USA > Missouri > Bates County > History of Bates County, Missouri > Part 3
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At the climax of this devilish cruelty, the story goes, a heroic young Zuni, a brave, patriotic soul, came forward and represented to the Span- iards that he was not a Zuni but an enemy of that tribe : he told them that he belonged to the country of "Quivera," far to the northeast, where
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HISTORY OF BATES COUNTY
. there was a river seven miles wide, and in whose depths there were fishes as "large as horses," upon whose broad waters floated huge boats with colored sails and golden prows, and on board he would find the lords of the country resting on downy couches under canopies weighted with gold ; and along whose course were cities of immense wealth and gran- deur. The king of his country was Tartarrax, a gray-haired, long- bearded sovereign who took his siesta in summer in a garden of roses, under a spreading tree on whose branches hung innumerable golden bells that tinkled as they were shaken by the soft breezes that lulled his Majesty to sleep.
"Come with me to my sovereign and my country, O, Mighty Chief- tain," said the young Zuni to Coronado, "and you will see all this for yourself. I will guide you thither, and you may slay me if I lie." Coro- nado believed the story and started on the fifth day of May. 1541, a few days after DeSoto had discovered the Mississippi, with 300 Span- iards to subdue the land of "Quivera." Starting from the Rio Grande river they pursued a northeasterly course and in due time reached the Arkansas river, which they called the "River of Saints Peter and Paul." The commander became suspicious of his guide ; he'sent the body of his men back to the Rio Grande, and with thirty picked men they continued their journey. Forty-eight days later somewhere near the Missouri river in northeast Kansas or southeast Nebraska they halted. When the young Zuni was accused of duplicity he boldly admitted it and said : "I have lied to you! I have lied to you! I am a Zuni. I saw your cruelties to my people and to relieve them and punish you I have led you here. I hope you will perish before you reach your homes. There is no such land as I have described to you. I hope you will lose your way and die of hunger and thirst. I am satisfied. I said you might kill me if I deceived you, and now I am ready to die !"
It did not take these base Spaniards many minutes to send this brave, heroic soul into eternity. Coronado and his butchers remained at this point about twenty-five days exploring the adjacent territory, and after they had erected "on the bank of a great river" (presumably the Missouri) a cross and enscribed on it: "Thus far came Francisco de Coronado, general of an expedition," they started on their return to New Mexico, where they finally arrived notwithstanding the prayer of the young Zuni, whose heroic self-sacrifice deserves to be commemo- rated by granite or marble shaft.
It has been claimed that Coronado passed through the counties of western Missouri. But the burden of authority is against this. The best
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HISTORY OF BATES COUNTY
authority is to the effect that he crossed the Arkansas river near Wichita and reached some point in Brown county, Kansas, near the Missouri river. In the story of these two expeditions, both of which have been well authenticated, it is a notable fact that at one time these expeditions were not more than 125 miles apart, and that both had been notified of the proximity of the other. but neither gave credence to the infor- mation. If they had united, as they probably would have done, the whole course of subsequent events might have been greatly changed for the better.
Later, when the Spaniards became established in New Mexico other expeditions were sent out into the land of the "Quivera," as Coronado had named the remote country visited by him. The best authorities fix "Quivera" in northeastern Kansas, anywhere from Brown to Republic county, or in what is known as the Pawnee Republic. One Penaloza, a governor of New Mexico, led one of these expeditions in 1662. It was composed of eighty Spanish soldiers and officers and 1,000 Indians, thirty-six carts, a large coach, litters, six three-pound swivels, etc. Father de Freytas, a monk who accompanied the expedition and wrote its report, says it reached the "Mischipi" river. But the best informed writers claim that it only reached the Missouri near the mouth of the Platte river. Others claim that it only reached the Arkansas near the mouth of the Verdigris in Kansas.
The story of other expeditions into the Mississippi valley from Santa Fe are interesting: but it is safe to say from an examination of the best authorities that no Spaniard from the West ever reached Bates county. The records of most of these excursions into the then unknown plains east of the Rocky Mountains, have been preserved, and there is no reason to believe many of the wild, speculative tales written by men reckless of truth and historic facts.
The first white man who came to Bates county may never be known, but it is reasonably certain that he did not come from the West over the arid plains; and it is reasonably certain that he came from the East up the Osage river, through a country of great pristine attractive- ness and replete with provision to sustain human life far from any base of supplies. All the adventurer had to do was to put forth his hand to gather the bounties of nature in season, to trust his ancient field piece, or dextrously use his unfailing bow. By right of discovery France claimed practically all the vast territory west of the Mississippi river and east of the Spanish possessions to the southwest, and a large territory east of the Mississippi, north to Canada and northeast as
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HISTORY OF BATES COUNTY
far as Pittsburgh. This claim was based upon the discoveries of Joliet and Marquette and Chevalier La Salle; but prior to 1705, only a few settlements had been made and they were east of the Mississippi. None at all were west of the river. But in 1705 the first French explora- tion of the Missouri river was made. The prospecting party ascended it as far up as the mouth of the Kaw, or Kansas City, but no settlements were attempted or made by this party of explorers. In 1712 the King of France granted the vast territory of Louisiana to M. Crozat, and not long afterward preparations were made for the settlement and occu- pancy of what is now the state of Missouri.
This review of preceding events seems proper in order that the reader may realize the situation about the time of the coming of the first white man to Bates county. The reader will remember that in the early years of the eighteenth century this was a wild, unknown, undiscovered country as far as Europeans were concerned. The wild Indians had been undisturbed by the Caucasian race in all this vast region. How long the Indians had roamed over these beautiful prai- ries was not then, is not now, and never will be known. They were here when history first took note of them. Back of that it may be said to be pre-historic and the whole question of their occupancy here falls within the fields of ethnology and archeology; and while con- clusions have been reached in those fields of profound interest and with great certainty as to some pre-historic facts, it is too remote for specu- lation here.
In Brown & Company's "History of Vernon County," 1887, written by Mr. Holcomb and regarded by competent judges of historical works as one of the very best county histories ever written, we find the fol- lowing which doubtless is applicable to Bates county as well :
"We are coming now to the account of the first visit made by a white man to what is now Vernon county. This white man, too, was a native American, born of French parents, however, and an acknowledged sup- porter of the French king. This fact deserves to be noted in connection with the incident. His visit was made in connection with the first efforts at colonization of the country, and he spent many days here noting the lands and cultivating the acquaintances and friendship of the occupants.
"About the close of the year 1714; M. De Tissenet (the name is fre- quently written Detisne), a young Canadian-Frenchman, arrived at the post of Mobile to enter the service of M. Antoine Crozat, then the lessee of the vast expanse of country called the Territory of Louisiana. Of
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HISTORY OF BATES COUNTY
good family and considerable education and accomplishments, young De Tissenet was ambitious to distinguish himself in the service of his sovereign and his governor. He had come from Canada to Kaskaskia (Illinois) and from the latter point went directly to Mobile. He carried with him to Mobile specimens of lead from the mines in the neighbor- hood of Kaskaskia, or (Ste. Genevieve) and presented them to M. De la Monte. On being assayed these specimens were found to contain some silver. He afterward took charge of a grant of land in Lower Louisiana, where he remained until Crozat was succeeded by John Law's 'Company of the West' and M. De Boisbriant was appointed governor of the Illinois district of Louisiana. In October, 1718, Bois- briant set out for his post at Kaskaskia, and De Tissenet joined him at 'the Illinois' the same season.
"In the year 1719, M. De Bienville, the then governor of Louisiana, sent De Tissenet on an expedition from Kaskaskia far into the country westward from the Mississippi to examine the country and its resources and to cultivate friendly relations with its inhabitants. Perhaps the real purpose of the journey was to discover whether or not the precious metals existed in this country, although no hint of this design has come down to us in the well-verified and perfectly preserved historical accounts.
"If only one man had to be selected to make this expedition, full of responsibility, peril and privation, as it must have been known it would be, no fitter choice could have been made than of the young Canadian, De Tissenet. He possessed all the essential qualifications for the work-youth, courage, vigor, zeal and intelligence-and set out on his journey, on foot and alone, full of desire and confidence. He left Kaskaskia in the spring of 1719, and reached the western limit of his journey, in the country of the Padoucas-in what is probably now Lincoln county, in north-central Kansas-the following September. On the 27th of September, somewhere near the headwaters of the Smoky Hill river, he erected a cross with the arms of the French king engraved thereon, thus claiming the country for France. On his return to the Illinois district, in a letter to Governor Bienville, dated 'Kaskaskia, 22nd of November, 1719,' he gave a lengthy and interesting account of his expedition.
"M. De Tissenet was the first Caucasian that we know visited the soil of what is now Vernon county, and certainly the first to give any definite information in regard to the country and its inhabitants, the Osage Indians. On the expedition referred to he visited the Osages at their 'great village' on the river to which he was the first to give their name."
.
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HISTORY OF BATES COUNTY
So here we have the date of the naming of the Osage river, and why and by whom; and this doubtless accounts for the name, Little Osage, as it is claimed by Mr. Holcomb that De Tissenet visited the Indian village near the mouth of the Marmiton, and having passed up the smaller stream west of the juncture of what was afterward called the Marais des Cygnes, he would very naturally call it the Little Osage. And this also strengthens our contention that it is the confluence of the Little Osage and the Marais des Cygnes which makes up the Osage river proper. It is barely possible that De Tissenet regarded the larger stream which seemed to come down from the north as the continuance of the river he named Osage, and on that assumption it was perfectly natural that he should call the other the Little Osage; but where the name Marmiton came from is not clear, though it is said to be from the French.
After discussing the reasons for his belief Mr. Holcomb further says : "There cannot be much doubt that the 'village' of the Osages visited by De Tissenet was located in the northern part of this county, in the angle formed by the union of the Marmiton with the Osage. (He does not say 'Little Osage.') It probably stood on the east side of the 'small stream' (the Marmiton) and could not have been very far from the Blue Mounds. The distance from the mouth of the Osage ('eighty leagues') is approximately correct, and other circumstances fix the location with reasonable certainty."
This was in 1719, and in 1806, Z. B. Pike, on his map, locates the "village" of the Grand Osages practically in the same place. This apparent permanency of fixedness of residence, if true, rather runs counter to the nomadic habits of the Indians in general. If they lived in one place for about one hundred years, it would seem that certain evidence of their long abode would be findable. And while we must indulge reasonable historical conclusions where proof is now impossible. we also must consider in this connection that all back of Pike's expedi- tion in 1806 there is little dependable history and even Pike's data is unsatisfactory and in some particulars will not stand a test of accuracy, for instance his distance traveled when approaching the Osage village. Either his distances were inaccurate or he never found the Grand Osage village where he put it on his map.
It is reasonable to conclude that even if De Tissenet came afoot up the Osage. on the south side all the way, and visited the village only four or five miles from the Bates county line, for a number of days. it is altogether likely that he got his Canadian feet on Bates county soil,
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HISTORY OF BATES COUNTY
and thus achieved the great distinction of being the first white man to visit Bates county.
In 1717, two years before De Tissenet's visit to this section, this vast territory known as Louisiana passed from M. Crozat to the Scotch plunger, John Law, and his "Mississippi Company" or "Company of the West." This company made great preparations for the develop- ment of the resources of their grant; especially its mineral resources, and the precious metals supposed to be discoverable in vast quantities somewhere within the territory. The people of France and England went wild and the stock of the company was eagerly sought and bought. But we cannot go into that wonderful story. Soon after obtaining their patent from the king they established Ft. Chartres east of the river and a little above Ste. Genevieve. The "Company" offered marvelous inducements to immigrants and the result was that settlements in the vicinity of Ft. Chartres were largely increased in a very short time. With skilled workmen, assayists, chemists, scientists, with all the methods known to the scientists of that day in hand, they started their search for gold and silver with a sublime faith. They had miners and metallurgists, and all the tools and apparatus necessary to test out their findings on the ground wherever anything worth while might be found.
Renault came from France in 1719, and with a company of experi- enced scientists, stopped at the St. Domingo Island and purchased five hundred native negroes to do the drudgery work of the expedition. He arrived at Ft. Chartres with this considerable outfit in the forepart of 1720, and established a new settlement near by called St. Phillip in honor of the sub-company known as the "St. Phillip Company." From this base Renault sent out expeditions in all directions to prospect for precious metals. For twenty-two years he and his efficient lieutenant. M. La Motte, were engaged in this enterprise during which time they sent many expeditions into the interior of Missouri to examine the country and dig it up wherever "prospects" were found either on or under the soil. They sometimes built rude smelters when far from their base, but usually carried portable furnaces, crucibles and other necessary things with them. We may well pause here to call attention to the fact that to Phillip Francis Renault belongs the distinction of the first introduction of human slavery into Missouri. Chronicles of the tinie tell us their lot was pitiable and their fate a sad one. It does not appear that their work was hard; but they could not stand the climate and exposure. "They were homesick and despondent. Numbers of them committed suicide, and nearly all died during their twenty years of servitude in the Upper Louisiana Country."
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HISTORY OF BATES COUNTY
Disappointed in his search for the precious metals Renault turned to the mining of lead, vast quantities of which had been found in south- east Missouri. He built in the vicinity of Potosi, at Mine a Renault, and at Mine La Motte, on the St. Francis river, and smelted immense quantities which he delivered from the interior to Ft. Chartres on the backs of his slaves and thence to the gulf and into the markets of the world, principally to France. Large quantities were taken to supply the chasseurs du bois, or French hunters who hunted over the vast region between Canada, Wisconsin and New Orleans, as well as the French settlements.
In 1742, after the loss of nearly all his slaves, Renault abandoned mining, sold the surviving slaves, and with his workmen went back to France. But before this, in 1731, the "Company of the West" had been united with the "Royal Company of the Indies," and the whole territory of the Mississippi valley with the exclusive privilege of the commercial and mining interests of Louisiana was retroceded to the crown of France; and thus came to an inglorious end one of the most gigantic "get-rich-quick" schemes in all history. Its failure appreciably affected the business and life of nearly every country in Europe.
We mention the exploits of Renault and his men in passing, not because it is at all certain that they ever visited Bates county; yet it is claimed by some writers that the wells, or holes, digged in the hard stone high up under the overhanging ledge on Halley's Bluffs, in southeast one-quarter of section 27, township 38, range 30, was the work of Renault and his men. If we are to believe this it is reasonable to believe that Renault and his scientists explored at least a part of Bates county as early as 1730-35.
(4)
CHAPTER III.
HARMONY MISSION.
GREAT HISTORIC FACT-MISSION FAMILY-RELIGION OF OSAGES-OBJECT OF SOCIETY-MISSIONARY ENTHUSIASM-SPIRIT-ORIGIN-GREAT OSAGE MIS- SION-COLONEL M'KENNEY-DR. MILLEDOLER-THE COVENANT-APPLICA- TIONS-FAMILY SELECTED-PERSONNEL-APPEALS AND RESULTS-FARE- WELL MEETING-DEPARTURE OF "ATLANTA" AND "PENNSYLVANIA"- COMMISSION-REPORT OF SECRETARY-DOWN THE OHIO-DIFFICULTIES- MISSIONARY STATION-JOURNAL-CEMETERY.
The story of Harmony Mission has never been written as it de- serves to be. From an historical viewpoint it is one of up-standing importance to a large section of this western country; and it is the great historic fact of Bates county. Practically a century has swept on since that devoted little band-the Mission Family-toiled up the Missouri and Osage rivers in 1821, slowly approaching, day by day, its destination in the land of the Osages. They were chosen because of their fitness for the work planned and sought to be accomplished. the sending of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the heathens of this, our own land; and to civilize and Christianize the Osage Indians, then in possession of a vast section of what is now Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas and Oklahoma. Although we are warranted in saying the Osages, the Big or Grand, and Little Osages, as one tribe was one of the noblest in many respects of all the Indian tribes known to the white men of that age. Large, athletic, well featured and disposed to peace, this tribe may be fairly considered the most admirable of the Indian race. But they were heathen beyond question. They were so low in intel- lectual culture and so morally depraved that it cannot be said that they had any conception of right and wrong as an abstract proposition ; and only a weird and uncanny notion of a Great Spirit-a notion born of their experiences with the forces of nature as manifest about them in the storms and lightnings and other to them incomprehensible phen- omena. In these powers of nature they saw dimly something above and beyond themselves and for the want of a better name they called
General's Letter of 3d of July, 1839.
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al's Office. nd of July, 1839.
Aggregate Area, 23,019.01 acres. lat of township 38 north of the base line, range 30 west of the 5th principal meridian, Is strictly conformable to the field cotes of the Survey thereef or file in this office, which have been proved. The east boundary 6 miles was surveyed in the 4th quarter of 1837, by Jesse Applegate, under contract of the 25th of Stay, 1836; it has not yet fren paid for. The South boundary 6 a, the west boundary 6 miles the north boundary 6 milea 2.05 chains-the subdivision ilnea 59 miles 75.99 chains. The meandern of the Oragofrom the line between arctions, 32 und orted to he the head of navigation) down to the east boundary of the township, 17 miles 45.10 chaina and the lines around the improvement of the Harmony Mission establishment in order to show osition 2 miles 55.70 chains, were all surveyed in the 4th quarter of 1>38 by Jesse Applegate, under instructions of the 11th of August, 1838. They were pad for in the 2d quarter of 1839 and account of the Surveyor General for that quarter-Voucher No. 10.
Department of the Interior, Geirral Land Office: Wahlngton, D. C., February 2, 1918. I hereby certify that this Is atrue copy of the plat of survey of the lands to which it relates on Alle in this office, no far an legible.
WILLIAM MILBURN, Surveyor General
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5I
HISTORY OF BATES COUNTY
it the Great Spirit, and ascribed to it all those events and forces which they could not understand. At least they seem to have had no con- ception of the God of the Christian world, and their moral sense was limited indeed.
It will become necessary, as we go on, to further discuss the Osages. It is sufficient here to say that the object of the United For- eign Missionary Society, by whom the Harmony Family was sent out, was to establish and carry on a work that would illuminate the dark- ness of heathendom and spread a light among these Indians that would forever bless that benighted race. Missions were to be schools where the children should be taught and trained in Christian knowledge.
One hundred years ago there was a great religious enthusiasm in the churches of this and other countries on behalf of both home and foreign missionary work. Men and women qualified were dedicated to the work; and history contains no chapter fuller of splendid self- consecration and heroic self-sacrifice than that which chronicles the labors of the missionaries, both men and women. Devout men and women, fired by a holy zeal and upheld by a Divine hand, left every thing behind them and went forth to conquer darkness with light, as it is in Christ Jesus. Prompted by holy and unselfish motives and sus- tained by sublime faith in God's constant love and care they met the difficulties and responsibilities in their course as real Christian soldiers.
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