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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 Illinois, 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
uninhabited 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. |
