Indian Scare - Frank Mathews - 6 September 1899

MATHEWS, GREGG, BARNEY, BOX

Posted By: Deb (email)
Date: 12/14/2007 at 18:41:29

Mt. Pleasant Weekly News
September 6, 1899

INDIAN SCARE

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The Noble Red Man in the Earlier Days

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How the Old National Road was Built and the Reason for Building It

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[FOR THE NEWS BY FRANK MATHEWS]

[continued from last week]

In the Spring of 1840, the government built what was called the Agency Road. It commenced at Burlington and ended at Agency. It ran through Lowell, Salem, Fairfield, and on to Agency. All of the streams, except Skunk river, were bridged with abutments and oak superstructure. The masonry was at that time considered good. But today there is none of it standing. The road way was cleared of trees, brush and all obstructions for the space of forty feet. The trees were dug out by the roots and the road way leveled. Mr. Eseriah Gregg had the contract. Captain Barney, a government engineer, directed the work. He was a graduate of West Point. He often stopped at our house, and I remember of him and father talking of the possibility of bridging the Mississippi river. The captain claimed that it could not be done; said the current ran at the rate of six miles an hour; that the channel was often twenty feet deep, and told how many tons of pressure there would be to withstand, etc. Said no human contrivance could stand under such conditions. My father was of the opinion that it could be done, as follows: Where each pier was to be built, he would construct a huge flat boat built of sawed timbers, all of them securely bolted together; would have it securely anchored. In this boat would build the masonry, and as the boat sank with the weight, would build up the boat until it touched bottom, then go down with a diving suit and scrape away the sand and level it; then pile rock around it to hold it in place. The first bridge built, I understand was built that way.

I should have said in the proper connection that the main reason for building Agency road was in case of war with the Indians it would facilitate the moving of an army with cannon and supplies. For at that time all west of Agency to the Pacific coast belonged to the Indians. And it was the opinion of those best informed among men and hunters and trappers that the Sioux tribe alone could number 40,000 warriors. So we did not then feel as safe from wars alarms as might be.

To show the fears of our ablest hunters, I will relate one circumstance. In the spring of 1839, Benjamin Box, one fine day in March went out hunting. He went farther from home than usual. In the afternoon he noticed the air was full of smoke but thought nothing of it, as at that time of year it often looked that way. No having his usual good luck in bagging game he went on and on and when dark came on he was four or five miles from home. When about three miles from home and on a high piece of ground he saw a large fire and could see something moving about just where he knew his cabin stood. He jumped to the conclusion that it was Indians burning and butchering his family. This to his distorted mind accounted for the smoke of the afternoon. He ran as fast as he could and within a mile of home he could not only see the fire and figures moving but could in his excited state of mind could hear screaming. Before this there had been rumors that the Sioux Indians were restless and thought they and the Sac and Fox had joined forces in an outbreak. He ran on all the time keeping a sharp lookout for the Indians and when near enough to see and hear he found it to be his wife and children burning some brush and gathering leaves in and near their door yard. And the screaming was his wife and children singing at the top of their voices. He came up very tired and short of breath and wanted to know what in h__l they made such a racket for as they had scart(sic) him almost to death.