Iowa History Project
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HISTORY OF IOWA
VOL I
CHAPTER II
Pictures included with this chapter include: Mound on the
River, Mound near Davenport, Mound on Cook Farm, Map of Mounds in Eastern Iowa.
During the period of melting glaciers the surface
of the earth was again occupied by plants and animals. Soon after these appeared
we find the first evidences of man's advent upon this portion of the earth.
Professor Aughey's discovery of arrow points in undisturbed beds of loess
at various places in Iowa and Nebraska, indicates with certainty the presence
of man soon after the melting of the glaciers. Horses appeared about this
time and were used for food, as is clearly shown by the finding of skulls
crushed in a manner that could only come from the blows of an implement similar
to the stone ax. These axes are found in the same deposit with the
skulls, both in this country and Europe, showing that man appeared on both
continents during the same geological period.
What sort of people were the first inhabitants of
Iowa is a question that must ever be of interest. It is generally
believed by archaeologists that remains of two distinct prehistoric races
have been found in the Valley of the Mississippi.
The first human skulls discovered resemble those of
the gorilla, having the thick ridges over the eyes and an almost total absence
of forehead, indicating a low degree of intelligence. Similar skulls have
been found throughout the different countries of Europe, indicating that the
first inhabitants of the earth known to ethnologists were lowbrowed,
brute-like, small-bodied beings, who were but a grade above the lower animals.
Skulls of this type have been found in Illinios, Wisconsin, as well as in
Johnson, Floyd, Chickasaw and Dubuque counties of Iowa.*
*Several skulls of this low
type may be seen in the collection of the Academy of Science at Davenport.
The first inhabitants of Iowa and the Mississippi
Valley of which we have any evidence are called the "Mound Builders."
Stone and copper implements found indicate that they had made progress in
the scale of intelligence. Whether they cultivated the soil, erected
comfortable dwellings and built towns is not known; But that they made cloth is
proven by samples found in mounds, strangely preserved through the innumerable
ages that have elapsed. The numbers, color, habits, customs and forms of
government of these people, as well as the manner in which these enduring
earthworks of various forms were used, and a thousand interesting details of
the history of these inhabitants of Iowa must forever remain unknown.
Whence they came, how long they possessed the land, from what cause they
were exterminated, are problems that will never cease to have an absorbing
interest to succeeding races and generations. We can only call them the
"Mound Builders," in absence of almost all knowledge of their
history.
Evidences of the work of these people are found in
many of the eastern states and as far south as Tennessee in great abundance.
The mounds are numerous along the Mississippi Valley in Iowa, extending
from Dubuque at intervals through Jackson, Clinton, Scott, Muscatine, Louisa
and other counties. Many of these when opened are found to contain
skeletons partially preserved, with various implements, vessels, pipes and
ornaments. One opened near Dubuque disclosed a vault divided into three
cells. In the central cell was found eight skeletons sitting in a circle,
while in the centre of the group was a drinking vessel made of a sea shell.
The whole chamber was covered with logs preserved in cement.
Some very interesting mounds were found on the Cook
farm, near Davenport, which were opened by Rev. Mr. Gass in 1874. There
were ten mounds in the group, about two hundred and fifty feet back from the
river. Several of them were opened and found to contain sea shells,
copper axes, hemispheres of copper, stone knives, pieces of galena, mica,
pottery and copper spools. Many of the axes were wrapped with coarse
cloth, which had been preserved by the copper. The pipes were of the
Mound-Builders' pattern, some of which were carved with effigies of birds and
animals. One bird had eyes of copper, another had eyes of pearl, showing
much delicacy of manipulation and skill in carving. Twenty copper pipes
and eleven copper awls were taken from these mounds.
All of the mounds contained skeletons and ashes;
two contained altars of stone. In one, tablets were found upon which were
hieroglyphics representing letters and figures of people, trees and animals.
In the mound represented in the accompanying
illustration, not far below the surface, two skeletons were found. Below
these were layers of river shells and ashes several feet in thickness.
Beneath these three mature skeletons were lying in a horizontal position,
and between them was the skeleton of a child. Near them were five copper
axes wrapped in cloth, stones forming a star, carved pipes, several bears'
teeth and a broken lump of ochre.
In a mound opened by Rev. Mr. Gass west of
Muscatine slough, in 1880, there was found a carved stone pipe, a carved bird,
a small copper ax and a pipe carved in the shape of an elephant. Another
pipe was discovered in that vicinity shaped to represent a mastodon.
The section of a map here presented shows the
location of the mounds on the Cook farm where these interesting relics were
discovered.
Similar evidences of the ingenious and skillful
work of that prehistoric race have been found over a wide range of country,
showing conclusively that these first inhabitants of Iowa, of which anything is
known, must have made considerable progress in some of the arts of civilized
people.
Their mounds extend as far west as the Little Sioux
River, and the Des Moines Valley is especially rich in these evidences of
occupation by the "Mound Builders." At one point a few
miles above the city of Des Moines, on a bold bluff of the river, are many
acres covered with their mounds. At other points are found well preserved
earthworks laid out on high bluffs, evidently for defense. There is, near
Lehigh, in Webster County, an elaborate system of these earthworks commanding a
view of great extent.
The lines of these works can easily traced and in
many places huge trees have grown up in them. There are evidences that
these people cleared forests, graded roads, wove cloth, made stone and copper
implements, exhibiting great skill in these works which have survived them.
If they were of the same race with the inhabitants of Central America,
who erected the massive structures found in ruins on that portion of the
continent, their civilization must have become well advanced. It is not
improbable that as these antiquities are further explored, additional light
will be thrown upon the history of this race of people who preceded the Indians
in America. That they existed in great numbers, and through a period of many
thousand years, cannot be doubted. That they were assailed by warlike
invaders coming upon them from the north and west is generally believed.
That the earthworks found along the rivers were erected as protection
against enemies there can be little doubt.
How long they resisted the invaders can never be
known, The terrible conflicts may have lasted through several
generations, as they were gradually dislodged from their strongholds and forced
southward. They may have slowly perished before the resistless onslaught
of the invaders until the remnants of the once numerous race became the hunted
"cliff dwellers," who sought a last refuge in the sides of the deep
gorges where some of the cliff houses have been preserved, It is
generally believed that the remote ancestors of the North American Indians were
the conquerors of the "Mound Builders."
The discovery of America by Columbus was followed
by an era of adventure, and successive expeditions for conquests in the new
world, in which the nations of Europe vied with each other for supremacy.
Visions of rich gold fields, vast empires of fertile lands for planting
colonies and enlarging the domain of the nations of the old world, stimulated
the spirit of adventure and opened unlimited fields for the acquisition of wealth
and official rank and power. No scheme was too visionary to enlist men
and money to launch it. Spain was at this time one of the powerful
nations of Europe. Her countrymen led in all of the most daring
expeditions. Her navigators were the most courageous of that period.
Her armies were renowned for their valor. Her religious leaders
were as zealous as they were cruel and unscrupulous. Her noblemen were
ambitious for wealth and increased power.
All of these elements now united in race for discovery
and conquest in the unexplored regions of the far West. Then followed an
era of cruelty that rivaled the most inhuman raids of the Dark Ages. As
new lands were discovered, they were overrun by reckless adventurers, the
inhabitants were robbed and enslaved with as little restraint as though they
had been wild beasts. Spain, by virtue of discovery, claimed all of the
region lying south of a line running west from Manhattan Island. It was
held under the name of Florida, and extended south to include Mexico. The
West India Islands and all south of Mexico to Brazil was also claimed by Spain.
But north of the Gulf of Mexico and in the far West was a vast region yet
wholly unexplored.
In 1528 Panfilo Narvaez, a Spanish nobleman, was
appointed by Charles V. Governor of Florida. He was given authority to
wrest it from the Indian inhabitants and rule over it. He fitted out an
expedition with five ships and four hundred soldiers, with implements to found
a colony. On the 12th of April his fleet anchored in a bay on the coast
of Florida, and he took formal possession of the country by proclamation in the
name of the Spanish King. Leaving his fleet with instructions to the
commander to find a good harbor and then to return to Havana for supplies for the
colony, Narvaez, with three hundred selected officers, plunged into the
wilderness to conquer the Indians and Seize their possessions. He began
war upon them, burning their villages, killing the inhabitants and carrying off
their provisions. The natives soon discovered that they should
exterminate the invaders, or themselves, or themselves be exterminated.
The tribes turned upon the Spanish army, lurked in ambush among the
tangled underbrush by day and made fierce attacks by night, giving their
enemies no rest. For more than five months the Spanish army wandered
through the forests and dismal swamps, subsisting upon fish and game,
with such corn as they could find in the deserted fields. The Indians
retreated before the invaders, burning their own villages and destroying their
provisions.
Narvaez now realized the desperation of his
situation, and followed a large river southward hoping to reach the sea and
open communication with his fleet. The Spanish were on the verge of
starvation, and in this extremity, some clumsy boats were built, by means of
which they hoped to reach the Gulf of Mexico. From battle and dismal,
one-third of the army had perished. Narvaez, in his desperation, took the
best boat, and, deserting his army, lost his own life in a storm. The
survivors were now reduced to five men, of whom Alvar Nunez was the leader.
They returned to the main land, and for years wandered about subsisting
upon fish, game and wild fruit. They searched in vain for a settlement.
They passed the mouth of the Mississippi River, were captured by the
Indians and enslaved. They were traded from one tribe to another and
carried almost to the foot of the Rocky Mountains. They were the first
men to ever see the white prairies of the West. After ten years spent in
the wilds of the interior, Nunez reached a Spanish settlement, the only
survivor if the expedition. Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca was the full name
of this first white man who transversed the future territory of Louisiana.
The fate of Narvaez and his companions did not
discourage other adventurers. Hernando de Soto was one of the most daring
of Pizaro's officers in the conquest of Peru. Upon the story of
Nunez, and the strange lands he had traversed in his ten years' wanderings, he
determined to lead an expedition into that region, which he believed to be rich
with gold. He hoped to rival Pizaro's achievements and win fortune and
fame. He was a favorite of the King and easily secured the appointment of
Governor of Cuba, with a grant of an indefinite amount of land in eastern
Florida.
He soon raised an army of more than one thousand
men. It was made up largely of nobles, cavaliers, soldiers of fortune and
ambitious young men. He embarked his army in ten vessels which he had
purchased and equipped. Priests, scientists, artisans, and miners were
secured, and three hundred and fifty of the best drilled soldiers of Spain were
added to the expedition. Live stock and farm implements were taken to
found a colony. Chains, fetters and bloodhounds were provided to be used
in enslaving the Indians. The soldiers were equipped with helmets,
shields and coats of mail for protection in battle. The expedition sailed
from Havana on the 12th of May, 1539, amid the booming of cannon and a
profusion of gay flags. All were in high spirits in anticipation of
wealth, glory and the easy conquest of Florida. Monette, in his history
of the Mississippi Valley, says:
"They were a band of gallant
freeboaters in quest of plunder and fortune; an army rendered cruel and forcious
by avarice, ready to march to any point with slaughter where they might plunder
Indian villages supposed to be sorted with gold and other riches."
Upon landing they at once entered into the forest,
and for a year wandered among the trackless woods and swamps of eastern Florida
and southern Georgia. They encountered savage resistance from the fierce
Seminoles, who made a desperate struggle for their homes and freedom.
The captives who were forced to act as guides craftily led the Spaniards
through tangled forests and amid impassable swamps, where by day and night the
Indian warriors assailed them.
The first winter was spent in the Appalachee
Country; and early in the spring De Soto pressed on through northern
Georgia and Alabama, encountering the Cherokees. In the lower Alabama
Valley the Indians had gathered a large army to resist the advance of
Spaniards. During the battle which was here fought, De Soto lost heavily,
and most of his baggage was burned. He turned northward into upper
Mississippi and encountered severe winter storms while camped on the
Tallahatchee. The Indians harassed the army, killing men and horses,
capturing clothing, armor, and other property. The Spaniards had
slaughtered men, women and children, tearing them with savage bloodhounds,
burning their villages and seizing all provisions. Now the time of
retribution was at hand. The Indians gave the invaders no rest. In
a battle fought in April, 1541, the Spaniards lost heavily, and retreated
westward through an uninhabitated region of forests and swamps. They
finally reached the banks of a large river, where they found and Indian village
named Chisca. They stood on the low shore and gazed upon the largest
river they had ever seen. Its swift current was sweeping southward with
irresistible power, bearing upon its turbid water great trees. They named
it the "Rio Grande" and encamped upon its eastern shore, to rest and
better care for the sick and wounded. The nights were made hideous with
the war-whoop and increasing attacks. Invaders were now on the defensive
and fighting for existence. After several days of continuous battle, De
Soto ordered a retreat northward along the river banks, followed by the ever
present foe. Reaching a prairie country where a better defense could be
made, it was decided that the only hope was to cross the river beyond the
attacks of the Indians. The order was given to the mechanics to build
boats sufficient to carry the army across.
Their situation was still full with perils.
De Soto now seemed to realize it. The search for gold had brought
no results, and all energies were now concentrated upon extricating the
survivors. To retreat meant financial ruin to all who had embarked their
fortunes in the expedition. The order was given to resume the march
westward. The point where the army crossed the river is supposed to have
been near the northwest corner of the State of Mississippi. The route led
through trackless forests, swamps, deep ravines, over rocky hills, among thorns
and tangled thickets so dense as to obscure the sunlight.
They at length emerged upon a vast treeless plain
stretching westward as far as the eye could reach. Game was found for
food, but there was no appearance of gold or inhabitants. But still they
pushed on westward in sheer desperation, until the barren plains were finally
reached, and here, for the first time, De Soto abandoned hope. He saw
that further search for gold was useless. His men were exhausted with
their long marches, scarcity of food, continuous warfare with the Indians and
increasing sickness. Of the thirteenth hundred men who started out in his
command, less than six hundred survived. The bones of seven hundred of
their comrades were bleaching along the line of their march. Nearly all
of their horses and their riders were struggling along on foot. The sick
and wounded were daily dying for want of suitable care and medical attendance.
He no longer commanded a conquering army, but was conducting a hopeless
band of fugitives to escape from an avenging and relentless enemy.
The only plan that seemed to offer a chance for
extrication from the perils which encompassed them was to return to the
"Rio Grande," as they called it, and construct some buildings to
better care for the disabled, build boats, send a portion of the command down
the river to the Gulf of Mexico in search of an aid, while the others defended
themselves, in rude fortifications, from the Indians. They followed down
the valley of the Arkansas River to its junction with the Mississippi, selected
a site for the army, encountered in constructing vessels from green trees were
almost insurmountable. The Indians assailed them day and night, while
decease was rapidly thinning their ranks.
De Soto was finally prostrated with fever, and in his
delirium raved wildly over the failure of all of his plans. Death came
and forever ended all his schemes and ambition. His followers gathered
sadly about his silent form, while the priests chanted a solemn requiem- the
first ever heard in the valley of the Mississippi-over the remains of the
departed commander. In order to conceal his death from the Indians, the
body was enclosed in a cavity hewn in a green oak log. He was wrapped in
his military cloak, and the rude coffin rowed into the middle of the river and
sunk beneath its waters. Thus his last resting place became the great
river of the continent, and for all time he will live in history as its
discoverer.
When the vessels were completed the army was
reduced by three hundred and fifty, including the sick. They descended
the river, the first White man to navigate the waters. Reaching the gulf,
they landed on an unsettled coast and wandered for months on the verge of
starvation. Finally the survivors, two hundred and fifty in number,
reached a spanish settlement in Mexico.
Spain was entitled to hold all of the region which
the armies under Narvaez, Nunez and De Soto had traversed.
It embraced territory which has since found eight
states of the American Union. But so disastrous had been the fate of the
explorers that no considerable portion of it was ever occupied by Spanish
colonists.
In 1564 Admiral Coligny; of France sent three ships
to Florida to establish colony. A settlement was made near St.
Mary's River, and no effort was spared by kind treatment to win the friendship
of the natives. Members of the colony in 1565 explored the country
westward in search of gold as far as the Mississippi River, but no permanent
settlement was made in its valley. Through the missionary zeal of the Jesuits,
the French had extended a chain of posts up the St. Lawrence River far westward
and around the great lakes. Bancroft says of his brotherhood:
"The history of their labors
is connected with the origin of every celebrated town in the annals of French
America. Not a river was entered, not a cape turned, but a Jesuit led the
way. Although certain privation and suffering were their lot, and
martyrdom might be the crown of their labors, they ventured into the remotest
regions and among the most warlike tribes."
In 1634 Jean Nicolet, a French explorer in the
Northwest, penetrated the forests beyond Lake Superior and about the Fox River.
It was thought by some that he descended the Wisconsin River to its
confluence with the Mississippi, and was the first discoverer of its
headwaters. But a careful tracing of his account of the country through
which he traveled, by recent historians, satisfies them that Nicolet never
penetrated the country as far as westward as to reach the Mississippi River.
In 1669 Father Claude Allouez, a French missionary,
explored the Canadian forests west to Lake Superior. Here he learned from
some remote Indian tribe that there was a great river in the distant west
called by them the "Mes-a-sip-pi," or "Great River."
They said no White man had been seen in the valley through which it
flowed. The country westward extending to the river was described by the
Indians as beautiful meadows covered with grass, and abounding in wild game.
In the Indian language "Mis-sus" signifies meadow, and the word
"Sepe" a river; hence we have "Mississippi," as some
early French explorers explained it, signifying "River of the
meadows."
The French at first supposed that the "River
of the Meadows" flowed toward the Pacific Ocean and would afford the long
sought direct route to china and India. The people of western Europe had
for nearly a hundred and fifty years been hoping to find a direct route by
water across the new continent, and it was long believed that it would be
reached through this "Great River," often mentioned by explorers.
The Jesuit revelations given by Father Claude
Dablon in 1607, in an account of the Illinois Indian, says:
"These people were the first
to come to Green Bay to trade with the French. The are settled in the
midst of a beautiful country away southwest toward a great river named
Mis-sis-se-pi. It takes its rise far in the north, flowing toward the
south, discharging its waters into the sea. All of the vast country
through which it flows is of prairie without trees. It is beyond this
river that the Illinois live, and from which are detached the 'Mus-co-tins,'
which signifies a land of trees."
It does not appear to have been suspected by any of
the early French Explorers that this river, so often told of by the Indians,
was part of the "Great River" discovered by De Soto more than one
hundred and thirty years before.