USA > Iowa > Muscatine County > The History of Muscatine county, Iowa, containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, &c. > Part 44
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" But for many years before they left Iowa, they lived together, and were considered one people (though they kept up some customs among themselves, calculated to maintain a separate name and language).
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HISTORY OF MUSCATINE COUNTY.
" The Foxes first moved to the West, and settled in the vicinity of Green Bay, on Lake Michigan. But they had become involved in wars with the French and neighboring tribes, and were so much reduced in numbers that they were unable to sustain themselves against their hostile neighbors.
" The Sacs had been engaged in a war with the Iroquois (or Six Nations), who occupied the country which now composes the State of New York, and had become so weak that they were forced to leave their old hunting-grounds and move to the West. They found the Foxes, their old neighbors, like themselves, reduced in numbers by the misfortunes of war, and, from a matter of necessity as well as sympathy, they united their fortunes together and became as one people, and as such remained so as long as they lived within the limits of Iowa, and probably will so long as they remain a nation. The date of their cmigration from the St. Lawrence is not definitely known. Father Hennepin speaks of the Fox Indians being at Green Bay in 1680, which at that time was called the Bay of Puants.
" After the union of the Sacs and Foxes at Green Bay, and when their nation had become powerful, they crossed over and extended their hunting- grounds west of the Mississippi, and, uniting with other tribes, began to act on the offensive.
" All the valley from Rock River to the Ohio, on the east of the Mis- sissippi, and on the west of the Des Moines River was inhabited by a numer- ous and warlike nation of Indians called the Minneways, signifying 'men.' This great nation was divided into different bands known by various names (such as the Illinois, Cahokins, Kaskaskins, Pcorias, etc.), and occupied sepa- rate parts of the valley. This nation had long been prosperous and powerful, and feared and dreaded by other nations ; but a circumstance happened which brought the vengeance of their neighbors upon them, and they in their turn were humbled.
" Pontiac, a Sac chief, very much beloved and respected by his people, had been wantonly murdered by some of the Minneways. This act aroused the anger of the Sac and Fox nations, and, forming an alliance with other tribes, they commenced a fierce and bloody war against the different bands of the Minneways. This war was continued till that great nation was nearly destroyed, and their hunting-grounds possessed by their enemies.
" At the time the United States made the Louisiana Purchase, the Sac and Fox nations were in possession of most of the State of Illinois, and nearly all the country west of the Mississippi, between the Upper Iowa River and the Jeffreon (in Missouri) west to the Missouri River. The Sacs had four large villages where most of them resided ; one at the head of the Des Moines Rapids, near where Montrose is now located, which consisted of thirteen lodges ; the second village was on the east shore of the Mississippi, near the mouth of the Hender- son River, about half way between Burlington and Oquawka; the third village was located on Rock River, about three miles from the Mississippi, which was their largest and principal village ; the other was on the west side of the river, near the mouth of the Upper Iowa. The Foxes (or Reynards) had three vil- lages : one on the west side of the Mississippi, six miles above the rapids of Rock River; the second, 'twelve miles in the rear of the lead mines at Du Buque,' and the other on Turkey River.
" The Iowas, who may be regarded as a band of the Sacs and Foxes, at this time had one village near the mouth of the lower Iowa River, and another on the north side of the Des Moines. near where is now located the town of lowaville.
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HISTORY OF MUSCATINE COUNTY.
" These Indians had their separate villages and different chiefs; but they occupied in common the same hunting-grounds, were united in their wars and alliances, and the Sacs, Foxes and Towas were generally regarded as one nation.
" It appears that the Iowas at one time were identified with the Sacs who lived on Rock River ; but, from some cause, at a period not definitely known, there were eight families who left that village and started out as a band by them- selves, and for a long time 'they recognized eight leading families' in their band. These clans bear the title or name of the particular animal or bird from which they are supposed to have sprung.' And they were known as the Eagle, the Pigeon, the Wolf, the Bear, the Elk, the Beaver, the Buffalo and the Snake families.
" These families were known severally in the tribe by the peculiar manner in which they cut their hair. The Eagle family was marked by two locks of hair on the front part of the head, and one on the back-left part. The Wolf family had scattered bunches of hair left. representing islands, whence their families were supposed to have sprung. The Bear family left one side of the hair of the head to grow much longer than the other. The Buffalo family left a strip of hair long from the front to the rear part of the head, with two bunches on each side to represent horns." The other families. with their peculiar bodies, were lost or had become extinet long before they left Iowa.
" In 1830, and for many years after, the Iowas were estimated at about 1,100 souls ; but in 1848, they were stated to be a fraction under 750: and, in 1852. the Saes only numbered about 1,300, and the Foxes about 700, which indicates that this once powerful nation will soon become extinct. When the Iowas left their village on the Des Moines. they ' ascended the Missouri River to a point of land formed by a small stream on its east shore, called by the Indians Fish Creek, which flows in from the direction of, and not far from, the celebrated Red Pipestone Quarry, many hundred miles from their former village. The nation composed of the Saes, Foxes and Iowas, and particularly those about Rock River, raised large quantities of corn, beans and melons-more than they wanted for their own use-and frequently sold large quantities to the traders : and probably cultivated the soil to a greater extent than any other Indians in the West. At this time, besides the Indian population, many portions of Iowa had been traversed by the French, who had penetrated the wilderness either in the pursuit of mineral or to carry on a trade with the Indians. The history of these operations is obscure and but little known. They must have carried on quite a extensive business in the valley of the Des Moines ; for Gen. Pike, on his map of the Mississippi Valley, published with the report of his tour up the river in 1805, lays down four forts on the Des Moines River-Fort Crawford on the south side, a short distance below where the town of Portland, Van Buren County, has been laid out ; Fort Gelaspy, nearly opposite to Iowaville ; Fort St. Thomas, very near, if not on the very spot, where the town of Chilli- cothe is now located : and another fort a short distance below, on the north side of the river. And there were, long after this country was settled by the whites, many indications to be seen of settlements having been made by other people than the Indians along the banks of this beautiful river."
MAJ. BEACH'S INDIAN PAPERS.
Although it is not, properly speaking, a part of the history of Muscatine County, we here insert a record of the final disposition of the Sacs and Foxes while they remained in Iowa. Without these pages, the preceding scraps of
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HISTORY OF MUSCATINE COUNTY.
personal history would be imperfect. and, as this work is designed to preserve for future reference matters which will become of importance as time progresses, we feel justified in inserting the following sketch of the last days of the tribes which once made Muscatine County their stamping-grounds. Maj. Beach, second and last Indian Agent for the Sacs and Foxes in Iowa, left a brief history of the origin of the Agency and his life there. But one copy of that record is extant, and the writer had the pleasure of making public, for the first time, the authentic account referred to. The Major, just before his death, wrote :
" The war of 1812 resulted in a treaty which left the Indians no further claim to any territory east of the Mississippi, and even to a strip in Eastern Iowa. A later treaty, in 1837, increased the extent of the cession to a line through Iowaville, north and south. There was a reservation left for the Powe- shiek band of Foxes, on or near the Iowa River, the purchase of which was the object of a treaty made in the fall of 1836, on a spot now within the city of Davenport, but then belonging to the famous half-blood, Antoine Leclaire. Iowa was then attached, for Government purposes. to Wisconsin, and its Gov- ernor, the late Henry Dodge, was the Commissioner to negotiate the treaty, and the late Gov. Grimes, then a new settler, was the Secretary. This treaty is referred to for the sake of an incident which shows that, whether common or not to the ' Lo' family in general, the Sacs and Foxes, at least, possessed an hon - orable side to their character.
"The country around was already quite thickly settled, and the Indians could easily have procured an unlimited supply of whisky. But Gov. Dodge, in his opening speech, had impressed upon them the necessity of strict sobriety during the negotiations, and had expressed a hope that his advice would be heeded. Keokuk and the other chiefs, in reply, had said that their father's talk about fire-water was good. and had given their word that none should be allowed among them during the proceedings. Immediately the council closed, they appointed a sufficient guard of the most reliable braves to prevent the introduction or use of liquor, at whatever cost. In fact, the very bluest blood of the tribe was selected for the duty, and each one was instructed to carry a designated badge of his authority.
" Before the conclusion of the treaty, a Sunday intervened, and nearly all of the Indians assembled at Rock Island, at the trading-post. Meanwhile, a steam- boat came along and tied up at the bank. She was crowded with passengers, who were excited at the sight of so many savages. Black Hawk, who was con- spicuous, was soon recognized, and became the chief object of interest. A passenger stepped ashore and took the great brave by the hand and led him on board the boat. his wish being to invite him to a friendly glass at the bar. But Black Hawk, whether influenced by a sense of personal honor or by the pres- ence of the police, would not indulge, and shortly afterward went ashore. Next, the boat began to push off, and Black Hawk's friend, anxious not to be disappointed of his social design, had already procured and filled a bottle with liquor. He leaned over the guards of the boat and stood reaching the bottle toward the Indian. One of the Indian police, with quiet dignity, took the bottle, and a smile of satisfaction diffused itself over the donor's face. But that smile speedily changed to a very different look when the young brave hurled the bottle upon the rocks at his feet, and dashed it into countless atoms. The poor white man was glad to shrink away as the stentorian shout which followed sounded in his ears, a shout in which it was hard to determine whether the exulting whoop of the Indians or the no less vigorous and derisive laughter of the boat's company predominated.
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HISTORY OF MUSCATINE COUNTY.
" Gen. Street, in the fall of 1837, as Agent of the Sacs and Foxes, was ordered to take a party of about thirty of the chiefs and head Indians to Wash- ington. Wapello was accompanied by his wife and son, and there may have been three women in the party. Maj. Beach was with the company during a portion of the trip. At Boston they were a novelty, and were received with great attention and kindness. The military were ordered out to escort the line of carriages and clear the streets of the throngs which filled the way. Black Hawk and his two sons, splendid specimens of manly beauty and symmetry of form, were the most noticed by the people, their recent fame as warriors being yet fresh in the popular minds. The party was received with all due courtesy in old Faneuil Hall by the Mayor and city government, and welcomed to the city. On the succeeding day, the Governor, the Hon. Edward Everett, received them in the State-house, on behalf of the State. This ceremony was held in the spacious Hall of Representatives, every inch of which was jammed with humanity. After the Governor had ended his eloquent and appropriate address of welcome, it devolved upon the chiefs to reply, and Appanoose, in his turn, as, at the conclusion of his speech, he advanced to grasp the Governor's hand, said : 'It is a great day that the sun shines upon when two such great chiefs take each other by the hand !' The Governor, with a nod of approba- tion, controlled his facial muscles in most courtly gravity ; but the way 'the house came down' was a caution, and Appanoose doubtless considered the applause the Yankee way of greeting his own fine speech.
" There were two theaters then in Boston, and a struggle ensued between them to obtain the presence of the Indians, in order to draw houses. At the Tremont, the aristocratic and fashionable one, the famous tragedian, Forrest, was filling an engagement. His great play, in which he acted the part of a gladiator, and always drew his largest audiences, had not yet come off, and the manager was disinclined to bring it out while the Indians were there. as their presence alone was enough to insure a full house. Gen. Street, who was a strict Presbyterian, was rather opposed to the theater, and hence Maj. Beach, who had recently become his son-in-law, took the matter of arranging for the entertainment off' his hands. The Major knew that the play referred to would suit the Indian taste far better than simply declamatory tragedies, spoken in a language they could not understand, and in which there was no action to keep them interested. Mr. Barry, the manager, was finally prevailed upon to pres- ent . Spartacus,' on condition that the Indians would attend in a body.
" Everything went off favorably during the performance, and in the exciting scene in which the gladiators engage in deadly combat, the Indians manifested the deepest sympathy. As Forrest rose up to the magnificent proportions of the character, the savages gazed upon the vivid spectacle with breathless anxiety. In the play, the hero fell, pierced by his adversary's sword ; and as the bloody weapon was drawn from the expiring victim, who lay heaving in convulsive throes, the Indians burst out with their fiercest war-whoop. It was a frightful vell to strike so suddenly upon unaccustomed cars, at a time when every sensi- tive nerve was wrought to intense pitch by the play, and an answering ery of terror ran through the building. In a moment the audience recovered its self- possession, and the rounds of applause which succeeded, complimented the great actor but little less than did the involuntary tribute of the dusky noblemen.
" After ceding the belt of country upon the Iowa side of the Mississippi, as heretofore mentioned, and having considerably increased this belt by an addi- tional cession in 1837, the Sacs and Foxes still retained a large and valuable portion of Iowa. This last treaty was negotiated with the party whose visits to
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HISTORY OF MUSCATINE COUNTY.
Washington and other Eastern cities has been mentioned, and was concluded on the 21st of October. This was the first treaty ever made with the Saes and Foxes in which the principle was incorporated that had just then begun to be adopted, of making the sum allowed the Indians for their lands a permanent fund, to be held in trust by the United States, upon which interest only, at the rate of 5 per cent, could be annually paid to them. Hitherto, it had been the custom to provide that the gross sum granted for a cession should be paid in yearly installments. For instance, $200,000, in twenty annual payments, would have left them at the expiration of that time, destitute ; but the more humane policy was chosen of placing that sum-the price of the cession of 1837-at 5 per cent, giving a constant income of $10,000. The last treaty of 1842, dispossessed them of all lands in Iowa, and brings them in an annual revenue of $40,000. The price of that cession was $800,000, besides certain minor claims allowed. The Indians were removed from the State in 1845."
ADVANCING CIVILIZATION.
As it is necessary for the architect to design the foundation-walls of his proposed edifice, so is it essential for the historian to reach far out and gather together the remotest threads of fact, to the end that the fabric woven by him may be symmetrical and complete in all its parts. Although this work is chiefly local in its character, it is important that the record of events should be made exhaustive enough to explain the reasons why this particular locality was chosen for settlement at the time indicated, and to trace the growth of civiliza- tion from its weakest germ to the present time.
A few sentences will serve to cover the two centuries intervening between the original discovery of this region by white men and the period when the practical development of its multiform resources began.
Two hundred years ago, in 1673, the beautiful land of Iowa was first revealed to the delighted eyes of white men. The discovery of the American Continent by Columbus stimulated the venturesome explorers of Europe, and rich, indeed, were the rewards of their persistent labors. Within the half- century following Columbus' victory, the Atlantic coast was largely explored ; the Pacific Ocean gladdened the eyes of the devoted adventurer ; the Missis- sippi was gazed upon by him who soon slept beneath its bosom ; Mexico and Peru fell before the rapacious conquerer ; the St. Lawrence and the Amazon were opened up to the inquisitive forces of the Old World, and the two great continents of the New became dominions of the mighty crowns of Europe. The dissensions of Church and State within the boundaries of their own domains, however, prevented the European nations from profiting by the discoveries of the early explorers. One hundred and thirty-two years elapsed after De Soto beheld the Lower Mississippi before the lost knowledge was regained. Vague limits, it is true, were given to numerous streams, and absurd speculations were indulged in by Spanish geographers relative to the great stream, during that long period ; but of accurate knowledge, the scientists possessed none.
It was reserved for the French to discover the Upper Mississippi. The self-denying followers of Jesus sought to establish missions in the New World, and thereby implant the seeds of religion in virgin soil. In 1625, the colonies were located on the banks of the St. Lawrence, and in forty years the missions were extended to the remotest shores of Lake Superior. The commendable desire on the part of those who controlled those missions to embrace still wider
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HISTORY OF MUSCATINE COUNTY.
domains led to the discovery of this region. We quote from a paper read before the State Historical Society, on the commemoration of the two hundredth anniversary of the discovery of Iowa, by Rev. William Salter, of Burlington, who briefly but successfully epitomized those important events :
"James Marquette was born in Laon, France, seventy-four miles northeast of Paris, in 1637, of an ancient and respected family. Entering the Society of Jesus in his seventeenth year, he pursued a full course of study and disci- pline, and embarked, in 1666, for New France, to labor for the conversion of the Indians. In 1668, he left Quebec for the country about Lake Superior, commenced a mission at Sault St. Marie and spent the winter of 1669-70 at La Pointe, near the western extremity of the lake. From Indians of different tribes, and particularly from those bearing the name of Illinois, who came to this station, which was not more than fifty miles from the headwaters of the St. Croix and Chippewa Rivers, important tributaries of the Mississippi, he heard of the great river, the river of all the waters, was invited to go thither, and was fired with a generous zeal, to prosecute discovery and establish missions upon its banks. Subsequently, he conducted a prosperous mission for two years at Mackinaw, upon the mainland, near the island which now bears that name. In writing to his Superior (Dablon) from this mission, he reports many encour- aging facts, and adds :
"'I am ready, however, to leave it in the hands of another missionary, and go ou your order to seek new nations toward the southern sea, who are still unknown to us, and teach them of our great God.'
"At the same time, the authorities at Quebec were earnestly intent upon exploration, and appointed Louis Joliet to go upon a voyage of discovery. He was a native of that city, where he had been educated in the Jesuit College. He had taken minor orders at the age of eighteen, but, after a few years, aban- doned all ideas of the priesthood, and embarked in the adventures of the fur trade, in which he 'established a reputation for energy, sagacity and force of character. He was now twenty-seven years of age, and, proceeding on his way, reached the mission at Mackinaw on the 8th day of December, 1675, and gladdened the heart of Marquette with the good news that they had been desig- nated to pursue the discovery together. It was a grateful reflection in the mind of the pious missionary, that this very day was the feast of the Iminacu- late Conception of the Blessed Virgin, whose favor he had been constantly sup- plicating, that he might have grace to visit the nations on the Mississippi. He placed the enterprise under her protection, and promised that if she gave them grace to discover the great river, he would name it Conception, and also give that name to the first mission he should establish among the new nations. As the winter wore away, they gathered what information they could from Indians who had frequented those parts, and from their accounts traced a map of the country, marking down the rivers and names of nations, and the course of the great river. They were not long in preparing their outfit of corn and dried meat, which constituted their whole stock of provisions, and set out with reso- lute hearts, on the 17th day of May, 1673, having five Frenchmen in their company.
" They played their paddles joyously along the shores of Lake Michigan and Green Bay, so happy that they had been chosen for this expedition, says Marquette's ingenious and beautiful narrative, as to sweeten the labor of rowing from morn till night. Ascending Fox River, they reached an Indian village on its banks on the 7th of June. This was the limit of the discoveries made in that direction by the French. Here they held a friendly conference with
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the chiefs, and, explaining to them that Joliet was sent to discover new countries, and that Marquette's mission was to enlighten them in the Gospel, they procured two Miami guides to conduct them to a portage, over which they might cross to the Wisconsin River. The guides led them along the marshes and little lakes through which the Fox River here meanders, and assisted in transporting the canoes from the waters which flow toward the St. Lawrence, to those that should bear the adventurers to strange lands. The guides then returned, leaving us alone, says Marquette, 'in an unknown country, in the hands of Providence.' Before embarking again, they began a new devotion to the Virgin, offering special prayers for her protection, and for the success of their voyage. Thus encouraging one another, they sailed down the river for seven days, a distance of seventy leagues, as they estimated it, or two hundred and ten miles, when they reached the mouth of the Wisconsin, and, on the 18th of June, glided into the gentle current of the Mississippi, 'with a joy that I cannot express,' says Marquette."
Thus, for the first time in authentic history, did the eyes of white men behold the land, now so richly developed, in the valley of the Upper Mississippi. As the voyagers floated down the stream they beheld no traces of human life for fifteen days. At that time they discovered footprints leading from the bank, near the southern boundary of the present State of Iowa. The little band followed this path until they came to a village of Illinois Indians. The exact locality of this first landing is in dispute. Some writers argue that the site was not far from the Flint Hills, below Burlington, while others claim that the honor belongs to Lee County. Be that as it may, it is positively known that a landing was effected in the territory subsequently included in the county of Des Moines, as established by the Michigan Territorial Legislature, and of which the county of Muscatine was a part.
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