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 37
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The settlers around Pea's Point fearing that the Sioux might follow Lott and his son, and fall upon the settlement and murder all, had assembled at the house of John M. Crooks for better safety and defense, and were on the lookout for Indians.
Lott with several white men and the Pottawattamies were rapidly ad- vancing across the prairie towards Crook's house, the Indians in the front yelling as is their custom when starting on the war-path and not in the vicinity of danger. The settlers supposing them to be Sioux coming to attack them, prepared for action, each singling out his Indian. and were upon the point of firing when they recognized Lott and other white men, and were happily disappointed to find them all friends.
John Pea and six other white men accompanied Lott and the Pottawat- tamies to the mouth of Boone river and found that the family had not been tomahawked as Lott had represented, but one of his boys, a lad about twelve years old, in order to escape from the Indians, had undertaken to reach the settlements by following down the river on the ice, and across
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the bottoms, a distance of twenty miles. The Sioux had robbed the family of nearly everything they had except the barrel of whisky which Lott had securely hidden, and the family was found in a very destitute condition.
After making an unsuccessful scout the Potawattamies returned to camp. Lott gave them all the whisky they could carry with them as they would not drink any till they returned to camp. They filled their cup's and powder-horns and carried it in that manner all the way back to Elk Rapids, a distance of thirty six miles, where, to celebrate the result of their expedition, they took a rousing spree.
This incident, while it resulted in no harm to the settlers of Boone county, had the effect to deter many from settling in the county the ensuing spring and summer.
Lott was much overcome when he found in what condition the savages had left his family. His wife died a short time afterward from the effects of the treatment she had received from the Indians. The boy, who started down the river in order to reach the settlement, perished from the effects of the cold, and his dead body was found on the ice. The two little girls were found some time afterward in a sorry plight, exhausted by the cold and hun- ger. After burying his wife and boy, Lott secured homes for the other children among the settlers of this county, and it is but proper to state, in this connection, that the little boy, now grown into manhood, recently made a visit to this locality. The two girls, having grown to be young women, were married and became the wives of two of the leading citizens of this county.
Having thus arranged his affairs, Lott turned his attention to wreaking vengeance upon the savages who had despoiled his home, and the saddest part of the story remains to be told.
Lott, now having determined on his plan of proceeding did not lose much time in carrying it out. He procured an ox team and drove to Des Moines. Upn arriving there he purchased two barrels: one he filled with pork and the other with whisky. What other ingredient he mixed with the pork and whisky can be imagined from the effects it had upon those who ate it.
Having thus laid in his stock of goods, he set out from Des Moines to the hunting grounds of the Sioux. After driving around for some time he learned that the old chief, Sim-au-e-dotah, with a hunting party, was en- camped near a stream in the present bounds of Webster county. He pro ceeded stealthily into the timber near by and hastily erected a tempo- rary shelter, where he stored his pork and whisky. During the following night he kindled a large fire, and having heaped upon it a sufficient quantity of fuel, to keep it burning for a day or two, hearranged his wagon, team and cooking utensils in such a manner as to indicate sudden flight. After Lott had thus fixed up matters to suit his mind he quietly left the country. How the camp, with its team, wagon, pork and whisky was discovered by Sim-au-e-dotah's band next morning, and just what became of the provis- ions, will probably never be known. However, the fact did become public that during the following summer the Indians in that vicinity were greatly terrified by the ravages of a peculiar and unknown epidemic, against which the skill of the medicine men, and the most importunate appeals to the Great Spirit, were of no avail. It is said that over seventy-five of the most robust and bravest of the warriors perished in a short time, and a feeling of melancholy and sadness took possession of the whole tribe of savages.
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HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY.
Notwithstanding the sad havoc among the Sioux following Lott's last visit to their hunting grounds, the old chief Sim-au-e-dotah and his sons escaped and continued to prosper. Upon hearing that the chief with his family still survived, Lott determined on a braver, as well as a more manly, plan of revenge. Having disguised himself so that the old chief could not recognize him, and armed with a trusty rifle, whose unerring aim usually brought down its game, Lott mounted a horse and rode into the Sioux country. He entered the camp where Sim-au-e-dotah was encamped and sought an interview with the old chief. After having put the wary savage off his guard by the presentation of gifts and the utterance of the most expressive words of friendship, Lott informed Sim-au-e-dotah that a certain prairie, through which he had originally come abounded in game of the choicest kind, and thus having aroused the old man's natural pro- pensity for the chase succeeded in prevailing upon him and his three sons to accompany him on a hunting excursion. When Lott and the Indians arrived at the place where the game was reported to be, it was decided, upon the suggestion of the former, that they surround the prairie in which the game was concealed. The three young Indians were sent in opposite directions, and as soon as Lott and the old Indian were left alone, the for- mer soon dispatched the unsuspecting old chief; he then started on the track of the young Indians and killed all three of them in detail. It is further reported that after killing the old Indian and his three sons Lott uragged their dead bodies together, on an elevation near the Des Moines river, and having built a log heap placed them on it, and having set it on fire returned to Boone county.
In the course of time reports of Lott's doings began to be whispered abroad, and his case came up for investigation before the grand jury, then in session at Des Moines. Among the members of the grand jury was a gentleman residing at Boonesboro. Lott's case was the last one disposed of, and in the evening, just before the jury was discharged, a true bill was found against Lott and he was indicted for murder in the first degree. It is not positively known when the Boonesboro juror left Des Moines, nor when he arrived at the former place; all that is known is the fact that his horse was in the stable at Des Moines at dark on the evening of the day that the indictment was found, and that the same horse was in a stable at Boonesborough the following morning. It is also known that Lott left the country the same night, and the sheriff who came up from Des Moines to arrest him the next day failed to find him. Lott was never again seen in this region of the country, and nothing has been definitely known as to his whereabouts. It was rumored at one time that he made his way to the Pacific slope, and after having been engaged in barter and mining for a number of years, was finally lynched for some alleged misdemeanor. Whether or not such was the tragic end of his eventful life is not positively known, but the incidents as above related bearing upon his career in Boone and Webster counties are vouched for by some of the early settlers then residing in the vicinity of Boonesboro, and they can be relied on as substantially trne in all the particulars.
The failure of the sheriff from Polk county to find Lott ended the mat- ter as far as legal proceedings were concerned, but not so as far as the sav- ages were concerned.
They were greatly exasperated when they found that their chief and his
19
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HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY.
sons had been decoyed and slain and they preferred complaint to the gov- ernment agents, through whose influence doubtless Lott's indictment wad procured. After Lott's escape it finally became whispered about among the savages that Lott was not only responsible for the death of their chief and his sons but that his pork and whisky had had something to do with the epidemic which previously had carried off some seventy-five of their braves. They nursed their grievances and their desire of revenge increased until it finally found vent in the Spirit Lake massacre, which created so great a sensation at the time and which did so much to retard emigration to this section. The details of this massacre do not constitute a part of the history of Boone county, but as this massacre was intimately connected with the history of this county it is proper to give a brief account of it.
In the spring of 1857, Ink-pa-du-tah, chief among the Sioux Indians and cousin to the chief killed by Lott, led a band of Indians to a small settlement of whites near Spirit Lake, in Dickinson county. They mur- dered many of the settlers and carried some of the women and children into captivity. They plundered the settlement of all the stock and pro- visions and then retreated into Minnesota. Although the scene of this massacre was over one hundred miles away it caused a thrill of fear and excitement in this county. A company of rangers was organized under command of S. B. McCall, who immediately marclied to the relief of the settlers. When they arrived at the scene of the massacre they buried the dead and scouted the country far and near but could not find any traces of Ink-pa-du.tah, nor any of his band.
During the following summer the government concluded a treaty with the Sioux Indians, and removed those living in southern Minnesota to the west of the Missouri river.
Thus did the successor and relative of Sim-au-e-dotah wreak vengeance on the white man for the murder of the chief and the penalty of that foul deed had to be paid by innocent parties.
The Sioux Indians always noted for their fierce cruelty still are true to their former characteristics and it was the same tribe under the leadership of Sitting Bull who for some years was a source of so much terror to the Black Hills' miners, and who composed the army concerned in the defeat and death of the brave General Custer.
The following extract of a letter written about the time of the Spirit Lake massacre by A. B. Holcomb to friends in the east will give some idea of what effect the news of that atrocity had upon the settlers at this point:
" The Indian excitement has gone by. We had quite an alarm here. It all proved false, however. But to see teams with families flocking in and bringing in the report that Fort Dodge and Webster City were taken and burnt the night before started the patriotic blood of our citizens here. The Boonesborough "Invincibles" were soon armed and marched to the scene of battle, and were gone three days. I brought out my Sharp's rifle and made up all the powder I had into cartridges to keep garrison, but we could never learn that any "poor Indian " came within 100 miles of this place, and the alarm was soon over. If they had come this way their red skins would have caught a good peppering. We should have had a grand hunt. One woman came in here from Spirit Lake at the time of the mas- sacre there. She with several other women defended a log cabin for sev- eral hours against the Indians, and finally beat them off. She had the
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HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY.
mark of a rifle ball upon one cheek and also one upon the thigh. She was out two days and one night in March, with nothing on but the clothes she wore about the house and a single crust of bread to eat, and with a child two months old in her arms. She knew nothing of the fate of her hus- band until she got here, nor he of her. "
But the Indian was destined to create no further disturbances upon the soil which the white man had marked for his own. In accordance with the stipulations of sacred treaties and likewise agreeably to the demands of the times the alloted time had now come for the red man to move west- ward again on his roving mission and add one more proof that his race is fast passing away and must eventually disappear before the restless inarch of the Anglo Saxon race, as did the traditionary Mound Builders give place to the predatory red man of later times.
" And did the dust
Of these fair solitudes once stir with life
And burn with passion ? Let the mighty mounds
That overlook the rivers, or that rise
In the dim forests crowded with old oaks Answer: A race that has long passed away Built them. The red man came --
The roaming hunter tribes, warlike and fierce- And the Mound Builders vanished from the earth.
The solitude of centuries untold
Has settled where they dwelt. The prairie wolf
Howls in their meadows and his fresh dug den
Yawns by my path. The gopher mines the ground
Where stood their swarming cities. All is gone --
All! save the piles of earth that hold their bones
The platforms where they worshiped unknown gods."
Thus as those traditionary Mound Builders were forced to give way to the plundering red men of later times, so must he give place to his pale- faced successor, and his night of ignorance and superstition in which he so delights to revel, must give place to the approaching light of intelligence and civilization as truly as the darkest shades of midnight are dispelled by the approaching light of day. When the last barrier of restraint was thus removed, the tide of emigration, so long held in check, began to come in at a rapid rate over these prairies, and thus has it continued to roll, wave after wave, until it has reached the western shore, carrying with it the energy and talents and enterprise of nations; and washing to the surface the gold from the mountains and valleys of the Pacific slope, it has envel- oped our land in the mighty main of enterprise and civilization.
CHAPTER IV.
EARLY SETTLEMENTS.
Importance of First Beginnings-Character of First Settlers-Noah's Bottom and Col. Babbitt-Elk Rapids-Swede Point-Hull's Point-Pea's Point-Boonesboro-Mil- ford-The Rush of 1856 and 1865.
EVERY nation does not possess an authentic account of its origin, neither do all communities have the correct data whereby it is possible to accu- rately predicate the condition of their first beginnings. Nevertheless, to be intensely interested in such things is characteristic of the race, and it
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HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY.
is particularly the province of the historian to deal with first causes. Should these facts, as is often the case, be lost in the mythical tradition of the past, the chronicler invades the realm of the ideal, and compels his im- agination to paint the missing picture. The patriotic Roman was not con- tent till he had found the "First Settlers," and then he was satisfied, although they were found in the very undesirable company of a she bear, and located on a drift, which the receding waters of the Tiber had per- mitted them to preempt.
One of the advantages pertaining to a residence in a new country, and the one possibly least appreciated, is the fact that we can go back to the first beginnings. We are thus enabled, not only to trace results to their causes, but also to grasp the facts which have contributed to form and mould these causes. We observe that a State or county has attained a cer- tain position, and we at once try to trace out the reasons for this position in its early settlement and surroundings, in the class of men by whom it was peopled, and in the many chances and changes which have wrought out results in all the recorded deeds of mankind. In the history of Boone county, we may trace its early settlers to their homes in the Eastern States and in the countries of the Old World. We may follow the course of the hardy woodman of the "Buckeye " or the " Hoosier" State on his way west to "grow up with the country," trusting only to his strong arm and his willing heart to work out his ambition of a home for himself and wife, and a competence for his children. Yet again, we may see the path worn by the Missourian in his new experience in a land which to him was a land of progress, far in advance of that southern soil upon which he had made his temporary home, in his effort to adapt himself to new conditions. We may see here the growth which came with knowledge, and the progress which grew upon him with progress around him, and how his better side developed. The pride of Kentucky blood, or the vain glorying of the Virginia F. F. V.'s, was here seen in an early day only to be modified in its advent from the crucible of democracy when servitude was eliminated from the solution. Yet others have been animated with the impulse to " move on," after making themselves a part of the community, and have sought the newer parts of the extreme West, where civilization had not penetrated, or returned to their native soil. We shall find much of that distinctive New England character which has contributed so many men and women to other portions of our State and the West; also we shall find many an industrious native of Germany or the British Isles, and a few of the industrious and economical French-all of whom have contributed to modify types of men already existing here. Moreover, there were repre- sentatives of a hardy, industrious and enterprising race from the inhospit- able climes of northern Europe, who were among the first to found homes on the more productive soil and under the milder skies of Iowa. Who- ever has read that inimitable work, the history of Charles the Twelfth, and with the author has followed the stalwart Swedes on their conquering career through northern and central Europe can but exclaim " how stranger are the facts of history than the myths of fiction." Those who have noted the career of the descendants of those brave, strong men in subduing the wilds and overcoming the obstacles and withstanding the hardships of this country in early times, can but admit that they are worthy sons of illustri- ous sires.
With confidence that general results will prove that there is much of
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HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY.
good in everything, and that a justice almost poetic has been meted out to the faults and follies, to the foibles and the virtues of the early settlers of this county, we may now enter upon their story.
The first white man who resided in the present limits of Boone county was Col. L. W. Babbitt. He had been for a number of years commanding a detachment of United States Dragoons, and while serving in that capacity had frequently crossed the country. During these excursions from Fort Des Moines to the vicinity of Fort Dodge, he was struck by the beautiful scenery and natural resources of the country lying along the Des Moines river. He had also noted what he regarded as a particularly favored point, just above the present site of Moingona, formerly familiarly known as Noah's Bottom, but more recently called Rose's Bottom. At this place he had discovered the remains of a former village. The character of these remnants of human habitation convinced him that the people who had previously dwelt there were not representatives of the Sioux, Potawatta- mies, Sac and Fox Indians, nor yet of any tribe or tribes of savages known to the civilized world. The dwellings were of a more permanent charac- ter, and the tools used in their erection were evidently of a better quality and a more approved character than the Indians referred to had been known to possess. There were also found the remains of cooking utensils, which the savages were not accustomed to use and other unmistakable evi- dences of a pre-historic civilization.
It was probably in part due to desire to investigate these remains of the former village, and partly due to the fact that the surroundings were of such a nature as to make this location a desirable winter quarters that Col. Babbit, on retiring from the United States service, determined to locate at this point. He arrived there in the autumn of 1843, and erected tem- porary quarters in which he and his attendants could comfortably pass the winter. Provisions were readily procured at points further down the river, and by reason of his familiarity with the country he had a comparatively easy and convenient communication with the white people who had located in the older settled country to the south and east. Then, too, the country for miles in every direction being entirely new, and many parts of it scarcely if ever before having echoed to the sound of that great instrument of civ- ilization, the rifle; game of all kinds was abundant, of the best quality, and easily obtained. Fish were easily caught in great numbers, and the choicest of fur-bearing animals were numerous. Added to this the further fact that the Colonel had for many years spent his time on the frontier, and by reason of many a solitary march and lonely camp in the solitudes of the wilderness, had accustomed himself to being shut off from the conve- niences and luxuries of civilized society, he doubtless found his temporary home in Noah's Bottom a very pleasant and enjoyable one. In regard to the remains of the former habitations already referred to, Col. Babbit, on careful examination and mature deliberation, came to the conclusion that they had constituted the dwellings of a band of half breeds who were known to have dwelt along the shores of the upper Des Moines in very early days. These half breeds were a cross between the French and Sioux, and by reason of their relationship with the Sioux were allowed to remain in that region long before it would have been safe for any white people to dwell there. These people, half French and half Indian, were frequently referred to in the Indian traditions; at one time they were quite numerous along the upper Des Moines, and it was probably they who gave the name
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HISTORY OF BOONE COUNTY.
to the river. Authority has already been cited, in a former chapter, for the statement that the word Des Moines is a corruption of the French phase Rivere des Moines, meaning " river of the monks."
After spending the winter of 1843 and 1844 in Noah's Bottom, Col. Babbitt emigrated to the Missouri Slope, and was among the most ener- getic and influential of the first citizens of Council Bluffs.
Although Col. Babbitt spent the winter of 1843 and 1844 within the bounds of Boone county and no other white man located here till early in 1846, he cannot properly be regarded as the first settler. as his stay was but brief, and he did not locate there with the intention of making it a permanent hoine; he staked off no claim, and made no permanent improve- ments.
As to who was the veritable "first settler" in this county, accounts some- what differ. Though the various accounts regarding them are almost legion, yet no two of them seem to fully correspond when placed side by side. After examining many authorities and interviewing many of the oldest set- tlers now living in the county in regard to this much vexed question, it should not surprise the reader if the following statement of the case should somewhat differ from the preconceived opinions of many. The stranger who comes into the county with none of the information which those pos- sess who have resided here for years, works at great disadvantage in many respects. He does not at first know whom to interview, or where to find the custodians of important records. However, he possesses one great ad- vantage, which more than makes up for this: he enters upon his work with an unbiased mind; he has no friends to reward and no enemies to punish; his mind is not preoccupied and prejudged by reports which may have incidentally come into his possession while transacting the ordinary affairs of business; and when, in addition to this, he is a person whose business it is to collect statements and weigh facts of history, he is much better qual- ified for the task, and to discriminate between statements seemingly of equal weight, than those who are either immediately or remotely interested par- ties, and whose regular employment lies in other fields of industry. This is true even though the former be a total stranger and the latter have be- come familiar with men and things by many years of intercourse and familiarity. He is best judge and best juror who is totally unacquainted with both plaintiff and defendant, and he is best qualified to arbitrate be- tween conflicting facts of history who comes to his task without that bias which is the price of acquaintanceship and familiarity. The best history of France was written by an Englishman, and the most authentic account of American institutions was written by a Frenchman, and it remained for an American to write the only reliable history of the Dutch Republic.
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