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          Having traced the early history of the great empire lying west of the Mississippi, of which the State of Iowa constitutes a part, from the earliest discovery to the organization of the Territory of Iowa, it becomes necessary to give some history of

THE INDIANS OF IOWA.

          According to the policy of the European nations, possession perfected title to any territory. We have seen that the country west of the Mississippi was first discovered by the Spaniards, but afterward, was visited and occupied by the French. It was ceded by France to Spain, and by Spain back to France again, . . .

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. . . and then was purchased and occupied by the United States. During all that time, it does not appear to have entered in to the heads or hearts of the high contracting parties that the country they bought, sold and gave away was in the possession of a race of men who, although savage, owned the vast domain before Columbus first crossed the Atlantic. Having purchased the territory, the United States found it still in the possession of its original owners, who had never been dispossessed; and it became necessary to purchase again what had already been bought before, or forcibly eject the occupants; therefore, the history of the Indian nations who occupied Iowa prior to and during its early settlement by the whites, becomes an important chapter in the history of the State, that cannot be omitted.

          For more than one hundred years after Marquette and Joliet trod the virgin soil of Iowa, not a single settlement had been made or attempted; not even a trading post had been established. The whole country remained in the undisputed possession of the native tribes, who roamed at will over her beautiful and fertile prairies, hunted in her woods, fished in her streams, and often poured out their life-blood in obstinately contested contests for supremacy. That this State so aptly styled “The Beautiful Land,” had been the theater of numerous, fierce and bloody struggles between rival nations, for possession of the favored region, long before its settlement by civilized man, there is no room for doubt. In these savage wars, the weaker party, whether aggressive or defensive, was either exterminated or driven from their ancient hunting grounds.

          In 1673, when Marquette discovered Iowa, the Illini were a very powerful people, occupying a large portion of the state; but when the country was again visited by the whites, not a remnant of that once powerful tribe remained on the west side of the Mississippi, and Iowa was principally in the possession of the Sacs and Foxes, a warlike tribe which, originally two distinct nations, residing in New York and on the waters of the St. Lawrence, had gradually fought their way westward, and united, probably, after the Foxes had been driven out of the Fox river country, in 1846, and crossed the Mississippi. The death of Pontiac, a famous Sac chieftain, was made the pretext for war against the Illini, and a fierce and bloody struggle ensued, which continued until the Illinois were nearly destroyed and their hunting grounds possessed by their victorious foes. The Iowas also occupied a portion of the State for a time, in common with the Sacs, but they, too, were nearly destroyed by the Sacs and Foxes, and in “The Beautiful Land,” these natives met their equally warlike foes, the Northern Sioux, with whom they maintained a constant warfare for the possession of the country for many years.

          When the United States came in possession of the great valley of the Mississippi, by the Louisiana purchase, the Sacs and Foxes and Iowas possessed the entire territory now comprising the State of Iowa. The Sacs and Foxes also, occupied the most of the State of Illinois.

          The Sacs had four principal villages, where most of them resided, viz.: Their largest and most important town—if an Indian village may be called such—and from which emanated most of the obstacles and difficulties encountered by the Government in the extinguishment of Indian titles to land in this region, was on Rock River, near Rock Island; another was on the east bank of the Mississippi, near the mouth of Henderson River; the third was at the head of the Des Moines Rapids, near the present site of Montrose and the fourth was near the mouth of the Upper Iowa.

          The Foxes had three principal villages, viz.: One on the west side of the Mississippi, six miles above the rapids of Rock River; another about twelve . . .

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. . . miles from the river, in the rear of the Dubuque lead mines, and the third on Turkey River.

          The Iowas, at one time identified with the Sacs, of Rock River, had withdrawn from them and become a separate tribe. Their principal village was on the Des Moines River, in Van Buren County, on the site where Iowaville now stands. Here the last great battle between the Sacs and Foxes and the Iowas was fought, in which Black Hawk, then a young man, commanded one division of the attacking forces. The following account of the battle has been given:

          “Contrary to long established custom of Indian attack, this battle was commenced in the day time, the attending circumstances justifying this departure from the well settled usages of Indian warfare. The battle field was a level river bottom, about four miles in length, and two miles wide near the middle, narrowing to a point at either end. The main area of this bottom rises perhaps twenty feet above the river, leaving a narrow strip of low bottom along the shore, covered with trees that belted the prairie on the river side with a thick forest, and the immediate bank of the river was fringed with a dense growth of willows. Near the lower end of this prairie, near the river bank, was situated the Iowa village. About two miles above it and near the middle of the prairie is a mound, covered at the time with a tuft of small trees and underbrush growing on the its summit. In the rear of this little elevation or mound lay a belt of wet prairie, covered, at that time, with a dense growth of rank, coarse grass. Bordering this wet prairie on the north, the country rises abruptly into elevated broken river bluffs, covered with a heavy forest for many miles in extent, and in places thickly clustered with undergrowth, affording a convenient shelter for the stealthy approach of the foe.

          “Through this forest the Sac and Fox war party made their way in the night and secreted themselves in the tall grass spoken of above, intending to remain in ambush during the day and make such observations as this near proximity to their intended victim might afford, to aid them in their contemplated attack on the town during the following night. From this situation their spies could take a full survey of the village, and watch every movement of the inhabitants, by which means they were soon convinced that the Iowas had no suspicion of their presence.

          “At the foot of the mound above mentioned, the Iowas had their race course, where they diverted themselves with the excitement of horse racing, and schooled their young warriors in cavalry evolutions. In these exercises mock battles were fought, and the Indian tactics of attack and defense carefully inculcated, by which means a skill in horsemanship was acquired rarely excelled. Unfortunately for them this day was selected for their equestrian sports, and wholly unconscious of the proximity of their foes, the warrior repaired to the race ground, leaving most of their arms in the village and their old men and women and children unprotected.

          “Pash-a-po-po, who was chief in command of the Sacs and Foxes, perceived at once the advantage this state of things afforded for a complete surprise of his now doomed victims, and ordered Black Hawk to file off with his young warriors through the tall grass and gain the cover of the timber along the river bank, and with the utmost speed reach the village and commence the battle, while he remained with his division in the ambush to make a simultaneous assault on the unarmed men whose attention was engrossed with the excitement of the races. The plan was skillfully laid and most dexterously executed. Black Hawk with his forces reached the village undiscovered, and made a furious onslaught upon the defenseless inhabitants, by firing one general volley into their midst, and completing the slaughter with the tomahawk and scalping knife, aided by the devouring flames with which they enveloped the village as soon as the fire brand could be spread from lodge to lodge.

          “On the instant of the report of fire arms at the village the forces under Pash-a-po-po leaped from their couchant position in the grass and sprang tiger-like upon the astonished and unarmed Iowas in the midst of their racing sports. The first impulse of the latter naturally led them to make the utmost speed toward their arms in the village, and protect if possible their wives and children from the attack of their merciless assailants. The distance from the place of attack on the prairie was two miles, and a great number fell in their flight by the bullets and tomahawks of their enemies, who pressed them closely with a running fire the whole way, and the survivors only reached their town in time to witness the horrors of its destruction. Their whole village was in flames, and the dearest object of their lives lay in slaughtered heaps amidst the devouring element, and the agonizing groans of the dying, mingled with the exulting shouts of the victorious foe, filled their hearts with maddening despair. Their wives and children who had been spared the general massacre were prisoners, and together with their arms were in the hands of the victors; and all that could now be done was to draw off their shattered and defenseless forces, and save as many lives as possible by a retreat across the Des Moines River, which they effected in the best possible manner, and took a position among the Soap Creek Hills.”

          The Sacs and Foxes, prior to the settlement of their village of Rock River, had a fierce conflict with the Winnebagoes, subdued them and took possession . . .

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. . . of their lands. Their village on Rock River, at one time, contained upward of sixty lodges, and was among the largest Indian villages on the continent. In 1825, the Secretary of War estimated the entire number of the Sacs and Foxes at 4,600 souls. Their village was situated in the immediate vicinity of the upper rapids of the Mississippi, where the beautiful and flourishing towns of Rock Island and Davenport are now situated. The beautiful scenery of the island, the extensive prairies, dotted over with groves; the picturesque bluffs along the river banks, the rich and fertile soil, producing large crops of corn, squash and other vegetables, with little labor; the abundance of wild fruit, game, fish, and almost every thing calculated to make it a delightful spot for an Indian village, which was found there, had made this place a favorite home of the Sacs, and secured for it the strong attachment and veneration of the whole nation.

          North of the hunting grounds of the Sacs and Foxes, were those of the Sioux, a fierce and warlike nation, who often disputed possession with their rivals in savage and bloody warfare. The possessions of these tribes were mostly located in Minnesota, but extended over a portion of Northern and Western Iowa to the Missouri River. Their descent from the north upon the hunting grounds of Iowa frequently brought them into collision with the Sacs and Foxes; and after many a conflict and bloody struggle, a boundary line was established between them by the Government of the United States, in a treaty held at Prairie du Chien, in 1825. But this, instead of settling the difficulties, caused them to quarrel all the more, in consequence of alleged trespasses upon each other’s side of the line. These contests were kept up and became so unrelenting that, in 1830, Government bought of the respective tribes of the Sacs and Foxes, and the Sioux, a strip of land twenty miles in width, on both sides of the line, and thus throwing them forty miles apart by creating between them a “neutral ground,” commanded them to cease their hostilities. Both the Sacs and Foxes and the Sioux, however, were allowed to fish and hunt on this ground unmolested, provided they did not interfere with each other on United States territory. The Sacs and Foxes and the Sioux were deadly enemies, and neither let an opportunity to punish the other pass unimproved.

          In April, 1852, a fight occurred between the Musquaka band of Sacs and Foxes and a band of Sioux, about six miles above Algona, in Kossuth County, on the west side of the Des Moines River. The Sacs and Foxes were under the leadership of Ko-ko-wah, a subordinate chief, and had gone up from their home in Tama County, by way of Clear Lake, to what was then the “neutral ground.” At Clear Lake, Ko-ko-wah was informed that a party of Sioux were encamped on the west side of the East Fork of the Des Moines, and he determined to attack them. With sixty of his warriors, he started and arrived at a point on the east side of the river, about a mile above the Sioux encampment, in the night, and concealed themselves in a grove, where they were able to discover the position and strength of their hereditary foes. The next morning, after many of the Sioux braves had left their camp on hunting tours, the vindictive Sacs and Foxes crossed the river and suddenly attacked the camp. The conflict was desperate for a short time, but the advantage was with the assailants, and the Sioux were routed. Sixteen of them, including some of their women and children, were killed, and a boy 14 years old was captured. One of the Musquakas was shot in the breast by a squaw as they were rushing into the Sioux’s camp. He started to run away, when the same brave squaw shot him through the body, at a distance of twenty rods, and he fell dead. Three other Sac braves were killed. But few of the Sioux escaped. The victorious . . .

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. . . party hurriedly buried their own dead, leaving the dead Sioux above ground, and made their way home, with their captive, with all possible expedition.