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ANNALS OF
IOWA
Transcribed by Debbie Clough Gerischer
JANUARY,
1921
THIRD SERIES VOL. XII, No. 7
LETTERS OF GENERAL JOSEPH M. STREET
LETTERS OF GENERAL JOSEPH M. STREET TO DR. ALEXANDER POSEY*
*This is a letter
written by the Indian agent, General Joseph M. Street, to his
brother-in-law, Dr. Alexander Posey, of Shawneetown, Illinois.
General Street acquired great influence with the Indians. The
last two years of his life, 1839-40, were spent at the Indian
agency at what is now Agency City, Wapello County, and his
grave and that of Chief Wapello, at Agency City, constitute a
place of historic interest.
I
Prairie Du Chien, December 11, 1827.
Dear Brother:-
I cannot complain of your silence, tho' I have not heard from
you, my family, or any friends at Shawanee Town, since we
parted at the Saline;-yet I am convinced you have written and
Marie has more than once written. An impenetrable veil seems
to have been obtruded between us, and as it relates to me, has
cut off all knowledge of the treasures of my heart. I am
nevertheless somewhat consoled by the reflection that it is
different with my family and friends in your quarter. My
letters I presume from their mode of departure have long since
been received. In regard to yourself, I only lament that I
have not been enabled to collect any thing more interesting to
justify troubling you.
I arrived at this
place, well, and have since enjoyed uninterrupted good
health-for I cannot dignify with the name of sickness, moments
of mental depression, and consequent headache from thinking
too deeply sometimes of the absence of my family, and my
entire ignorance of whether they are living, and in health, or
pining in sickness, or sunk in death.-I am not apt to feed the
mind with visionary apprehensions, but 3 or 4 months of
silence, is-I had liked to have said intolerable. It is
painful, and the contemplation difficult to stave off.-Still I
try to be resigned to the superintending will of God, and
daily look for the sweet relief of a letter. My letter by Mr.
Douseman, you have on doubt recd.-when or by whom this will go
I know not.
This place is not
very desirable, it is certainly a point of great importance in
relation to Indian affairs, and from commanding the only
navigable pass between the Upper-Mississippi and the eastern
States, by way of the Lakes, must be valuable in a commercial
point of view. It is now the best, and much the must
preferable rout for bringing merchandise to this country. Last
summer two merchants went from this place Eastward for goods.
One returned by way of the Lakes, Green Bay and the Wisconsin,
the other apprehensive of danger from the Winnebagoes sent his
goods to New Orleans, and by Steam Boat to St. Louis. The Ice
took him and he is now 150 miles below this encamped and has
built a cabin and stored up his goods until the Ice is hard
enough to bring them up on the River in Sleighs. The one who
came by the Lakes got here in Sep. and has nearly sold out, in
consequence of no competition.
The Wisconsin is a
fine stream with no obstructions to the portage, about 160
miles from this-the portage is only 1 1/4 miles and perfectly
level. A man has settled there who keeps low truck wheels and
oxen, and Boats are taken out of the water hoisted on 4 or 6
wheels (according to (the size, and) hauled across the portage
and re-launched with but little trouble.) It w'd................mere
triffle to cut across the protage, which is soft and sandy, so
that Boats might come from Buffalo to this place without any
portage.
I have had no
opportunity to examine the country beyond the high Bluffs that
line this River from the Mouth of the Missouri to this place.
There are small bottoms in many places along the River of very
rich soil, but generally, the River appears to be washed down
into a deep channel of bold bare rocks surmounted by hills
nearly and sometimes entirely bare of timber. These hills are
said to contain inexhaustible stores of lead mineral, from
about 40 miles below Fever River to some miles north of this
place, on both banks. The hills back of this village are
perfectly bare, except a few cedar, and scrubby oak bushes.
And the whole distance a ledge of Rocks project from the steep
sides of the Bluffs, that are worn as by the operation of
water, acting horizontally, upon their different layers, and
the sub-stratum appears generally at the same apparent level
on each side for several 100 miles to have been of a softer
texture than the upper stratum, and has given way in many
curious and fantastic shapes, leaving the upper ledge
projecting a considerable distance, and forming hollows, caves
and singular apertures of considerable size. At this place you
can see the rocks for 8 to 10 miles on each side, presenting
at once to the imagination from the similarity of appearance,
and elevation, the Idea of an ancient lake, the level of the
waters of which was once those ledges of rock. Their height is
about 140 feet above the plain. The Bluffs are generally about
from 2 to 400 feet high; and I am informed that beyond these
bluffs the country makes off generally level. So that the
greatest hills, and almost the only broken country is on the
great Estuary of the country. The Wisconsin, presents a
similar appearance until within a few miles of the portage,
and at the portage there is no bluff. The same fact occurs 200
miles above this at the Falls of St. Anthony. There are no
bluffs above the falls, and the country is remarkably level,
the ground gradually rising in a gentle slope from the banks
of the River.
A great deal of
money is now made at the lead mines of Fever River about 90
miles below this, and at Turkey River about 20 or 25 miles
below this place. The last is opposite the mouth of Turkey
River which comes in from the West side. At Fever River, there
are said to be about 4 to 5000 persons. This is certainly too
high a calculation-I should suppose there might be 2 to 3000,
before the Indian disturbances. At Turkey River there are 40
or 50. I am confident there is a great opening for a man with
small enterprise to make a fortune in a few years at Turkey
River or F. R. tho' I think Turkey R. preferable. It is only
about one days ride further up the Mississippi, the town site
immediately on the Bank of the M. R. in a beautiful plain and
excellent landing and the mines are as rich and plenty as at
F. R. the fact is the whole country from here to F. R. is full
of lead mineral. At F. R. there is no highland on the
Mississippi,............is not more than 10 to 40 feet wide,
and an immense and almost perpendicular bluffs rises to a
height of about 120 to 140 feet. The houses are stuck into the
sides of this bluff for about half a mile, one side on a small
road that at some places is too narrow for a team to turn in,
and the back sunk in the side of the bluff. At some points
there is room for a building, but no back yard, and the bluff
rises over the top of the houses a long way. At Turkey R. the
Bluffs are from 1/2 to a mile back of the River and a high
level smooth prairie extends to the foot of the Bluffs. There
is a great quantity of money in circulation at the mines; but
labour is uncommonly high. You cannot get a hand even to cook
or wait about your house for less than $15.00 per month in
silver. Doct. Fillier (who lives at F. R. and says he got
acquainted with you at Vandalia) that he there had a negro man
hired about his house at $20.00 per month, and if he offended
him he would leave his employment and could get the same from
perhaps 20 or 30 persons. The Doct. says he is doing well. He
went down to St. Louis in the Boat I came up in to replenish
his stock of medicines. He hardly had a dose of medicine left,
after the summer and fall practice. Their exposure, manner of
living, and intemperance cause great sickness.
I can now give you a more correct view of our relations with
the Winnebago Indians and trace with more certainty, the
causes which lead to the recent aggressions of those Indians
upon our people. I will suppose you have a good map of this
country before you, (McLean has one.) By the treaty of 24 Aug.
1816 a line was run dividing the Ottoways, Chippewas and
Pottowattomies of the Illinois, from the Winnebagoes, and was
recognized and affirmed by the Winnebagoes by the treaty of
the 19 Aug. 1825. This line commences at the Winnebago village
40 miles up Rock River from its mouth, (see your map and
imagine the distance) thence northwardly passing to the east
of all the streams above Rock River, that fall into the
Mississippi, (on a dividing ridge) to the Wisconsin where the
East line of the Prairie du Chien reserve crosses S. River.
The whole country Eastwardly of S. line was secured to the
Winnebagoes without reserve or privilege. On the West of said
line to the Mississippi and North of a due West line from the
southern end of L. Michigan to the Mississippi, up to the
south line of this reserve was secured to the Ottowas,
Chippewas and Pottawattomies of the Illinois, with a
reservation of "such tract or tracts of land, on, or near the
Mississippi and Wisconsin Rivers as the President may see
cause to designate; provided said tracts of land shall not in
all exceed the quantity contained in 5 leagues square." This
condition alone, is the only ground of a claim, and under this
the lead mines of Fever R. and Turkey R. are worked. The
President makes no specific locations; but diggings are made
anywhere, and everywhere the miner chooses, upon obtaining a
permit, for which he pays nothing unless he gets lead,-if he
does he pays every tenth pound to the Agent for the U. S. From
casting your eye over the above designated lines you will
discover, that the reservations do not in any case extend into
the Winnebago country. Or in other words, the Winnebago side
of the line, we do not pretend to claim any privileges or
rights on. Our whole reservations are on the Ottowato side of
the above line. In the rage for mining which seems to have
operated so strongly upon the whites last summer, permits were
obtained and diggings commenced, and pursued with great
success without any regard to this line. And were at last
pushed to a considerable extent on the East side of S. line in
the acknowledged country of the Winnebagoes. The Indians
remonstrated, and contended against the miners, who repulsed
then force for force, and drove them off from their own lands.
The Indians became much aroused, and exhibited great symptoms
of discontent, and behaved roughly to parties crossing Rock
River, within their limits, and passing to the mines. They
charged and enacted heavy toll, and in some cases, forced
property from passengers. Whilst the Indians in the vicinity
of the mines were then driven from the mines, and spoiled of
the valuable product of the mines on their lands, and goaded
into a state of high excitement, and other unfortunate events
occurred to blow into an open rupture these latent seeds of
discontent, whilst no attempts appear to have been made to
appease and satisfy the justly (I may say) incited feelings of
the Winnebagoes.
An ancient grudge,
that is handed down by tradition (tho' the cause of it is lost
from the tradition) exists between the Sioux (Sues) and the
Chippewas on Lake Superior. A party of Chippeways, had came to
St. Peters on a visit to Mr. Talliaferro, the Agent, and one
night, a party of Sioux came on their camp and killed several
Chippeways. Col. Snelling, commdg. at the Fort, immediately
demanded the murderers, and the demand not being instantly
complied with, he detached a strong party of U. S. troops to
move secretly upon the Sioux encampment and take as many Sioux
as there had been Chippewas killed. And in a short time before
the Sioux were aware of it they were completely surrounded.
They made show of battle; but when the Interpreter informed
them that if they did not immediately surrender the murderers,
they wd. be fired upon, they gave up the murderers present-one
they said was absent-a hostage was demanded and surrendered,
making as many Sioux as they had killed of Chippewas. These
were marched off to the Fort, and held. to the Chippewas who
shot them all-the hostage along with the murderers, was
shot.-this gave much discontent. Previously, I should have
remarked that some Winnebagoes had murdered some whites above
Prairie du Chien, were surrendered and were then in the Fort
at St. Peters. A Sioux Indian (Pine Tops) was very much
exasperated at the Killing of the Sioux, and particularly the
delivering over of the innocent hostage, by Col. Snelling, as
he alleged. He came down the Mississippi to a Band of
Sioux above this on Upper Ioway R. and tried to incite them to
war against the Whites. Wabasha the chief of that band, is a
very sensible man, and refused to move in the business, and
restrained his warriors. About this time two Winnebago Indians
came over, with a belt of wampum, and called a council of the
Sioux, which was assembled by Wabasha. They spoke to the
Sioux, detailed their complaints against the Whites, stated
the injury done them at the mines, that the 2 prisoners at St.
Peters had been killed along with the Sioux, and that they
wanted the Sioux to join them and both nations take their
revenge. For the Chippewas, could not have killed the Sioux
unless aided by the Whites, and besides an innocent Sioux had
been killed. Wabasha and his band all refused to join. Told
the Winnebagoes to be quiet-that they were fools-the Whites
were too strong for them and they would be beaten and their
lands taken. That if they wd. remain at peace, their F. the
President would do them justice. But for himself and his tribe
they would not be so foolish as to go to war with the whites
who were too strong for them, Pine Tops then got up, took the
war belt from the Winnebagoes, and the war hatchet, told them
the Americans have killed the Sioux at St. P. one an innocent
man, and they have killed the 2 Winnebago prisoners, now go
and be revenged. Kill white men. Strike a stroke at Prairie du
Chien and on the Boats on the river, and so soon as war is
commenced the Sioux will join you in prosecuting it.
Joseph Montfort
Street
to Dr. Alexander Posey.
Dec. 11, 1827.
(From Joseph M. Street Collection, p. 7.)
II
Prairie du Chien, Dec. 12, 1827.
Dear Brother:-
I am yet ignorant of the welfare of my family, and friends, in
your quarter. I have neither received a line, nor heard one
word from a passing stranger from home, since we parted at the
Saline. This death-like silence is extremely painful to me in
my seeming banishment. To be separated from my family so long
is of itself sufficiently disagreeable; but to be cut off from
all knowledge of them is distressing. No regular mail comes
here, and the mail goes by chance opportunities. 'Till there
is portage enough collected to send a special messenger, and
then the money is thus applied.
My health continues
good, and were my mind at ease in relation to my family, I
should be in tolerable spirits. Sometimes a fit of thinking
and mental pain in regard to my family causes some headache.
Otherwise I have not had a days sickness since we parted.
I have not been
enabled to make any examination of this portion of country yet
nor do I expect to be enabled to do so before my return in the
Spring. My time has been constantly employed in my room since
I arrived here. I found the Agency in a miserable condition as
it relates to the Indians and indeed almost everything else.
And I have been constantly employed in presenting its
situation and the wide field of usefulness which I think
should open from it, to the Government. And, in rendering its
influence upon the Indians beneficial in tending to emilorate
their condition.........its present state. How I shall succeed
I know not yet when our relative situation with the Indian
Tribes who inhabit the country adjacent to our settlements,
and who once occupied the fine country on which a rapidly
increasing, and industrious population are now residing; I
cannot doubt that all reasonable men must consider these
unhappy wanderers of the wilds have some claim upon the
philanthropy of the nation before the face of whose crowding
population they are melting like the snows of their own
region, before the rays of the mid-summer sun.
What I have seen of
this country in passing up the River, all persons here agree
in stilling the worst part of it. The River lands being
generally rocky, broken, and much inferior for the purpose of
cultivation to the lands lying off the River, and interspersed
with numerous small Rivulets, Skirted generally with excellent
timber. The Mississippi and the Wisconsin are the great
Estuaries of this portion of the United States, and the only
appearance of mountains, or very broken lands, is their
immediate shores. The Mississippi, rises nearly due West of
the South West end of Lake Superior, and the Wisconsin, not
far south of the Middle of the same lake. The first runs
nearly South, and the latter, first south, to the portage and
then nearly West, to their junction about 3 miles below this
place. The Mississippi from near the Mouth of the Missouri to
the falls of St. Anthony 200 miles above this runs in a deep
and almost perpendicular channel like the sides of a great
canal, of about 1 1/2 miles in width. The River and its
"thousand Islands," which are never out of sight, is about One
Mile wide, and the balance is generally overflowed bottoms,
the river running frequently so close to the foot of the
immense piles of rock that everywhere forms the fronts of the
high Bluffs, so as to preclude the possibility of a road near
its margin. The River changes from side to side in this
valley, and sometimes the accession of a stream opens out a
beautiful cove, terminating in the distance, in a grand and
romantic amphitheatre. The sinuosities in the stream making
the bluffs completely close, to the view, present the
appearance of a handsome plain with a Rivulet passing through
it, the large Mississippi on one hand, and encompassed with an
immense chain of perpendicular rocks on three sides.-Such is
very much the appearance of this place. Only the plain is
about 9 miles long and from 2 to 4 miles wide. The Bluffs are
generally from 2 to 400 feet high, and in many places
projecting ledges of bare rocks appear to extend over their
sub-stratum from 10 to 20 feet. This projecting ledge, the
layers on which it rests, being generally worn away as if by
the horizontal operation of water once occupying that level,
are constantly presented, either at immediately the River, or
back on the plain, at about from 120 to 140 feet from the
present water level. This elevation gradually diminishes to
the falls of St. Anthony, where the Bluffs striking the level
of the ledge of rocks over which the river is precipitated,
ceases. From thence to its source, the banks are tolerably
high and the country gently rises, with a gradual swell from
the top of the banks and extending out from a gently rolling,
tho' generally rather flat country interspersed with many
small ponds and lakes. The Wisconsin presents similar
features, until within a few miles of the portage, (160 miles
above this), where the bluffs cease, and there is a portage of
1 1/2 miles to Fox River. Boars are easily taken across the
portage and to Fox River that empties into Green Bay, of L.
Michigan. This portage from the top of a bank of ordinary
height is almost entirely level from the top of the bank of
the Wisconsin to the Fox River. Boats are easily taken across
the portage and re-launched. A man now resides at the portage,
keeps oxen, and truck wheels and passes over all boats for
toll. The neck of land is free from rock and rock and a very
small expense would connect the two Rivers. It is not the
heads or small branches that approach, the Wisconsin is as
large at the portage as it is here, the Fox River is small but
very deep, and having risen some distance to the south of the
portage, and the Wisconsin to the North, they pass each other
in the way I have mentioned.
The lead mines, or
mining country, (for there is a tract of country about 120
miles by 60 miles) extending South and East from the junction
of the Mississippi and the Wisconsin, that has
almost...........
General Joseph M. Street to Dr. A. Posey,
December 12, 1827.
(From Street Collection, p.8)
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