USA > Iowa > Iowa County > The history of Iowa County, Iowa, containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, &c. > Part 34
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Generally speaking it will then be interesting for the reader to know that the formation of the southwest part of the county is more recent or in other words newer than that of the northeastern part. The reader will observe that reference is had not to the soil in which the farmer plants his crops but to the foundation upon which the soil rests.
The soil consists of what is geologically known as drift or alluvium, and is all alike of comparatively recent origin. The original surface of the land consisted of rock; portions of these rocks having been detached by the action of the elements, by chemical causes and the action of glaciers in pre- historie times, were afterward transported by subsequent floods; this con- stitutes the soil and is alluvium or drift, according to its peculiar form- ation.
Post-tertiary drift is spread generally over the county, and is of a varia- ble thickness, estimated at from fifteen to twenty feet. The bluffs along the streams are largely composed of these deposits.
The Drift is made up of clays, representing the original glacial deposits and gravel beds, besides boulders, pebbles and "sand pockets," with occa- sional fragments of coniferous wood.
The deposit to which the name drift is applied has a far wider distribu- tion than any other surface deposit. In the language of Prof. White, "It meets our eyes almost everywhere, covering the earth like a mantle, and
265
HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTY.
hiding the stratified rocks from view, except where they are exposed by the removal of drift through the erosive action of water. It forms the soil and subsoil of the greater part of the State, and in it alone many of our wells are dug and our forests take root." The drift is composed of clay, sand, gravel, pebbles and sometimes boulders, promiscously intermixed without stratification or regular arrangement of its materials.
The clay is always impure and is disseminated through the whole deposit; not unfrequently, however, irregular masses of it are separated from the other materials, and at such places the best material is procured for pottery or brick. The color of this clay, when found in its purest condition, is yel- low, arising from the presence of peroxide of iron; it is the presence of this constituent which imparts to brick their peculiar color.
Devonian Strata .- With regard to these strata, Prof. White says:
"All the Devonian strata of Iowa evidently belong to a single epoch, un- doubtedly referable to the Hamilton period, as recognized by the New York geologists, but when we come to apply a specific name to the forma- tion as it exists in Iowa it becomes difficult to say with precision to what previously recognized formation it belongs. In its palæontological charac- ters, however, it so much more nearly corresponds with the Hamilton shales of New York than with any other part of the group, it is referred to that formation; and its name retained as far as the lithological character of the Iowa rocks will admit, rather than to propose a new name, or refer it indefinitely to the whole group as has been previously done."
In speaking of the fossils found in this formation, the geologist further says:
"The coral Acervularia Davidsoni occurs near Iowa City in considera- ble abundance solidified, with pure calcareous material, and consolidated in the rocky strata. These receive a fine polish and make beautiful cabinet specimens, but are always too small to be of practical use as marble. It has been known under the names of 'Iowa City Marble' and Bird's-Eye Marble."
Subcarboniferous Strata-With reference to this formation the geolo- gist remarks:
"At Bunker's mill, on English River the following section was measured commencing at the water level:
"No. 2, roughly bedded, earthy, yellowish lime-stone, with much sili- cious cherty material, 12 feet.
"No. 1, bluish and bluish-green, indurated, sandy clays, 47 feet.
"Going northward from Washington county, no other exposures of any of the subcarboniferous formations are found until the valley of the Iowa river is reached. Here the river cuts obliquely across the whole area oc- cupied by the group, but no rocks except those referred to the Kinderhook formation appear. It is possible that the true Burlington limestone may extend so far northward, but no proof of it has yet been observed."
COAL.
All writers on the subject of economic geology agree in the statement that Iowa county lies entirely without the limits of the coal-field. Accord- ing .to the latest geological maps the distance is some twenty-five miles to the southwest from the nearest point in Iowa county to the coal-field; but since the publication of the latest maps some very productive coal mines
266
HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTY.
have been opened at What Cheer, in Keokuk county, and the fact has been practically demonstrated that coal in paying quantities exists much nearer the people of Iowa county than was at first supposed. It is however very satisfactorily settled that no coal in paying quantities exists in Iowa county.
WELL AND SPRING WATER.
Thus far there has been no difficulty in obtaining an abundance of water anywhere in the county by digging or boring a distance of from ten to thirty feet. In the valley of the Iowa River, especially in the vicinity of Marengo, water in great abundance is obtained by simply driving a tube into the ground and attaching a force pump. The water thus obtained is strongly impregnated with mineral properties and has a decided odor; not- withstanding this the water has been found to be healthy and is rather pleasant to the taste when one becomes used to it.
CHAPTER III.
INDIAN AFFAIRS.
Indian Policy of the Government-Treaties-Annuities-The Sac and Fox Indians-Keokuk Wapello-Poweshiek-The Neutral Strip-The Pottawattamies-Johnny Greene and his Band-The Tama county Reservation-The Sioux -- The Lott Atrocity -- The Revenge and the Retaliation-The Iowa Indians.
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 tracta- ble tribe of Indians, and their chiefs had a higher sense of veracity, integ- rity and honor than any other representatives of the race with which the white man came into contact. The Pottawattamies were few in number and had little influence; what influence they had was in the interests of peace and order. The Sioux are and always have been treacherous and bloodthirsty, but the supremacy of the Sacs and Foxes kept them some- what in abeyance.
It was ever the custom of the government in its dealings with the In- dians west of the Mississippi River to treat them as an independent nation. In these negotiations with the aborgines of Iowa the authorities, at various 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
267
HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTY.
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: 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 in a general direction from the north in a course a little west of south, the line being considerably east of Iowa 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 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 In- dians 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 chiefs, made this treaty in good faith and scrupulously adhered to it as they understood it, yet it was unsatisfactory to both Indians and settlers, and many disputes arose but seldom if ever resulted in bloodshed. The fact soon became evident that the white man had marked this goodly country for his own, and the Indian 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 present limits of Wapello county, and was concluded October 11, 1842, proclamation of its ratification having been made March 23, 1843, and pos- session 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 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 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 occupiers of the soil the In- dians disposed 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 ·
268
HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTY.
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 peacable 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 set- tlers in other parts of the country where misunderstandings about the owership 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 came into pos- session 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 Oska- loosa, was disbursing clerk for John Beach, Indian agent, during the year 1841, and still retains in his possession the receipts for the part payment 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 fam- ilies, of the Sac and Fox tribe of Indians, within the same agency, acknowl- 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-ack .
X
1
2
3
6
106 95
Pas-sa-sa-shiek
X
1
1
2
2
55 65
Mo-ka-qua
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-kah®
X
2
1
3
6
106 95
Mus-qua-ke5.
X
3
2
2
7
124 78
And fifty-nine others.
"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, 1841.
"(Signed)
" JNO. BEACH, U. S. Indian Agent. " THOMAS McCRATE, Lieut. 1st Dragoons. " JOSIAH SMART,
Interpreter.
'Kish-ke-kosh means "The man with one leg off."
?Much-e-min-ne means "Big man."
‘Wa-pe-ka-kah means "White crow."
3Wa-pes-e-qua means "White eyes." "Mus-qua-ke means "The fox."
1
17 82
Pa-ko-ka
. ..
X
1
269
HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTY.
"We, the undersigned chiefs of the Sac and Fox tribe of Indians, ac- knowledge the correctness of the foregoing receipts.
"KEOKUK, 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 stipulation 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 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 affi- davit was filed with Governor Lucas, by an individual to whom the governor 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 trader's bills, items were introduced of a character that should brand fraud upon their face, such as a large number of 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 exor- bitant amount 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 11th, 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 1st, 1843, the agency was located in Wapello county at a place which is still known by the name of Agency City.
"Keokuk means "The watchful fox."
"Poweshiek means "The roused bear."
270
HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTY.
George Washington and Washington George Ewing were the Indian trad- ers and Phelps & Co. were dealers in furs.
Their business career there was eminently successful, and they accumulated quite a little fortune during their three years' harvest. Their place of business was on the East Side, 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 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 pay- ment 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 swind- ling operations to a conspiracy in which the illustrious chief was the lead- ing 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 history of our common country. Short biographical sketches of these noted char- acters, 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 excursions 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 wit- ness 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 in 1780. The best memory of the earliest settler of Iowa cannot take him back to a time when Keo- kuk was not an old man. When, in 1833, the white man hastened across the Mississippi River, eager for new conquests, this illustrious chief was already nearing his three score years, and when, with longing eyes, he took the last look at this fair land and turned his eyes reluctantly toward the far West, his sun of life had already crossed the meridian and was rapidly ap- proaching its setting.
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
271
HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTY.
faithful to the Americans. In 1828, Keokuk, in accordance with the terms. of a treaty, crossed the Mississippi River with his tribe and established himself on the Iowa River. Here he remained in peace, and his tribe flour- ished till 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 Stilman'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 sym- pathy 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, pub- lished 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 yon 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 suc- cess was utterly hopeless. Then continuing, said: "But if you are deter- mined to go on the war-path, I will lead you on one condition-that before we go we kill all our old inen, and our wives, and our children, to save them from a lingering death by starvation, and that every one of you deter- mine 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 under- taking.
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 nations by the United States government. It is said that a bitter fend existed in the tribe during the time that Keokuk lived near Des Moines, between Keokuk's friends and the partizans of Black Hawk, who had taken part in the Black Hawk War. Their distrust and 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 received a dangerous stab in the breast, inflicted by a son of Black Hawk, and a cer- tain 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 cour- age, 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 ex- citement, and in a measure shape their policy in dealing with the white
272
HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTY.
man. As an orator rather than as a warrior, has Keokuk's claim to great- ness 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.
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