"Story City (original name, 'Fairview') and Palestine, each has some nice lands around, and energetic people to improve them. The county, though young, has an intelligent and enterprising population. The county contains probably about 6,000 persons. The geographical center of the State is believed to be within the limits of Story County—near Nevada. To the emigrant we would invite special attention.
W. G. A."
COMMENTS.
Since the above was written, twenty years have passed, and surprising improvements have been made within that time. This will be more fully explained hereafter or elsewhere in the history of the county, for it will be brought down to the present, 1887.
THE WAR DANCE BY INDIANS, 1856.
About six months prior to the Spirit Lake massacre we had the South Public Square(now a beautiful City Park), full of Indians; but they were friendly.' They were Pottawattamie and Musquaka Indians and were camping near the old ford of the West Indian Creek, on the east side, a short distance southwest from where the cemetery is now situated. There were probably one hundred and fifty or two hundred of then., big and little, squaws and all. Well, some of the citizens of Nevada raised a sum of money, by collection, for the Indians if they would give us a "war dance." They agreed to do so; so in the afternoon of the day, (in September, I think,) they assembled on the square named, equipped for the occasion in full Indian style, painted and tattooed for the dance. With some kind of a wild and unnatural sound of "turn, turn, turn," in the ring, they began their performance, squaws as well as "Injins" with a hideous noise and contortions of the face and body, jumping and squatting, wheeling round and round and chanting their "war song" as they would prance around the ring, which was, perhaps one hundred feet in circumference.
They surely looked frightful, or would have looked so had they meant "war." But they did not mean war. In about six months, from then, other Indians did mean war, as shown by their cruelty and massacre of our people in the Spirit Lake horror, which is noticed elsewhere.
Well, this war dance on the square lasted one or two hours. During this time the little "Injins" six to eight years old, with bow and arrow, would shoot and knock a five cent piece, set in a split stick, nearly every time, a distance of fifteen to eighteen feet. The five cent pieces then were not large as some we now have. When the money was hit or knocked out of the stick it was given to the little Injin as his reward for sharp shooting.
After the dance was over, and some begging done by the squaws, they returned to their camp, and on the following day they left us.