USA > Iowa > Wapello County > The history of Wapello 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 > Part 37
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ORIGIN OF THE PRAIRIES.
Prof. Hall, in his Geological Report of lowa, 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 vegetation 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 WAPELLO 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 region. 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 clevated 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 place, 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 homogeneons 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 indicating 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.
The county of Wapello is situated in the second tier of counties from the southern line of Iowa, and is bounded by Mahaska and Keokuk on the north, Jefferson on the east, Davis on the south and Monroe on the west. It embraces an area of twelve Congressional townships. Its astronomical position is between 40° 35' and 41º 10' north latitude, and between 15° 10' and 15° 40' longitude west from Washington.
The civil townships are, beginning at the northeast corner of the county :
Competine, composed of Township 73, Range 12.
Highland, composed of Township 73, Range 13.
Richland, composed of Township 73, Range 14, excepting less than one-half of Section 31, which is divided by the Des Moines River into nearly equal
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HISTORY OF WAPELLO COUNTY.
parts by the diagonal passage of that stream through the section, from north- west to southeast.
Columbia, composed of Township 73, Range 15, except the fractional parts of Sections 23, 25, 26 and 36 which lie south of the river, and all of Sections 34 and 35.
Cass, an irregular town, composed of the sections above named as excluded from Columbia ; Sections 1, 2, 3 and 4, Township 72, Range 15; the fractional half of Section 31, south of the river, Township 73, Range 14; and Sections 7 and 8 and the fractions of Sections 5, 6 and 9 south of the river, all in Township 72, Range 14.
Polk, composed of Township 72, Range 15, except Sections 1, 2, 3 and 4.
Center, composed of Township 72, Range 14, except fractional sections 5, 6 and 9 south of the river, and Sections 7 and 8; and Sections 6, 7, 18, 19, 20, 21, 28, 29, 36, 31, 32 and 33, Township 72, Range 13.
Dahlonega, composed of Sections 1 to 5 inclusive and 8 to 17 inclusive, Township 72, Range 13.
Pleasant, composed of Township 72, Range 12, except Sections 19, 30 and 31.
Agency, composed of Sections 19, 30 and 31, Township 72, Range 12; Sections 22 to 27 inclusive and 34, 35 and 36, Township 72, Range 13; and Sections 1, 2, 3 and fractional Sections 4, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 north of the river, Township 71, Range 13.
Washington, composed of Township 71, Range 12.
Keokuk, composed of Township 71, Range 13, except fractional Sections 4, 9. 10, 11, 12 and 13 north of the river and Sections 1, 2 and 3.
Green, composed of Township 71, Range 14.
Adams, composed of Township 71, Range 15.
Fourteen civil townships in all.
The chief stream is the Des Moines River, which enters the county on Sec- tion 6, Township 73, Range 15, in the corporate limits of Eddyville, and flows in a general southeasterly course, with such variations as are peculiar to all Western streams, finally leaving the county on the southwest quarter of Section 35, Township 71, Range 12, thus dividing the county into nearly equal parts.
Competine is drained by the Competine and Wolf Creeks, the former pass- ing entirely across the township in a southeasterly course, and the latter flow- ing parallel about three miles to the west of it. Various minor tributaries drain the intermediate sections, leaving not more than three or four sections without a water-course of considerable size.
North of the Des Moines the feeder streams run generally parallel with the greater stream. Cedar Creek crosses Richland, Highland and Pleasant Town- ships. Into the Cedar flow Brush, Jordan and Little Cedar Creeks from the south, and numerous small brooks from the north.
The Des Moines is directly fed by North and South Avery, Bear and Sugar Creeks, besides nearly a score of smaller courses. Little Soap Creek flows nearly eastward through Adams, Green and Keokuk Townships, and empties into Big Soap Creek in Davis County. The latter flows for two miles or so through Washington Township and empties into the Des Moines.
All of these streams create more or less rugged surface, peculiarly adapted to the growth of timber, and as a result, Wapello has no less than 58,000 acres of native timber lands. Of this, Keokuk Township has the greatest number,
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HISTORY OF WAPELLO COUNTY.
12,219. There are less than eighty acres of planted timber in the county, ex- clusive of orchards.
RESOURCES.
The larger part of Wapello County is embraced within the region which is now considered the most valuable portion of the Iowa coal-field. It is all embraced within the area of the lower and middle coal-measures, and it lies far enough within the limits of the coal-field to develop the formation fully. The coal is of good quality, and from the fact that it lies in close proximity to the lower formation, it is inferred with good reason that profitable coal mines may be de- veloped easily in nearly all parts of the county.
The soil throughout the county generally has all the elements of the highest fertility, being derived from the drift which deeply overlies the entire upland surface, richly intermingled with the vegetable mold accumulated for ages from the annual decay of herbage upon the surface. This is underlaid by a very deep subsoil derived from the same deposit of drift and the disintegrated shales of the contiguous coal-measures. It yields abundant crops of most grains, corn taking the lead, oats and wheat being next in importance. From the ample production of native grasses, this has long been a prominent grazing county, and stock-raising has formed a most remunerative and extensive branch of industry. The successful introduction of tame grasses, which thrive admirably, and the convenience of stock water have not in the least tended to diminish or discour- age the business of stock-raising.
The county enjoys the general advantages possessed by this section of Iowa for fruit-growing, and good orchards are met with quite frequently.
Stone, suitable for ordinary masonry, is obtained in many places, and also suitable stone for the manufacture of quicklime. Clay and sand for making brick are convenient to all parts.
APPROACH OF CIVILIZATION.
The successive steps of organization which led to the independent division of Wapello as a county may be summarized thus : Originally, this vast area was included in the Louisiana Purchase, approved by Congress in 1803. In 1807, Iowa was included in the Territory of Illinois ; in 1812, in the Territory of Missouri ; in 1834, the Black Hawk Purchase having been made, all of the territory west of the Mississippi and north of the northern boundary of Mis- souri was made a part of the Territory of Michigan. In September, 1834, the Legislature of Michigan established two precincts, or counties, in Iowa, as it is now called. These counties were Dubuque, including all territory north of a line drawn westward from the foot of Rock Island, and Des Moines, including all territory south of that dividing line. The Territory of Wisconsin was organized in 1836, and Iowa was a part of that political division. July 4, 1838; the act establishing the Territory of Iowa went into effect. The first Territorial Legislature of Iowa assembled at Burlington, November 12, 1838. . Under the gov- ernment of Wisconsin Territory, the county of Henry, adjacent to Des Moines County on the west, had been established in 1836. At the first session of the Legislature of Iowa, the county of Jefferson was established, with the following boundary : Beginning at the southeast corner of Township number 71 north, Range 8 west ; thence north with said line to the line dividing Townships 73 and 74; thence west with said line to the Indian boundary line ; thence south
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HISTORY OF WAPELLO COUNTY.
with said line to the line dividing Townships 70 and 71; thence east with said line to the place of beginning. The country west of the new county was included in the vast tract of land still held by the Indians under the treaty of 1837.
By this brief outline it will be seen that the region now embraced in the county of Wapello was the next in order to receive the attention of the white man in his irresistible march westward. The chain of title, as it may be termed, is complete, and it remains for us to consider at what time and by what means the county was reclaimed from a state of barbarism and transformed into the theater of action in the mighty drama of civilized life.
It is manifest that there must have been some powerful impediment in the way to have given pause to the aggressive progress of the white man. And so there was. The tottering remnants of a once great people checked the advancing throng which was sweeping over the land with the velocity of a tidal wave, and created a momentary halt on the boundary between the old and new. The American, and especially the Westerner, is typified by one who seeks the unattainable merely because it is unattainable ; who chafes at opposi- tion and grows imperious in the presence of a barrier. If all the wide world were open to him save one little spot, the limits of the forbidden territory would be invaded by humanity seeking to gain access-quietly if it could, but forcibly if it must-into that proscribed region. Other and better lands might be offered at advantageous rates, but all would be ignored in the struggle after that which implied a restriction on the personal liberties of the people. When, added to the natural inclinations of the race, are seen material inducements to deeds of conquest, the power of man is futile to arrest the progress of Ameri- can pioneers.
The obstacle to the immediate settlement of this lovely region was the existence of a law binding the Government to protect the fading tribes of red men in their rights. 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 approaching 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 fretting 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.
The history of Wapello County is so much older than that embraced by the little span of civilized life, 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 forever. Such sights as these suggest the thought that Nature but reproduces her grandest works in eras marked by æons of ages.
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HISTORY OF WAPELLO 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 superior 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.
THE UNKNOWN RACE.
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 prehistoric 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 topie, 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
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HISTORY OF WAPELLO 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.
SEC. 13.
OTTUMWA
SEC. 21.
SEC. 29.
3
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6
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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 IIed- 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 "Sngar 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 by them.
Scale of diagram, five-eighthe 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
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