USA > Iowa > Poweshiek County > The History of Poweshiek County, Iowa : containing a history of the County, its cities, towns, &c.,. > Part 34
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WHEN the European first landed on the eastern shores of this continent, intent on its conquest in the interests of civilization, the first question which came up for solution was the Indian question. This question indi- viduals grappled with on their own individual responsibility until the mother country, on behalf of the colonies, assumed the management of In- dian affairs, and since the establishment of the Republic the United States, in its sovereign capacity, has assumed control, but at no time from the very first to the present time, has the question been disposed of satisfactorily to any one; nor yet, in the near future, does there appear to be any satisfactory disposition of the Indian except to kill him.
In the management of Indian affairs in Iowa the government seems to have been peculiarly fortunate. This was partly due to the policy pursued by the government, and partly due to the peculiar fact that the Sac and Fox Indians, who controlled the larger part of the Territory, were a more tractable tribe of Indians and their chiefs had a higher sense of veracity, integrity and honor than in any other representatives of the race with which the white man has come into contact. The Pottawattamies were few in number and had little influence; what influence they had was in the interest of peace and order. The Sioux are and always have been treach- erous and bloodthirsty, but the supremacy of the Sacs and Foxes kept them somewhat in abeyance.
It was ever the custom of the government, in its dealings with the Indi- ans west of the Mississippi River, to treat them as an independent nation. In these negotiations with the aborigines of Iowa the authorities, at va- rious times, entered into treaties with the Sioux, in the north, and with the Sacs and Foxes, in the south, the government purchasing the land from the Indians just as Louisiana was purchased from France. The Black Hawk purchase was acquired by means of the first treaty made with the Sac and Fox Indians in reference to Iowa land. This treaty was made September 1, 1832, and included a portion of country bounded as follows: Begin- ning on the Mississippi River, where the northern boundary line of the lands owned by said Indians strikes said river; thence up or westward on said line fifty miles; thence in a right line to the Red Cedar River, forty
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HISTORY OF POWESHIEK COUNTY.
miles from the Mississippi River; thence in a right line to the northern part of the State of Missouri, at a point fifty miles from the Mississippi River; thence by the said boundary line to the Mississippi River, and thence up the Mississippi River to the place of beginning. The west- ern boundary line was a very irregular one, as it followed the same general direction as the Mississippi River. It ran in a general direction from the north in a course a little west of south, the line being considerably east of lowa City.
The second purchase was made in 1837, October 21, and included a suffi- cient amount of territory to straighten the boundary line. The western boundary of the Black Hawk purchase being a very irregular line, the treaty of 1837 was designed for the purpose of straightening said boundary line. By this treaty the Indians ceded a tract of country west and adjoining the Black Hawk purchase, containing one million two hundred and fifty thousand acres. Upon survey, however, the number of acres proved insufficient to make a straight line, as was originally intended. The Indians stipulated to remove within one year, except from Keokuk's village, which they were allowed to occupy five months longer.
Although it is believed that the Indians, especially the chief's, made this treaty in good faith and scrupulously adhered to it as they understood it, yet it was unsatisfactory to both Indian and settler, and many disputes arose, but seldom, if ever, resulting in bloodshed. The fact soon became evident that the white man had marked this goodly country for his own, and the Indians would be compelled to abandon it peaceably, according to treaty stipulations, or in the end to be forcibly ejected. In accordance with the wise counsel of Keokuk, Poweshiek and Wapello they chose the former course.
The last treaty made with the Sac and Fox Indians comprehended all the rest of their lands in the State. This treaty was made at Agency City, in the presents limits of Wapello county, and was concluded October 11, 1842, proclamation of its ratification having been made March 23, 1843, and possession was given to all that part lying east of Red Rock, now in Marion county, May 1, 1843. The last date, therefore, is the period when the whole of the country was thrown open to white settle- ment.
The principal chief in this treaty was Keokuk. A gentleman of an ad- joining county heard this chief make a speech on that occasion, which he pronounces an unusually eloquent address. He says, that in his opinion, "The former standing of Keokuk as an Indian orator and chieftain, as a.
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HISTORY OF POWESHIEK COUNTY.
dignified gentleman and a fine specimen of physical development, was not in the least overrated." During the Black Hawk trouble his voice was for peace with the white man, and his influence added much to shorten that war. As an honor to this chief, and owing to his influence in bringing about the treaty, a county was called Keokuk.
Thus from being at first the sole owners and Joccupiers of the soil the Indians disposed of territory time and again until finally the title to the whole of Iowa was vested in the general government.
As they ceded their lands to the United States, strip after strip, they gradually withdrew, and the white settlers took their place as possessors of the soil. The aborigines were not forcibly ejected from their lands as in other parts of the country, but the change was effected by a legitimate proceeding of bargain and sale.
As a result of this peaceable arrangement, and the earnest efforts of the government to carry out, to the letter, the provisions of the treaties, the early settlers experienced none of the hardships which fell to the lot of early settlers in other parts of the country where misunderstandings about the ownership of the soil gave rise to frightful massacres and bloody wars. The Indians occasioned no serious difficulty and seldom, if ever, disturbed the early settlers of this county, after they had rightfully come into the possession of it.
By the various treaties made with the Sac and Fox Indians the govern- ment paid these $80,000 per year by families. William B. Street, of Os- kaloosa, was disbursing clerk for John Beach, Indian Agent, during the year 1841, and still retains in his possession the receipts for the part pay- ment of his annuity, in his own handwriting, and the marks of the Indians signing.
We give an extract, including the names of part of the Indians who were at that time living at Kish-ke-kosh's village, which was located in the eastern part of Mahaska county.
We, the chiefs, warriors, heads of families and individuals without families, of the Sac and Fox tribe of Indians, within the same agency, acknowledge the receipt of $40,000 of John Beach, United States Indian Agent, in the sums appended to our names, being our propor- tion of the annuity due said tribe for the year 1841 :
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HISTORY OF POWESHIEK COUNTY.
NAMES.
MARKS MEN WOMEN CHILD'N
TOTAL AMOUNT
Kisk-ke-kosh
X
1
1
3
4
$ 71 30
Ko-ko-ach.
X
1
2
3
6
106 95
Pas-sa-shiek.
X
1
1
.
2
2
55 65
Mo-ka-qua
X
1
1
17 82
Pa-ko-ka.
Y
1
1 1
2
4
71 30
Ka-ka-wa-wa-te-sit.
X
2
3
53 47
Much-e-min-ne2
X
1
1
2
4
. 71 30
Wa-pes-e-qua3
X
1
1
2
4
71 30
Wa-pe-ka-kah
X
2
1
3
6
106 95
Mus-qua-ke5.
X
3
2
2
7
124 78
We certify that we were present at the payment of the above mentioned amounts, and saw the amounts paid to the several Indians in specie, and that their marks were affixed in our presence the 19th day of October, 1861.
(Signed)
JNO. BEACH, U. S. Indian Agent. THOMAS McCRATE, Lieut. 1st Dragoons. JOSIAH SMART,
Interpreter.
We, the undersigned chiefs of the Sac and Fox tribe of Indians, acknowledge the correct- ness of the foregoing receipts.
KEOKUK,6 his X mark. POWESHIEK,7 his X mark.
After the treaty of 1842, and the establishment of Fort Des Moines the following year, the headquarters of the Sac and Fox Indians were removed from Agency City, in Wapello county, to Polk county. Keokuk, the head chief of the Sacs, established his village some five miles southeast of Fort Des Moines, and the beautiful prairie on which he and his kindred dwelt continued to bear his name for many years after the Indians were removed. Poweshiek, chief of the Foxes, lived on Skunk River. The Indian agent, Major Beach, and his interpreter, Josiah Smart, before referred to, had their quarters on what was called Agency Prairie, east and south of the present site of the capitol. Still another Indian village, ruled over by Hard-Fish, was located near Des Moines.
The residence of the various Indian tribes in the vicinity of Des Moines dates from May 1st, 1843, at which time, according to the stipulations of the treaty of 1842, they removed west of a line running north and south through the town of Red Rock, in Marion county. As before remarked,
"Kish-ke-kosh means "The man with one leg off."
"Much-e-min-ne means "Big man."
"Mus-qua-ke means "The Fox."
3Wa-pes-e-qua means " White eyes."
"Keokuk means "The watchful fox."
"Wa-pe-ka-kah means " White crow."
"Poweshiek means "The roused bear."
And fifty-nine others
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HISTORY OF POWESHIEK COUNTY.
the government, according to the provisions of the various treaties, paid the Indians quite a sum of money annually.
The payments were made in silver coins, put up in boxes, containing five hundred dollars each, and passed into Keokuk's hands for distribution. The several traders received each his quota according to the several de- mands against the tribes admitted by Keokuk, which invariably consumed the far greater portion of the amount received. The remainder was turned over to the chiefs and distributed among the respective bands. Great com- plaints were made of these allowances to the traders, on the ground of ex- orbitant prices charged on the goods actually furnished, and it was alleged that some of these accounts were spurious. In confirmation of this charge, over and above the character of the items exhibited in these counts, an affidavit was filed with Governor Lucas, by an individual to whom the Gov- ernor gave credence, setting forth that Keokuk had proposed to the maker of the affidavit to prefer a fictitious account against the tribe for the sum of $10,000, and he would admit its correctness, and when paid the money should be divided among themselves, share and share alike. To swell the traders' bills, items were introduced of a character that should brand fraud upon their face, such as a large number of blanket coats, articles which the Indians never used, and telescopes, of the use of which they had no knowledge. This showed the reckless manner in which these bills were swollen to the exorbitant amounts complained of, in which Keokuk was openly charged with being in league with the traders to defraud the Indians.
The money which actually came into the possession of the Indians was soon squandered by them, and the position of Indian trader, conferred by special appointment, was a very lucrative one. During the period between May 1, 1843, till October 11, the agency was located at Des Moines. All the Indians belonging to the Sac and Fox tribe repaired to Fort Des Moines, where they received their money and where their trading was chiefly done. Prior to May 1, 1843, the agency was located in Wapello county at a place which is still known by the name of Agency City. George Washington and Washington George Ewing were the Indian traders and Phelps & Co. were dealers in furs. Their business career there was eminently successful, and they accumulated quite a little fortune dur- ing their three years' harvest. Their place of business was in East Des Moines, not far from the quarters of Major Beach, the Indian agent; there they erected a log building, which was probably the first one erected in the county.
At this time the Sacs and Foxes numbered about two thousand three
273
HISTORY OF POWESHIEK COUNTY.
hundred, and it is not possible that Keokuk could have carried on an or- ganized system of theft without the fact becoming apparent to all. As it was, however, Governor Lucas, thought best to change the manner in which the annual payments were made. The matter was referred to the Indian bureau, and the mode was changed so that the payments were made to heads of families, approximating a per capita distribution. 'This method of payment did not suit the traders, and after a short trial the old plan was again adopted. That the Indians, then as now, were the victims of sharp practice, cannot be doubted, but the fact can be attributed to the superior tact and the unscrupulous character of many of the traders; this furnishes a more probable explanation and is more in accord with the character of Keokuk, as known by his intimate friends, still living, than to attribute these swindling operations to a conspiracy in which the illustrious chief was the leading actor.
Among the early settlers of Iowa, the names of Keokuk, Poweshiek and Wapello are the most noted and familiar. These illustrious chiefs live not only in the recollections of these early settlers, but in the permanent his- tory of our common country. Short biographical sketches of these noted characters, therefore, will be of great interest to the people of this county, and peculiarly appropriate for a work of this kind. To the school-boy who has frequently read of these Indians, the fact that they roved around on this very ground where their feet tread, and that in their hunting excur- sions these Indians crossed the same prairies where they now gather the yellow-eared corn, will give to these sketches intense interest, while the early settler who talked with Wapello, Poweshiek and Keokuk, ate with them, hunted with them, and fished with them, cannot fail to find in these brief and necessarily imperfect biographies, something fascinating as they are thus led back over a quarter of a century, to live over again the days of other years, and witness again the scenes of early days, when the tall prairie grass waved in the autumn breeze, and the country, like themselves, was younger and fresher than now.
Keokuk was the head chief of the Sac and Fox Indians after the Black Hawk War; he was born on Rock River, Illinois, in 1780. The last memory of the earliest settler of Iowa cannot take him back to a time when Keo- kuk was not a full-grown man. When, in 1833, the impatient feet of the white man hastened across the Mississippi River eager for new con- quests, this illustrious savage was already nearing his three score years, and when, with longing eyes, he took the last look on this fair land and turned his face reluctantly toward the far west, his sun of life had already crossed the meridian and was rapidly approaching its setting.
18
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HISTORY OF POWESHIEK COUNTY.
Keokuk came first into prominence among the whites at the breaking out of the second war with England, commonly known as the War of 1812. Most of the Indians at that time espoused the cause of the English, but Keokuk, at the head of a large number of the Sacs and Foxes, remained faithful to the Americans. In 1828, Keokuk, in accordance with the terms of a treaty, crossed the Mississippi River with his tribe and established him- self on the Iowa River. Here he remained in peace, and his tribe flourished until the breaking out of the Black Hawk War in 1832. He seemed to have a much more intelligent insight into the great national questions which were raised during these early difficulties, as well as more thorough appreciation of the resources of the national government. He opposed the Black Hawk War, and seemed to fully forecast the great disaster which thereby befel his tribe. Although many of his warriors deserted him and followed Black Hawk in his reckless campaign across the Mississippi, Keo- kuk prevailed upon a majority of his tribe to remain at home. When the news reached Keokuk that Black Hawk's warriors had gained a victory over Stillman's forces in Ogle county, Illinois, the war spirit broke out among his followers like fire in the dry prairie grass; a war-dance was held and the chief himself took part in it. He seemed for a while to move in sympathy with the rising storm, and at the conclusion of a war-dance he called a council to prepare for war. In a work entitled Annals of Iowa, published in 1865, there is reported the substance of a speech made by Keokuk on this occasion. We quote: "I am your chief, and it is my duty to lead you to battle, if, after fully considering the matter, you are determined to go." He then represented to them the great power of the United States, against which they would have to contend, and that their prospect of success was utterly hopeless. Then continuing, said: " But if you are determined to go on the war-path, I will lead you on one condition -that before we go we kill all our old men, and our wives and our children, to save them from a lingering death by starvation, and that every one of you determine to leave your bones on the other side of the Mississippi." This was a strong and truthful picture of the prospect before them, and was presented in such a forcible light that it caused them to abandon their rash undertaking.
A ¡Although the honor was frequently disputed by some of the original fol- lowers of Black Hawk, Keokuk was ever afterward recognized as the head of the Sac and Fox nation by the United States government. It is said that a bitter feud existed in the tribe during the time that Keokuk lived near Des Moines between Keokuk's friends and the partisans of Black Hawk, who had taken part in the Black Hawk War. Their distrust and
275
HISTORY OF POWESHIEK COUNTY.
hatred were smothered in their common intercourse, when sober, but when their blood was fired with whisky it sometimes assumed a tragic feature among the leaders of the factions. An instance of this kind occurred on the lower part of the Des Moines River on the return of a party from a visit to the " half breeds." In a quarrel, incited by whisky, Keokuk re- ceived a dangerous stab in the breast inflicted by a son of Black Hawk, and a certain person, giving an account of the altercation, says he saw him conveyed home by his friends, lying in a canoe unable to rise.
In person, Keokuk was of commanding appearance. He was tall, straight as an arrow, and of very graceful mien. These personal characteristics, to- gether with his native fervor, and ready command of language, gave him great power over his people as a speaker. If, as a man of energy and courage, he gained the respect and obedience of his tribe, it was more especially as an orator that he was able to wield his people in the times of great excite- ment, and in a measure shape their policy in dealing with the white man. As an orator rather than as a warrior, has Keokuk's claim to greatness been founded.
Persons who had the opportunity of seeing him with favorable surround- ings say that in a high degree he was endowed by nature with the elements of an orator. The great difficulty which he encountered was his inability to procure an interpreter who could convey the meaning of the speaker. Of this serious hindrance Keokuk was well aware, and he retained Frank Labashure, who had a rudimental education in the French and English languages, until the latter died, broken down by exposure and dissipation; but during the most important part of his career he was compelled to sub- mit his speeches for translation to uneducated men, whose range of thought fell below the flights of a gifted mind, and the imagery drawn from na- ture was beyond their powers of reproduction. He had sufficient knowl- edge of the English tongue to make him sensible of this bad rendering of his thoughts and often a feeling of mortification at the bungling efforts was depicted in his countenance while speaking. There are but few of the early Poweshiek county settlers who remember Keokuk, and probably very few who ever saw him, as he with his tribe moved westward before the territory which now composes the county was thrown open for settlement. There are many who settled in the country east of the Red Rock line who remembered well the distinguished savage.
Mr. James, of Sigourney, being present at Agency City when the treaty of 1842 was made, says of Keokuk: " We heard him make a speech on the occasion, which, by those who understand his tongue, was said to be a sensible and eloquent effort. Judging from his voice and gestures, his
276
HISTORY OF POWESHIEK COUNTY.
former standing as an Indian orator, we thought his reputation had not been overrated. During the Black Hawk War, his voice was for peace, and as an honor to the chief, our county bears his name."
The event in the life of Keokuk which, more than any other, gave him a national reputation, was his trip to Washington City. He, in company with Black Hawk, Poweshiek, Kish-ke-kosh, and some fifteen other chiefs, under the escort of Gen. J. M. Street, visited Washington City, and differ- ent parts of the East, in 1837. The party descended the Mississippi to the mouth of the Ohio by steamer, and thence up the latter to Wheeling, where they took stage across the mountains. When the party arrived in Wash- ington, at the request of some of the government officials a council was held with some chiefs of the Sioux there present, as the Sacs and Foxes were waging a perpetual war with the Sioux nation. The council was held in the Hall of Representatives. To the great indignation of the Sioux, Kish-ke-kosh appeared dressed in a buffalo hide which he had taken in war from a Sioux chief, and took his position in one of the large windows, with the mane and horns of the buffalo as a sort of head-dress, and the tail trailing on the floor. The Sioux nation complained to the officials, claim- ing that it was an insult to them, but were informed that the Sacs and Foxes had a right to appear in any kind of costume they chose to wear. The first speech was made by a Sioux, who complained bitterly of the wrongs they had suffered, and how they had been driven from their homes by the Sacs and Foxes, their warriors [killed, and their villages burned Then followed Keokuk, the great orator of the tribe, who replied at some length, an interpreter repeating the speech after him. There were those pres- ent who had heard Webster, Calhoun, Clay, and Benton in the same hall, and they declared that, for the manner of delivery, for native eloquence, and im- passioned expression of countenance, the chief surpassed them all; and this while they could not understand his words, save as they were repeated by the interpreter. From Washington they went to New York, where they were shown no little attention, and, Gen. Street attempting to show them the city on foot, the people, in their anxiety to see Keokuk and Black Hawk, crowded them beyond the point of endurance, and, in order to avoid the throng, they were compelled to make their escape through a store building, and reached their hotel through the back alleys and less fre- quented streets. At Boston, they were met at the depot by a delegation of leading citizens, and conveyed in carriages to the hotel. The next day they were taken in open carriages, and, with a guard of honor on foot, were shown the whole city. During their stay in Boston, they were the guests of the great American orator, Edward Everett, who made a banquet for
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HISTORY OF POWESHIEK COUNTY.
them. When the Indians returned, and were asked about New York, they only expressed their disgust. Boston was the only city in the United States, in their estimation; and their opinion has been shared in by many white people who, since that time, have made a pilgrimage from the West to the famous shrines of the East.
The first settlers of Iowa who remain still remember the Mormons, who first located across the Mississippi River in the vicinity of Nauvoo, and then in the western part of this State, creating much excitement throughout the scattered settlements of Iowa. Several worthy settlers of Poweshiek county became converts to the new faith, and went west with the " Saints." It is probably not generally known that Keokuk's salvation was a matter of great anxiety to the Mormon missionaries.
While residing at Ottumwah-nac, Keokuk received a message from the Mormon prophet, Joseph Smith, in which the latter invited Keokuk, as king of the Sacs and Foxes, to a royal conference at his palace at Nauvoo, on matters of the highest importance to their respective people. The in- vitation was accepted, and, at the appointed time, the king of the Sacs and Foxes, accompanied by a stately escort on ponies, wended his way to the appointed interview with the great apostle of the Latter Day Saints. Keo- kuk, as before remarked, was a man of good judgment, and keen insight into the human character. He was not easily led by sophistry, nor beguiled by flattery. The account of this interview with Smith, as given by a writer in the Annals of Iowa, so well illustrates these traits of his charac- ter, that we give it in full:
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