biss on nette
Pack a tuck
-
Poh Pah ke ay
Wat che llo.
3
Pam mes sat
5
Wah wah kec
We sah kah tay
I Pea tra Shah
G
We pay tay
Ne pat to
Kah ke we she
R
Wa pa loo's Brother.
1
Shah poui kay
Ko wa quack
Mam wa tuck
3 Nah Nah he Kit
Wah Say So qua
3 Mah he can ice
V'a pa ma ha
Wala tah cah
3
Ka con way nah
S
Polla Los wal
Man a to wah
7 Queen na Mo .
1
Wah pe swoch
Ka kac que Mo
Wah pat tea hat
Mash wa e van
Kan was so
() Sho Kap pray
Ne kah nah a tah
Waw we Yal tan
Mush wah a to
3 Mam mackaw Eshik
Kah kah tshe kah
3 Paw Kcc
Shah wah no ho noqua
3 Saw ket qua
Mak wuk mootuy.
2 No ho tuck
Meah lah what
1 Wa mi shic
Tshock ko not
Ah ah we hah
I -
Shay Kte
I Wape canush kuck
I
Sa nee kec
1 No ak ten Kah qua
Tsh ah kah sho
4 Ne Kall Sah quack
0
Mash quash wat
3 Mat tah pay son
I
A la quah to
3 Kasha Okemant 6
Wick e yah
I Mo na say no we
2
4 Nk kee wa wekay
I
We sheet
Nash e as kuk and Brother
.1
Pack Kai tai
3
Mek kah tahal lo c to
Mint taw wa qua
1 Me Kess e nc e.
3
& 3
3 -----
I
30
HISTORY OF WAPELLO COUNTY
1
Qua qua tsh ysay
7
Wah can na
5
Mal ant ch qua
No Shac. Ko. .
2
Mac ket ah assan
3
Pan me Kaw wat
8
Mat tot cho no tah ket
6 Nan noh he kit
9
Wah lash
3 Wah we Yash Ke Shek
I
Waw pall o ka
6
Kah Ke Kay
7
Nah cot ta we noe
6
Ma Show ass
2
Anoo way
5 We can nessat
6
Sah Re win nab Kah pah
5 Cass appee
2
Wah Wah Kee
I
Nan tan no qua
I
Nah waw qua
I
Na may qua.
3
Paw nu shic
5
Mea co
I
Wah pe sha quah mink
5 Queen no wa peah
3
Taw wah nin ne
6 Wah pe man e too
3
'She paw Sah me.
I
Ah not tah
7
Wah paw quat
1
Nah man e qua
2
Ac R Ray E mu nee
3
She pash qua
6
Alink cat ta wass't
I
Paw ne nen no
5
Ne Rec nam Mass we tuck
5 Pe we nee
I
Mal a to pack
5
5
Pan nac nac Ka hawk
I
Paw waw que
7
We taw we e
7 Sissah sah ho
2
Na so kat ta.
6 Ashe pack qua
3
Moc kaw ho co
3 Apeppe pen wa pose
5
Kal a pe qua
I
Wah we Yash Ke Shic
5
Mat tat tah
4 Tshah Rah Mant
Wa Sam Me Sa
8 Kah Kou we na
I
Kaw kaw paw hah
5 An a Mo Sah
I
Man a to appen no
3
Mack ata Equa Kaw
S
Naw naw happce
6
No tee Kay
3
Mam me a she co.
5
Ne Cole lah quack
3
Kesh Kit tan
4 Tack Ro Sah
5
Kan no tappee
I Calumet
3
Wah Rah tapa
Man A Nce
3
Waw pal oos sa squa
4 Iyo nay
G
Wah pit che qua
2
I
Sak Kaw cha Shick
4
Nah sah wah Ray
5
Wap pe nah may
I Pea Shah Kaw
2
Tshah Kee Seppoo
5 Pait che Kah Shay
3
Kah Kah Kce
I Pah we Shic
I
Matche
5 Shah So mat ta
4
Nansh shee
5
Tshah Ke Mackoo
I
Wah pe hai kac.
3
Wah pe Rack ay
6
Man a too am mick
6
Mal a Too Packe.
5
Ah sho wa hock
9 Nesh wah que
I
Ap a pah we ne
3 Paw we Shick
6
Ac Kee nam moos sa noo tak.
I To Ke Casha
6
Tshec Kaw pai
1 Tol Lah Whah
I
Sph Kah now quato.
4 Que we we
3
Quas h quam mee.
5 Mah Whay Tah
1
Tap paw Shu
3 Kall omac quah
4
Sackitto
4
1 Yapp am miss ai
31
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS.
Nah Nah wa Ke hat
4
Nah Ya Shee
3
Pam me Ke we ta
5
Nah quan nat
5
Mon a nee
2
Ye pe naw
Peat tac qua
3
Rap ash cah
4
Saw Kem mah.
4 Kish Ke Kosh
1
Tsha Kah Mant
I
Shah que quat
Ah Lo Tah
2
As hehe way
I
Nac Kose
3 Pal al Nos wa
4
Tshe cah pay
3
We yat tsh ah cah
Pash E Kaw cah
6 Yalo qua
5
Sah Tack
I
Ot Tshe poi qua
D
Kal em p pee
2
Re Sha sa qua
5
Mesh at Che Qua
I
Ne cal ap pit
2
Pah his
6
Tos Ah Mon
Manney co ah
I
W'as Sah Pit.
1
Ash ah E qua
Tass Sa Sha Shik
3 Total
.2004
CHAPTER IV
SOUTH OTTUMWA IN EARLY DAYS
GRAPHIC DESCRIPTION OF THE INDIAN COUNTRY BEFORE THE WHITES WERE PERMITTED TO TAKE CLAIMS-SOUTH OTTUMWA WAS AT THAT TIME THE SCENE OF A GREAT CAMP GROUND.
A. W. Rankin, an honored citizen of Davis ' sweeten anything. Although the lads went county, was a youth when the carly settlement of Davis and Wapello counties was made, but he has preserved a vivid recollection of what took place ; he has recently contributed two or three chapters of his early life to the Davis County Farmer, from which we make the fol- lowing extracts :
"The writer was sent to Meek's Mill or Bonaparte with another party, knowing that the limit allowed each man was but five bush- cls. After waiting nearly a week for my turn 1 was told that 1 was too little to claim 4. turn, and was sent home with my five bush- els of grain unground. But then we would not starve with plenty of unground grain. plenty of fuel to cook with and salt and pork to season with. Yes, and plenty of venison, wild turkeys, prairie chickens, etc ..- the last named so plentiful that we often trapped doz- ens of them in a day,-and wild honey to
to the dance clothed in leather breeches and buckskin moccasins, and ladies tripped the light fantastic in stocking feet: they were happy then as now. Yes, they even courted and mar- ried as they do now, and the affable preacher or genial squire who tied the knot charged about the same price then as now, but had to take his pay in truck of some kind, usually wheat, corn or coon skins. A sheep was gilt- edge pay. But sometimes the anxious groom would have to stand the preacher off awhile. as they do now.
"Yes. Mr. Indian often came to our houses, ate and drank with us, partook of our hospi- tality and was very friendly, there being no fear on our part, although these same Indians ( Sac and Fox), under their great leader. Black Hawk, had been at war with us less than ten years before.
"The writer helped to build the first school-
33
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS.
house, also the first church, and assisted in opening up the first mile of public road in Davis county. This first school-house was built on the site of the settlement now called Stringtown or Dover, and was constructed of logs, with clapboard roof, weighted with logs or poles ; the puncheon floor was hewed from split logs ; greased paper was used for part of the windows : a huge fireplace, large enough to take in six-foot wood, was an important fea- ture,-the wood being supplied by voluntary contributions. Seats were made by splitting small logs in two and supporting them, with the flat side up, on large pins or legs inserted in the lower or rounding side of the seat ; these seats were so high that the smaller children could scarcely touch the floor. The door was made of split pieces, secured together with wooden pins, and was hung on wooden hinges. not a nail being used in the builtling. Picture these surroundings and then imagine the ap- pearance of the teacher. William Olney, with clean hands and face, hair combed straight back, and armed with a huge gad, and you have a fair idea of Davis county's first school-room. The teacher was to receive $15 per month. payable in wheat, corn or coon skins.
" Along in 1841 or 1842 John and Peter Marson built the first mill in Davis county. aside from the Government mill before spoken of. It was about one mile southwest of Stringtown on the raging Fox River, and was a water-mill, run by horse power. Unfortu- nately. among the first teams hitched on was a skittish one, that ran away with the mill.
"Now start out with us, five men and a boy, the writer, to look at this Indian country, all west of where Troy now stands, filled with Indians, wild game, bees and honey, if not with milk. Near where Drakesville now stands we struck the Mormon trail,-a plain wagon road made by those deluded people fol- lowing their leader, Joseph Smith, driven by exasperated Missourians, wending their lonely way, about the year 1838, through this Indian territory to found Nauvoo. The road was quite plain at this time ( March, 1841). We followed this road southwest and crossed Fox River one mile southwest of where Drakes- ville now stands. After going southwest part of a day we reversed our course and traveled toward the other end of this Mormon road. going northeast and down by Lick Springs and where Floris now stands, finding plenty of Indians all along the way, who offered no resistance. When nearing the Des Moines River the party concluded to visit Keokuk's village, an Indian town where now stands South Ottumwa. This Indian village con- tained a population supposed to number about 2,000 inhabitants.
"We rode our horses into the river and watered at the head of a large island, the south side being the main and steamboat channel, now dry farming or garden land. We con- tinned back through the Indian village and still further south to their burial ground, which interested me more than any other feature about the place. There the virtues of the de- parted were pictured upon rude posts of slabs. -I think some of these were of cedar, but most
34
HISTORY OF WAPELLO COUNTY
of them were of more perishable wood, that certainly could not last more than twenty years. But upon these post or slabs were painted in unmistakable signs by loving hands the great merits or deeds of the one quietly resting beneath, for almost all were buried beneath the sod in this particular burying ground.
"Some paintings showed the deceased in the act of slipping up on a lone deer and shoot- ing it with bow and arrow, others wrestling with a bear or buffalo, while some of the dead were represented as being carried from a great distance as the rising or setting sun. Others told the story, '1 killed my white man; see his scalp in my hand,' or 'I killed my Sioux In- dian,' the unmistakable delineation of the fea- tures of the Sioux or Pawnee face telling the tribe. So these pictures told the story of the dead without using a single letter of our alpha- bet as certainly as the sculptured chiseling upon the Egyptian tombs of Rameses or Thothmes, made before Cadmus invented letters.
"This Indian village seemed to me, a boy as I was, to be back from the river nearly a mile, from which they were hauling water in neatly-dressed skins of animals, hung be- tween two long poles, one on each side of their horses. I should judge that a horse would haul as much as a barrel of water at a time. I wondered why they did not build their town near the water instead of at a distance that re- quired them to haul their water. This pro- cedure, however, was a military necessity, for a foe forming under the cover of the river bank might annihilate the town at short range,
while to charge across an open plain for a mile would be quite another thing.
"These Indians ( Sac and Fox) were as well, if not better, armed as any of the Indians of the whole Northwest or upper Mississippi valley. But their longest range guns-flint- lock rifles-could not reach more than a hun- dred yards or two hundred yards at the most. .A gun. bow and arrow, tomahawk and scalp- ing knife, with a little paint, was the full out- fit of a warrior.
" As some who read this may never have seen an Indian, I will say that almost all the tribes inhabiting the upper Mississippi valley were quite similar in color, stature, etc., while to the practiced eye there was difference enough to notice. They were all copper-col- ored, high cheek-boned, with little or no beard and with but little hair on the head, straight and rather tall, had little to say to us, and were stoical and indifferent to passing events. They were clad in a breech clout, surmounted with a heavy woolen blanket of civilized manu- facture, often very greasy and dirty, and this clothing was used by men and women alike. Their food was dirty and filthy in the extreme. This picture I think will apply to all the tribes of the upper Mississippi valley, but not to the Sioux nor to those farther west, and I will say that I have seen some of nearly all the tribes of the central portion of North America.
"All, or nearly all, these Indians were lazy, dirty and filthy in camp and tramp, the men leading an easy, indolent life on foot or horseback, while the female portion of the community showed every sign of care, cau-
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35
AND REPRESENTATIVE CITIZENS.
tion and drudgery, performing all the work in the camp, whether in the village or in the coun- try. Crouched in the tent, the saddle, or hold- ing on to the dear little ones with the vigil of a mother, countenance dejected, the Indian women seemed worthy of pity; they had a bountiful supply of thick, long, flowing black hair. occasionally combed in a rude manner with their fingers. This is a fair picture of the Indians of the upper Mississippi valley. ** %
"But I will return to our Keokuk village in 1841, where now stands South Ottumwa, 1901. Keokuk was chief, but I do not recol- lect seeing him nor Chief Appanoose nor Che- quest. But I think Hard Fish, the war chief, was there. Black Hawk, the noted warrior and statesman, had died about two and a half years before, and was buried near Iowaville. But vandal white hands had carried away his body. and not one of his bones can be found to-day, his skeleton having been consumed to
ashes about the year 1840, through the burn- ing of a building in Burlington, lowa, where it was secreted.
"Many of the houses of this village had an upper story, reached by steps or notches cut in logs or poles, and all the houses were cov- ered with bark peeled from trees in such an ingenious manner that we soon learned to imi- tate their example and to cover our own houses and porches in the same way.
"Now as I walk down those long and beau- tiful streets in South Ottumwa, crowded with a busy throng, and I stop to quench my thirst from the clear, cool water just from the well, I inwardly ask myself is this water drained off those poor savages buried here in my day as well as centuries before? Then it was war and hate; now. I trust, it is love and peace and good will on earth."
It is a pleasure to rescue the above fresh and charming description and place it where it will be preserved for future generations.
CHAPTER V
OCCUPYING THE LAND
DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTY'S PHYSICAL FEATURES BEFORE THE ADVENT OF THE SET- TLERS-RECOLLECTIONS OF OLD SETTLERS-EXTRACTS FROM AN ADDRESS MADE BY JUDGE HENDERSHOTT.
All the lands now included in Wapello county were open, unoccupied and awaiting ownership in the year 1843, when the Govern- ment removed restrictions, opened the gates and bid the settlers to come forward and choose farms for themselves! It was a great heritage that came to these men of adventure, who had pushed forward to the borders of civ- ilization on the heels of the departing Indians. It was land that had lain unstirred by the plow from the date of creation, and was rich beyond all ordinary measure; the Indians did not pre- tend to utilize it except on the bottoms, where their squaws would stir up the ground with a rude hoc, plant a few hills of corn and beans and gather small crops at their convenience or as their wants demanded; the great body of land had never yielded anything but the spon- taneous products of the soil. We do not suffi- ciently realize what a grand inheritance this was that had been kept in a state of nature for
so many centuries for the use of the first set- tlers!
The site of Ottumwa and the surrounding country was beautiful and picturesque ; all the land on the north side of the river at an early period was covered with a dense growth of forest trees; all the bluffs, that are now trav- ersed by streets, some of which are paved, were thickly studded with oak, elm and hick- ory trees; the low places, or flats, near the river bank were overgrown either with tall prairie grass or by thickets of haw, plum or hazel brush. On what is now Main street there were various ponds that were made the resort of wild fowl in the proper season, and on the south side of the river, on the site of what is now known as South Ottumwa, there was a beautiful plain covered with grass; on the heights beyond South Ottumwa there was a thick body of "timber" or forest trees and a dense growth of underbrush.
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