USA > Iowa > Van Buren County > The history of Van Buren County, Iowa, containing a history of the county, its cities, towns, &c, a biographical directory of citizens, war record of its volunteers in the late rebellion, general and local statistics history of the Northwest, history of Iowa &c > Part 37
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ORIGIN OF THE PRAIRIES.
Prof. Hall, in his Geological Report of Iowa, says :
The subject of the origin of the prairies, or the cause of the absence of trees over so exten- sive a region, is one which has often been discussed, and in regard to which diametrically opposite opinions are entertained.
The idea is very extensively entertained throughout the West, that the prairies were once covered with timber; but that it has been deen destroyed by the fires which the Indians have been in the habit of starting in the dry grass, and which swept a vast extent of surface every Autumn. A few considerations will show that the theory is entirely untenable.
In the first place, the prairies have been in existence at least as far back as we have any knowledge of the country, since the first explorers of the West describe them just as they now are. There may be limited areas once covered with woods and now bare ; but, in general, the prairie region occupies the same surface which it did when first visited by the white man.
But, again, prairies are limited to a peculiar region-one marked by certain characteristic topographical and geological features, and they are, by no means, distributed around wherever the Indians have roamed and used fire. Had frequent occurrence of fires in the woods been the means of removing the timber and covering the soil with a dense growth of grass, there is no reason why prairies should not exist in the Eastern and Middle States, as well as in the Western. The whole northern portion of the United States was once inhabited by tribes differing but little from each other in their manner of living.
Again, were the prairies formerly covered by forest trees, we should probably now find some remains of them buried beneath the soil, or other indications of their having existed. Such is not the case, for the occurrence of fragments of wood beneath the prairie surface is quite rare. And when they are found, it is in such position as to show that they had been removed to some distance from the place of their growth.
It has been maintained by some that the want of sufficient moisture in the air or soil was the cause of the absence of forests in the Northwest ; and it is indeed true that the prairie region does continue westward, and become merged in the arid plains which extend along the base of the Rocky Mountains, where the extreme dryness is undoubtedly the principal obstacle to the growth of anything but a few shrubs peculiarly adapted to the conditions of climate and soil which prevail in that region. This, however, cannot be the case in the region of the Mississippi and near Lake Michigan, where the prairies occupy so large a surface, since the results of meteorological observations show no lack of moisture in that district, the annual precipitation being fully equal to what it is in the well-wooded country farther east in the same latitude. Besides, the growth of forest trees is rich and abundant all through the prairie region under certain conditions of soil and position, showing that their range is not limited by any general climatological cause.
Taking into consideration all the circumstances under which the peculiar vegetation of the prairie occurs, we are disposed to consider the nature of the soil as the prime cause of the absence of forests, and the predominance of grasses over the widely-extended region. And although chemical composition may not be without influence in bringing about this result, which is a subject for further investigation, and one worthy of careful examination, yet we conceive that the extreme fineness of the particles of which the prairie soil is composed is probably the principal reason why it is better adapted to the growth of its peculiar vege ation than to the development of forests.
It cannot fail to strike the careful observer that where the prairies occupy the surface, the soil and superficial material have been so finely comminuted as to be almost in a state of an impalpable powder. This is due, partially, to the peculiar nature of the underlying rocks and the facility with which they undergo complete decomposition, and partly to the mechanical causes which have acted during and since the accumulation of the sedimentary matter from the prairie soil.
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HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY.
If we go to the thickly-wooded regions, like those of the northern peninsula of Michigan, and examine those portions of the surface which have not been invaded by the forest, we shall observe that the beds of ancient lakes which have been filled up by the slowest possible accumu- lation of detrital matter and are now perfectly dry, remain as natural prairies and are not trespassed upon by the surrounding woods. We can conceive of no other reason for this than the extreme fineness of the soil which occupies these basins, and which is the natural result of the slow and quiet mode in which they have been filled up. The sides of these depressions, which were lakes, slope very gradually upward, and being covered with a thick growth of vege- tation, the material brought into them must have been thus caused. Consequently, when the former lake has become entirely filled up and raised above the level of overflow, we find it cov- ered with a most luxuriant crop of grass, forming the natural meadows from which the first settlers are supplied with their first stock of fodder.
Applying these facts to the case of the prairies of larger dimensions farther south, we infer, on what seems to be reasonable grounds, that the whole region now occupied by the prairies of the Northwest was once an immense lake, in whose basin sediment of almost impalpable fineness gradually accumulated ; that this basin was drained by the elevation of the whole regiou. but, at first, so slowly that the finer particles of the deposit were not washed away, but allowed to remain where they were originally deposited.
After the more elevated portions of the former basin had been laid bare, the drainage becoming concentrated into comparatively narrow channels, the current thus produced, aided, perhaps, by a more rapid rise of the region, acquired sufficient velocity to wear down through the finer material on the surface, wash away a portion of it altogether, and mix the rest so effectually with the underlying drift materials, or with abraded fragments of the rocks in places as to give rise to a different character of soil in the valleys from that of the elevated land. The valley soil being much less homogeneous in composition and containing a larger proportion of course materials than that of the uplands, seems to have been adapted to the growth of forest vegetation ; and in consequence of this we find such localities covered with an abundant growth of timber.
Wherever there has been a variation from the usual conditions of soil, on the prairie or in the river bottom, there is a corresponding change in the character of the vegetation. Thus on the prairie we sometimes meet with ridges of coarse. material, apparently deposits of drift, on which, from some local cause, there never has been an accumulation of fine sediment. In such localities we invariably find a growth of timber. This is the origin of the groves scattered over the prairies, for whose isolated position and peculiar circumstances of growth we are unable to account in any other way.
The condition of things in the river valleys themselves seems to add to the plausibility of this theory. In the district which we have more particularly examined, we have found that where rivers have worn deep and comparatively narrow valleys, bordered by precipitous bluffs, there is almost always a growth of forest; but where the valley widens out, the bluffs become less conspicuous, indicating a less rapid erosion and currents of diminished strength ; there decomposition takes place under circumstances favorable to the accumulation of prairie soil, and the result has been the formation of the bottom prairie, which becomes so important a feature of the valleys of the Mississippi and Missouri below the limits of lowa. Where these bottom prairies have become, by any change in the course of the river currents, covered with coarser materials, a growth of forest trees may be observed springing up, and indicatiug by their rapid development a congenial soil.
This theory is noticeably substantiated by the formation and condition of the valley of the lower Des Moines.
DESCRIPTIVE GEOGRAPHY.
Van Buren County is bounded on the east by Lee and Henry Counties, on the north by Jefferson County, on the west by Davis County, and on the south by the Missouri line. It embraces a fraction over thirteen townships, or about four hundred and eighty square miles of surface, and is one of the best timbered counties in this part of the State. The Des Moines River runs diagonally through the county from northwest to southeast. affording a considerable belt of timber and an abundant supply of stock-water in ordinary seasons. The country lying north of the river is marked with Crooked, Lick, Coates, Reed and Cedar Creeks, each skirted with timber from their source to their outlet.
The prairies are generally small, with a rolling surface and a soil fully equal to the average prairie soil of the West. The upland timber consists of black and white oak, hickory, elm, linden and cherry, while upon the Des Moines
333
HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY.
bottom may be found black and white walnut, sugar and white maple, ash, hack- berry, cottonwood, sycamore, honey-locust and mulberry.
At least three-fourths of the superficial area of this county is underlaid by deposist belonging to the coal formation, but it is not probable that a workable coal-seam will be found to extend over more than one-half or two-thirds of the territory so underlaid.
At least two workable coal-seams outcrop in the county, varying in thick- ness from two to five feet. The upper one is exposed in the vicinity of Iowa- ville, on the south side of the Des Moines, and at Business Corners and vicin- ity, on the north side of the river. The lower seam, where it occurs of suffi- cient thickness to afford a profitable bed, seems to have been deposited in basins or depressions in the limestone. The coal at Farmington, both at Williams and Johnson's bank, occurs in a basin of this kind, and is about two miles in width from east to west, and extends south a half mile beyond the Des Moines River. varies from two to three feet in thickness.
On the prairies, good wells of living waters are obtained from twenty to thirty feet below the surface. But along the river-bluffs and on the timbered lands generally, considerable difficulty is experienced in procuring good water, and cisterns are in general use.
Quarries of the best building material abound in the bluffs of almost every stream. On Chequest Creek is a fine-grained, compact limestone of a light gray or dove color, and susceptible of a fine polish. The rock seems well adapted to many purposes for which an ornamental stone is required, and has acquired some reputation as Chequest marble. Tin, copper and iron have been discov- ered, and, excepting the mineral productions of Dubuque and Jackson Coun- ties, Van Buren County contains more variety in its geological features than any other in the State.
For beauty of scenery, extent of cultivation and fertility of soil, the county stands unrivaled.
So much for generalizing. Now for a more definite dwelling upon the min- . eral products.
The full thickness of the coal-bearing strata in this county is not accurately known. Some of the oldest mines in the State are located here. The strata, however, probably nowhere exceeds one hundred and fifty feet, and is known to be usually much less. The number of different beds of coal has not been fully made out, but there are probably three, only one of which is usually of suffi- cient thickness for purposes of working. This bed, if it be always the same one in which the mines are opened, is of very considerable importance and from it large quantities of coal have been, and very much more may yet be obtained. A mine has for a long time been opened in a three-and-one-half-foot bed of coal, a little below the town of Independent, in the extreme northwest corner of the county. About two and a half miles eastward from the same town, a mine has been opened in a four-foot bed. About half a mile up the same creek valley in which the latter is located, another opening has been made in a four-foot bed, which appears to be a separate bed from the others, being quite above it. Half a mile south of Burnes' Corners, is one of the oldest mines in the county, situated in a half-foot bed. A little south of this, near Doud's Station, some mines were formerly successfully operated and they may, doubtless, be re-opened. At and in the vicinity of Keosauqua, several openings have been made in a bed of coal about three feet thick, which have for many years been worked to supply local demand. A three-foot bed of coal . has also been opened in the same township.
334
HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY.
At Farmington, large quantities of coal were formerly mined. These mines were successfully worked. In the northeastern corner of the county some mines have been profitably worked for many years, to supply a local demand. There have been also other openings made in coal-beds in this county.
The clay associated with the coal-bearing strata of this county has been extensively used at Vernon for the manufacture of stone pottery.
An artesian well 705 feet deep has been bored at Farmington, and a full flow of water was the result. The water, as analyzed by Prof. Emery, is proved to contain, per liter, 1.12 grains of ferruginous sediment, and 8.18 grains of solid matter in solution, making a total of 9.3 grains of solid matter per liter. Its principal constituent is ferric sulphate. It also contains considerable gyp- sum, sodium and hydrochloric acid. A portion of the sulphuric acid is free ; the amount, per liter, contained in the water being 3.306 grains. The matter also contains 1.58 grains of ferric oxide and 0.403 grains of calcium oxide, per liter.
The following is a list of timber found within the county : White-maple, sugar-maple, buckeye, water-birch, hickory, pignut-hickory, pecan, hackberry, black wild-cherry, white-ash, honey-locust, Kentucky coffee-bean, butternut, white-walnut, black-walnut, box-elder, button, sycamore, cotton-wood, aspen. white-oak, burr-oak, black·oak, linden bass-wood, common elm and slippery- elm.
THE UNKNOWN RACE.
The cession of the lands once owned by the Indians, opened up this region to the whites, and brought the county of Van Buren within the limits of settle- ment. In 1836, the last traces of resistance to a superior power disappeared from the Indian bands, and impetus was given to progression. Piece by piece the lands of Iowa had been wrested from the aborigines, until at last there remained but one step between them and utter rout. The time was fast approach- ing when the voice of authority should cry " depart," and the vanguard of the pale-faced invaders on the hunting-grounds and homes of the natives was fret- ting in the invisible chain which held it back.
The legends of this fated people are rich with unwritten poetry and romance. The spectacle of fallen greatness is sad in any case, and invests the victims of adverse fate with a halo, perhaps inconsistent with reality, but nevertheless worthy of a passing thought.
But, before we reach the era of Indian occupancy, there is encountered that which gives pause to the prosecution of research in that direction, and opens up a fruitful field for speculation. The history of Van Buren County is so much older than the period embraced even by Indian legends, that we stand in grave silence before the evidences of those who have gone before. The red man alone is not the only denizen of these groves, these hills and vales. Long before the war-whoop of the Indian awoke echoes in the silent watches of the night, or the plaintive song of Indian lover aroused the dusky maiden to the thought of love, there lived a race of men with passions, ambitions and desires perhaps akin to those we know. The march of time destroyed these primitive dwellers of the earth, leaving but vague traces of their existence for us to ponder over. A broken flint, an arrow-head, a bit of crudest pottery-what are these ? Traces of a lost people, of whom even legends have become extinct for- ever.
Such sights as these suggest the thought that Nature but reproduces her grand- est works in eras marked by æons of ages.
335
HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY.
Those who struck the first blows, in the name of Improvement, upon the banks of the Des Moines, have beheld a ruined nation depart, never to return. May it not be that our race, too, must some day stand before a super- ior power, and watch its noblest efforts grow pale before the light of other minds ?
In the womb of centuries may there not be those who will repeople what are to become the vast solitudes of these broad acres, now so busy with teeming millions, and read with curious eyes the evidences of ourselves-a forgotten race? Perhaps beneath the sea there slumbers now a continent that will some day grow rank with life, and send forth pioneers to seek new worlds. The record of the rocks tells us that these things have been; and what was once performed may be again accomplished. The mold of centuries may rise above our streets. The wash of waves may erode our noblest monuments. Ruin and decay give birth to youth and grandeur. A language strange to ears in being now, may portray the marvels of a land in which primeval forests thrive; where stores of virgin wealth lie deep within the bowels of the earth; where fertile plains wave with luxuriant vegetation; where the ax was never heard, and where the ground was never trodden by human foot. Then will the husbandman's imple- ment reveal the broken columns which centuries have concealed beneath their accumulation of waste, and the archaeologist wax wise over the fragments of our vaunted might.
As these things may be, let us, while now we can, pay to those who have preceded us the passing tribute of a sigh.
That these broad lands were once the home of a people now no longer num- bered among the living, there can be no doubt. Evidences of their existence are at the very doors of those who dwell in the fertile valley of the Des Moines.
The Mound-Builders, as modern tongue is pleased to term them from lack of a better name, have left traces of their presence here which admit of no dispute. Who they were and from whence they came, the wisest archæol- ogists are puzzling their brains to determine. The secret of their lives has perished with their mortal frames, leaving naught but food for speculation behind. Some future generation, it is true, may chance upon a hidden tablet or a source of light which will illumine the darkness of the present respecting the prehistorie race. Even here, where such lavish manifestations of their sojourn exist, there may be stored the key to the vast mystery. Some day the truth may be made clear, but now we can only record the facts made patent to us, and hope for the dawn of that eventful morn when the cabalistic signs on table and on rock shall become like opened books before our eyes.
Among the numerous gentlemen resident in Ottumwa, or in the Des Moines Valley, who have given intelligent thought to the investigation of this absorbing topic, we first name Mr. Samuel B. Evans, of the Ottumwa Democrat, as an authority upon the subject of the local mounds. Mr. Evans has acquired a reputation as a patient worker in this broad field, and has prepared many arti- cles for the press, pertaining to the mounds in Wapello and Van Buren Coun- ties. A paper was requested of him by the Smithsonian Institution, elaborat- ing the location and character of the ancient works in this section of the State, and, through the kindness of Mr. Evans, we are permitted to illustrate this brief chapter with copies of diagrams prepared by him for the paper referred to. These outline cuts will convey to the reader a better idea of the position
336
HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY.
of the mounds, and, what is even more important, they will preserve a record of their topography in the event of their destruction by the rapid encroach- ments of modern improvements.
SEG. ,13.
OTTUMWA
28
SEC. 21.
SEC. 29.
3
1
WIE
6
S
SEC.8.
SEC. 7.
DIAGRAM A. Mounds near Ottumwa, Wapello Co., on the Des Moines River and adjacent thereto.
REFERENCE.
No. 1 Mound. on Section 13, Township 72, Range 14, is known as the " Caldwell Mound."
On the highest lands in Wapello County, about a quarter of a mile south of the Caldwell Mounds, are the Hed- rick Mounds, not shown on diagram. These latter are doubtless mounds of observation.
No. 2, on Section 21, Township 72, Range 13, are known as the "Sugar Creek Mounds."
Nos. 3 and 4, on Section 29, Township 72, Range 13, are known as the "Trowell " and the " Stiles" Mounds, re- · spectively.
Nos. 5 and 6, on Sections 7 and 8, Township 71, Range 13, are known as the " Village Creek Mounds," from the stream which flows hy them.
Scale of diagram, five-eighths of an inch to the mile.
It is the purpose of this article to deal solely with facts; to confine the range of topic exclusively to a description of the location, character and con- tents of the mounds in the counties of Wapello and Van Buren, so far as research has furnished data for the perfection of this design. We leave to our readers the interesting work of solving the origin of the tumuli, the habits of the strange people who constructed them, and the fate of the race which now excites our profoundest curiosity. If this imperfect sketch serves to stimulate latent forces to action in the direction of study, its purpose will be fully accomplished.
The diagram herewith given, and marked "A," exhibits all the mounds in the vicinity of Ottumwa which have been explored, and may be said to embrace all that are known to exist. Future investigation may reveal mounds at pres- ent unknown, but that is scarcely probable. The examination of all the mounds
337
HISTORY OF VAN BUREN COUNTY.
herein referred to has been conducted by Mr. Evans, in company with the several gentlemen named, in the following order:
Sugar Creek-Capt. W. H. Kitterman, S. H. Burton and D. T. Mil- ler.
The Stiles, by Hon. E. H. Stiles. The Trowell has not been opened, so far as can be ascertained.
Village Creek, by Mr. Richard Williams and Mr. A. T. Holly.
Keosauqua, or Ely Ford Group (shown here in diagram "B"), by Judge Robert Sloan, Mr. J. J. Kinnersly, Mr. D. C. Beaman, Messrs. Robert N. and Charles L. Dahlberg and Ben Johnson, Esq.
The names of these gentlemen are ample guaranty of the thoroughness and intelligence of the search made. Capt. Kitterman, Mr. Williams, Mr. Holly and Judge Sloan are especially qualified to prosecute so important an under- taking.
The Sugar Creek Mounds (Sec. 21, T. 72, R. 13) are simple tumuli. The first one opened stands upon a high elevation, and may be termed a mound of observation. From it, those lying to the southwest, the Trowell Mounds, are visible, although a mile and a half distant. From this post, a series of com- munication might be maintained with a person stationed on the Trowell hillock, if the intervening growth of young trees was removed. From this mound, nothing of value was obtained save bits of charcoal and decomposed ashes. This fact goes to confirm the theory that it was designed as a station of survey. The second of the Sugar Creek group contained a few decayed bones, but no estimate of their character was possible.
From the Trowell Mound the Stiles tumuli are plainly seen. These mounds lie in the suburbs of Ottumwa. When they were opened, in the spring of 1878, no traces of human burial were found. There were but few, and those unsatisfactory, evidences of cremation. In one of the largest, a small hatchet was obtained, which was made of green stone, highly finished. The character of this hatchet led the explorers to believe that its deposit was accidental. No other implements in entire form were discovered, but several bits of broken arrow-heads and a few chips or cherts of obsidian were taken. This flint is exceedingly rare. If the valley and intervening ridges were denuded of the growing young timber, one group of the Village Creek mounds could be seen from this mound, although the Creek groups are more than three miles distant.
In the fall of 1877, three of the Village Creek mounds were carefully examined. A reference to diagram "A" will show that there are two groups, each composed of seven or eight individual mounds, lying in line. The groups are about one mile apart. Those which were opened contained evidences of cremation. Successive layers of ashes and charcoal, intermingled with calcined bones. No implements of any kind were discovered in a complete state, and but few broken arrow-heads.
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