USA > Iowa > Jefferson County > The history of Jefferson County, Iowa, containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, &c., a biographical directory of citizens, war records of its volunteers in the late rebellion, general and local statistics, portraits of early settlers and prominent men > Part 36
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343265
1033743
Shelby
53180
39326
47230
22029
317944
17674
689556
2251
71676
573026
Sioux.
39821
367394
33315
22996
251286
6780
32038
4591
45096
166980
Sac ...
31336
47201
24179
11056
110094
10
8662
279716
3035
6599
238880
Taylor.
102861
235315
79142
15416
206813
244
3068
18260
1419680
8718
269657
908176
Tama
255182
90222
33216
214941
97013
1437807
73251
2842859
13574
384469
2316105
Union
57005
45826
10586
141188
53
960
24063
1130930
6127
187748
624200
Van Buren
153674
99528
113263
7455
58808
10928
121854
50211
1823622
12596
353698
1439586
Wayne ..
147766
66795
117689
10375
76346
143
1236
65625
2405187
13212
367396
1361376
Warren ...
654679
61
910
80280
3561365
8391
281510
2208392
Winnesheik
194265
216110
167178
131670
158737
42175
259169
1813465
27185
977316
24307
8216508
2265252
Woodbury
112175
14179
57097
33097
15243
218875
146.17
490371
3072
91647
298209
Worth ...
32157
23092
410487
3530
161537
396506
Washington
4892.
225176
45057
122291
4445
55652
157881
41616
469879
1139
14193
73265
2832211
15701
453320
2035264
Webster.
97238
61744
70910
30554
391051
270
28713
917911
7491
207493
733342
Winnebago.
Wright.
17589
35516
30625
32387
12121
28951
8939
162281
11
1374
52425
1327
45109
140219
13629
196166
10089
281821
4134
135176
288685
Wapello.
150203
63191
135173
17368
154535
1617
16159
57035
2143791
11570
293590
1455319
Totals,
12627450 8410435|
9354905 3690711 42669731
69188
759277
4700176 186284542. 982994
29144852 $131536747
GEN:W.G.COOP (DECEASED)
א
HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY.
THE ORIGINAL OCCUPANTS.
Less than half a century ago, the great State of Iowa, an empire in extent, was a vast uncivilized wild, inhabited only by untutored red men and animals native to the climate, herbage and grasses. Of all this region, now so full of life, of princely farms and farmhouses, of towns and cities, schools, colleges and churches, railroads and telegraphs, and all the other adjuncts of modern civilization, but little was known. It was an unexplored territory, to the inte- rior of which no white man had ever penetrated.
Until the close of the Black Hawk war in 1832, the country was in the undisputed possession of the Indians. Different tribes occupied different parts · of the Territory. They toiled not, neither did they spin. They subsisted upon the fruits of the chase, and dwelt in rude tents or camped in the open air. To them the arts of industry were unknown and unpracticed. They occupied the land, but improved it 'not. The command of the great Creator that by the sweat of his brow man should earn his daily bread, was lost upon them. Of flocks and herds they had none, while the earth was regarded by them as only a hunting-ground that had been created by the Great Spirit for their special benefit and occupany. The history of such a people is one full of interest.
The Sauks and Foxes* inhabited the the eastern slope of Iowa, including the'county whose history is being considered, and a history of the last years of their dominion is as much a part of the history of the county as are the inci- dents that have occurred since they gave way before the advancement of enlightened civilization. These sketches will necessarily extend to and include the area of several of the adjacent counties, but they will preserve to the pres- ent and future generations a record of aboriginal events that were familiar to the men and women who pioneered the way to the fertile prairies of the Black Hawk Purchase, and almost kindled their camp-fires from the smoldering embers left by the Indians when they turned their backs upon the lands that had been theirs for generations agone.
Human improvement, rushing through civilization, crushes in its march all who cannot grapple to its car. This law is as inexorable as Fate. "You colo- nize the lands of the savage with the Anglo-Saxon," says Stephen Montague ; " you civilize that portion of the earth ; but is the savage civilized ? He is exterminated ! You accumulate machinery, you increase the total of wealth ; but what becomes of the labor you displace ? One generation is sacrificed to the next. You diffuse knowledge, and the world seems to grow brighter ; but
* The Sauks or Sankies (white clay), and the Foxes or Outagamies (so called by the Europeans), and Algonquins, respectively, but whose true name is Mus-quak-ki-nk (red clay), are in fact but one nation. When the French mis- sionaries first came in contact with them in 1665, they found that they spoke the same language, and that it differed from the Algonquins, though belonging to the same stock .- Albert Gallatin.
A
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HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY :
Discontent at Poverty replaces Ignorance happy with its crust. Every Improvment, every advancement in civilization, injures some to benefit others. and either cherishes the want of to-day or prepares the revolution of to- morrow."
It is only yesterday, as it were, since the prairies and grove-covered hillsides of Eastern Iowa, now so full of happy homes and agricultural and mechanical industry, re-echoed the mournful dirge of the departing red men. The years are comparatively few in number since the sorrowful cortege passed slowly toward the setting sun, leaving behind the noble dead, sleeping in the cold embrace of the grim monarch, by the side of their beloved white father ; leaving the homes they had been taught to claim as their own ; leaving all, even hope, behind. There still live, in different parts of the country, many persons who beheld the strange sight of a remnant of a race departing forever from the scenes of their early life, and such will, doubtless, be disposed to sneer at the pen which finds a source of sadness in the contemplation of this event. But worthy hands have written lines of living power upon the theme, nor can the harsh charac- ter of the fact denude the subject of a glamour which poetry and romance have cast around the dusky subject and his fate. There is a grandeur in the record of the race which the stern force of truth is powerless to dispel.
Those men who were compelled to meet the groveling band which had sur- vived the first shock of defeat, saw only the ruin which the strong had wrought upon the weak. The native power had fled ; a subjugated race was subsisting in its helplessness upon the bounty of its conquerors. There was no spot on earth left for them. Foot by foot their mighty possessions were taken from them, not in the din and whirl of battle, but by the humiliating processes of peace. Here, at last, they stood, with bowed heads, meekly awaiting the decree which should compel them to resume their endless march. Behind them was the tradition of their strength ; before them, annihilation of their clans. Even their warlike instincts were dwarfed in the presence of their masters. Had they disputed titles with the whites, the memories clustering about them now would be far different. But that resort to arms, that defiant struggle to the end. that disappearance in dramatic furor-all was denied them. Had they been other in nature than they were, this placid surrender to fate would seem less pitiful. Once fierce and bloody, then subdued, their stolid acceptance of destiny carried with it a mournful air that will be breathed through history's pages while our race shall live.
The Indian is the embodiment of the dramatic, and when the curtain is rung down upon a scene so spiritless and tame as this of which we write, the admiration which is his due is turned to pity. The actual spectators of the drama find it impossible to forget the sordid character of the players, it is true ; but at so short a remove of time as this which has already elapsed since this country was the theater of the play, a shade of romance is imparted and the events become absorbing in their interest.
In the State history which precedes this department of the work, an extended history of the several tribes is given. It is the purpose of this chap- ter to take up the thread of narrative at the point where this immediate section becomes the scene of action, extending backward far enough to merely gather the scattered ends.
In this work the writer is dependent largely upon a series of papers from the pen of the late Maj. John Beach, son-in-law of the original Indian Agent, Gen. Street, and who in turn was Agent after the death of the General in 1840. These papers were prepared in the summer of 1874, and published in the
325
HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY.
Agency Independent. Maj. Beach died September 2, 1874, or before the series was published in full. That such forethought was manifested by him, is a matter of congratulation among all who are interested in this country. It is to be regretted, however, that the Major did not prepare a still more elaborate history of the tribes he was so long associated with. While we do not consider it essential to preserve, in exact form, the series of articles alluded to, we have carefully extracted all salient points, and have added to them much more information, obtained from those conversant with the matter.
THE GREAT BLACK HAWK.
Black Hawk, the great chief, was born in Sac Village, about three miles from the junction of Rock River with the Mississippi, in Illinois, in 1767. He came of a brave stock and began the life of a warrior at fifteen years of age. Black Hawk's name is variously given, but Maj. Beach, who was personally acquainted with the chief, writes that the real orthography is Muck-a-ta-mish-e- ki-ak-ki-ak, which means a black hawk. The history of this chief is not inti- mately associated with Jefferson County, and this paragraph is only introduced for the sake of preserving the spelling of the name. A fact is mentioned in Maj. Beach's sketch which is here produced :
The Sacs and Foxes, according to their traditions, once dwelt upon the shores of the great lakes. Gradually they were pushed westward, until in time they came to occupy a large portion of Northern Illinois. In spite of the pressure of the whites, this band occupied a site on the cast shore of the Mississippi, near Rock River. Here Black Hawk was, in 1832, the controlling spirit. " He was never a chief, either by inheritance or election," declares Maj. Beach, "and his influence was shared by a wily old savage, of part Winnebago blood. called the Prophet, who could do with Black Hawk pretty much as he pleased ; and also by a Sac named Na-pope, the English of which is Soup, and whom the writer found to be a very friendly and manageable old native, as was also Black Hawk."
If this be true, as there is every reason to esteem it, the character of Black Hawk stands out as a "self-made Indian," if an Americanism can be thus parodied, and he appears in the nature of a dictator as well as that of a great ruler.
Ot the famous Black Hawk war, it is not within the province of this sketch to speak; it belongs to the history of Illinois, and has been repeatedly written. After the defeat of the chief, in 1832, he was captured and taken to Prairie du Chien. After an imprisonment in Jefferson Barracks, and, subsequently, in Fortress Monroe, whither he was taken, he was returned at the interces- sion of Keokuk to this region. In his old age, Black Hawk sought the com- pany of the garrison, his band was broken up and the once great chief was left alone in his declining years. Maj. Beach relates the following incident derived from personal observation :
" Black Hawk's lodge was always the perfection of cleanliness, a quite unu- sual thing for an Indian. The writer has seen the old woman busily at work with her broom, by the time of sunrise, sweeping down the little ant-hills in the yard that had been thrown up during the night. As the chiets of the nation seemed to pay him but little attention in the waning years of his life, Gen. Street, the Agent, looked out for his comfort more carefully than otherwise he would have thought it needful to do, and. among other things, gave him a cow- an appendage to an Indian's domestic establishment hitherto unheard of. The old squaw and daughter were instructed in the art of milking her, and she was
326
HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY.
held among them in almost as great reverence as the sacred ox Apis was held among the ancient Egyptians.
" This was in the summer of 1838, when the Agency, for which our town was named, was in process of erection, and Black Hawk had established his lodge on the banks of the Des Moines, about three miles below Eldon. Close by was the trading-house of Wharton McPherson, with whom the writer stayed one night in August of that year (1838), and as he rode past the lodge, Mme. Black Hawk was complacently sitting upon a log by the side of her cow, under a heavily-shaded tree, industriously brushing the flies and mosquitoes from the bovine with a rag tied to the end of a stick. Mr. McPherson said this was her daily occupation in fly-time, often following the animal around as it grazed at a distance. This was the last occasion that ever the writer had an interview with Black Hawk, as he died within two months of that time (October 3, 1838), and was even then so infirm that he could barely move about his wigwam.
"Not long after his burial, his body was stolen from its grave by some sacri- legious person, and, some years later, the bones came into the possession of a physician of Quincy, Ill., who sent them to Gov. Chambers, who, as Governor of the Territory, was also Superintendent of Indian Affairs. The writer was intrusted to notify the family they could have the bones, as he did ; but they seemed indifferent about the matter, and did nothing whatever about it."
WAPELLO AND OTHER CHIEFS.
Wapello, the chief after whom Wapello County and the county seat of Louisa County were named, was a powerful ruler among his people, but was a fast friend of the whites, especially of the first Indian Agent, Gen. Street. Inci- dents illustrative of his character are dispersed through the following pages. He died in 1841, and was buried by the side of his friend, the General, on the Agency Farm. His grave was recently cared for by the managers of the C., B. & Q. Railroad, which passes near by, and is now in a condition to withstand the shocks of time for years to come.
Poweshiek, a chief co-equal with Wapello, but of the Foxes, while the lat- ter was of the Sac tribe, was located on the reserve on the Iowa River, and does not figure in this history. He died before the Indians left the State, and thus escaped the humiliation of the scene.
Keokuk, the grand sachem, was a man of tall, commanding presence, straight as an arrow, and, when aroused, could make an eloquent speech to his tribe. He was selected by the United States Government to distribute the annuities to the Sacs and Foxes-not only for his energies when opposed to the nation in battle, but for his influence among the red men everywhere. But he was avari- cious and intemperate, putting any amount of whisky under his royal toga, and stealing from his red brothers the hard silver so kindly given them by the Great Father at Washington. He had a chronic quarrel with Hardfish's band, that lived in Kishkekosh, near Eddyville, and receiving a severe wound from one of this tribe, he died soon after reaching Kansas, in 1845.
From a sketch of Keokuk, published in the "Annals of Iowa," 1865, by Uriah Biggs, one of the pioneers of Ottumwa, the following interesting extracts are made :
" Keokuk is deserving of a prominent page in the history of the country, and a truthful history of his life would be read and cherished as a memento of one of nature's noblemen. As an orator, he was entitled to a rank with the most gifted of his race. In person, he was tall and of portly bearing, and in bis public speeches he displayed a commanding attitude and graceful gestures.
327
HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY.
He spoke rapidly, but his enunciation was clear and distinct and very forcible, culling his figures from the stores of nature, and basing his arguments in skill- ful logic. He maintained in good faith the stipulations of treaties with the United States and with the neighboring tribes. He loved peace and the social amenities of life, and was fond of displaying these agreeable traits of character in ceremonious visits to neighboring chiefs, in which he observed the most punctilious etiquette and dignified decorum. He possessed a ready insight into the motives of others, and was not easily misled by sophistry or beguiled by flattery ; and in the field of wit he was no mean champion. It is not my pur- pose to write a history of his life, but I will give one anecdote in illustration of these traits of his character.
" While residing near Ottumwah-noc, he received a message from the Mor- mon Prophet, Joe Jmith, inviting Keokuk, as king of the Sacs and Foxes, to a royal conference at his palace at Nauvoo, on matters of the highest importance to their respective people. The invitation was readily accepted, and a train of ponies was soon winding its way to the Mormon city, bearing Keokuk and his suite in stately procession and savage pomp.
"Notice had circulated through the country of this diplomatic interview, and a number of spectators attended to witness the denouement. The audience was given publicly in the Mormon temple, and the respective chiefs were attend- ed by their suites, the Prophet by the dignitaries of the Mormon Church, and the Indian potentate by the high civil and military functionaries of his tribe, and the gentiles were comfortably seated as auditors.
" The Prophet opened the conference in a set speech of considerable length, giving Keokuk a brief history of the children of Israel, as detailed in the Bible, and dwelt forcibly upon the story of the lost tribes, and of the direct revelation he had received from a divine source, that the North American Indians were these identical lost tribes, and that he, the prophet of God, held a divine com- mission to gather them together and to lead them to a land 'flowing with milk
and honey.' After the prophet closed this harangue, Keokuk 'waited for the words of his pale-faced brother to sink deep into his mind,' and, in making his reply, assumed the gravest attitude and most dignified demeanor. He would not controvert anything his brother had said about the lost and scattered condi- tion of his race and people, and if his brother was commissioned by the Great Spirit to collect them together and lead them to a new country, it was his duty
to do so. But he wished to inquire about some particulars his brother had not named, that were of the highest importance to him and his people. The red men were not much used to milk, and he thought that they would prefer streams of water, and in the country where they now were there was a good supply of honey. The points that they wished to inquire into were whether the new government would pay large annuities, and whether there was plenty of whisky. Joe Smith saw at once that he had met his match, and that Keokuk was not the proper material with which to increase his army of dupes, and closed the confer- ence in as amiable a manner as possible.
" He was gifted by nature with the elements of an orator in an eminent degree, and as such is entitled to rank with Logan, Red Jacket and Tecumseh ; but unfortunately for his fame among the white people and with posterity, he was never able to obtain an interpreter who could claim even a slight acquaint- ance with philosophy. With one exception only, his interpreters were unac- quainted even with the elements of their mother-tongue. Of this serious hindrance to his fame Keokuk was well aware, and retained Frank Labashure, who had received a rudimental education in the French and English languages.
.
328
HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY.
until the latter broke down by dissipation and died. But during the meridian of his career among the white people, he was compelled to submit his speeches for translation to uneducated men, whose range of thought fell below the flights of a gifted mind, and the fine imagery, drawn from nature, was beyond their powers of reproduction. He had sufficient knowledge of the English tongue to make him sensible of this bad rendering of his thought, and often a feeling of mortification at the bungling efforts was depicted upon his countenance while he was speaking. The proper place to form a due estimate of his ability as an orator was in the Indian council, where he addressed himself exclusively to those who understood his language, and where the electric effects of his elo- quence could be plainly noted upon his audience. It was credibly asserted that by the force of his logic he had changed the vote of a council against the strongly predetermined opinions of its members. A striking instance of the influence of his eloquence is related as occurring while the forces under Black Hawk were invading Illinois, in 1832.
" Keokuk knew from the first that this reckless war would result in great disaster to the tribe, and used all diligence to dissuade warriors from following Black Hawk, and succeeded in retaining a majority with him at his town on the Iowa River. But after Stillman's defeat, in what is now Ogle County, Ill., the war spirit raged with such ardor that a war-dance was held, and Keokuk took part in it, seeming to be moved with the current of the rising storm, and when the dance was over, he called a council to prepare for war. In his address he admitted the justice of his complaints against the white man, and to seek redress was a noble aspiration of their natures. The blood of their brethren had been shed by the white man, and the spirits of their braves slain in battle called loudly for vengeance. 'I am your Chief,' he said, 'and it is my duty to lead you to battle, if, after fully considering the matter, you are determined to go. But, before you take this important step, it is wise to inquire into the chances for success.' He then represented to them the great power of the United States against whom they would have to contend-that their chance of success was utterly hopeless. 'But if you now determine to go upon the war- path, I will agree to lead you, upon one condition-that before we go we kill all our old men and our wives and children to save them from a lingering death by starvation, and that every one of us determines to leave his bones on the other side of the Mississippi.'
" This was a strong and truthful picture of the project before them, and was presented in such a forcible light as to cool their ardor and to cause them to abandon their rash undertaking. Many other incidents are related of his elo- quence and tact in allaying a rising storm, fraught with war and bloodshed, not only in his own tribe, but also among neighboring tribes, where his people had been the aggressors. Some of these incidents have been preserved by writers on Indian research, but many will be lost to history. He delivered a eulogy upon Gen. Harrison, at the Sac and Fox Agency, which was interpreted by Mr. Antoine Le Claire, and considered by many who heard its delivery as one of his best efforts. This speech, however, was not written down and is lost to his- tory, but enough of the incidents of his career as an orator have been saved from the wreck of time to stamp his reputation for natural abilities of the high- est order, and furnish another positive refutation of Buffon's theory on the dete- rioration of men and animals on the American continent.
" We have thus far portrayed the bright side of Keokuk's character; but like most, if not all, great intellects, there is a dark background which the truth of history demands shall be brought to view. His traits of character,
329
HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY.
thus far sketched, may not inaptly be compared with the great Grecian orator ; but here the similitude ends. The great blot on Keokuk's life was his inordi- nate love of money, and, toward its close, he became a confirmed inebriate. His withering reply to the Mormon prophet was intended by him as a pure stroke of wit ; it, nevertheless, expressed his ruling passions.
" A bitter and incurable feud existed in the tribe during their time of res- idence on the Des Moines River, between what was denominated 'Keokuk's band' and 'Black Hawk's band,' the latter recognizing Hardfish as their leader. This distrust and, indeed, hatred were smothered in their common intercourse when sober; but when their blood was fired with whisky, it some- times assumed a tragic feature amongst the leaders of the respective bands. An instance of this character occurred on the lower part of the Des Moines, on a return of a party making a visit to the 'half-breeds' at the town of Keokuk, on the Mississippi. In a quarrel, excited by whisky, Keokuk received a dan- gerous stab in the breast from a son of Black Hawk. The writer of the present sketch saw him conveyed by his friends homeward, lying in a canoe, unableto rise.
" Hardfish and his coadjutors lost no occasion to find fault with Keokuk's administration. The payments were made in silver coin, put up in boxes, con- taining $500 each, and passed into Keokuk's hands for distribution. The several traders received each his quota according to their 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 chiefs and dis- tributed among their respective bands. Great complaints were made of these allowances to the traders on the ground of exorbitant prices charged on the goods actually furnished, and it was alleged that some of these accounts were spurious. In confirmation of this last charge, over and' above the character of the items exhibited in these accounts, an affidavit was filed with Gov. Lucas by an individual, to which the Governor 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 traders' bills, items were introduced of a character that showed fraud upon their face, such as a large number of 'blanket-coats,' articles which the Indians never wore, and ' telescopes,' of the use of which they had no knowledge. This shows 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 Hardfish's band. At this time, the nation numbered about 2,300 souls, and only about one-third of the whole number belonged to Keokuk's party. Gov. Lueas warmly espoused the popular side in the controversy that arose in relation to the mode and manner of making the annual payment, and the matter was referred to the Indian Bureau, and the mode was changed, so that payments were made to the heads of families, approximating a per-capita distribution. This method of making the payments met the unqualified disapprobation of the traders, and after one year's trial, fell back into the old channel. Keokuk led his tribe west to the Kansas country, in 1845, and, according to reports, died some years after of delirium tremens."
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