 |
Chapter Two
The
Pottawattamie Indians
By
treaty executed July 15, 1830 (7 Stat., 328-332), territory on the
Missouri river, now embraced in southwestern Iowa and the northwest
corner of Missouri, was ceded to the United States by the tribes or
nations of Indians known as Sacs, Sioux, lowas, Otoes, Missourias,
Foxes; they reserved hunting privileges therein until such time as the
government should locate upon the lands other Indians, whose removal
from east of the Mississippi river was contemplated, or until other
appropriation thereof should be made.
That portion of the ceded territory now in the State of Missouri was
triangular in form, or wedge shaped, and situated between the Little
Platte and Missouri rivers, being about fifty miles wide at the
northern end and running to a point at the junction of the streams,
opposite the site of the present Kansas City.
By treaties executed September 26 and 27, 1833 (7 Stat., 442 to 448),
several bands of Chippewas, Ottawas and Pottawattamies ceded to the
United States their possessory right to lands in the States of Illinois
and Indiana, consenting to removal to the west of the Mississippi
river, and a portion of the territory acquired by the United States
under the treaty of 1830, above mentioned, was assigned to them,
being specifically described by metes and bounds in the later treaty,
when finally ratified, as follows :
"Beginning at the mouth of Boyer 's
river ; thence down the
Missouri river to a point thereon from which a due E line would strtke
the NW corner of the State of Missouri ; thence along said E line to
the NW corner of said State ; thence along the northern boundary of
Missouri till it strikes the line of the lands of the Sac and Fox
Indians; thence northwardly along said line to a point from which a W
line would strike the sources of the little Sioux river- thence along
said W line till it strikes the sources of said river; thence down said
river to its mouth ; thence down the Missouri river to the beginning,
provided that the said boundary shall contain 5,000,000 acres ; but
should it contain more, then the said boundaries are to be
correspondingly reduced."
The northern boundary of this territory was never delimitated ; but the
site of the present city of Council Bluffs was embraced therein; the
wedge-shaped tract in Missouri was not. It may here be said that, at
the dates of the treaty last mentioned, the north line of the State of
Missouri appeared upon official maps several miles north of the now
existing Missouri-Iowa boundary, and the northwest corner of Missouri,
referred to in the description of lands above given, was fifty or sixty
miles east of the point at which it was finally
established — that is, a few miles east of Bedford, the county seat of
Taylor County, Iowa.
The removal of the Pottawattamie Indians from Illinois, under the
treaty of 1833, began in the fall of 1835, as hereinafter shown by
official records. The removal was under the supervision of the War
Department of which the Indian Bureau was then a part, and, for reasons
not necessary to state here, the officers and contractors
having
charge thereof carried the greater number of their charges to the
triangular territory above mentioned, although this land was not
included in the 1833 treaty. The Indians were located near and opposite
Fort Leavenworth and it was with great difficulty that they were
afterward induced to leave such location and take up residence upon the
Iowa lands.
The lands embraced in the triangle were unconditionally ceded to the
United States by the Indians party to the treaty of 1830 by
treaties of Sept. 10, 17, 27 ; Oct. 15, and Nov. 30, 1836 (see 7 Stat.,
510,
511, 516, 524, 525, 527) , and became a part of the State of Missouri.
It
was known as the "Platte Purchase". Then the trespassing Indian
emigrants were forced to remove to the country assigned them in Iowa.
There is some obscurity as to the precise date when the first of the
Indians arrived in the vicinity of the site of the present city of
Council Bluffs. There is some evidence, not fully convincing,
indicating that one party reached that locality in 1835 or 1836, but no
official record showing such fact has been found. Stutely E. Wicks, a
white member of the tribe through marriage with an Indian woman,
executed an affidavit at Council Bluffs, April 5, 1854, in which
appears the following allegation, viz. : —
"That he resided in the year 1836
with the Pottawattamie Indians in the Territory of Iowa immediately
adjoining and contiguous to the Missouri River."
But other allegations made in his deposition are so inconsistent with
facts well established by conclusive evidence as to discredit this, it
being apparent that he was mistaken in respect to dates of occurrences.
(See ''Old Blockhouse".)
The earliest officially authenticated arrival of the Pottawattamies at
or near the site of the present city of Council Bluffs, occurred
July 28, 1837, when Brigadier General H. Atkinson, commanding the First
Department of the Western Division of the Army, accompanied by Dr.
Edwin James, recently appointed Indian Sub-agent and placed in charge
of the Pottawattamies, with about one hundred of the women
and children and other members of the nation unable to march, on board
the steamer "Kansas", arrived at a point on the Missouri river "fifteen
or eighteen miles above the mouth of the great Platte river" and landed
"on the left bank of the Missouri river", where he formally committed
the Indians to the care of the sub-agent by letter of that date wherein
he said:
"Hd. Qrs. 1st Dept. West.
Div.
of
the U. S. Army,
Steamboat Kansas, near Belleview, July 28, 1837.
Sir:—
Having been ordered by the General in Chief of the Army, bearing date
20th June, and given
in conformity with instructions from the Secretary of War of the 19th
of June, to remove the Pottawattamies to their lands agreeably to the
treaty made on the 26th September, 1833, and ratified 21st February,
1835, and having landed a portion of them at this point, and the
residue being on their march and will shortly arrive, I consider the
object of the Government accomplished. . . ,
With respect. Sir, Your
Ob't
Serv't
H. Atkinson, Brig. Gen'l.
Dr. Edwin James,
Sub-Agent for Pottawattamies."
Pursuant to his duty General Atkinson made report to the Governor of
Missouri, as follows:
"Hd. Qrs. 1st Dept. West.
Div.
of
the Army,
Steamboat Kansas, Roche's Point, August 2, 1837.
To His Excellency,
G. W. Boggs, Governor of the State of Missouri.
Sir:—
I have the honor to inform you that, in obedience to orders from the
Secretary of War, I have removed the Pottawattamie Indians from within
the limits of this State to their own lands, and they have selected a
position and located themselves on the left bank of this river fifteen
or eighteen miles above the great Platte river. . . .
With highest Consideration,
Sir, I have the Honor to be
Your Most Ob't Serv't,
H. Atkinson, Brig. Gen'l U. S. Army."
General Atkinson submitted simultaneous, but separate, reports, in
substantially the same language, to Major General Macomb, General in
Chief of the Army, and to General William Clark, Superintendent of
Indian Affairs. The following is from the letter to General Clark,
to-wit :
"Hd. Qrs. 1st Dept. West.
Div.
of
the U. S. Army,
Jefferson Barracks, August 5, 1837.
Sir.—
I returned yesterday from among the Pottawattamies and lowas and Sacks
of the Missouri River, whither I had been ordered by the Secretary of
War to remove the Pottawattamies to their own lands agreeably to
treaty. Part of the band, accompanied by their agent, Dr. James, was
landed at a point on the left bank of the Missouri river fifteen or
eighteen miles above the
mouth of the great Platte, whither the main body were under march and
would arrive in four or five days after. This position or one In the
immediate neighborhood is selected by the Indians as their permanent
home. . . .
With Great Respect, Sir, I
have
the Honor
to be Your Ob't Serv't,
H. Atkinson, Brig. G^n'l U. S. Army,
General William Clark,
Superintendent of Indian Affairs, St. Louis."
The foregoing extracts are taken from unpublished copies of letters and
reports in the files of the Indian Office, Washington, D. C, relating
to the emigration of the Pottawattamie Indians under the treaty of
1833. The removal of those who finally located in Southwestern Iowa,
never exceeding 3000, began in 1835 and terminated in 1838. With his
official report, dated November 28, 1840, the Commissioner of Indian
Affairs submitted a statement from which has been taken the following:
Captain Russell removed, in the
fall of 1835. a large party of the Chicago Indians, and, in 1836, Mr.
Kercheval removed another party ; but it would appear, from a letter
from Dr. James, sub-agent, &c., that both together did not exceed
1,455
Prior to November, 1837, the same band had removed, themselves 842
On the 26th of November, 1837, Colonel Sands delivered 287
And, in the fall of 1838, Mr. Berry delivered 150
Whole number of Ottawas, Chippewas and Pottawattamies removed prior to
1840 (all in the Council
Bluffs sub-agency) 2,734
(H. Doc, 26th Cong., 2d Sess., Volume 1, Page 253.)
August 4, 1837, Captain D. B. Moore, in command of Company C of the
First Regiment of Dragoons, having marched from Fort Leavenworth,
arrived at the Council Bluffs Sub-agency for the purpose of affording
protection to the emigrating Pottawattamies from hostile treatment by
their belligerent neighbors to the northward. Pursuant to his orders he
caused to be erected in that vicinity a blockhouse,
and, with his command returned to Fort Leavenworth on November 1, 1837,
his report to Colonel Kearny relative to the carrying out of orders
given in connection with the expedition having been dated at Fort
Leavenworth on the 11th of that month. (See "Old Blockhouse.")
This blockhouse formed the nucleus of Chief Billy Caldwell 's village.
The precise dates when it was begun and finished have not been found ;
nor is it known with certainty when Caldwell and his band took up
residence there ; but it may be presumed that the two events were
coincident.
The place of first encampment of the Pottawattamies was described in
the first official report submitted by Dr. James, sub-agent, and the
report was accompanied by a sketch map of the new Pottawattamie
country, a diagram prepared from it is printed herein. From Dr. James'
report is taken the following:
"Sub-Agency of Council
Bluffs,
(Bellevue) Aug. 11th, 1837.
Gen. Wm. Clark.
Sir:
The second detachment of emigrating Pottawattomies, about
seventy-five in number, arrived in their own country pr. steamboat
Howard on the 8th inst. and encamped with those who came by the Kansas,
about two miles above this place in a grove adjoining a fine dry
prairie. This position combines more advantages than we can find in any
other; here we expect to establish the issue house, and to be joined
before many days by the main body of the nation, who have now been
twenty-three days on
the march by land from the Black Snake ffills. . ' . .
With great respect your
obedient servant,
Edwin James, Sub- Agent for Council Bluffs." (S. Doc. 25th Cong., 2d
Sess., Vol. 1, page 549.)
From the next letter or report submitted by Dr. James, which does not
appear to have been published, though on file in the Indian Office, the
following extract is made, to-wit:
"Sub-Agency of Council Bluifs,
Aug.
30th, 1837. Gen. Wm. Clark.
Sir: All of the Pottawattomies lately resident in the Platte Purchase
have arrived in their own country, except two or three who died by the
way.
They express themselves well satisfied with the lands and profess a
strong desire to cultivate largely ; and to have schools established
among them without loss of time. . . . "
It is not the purpose of this work to give a complete history in detail
of the Pottawattamie Indians in southwestern Iowa, but to note merely
such principal matters of interest among them as pertain to the
immediate vicinity of Council Bluffs, although the writer feels
constrained to make correction of error relating to the general history
of these Indians where the same has come to his notice in the course of
research for this publication. It clearly appears, from the report of
Dr. James, and other authorities herein cited, that all of the
Pottawattamies who had been upon the Platte Purchase, and about 280
from east of the Mississippi, not reported by him, reached the
neighborhood of the site of the present city of Council Bluffs in 1837,
and about 150, from the east, joined them in 1838. In his annual report
for 1838,
the Commissioner of Indian Affairs said :
"There have emigrated within the
year 151 Chippewa, Ottawa and Pottawattamies. " (Sen. Doc, 25th Cong.,
3d Sess., Vol. 1, page 443.)
The various bands soon spread over the adjacent country and established
villages at many points. The village of Billy Caldwell's band was
situated upon the precise spot where the original town of Council
Bluffs b(!camo located in 1846, and probably not over 500 Indians were
at any one time located in that immediate vicinity.
Mr. Jacob Van der Zee, in a paper published in the July, 1913, number
of the Iowa Journal of History and Politics, reprinted as a booklet
under the title ' ' Episodes in the Early History of the
Western Iowa Country", has stated, upon the authority of a number of
writers and publications duly accredited, that :
"Dr. James continued to reside at
'the Council Bluffs sub-agency' until his resignation in 1838, and
after that the Council Bluffs agent at Bellevue took charge for a
while. David Hardin and his family arrived early in the spring of 1838
on board the steamer 'Antelope' from Fort Leavenworth. He had been
appointed farmer to the Pottawattamies in September, 1836, at a salary
of $600. It is said that he located near a big spring on what is now
East Broadway, Council Bluff's. The Pottawattamies planted very little
com or anything else, 'except here and there one, who happened to have
a hoe or a plough'. One band consisting of about one-third of the
nation, headed by Chief
Big Foot, did not enter the Iowa country until the fall of 1838 and
then retired eastward to set up a village on the Nishnabotna river
almost fifty miles away. All the other villages were from two to
fifteen miles distant from the agency
buildings."
Mr. Hardin's name was Davis (not David). He was appointed Assistant
Indian Farmer September 1, 1836, with salary of $600, and assumed duty
in 1837 at the Council Bluffs Sub-agency, under contract with Dr.
James, and appears upon the published roll of Indian Bureau employees
for that year as "David Harolin"; on the 1838 roll the name is "
Hardin". It appears from unpublished records in the Indian Office that
his legal connection with the service terminated with that year, but he
was recognized by the Superintendent of Indian Affairs as entitled to
pay to the close of 1839, when his name was dropped from the official
roll. He continued to reside upon the agency farm, although efforts
were made to oust him, and alleged that he had not been formally
notified of his removal; so, June 20, 1842, a formal letter of
dismissal was delivered to him in person, whereupon he demanded payment
to that date. The attainable records do not disclose the final
disposition of his claim.
He may have located with his family temporarily at the spring on East
Broadway; but the agency farm, — to at least a part of which one of his
sons subsequently acquired title, — was found by the United States
Surveys made in 1851 and 1852, to embrace the Lot 4 (W 1/2 SW 1/4) Sec.
14, and E1/2SE14 Sec. 15, T. 74 N., R. 44 W., 5th P. M. (See Kanesville
Cash Entry No. 160, made by Richard S. Hardin, May 28, 1853, General
Land Office file.) This land lies two miles west and four miles south
of the site of Billy Caldwell's village, and is partly within the
"4-mile circle from the postoffice," as that
circle is laid down on "Allen's Suburban Map of Council Bluffs"
published in 1890.
In his official report of October 12, 1840, Sub-agent Stephen Cooper
said:
"There is no farmer within my
agency and the Indians state they do not wish for one."
(Sen. Doc., 26th Cong., 2d Sess., Vol. 1, page 322.)
(Also see Sen. Doc, 28th Cong., 1st Sess., Vol. 1, page 393.)
May 31, 1838, Father Pierre-Jean De Smet, S. J., accompanied by Father
Felix Verreydt and lay brother Mazelli, arrived at the Council Bluffs
sub-agency and established among the Pottawattamies a mission which was
named St. Joseph but frequently mentioned by the name St. Mary. The old
fort given them by Colonel Kearney, to which they built an addition,
together with some small cabins given by Chief Caldwell and a dwelling
erected by themselves in 1839, served as church or chapel, school and
residence for the missionaries. (See "Old Blockhouse".)
Father De Smet's early letters from this mission are said to have been
the beginning of the series from which his name became so widely known.
They contained glowing accounts of the success being attained in the
evangelization and education of the Indians ; but he was called away
and sent to other fields late in 1839, and prosperity, which had
already begun to wane, seems to have forsaken the mission entirely soon
after his departure, and it was closed and finally abandoned in July or
August, 1841, having lived but a little more than three years. No other
mission or school of any kind appears to have been established at the
place during the subsequent six years of occupancy by the
Pottawattamies.
Ilon. Dexter C. Bloomer, of Council Bluffs, published more matter
relative to the early history of the Council Bluffs region than any
other person. He was a most estimable and conscientious man ; but,
unfortunately, although a lawyer by profession, he was not a deep
investigator. Nearly all of the quasi historical matter furnished by
him was based upon hearsay, legend and tradition, and much of it proves
upon investigation to have been erroneous. Especially is this
the case with his contributions to Annals of Iowa relative to the
coming of the Pottawattamies and the building of the old blockhouse.
(See Annals of Iowa, Volumes 8-9, pages 523, 527, 666; also Third
Series, Volume 2, page 549.)
Mr. Bloomer fixed the dates of the coming of the Indians and the
erection of the blockhouse as 1838 and 1839 respectively; whereas they
were practically synonymous events which occurred in 1837. He said that
the blockhouse was the "first building erected in Potta- wattamie
county", apparently forgetting or ignoring the fact that he had also
written of the location of Hart 's trading house within
that territory "as early as 1824". In connection with the arrival of
the Indians he said: "Davis Hardin was their agent and came with them";
also that, "Mr. Hardin caused a mill to be built on
Mosquito Creek for the grinding of grain raised by them and himself".
There is no record connected with the arrival of the Pottawattamie
Indians in the vicinity to indicate that Mr. Hardin was with them. The
record shows that Dr. Edwin James came with the party that first
arrived, having been appointed as a sub-agent and assigned to the
Pottawattamies in April, 1837, and that the emigrating Indians were
delivered to him by General Atkinson on the date of arrival. The farm
settled upon by Mr. Hardin — that is selected by him for the Indians,
whose farmer he was — comprised land near what was afterward called
"Council Point", but no such name existed at the date of his arrival.
The official records (letters on file in the Indian
Office) show that the mill referred to by Mr. Bloomer was built at the
expense of the Indians, in 1841, by Samuel N. Holcomb, under contract
made in 1840 between him and Chief Billy Caldwell, at which time Mr.
Hardin had no connection with the Indian service.
For several years after the Pottawattamies left the vicinity the mill
just mentioned was operated under lease by Stutely E. Wicks, and, in
time, became known as "Wicks' Mill". Tradition accredited Mr. Wicks as
miller for the Indians, but no government record attests the fact. He
was undoubtedly connected with the institution while under Indian or
government control, but does not appear to have held appointment as
miller. He became owner of the property by purchase from George
Scofield, who entered and acquired title from the government to the
land upon which it stood. (See Cash Entry No. 184, Kanesville series.
May 31, 1854, in General Land Office files, Washington, D. C.)
The fii'st mention of this mill found in published reports of the
Indian ser\dce appears under date of October 2, 1841, wherein Sub-agent
Cooper said :
"There is neither farmer nor
school
teacher employed by the Government
within this sub-agency.
The Chiefs complain that their treaty stipulations have not been
complied with, and, in consequence of which, they have built a
saw-and-grist mill at their own expense that is doing a tolerable good
business.
Bill Caldwell, the principal business chief of this nation, and who
drew a life annuity of $1,000 per annum, died on the
27th ultimo."
(Sen. Doc, 27th Cong., 2d Sess., Vol. 1, page 357.)
(Sen. Doc, 28th Cong., 1st Sess., Vol. 1, page 393.)
Some of the errors above mentioned have been repeated and perpetuated
in publications of later date. Among those that have come to the
attention of the writer are :
"History of Pottawattamie County,
Iowa", by Homer H. Field and Jaseph R. Reed;
"History of Iowa", by Hon. Benjamin F. Cue;
"History of Western Iowa", published by the Western Publishing Company,
Sioux City;
"History of Mills County, Iowa", published by the Iowa Historical
Company, Chicago;
"History of Pottawattamie County, Iowa", published by O. L.Baskin &
Co., Chicago;
"Biographical History of Pottawattamie County, Iowa", 1891, published
by the Lewis Publishing Company;
"Episodes in the Early History of Western Iowa", by Jacob Van der Zee,
reprinted from the July, 1913, number of the Iowa Journal of History
and Politics, by the State Historical Society of Iowa, Iowa City.
A quotation from the work last-above mentioned has been made
hereinbefore which contains, in addition to other things, the statement
that Bigfoot's band did not "enter the Iowa country until the fall of
1838" and then "set up a village on the Nishnabotna River" fpage 24).
On page 25, referring to the fear of the Pottawattamies soon aftf'r
aiTival that tliey would be attacked by the Sioux, it is said :
"To quiet tlicir alarm and
apprehensions Colonel Stephen Watts Kearny hastened from Fort
Ijeavenwortli in command of a bo<ly of dragoons, arriving on l)()ard
the steamer 'Antelope'.
They at once erected a blockhouse twenty-four feet square and set up
barracks and tents on the ground near by."
Both of the statements are erroneous. According to the official records
Bigfoot's band arrived in the Iowa country in the fall of 1837. Indian
Agent John Dougherty, then in charge of the Pottawattamie sub-agency,
in his official report dated Bellevue, November 25, 1838, stated that:
"Big Foot's band came too late to
raise corn last spring. They came in last fall and received their
annuities and rations, and returned to the Des Moines River, where they
spent the winter with some of the Missouri Sacs, and I understand it is
their intention to return to that place as soon as they receive their
annuities again." (Sen. Doc, 25th Cong., 3d Sess., Vol. 1, page 321.)
Official documents indicate that Colonel Kearny was officially present
in the vicinity of Council Bluffs' site spring of 1838; summer of 1839,
and in 1840 ; no other visits mentioned. On the latter
occasion he was in command of troops contemplating punitive measures
against the Pawnees and Otoes. The other visits were for examination of
sites for a fort, on the west (right) side of the river, resulting in
the location of the old fort which bore his name at the site of
Nebraska
City. He left Fort Leavenworth June 30, 1846, for participation in the
war with Mexico. (Sen. Doc, 29th Cong., 2d Sess., Vol. 1, page 49.)
Referring to the location of the several bands or tribes under his
jurisdiction. Sub-agent Cooper, in his report dated October 12, 1840,
said:
"Many of them have large fields,
well fenced in, with good log cabins, and are settled in villages from
two to five, ten or fifteen miles from the Council Bluffs sub-agency —
except Big Foot's band, who live upon the waters of the Nishnebottona,
about fifty miles east of this agency, which band constitutes about
one-third of the nation." (Sen. Doc, 26th Cong 2d Sess., Vol. 1, page
321.)
It is within the knowledge of the writer founded on good authority,
that Big Foot's village was on Indian creek, a tributary of the
Nishnabotna river, a short distance above the confluence with that
river which place subsequently became known, and still appears upon
maps, as Iranistan. That is, the village was "on the waters of the
Nishnebottona", but not actually on that stream.
The report last quoted showed, also, that the offices of the subagency
were still situated nearly opposite the mouth of the Platte river, and
that the number of Indians within the sub-agency was about two
thousand, of whom 550 were warriors. (See Sen. Doc, 26th Cong., 2d
Sess., Vol. 1, page 322.)
An additional report was submitted by Sub-agent Cooper, in the fall of
1840, wherein appears the following:
"Schools, there are none here
under
the authority of the government. There are two Roman Catholic priests
residing within my agency, of good moral character, who set a good
example to the Indians and half breeds. They have a chapel, and school,
and teacher, and have several young Indians in the school who are
coming on pretty well." (Sen. Doc, 26th Cong., 2d Sess., Vol. 1, page
397.)
The original landing of the Indians in 1837 was in the vicinity of the
site of the agency farm as located by Mr. Hardin ; possibly at the
lauding shown by government survey about a mile below Hardin's house,
now in Lake Manawa. Soon after the landing headquarters of the
sub-agency were established at a point nearly opposite the mouth of the
Platte river. Sometime prior to 1845 removal to Point aux Poulos was
effected. July 24, of that year, Sub-agent Elliott reported that:
"The number in this sub-agency is
about 2000.
We have no schools or missions among the Pottawattamies.
The half breeds, men and women, among the Pottawattamies, all wear the
dress of the whites, and adopt our mode of life so far as their
knowledge and means enable them to do so.
The office of this sub-agency is located at Point aux Poulos, on the
northeast bank of the Missouri river, about twenty miles below the
mouth of Boycr's river, and opposite Bellevue, as marked on the map.
The distance to the Missouri State line is about thirty-five miles.
High Creek postoffice, in Atchison
(late Holt) County, Missouri, is the nearest postoffice to this place.
The three trading houses of this sub-agency are at Point aux Poulos."
(Sen. Doc, 29th Cong., 1st Sess., Vol. 1, page 470.)
When the offices of the sub-agency were removed from the point opposite
th(! mouth of the Platte; where removed to at the time, or when
established at Point aux Poulos, are questions not answerable from
any of the discovered official records. In the spring of 1843, when
Captain Burgwin's cantonment of Fort Croghan was inundated by the
Missouri river, it appears that the sub-agency establishment was also
flooded, and it is not improbable that the offices were removed from
the site then occupied at the same time as the troops removed to the
highlands. Captain Burgwin was at the time in charge, temporarily, of
the sub-agency affairs, and it is probable that he had removed the
offices to his cantonment for convenience, and that they were removed
to the same point to which the military establishment was taken.
Richard S. Elliott was appointed sub-agent of the Council Bluffs agency
early in 1843, and assumed charge on June 1st of that year. In a letter
of that date, addressed to the Superintendent of Indian Affairs at St.
Louis, he reported his arrival and acknowledged receipt of the papers
and effects of the sub-agency from Captain Burgwin as of that date. The
precise point from which he wrote does not appear, but he said:
"The mills for the agency for
lumber and grist are in tolerable order; and a blacksmith shop is in
progress of erection at the mills, the tools having been removed from
the river on account of the high waters of a few weeks since.
' ' I find no suitable buildings for the agency. There is a cabin some
distance down the river from the point at which I write this, but it is
unfortunately located as well for the health and comfort of the
Sub-Agent as for the business of the Indians; and it should, I think,
be sold as soon as possible. It might, I have no doubt, be disposed of
to the present occupant, Mr. Stephen Cooper, who is a mere tenant by
sufferance, but would be very unwilling to leave the place if he could
avoid it. If authorized to do so I will dispose of the building. Mr.
Cooper is a licensed trader.
"Under the circumstances I deem it my duty, as well to the Indians as
to my family, to request an allowance of at least five hundred dollars
to erect a suitable agency house, and, if I receive the allowance, I
will locate the building so as to accommadate the Indians during their
stay in the country, and to bring the government a good price when they
leave. I have no house now. . . ."
Soon after his arrival Mr. Elliott recommended the appointment as
interpreter for the sub-agency of Claude Laf ramboise, to succeed Louis
Ouilmot, and, in a letter dated July 31, 1843, explained to the
Superintendent of Indian Affairs his reasons for the recommendation as
follows:
" .... My reasons for nominating
Mr. Lafraraboise were these : Mr. Louis Ouilmot informed me that he did
not desire to remain in the situation, and Mr. Laframboise appeared to
be well qualified, resides near my office at Caldwell 's Village, and
is very hospitable to the Indians. . . ."
It thus appears that at the date of that letter the offices of the
subagency, such as they were, were at Billy Caldwell's village, the
site of the present city of Council Bluffs. How long they were
maintained at that point does not appear; but it is evident that the
location was merely temporary, and that they were established (probably
re-established) at Point aux Poulos, where was situated the house
mentioned as being occupied by Mr. Cooper, as indicated by Mr.
Elliott's letter of June 1, 1843, quoted and cited above. It does not
clearly appear whether Mr, Elliott was allowed the funds for the
erection of a new house; the correspondence relating to his request
indicated that the Superintendent of Indian Affairs was opposed to the
making of such expenditure at the time.
September 26, 1843, Sub-Agent Elliott, who had been in charge of the
sub-agency for about four months, wrote regarding the Pottawattamie
lands as follows :
"These lands are exceedingly
fertile, but, owing to the scarcity of timber, of rock and indeed
minerals of every kind, they are not so valuable for the purposes of
the white man as one would suppose by looking at the map, which shows
this region to be the only outlet to market for the vast Territory of
Iowa. Still, their value is sufficient to justify the Government in
paying a very handsome price for them, and it is manifest that they
must be treated for at a very early date."
This appraisement of the value of the Pottawattamie lands must be
regarded as almost humorous by readers of the present day when there is
scarcely an acre of the entire domain, except that occupied by towns
and cities, highways and other public service works, not actually
devoted to purposes of agriculture of the most profitable (•hara(!tor;
and when the newspapers frequently announce sale at from (Hie hundred
and twoity-five to two hundred dollars per acre at public auction in
the settlement of estates, &c.
Within the territory formerly occupied by the Pottawattamies are
thousands of acres of the finest and most profitable apple orchards in
the world, while the production of corn and other field crops
throughout the region is phenomenal. These, coupled with the
stockraising pursuits of the people, justify the belief that there
exists no richer section anywhere.
Early in 1842 circumstances indicated serious trouble between the
Pottawattamies and Sioux, the latter never having become reconciled to
the occupancy of the country by the former. The Pottawattamies,
anticipating attack, had arranged for assistance in the defense with
neighboring Otoes, lowas and Sacs, and war seemed imminent. Colonel
Kearny, in command at Fort Leavenworth, despatched Captain J. H. K,
Burgwin, with a company of the First Dragoons to the scene of action.
The troops arrived May 31st and established a military post near the
Indian farm which they named Camp Fenwick. In the fall they constructed
a log cantonment and the name was changed to Fort Croghan, where the
command spent the winter. In April, 1843, a freshet in the Missouri
river inundated the cantonment, compelling the command to retire to the
highlands. Soon afterward the eminent naturalist, John James Audubon,
visited the place and there for the first time saw a Yellow-headed
Troupial. The fort was abandoned October 6, 1843. (See Fort Croghan.)
The Pottawattamie occupancy of the territory in Iowa, in which is
included the site of the present city of Council Bluffs, continued for
a period of a little more than ten years — 1837 to 1847 — their
possessory right having been terminated by a treaty negotiated at
Washington during the winter and spring of 1846 (see 9 Stat. 853-856),
which was signed by the Iowa bands June 5th, and by those on the Osage
river June 17th, of that year. Under the terms of this treaty the
Indians relinquished claim to the Iowa lands receiving in exchange a
money consideration and a tract of land thirty miles square in Kansas,
and they were obligated to remove within two years from the date of the
ratification of the treaty by the United States Senate, which occurred
July 22, 1846, and the treaty was officially promulgated by
proclamation issued the following day. These bands were composed of
Ottawa, Chippewa and Pottawattamie Indians and, it was provided by the
treaty just mentioned that thereafter they should be known as the "
Pottowautomie Nation".
The removal occurred, or was at least begun, in the fall of 1847, and
in reference to that event Thomas H. Harvey, Superintendent of
Indian Affairs at St. Louis, addressed a communication to the
Commissioner of Indian Affairs, dated October 29, 1847, wherein he said
:
"The Potawatomies, although not
compelled to emigrate until July, 1848, have commenced emigration under
the most satisfactory circumstances. I attended the payment at the
Council Bluffs sub-agency, and urged their immediate emigration ; they
entered into it with great spirit, and immediately after payment,
started for their new homes, crossing the Missouri river at different
points in large parties. ... I presume before this reaches you, the
Potawatomie emigration will have been completed."
And he added, as an apparent important piece of information, this
statement, viz.:
"At the late Pottawattamie treaty
(at both the Council Bluffs and Osage river sub-agencies) the Indians
gave their notes to the traders for more than ninety thousand dollars."
(Sen. Doc, 30th Cong., 1st Sess., Vol. 1, page 837.)
The total number of these Indians did not exceed three thousand, so the
notes given to the traders represented indebtedness amounting to about
thirty dollars per capita.
The precise date when the Pottawattamies began their removal from the
vicinity of the site of the present city of Council Bluffs may not be
more definitely fixed than it is by the preceding quotation; that is
about September, 1847. It is clearly established, however, that the
removal had been completely effected prior to the fall of 1848. In his
official report dated Fort Leavenworth, September 26, 1848, Indian
Agent R. S. Cummins said :
"A census of the Pottawattamies I
have not been able to take; even if they had been taken, they would not
fully have answered the purpose. These Indians have but recently
emigrated to their new country." (Sen. Doc, 30th Cong., 2d Sess., Vol.
1, page 445.)
In a communication dated October 4, 1848, the Superintendent of Indian
Affairs at St. Louis, said:
"The Pottawattamies, who, at the
date of my annual report of last year, liad not emigrated, have since
removed to their new homes, without causing the slightest embarrassment
to the f^overnmont ; they deserve much credit for tlieir promptness,
especially as the entire emigration was effected within the time limit
of the treaty for their removal. They are pleased, and justly so, with
their new homes, and I am gratified to be able to inform you that they
are now living in fraternal amity, after having lived in separate bauds
for so many years. ' ' ( Sen. Doc, 30th Cong., 2d Sess., Vol. 1, page
439.)
In his official report for the year, dated November 30, 1848, the
Commissioner of Indian Affairs stated that :
"Within the past year the
Pottawattamies, who have heretofore been separated (the larger portion
being in Iowa and the others on the Osage river), have completed their
removal to their new country on the Kansas river, between the Delawares
and Shawnees, where they are now comfortably settled. .. .Much credit
is due them, not only for their prompt removal, but for the peaceable
and orderly manner in which it was conducted. It was a new feature in
our Indian system, to see an entire tribe of Indians quietly and
without disorder of any kind remove themselves to a new country,
nearl}^ two hundred miles from most of them, in conformity with a
stipulation to that effect in a treaty which had been made with the
government; and bearing their own expenses out of funds set apart for
that purpose." (Sen. Doc, 30th Cong., 2d Sess., Vol. 1, page 395.)
The Commissioner, in this same report, referring to the Winnebago
Indians, said:
"The removal of this tribe, and
of
the Pottawattamies, has entirely freed Iowa of her Indian population."
(Sen. Doc, 30th Cong., 2d Sess., Vol. 1, page 435.)
During their residence in Southwestern Iowa the Pottawattamies made
very slight progress toward civilization and established little or
nothing resembling permanent homes or improvements of value. Their
shortcomings in these respects were due, no doubt to their unsettled
condition. There was scarcely an interval between the completion of the
treaty of 1833 by which they surrendered their lands in Illinois and
Indiana and the beginning of overtures for the cession of the lands to
which they were about to be removed, it having occurred to some one
that they should be located farther south, at some point south of the
Missouri river. (Sen. Doc, 24th Cong., 2d Sess., Vol. 1, pages 392-3,
395-6.)
Efforts to secure a new treatv with these Indians continued to be made
from time to time thereafter during their entire occupancy of the lands
in Iowa and on the Osage river. Sub-agent R. B. Mitchell, in a report
dated September 11, 1846, said :
"The unsettled condition of this
nation for some years has prevented their making the improvements
necessary for convenience and comfort." (Sen. Doc, 29th Cong., 2d
Sess., Vol. 1, page 300.)
The Missouri river near the site of the present city of Council Bluffs
was reached by the advance guard of the Mormon emigration to the Rocky
Mountains, June 14, 1846; a few days after the Pottawattamie treaty had
been signed by the Indians in that vicinity, and three days before it
was signed by those residing in the Osage country. Their arrival was
announced to the Department at Washington by report of the
Superintendent of Indian Affairs, dated St. Louis, September 5, 1846.
He said :
"There is at this time, and has
been for several months, a large number of Mormons (supposed to be
4,000 to 8,000) in the Indian country. They have passed into the
Potawatomie Country at the Council Bluffs. A large number have crossed
the Missouri river and are on their way to Grand Island, in the Platte
or Nebraska river. Another portion of them are desirous to remain next
spring on the Boyer river, in Potawatomie Country ; to which they have
obtained the consent of the Indians. The sub-agent at that place
reports that they are conducting themselves well, and do not seem
disposed to interfere at all with the Indians. I have instructed him to
use his influence to prevent a waste of timber by them." (Sen. Doc,
29th Cong., 2d Sess., Vol. 1, page 287.)
These Mormons, the Pottawattamie Indians, and here and there a
"gentile" pioneer, occupied this southwestern Iowa country, the Mormon
villages being scattered about as greatly as those of the Indians, for
upward of a year prior to Indian removal, and, inasmuch as neither the
records of the Indian Office nor those of the Mormon Church disclose
serious difficulty among them, it may be assumed that they dwelled
together in harmony and brotherly love. (See The Mormons.)
|
|
|
|
