USA > Iowa > Fayette County > The history of Fayette County, Iowa, containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, &c. > Part 36
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Immediately after their arrival, preparations were made for slaughtering the hogs, which was done on the open prairie. The weather was bitterly cold, and it was neither an easy nor comfortable task for five men, even with such assist- ance as the lazy Indians were disposed to render, to kill twenty-five hogs a day. Before they completed their work, however, the weather began to moderate, and about noon on the 1st day of January, 1843, having settled with Mr. Lowry, with only provisions enough to last one day, Bailey and his party* started on
* With the party was Atwood, an Indian trader, who, says Judge Bailey, was a "scalawag," and who had his whisky, and whatever else he traded with, at Beatty and Orrear's at that time. He had given some offense to Mr. Lowry, the agent at the Mission, and had been up there to make his peace with the "powers that be; " had expressed a great deal of sorrow for what he had been doing, and was on his way back to Beatty's, but he was fearfar lest Mr. Lowry should send a squad of soldiers after him. What he had been doing is not remembered, but he had probably been swindling the Indians, which may have led to the tragedy soon after enacted at Tegarden's.
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HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY.
their return to Delaware, encamped on the south bank of the Little Turkey River, five miles from the Mission, on Section 29, Township 95, Range 9, that night, and intended to make Beatty's cabin, south of the Volga, the next day. During the night, a furious southeast snow storm commenced. The next morning, nothing daunted, they started on their journey across the treeless prairie, but the storm was so severe and the snow became so deep that about noon they lost the track, became bewildered, and were compelled to turn back, arriving at the camping ground they left in the morning, about dark, cold, wet, weary and dispirited.
The storm continued during the night with unabated fury, and the next morning it was still snowing as hard as ever; but our little band did not like the idea of going back to the mission, concluding that the storm could not last much longer, and believing that they could reach the Volga timber before dark, again broke camp and started. The snow was now from two and one-half to four feet deep. The men were forced to wallow ahead to break tracks for the oxen, and their progress was slow and wearisome, especially as both men and animals had been without food for more than twelve hours. The weather was moderate, and their clothes were wet, until about 10 o'clock, the storm ceased, the wind, shifting suddenly into the northwest, blew a heavy, biting, freezing gale, and the little party were forced to face the new danger of freezing to death.
A little after noon, the Volga timber was discovered. The party were then probably three or four miles south of west of Round Grove, where West Union now stands. When the sun went down, however, they were still far away from the timber they hoped to reach. They kept on traveling as long as they could see the timber, but at last the increasing darkness completely hid it from view ; and there, on the open prairie, exposed to the full fury of the biting January blast, with the icy air filled with fine frozen snow driven by the wind, without food, exhausted and freezing, the little party was forced to stop, in the north- east part of Township 93, Range 9, west of and within about half a mile of the present site of Donnan. Their largest sled was about ten feet long. On it- was a box, two boards high, the length of the sled. Turning the sled broad- side to the wind, as it sat well up to the top of the snow, by shoveling the snow from a little spot beside it to the frozen ground beneath, the top of the sled box was about as high as their heads, they were partially sheltered from the piercing wind and had a hard surface on which to stamp their feet.
They whittled up the box on another sled and endeavored to kindle a fire, but every lucifer match they had was used without success ; their ammunition had become damp ; their fingers were too much benumbed with cold to use the flint and steel-they could have no fire. It was a critical situation ; without fire, without food, and exhausted by a long day's march through the deep snow. It was wonderful that they were not discouraged. Death not only stared them in the face but was feeling with icy fingers for their hearts. Their lives depended upon keeping awake and moving. To remain still was to sleep, and sleep was death. The poor fellows wrapped their blankets about their heads and here they stood stamping, talking, yelling to keep each other awake. "The fearful horrors of that terrible night," says Judge Bailey, from whose lips this narrative was taken, "are as vividly impressed upon my memory as if they occurred but yesterday. We had to watch for each others' voices. If we failed to hear one, we hunted about in the dark until we found him leaning against the sled, and started him to going again. It was the longest night I ever expe- rienced ; it seemed as if daylight would never come."
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HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY.
Day dawned at last and they resumed their wearisome way, but it was noon when they reached the Volga and obtained some water for themselves and their teams. It was still three miles to the hospitable cabin of Beatty and Orrear. Would the exhausted party ever reach it? They would try. On they stag- gered, famishing, freezing, and hardly caring whether they lived or died. Near night-fall they struck a track about half a mile from the cabin, which gave them new courage and they struggled on, and at last about dark, badly frozen, famished and utterly exhausted they reached Beatty and Orrear's cabin, hav- ing been since daylight in the morning traveling six miles.
Here they found Gilbert D. Dillon, Franklin Culver and Johnson of Rock- ville, snow-bound on their way to the Fort, with two loads of butter, eggs and poultry ; Beatty, Orrear and their guests at once provided for the wants of Mr. Bailey and his party. One of them, making a requisition upon Dillon's load, prepared supper, and the others prepared tubs and buckets, filled with cold water, into which the frozen feet and limbs of the sufferers were plunged. While thus drawing the frost from their frozen feet, a good warm supper was served them and they broke their protracted fast of forty-eight hours ; "but," remarks Judge Bailey, "we didn't eat much-we were not much hungry."
Bailey, Keeler and Vandever were so badly frost-bitten that they were compelled to remain at the cabin of Beatty and Orrear for several days. As soon as they were able to be moved, beds were arranged for them on the sleds, and they started for home, accompanied by Mr. Johnson. The noble-hearted Beatty went with them to Maj. Mumford's, on Brush Creek. It was only seven or eight miles but they were all day making the journey. Beatty helped to break the track. The next day they reached Joe. Hewitt's cabin, and in the evening of the third day, arrived at Eads' Grove. Here they found Will- iam Bennett, who was on his way to Hewitt's to keep out of the way of the Linn County Sheriff, who was anxious to find him as he was charged with being a party to flogging one Johnson, a settler in Buchanan County.
Mr. Bailey was unable to walk for three months after this terrible exposure. Both his feet ulcerated, the flesh sloughed off of one of his toes and the dead and naked bone was cut off by Keeler with a "dog-knife." Keeler was also laid up for several weeks, but Vandever fared the worst. The flesh fell off of all his toes on one foot and of three on the other, exposing the bones to their articulation with the bones of the feet. There was no surgeon nearer than Dubuque, and Mr. Kibbee removed the naked bones, using an old bullet mould for forceps. After this novel surgical operation was performed his mutilated feet finally healed, but poor Vandever was a cripple for life.
During this severe Winter, comparatively many persons were lost and frozen to death on these then almost trackless prairies. One might as well be in mid- ocean in a storm, without compass or rudder, as to be out of sight of timber on these prairies in one of those fearful Winter storms. . All through the month of March, 1843, says Judge Bailey, of Delaware, the cold was as intense as it had been during the entire Winter.
Kindness to the Indians .- During this severe Winter, George Culver, on the Volga, cared for a large number of Winnebago Indians, who were prevented from hunting on account of the extreme cold. Joseph Hewitt, who was just across the line, in Clayton County, did the same, and, doubtless, saved many of the improvident red skins from starvation. Failing to obtain remuneration for their outlay from the agent of the Winnebagoes, at the mission, Culver and Hewitt went to Washington in 1846, as many an Indian trader has done before and since, to establish and collect their claims. Other Indian traders didn't fare so well.
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HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY.
In January, 1843, very soon after Bailey and his party were so hospitably received and cared for by Beatty and Orrear, William Bennett, mentioned above, found it convenient to not only spend a few days with his friend Hewett, but to be concealed by him in a cavern near by from the officers of the law, who were on his track. He arrived at Hewitt's about January 10.
The Sheriff of Linn County, with a posse of several men, having traced him to this point, arrived soon after ; but the party had divided before reaching the trading post. In his search for Bennett, the Sheriff entered one of the Winnebago tepees, or wigwams, and, while here, accidentally shot an Indian. Mr. Hensley states that, some time previous to this time, the Linn County Sheriff, with a small party, had been caught by some Indians and robbed while hunting buffalo calves in the territory now covered by Chickasaw County. One insolent Indian had compelled him to take off his coat, and he had suffered severely from cold. He then and there " spotted" that Indian, and resolved to shoot him on sight wherever he should find him. On entering the tepee, as above stated, Mr. Sheriff saw and recognized the individual who had taken his coat. He sat down, and pretended to be fixing his gun, which he had across his knees, pointed at the Indian ; it exploded, and the savage tumbled over, dead. "Hewitt," says Mr. Hensley, "anxious, on Bennett's account, to get rid of the Sheriff and his posse, urged them to get away as soon as possible, declar- ing that the Indians would kill them if they remained." The Sheriff, however, was not to be frightened off, declaring the shooting to have been accidental, and that there were not Winnebagoes enough on the reserve to compel him to leave until he was ready to go. He called his men together, however, and after continuing his fruitless search for Bennett, leisurely took his departure. Mr. Hensley says that when he arrived at Eads' Grove, he declared that the Indian was not shot accidentally, but that he hadsent him to the happy hunting ground for the reason above stated. It has been said that the Sheriff found Bennett on this occasion and was frightened off when that worthy covered him with a pistol, and that a squaw was shot accidentally. These statements, Mr. Hensley says, are simply untrue. The Sheriff he says, did not find or see Bennett, and the Indian was shot as above.
Hewitt's cabin was about four miles east of Brush Creek, and although he was not a resident of Fayette, he was familiarly known to the early settlers of this county. After the removal of the Indians, he went West in 1851, leasing his place, it is said, to a Mr. Morley, who had an accomplished daughter. Hewitt returned, and although then nearly 60 years old, and considerably mar- ried, he induced the Morley girl to elope with him. This was probably about 1857 ; for the records of Fayette County show that a marriage license was issued to Joseph Hewitt and Harriet K. Morley by County Judge Rogers in 1857.
THE TEGARDEN MASSACRE.
The records of Dubuque County show that a trapper and Indian trader, named Henry T. Garden, or T. Garden, as the name appears of record in one instance, was living on Section 7, Township 89, Range 2, Dubuque County. a few miles southeast of Colesburg, in 1837-8. He was generally called T. Gar- den or Tegarden by the early settlers, and may have been a Kentuckian. In the records of Clayton County, the name is written indiscriminately Tegarden, and Tegardner, and is written Tegardner in a marriage record in 1846.
He had a family, consisting of a wife and several children, at that time- three sons, William, George and a younger one, and a little girl. About 1839 or '40, another child was added to the family.
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HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY.
Tegarden was in the habit of moving about on his trading expeditions with the Indians, and in the Winter of 1842-3, occupied a cabin that had been built by him or Atwood, or both (about a mile west of Beatty and Orrear's), with his wife and three younger children-the boy about 9, the little girl about 7 and the "baby " about 3 years old; the two older boys, William and George, re- maining in Dubuque County, probably on the homestead.
Authorities differ as to the precise date when Tegarden came from Dubuque County that Winter ; some think that he came in the Fall of 1842. Judge Bailey, of Delaware County, who, as previously stated, was at Beatty and Orrear's cabin several days early in January, 1843, says that Tegarden was not there then ; that Atwood was stopping at Beatty's, keeping his stock of whisky there, and that the cabin west of Beatty's was unoccupied at that time." Tegarden came soon after, occupied the cabin, and Atwood probably lived there with him, removing from Beatty's ; and both engaged in supplying thirsty Winnebagoes with "fire water."
Since this account was written, the authors have succeeded in obtaining a copy of the indictment found by the grand jury of Clayton County, April 26, 1843, against three Indians for the murder of Moses Tegarden. Whether the name of Moses and Henry were applied to the same individual, or whether Henry and William were sons of Moses, are problems left to the reader to solve. Names were frequently confounded in early records, and in several instances in preparing this work, different names have been found of record applied to the same individual. It is probable that the name was erroneously written " Moses " in the indictment, and that the Dubuque County record is the best au- thority. Perhaps "Moses " was the handle of Atwood's name.
It is said that one of the Winnebagoes, a member of "Little Hill's " band, pawned his gun to Tegarden* for rum. Tegarden sold it very soon after, and of course when the Indian called for his gun, he couldn't produce it, but com- promised by serving his customer with a little more whisky, and the swindled brave went away apparently satisfied.
On the afternoon of March 25, this Indian, with two of his comrades, returned to Tegarden's. Two of them got uproariously drunk, and Tegarden and Atwood were drunk also. In the evening, Mrs. Tegarden, becoming frightened, went to Mr. Wilcox's, about a mile east. She wanted to take the children with her, but her husband refused to permit them to go. The details of the bloody tragedy that followed are given to the historian by A. J. Hensley, Esq., to whom they were related by Mr. Beatty as given to him by the little girl :
After carousing until late in the evening, they all went to sleep on the floor, except the little girl, who was in bed. Along in the night, the Indians awoke, and, moving about stealthily, securely bound Tegarden and Atwood with cords before their doomed victims awoke. The red fiends, maddened with whisky, commenced hacking Atwood with their tomahawks. He yelled lustily, but without avail; his cries gradually became weaker, and the little girl thought they were about half an hour in killing him. They then commenced cutting her father, but he begged of them "if they were bound to murder him, to shoot him at once, and not murder him by inches," whereupon one of them seized a gun and shot him through the head. They then killed the little "three-year-old," and badly wounded the oldest boy, leaving him for dead. One of them came to the bed where the little girl lay listening and shuddering
*From Atwood's character, and the fact that he had some difficulty with the Indian agent, it is more than proba- ble that he and not Tegarden was the man who had played the dirty trick upon the Indians, and the impression is further confirmed by the fact that Atwood was the first to be killed in the horrid tragedy that followed.
B
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HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY.
as the murderous work went on, and struck her two or three times with a toma- hawk. cutting her badly ; one blow laid open one side of her face. The little heroine told Mr. Beatty that she supposed they would have killed her, too, only she had noticed, while they were pounding and cutting the others, that the more their victims writhed and screamed the more the Indians struck, and when they struck her she cried out once or twice and then lay perfectly still and quiet, so that they left her thinking she too was dead.
There is another version of this affair, differing from the above only in minor details. P. P. Olmstead, of Monona, Clayton County, who was probably the only Justice west or north of Jacksonville (Elkader), states that he was requested by Capt. E. V. Sumner to accompany him to a place then called the Wilcox Settlement, to take the depositions of the children-a boy, aged 13, and a girl, aged 11 years, who had been seriously wounded by the Indians. The murders were committed on the 25th of March. The children were badly wounded about their necks and shoulders, by blows from tomahawks. The Indians came to the house about 3 P. M. : appeared friendly, and asked the privilege of sleeping on the floor, which was granted them. Mrs. Tegarden and the oldest son were absent. The family retired about 9 o'clock. About 11 o'clock, the two children were awakened and discovered the Indians murdering the other children. Tegarden and Atwood were dead on the floor. The Indians struck them (the witnesses), when they feigned death.
Completing their bloody work, as they thought, the Indians, after rum- maging the cabin and gathering up some of the most attractive property about the house, went out to harness Tegarden's horse to his cutter. They were gone some time, and during their absence the little girl got out of her bed, and, finding the others were all dead, except her older brother, who was badly hurt, she helped him up, and, without waiting to dress, crept out into the brush. The night was cold, and the snow about fifteen inches deep. The poor children were none too soon, for the Indians, returning to the cabin, took out what they wanted, fired it, and drove off.
The two wounded, shivering children started for Beatty's cabin, a mile away. The boy was so badly wounded that the little girl had to help him along. What those two poor wounded, bleeding and freezing children suffered in that terrible night journey through the snow, no pen of ours can portray. They reached the corner of Beatty's fence, probably about forty rods from his house, about daylight. They could go no further ; climbed upon the fence and screamed for assistance. Luckily Mr. Beatty heard them, went out and brought them in. They were both badly frozen, as well as wounded ; but were tenderly cared for, and survived the horrors of that dreadful night. The little girl lost all her toes from the effects of the frost, and her face was badly scarred from the knife or tomahawk of the savages.
William Orrear went to Delaware County a few days after the affair, on the 1st day of April, and while there told the settlers that the next day after the murders were committed, himself, the Wilcox brothers and Beatty found the bones and charred remains of the burnt men and child, gathered them up together with the ashes, fragments of dishes and other debris, and covered them upon the site of the burned cabin, making a little mound that Mr. Hensley says he has " seen many a time."
The Indians who perpetrated these atrocious murders were soon afterward arrested at Fort Atkinson, by Capt. Sumner, and examined, before P. P. Olm- stead, by whom they were committed to jail at Dubuque.
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HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY.
April 25, 1843, the Grand Jury of Clayton County returned a true bill, ' United States vs. Ho-gaw-hee-kaw, Wau-kow-chaw-neek-kaw and Haw-kaw- kaw, for the murder of Moses Tegarden. Patton McMillan was Foreman of the jury, and S. B. Lowry and David Lowry, witnesses. On motion of James Crawford, District Attorney, the Indians were brought into court to answer to the indictment ; and, informing the court that they were poor, and unable to employ counsel to prepare their defense, the court appointed James Grant, Esq., an attorney of this court, counsel for said defendants, and the said defendants, in open court, announced themselves ready to be arraigned and to plead to said indictment ; whereupon the said defendants were arraigned according to law, and, upon their said arraignment, pleaded not guilty to said indictment, where- upon, defendants, by their counsel, applied for " change of venue to Dubuque County, on the ground that the minds of the inhabitants of Clayton County were prejudiced against them." The application was granted, and the prisoners removed to Dubuque County and confined in the old log jail to await trial.
An examination of the records of Dubuque County, by P. J. Quigly, Esq., Clerk of the Court, reveals the following facts: The Indians were tried sepa- rately, by separate juries. Judge Thomas S. Wilson presided. Ho-gaw-hee- kaw was tried August 7. Jury brought in a verdict of " guilty," on the 9th. Waw-haw-chaw-neek-kaw was tried August 15; verdict, guilty, on the 16th. The other one was tried August 16, and found guilty on the 17th. Motion for new trial was made in each case; but, on the 17th, these motions were over- ruled, and, on the 18th of August, 1843, the three Indians were sentenced to be hanged on Tuesday, the 12th day of September, 1843, between the hours of 10 o'clock A. M. and 3 o'clock P. M. The cases were appealed to the United States Court and affirmed (see Morris, p. 437). The United States Court, however, seems not to have fixed a time for the execution, which probably gave rise to the report that the Sheriff of Dubuque, either through accident or design, allowed the time fixed for the execution to pass ; but this is, doubtless, untrue. Why sentence was not executed, or what final disposition was made of the Indians, cannot be definitely ascertained. It is said that one of them was killed in jail by his companions. The others may have been sent to the penitentiary to await the decision of the United States Court, and subsequently released.
As soon as the children had sufficiently recovered from their wounds and freezing, they, with their mother, returned to Dubuque County, where William and George, or Henry, lived.
In 1845, says Andrew J. Hensley, who was then living in the vicinity, William Tegarden built another cabin about two or three rods northeast of the spot where his father was murdered, and engaged in selling whisky to the Indians. This cabin was occupied by Harrison Augur and his family in 1849. Prior to that time, it had been occupied temporarily by Asa Parks. In 1852, it was known as the "Clark " house, and was occupied for a few months by Col. Aaron Brown, and some of its timber is now (1878) a part of Mr. Currier's fence.
In 1846, Mrs. Tegarden married Zophar Perkins, then living in Township 92, Range 7, and " Bill " married Perkins' eldest daughter, Asenath, about the same time.
June 14, 1847, William Tegarden was indicted in Clayton County, found guilty and fined $100 for selling liquor to Indians. April 17, 1848, Daniel Tegarden was indicted for the same offense, and, at the same time, " Bill " was indicted for assault with intent to commit great bodily injury. Soon after this, these characters disappeared. It is said they went to California, and, while on
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HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY.
the way, one of them wantonly shot an Indian squaw, and was captured by the Indians and murdered by inches. Mrs. Asenath Tegarden, it is said, died of consumption near Taylorsville in 1852.
The exact location of the cabin near the Tegarden spring, a spot historic from the bloody tragedy enacted there thirty-five years ago, has been a matter of some dispute ; by some it has been located on the northwest quarter of the southwest quarter of Section 31, Township 93, Range 8, very near the old mil- itary road, where there was a chimney, once belonging to a cabin, standing for years after the removal of the Indians. This was near a slough or sink-hole ; but no trader would ever locate at such a spot unless he drank nothing but whisky, and the elder Hensley, just before his deatlı, stated to Col. Brown that that cabin was built by an unknown man, and abandoned on account of lack of water in the vicinity, after the first cabin near the spring, a half mile or so southeast of it, was burned, and the evidence is conclusive that there was no cabin there in January, 1843. Andrew J. Hensley says that the cabin was almost exactly west of Beatty's, but little over a mile distant, on the northeast quar- ter of the northeast quarter of the northwest quarter of Section 6, Township 92, Range 8; that it was near a little grove and spring, and that a little mound marked the spot. The elder Hensley, just previous to his death, gave the same location to Col. Aaron Brown, and stated that "the neighbors gathered the bones, ashes and all into a little heap, and left them so."
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