USA > Iowa > Washington County > The history of Washington 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, portraits of early settlers and prominent men > Part 35
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Wapello, the cotemporary of Keokuk and the inferior chief, after whom a neighboring county and county-seat were named, died before the Indians were removed from the State, and thus escaped the humiliation of the scene. He, like his superior chief, was a fast friend of the whites and wielded an immense influence among the individuals of his tribe. As is mentioned in a former chapter, he presided over three tribes in the vicinity of Fort Armstrong, during the time that frontier post was being erected. In 1829 he removed his village to Muscatine Swamp, and then to a place near where is now located the town bearing his name. Many of the early settlers of Washington county remember him well, as the sonthern part of this county was a favorite resort for him and many members of his tribe. It was in the limit of Keokuk county that this illustrions chief died. Although lie willingly united in the treaty ceding it to the whites, it was done with the clear conviction that the country would be shortly overrun and his hunting grounds ruined by the advance of pale faces. He chose to sell rather than to be robbed, and then quietly receded with his band.
Mr. Scearcy, of Keokuk county, relates an incident in the life of this chief which we here quote: "Between the Sioux, and the Sacs and Foxes, a
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bitter and deadly hatred existed. This enmity was carried to such a bitter extent that it caused the establishment, by the government, of the neutral ground, in the north part of the territory, which was a strip of country about thirty miles in width, over which the tribes were not allowed to pass in order to slay each other. The love of revenge was so strongly marked in the Indian character that it was not to be suppressed by imaginary geo- graphical lines, and consequently it was not a rare occurence for a Sac or Fox Indian, or a Sioux, to bite the dust, as an atonement for real or imag- inary wrongs. In this manner one of the sons of Wapello was cruelly cut down, from an ambush, in the year 1836. When the chief heard of tlie sad calamity he was on Skunk river, opposite the mouth of Crooked creek. He immediately plunged into and swain across the stream. Upon arriving at a trading-post near by, he gave the best pony lie had for a barrel of whisky, and setting it out, invited his people to partake, a very unwise practice, which he doubtless borrowed from the white people, who availed themselves of this medium in which to drown their sorrows."
Wapello's death occured in Keokuk county, in March, 1844. In accord- ance which the provisions of the treaty of 1843, he had retired with his tribe west of Red Rock, and it was during a temporary visit to his old hunting ground on Rock creek, that he breathed his last. We quote from an address of Mr. Romig, delivered in a neighboring town a few years since, the following pathietic account of the death of the warrior:
"As the swallow returns to the place where last she had built her nest, cruelly destroyed by the ruthless hands of some rude boy, or as a mother would return to the empty crib where once had reposed hier innocent babe in the sweet embrace of sleep, and weep for the treasure she had once pos. sessed, so Wapello mourned for the hunting grounds he had been forced to leave behind, and longed to roam over the broad expanse again. It was in the month of March; heavy winter had begun to shed her mantle of snow; the sun peeped forth through the fleeting clouds; the woodchuck emerged from his subterranean retreat to greet the morning breeze, and all nature seemed to rejoice at the prospect of returning spring. The old chief felt the exhilarating influence of reviving nature, and longed again for the sports of his youth. Ile accordingly assembled a party and started on a hunting excursion to the scenes of his former exploits. But alas, the poor old man was not long destined to mourn over his misfortunes. While traveling over the beautiful prairies, or encamped in the picturesque groves that he was once wont to call his own, disease fastened upon his vitals and the chief lay prostrate in his lodge. How long the burning fever raged and racked in his brain, or who it was that applied the cooling draught to his parched lips, tradition has failed to inform us; but this we may fairly presume: that his trusty followers were deeply distressed at the sufferings of their chief whom they loved, and administered all the comforts in their power to alleviate his sufferings, but all would not avail. Grim death had crossed his path, and touched her finger upon his brow, and marked him for her own. Human efforts to save could avail nothing. Time passed, and with it the life of Wapello. The last word was spoken, the last wishi expressed, the last breath drawn, and his spirit took its flight. The passing breeze in Æolean notes chanted a requiem in the elm tops. The placid reek in its meandering course murmured in chorus over the dead. The quirrel came forth in the bright sunshine to frisk and chirp in frolicsome
18
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glee, and the timid fawn approached the brook, and bathed her feet in the waters, but the old man heeded it not, for Maniton, his God, had called him home.
"Although it is a matter of regret that we are not in possession of his dying words and other particulars connected with his death, let us endeavor to be content with knowing that Wapello died some time in the month of March, in the year 1844, in Keokuk county, on Rock creek, in Jackson township, on the northwest quarter of the northwest quarter, section 21, township 74, range 11 west, where a mound still marks the spot; and with knowing also that his remains were thence conveyed by Mr. Samuel Har- desty, now of Lancaster township, accompanied by twenty-two Indians and three squaws, to the Indian burial ground at Agency City, where sleeps the Indian agent, Gen. Street, and numbers of the Sac and Fox tribe, and where our informant left the remains to await the arrival of Keokuk and other distinguished chiefs to be present at the interment."
Keokuk, Appanoose, and nearly all the leading inen among Indians, were present at the funeral, which took place toward evening of the same day upon which the body arrived at the Agency. The usual Indian ceremonies preceded the interment, after which the remains were buried by the body of Gen. Street, which was in accordance with the chieftain's oft repeated request to be buried by the side of his honest pale-faced friend.
In 1845, in accordance with the stipulations of the treaty and in obe- dience to the demand of the white man, whose friend he had ever been, and whose home he had defended, both by word and act, in times of great excitement, Keokuk led his tribe west of the Missouri river and located upon a reservation comprised in the boundaries of what is now the State of Kansas. What must have been the emotions which swelled the heart of this renowned savage, and what must have been the peculiar thoughts which came thronging from his active brain when he turned liis back for the last time upon the bark covered huts of his Iowa village, the graves of his friends, and that portion of country which, but the year be- fore, had been honored by his name. It was leaving everything familiar in life and dear to the heart. To him it was not going West to grow up with the country, but to lose himself and his tribe in oblivion and national an- nihilation.
Keokuk lived but three years after leaving the Territory of Iowa, and we have no facts at our command in reference to his career at the new home west of the Missouri. The "Keokuk Register" of June 15, 1849, con- tained the following notice of his death, together with some additional sketches of his life:
"The St. Louis ' New Era' announces the death of this celebrated Indian chief. Poison was administered to him by one of his tribe, from the effects of which he died. The Indian was apprehended, confessed his guilt, and was shot.
" Keokuk leaves a son of some prominence, but there is little probability of his succeeding to the same station, as he is not looked upon by the tribe as inheriting the disposition and principles of his father."
We close this sketch by appending an extract from a letter recently writ- ten by Judge J. M. Casey, of Fort Madison, to Hon. S. A. James, of Sig- ourney.
" While Keokuk was not a Lee county inan, I have often seen him here. He was an individual of distinguished mark; once seen would always be
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remembered. It was not necessary to be told that he was a chief, you would at once recognize him as such, and stop to admire his grand deport- ment. I was quite young when I last saw him, but I yet remember his appearance and every lineament of his face as well as if it had been yester- day, and this impression was left upon every person who saw him, whether old or young. It is hard for us to realize that an Indian could be so great a man. But it is a candid fact, admitted by all the early settlers who knew him, that Keokuk possessed, in a prominent degree, the elements of greatness."
INDIAN INCIDENTS AND REMINISCENCES.
During the visit of Keokuk, Wapello, and their party at Boston, which has already been referred to, there was a great struggle between the mana- gers of the two theatres of that place to obtain the presence of the Indians in order to " draw houses." At the Tremont, the aristocratic one, the fa- mous tragedian, Forrest, was filling an engagement. His great play, in which he acted the part of the gladiator, and always drew his largest audi- ences, had not yet come off, and the manager was disinclined to bring it out while the Indians were there, as their presence always insured a full house. General Street, who, as before remarked, was in charge of the party, being a strict Presbyterian, was not much in the theatrical line, hence Major Beach, to whom we are indebted for the facts of this incident, and who ac- companied General Street at the time, took the matter in hand. He knew that this particular play would suit the Indians better than those simple declamatory tragedies, in which, as they could not understand a word, there was no action to keep them interested, so he prevailed upon the manager to bring it out, promising that the Indians would be present.
In the exciting scene where the gladiators engage in deadly combat, the Indians gazed with eager and breathless anxiety, and as Forrest, finally pierced through the breast with his adversary's sword, fell dying, and as the other drew his bloody sword from the body, heaving in the convulsions of its expiring throes, and while the curtain was descending, the whole In- lian company burst out with their fiercest war whoop. It was a frightful 'ell to strike suddenly upon unaccustomed ears, and was immediately fol- owed by screams of terror from the more nervous among the women and children. For an instant the audience seemed at a loss, but soon uttered a hearty round of applause-a just tribute to both actor and Indians.
During the same visit to Boston, Major Beach says that the Governor gave them a public reception at the State House. The ceremony took lace in the spacious Hall of Representatives, every inch of which was jam- ned with humanity. After the Governor had ended his eloquent and ap- propriate address of welcome, it devolved upon one of the chief's to reply, nd Appanoose, in his turn, as, at the conclusion of his " talk," he advanced o grasp the Governer's hand, said: " It is a great day that the sun shines pon when two such great chiefs take each other by the hand!" The Gov. rnor, with a nod of approbation, controlled his facial muscles in a most ourtly gravity. But the way the house came down "was a caution," all f which Appanoose doubtless considered the Yankee way of applauding is speech.
The Indians seldom occupied their permanent villages except during the me of planting or securing their crop, after which they would start out on
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a short hunt, if the annuity-which was usually paid within six weeks from the 1st of September-had not been received. Immediately after pay- ment is was their custom to leave the villiage for the winter, hunting through this season by families and small parties, leading a regular nomadic life, changing the location from time to time, as the supply of game and the need-so essential to their comfort-of seeking places near the timbered streams best protected from the rigors of winter, would require. It was, doubtless, on one of these tours through the country that Kish-ke- kosh once stopped over night at the house of a white man. He was ac- companied by several companions, who slept together on a buffalo hide within view of the kitchen. In the morning when he awoke, Kish-ke-kosh had an eye on the culinary preparations there going on. The lady of the house-it is possible she did it intentionally, as she was not a willing en- tertainer of such guests-neglected to wash her hands before making up the bread. Kish thought he would rather do without his breakfast than eat after such cooking, and privately signified as much to his followers, where- upon they mounted their ponies and departed, much to the relief of the hostess. When they arrived at a honse some distance from the one they had left, they got their breakfast and related the circumstance.
This Kish-ke-kosh, previons to 1837, was simply a warrior chief in the village of Keokuk. The warrior chief was inferior to the village chief, to which distinction be afterward attained. The village presided over by this chief is well remembered by many of the early settlers of Richland town- ship. It was located, some say, just over the line in what is now White Oak township, Mahaska county. Major Beach thus describes it: "The place cannot be located exactly according to our State maps, although the writer has often visited it in Indian times; but somewhere ont north from Kirkville, and probably not twelve miles distant, on the banks of Skunk river, not far above the Forks of Skunk, was a small village of not over fif- teen or twenty lodges, presided over by a man of considerable importance, though not a chief, named Kish-ke-kosh. The village was on the direct trail-in fact it was the converging point of two trails-from the Hardfish village, and the three villages across the river below Ottumwa, to the only other prominent settlement of the tribes, which was the village of Powe- shiek, a Fox chief of equal rank with Wapello, situated npon the Iowa river."
Here the squaws, after grubbing out hazel-brush on the banks of the creek or the edge of the timber, unaided by either plow or brave, planted and tended their patches of corn, surrounding them by rude fences of wil- low, which were renewed each year. Here the men trained their ponies, hunted, fished and loafed, until the first of May, 1843, when they bade adien to their bark covered huts. The following incident is located at this point: Some time about 1841 Major Beach, Indian agent, in company with W. B. Street and others, came up from Agency City on some business with Kish-ke-koslı. Arriving late in the evening they encamped near the vil- lage, and on the following morning Kish-ke-kosh, with his assistants, came over to the camp to receive them. The pipe of peace was lighted and passed around, and the business transacted. After the council the whites were invited to come over in the evening to the feast which the Indians proposed having in honor of their visit. The invitation was accepted, and presently the whites heard a great howling among the dogs, and looking in the direc- tion of the village they could plainly see the preparations for the supper.
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A number of dogs were killed and stretched on stakes a few inches above the ground. They were then covered with dried grass, which was set on fire and the hair singed off, after which, after the dogs had gone through the scalping process, they were ent up and placed in pots along with a quan- tity of coro. The whites were promptly in attendance, but on account of their national prejudice they were provided with venison instead of dog meat. After the feast, dancing was commenced: first, the Green Corn dance, then the Medicine dance, and closing just before morning with the Scalp dance. Kish-ke-kosh did not take part in this Terpsichorean performance, but sat with the whites, laughing, joking and telling stories.
On another occasion, Kish-ke-kosh and his suit, consisting of several prominent personages of the tribe, being then encamped on Skunk river, went to the house of a Mr. Micksell on a friendly visit, and he treated them to a feast. Besides Kish-ke-kosh and his wife, who was a very lady- like person, this party consisted of his mother (Wyhoma), the son of Wapello, and his two wives; Mashaweptine, his wife, and all their children. The old woman on being asked how old she was, replied: "Mach-ware-re- naak-we-kann " (may be a hundred); and indeed her bowed form and hide- ously shriveled features would justify the belief that she was that old. The whole party were dressed in more than ordinarily becoming style; prob- ably out of respect for the hostess, who, knowing something of their vora- cious appetites, had made ample preparations for them. When the table was surrounded, Kish-ke-kosh, who had learned some good manners, as well as acquired cleanly taste, essayed to perform the etiquette of the occasion before eating anything himself. With an amusingly awkward imitation of what he had seen done among the whites, Kish-ke-kosh passed the various dishes to the others, showing the ladies especial attention, and helped them to the best of everything on the table, with much apparent disinterestedness. But when he caine to help himself his politeness assumed the Indian phase altogether. He ate like a person with a bottomless pit inside of him for a stomach, taking everything within his reach, without regard to what should come next in the course, so only that he liked the taste of it. At last, after having drank some five or six cups of coffee and eaten a proportionate amount of solid food, his gastronomic energy began to abate. Seeing this, his host approached him, and with apparent concern for want of his appe- tite, said: " Why, Kish, do you not eat your dinner? Have another cup of coffee and eat something." In reply to this hospitable urgency Kish- ke-kosh leaned back in his seat, lazily shook his head, and drew his finger across his throat under his chin, to indicate how full he was. Of course, the others had eaten in like proportion, making the most of an event that did not happen every day.
The Indians in this region had a novel way of dealing with drunken peo- ple. When one of thein became unsafely drunk he was tied neck and heels, so that he could be rolled around like a hoop, which operation was kept up till the fumes of liquor had vanished, when he was released. The sufferer would beg for mercy, but to no avail. After he was sobered off he showed no marks of resentment, but seemed to recognize the wisdom of the proceeding.
The Sacs and Foxes, like all other Indians, were a very religious people, in their way, always maintaining the observance of a good many rights, ceremonies and feasts in their worship of the Kitche Mulito or Great Spirit. Fasts did not seem to be prescribed in any of their missals, however, be-
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cause, perhaps, forced ones, under the scarcity of game or other eatables, were not of impossible occurrence among people whose creed plainly was to let to-morrow take care of itself. Some of the ceremonies bore such re- semblance to some of those laid down in the books of Moses, as to have justified the impression among Biblical students, that the lost tribes of Israel might have found their way to this continent, and that the North Ameri- can Indians are the remnant of them.
During sickness there was usually great attention given to the comfort of the Indians, and diligent effort to cure the patient, and when it became apparent that recovery was impossible, the sufferer while still alive, was dressed in his best attire, painted according to the fancy of the relatives present, ornamented with all his trinkets, jewels and badges, and then placed upon a mat or a platform to die. The guns, bows, arrows, axes, knives and other weapons, were all carried away from the house or lodge and concealed. They alleged that these preparations were neces- sary to evince their respect to the Great Spirit who, at the moment of death, visits the body of the dying. receives the spirit, and carries it with Him to Paradise, while the concealment of all warlike implements shows their humble submission to, and non-resistance of, the Divine will.
Dead bodies were sometimes deposited in graves; others placed in a sit- ting posture, reclining against a rock or tree; others, again, were deposited in boxes, baskets, or cases of skins, and suspended in the branches of trees, or upon scaffolds erected for the purpose. Elevated parcels of dry ground, were usually selected as burial places, and not so much regard was had for the cardinal points of the compass as to the relative position of some neigh- boring object. The graves were arranged usually with reference to some river, lake or mountain. Where it was convenient, the grave, when enclosed, was covered with stones, and under other circumstances it was enclosed with wooden slabs, upon which were painted with red paint certain signs or symbols commemorative of the deceased's virtues. The death of a near relative was lamented with violent demonstrations of grief. Widows vis- ited the graves of their deceased husbands with hair disheveled, carrying a bundle composed of one or more of the deceased's garments, and to this representative of her departed husband she addressed her expressions of grief and assurances of undying affection, and extreme anxiety for the comfort and well-being of the departed.
Mrs. Buck, formerly Mrs. Holcomb, wife of Miles Holcomb, one of the first settlers of the county, relates the following amusing incident:
Five negroes, having become tired of the sacred institution of slavery as exemplified and enforced by the typical task-master of Missouri, ran off and sought protection among the Indians, who, never before having seen any ne- groes, and not being able to understand their language, did not know what to make of the strange looking animals. Consequently a conncil was held, and the wisest among the chiefs, having viewed them carefully and debated the matter at some length, decided that they were a peculiar species of bear. Having never before seen any representatives of this species they supposed that their pale-faced neighbors would esteem it quite a favor to behold them, and probably they would be able to dispose of the strange looking animals to a certain trader and receive in return a goodly amount of "fire-water." Accordingly the negroes were taken, ropes tied around their necks, and they were led off to the nearest white settlement. After exhibiting the " bears," as they called them, they negotiated a trade with
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one Grimsley, the latter giving them a quantity of whisky for them. When the Indians were gone Mr. Grimsley turned the negroes loose, and they soon became favorites among the white settlers. They worked for various persons in the Crooked Creek settlement during a portion of the next summer, when their master in Missouri, hearing through an Indian trader that two negroes were in this vicinity, came up and took possession of the negroes and carried them back to Missouri.
At the time the first white settlements were made in Washington county there were two Indian villages in the bounds of the county: one about a inile and-a-half southwest of Washington, in charge of the chief Powe- shiek, and another on Skunk River, at a place called Sandy Hook, not far from the present. site of the town of Brighton, which was in charge of Wapello. There were several hundred at each place, and the sight of Indians was by no means an uncommon thing during the early settlement of the country.
The difficulty between some of the early settlers and the Indians of Pow- eshiek's village was probably occasioned by the failure of the government to pay the annuities when they were due, and the consequent suffering re- sulting therefrom. The chief, Poweshiek, was not at the village at the time, he having gone to Washington City to lay his grievances before the Presi- dent. In his absence the village was in charge of Hardfish, who never was. much of a friend to the white man.
Those of the early settlers who visited these villages describe them as being well arranged, and the apartments of the chief making quite an attempt at royalty. This was more particularly the case with their winter quarters. The huts were made by driving poles in the ground and plaiting bark between them; the roof was composed of matting made of grass and reeds. The hut of the chief, which differed from those of the other Indians in having a large court enclosed in front of the entrance, was from forty to sixty feet long and from ten to twelve feet wide. Along either side were arranged bunks where the Indians slept, and lengthwise at an equal distance from either side was a trench some two feet wide and from eight to ten inches deep where fires were kindled and the cooking done. Immediately above this trench was an opening in the roof to permit the smoke to escape.
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