IOWA HISTORY PROJECT

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Scott County.

Scott County is situated in the eastern central part of the State, and is bounded on the north by Clinton County, on the east and south by the Mississippi River, and on the west by Muscatine and Cedar Counties. Having a water front of thirty-five miles it has many natural advantages not found in more inland counties. The boundary line upon the north is the Wau-bessa-pinnecon Sepo, which, in the Indian language sign files "place of white potatoes."*

This stream is some ten or twelve rods wide, with a swift clear current, and its banks generally skirted with timber. Its bottom lands are from half a mile to a mile or two wide, and are subject to annual overflow, affording great pasturage for stock, not being in general dry enough for cultivation. The western boundary of the county is upon rich rolling prairie extending along the fifth principal meridian, separating it from the counties of Cedar and Muscatine.

There is much in the early history of this county to interest and excite the antiquarian and lover of research. Long before the discovery of the Great River by Marquette and Joliet, on the 17th of June, 1673, tradition tells us that the spot of ground now occupied by the City of Davenport, was a large and populace Indian village. There can be but little doubt, from the history of those early pioneers, that it was here they first landed in their voyage down the Mississippi, after they entered it from mouth of the Wisconsin, on the 17th of June.
The first landing made by them on record, was on the 21st, four days after they entered the Mississippi, and was upon the Western bank, where, say they, "We discovered foot-prints of some fellow mortals, and a little path (trail) leading into a pleasant meadow." Following the trail a short distance, they heard the savages talking, and "making their presence known by a loud cry," they were led to a village of the "Illinies."

       There could not have been sufficient time between the 17th and 21st for the voyages to have descended beyond this point, or to have reached the lower or Des Moines Rapids; which some historians claim to have been the landing place spoken of. There having been an Indian village here from time immemorial according to the Indian tradition, fixes the fact most conclusively, that it was at this place, Davenport, that the soil of Iowa was first pressed by the foot of a white man. The legends of the Indians are full of historic lore, pertaining to this beautiful spot, comprising Davenport, Rock Island, and their surroundings.
      Black Hawk was ever ready to tell of the traditions of his people, and dwelt with much interest and excitement on the traditions of his fathers. He says they came from Gitche Gammee, "the big water," Lake Superior, and Indians that are yet living say that the home of their fathers was at Saukie Creek, that empties into Lake Superior, and that in turn they were conquered by their enemies, and tribe fought tribe for possession of the land, until they reached the great river, the Massa-Sepo, which signifies "The Father of Rivers."
       The tradition of the Saukies who have always lived upon the prairies is, that their name means, "Man of the Prairie," or prairie Indian.
       They also have that their friends, the Musquakies, which signifies "Foxes," were a sly and cunning people, and united with them for strength to fight their enemies, the tribes of the Kickapoo and Illini, and that they have ever lived in peace, as one tribe and one people.
       These were the Indians in possession of the country when the Unites States assumed jurisdiction over it, and of whom it was purchased.
      There were many traces of the aborigines existing when the first settlers came to Iowa. Several Indian mounds, or burial places of quite large dimensions, were still used by wandering bands of Indians as late as 1835 and 1836, situated on the banks of the river, about two miles below this city, where was formerly the farm of the Hon. E. Cook. Indian graves have been found in excavations about this city; and relics of ancient date discovered, showing

*The name is derived from the two Indian words "Waubessa," white or swan-like, and "Pinneac" or potato; Sepr being the name for river. The river was probably so named from the fact of great quantities of wild artichokes being found in that region.

that this spot has been the home of the red man for centuries and corroborating the testimony of Black Hawk and others, as to the traditions of their fathers.
      The scenery presented, in ascending the Mississippi, taking in the whole view from the point of the bluff below Rockingham, as far up as Hampton, on the Illinois shore, is one of unexcelled beauty and liveliness. Its islands, dotting the broad expanse of waters, the scenery of the bluffs upon the Iowa side and Rock Island with old Fort Armstrong, have been admired, and more sketches taken of this panoramic view, by home and foreign artists, than any other portion of the Mississippi valley.
      At the close of the Black Hawk war, in 1832, there were no settlers upon this side of the river. The purchase from the Sac (or Saukie) and Fox tribe of Indians, of the soil of Scott County was made, in common with that of all the river counties, on the 15th of Sept., 2832, upon the ground now occupied by the depot building of the Mississippi and Missouri Railroad Company in Davenport. The treaty was held by General Scott.
      The cholera was raging among the troops at Fort Armstrong, at the time, and for prudential reasons it was thought best to meet the Indians upon the side of the river.
      In this sale, the Indians reserved a section, (640 acres), and presented it to Antoine Le Claire, Esq., their interpreter. This reserve was located upon the river between Harrison street and Bridge Avenue, in Fulton's addition to the City of Davenport, running back over the bluff to a line due east and west, a few rods this side of Locust street. They also gave Mr. Le Claire another section of land at the head of the rapids where the town of Le Claire now stands.
      The treaty of General Scott with the Indians was ratified by Congress at their session in the winter of 1833. Thus did the United States come into possession of the soil of Scott County. Of the Indians from whom it was purchased, and of the tribes who had been in possession in earlier days, we should like to give a more extended notice than we are permitted in this brief history of Scott County.
     The Sacs and Foxes were provided with homes in Kansas, where they now reside. They are fast dwindling away; and but a remnant is left of the tribes of the Winnebagoes, the Chippewas, Pottawattamies, Ottawas, Menomonies, and other powerful bands that were in possession of all the country from the Lakes to the Missouri, at the termination of the American Revolution. Where the sad remnants of any of these tribes are found, they present but a faint resemblance of their former greatness and renown, or of their warlike and noble bearing. A few squalid families may be found loitering about the frontier towns, made beggars by the low and wasting vices of the white man.
     But their destiny is written. The onward march of the Anglo Saxon race tells, with unerring prophecy, the fate of the Red Man! Already have his haunts been broken up in the quiet dells of the Rocky Mountains; already have the plains of Utah drunk the blood of this ill-fated and unhappy race, and ere long his retreating foot-prints will be found along the shores of the Pacific, hastening to the spirit land, the "Great Hereafter."
In 1833, Captain Benjamin W. Clark, a native of Virginia, who had settled and made some improvement on the Illinois shore, where the town of Andalusia now is, moved across the Mississippi and commenced a settlement upon the present site of the town of Buffalo, and was one of the first settlements on the soil of Scott County. He has been captain of a company of mounted Volunteer Rangers in the Black Hawk war, under General Dodge. Here, in Buffalo he made the first "claim," erected the first cabin, broke the first ground, planted the first corn, and raised the first produce in the county. His nearest neighbors at this time upon the Iowa shore, then called the "Black Hawk Purchase," were at Burlington and DuBuque.
     The first stock of goods ever opened in the county, was at Buffalo, by a Mr. Lynde, of Stephenson, now Rock Island. The first orchard planted, and the first coal ever discovered and dug in this county, were by Captain Clark, in 1834. In the early part of the year 1835, he erected a public house, which is still standing, a large frame building two stories high, which, at that time, was considered a great enterprise. He brought the lumber from Cincinnati, at a cost of sixty dollars a thousand feet.
     In 1836, Captain Clark laid out the town of Buffalo, it being the first town regularly laid

out in this county. He succeeded in building up quite a village; but there was much need of flouring and limber mills, and in 1836 he erected, near the mouth of Duck Creek, the first saw mill in the county, or in this part of Iowa; and although it was on a small scale, and quite inadequate to the wants of the settlers who began to seek homes beyond the Mississippi, yet it proved of the greatest public benefit, and served the people for many years.
       Capt. Clark claimed the honor of being the father of the first white child born in Scott County. This son, David H. Clark, now a resident of Polk County, in this State, was born in Buffalo, the 21st of April, 1834.
It will be seen, by reference to the map of Scott County, that it lacks a township in the south-west corner,) No. 78 N. R. 1 E.), of being square. As it has always been a mystery to many, particularly to the new comer, why this township should have been set off to Muscatine County, while it so naturally belonged to Scott, I will here explain.
       In the first Territorial Legislature, which convened at Burlington, in December, 1837, an act was passed creating the boundaries of Scott County, as well as many others. Unfortunately for the well-being of many a town-site and village, this honorable body had too many speculators in town lots among its members. Dr. Reynolds, then living three miles above Bloomington, now Muscatine, being a member, had laid off a place called Geneva, upon which all his efforts for the county seat were centered. The manner and extent, in laying off the counties, were of course, to decide the seating of many a town site which had been made especially for the county seat.       The object of Dr. Reynolds was to press the upper line of Muscatine County up the river as far as possible, so as to make Geneva central, and lessen the chances of Bloomington, which was an applicant for favor. The Davenport and Rockingham member, Alex. W. McGregor, Esq., knew that if the Scott County line ran too far down the river, Buffalo, then a rival and by far the most populous and important town above Burlington, would stand too a great a chance, so that a compromise was entered into, and this township was given to Muscatine County, which gives to our county its present ill-shaped appearance.
      The survey of the public lands in Iowa, began in the autumn of 1836. Scott County survey was made by A. Bent & Son, from Michigan, U. S. deputies from the Surveyor General's office in Cincinnati. The surveys of this county were completed in March, 1837. It contains 280,516 acres.
      Scott County was organized and named after Gen. Winfield Scott, at the session of the Legislature of Wisconsin Territory, which met at Burlington, in December, 1837. The same act provided for holding an election for the county seat, on the third Monday, in February, 1838. An act also was passed authorizing an election of county commissioners to be held at various places in the county, on the third Monday of February. This Board of Commissioners were to do all the business of the county, as Judge of Probate, and take care of all suits at law, etc. Major Frazer Wilson had received the first appointment of sheriff from the territorial Governor. The first Board of Commissioners elect were Benjamin F. Pike, Andrew W. Campbell, and Alfred Carter. On the 4th of July, 1838, Iowa was separated by act of Congress from the Territory of Wisconsin, and organized into a separate territory. Robert Lucas of Ohio was the first Governor who made the following appointments for Scott County: Willard Barrows, Notary Public; Ebenezer Cook, Judge of Probate; Adrian H. Davenport, Sheriff; Isaac A. Hedges and John Porter, Justices of the Peace. D. C. Eldridge received the appointment of postmaster. At the first election under the new Territorial Law, in September, W. W. Chapman was elected delegate to Congress; Jonathan W. Parker, Member of Council; J. A. Birchard and Laurel Summers, Representatives. Clinton County was then attached to Scott for Judicial purposes. The First District Court met in Davenport, in October, 1838, the Hon. Thomas S. Wilson, presiding. Several attorneys were admitted to the bar but little business was done. The fourth Monday of August, 1840, was fixed as the day for holding an election to decide the location of the county seat which had been a source of contest between Rockingham and Davenport for the preceding two years. This was the third election held and it resulted favorably to Davenport, and the long vexed question was put to rest; the citizens of Davenport building the court house and jail free of expense to

the county. The county was from this time rapidly settled, and Davenport are in proportion, until in 1853, it had a population of 3,000.
The Mississippi & Missouri Railroad was organized in 1853, with a capital stock of six million dollars, the corporation to continue fifty years from date. On the first of September, the ceremony of breaking ground took place. It was a day full of interest to the people of Davenport. Many of the old citizens, who had for years been living on in hope and confidence, now began to feel all their most sanguine wishes gratified. The Rock Island & Chicago Road was near completion, and the first locomotive was soon expected to stand upon the banks of the Mississippi River, sending its shrill whistle across the mighty stream, and longing for its westward flight across the prairies of Iowa. The occasion was one of universal rejoicing. A great and important object had been accomplished for the city, county and State. As Mr. Le Claire,* who was selected to perform the ceremony of removing the first ground, came

* Antoine Le Claire, was of French and Indian descent, his father being a Canadian Frenchman, and his mother being the grand daughter of a Pottawattamie Chie. His father was with the early adventurers among the Indians, when they were almost the only inhabitants of the North-West Territory. As early as 1908, he established a trading post at what is now Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for the purchase of furs from the Indians, when they were almost the only inhabitants of the North-West Territory. As early as 1809, he was associated with John Kinsey, at Fort Dearborn, Now Chicago, Illinois, conducting the business of the trading post. During the war of 1812, and while many of the Indians were hostile to the United States, through British influence, he was loyal, entered the American service, and was taken prisoner in the conflict at Peoria. He was confined, with others, at Alton, but was released the same year of his captivity.
Antoine Le Claire, his son, was born on the 15th of December, 1797, at what is now called St. Joseph, in the State of Michigan. Little is known of his early youth, except that about the time of his fathers captivity, during the war with Great Britain, at the instance of Governor Clare, of Missouri, when some fifteen or sixteen years old, he was taken into the American service, and places at school, that he might learn the English language.
In 1818, at twenty-one years of age, he served as interpreter to Captain Davenport, at Fort Armstrong, on Rock Island, Illinois. In 1820, he went to Peoria, where he married the grand daughter of A-co-qua, [the kettle,] a Sac Chief. Her father was Antoine Le Page, a Canadian. The same year, Mr. Le Claire was sent to Arkansas to watch the movements of the Indians in that region. In 1827, he was again stationed at Fort Armstrong. And, in 1832, he was present as interpreter at the Indian Treaty, by which that part of the county west of the Mississippi River, known as the Black Hawk purchase in Iowa, was obtained from the Indians, after the Black Hawk War.
As the cholera, so prevalent throughout the Untied States that year, was among the troops at Fort Armstrong, the council at which the treaty was formed, was held on the west side of the Mississippi, in the marquee of Gen. Scott used for the purpose, where afterwards was the home of Mr. and Mrs. Le Claire for many years, until it and the ground around gave place to the depot of the Mississippi & Missouri Railroad, in Davenport, as it now is.
In the treaty, the Chiefs of the Sacs and Foxes reserved on section at the Rock River Rapids, where Davenport is now situated, as a gift to Mrs. Le Claire, upon condition of her house being placed on the spot where the treaty was made; and also a section at the head of the rapids, on which the town Le Claire is built, was reserved for Mr. Le Claire. The Pottawattamies, also, in the Treaty of Prairie Du Chien, presented Mr. Le Claire two sections in Illinois, on which reserve, the flourishing manufacturing village of Molline is now situated. The treaty with the Sacs and Foxes was ratified by Congress, in the following winter; and, in the spring of 1833, Mr. Le Claire erected a small building in what was then the village of "Morgan," where those Indians had lived for years. The principal chief of this village was Pow-e-shiek, and the head warrior was Ma-quo-pom. In the autumn of 1833, the Sac and Fox tribes left this place for the Cedar River region.
In 1833, Mr. Le Claire received the appointment of Postmaster, and also Justice of the Peace, being deemed a very suitable person to adjust any difficulties between the white settlers and the Indians still resorting there. He had a very extensive jurisdiction, the largest of any other justice of the peace in all Iowa, embracing the whole "Black Hawk Purchase," or extending from DuBuque on the north to Burlington on the south, and from the Mississippi Rive, on the east, to the Iowa River, on the west. The population of DuBuque and Burlington, at this time, was small only two hundred and fifty in the former place, and in the latter, two hundred. So that the double duties Mr. Le Claire, as Postmaster and Justice, were not very onerous nor lucrative, and left him leisure for other pursuits. As early as 1836, he established a ferry across the Mississippi, and it is said, used to carry the mail in his pocket as Postmaster. An incident is related of him, at that early day, which shows the condition of the wool business. It is said, that the owner of some sheep, which he first sheared, gave the fleeces for ferring them over, which Mr. Le Claire kept a while; but not being able to make any use of the wool, burnt it, diffusing no very pleasant odor or around his house. A contrast is presented now, in cars freighted heavily with the best sheep by the thousand, and wool going eastward by the ton, bought at sixty cents a pound.
Mr. Le Claire was a remarkable linguist, considering his little early opportunities for study, speaking a dozen different Indian tongues, besides French and English. And, besides the treaties already named, he was interpreter at the following, namely, that of the Great and Little Osages at St. Louis, and of the Kansas at the same city, in 1825, of the Chippewas at Prairie Du Chien in 1825; of the Winnebagoes, at the same place, in August, of that year; of the Sacs and Foxes, at Washington in 1836; and also of these tribes in 1837; and of the same, at the Sac and Fox Agency, in Iowa, during 1842.

forward, pulling off his coat and taking the wheelbarrow and spade, he was greeted by a most tremendous and hearty cheer. The ceremony took place near the corner of Fifth and Rock Island streets. A vote was taken in September in regard to the county taking stock in the road. There were but three hundred and nine votes cast, and out of these but two were against subscribing to the stock. The amount taken by the city was seventy-five thousand ($75,000) dollars, by the county, fifty thousand ($50,000) dollars, and by individual subscription, one hundred thousand ($100,000) dollars. On the 22d of February, 1854, the long contemplated railroad from Chicago to Rock Island was completed, and by it the Atlantic and Mississippi were united.
The Pioneer Settlers' Association of Scott County was organized in January, 1858, and its first Festival held at the "Burtis House," on the 22d of February. It was decidedly the greatest occasion of the season. Some time during the month of December, 1857, a call was made through the city papers for all the old settlers of Scott County who had become residents prior to the 31st of December, 1840, to meet at Le Claire Hall on the 23d of January, 1858. In answer to this call, about sixty were present. The meeting was called to order by D. C. Eldridge, Esq., one of the first settlers of the county, and E. Cook, Esq., was elected Chairman, and John L. Coffin, Secretary of the meeting. At this meeting, an Association was formed, a preamble and resolutions were passed, and Antoine Le Claire elected the first President. At a second meeting, on the 30th of January, a constitution and by-laws for the Society were presented, approved and adopted, and the Pioneer Settlers' Association was duly organized. The constitution provides for an annual Festival, to be held on the 22d of February of each year, the first of which came off, at the Burtis House, on the 22d of that month.
BRIDGE ACROSS THE MISSISSIPPI.--- On the 17th day of January, 1853, an act was passed by the General Assembly of the State of Illinois, entitled "An Act to incorporate a Bridge Company by the title therein named," of which Joseph E. Sheffield, Henry Farnham, J. A. Matteson and N. B. Judd were the sole incorporators. The Company was incorporated for the purpose of constructing a Railroad Bridge across the Mississippi River, connecting the Chicago & Rock Island Railroad, at Rock Island, Illinois, with the Mississippi & Missouri Railroad, at Davenport, Iowa. The capital stock was four hundred thousand dollars, raised on four hundred bonds of one thousand dollars each, the payment of which was guaranteed by the Chicago & Rock Island Railroad Company, and the Mississippi & Missouri Railroad Company. The work of location and construction commenced in the spring of 1854, under Henry Farnham as chief engineer, and John B. Jarvis as consulting engineer. B. B. Brayton, of Davenport, had charge of the work as resident engineer. The corner stone of the first pier, erected at said bridge, was laid in the presence of a large number of citizens of Rock Island and Davenport. Hon. Joseph Knox, Ebenezer Cook, George E. Hubbell and others made appropriate remarks on the occasion. By the spring of 1856, the entire work

      In 1835, he sold to Co. George Davenport a portion of the town which bears the name of Davenport; and from time to time, he made addition to the original plat, till he became one of the greatest proprietors in Iowa, perhaps the largest, including the site of Le Claire, which also gre to be a large town. In 1836, he built the hotel which bears his name, to which addition after addition has since been made, including the whole side of the block. And to every branch of business he extended aid by helping worthy and enterprising men, even involving his own princely means at times to assist others in their enterprises of difficulties.
     To the churches of the city he was particularly liberal, especially to those of his own creed, for he lived and died a Roman Catholic. To three churches of the Catholic order, he gave grounds and means for their erection. Indeed, the third, St. Margaret's was built wholly at his expense, furnished and supplied with an organ, while the officiating priest and expenses of public service, were, for a time, supported by him. This structure is conspicuous, near the Le Claire Mansion on the Bluffs, which house was built by him, after he gave up his old "council" cottage and grounds to the occupancy of the railroad.
     Mr. Le Claire died on the 25th of September, 1861, suddenly, at last, with a third attack of a paralytic disease. His funeral was attended on the 26th of September, by a multitudinous procession of citizens and old settlers of the county, on foot, walking mournfully to the church and the grave, attended by Rev. Mr. Palmorgues and two other priests. The funeral sermon was subsequently preached by Rev. John Donlan.
     An expensive monument has been obtained from abroad to mark his grave, but a better monument is found in the remembrance of those who knew him.

was completed, and attracted the attention of travelers, historians and scholars from every part of the country. It was deemed a great triumph of art, a noble achievement of enterprise, to connect the Eastern and Western banks of this old Father of Waters, with a continuous railway, over which the products of Iowa might roll onward to Eastern markets, without delay.
      This bridge is fifteen hundred and eighty feet long, and thirty feet high across the Mississippi to the Island, and four hundred and fifty feet across the slough, from the Island to the Illinois shore. The entire cost of both bridges, and the railroad connecting them across the Island, was about four hundred thousand dollars.
     AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY.--- The first Agricultural Society ever formed in Scott County, was in January, 1840. Alexander W. McGregor, Esq., was chosen President; G. C. R. Mitchell, Esq., Vice President; John Forrest, Esq., Secretary, and A. Le Claire, Esq., Treasurer. At this early day but little interest was felt by the patrons of the Society, and it was suffered to go down. But little, if anything, was done for agricultural interests in the county until 1853, when in August of that year, two prominent farmers, H. M. Thomson, Esq., of Long Grove, and Eli S. Wing, Esq., called a meeting, and a new Society was organized, H. M. Thompson being elected President, James Thorington, Esq., Secretary, and Jno. R. Jackson, Treasurer. The second year of this Society (in 1854) the first Fair was held in Davenport having the same officers elected as in 1853.
In Jun, 1854, a Company was organized called the "Fair Ground Association of County, Iowa." This Company purchased eight acres of land lying near Duck Creek, some two miles from the city, at a cost of two hundred dollars per acre, enclosed about four acres with a tight board bench seven feet high, and built sheds and workshops for the second annual exhibition which took place the 24th and 25th of September, 1855. This exhibition was creditable to the Society and Scott County, showing an increasing interest of the people in agricultural pursuits.
      DAVENPORT. -- Davenport Township has bluff lands that are somewhat broken near the river, until we reach a point three miles above Davenport, where it opens out into a beautiful prairie, called Pleasant Valley. The bluffs, or timber line, between the river and prairie, is from one to two miles wide, and was formerly well wooded.
     By the "bluffs" of the Mississippi River, we do not mean here that they are an abrupt or perpendicular ascent, but a gentle rise from the river or bottom lands; not so steep but roads may be constructed up almost any part of them. The general elevation of these bluffs, or high lands, is about one hundred feet above the waters of the Mississippi and in many places of very gentle ascent, and covered with cultivated fields and gardens to their tops.
     But Davenport Township differs from all others upon the river in the beautiful rolling prairies, immediately back from the river, after passing the bluffs. These prairies are not broken, as is common with those that approach so near the river, but are susceptible of the highest state of cultivation. Back of the city of Davenport, the slope from the top of the bluff to Duck Creek, covered as it is with gardens and fields, is one of uncommon beauty and richness, and the farms that now cover the prairie for seven or eight miles back cannot be excelled in any country. Duck Creek, which passes through the whole length of this township, rises in Blue Grass, some ten miles west of Davenport, and running east, empties into the Mississippi five miles above the city, its course being up stream, parallel with the Mississippi, and only one or two miles distant from it. It affords an ample supply of water for stock, and is never dry in summer, being fed by numerous springs along its course. Its Indian name is Si-ka-ma-que Sepo, or Gar creek, instead of Duck Creek.*

* There is much to interest and engage the attention of those who may desire a knowledge of the more remote history of this township, which, although but little known, is interesting and important. As has already been observed, the locality of Davenport and its surroundings have been the camping ground of the Indians from time immemorial. Marquette and Joliet, the first discoverers of the county, one hundred and ninety-one years age, found the tribes of the Illini here. [See Discoveries and Explorations of Mississippi River, by Shea, vol. 1., p.80; .... cont. on page 329

"The geological substratum, upon which the City of Davenport is located, is a white or light gray limestone, characterized by its fossils to belong to the Hamilton group of Devonian Rocks. The limestone crops out along the river banks of the upper portion of the city. It

also Annals of the West, p. 31.] There were three villages or towns. The main one, at which they landed was call "Pewaria," where we suppose Davenport now stands, as it is laid down on Marquette's original map, on the west side of the "River Conception," as he named the Mississippi. This map is a facsimile of the autograph one, by Father Marquette, at the time of his voyage down the river, in June, 1673, and was taken from the original, preserved at St. Mary's College, Montreal. [See Explorations of the Mississippi River, by Shea, p. 286.]

Of the tribes found here by Father Marquette, and among whom he established a mission, little is known, except his first account of them, as they have become extinct. The tribes of the "Illini," aboriginal, [Hall's Sketches of the West, vol. 1., part ii., page 142,] seem to have been very numerous at that time, being scattered over the vast country lying between Lake Superior and the Mississippi, for we find that Marquette, in this second voyage here, to found the mission, [Shea. vol. i., p. 53,] was accompanied, part of the way, by some "Illinies and Pottawattamies," and we find them settled, at that day, upon the Illinois River, at Peoria and LaSalle's trading post; and also on the Kankakee, and as low down on the Mississippi River as Cape Girardeau. They seemed to be less warlike than the Iroquois and Wyandots, and roamed at pleasure, unmolested, over all lands and among all tribes.

The Sacs and Foxes came from the northern lakes, but at what date it is difficult to ascertain. The Foxes were originally called Outagamies (Schoolcraft, vol. vi., p. 193.] From what tribe they descended is not known. About the seventeenth century, we find them, with the Iroquois, committing depredations upon the whites, among the great lakes of the north.

It has been inferred, says Schoolcraft, [vol. vi., p. 193,] "from their language, that they belonged to the Algonquin tribes, but, at an early day, were ejected from and forsaken by them." We find them in 1712 with the Iroquois, making an attempt to destroy Detroit; being routed, they retired to a peninsula in Lake St. Claire, where they were attached by the French and Indians, and driven out of the country. We next find them on Fox River, at Green Bay. Their character seems to be perfidious. They were a constant annoyance to the trapper and the trader, ever creating difficulty among other tribes. "Having been defeated at the battle of 'Butte des Morts, or "Hill of the Dead,' with great slaughter, the remnants of the tribes fled to the banks of the Wisconsin." [Schoolcraft, vol. vi., p. 191.] We have no further notice of them until their settlement upon the Mississippi and its tributaries.

"The Sacs and Foxes took possession of the lands belonging to the Iowas, [Annals of the West, p. 713,] whom they partly subjugated." "The Foxes had their principal village on the west side of the Mississippi River, at Davenport." "A small Sauk village was on the West side of the Mississippi, near the mouth of the DesMoines River." This was between 1785 and 1800. The Sauks were the original occupants of Saginaw, on Lake Michigan, and were allies of the Foxes, in 17-2, in an attempt to drive the French out of Michigan.

Thus far in our history we are able to trace the immediate occupants of our soil, prior to possession by the Unites States. The early French traders found a village of Foxes at DuBuque, with the Chief "Plea-Maskie," and another at the mouth of the Waubessa-pinnecon River, a Sauk village, with "No-No" as Chief. But a still larger village of Foxes was where the city of Rock Island now stands, called "Wa-pello's Village," while the main Sauk village, "Black Hawk's Town," was on Rock River, between Camden and Rock Island. The traffic with the Indians was carried on by the Canadian French, in Mackinaw boats. There were no established trading posts. The constant wars among the tribes continued to diminish in numbers. The Sioux, the Chippewas, the "Winnebagoes, and Menomonies were the bitter enemies of the Sauks and Foxes. They were ever lurking upon each other's trail, and never letting slip an opportunity of gathering a few scalps, in revenge for some fancied wrong.

In the spring of 1828, the Indian Agent at Prairie du Chien, by request of the Sioux, Winnebagoes and Menomonies, then allied in their petty wars, sent an invitation to the chiefs and braves of the Fox villages at DuBuque to meet their enemies in council, an I forever bury the tomahawk, and settle all differences between the several tribes. The Sacs and Foxes were becoming reduced in numbers. Their faithless, perfidious and treacherous course among all the nations through which they had traveled, from the great Lakers of the north, to the valley of the Mississippi, had followed them. Their warriors had been slain, and they felt their strength fading away. They were willing now to live on terms of peace with their neighbors, and very readily accepted the invitation. Piea-Maskie was their chief. Not suspecting the treachery of their enemies, all the principal chiefs and braves of their band left their village, at DuBuque, for the treaty at Prairie du Chien.

The Sioux and Winnebagoes had deceived their Agent, and only laid a plot to draw the Foxes from their village, for the purpose of entrapping them. They therefore sent spies down the river, just before the appointed time for the treaty, to watch the movements of the unsuspecting Foxes. On the second night after leaving DuBuque, the party had made an encampment a little below the mouth of the Wisconsin River, on the eastern shore, and, while cooking their evening meal, and smoking around their camp-fires, without the least suspicion of danger, they were fired upon by more than a hundred of their enemies -- a war party that had been sent down for that purpose. But two of the whole number escaped. In the general massacre that followed, these jumped into the river and swam to the western shore, carrying the sad news of the murder to their village. This produced consternation and alarm. Such treachery, even in Indian warfare, was startling. The chiefs and brave men had been slaughtered without mercy, and an attack upon their village might be expected. Their leaders were dead and dismay and confusion reigned throughout the camp.

The surviving warriors were assembled in council to select another chief. A half-breed, of Scotch descent, of ... cont. on page 330

presents, near East Davenport, perpendicular cliffs, varying in height from 15 to 25 feet above low water mar; thence occupying the bed of the Mississippi River, it forms the lowest chain in the course of the Rock Island rapids, re-appearing again, similar in character, on

much daring and bravery, by the name of Morgan, was elected and named Ma-que-pra-um. A war party was soon formed, under their new leader, to march on the faithless Sioux and avenge the death of their chiefs and brave men. The preparations were soon completed. The plot was laid. All was ready. The council-fire was again lighted, and the warrior band, headed by their new chief, sat around in sullen silence, painted and hung in all the paraphernalia of the Indian warrior. The wall and lamentation for the dead was changed to the deep, piercing yell of the savage. All the dark hatred of the Indian nature was depicted on the countenances of this revengeful group, and there went up a shout, the war-cry of the tribe, such as the rugged cliffs and hills of DuBuque has never heard, before or since. With blackened faces, chanting the death song, they entered canoes and started on their mission of blood.

Arriving in the vicinity of Prairie du Chien, from the opposite bluffs the spies of the party discovered the encampment of the foe, almost directly under the guns of the Fort. The setting sun was just gilding the walls of Fort Crawford, and the sentinel on the ramparts had just been roused from his listlessness, by the beat of tattoo; the Indians lay indolently in their camp, little dreaming of the fate that awaited them. On seeing the position of the enemy, the plan of attack was soon formed. The Foxes lay in ambush until the darkness of the night should shield them from observation. A sufficient number was left with the canoes, with instructions to be a short distance below the Fort. The warriors then stripped themselves of every encumbrance, but the girdle, containing the tomahawk and scalping knife, and went up the river, some little distance when, about midnight, they swam the Mississippi and stealthily crawled down upon the encampment.

All was darkness and silence! No sentinel watched the doomed camp! The smoldering fire of the first wigwam they reached, revealed to them, as they drew aside the curtained door, an Indian smoking his pipe in meditative silence. The leader Chief seized him, and without noise carried him outside the lodge and slew him without alarming the camp. The work of death went on from lodge to lodge in stillness and silence, until the knife and hatchet had done their bloody work, severing not only the scalp but many heads of their Chieftains!

The work was done, and with one loud, wild whoop of satisfaction and revenge, the Fort was awakened, the sentry sent forth his note of alarm, while the assailants took to the canoes of the Fort were in readiness to march. With the trophies of victory they soon reached their village, dancing the "scalp-dance." Packing up their valuables, the whole band deserted their town at DuBuque, descending the river, and settled where the city of Davenport now stands.

This massacre took place within the memory of some now living here, who related these facts to the author, and they still have a most vivid recollection of seeing the returning band, as they came down past Rock Island with lashed side by side, the heads and scalps of their slaughtered enemies, set upon poles, still reeking with the blood of their victims. They landed amid the most deafening shouts of savage triumph, and celebrated their victory with the Sacs, signing their war-songs and exhibiting with savage ferocity, the clotted scalps and ghastly faces of the treacherous Sioux, Winnebago and Menomonee, of whom they had killed seventeen of their best Chiefs and warriors, besides other men, women and children of the tribe. From that event, until the removal of the Sacs and Foxes, this village was called "Morgan" after their Chieftain.

The brief sketch of the history of our immediate vicinity, before the dawn of civilization must suffice. The Indian who possessed the soil was here in his own right, by whatever means he possessed it. The early missionaries had taught him the first principals of Christianity. He believed in the Great Spirit. He worshipped no idols nor bowed to any superior but the great "Manito." They had their Seers and Prophets, and believed in a tutelary spirit. They made no sacrifice of human life to appease the wrath of an offended Delty. They observed their fasts and holy days with blackened faces, and with midnight lamentations. They believed in a future of rewards but not of punishments, and were ever ready, and proud to sing the death song even at the stake, that they might enter the elysian fields of the good hunting ground. They never blasphemed. There is no word in their language by which to express it.

The Indian's home is where ever the finger of destiny points; yet his sympathies often cluster deeply around the place of nativity and the scenes of his earlier life. Thus was it with them when they came to leave their home upon the As-Sin-Ne Me-ness [Rock Island] and the As-sin-ne Se-po, [Rock River.] In all their wanderings, from the great lakes on the north, to the Ohio on the south, and the Mississippi on the west, they had never found a home like this. The bluffs and the islands furnished them animals for the chase, while the clear waters of the As-Sin-Ne Se-po gave them the finest fish. The fields yielded them an abundance of the maize, the potato, beans, melons and pumpkins, and they were as happy as the roving spirit of their nature would allow, when in the spring of 1814, the white men came, and with the din of preparation for work, the solitude was broken, and the first sounds of civilization burst upon their ears.

Attempts were made at that time to plant Forts along the Upper Mississippi. [Annals of the West, p. 743.] The only means of transportation was by armed boats. Maj. Zachary Taylor, [President of the U. S. in 1850,] was in command of one of these boats. He left Cap as Gils, [Cap au Grey,] in August, of this year, with three hundred and thirty-four men, for the Indian Towns of Rock Island, with instructions to destroy their villages and cornfields. [Annals p. 744.] The Indians were located on both sides of the river "above and below the rapids." But in this attempt he was frustrated by the Indians receiving aid from neighboring tribes and some British allies, then at Prairie du Chien. The battle was severe, and lasted some three hours, commencing on the rapids above, at Campbell Island.

Rock Island proper and the corresponding left bank of the Mississippi. The shores of both banks of the river are here strewn with water-worn pebbles of this white limestone, variously mixed with smaller fragments of transported igneous rocks, including agates, cornelian, and numerous forms of porphyry.

In May, 1816, the Eighth Regiment and a company of riflemen, in command of Col. Lawrence, came up the river in boats, and landed at the mouth of Rock River. After some examination, the lower end of Rock Island was fixed on, for a site to build a Fort. On the 10th of May, they landed on the Island. A store house was first put up, which was the first building ever on the Island. A bake-house was next built, and then Fort Armstrong was commenced. At this time there were about ten thousand Indians in, and around the place on both sides of the river. Col. George Davenport, then attached to the army, was general superintendent. The Indians were the Great Spirit, whose residence they believed to be in a cave at the foot of the Island.

From this date until the Black Hawk War, Rock Island was only a frontier military post, and although this notice does not come strictly into the History of Scott County, yet so intimately are its early pioneer scenes connected with it, that it seems almost indispensable to make some mention of it. Tranquility had in a measure been restored between the whites and Indians, when the black Hawk War broke out. A few remarks on the causes of this war may not be uninteresting.

Black Hawk had ever been dissatisfied with the treaty made at St. Louis in 1804, [American State Papers --- 16 --247 and Land Laws 514,] by Gen Harrison for their lands on Rock River, and upon a requisition of the United States to surrender these lands to the whites for settlement, Black Hawk refused. He had been in the services of Great Britain in the war of 1812, and received pay and presents annually. He openly proclaimed himself and party British subjects. [Annals, p. 649.] At the treaty held at Portabe Des Sioux in 1814, to recognize and re-establish the treaty of Gen. Harrison, which had been broken on the part of some of the Indians, by the part they took in the war of 1812, Black Hawk and his band refused to attend. It appears that he had continued depredations on the whites after peace was declared, and at this treaty, or "talk" at Portage Des Sioux, the Commissioners on the part of the United States required them to render up and restore such property as they had plundered or stolen from the whites, and in default thereof, to be cut off from their proportion of the annuities, which they were to receive for their lands, by the treaty at St. Louis in 1804. This was one of the causes that led to the Black Hawk war. The disaffected portion of the tribe under Black Hawk were for resistance, while Keokuk, the chief of the peace party, had a -gned the articles with his principal braves.

There was a general dissatisfaction among all the tribes of the Upper Mississippi at this time. In the transportation of military stores and traders goods, in boats, the whites were often attacked, and they had to go armed. Colonel Taylor had an engagement in person, with several hundred Indians among the islands, just below this city. Being overpowered by numbers he was obliged to retire with a small loss.

In the treaty which ceded the lands of Rock River to the United States, it was stipulated that the Indians should retain possession of them until then were brought into market, or sold for actual settlement. This gave to the Indians as much right as a fee simple title, until 1829, at which time the lands were sold, and Black Hawk's tower, between Camden and Rock Island, passed into the hands of the whites. On his return from hunting in the spring of 1830, he was informed for the first time that his home had passed into other hands; and that he must remove, with the rest of his tribe, west of the Mississippi. This he refused to do in the strongest terms. He visited Canada to see his British Father, and General Cass at Detroit, who advised him, if he owned the land to remain where he was, that he could not be disturbed.

All efforts made by Keokuk or his white friends, to induce Black Hawk, on his return, to remove West, were unavailing. He is said to have exhibited more attachment for his native land at this time than ever before or after. In the spring of 1831 his people commenced planting corn at his village, and the whites who laid claim to it ploughed it up. The aroused all the native fire and indignation of Black Hawk. He at once formed his plan of resistance. He threatened the whites. They became alarmed. The little fort at Rock Island was too weak at such a remote point, and General Gaines ordered ten companies of militia to Fort Armstrong. A conference was had with Black Hawk but he still refused to leave. The troops marched upon his town, and re retired across the river and located his village where the farm of the Hon. E. Cook was formerly, just below the City of Davenport. Another talk was then had, and Black Hawk agreed not to cross the river without permission. But the following spring he is found pressing his way up Rock River with his whole band of warriors, men, women, and children, expecting to be joined by other tribes and his friends, the British allies. But in this he was disappointed and being pursued by General Atkinson with six hundred regulars, he fled for the wilds of Wisconsin, committing depredations and massacres along his route. The war was now begun in good earnest.

On the 15th of September, 1832, the Black Hawk war being ended, a treaty was held with the Sacs and Foxes by General Scott, upon the ground now occupied by the Mississippi and Missouri Railroad Company in this city. At this treaty a small strip of land only was ceded to the United States, called the "Black Hawk Purchase." It lay along the Mississippi River, beginning at a point on the boundary line between Missouri and Iowa, which is now the southeast corner of Davis County, and running thence to a point on Cedar River, near the northeast corn of Johnson County, thence in a northwest direction to a point on the south boundary of the Neutral Grounds, then occupied by the Winnebagoes, and thence with said line to a point on the Mississippi River, a short distance above Prairie du Chien, it Being only about sixty miles in the widest place, and containing about six millions of acres. The Indians peaceably removed from it on the first of June, 1833, and thus gave to the whites, free access to this beautiful land.

This bed of limestone underlies the whole city of Davenport, appearing on or near the surface at its southeastern border, extending from East Davenport to Perry Street. Thence to the western limits of the city it is more deeply covered under alluvial deposits. This rock, together with its alluvial covering, forms a gentle ascending slope from the river bank, to the irregular line of bluff hills, which here bound the valley of the Mississippi. Where this rock is largely developed in steep mural faces, as adjoining and just below East Davenport, the bluffs approach near the river bank, leaving little or no space for bottom levels. This gives a somewhat rugged character to this locality. In following the western course of the river, the limestone dips lower beneath the surface, and the bluffs recede, thus giving greater width to the valley portion of the city towards its western border.

The bluff formation, attaining an average elevation of 150 feet above the river level, presents on its outer edge abrupt slopes and rounded crests, commanding extensive views of the river above and below. Extending back from the river, this formation is cut up with deeply trenched valleys, variously branched and thence emerging on the upland prairie beyond.

These several features collectively, combine a pleasing variety of external scenery, and offer grading facilities easy of application, and well suited for the purposes of drainage.

Referring more particularly to the special characters of the formation above alluded to, we notice the underlying limestone strata to be composed of a series of distinct beds, varying considerably in structure and composition.

First of these in a descending order is an irregular shaly bed, containing the greater part of the fossils which serve to characterize this formation. These strata are more largely developed to the south and west, being the common surface rock on both sides of the Mississippi some eight or ten miles below the city, at and adjoining the town of New Buffalo. In this latter locality the rocks are replete with fossils easily procured, and in fine state of preservation. Within the limits of the city this bed is exposed at only one locality, formerly known as Le Claire quarry, now foot of Farnham Street. The rock here crops out just at the foot of the bluff, at an elevation of about forty feet above the river level.

To this fossil ferrous bed succeeds the more common surface, consisting of a white or light colored rock of slate texture, weathering on exposure into thin irregular fragments. This character of rock shows a variable thickness of from five to twenty feet, and is well exhibited at the lower point of Rock Island, forming the greater part of the exposed rocky cliff on which old Fort Armstrong was built.

To this slately rock succeeds a more compact bed, mostly massive and heavy bedded. Its texture varies from that of a close irregular breccia of light color, and exceedingly brittle to loose strata of blue argillaceous rock, readily disintegrating on exposure to the atmosphere. Intermediate to these we generally notice several seams of a more earthy gray rock occurring in even beds, and frequently containing masses of fibrous gypsum. These latter seams furnish the best quality of building rock in this vicinity, being in fact the only rock suitable for dressing under the hammer. This seam is of very variable thickness, being in some places entirely wanting, while in adjoining localities it attains a thickness of several feet. The main bulk of the limestone quarries, being made up of the heavy bedded and irregular seamed rock, is only suitable for foundations or rough ashlars work.

Aside from building purposes this limestone contains no minerals of any economical value, occasional spangles of sulphurate of zinc or moderate sized crystals of calcareous spar being the only minerals worthy of note. The slatey surface layers are employed for conversion into quick-lime, but the product is of rather indifferent quality.

One peculiarity of this limestone formation deserves more than a passing notice, both from its singularity and also its connection with the subterranean distribution of water. This peculiarity consists in the frequent occurrences of fissures filled in with clay, evidently in the perpendicular face of quarries, here they are seen interrupting the regular series of rock strata with masses of grayish, very adhesive clay. These seams vary in width from a few inches to several feet, and are frequently bottle-shaped, narrowing above and bulging out below. Professor ...... cont. on page 333.