USA > Iowa > Mahaska County > The history of Mahaska County, Iowa, containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, &c., a biographical directory of its citizens, war record of its volunteers in the late rebellion, general and local statistics > Part 33
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Iowa City .
5,914
6,371
8,000
Council Bluffs
10,020
9,287
11,000
Clinton
6,129
7,028
9,000
Muscatine .
6,718
7,537
8,000
Sioux City .
3,401
4,290
6,000
Ottumwa.
5,214
6,326
10,000
Marshalltown
3,288
4,384
6,416
Fort Madison, Mt. Pleasant and Waterloo are, probably, entitled to appear in the above table, as each of them, doubtless, has a population of over six thousand.
* Includes whole township.
THE PIONEER.
In the heart of the grand old forest, A thousand miles to the West, Where a stream gushed out from the hill-side, They halted at last for rest. And the silence of ages listened To the axe-stroke loud and clear, Divining a kingly presence In the tread of the pioneer.
He formed of the prostrate beeches A home that was strong and good; The roof was of reeds from the streamlet, The chimney he built of wood. And there by the winter fireside, While the flame up the chimney roared, He spoke of the good time coming, When plenty should crown their board-
When the forest should fade like a vision, And over the hill-side and plain The orchard would spring in its beauty, And the fields of golden grain. And to-night he sits by the fireside In a mansion quaint and old, With his children's children around him, Having reaped a thousand-fold.
HISTORY OF MAHASKA COUNTY.
GEOGRAPHY-DESCRIPTIVE AND PIIYSICAL.
MAHASKA is in the third tier of counties, counting from the southern boundary of the State, and is number four from the Mississippi river. It is twenty-four miles square, containing Congressional townships No. 74, 75, 76 and 77, north of ranges 14, 15, 16 and 17, west of the fifth prin- cipal meridian. These are divided into fifteen civil townships, as follows: Pleasant Grove, Monroe, White Oak, Cedar, Harrison, Oskaloosa, Adams, Union, Prairie, Madison, Des Moines, Jefferson, Scott, Black Oak, and Richland. These follow the Congressional lines generally, except where large streams are near the border, when the channel of the stream is made the boundary line. Oskaloosa is just twice the size of an ordinary town- ship. Six of the above townships, as will be easily recognized, took their names from physical peculiarities of soil or timber, and six from names of Presidents. Oskaloosa took its name from the county seat. Union from its large size at an early day, and Des Moines from the river flowing through it.
Mahaska county contains 386,640 acres of surface. Of this amount the last State Census report (1874) gives about three-sevenths under cultiva- tion, and a little less than one-third as unimproved. This last amount in- eludes all timber and swamp lands.
The county is bounded on the north by Jasper and Poweshiek; on the east by Keokuk; on the south by Wapello and Monroe; and on the west by Marion county.
It slopes from the northwest toward the southeast, and is crossed in this direction by five streams at almost equal distances, viz: North and South forks of Skunk river; Des Moines river, and by Muchakinock and Middle creeks. Of these we shall speak more particularly.
Des Moines River .- This stream ents off about one-ninth of the county on the southwest. The length of its channel within the boundaries of Ma- haska is about twenty-four miles. The average width is forty rods, and and depth not far from four feet, though there are shallows which prevent the navigation of crafts of any size. The current is rather swift. The banks are composed of alluvial deposits, and the bottom lands are of won- derful fertility. The channel for the most part flows over a pebbly bed. The bottoms along the Des Moines are from one and one-half to two miles in width in Mahaska and are frequently overflown. These produce some valuable timber, especially walnut; and up toward the bluffs some excellent white oak. There is likewise a considerable growth of sugar maple and
17
258
HISTORY OF MAHASKA COUNTY.
cottonwood. The river is not dammed within the boundary of Mahaska. It is spanned by one bridge and crossed by two ferries.
South Fork of Skunk .- This is the main branch of the Skunk river, and cuts off about two-fiths of the northeastern part of the county, stretching across a district of abont thirty miles in extent, but in its meanderings flowing over a bed not less than seventy miles within the county lines of Mahaska. This bed is mostly sandy and the stream is rather sluggish. The banks are of alluvial deposits, quite muddy, of a sour soil and not very productive. The stream is skirted by a belt of timber from one to three miles in width-maple, elm, swamp ash, and cottonwood. Some good oak timber appears along the bluffs which are, on an average, about one-half mile back from the stream. South Skunk is about eight rods wide and some three feet in depth. It spreads over almost its entire bot- toms during a wet season. Its course is interrupted by five mill dams in Mahaska, and its channel crossed by four good bridges.
North Skunk .- This fork ents off parts of three townships on the north- east, and is quite crooked. It is smaller, but in many respects like the South Skunk. The timber, especially, is similar. The bed is deeper, banks higher, and current much swifter. Its water supply is sufficient for mill power during the entire year. The channel averages about two feet. Five mill dams and six bridges have been thrown across this stream.
Muchakinock Creek .- This is an Indian name and means "bad cross- ing." The stream flows between the Des Moines and South Skunk, and in the upper part of its course is about equally distant from both. It empties into the Des Moines in Wapello county. The bluff's come close to the stream. The volume of water in this creek will not run a mill more than one-third of the year. It is heavily timbered in the lower part of its course and its bluffs afford the best coal exposures in the county.
Middle Creek is so named from its location between the north and south forks of the Skunk, and is a small stream about on a par with Muchakinock. There is some valuable walnut timber on the lower part of its course, and along this part of its valley is some of the richest soil in Iowa.
Surface .- The surface of Mahaska is generally rolling, but not so much so as to interfere with agriculture. The finest prairies are to be found on the divides between the Des Moines and South Skunk rivers, and between the forks of the Skunk. The smoother land is to be found in Cedar and East Harrison townships, and also in Prairie. The bottom land of the Des Moines cannot be excelled in the production of corn, and is much bet- ter than on the Skunk. The soil is a rich dark loam, from three to five feet in depth, and never fails to produce a good crop when the season is favorable. The roads are muddy usually in the spring, but from the nature of the soil they dry quickly. During the summer season a heavy rain will scarcely be noticed in its effects on the roads within twenty-four hours after it has fallen. It is not unusual to traverse heavy roads in the morning and return over a dry track in the afternoon.
Timber .- Not less than one-eighth of the county is covered with a growth of timber, much of which is valuable. We learn that the amount of tim- ber is on the increase, and that Mahaska has now more "woods " than at the time of early settlement. The principal trees are white, burr and black oak, red and white elm, walnut, butternut, hickory, sycamore, cot-
259
HISTORY OF MAIIASKA COUNTY.
tonwood, swamp ash, sugar and white maple, buckeye and hackberry. There is, probably, not a birch tree in the county.
Wild fruits .- Crab apples, plums, grapes and blackberries abound in the timber.
Strata .- The surface strata of Mahaska belongs to the middle and lower coal measures.
Potter's clay .- A good article of potter's or fire elay is found in some parts of the county, especially in the southern. Some six acres of section six, Harrison township, have been bought for its clay by parties who are running a pottery on section nineteen of that township.
Iron .- There are some indications of this ore, but its value has been exaggerated. The prospects for Mahaska's iron mining are not flattering. The needle of the surveyor's instrument is quite noticeably deflected on seetion eight, Richland township, indicating the presence of magnetie ore.
Building stone .- This county affords some excellent quarries of stone -both lime and sand-especially along the rivers. In the northern part of the county the best quarries are about Peoria. From one of these the stone used in Jasper county court house was procured some twenty years ago. There are, also, good quarries about Union Mills, on South Skunk river, and on section four, Des Moines township.
Coal .- Rich as are the gifts of Mahaska county in agricultural advantages, it is probable that at no far distant day her coal mining will be her leading industry and first source of wealth.
In the amount of coal mined she is the first county in Iowa. By a gross error in the census report of 1875, Wapello and Monroe counties are placed very much ahead of Mahaska in coal mining. This report is self-convicted from the fact that Mahaska has recorded almost twice the number of miners recorded from the other two counties mentioned. In 1875 Mahaska county mined about 14,000 ears of coal.
There are, undoubtedly, veins of coal under the entire county. In fact, with one or two possible exceptions, coal has been mined in every township in the county.
We make an extraet from the report of State Geologist White of 1870, when the mining interests in Mahaska were only a fraction of what they now are:
"None of the coal counties of Iowa, so far as is now known, exceed Mahaska county in importance as regards its supplies of coal, unless it is Marion county. So far, however, as the coal now annually mined is con- eerned, Mahaska county is much in advance of any of the others. Al- though the greater part of the mines of this county have been examined, the formation which contains them has not been studied as a whole, within its limits with sufficient thoroughness, to give a clear statement of the number of different beds of eoal it may contain and their relations with the other strata."
Again, when Professor White was asked to make an estimate of the amount of coal probably in the county, he gave it as his opinion that the supply was sufficient for a five foot vein over the entire surface. This sup- ply, if it were mined at the present rate, would last two thousand years.
In this same report of the Geologist is given the result of the analyses of sixty-four samples of coal from the State of Iowa, the result of which shows Mahaska county to be the peer, if not the superior, of any other coal in the State, in respect to quality.
260
HISTORY OF MAHASKA COUNTY.
The following principles are stated in explanation of the report of analyses:
"1. The value of coal as fuel is inversely proportional to the amount of moisture contained in it; that is, the more water it contains, the less its valne.
"2. The greater the per cent of ash the less is the value of the coal.
"3. The more fixed carbon the coal contains the greater is its value.
"4. The same holds true with regard to the volatile combustible matter to a limited extent, the precise limits of which cannot be determined until we know the composition of this combustible matter."
In the average table, showing the result from fifteen counties, including almost the entire coal field of Iowa, the result shows:
1. That Mahaska county coal contains less moisture than any other in the State, except Jasper county coal, with 4 61-100 per cent; Mahaska being 4 73-100.
2. In the amount of ash produced it is about an average, ranking ninth in fifteen counties.
3. In the amount of fixed carbon Mahaska county ranks first, with Poweshiek second.
4. In volatile combustible matter the result shows Mahaska coal to be an average, ranking eighth in the fifteen counties.
In compiling the above average eight specimens from Mahaska were examined.
The boring of the artesian well revealed a ten foot vein of coal, at the depth of ninety-seven feet, under the Oskaloosa public square.
A well dug in Jefferson township showed a vein at forty-one feet, and a second vein three feet in thickness at 102 feet.
The most extensive mines in Mahaska are those conducted by the Con- solidation and Iowa Coal Companies, on Mnchakinock creek. (For full history and statistics of these, see in proper place on following pages.)
Mining is carried on quite extensively in slopes, with no steam power, just west and southwest of the city of Oskaloosa, as well as along the banks of Spring creek. Mention of all the mines in the county would be tedious. Prairie and Cedar townships give least evidences of coal, and, as yet, little or no encouragement to mining.
Climate, elevation, etc .- Oskaloosa public square is about 860 feet above the level of the sea.
The bed of the Des Moines river, at the sonthern boundary of the county, is about 660 feet above the same level. Surface of water in South Skunk river, about the center of the county, is near 800 feet.
The climate is pleasant and healthy. Ague is rare, and the county is subject to no climatical diseases peculiar to its limits. The winters of late years have been greatly modified from the reputed coldness of earlier days.
INDIAN AFFAIRS.
The territory occupied by Mahaska county was a part of the purchase made by the United States Government from the Sac and Fox Indians in October, 1842.
This treaty of 1842 was negotiated at the Agency, now Agency City, in October of that year. A number of chiefs were in attendance, the principal of whom were Keokuk, Appanoose, Poweshiek and Panassa. The commis-
261
HISTORY OF MAIASKA COUNTY.
sioner on behalf of the United States Government was Governor John Chambers, of Iowa Territory. The council lasted about one week. To give a full history of this negotiation, it is necessary to go back several years.
In 1835 Gen. J. M. Street, who had been Indian agent among the Win- nebagos since 1827, was removed to the Sac and Fox agency, first at Rock Island, and in 1838 at Agency City. Gen. Street was a great favorite among the Indians, and they were accustomed to call him their father. This gen- tleman died in May, 1840. His family procured an air-tight coffin, and an- nounced their intention of burying his remains at Prairie du Chien, where some of his relatives were interred. The chief's held a council and remon- strated, offering any part of their country which might be chosen as Gen. Street's burying ground, and adding that if their wishes were complied with, they would give to Gen. Street's widow a section of land, and a half-section to each one of his children. Accordingly, Gen. Street's remains were in- terred near the Agency, and no reference was ever made to the land prom- ised until the time of this treaty. About the evening of the second day of the treaty-council, one of the Government officers came to Gen. Street's son, Wm. B. Street, now of Oskaloosa, then employed in the Agency, and said, "I do not think we will succeed in making a treaty." "Why?" "Be- cause," said the officer, " the chiefs demand a reservation of one section for Gen. Street's widow, and a half-section each for her ten children, and also a half-section each for Smart's two children, who are half-breeds. The in- structions of the Government are opposed to any reservation, and positive against reservation for half-breeds." Mr. Street, not wishing a treaty to fail for any such reason, held a consultation with some of the principal chiefs, telling them he did not care for any reservation, and as his brothers and sisters were all in another territory, that he thought they would will- ingly relinquish the offer of the chiefs; and as for any obligation they were under to the Smart children, they could pay that in money. Keokuk and some of the others assented reluctantly, but old Poweshiek insisted that all
the reservation they desired should be demanded. Mr. Street remonstrated with him as to the result in failure of the treaty, and again told him he did not care for the reservation. "What, do you decline the gift?" said the in- dignant old chief-for this was considered an insult among Indians, to refuse a present. Mr. Street informs us that Poweshiek refused to speak to him for six months afterward, when one day, while Poweshiek was a little merry under the influence of whisky, Mr. Street presented the old chief with a pony, and again they were good friends.
Finally, the Indians demanded the reservation of a single section, to be given Mrs. Street. Gov. Chambers would not consent. Then old Keokuk, rising, addressed the council thus: "There lies," said he, pointing to the grave of Gen. Street, " there lies the grave of our father, the best white friend we have ever had, and without the reservation, this land shall never, never be sold while a single one of our tribe remains."
On the next day Gov. Chambers agreed to the reservation of one section, and directed the Indians to make choice. They selected that on which the Agency buildings were situated, and including Gen. Street's grave. Again the commissioner halted. He claimed the Government had spent some $3000 or $4000 in improving that section, and he could not allow that to be reserved. The Indians then proposed to pay for the improvements, which they afterward did, paying $2,500, which was considered a fair valuation at that time. The treaty being thus concluded, Keokuk remarked to the com-
262
HISTORY OF MAHASKA COUNTY.
missioner that if the Senate changed it by a single scratch of the pen, it would not be agreed to by the Indians. It came before the Senate. A mo- tion was made to strike out the reservation. Keokuk's remark was repeated in the Senate. And on March 23, 1843, was ratified an Indian treaty for the first time in the history of the Senate, without an erasure. By this treaty, a tract of land comprising probably more thon two-thirds the present State of Iowa was transferred to the United States, for which the Sac and Fox Indians were to receive $800,000 in good State stocks, on which the Government should guarantee five per cent interest per annum. In the words of the treaty, they " ceded to the United States all their lands west of the Mississippi to which they had any claim or title." It was stipulated that they were to be removed from the country at the expiration of three years, and all who remained after that were to remove at their own expense. Part of them were removed to Kansas in the fall of 1845, and the remainder in the spring of 1846. In consequence of this peaceable arrangement, the early settlers of Mahaska county encountered no difficulties with the red man, and the historian has to record no price of blood paid for the possession of their primitive homes. Few Indians ever put in their appearance after the work of settlement had once thoroughly begun.
Mr. William B. Street, of Oskaloosa, spent the years from 1828 to 1843 among the Indians of the Northwest. From 1839 to 1843 he resided at Old Agency, near Agency City, and to him we are indebted for a number of in- teresting facts in regard to Indian names and history. By the various treaties made with the Sac and Fox Indians, the Government paid these $80,000 per year, by families. Mr. Street was disbursing clerk for John Beach, Indian agent, during the year 1841, and showed us the receipts for the part payment of the annuity, in his own handwriting, and the marks of the chiefs in signing. We give an extract, including the names of part of those Indians who at that time were living at Kish-Ke-Kosh's village, in White Oak township, within the present boundaries of Mahaska county:
"We, the chief's, 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 forty thousand dollars of John Beach, United States Indian Agent, in the sums appended to our names, being our proportion of the annuity due said tribes, for the year 1841:
MARKS
MEN
WOMEN
CHILDR'N
TOTAL
AMOUNT
Kish-ke-kosh,1
-
-
X
1
1
3
4
$ 71 30
Ko-ko-ach,
-
X
1
2
3
6
106 95
Pas-sa-sa-she-shiek,
X
1
1
2
2
55 65
Mo-ka-qua,
X
1
1
17 82
Pa-ko-ka,
X
1
1
2
4
71 30
Ka-ke-wa-wa-te-sit,
X
2
1
3
53 47
Much-e-min-ne,2
X
1
1
2
4
71 30
Wa-pes-e-qua,3
X
1
1
2
4
71 30
Wa-pe-ka-kah,4
X
2
1
3
6
106 95
Mus-qua-ke,
X
3
2
2
7
124 78
And fifty-nine others.
I Kish-ke-kosh means "The man with one leg off".
2 Much-i-min-ne means "Big man".
3 Wa-pes-e-qua means "White eyes".
4 Wa-pe-ka-kah means " White crow".
5 Mus-qua-ke means "The fox".
1
-
-
-
263
HISTORY OF MAHASKA COUNTY.
" 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, this 19th of October, 1841. "(Signed)
JNO. BEACII, U. S. Indian Agent. THOMAS MOCRATE, Lieut. 1st Dragoons. .
JOSIAH SMART, Interpreter.
" 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,' his X mark."
In a record of the old settlers of Mahaska county no one is more strongly entitled to extended notice than Kish-ke-kosh. Though the meaning of his name is "The man with one leg off," few Indians possessed a finer pair of legs and a finer physique than the chief of Mahaska county's Indian village. Tall, straight as an arrow, with fine head and intellectual face, a humorous eye, his whole appearance was such as to challenge admiration, and was a genuine type of the traditional brave, which the present genera- tion believes existed only in poetry, because in this day they only see the Indians as a set of miserable beggars, or find their true nature shackled by an adoption of a mode of life for which they were never fitted. Previous to 1837 Kish-ke-kosh was simply a warrior chief in the village of Keokuk, though he was the latter's first lieutenant. The warrior chief was inferior to the village chief, to which distinction, we have seen, Kish-ke-kosh after- ward attained. For the purpose of forming the treaty known as the "Treaty of '37," a deputation of Sac and Fox Indians, under escort of General Street, was taken to Washington City, and different parts of the east. This deputation included Keokuk, Black Hawk, Poweshiek, Kish- ke-kosh, and about fifteen other chiefs. Kish-ke-kosh was regarded among his tribe as the clown and wit, and in the journey to the East he did not forget to display his humor and sarcasmn. The Indians descended the Mississippi to the mouth of the Ohio by steamer, and thence up the latter river to Wheeling, where they took stage across the mountains. Some- where on the route a party of ladies came on the steamer, and a young man who was accompanying the Indian delegation, becoming acquainted with the ladies, took them around to see the Indians. The young man, with the ill manners of some white people, fingered the dress and ornaments of the chiefs for the benefit of the sight seers, a familiarity which Kish-ke- kosh evidently thought should be dispensed with. Accordingly, when the young man was through, Kish-ke-kosh stepped up to him and commenced to sample his coat, vest, pantaloons and watch chain, to feel his hair, ex- hibit his teeth, etc., to his brother chiefs, jabbering away in the Sac tongue, and going through, with perfect mimicry, the self-assumed keeper of a menagerie. The deck of the steamer held a most appreciative crowd of spectators, and, as peal after peal of laughter assaulted the young man's
6 Keokuk means "The watchful fox".
7 Poweshiek means " The roused bear".
264
HISTORY OF MAHASKA COUNTY.
tingling ears, he doubtless arrived at the conclusion that barbarism was able to teach a specimen of civilization a lesson in manners, whose impres- sion would not be lost till his dying day.
While the party were in Washington, at the request of some of the gov- ernment officials, a council was held with some chiefs of the Sionx there present, as the Sacs and Foxes were waging perpetual war with the Sionx nation. This conneil was held in the representative chamber, and, to the great indignation of the Sionx, Kish-ke-kosh appeared, dressed in a buf- falo hide which he had taken in war from a Sioux chief, and took his place in one of the large windows, with the mane and horns of the buffalo as a sort of head-dress, and the tail trailing to the floor. The Sionx complained to the officials, claiming that this was an insult to them, but were informed that Kish-ke-kosh had a right to appear in his own costume. The first speech was made by a Sioux, who complained most bitterly of their wrongs, of how they had been driven from their homes by the Sacs and Foxes, their warriors killed, and villages burned. Then followed Keokuk in reply-the great orator of his tribe-an interpreter repeating his speech after him. There were those present who had heard Webster, Calhoun, Clay and Benton in this same hall, but declared that, for delivery, for native elo- quence, impassioned expression of countenance, the chief surpassed them all, though they could not understand his words, save as they were inter- preted. Kish-ke-kosh followed. He ridiculed the Sioux, laughed at their weaknesses and mimicked their complaints.
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