USA > Iowa > Lee County > The history of Lee county, Iowa, containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, &c. > Part 75
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By 710 lbs beaver, @ $2 9 1b $1,420 00
By 1,353 muskrat-skins, @, 25c. 338 25
By 3,585 raccoon-skins, @ 25c. 896 25
By 25,021 Ibs shaved deerskins. 6,255 25
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HISTORY OF LEE COUNTY.
By 3,000 1bs do in the hair. $601 20
By 20 bearskins, 1st quality 30 00
By 44 do 2d do
44 00
By 176 otter-skins, $2. 352 00
By 100 Ibs beeswax. @ 20c. 20 00
By 968 Ibs tallow, @ 12}c.
121 00
A letter of Col. Johnson, factor at Fort Madison, to Gen. Mason, Superin- tendent of Indian Trade, dated September 15, 1812, communicates a report of Joss sustained at that post, as follows :
Sixty packs of peltries, lost by burning the factory building, estimated at $30 # pack. $1,800 00
One hundred and twenty bearskins burned in factory. 120 00
Other articles lost in the building estimated at. 250 00
Amount of buildings burnt, cost 3,330 00
Total. $5,500 00
The building of Fort Madison was regarded by the Indians as a violation. of the treaty of 1804, and, soon after it was erected, Black Hawk, with a party of warriors, undertook to destroy it, but failed. After this failure, the Indians undertook to accomplish by treachery what they had failed to do by force. For this purpose, small parties frequently came to the fort under the guise of friendship, and a few of their number, leaving all their arms without, would go within the stockade and engage in dancing for the amusement of the soldiers. Some of them, evincing great friendship, and being well known, were admitted at any time without scruple. Among this number was the shrewd old chief, Quash-a-qua-ma, who, by his duplicity, soon won the confi- dence of the officers. Thinking that he had got the officers off their guard, he. laid plans for taking the fort.
One day, several hundred Indians, evincing their usual friendship, camped near by. The old chief and others paid their respects to the officers, and proposed to amuse them in the evening with grand dances, before the prin- cipal gate. Preparations were made for the sport, and as soon as it was dark, a large number of Indians, in their dancing costumes, appeared before the gate and commenced their amusements. About this time, a young squaw, to whom one of the officers had paid his amours, came into the quarters, apparently in greatest distress. He asked the cause of her sadness, when she told him the Indians, under pretense of a dance for the amusement of the soldiers, had taken this plan to divert the attention of the officers, and when they were not suspected of any hostile intentions, intended to attack and destroy the gar- rison.
Upon obtaining this information, the commander immediately caused a six- pounder, loaded with grape-shot, to be secretly brought to bear on the entrance to the stockade. A sentinel was placed at the gate, with the strictest orders to not let more than one person enter at a time, and if more attempted, at once to bar the gate. Quash-a-qua-ma and a number of braves were soon within the stockade, while the dancing went on with increasing interest without. At length, all the dancers, in one of their turns, made a rush for the gate. At this critical moment, the Captain, who had carefully watched their movements, caused the cannon to be unmasked, which was presented to the full view of the Indians, with a soldier standing with a match in his hand, ready to touch it off at a command.
As soon as the cannon was unmasked, the Captain called the attention of the old chief to his perilous condition, and, at the same time, charged him with
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treachery. When the Indians saw their danger, they retreated more hastily than they had advanced. The old chief was fortunate enough to make his. escape, but several of his braves were captured, and concealed about their per- sons were found their implements of war. They confessed to the plot, and expected to suffer the penalty of death for their rash act; but after a short imprisonment, the commander of the post first admonishing them that if another attempt of the kind was made they would receive the severest punishment, set them at liberty.
From this time until 1811, the Indians showed no acts of hostility and sel- dom visited the garrison, but when they met with any of the soldiers away from the fort, treated them with the greatest kindness.
A short time after the declaration of war with Great Britain, a large body of Indians again made an attack upon the fort, and for several days kept up an incessant fire, and thus laid siege to the works. The sutler's store was located. without the stockade, and near one of the blockhouses. A few of the Indians got behind this building, and from which location they fired into the port-holes of the blockhouse near to it and wounded two or three soldiers. It became evident to the garrison that the Indians were preparing to set fire to this store- house when the wind became favorable for carrying the flames into the fort .. and it was determined to counteract them if possible. Fortune favored the sol- diers on the following night with a stiff breeze, in the right direction, and. under cover of darkness, a soldier crept out and successfully applied the torch, and in a few moments the storehouse was a smoldering ruin, and the fort unharmed.
This frustrated the plans of the enemy, and they now changed their mode of operations, and, protecting themselves under the bank of the river, under- took to set fire to the blockhouses by throwing ignited arrows upon the roof. But this plan of operation did not succeed, for the soldiers unbreeched some of the muskets and made " squirt-guns " of them, with which they extinguished the flames as fast as they ignited the roof.
The Indians now gave up their efforts to set the buildings on fire, and with- drew to a place of safety, where they held a council, at which it was resolved to demand the surrender of the fort. They made this demand, and threatened if it was not complied with, that they would bring down from the British trading- house above, cannon, and batter down the whole establishment. The garrison refused to yield to their command, upon which the principal chief, who could speak a little French, asked in that language, for a parley.
He was asked through a young man from St. Louis, who was there on busi- ness, and could speak the French language, what propositions he had to make. The chief began to make them from behind the bank of the river where he was concealed, when the young man told him he could not hear what he. said. To make himself heard, the chief raised his head and breast above the bank. No sooner was this done than the young man discharged a musket at him, and he fell mortally wounded. The Indians, having lost their chief, immediately abandoned all further hostilities, and left the place.
In 1812, the Indians made another fierce attack on the fort, and failing to. capture it by force, they commenced a regular siege, which was carried on till the garrison was reduced to the greatest extremity ; so much so, that they had nothing but potatoes to subsist upon, and these were nearly exhausted. Owing to the uncertainty when any provision would reach them, and the fact that supplies had often been cut off by the enemy, and also the fearful odds with which they had to contend, after mature deliberation, it was resolved to abandon
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HISTORY OF LEE COUNTY.
the post. To effect this to the best advantage, a trench was dug from the south- east blockhouse, to the river.
There were some boats belonging to the garrison, and about that time they succeeded in capturing one from the Indians. When the boats were prepared, and all things made ready for departure, orders were given to set fire to the fort. And although the Indians were encamped with a large force near by, these arrangements were made with so much precaution and secrecy, that the soldiers were out of danger, and the fort completely wrapped in flames before the enemy were aware of their departure.
When the retreating soldiers arrived to where the town of Warsaw, Ill., has since been built, they discovered a boat coming up the river with supplies. At this time being worn down with fatigue and hunger, and nearly destitute of provisions, they were almost in despair, but this timely relief so much revived their spirits, that they resolved not to retreat any further. They made a halt, and immediately went to work throwing up temporary fortifications, which was the origin of Fort Edward.
When Fort Madison was burned in 1812, the stone chimney remained standing for many years, and to the early traders and trappers passing up and down the river, the place became known as " Lone Chimney." By the Indians it was called "Po-to-wo-nock," signifying the place of fire.
THE FIRST SETTLER.
The first settler in what is now the city of Fort Madison, was Peter Will- iams. who made a claim in 1832, and built a cabin about four or five hundred vards below the old fort. The country not yet being open to settlement, soldiers were sent down from Fort Armstrong (now Rock Island). and Peter's cabin was demolished while he was taken across the river.
In June. 1833, when the United States acquired title to the lands from the Indians, Williams returned and re-occupied his claim, by building a cabin on the banks of the river directly south of the lower public square, or between Walnut and Chestnut streets. Peter Williams died on the Des Moines River in 1835.
Richard Chaney, who had previously settled on what is known as Chaney Creek, opposite Keokuk. in Illinois, came about the same time, made a claim on the upper part of the present town site and built his cabin near the river. about the west end of the present C .. B. & Q. railroad bridge, crossing the creek. Chaney's claim included the old corn-field near the present site of the Penitentiary, which had been cultivated by the soldiers who occupied the fort. He cleared off the trees which had grown up in the years it had lain idle, and, in 1834 raised a crop of corn.
Augustus Horton arrived in 1833, and laid claim to what is now the upper part of Fort Madison.
Gen. John H. Knapp, and Nathaniel Knapp arrived later in 1833. John H. Knapp purchased Horton's claim and built a cabin on the site of the old fort, which stood on what are now Lots 152, 153 and 154. Nathaniel built on the bank of the river, just above the foot of Elm street. John H. also built a small frame house on the bank of the river, near his log cabin, in which he opened trade with the Indians. He also cleared a patch of about six acres, about where Morrison's Plow Works are situated, which he broke in the spring of 1834, and planted in corn and vegetables. He also erected a horse-mill for grinding corn and buckwheat, the first mill of any kind in the country.
In October, 1835, John H. Knapp's family arrived, consisting of his wife Harriet, daughter Elizabeth (afterward Mrs. Eno) and two sons-John H., Jr.,
Alle
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HISTORY OF LEE COUNTY.
and Jonas S. His son-in-law, Joseph S. Douglass, his wife and two children came with them.
In the fall of 1835 the Knapps staked out a town, the eastern limit being what is now Oriental street and the western limit a point about half-way between Cedar and Pine streets. The boundaries of this first town plat are thus given by Adolphus Allen, the surveyor :
" Commencing at low-water mark on the Mississippi River, due south of a red or Spanish oak tree standing on the bank of the river, and running due north one-half mile; thence due east one hundred and twelve rods, or there- about ; thence due south to low-water mark on said river ; thence westerly, fol- lowing the meandering of said river, by the said low-water mark, to the place of beginning."
At that time, there was some open ground about the ruins of the old fort, but all the lower portion of the present town was heavily timbered with oak, black walnut, elm, sycamore and ash, and game abundant within what is now the city limits. There were but four cabins on the present town site, inhabited by as many families-Williams, Chaney and the two Knapps. Settlers began to arrive soon after, and the Knapps began selling lots. In 1836, there was quite an influx of new-comers, and quite a number of cabins were erected. The first improvements of any note were two large frame houses, erected that year, by John H. and Nathaniel Knapp, and known as the " Madison " and " Washington " Houses. The Madison House, built by John H. Knapp, stood on the site of the old fort, the kitchen of the hotel adjoining the tall stone chimney left standing when the fort was burned, twenty years before.
The Knapps were energetic business men, and, under their influence, it was supposed the town would rapidly grow; but a shadow was thrown over its prosperity by the natural death of John H. Knapp and the murder of Nathan- iel at Bentonsport, in Van Buren County.
At that time, the whole of the town of Fort Madison was above the offset in Front street, with the exception of a few whisky-shanties along the bank of the river below. As the town plat was originally laid out, there were fractional lots between Front street and the river for three blocks opposite and below the old fort. On one of these, Judge Cutler's store stood. At that time, these fractional lots were considered the most valuable lots in town ; but afterward, when the Government laid off the town, under an act of Congress, they were made public property.
Judge Jacob Cutler made a short visit to Fort Madison in the spring of 1835. He came a second time, in the fall of that year, and bought of John H. Knapp the frame of a building which he had commenced on the bank of the river, a little southwest of the site of the old fort. Leaving Knapp to com- plete the building, which was to be weather-boarded with clapboards, Cutler went to St. Louis and bought a stock of goods, and opened a store in the first frame house built in the town.
Cutler's family arrived in the spring of 1836.
In the fall of 1835, Dr. John Cutler, son of Jacob Cutler, James D. Shaw and Dr. Ferris bought Peter Williams' claim and laid off lots, from Knapp's town west. John Cutler, and perhaps Shaw, also, sold out to Joseph Webster before the Government laid off the town.
On the 2d of July, 1836, Congress passed an act, designating certain tracts of land to be laid off into town lots, one of which was the present site of Fort Madison. This act was supplemented by another act, passed March 3, 1837, by which William W. Coriell, George Cubbage and M. M. McCarver were
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HISTORY OF LEE COUNTY.
appointed Commissioners to make the survey. Their plat extended from Ori. ental street on the east to Occidental street on the west, and back from the river to Ninth street ; and those claimants by pre-emption to the land included * in the town plat were not allowed to exceed one acre in town lots, nor more- than one outlot. Certificates were issued to such claimants by the Commis- sioners. The first sale of lots in the new town was made at the Land Office, in Burlington, in the fall of 1838. It was conducted in the same manner as the general land sales. Those persons who had acquired rights, either by pre- emption or by purchase of lots in the old plat made by the Knapps, were pro- tected by provisions in the law.
The second sale of lots took place at Burlington, May 30, 1842, and & third sale was held July 11 of the same year.
The town of Fort Madison was incorporated by special act, passed at the second session of the Wisconsin Territorial Legislature and approved January 19, 1838. Section 1 provided "that all that portion of territory which is included in a survey made by and under the authority of the United States, and. which is known and designated as the town of Fort Madison, containing about six hundred and forty acres of land in the county of Lee, in said Territory, be, and the same is hereby, constituted a town corporate, and shall hereafter be. known by the name or title of the town of Fort Madison."
Section 2 designated the first Monday in May, 1838, as the day for hold- ing the first election for town officers, consisting of a President, Recorder and five Trustees.
At the first election held under the charter, Philip Viele was elected Presi- dent : Robert Wyman, Recorder ; Herbert Morris, Joseph Skinner, Charles McDill, John A. Drake and Isaac Atlee, Trustees.
The meetings of the Board were held about town as were most convenient ; The Madison House, and offices of D. F. Miller and Volney Spaulding's were most frequently used.
The Board prepared and adopted a lengthy ordinance of thirty-two sections, establishing the minor offices of the town government, and designating their duties. On February 11, 1839, Charles McDill and Joseph Skinner were appointed a committee of two "to notify the former Trustees of the town of Fort Madison, to give a record of their proceedings, as there is no record in the possession of the present Board." It is inferred, therefore, that some kind of a town government existed prior to the incorporation of the town.
At the election in May, 1839, held at the Madison House, then kept by C. L. Cope, the following officers were chosen : Peter Miller, President : George F. Buckhalter, Recorder ; Thomas Fitzpatrick, Allen M. Green, Joseph Web- ster, Joel C. Walker and Volney Spaulding, Trustees. At a meeting of this Board February 20, 1840, it was moved and carried, "that Josiah Cole be, and is hereby, allowed to open a coal-mine, which he has discovered, somewhere within the limits of the corporation, to take therefrom as much coal as he may deem proper for the space of four years, provided he does not encroach on private prop- erty, or injure any street ally or public landing."
In May, 1840, Peter Miller was re-elected President; Robert Wyman, Recorder; Thomas Fitzpatrick, Thomas Hall, James C. Parrott, William Wilson and Joel C. Walker, Trustees.
February 8, 1841, the Board purchased of J. A. Clark the lot occupied as a grave-yard, for which they paid him $60.
At the election in 1841, Peter Miller was again chosen President; William B. Crawford, Recorder ; Thomas Fitzpatrick, Amos Ladd, John G. Toncray,
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HISTORY OF LEE COUNTY.
William Wilson and John D. Williams, Trustees. In the following September Crawford resigned, and Enoch G. Wilson was elected his successor.
This Board took the first step toward protecting the town from fire. In October, of their administration, an ordinance was passed providing, "That each and every person owning a building within the town limits, is required to provide said building with a good leather fire-bucket by the first of November, each building having one stove or fire-place to have one bucket, and those hav- ing more than one flue or 'fiar-place,' to have one additional bucket for every two 'flews' or fire-places."
The buckets were to be kept in some shed or entry to the building, conven- ient for use in case of fire. A penalty of $1 per day was the fine imposed in case of failure to comply with this ordinance.
February 12, 1842, the Territorial Legislature granted the town a new charter which provided for its division into three wards, and the election of a Mayor and six Aldermen.
The town was divided into three wards at the Board's meeting held March 5, 1842. That portion lying east of Elm street, was designated as the First Ward; from Elm to Pine streets, the Second; and all west of Pine street as the Third. The Madison House, Washington House, and H. M. Salmon's residence, were established as the voting-places in the respective divisions.
The first election under the new charter was held April 4, 1842. Isaac R. Atlee was elected Mayor; William L. Matthews and Henry E. Vrooman, Aldermen in the First Ward ; Alexander Anderson and William C. Evans in the Second, and Josiah Cowles and Levi Leech in the Third Ward. At the first meeting of the new Council, O. S. X. Peck was elected Clerk, but, declin- ing to serve, E. G. Wilson was elected in his stead. Joel C. Walker was elected Treasurer, but he, also, resigned, and John G. Toncray was elected to the vacancy. Joseph Huff was elected Marshal; T. A. Walker, Assessor, and John Waters, Street Commissioner.
In 1843, Philip Viele was elected Mayor. Aldermen : First Ward, Will- iam L. Matthews and Henry E. Vrooman ; Second Ward, Joseph Harding and George Kiel ; Third Ward, Amos Ladd and Hawkins Taylor. E. G. Wilson and John G. Toncray were re-elected Clerk and Treasurer by the Council, and John G. Kennedy, Marshal.
Since 1843, the following persons have filled the Mayor's chair: 1844, Philip Viele ; 1845 and 1846, Thomas Hale; 1847, A. N. Deming; 1848, Wickliff Kitchell; 1849, Edward Johnstone; 1850, Philip Viele; 1851, J. C. Parrott ; 1852, J. M. Beck; 1853, J. C. Walker; 1854, J. H. Bacon ; 1855, Philip Viele (resigned in September, and Robert McFarland elected his successor ; 1856, Robert McFarland; 1857, R. W. Albright ; 1858, Daniel F. Miller; 1859, Thomas C. Espy ; 1860, 1861, 1862, 1863 and 1864, until October, Patrick Gilligan ; he resigned in that month, and John A. Nunn was elected to fill the vacancy ; 1865 and 1866, Patrick Gilligan; 1867, T. L. Lawrence ; 1868, Patrick Gilligan ; 1869, Peter Miller; 1870 and 1871, J. M. Casy ; 1872, Henry Cattermole; 1873, 1874 and 1875, A. C. Roberts ; A. J. Alley, the present incumbent, has occupied the chair since March 13, 1876.
In 1853, the citizens of Fort Madison were stirred with a desire for rail- road connections in Illinois, and on September 24, by a vote of 148 to nothing, authorized the city to subscribe $75,000 to the stock of the Warsaw & Rock- ford Railroad, stipulating that the amount be expended between Appanoose and its junction with the Peoria & Oquawka Railroad.
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HISTORY OF LEE COUNTY.
The same election authorized the subscription of $30.000 to the Fort Mad- ison. West Point. Keosanqua & Bloomfield Railroad.
September 17, 1855, a special election was held on the question of sub- scribing a further sum of $30.000 to the Warsaw & Rockford road. It is a little singular that at this time the same number of votes were cast as at the previous election, and all in favor of the loan.
INCIDENTS AND PERSONAL SKETCHES.
In 1886. Fort Madison was a town of small dimensions. The pres- ent town site was very thiekly covered with brush and a young growth of trees, patches of which were cut ont and a few cabins built thereon. There were few women here then. The men were young, full of mischief, and almost every day a practical joke was committed on some one for the amusement of the others.
A good many of these men lodged with N. C. Steele, who kept the first boarding-house in the place. This was a log-cabin, 12x16 feet, with a clap- board addition, used as a sleeping room for the boarders. The beds in this apartment consisted of four poles, lashed together to form a square, 6 feet by 3. over which was nailed a piece of canvas. This was suspended by a rope at each corner. attached to the loft timbers overhead. A favorite trick among the occupants of this pioneer boarding-house was to cut the ropes at each side at the same instant, and allow the occupant to roll out on the puncheon floor.
It was abont this time that a stranger calling himself Johnson rode into Fort Madison, one evening, on a spotted " Appanoose " horse, the peculiarity of which breed was a caudal appendage almost entirely destitute of hair. Johnson gave out that he was here to buy some corn, but his subsequent actions demonstrated that the distilled essence was most desired, and he was soon oblivious of the welfare of "Finger-tail." who, tied to a convenient tree. patiently awaited his master's coming.
Tom Shepard. a rollicking chap, saw an opportunity for some fun, and call- ing to his assistance Sumner, the painter, the two applied a coating of green paint to the horse, carefully avoiding certain portions of his body where the natural color was of the purest white. They then returned him to his quarters, informed the boys of the fun in store in the morning, and awaited developments.
When Johnson discovered the trick, on the following morning, the air was blue with his profanity. He swore vengeance on the perpetrators, and his per- sistent efforts to find them were soon rewarded.
Shepard saw the fellow meant business, and that he was liable to the legal prosecution threatened by Johnson, so he thought it policy to acknowledge the corn and make a compromise. Calling in some witnesses. he proposed to take the horse to the river and wash him, and pay Johnson $5 as liquidated dam- ages. Johnson accepted. the money was paid, and old " Finger-tail " was taken to the river, where the cleaning process began : but the more he was washed the greener he got, a fact which Johnson had not considered when he made the bargain.
Shepard, having washed the horse as stated in the agreement, turned him over to his owner, who, seeing he had been ontwitted, mounted and rode out of town, cursing and swearing never to return.
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HISTORY OF LEE COUNTY.
In 1836 and 1837, card-playing was an amusement popular, and indulged in by the men folks, with few exceptions. It was not considered criminal to take a hand in a game of poker, although so defined in the statute. The grand jury convened at the District Court held in Fort Madison, in Septem- ber, 1837, was composed in part of New Englanders who had made a settle- ment in the county, and it was found necessary to notice these violations of "law and order." As a result, sixty-three indictments were found against as many different parties for "gaming," many of them prominent citizens of the town and vicinity.
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