USA > Iowa > Boone County > The history of Boone County, Iowa, containing biographical sketches war records of its volunteers in the late rebellion, general and local statistics, portraits of early settlers and prominent men, history of the Northwest, history of Iowa, map of Boone county etc. > Part 34
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Among the most abundant of all trees originally found was the black walnut, so highly prized in all countries for manufacturing purposes. Tim- ber of this kind was very plentiful and of good quality originally, but the high prices paid for this kind of timber presented itself as a tempatation to destroy it which the people, frequently in straightened circumstances, could not resist. Red, white and black oak are still very plentiful, although they have for many years been extensively used as fuel. Crab apple, elm, maple, ash, cottonwood and wild cherry are also found. The best timber in the State is to be found in this county.
A line of timber averaging four miles in width follows the course of the Des Moines river, and all the other streams are liberally supplied. De- tached groves both natural and artificial are found at many places through- out the county, which are not only ornamental, in that they vary the monot- ony of the prairie, but likewise very useful in that they have a very impor- tant bearing on the climate. It is a fact fully demonstrated by the best of authority that climate varies with the physiognomy of a country.
There is a variety of soil as well as surface in this county. Portions along the Des Moines river are somewhat broken and uneven but the soil is productive and peculiarly well adapted to the raising of wheat, corn, oats and other cereals. Grasses of all kinds grow luxuriantly and it is one of the best localities for stock raising.
Boone county is well supplied with stone for all kinds of building pur- poses. Quarries of limestone of the best quality, resembling the celebrated Joilet limestone, have been discovered and operated in various parts of the county. The best quarries are located in the vicinity of Elk Rapids. An abundance of stone suitable for the manufacture of lime is also found in
266
HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY.
the county. While building stone is not well distributed over the county, yet enough is readily obtained anywhere.
Potter's clay of good quality is found all along the course of the Des Moines river. This clay has for a number of years been utilized in the manufacture of stone and earthenware. The potteries of Boone county have for many years had a wide-spread reputation and their capacity is only limited by the amount of capital invested. Clay also for the manu- facture of tiling and brick is found just above, and immediately below the coal veins.
Along the river bluffs at numerous places gush forth springs of living water whose supply even during the dryest seasons seems to be exhaustless while good well water can be obtained anywhere by digging or boring a distance of from fifteen to thirty feet. The lakes which are represented on the early maps prove to be nothing but small sloughs. These are to be found in considerable numbers all over the county. It is found that by draining these marshy places they afford the most productive spots of land. It will not be many years, under the present enterprising management, till all these sloughs will be converted into corn fields.
The climate is what is generally termed a healthy one, subject however to the sudden change from heat to cold. The winters, however, are as a general thing uniform although there seems to have been very marked modifi- cations in the climate during the past few years, resulting, doubtless, trom the changes which have taken place in the physiognomy of the country.
At one time it was asserted, with much confidence, that the climate of the Mississippi Valley was warmer than that of the Atlantic States in the same latitude, but this idea has long since been exploded by observations which have been made in both regions.
From Blodgett's Climatology of the United States we learn that the "early distinctions between the Atlantic States and the Mississippi Valley have been quite dropped as the progress of observation has shown them to be practically the same, or to differ only in unimportant particulars. It is difficult to designate any important fact entitling them to any separate classification; they are both alike subject to great extremes; they both have strongly marked continental features at some seasons and decided tropical features at others and these influence the whole district similarly without showing any line of separation. At a distance from the Gulf of Mexico, to remove the local effect, the same peculiarities appear which be- long to Fort Snelling; Montreal as well as to Albany, Baltimore and Rich- mond."
As this county is nearly on the same parallel as Central New York it is fair to presume that the climate is nearly identical, provided the above be true. Yet observation shows that there is a perceptible tendency to ex- tremes, as we go further west, owing to the lakes and prairies probably, and shows that the spring and summer are decidedly warmer, and the winter colder here than in New York. From the open country, the great sweep of the winds, and the force of the sun, the malaria from the rich prairies is counteracted and dispelled so that the climate here is as healthy as in any portion of the known world.
The geological characteristics of the county are varied and form an in- teresting subject of study and investigation. In this progressive age and owing to the present advanced stage of scientific research, the intelligent people of Boone county will not fail to be interested by a somewhat
267
HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY.
elaborate dissertation upon the subject of local geology as applied to the formation of their own lands, the constituents of their own soil, and the comparisons and contrasts which will be made with other and adjoining counties. In discussing this subject we draw not only upon facts of our own observation, but avail ourselves of the best authorities at our com- mand.
Alluvium .- The deposits strictly referable to this formation in Boone county, are: the soil everywhere covering the surface, and narrow belts of alluvial bottom lands skirting the principal streams; these consist of irregularly stratified deposits of sand, gravel and decomposed vegetable matter, the whole seldom exceeding ten or twelve feet in thickness. The reader will understand that the original surface of the land consisted of rock; portions of these rocks having been detached by the action of the ele- ments, by chemical causes and the action of glaciers in pre-historic times were afterward transported by subsequent floods; this constitutes the soil and is alluvium or drift, according to its peculiar formation.
Drift Deposits .- The entire surface of the county is covered with a heavy deposit of drift material presenting the usual characteristics of this formation, and consisting of irregularly stratified beds of sand, gravel and clay, with an average thickness of from forty to sixty feet.
The drift of this region contains a greater amount of arenaceous or sandy material than is found in the same deposit farther south, which seems to have been derived from the decompositions of the sandstones and shales of the coal-measures in the immediate vicinity. The dark color of the soil is derived from the presence of coal, which doubtless existed here in former times, and still exists in large quantities. That peculiar quality of soil commonly called "hard pan," and which is found further south, is due to the absence of arenaceous material composed of decomposed particles of lime instead of sandstone.
Outlies of these sandstones and shales must have existed all over the northern part of the county previous to the drift period, and have been broken up and redeposited by drift agencies in beds of loose sand. Frag- ments of coal are quite common in this formation and have been derived from the coal seams previously existing.
Coal- Measures .- Outlies of rocks referable to the age of coal seem to originally have been spread over a considerable portion of the surface of the county but have, to a great extent, been broken up and carried away by the drift agencies.
With regard to the geological formation of Boone county, lying as it does wholly within the area of the coal field, it is referable to the middle and lower coal-measures. A careful examination of the strata has been made at three points, viz .: Elk Rapids, at the mouth of Hull's Creek, and at Milford, two and one-half miles above Boonesboro.
The following was the result of observations near the mouth of the creek emptying into the Des Moines river, from the west of Elk Rapids:
Gray Shale and Shaly Sandstone. 20 feet. Ash-colored Marl, containing Orthis Productus, Chonetes, Terebratulæ, and joints
of Crinoids
6 feet.
Gray Shale.
15 feet.
Dark Blue Shale.
8 inches.
Marly Limestone, with Productus, Chonetes, etc.
10 inches.
Ash-colored Shaly Clay ...
4 feet.
Buff-colored, Arenaceous Limestone. 41% feet.
Unexposed. 18 feet.
268
HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY.
The uppermost bed in this section was found to contain marine shells in great profusion and in a most perfect state of preservation.
At the mouth of Hull's creek observations were made with the following result:
Compact Gray Limestone .2 feet.
Gray Shaly Clay. .4 feet.
Massive Sandstone. .6 feet.
Gray Shale .. .8 feet.
Ferrugenous Shale. 4 feet.
Dark Blue Slate.
4 feet.
These beds were found to be overlaid by a heavy deposit of drift, form- ing hills at least one hundred feet in height.
Observations were made at Milford with the following result:
Sandstone. 4 feet.
Unexposed. 6 feet.
Bituminous Slate, containing Tingula and Fossil wood. 8 feet.
Coal. ..
1 foot.
Unexposed .
21 feet.
Coal, in the bed of the river.
1 foot.
The bituminous slate in this section was found to contain large concre- tions of Septaria, one of which having been broken was found to contain fish spines and a small species of Orbicula.
At an early day most of the coal mined in this region was taken from the bed of the river where the seams were laid bare by the action of the current. Along the bluffs the strata was entirely hidden by the heavy deposits of drift clay and gravel which is spread in great profusion over the rock strata in this part of the State.
As before remarked Boone county lies wholly within the limits of the coal field. Coal was early discovered here and it was found to be not only of a good quality but also in great abundance at certain places. In a work prepared by Prof. C. A. White, entitled " Geology of Iowa," published in 1870, we find the following account of the coal interests of Boone county:
" The whole of Boone county lies quite within the recognized limits of the coal field, and yet, so far as is known, coal has actually been discovered at only a few points near the center. This is doubtless in a great part due to the great depth of the drift, which covers the strata of the whole county, and also in part, perhaps, to a supposed general depression of all the strata so that the subcarboniferous as well as the lower strata of the lower coal- measures are brought somewhat beneath the level of the Des Moines river along the whole length of the county.
"Coal has been extensively worked near Boonesboro and Moingona, on the line of the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad, by two companies organized for that purpose. Besides this, considerable quantities have been mined by private parties to supply local demand. All the mines have been opened in the valley sides of the Des Moines river and Honey creek, one of its small tributaries.
" There are two distinct beds of coal known and mined here, the principal one being the lowest and about four feet thick. The upper one is from two and a half to three feet thick. The quality of the coal is equally as good as that of the other, but requiring proportionably more labor, is not so ex- tensively mined. These being the only mines opened along the line of
269
HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY.
that railroad in Iowa, they are of great value and importance. There can be no reasonable doubt that these or other beds of coal may yet be reached by sinking shafts from the prairie surfaces of different parts of the county at a comparatively moderate depth."
This view, written by the State Geologist, and one of well recognized ability, was the correct statement of the coal interests of Boone county in their infancy. The author's prophesy of the extensive deposits of coal, at that time undiscovered, is being rapidly fulfilled. Not only is it found to underlie the surface of the entire county and other counties in the recog- nized limits of the coal field, but extends much farther out in both directions, and the future geologist who shall prepare a geological map of Iowa must extend the width of the coal field by several miles on either side.
The quality of the coal in the county seems to improve as it is being worked, and is rapidly becoming the favorite of Iowa coals. For a number of years the Oskaloosa coal was thought to be superior to any other found in the State, but while that coal has not depreciated the quality of Boone county. coal has so far improved as to now be its successful rival. An analysis of Boone county coal has been made by the State Geologist, the result of which we deem to be of sufficient importance to the readers of this work to be given. Before doing so a preparatory explanation will be necessary, in order that the reader who is not versed in scientific and tech- nical terms may be able to understand the significance of the analysis.
First. The value of coal for fuel is inversely proportional to the amount of moisture contained in it; that is, the more water it contains the less is its value. And moisture is a damage to the coal not only because it takes the place of what might otherwise be occupied by combustible matter, but because also it requires some of the heat generated by the burning of the combustible matter to transform it into steam, and thus expel it. It will thus be seen that the presence of large quantities of moisture in coal seri- ously impair its value. But in looking over the analysis given it should be remembered that some of the coals were taken fresh from the mines, others had been kept for some time in a damp room, while others had been subjected for some time to the high temperature of a heated room.
Second. The greater the per cent of ashi, the less the value of the coal. Third. The more fixed carbon which the coal contains, the greater its value.
Fourth. The same holds true, to a certain extent, with regard to the volatile combustible matter, the precise limits of which cannot be deter- mined until we know the composition of this combustible matter.
For the purpose of analysis two samples were taken.
No. 1 was a sample from the Northwestern Coal Company's mine at Moingona.
This is a hard, compact, and brittle coal. It is distinctly laminated, and cleaves well. There is considerable mineral charcoal, and the coal is quite dusty. Quite a number of seams of calcareous matter are found, and some pyrites.
The coke is tolerably compact, with brilliant metallic luster. The ash is red. No. 2 was a sample taken from the bottom of the same mine. The appearance of this coal and of its coke is quite similar to that of the top sample. The color of the ash is a very bright red.
270
HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY.
COMPOSITION.
No. 1.
No. 2.
Moisture
13.23.
11.51
Volatile Combustible.
.37.52.
.38.86
Fixed Carbon.
43.69.
.43.74
Ash.
5.56
5.89
Total
100.00
100.00
CALCULATED ON DRIED COAL.
Volatile Combustible.
.43.25.
43.91
Fixed Carbon
.50.36.
49.43
Ash
6.39.
6.66
Total
100.00.
100.00
No. 1.
No. 2.
Total Volatile.
50.75.
50.37.
81.21
.82.60.
Undried.
Total Combustible
93.61
93.34.
S Dried.
Coke.
56.75
56.09. § Dried.
COMPOSITION OF COKE.
Carbon
88.74. .87.69
Ash
11.26.
12.31
Total.
100.00 100.00
From a specimen of Oskaloosa coal the following result was obtained: Moisture, 5.38; Volatile Combustible, 34.03; Fixed Carbon, 48.60; Ash, 11.99.
In examining the principal shaft of the Lower Vein Coal Company's mine, two miles northwest from Boonsboro, the following formations were noted :
MATERIALS.
FEET. INCH'S.
MATERIALS. FEET. INCH'S.
Dark soil.
4.
Granite rock.
1 ..
Gravel. .
4. :
White sand rock.
13.
Brown clay. 12.
Granite rock
1.
Blue clay.
6. .
Sand rock.
3 ..
Water, sand and gravel.
23 ..
Black slate. 5.
1.
Dry sand
9.
Sand rock. 7 ..
Sea mud
6.
Black slate.
3.
Water, sand and gravel.
Gray slate.
2.
Stiff clay.
7.
Black slate
3.
5.
Coal.
.8
Brown rock
2.
Brown Cap rock. 1. ·
Soap-stone.
5.
Coal.
2 10
Sand rock. 4.
Fire-clay
1 6
Soap-stone.
12.
Black slate
4. 6
Red Cap rock.
1.
Coal.
3. 4
Soap-stone.
3.
-
Rocky marl.
3.
Total 218. 10
Soap-stone.
12.
Coal. .
Blue clay
43.
5 ..
Soap-stone.
49.25
49.63. ) Undried.
271
HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY.
CHAPTER III.
INDIAN AFFAIRS.
Policy of the Government-Treaties -- Annuities-The Sac and Fox Indians-Keokuk- Wapello-Indian Incidents and Reminiscences-The Neutral Strip-The Pottawatta- mies-John Greene and His Band-The Sioux-The Lott Atrocity-The Revenge and the Retaliation.
IT has been the custom of the general government in dealing with the Indians west of the Mississippi river to treat them as independent nations.
In these negotiations with the aborigines of Iowa the authorities, at vari- ous 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 lands. This treaty was made September 1, 1832, and included a portion of country bounded as follows: Beginning 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 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 western boundary line was a very irregular one, as it followed the same general direction as the Mississippi river. It ran a little west of the present location of Wash- ington, and its general direction was a little west of south.
The second purchase was made in 1837, October 21, and included a suf- ficient 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 adjoin- ing 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.
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 present limits of Wapello county, and was concluded October 11, 1842, procla- mation 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, on May 1, 1843. The last date, therefore, is the period when the whole of the country was thrown open to white settlement.
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 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
272
HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY.
war. As an honor to this chief, and owing to his influence in bringing about the treaty, a county was called Keokuk.
Until the conclusion of the Black Hawk treaty the Indians held undis- puted sway in Iowa. Few, if any, white people in those days ventured as far west as this, and the country was comparatively unknown, except as re- ports were brought to the frontier by roving bands of Indians, intent on barter. In the main the Indians subsisted upon the wild animals then inhabiting this country. Occasional patches of Indian corn · were culti- vated, which furnished them scanty food during a portion of the year; but wild turkeys, pheasants, deer, fish and muskrats formed the chief articles of diet.
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 pro- ceeding 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 the early settlers in other parts of the country, where misunderstanding about the ownership of the soil gave rise to frightful massacre and bloody wars. The Indians gave no serious difficulty, and seldom, if ever, disturbed the early settlers of this county, after they had rightfully come into 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. Mr. William B. Street, of Oskaloosa, 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 chiefs in signing. We give an extract, including the names of part of the In- dians who were at that time living at Kish-ke-kosh's village, in what is now the eastern part of the county, west of Keokuk county:
" We, the chiefs, warriors, heads of families and individuals without fam- ilies, of the Sac and Fox tribe of Indians, within the same agency, acknowi- edge the receipt of $40,000 of John Beach, United States Indian Agent, in the sums appended to our names, being our proportion of the annuity due said tribe for the year 1841:
NAMES.
MARKS
MEN
WOMEN
CHILD'N
TOTAL
AMOUNT
Kish-ke-kosh1
X
1
1
3
4
$ 71 30
Ko-ko-ach ..
X
1
2
3
6
106 95
Pas-sa-sa-shiek.
X
1
1
2
2
55 65
Mo-ka-qua.
X
1
1
17 82
Pa-ko-ka.
X
1
1
2
4
71 30
Ka-ke-wa-wa-te-sit.
X
2
1
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-kah4
2
1
3
6
106 95
Mus-qua-ke5.
3
2
2
7
124 78
And fifty-nine others.
1Kish-ke-kosh means "The man with one leg off."
'Much-e-min-ne means "Big man."
'Wa-pes-e-qua means "White eyes."
"Wa-pe-ka-kah means "White crow."
"Mus-qua-ke means "The Fox."
with malice toward none un Charity for all"
your Out Sul~ John & Hull
275
HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY.
" 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 this 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, ac- knowledge the correctness of the foregoing receipts.
"KEOKUK,6 his X mark. "POWESHIEK," his X mark."
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 demands against the tribes admitted by Keokuk, which invariably consumed the far greater portion of the amount received. The remainder was turned over to the chief's 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 was spurious. In confirmation of this charge over and above the character of the items exhibited in these accounts an
affidavit was filed with Governor Lncas, 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 purely 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 trader's bills, items were introduced of a character that should brand fraud upon their face, such as a large number of blanket coats, arti- cles 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. At this time the nation numbered about two thousand and three hundred and it is not possible that Keokuk could have carried on an organ- ized 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 the 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
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