Jasper Co. IAGenWeb
Past and Present of Jasper Co.

CHAPTER III
CHANGE FROM INDIAN TO WHITE MAN'S OCCUPANCY

Past and Present of Jasper County Iowa
B.F. Bowden & Company, Indianapolis, IN, 1912


The date of the Black Hawk War was in 1832, and about one hundred years before that time the land within what is now Jasper County, Iowa, was the hunting ground of the Iowa Indians, the Sacs and the Foxes. At the time of the Indian War just mentioned, the whole territory east of the Mississippi River was taken from the control of the red man and given over to the authority of the white race, to whom the world is indebted for its wonderful development and present priceless value. The Fox Indians were mercilessly driven from Canada, the movement for that purpose being started in 1714, continuing with great vigor under De Louvigney, who gave them a terrible defeat on Fox River. In 1728 they were driven farther to the west, and in 1746 the most of the tribe (those who had escaped with their lives) had crossed the Mississippi. Subsequent to this the Sacs, who had formed a union with the Iroquois in New York State and had dislodged the Illinois tribes from their grounds, which extended as far west as the Des Moines River, crossed the Mississippi and also formed a close alliance with the Foxes.

The Iowas were at one time identified with the Sacs of Rock River, but for some unknown cause they separated and started out as a band independent. The eight leading families of this tribe formed classes, or parties, known by the name of the different animals or birds, which they chose as types or symbols of their respective families - the eagle, the pigeon, the bear, the elk, the beaver, the buffalo and the snake - and were known severally in their tribe by the peculiar manner in which they wore their hair. The Eagle family was marked by two locks of hair on the front part of the head and one on the back left part; the Wolf family had scattered bunches of hair left, representing islands whence their families were supposed to have sprung; the Bear family left one side of the hair of the head much longer than the other; the Buffalo family left a strip of long hair from the front to the rear part of the head with two bunches on each side to represent horns; and so on through all the families.

For a time the Iowas occupied common hunting grounds with the Sacs and Foxes, but feuds eventually sprung up between them and they became greatly diminished in numbers and strength by the onslaughts of their more powerful enemies. The principal village of the Iowas was on the Des Moines, in what is now Van Buren County, and on the site of the town of Iowaville. This was the scene of the great battle between the Iowas and Sacs and Foxes, in which Black Hawk, then a young man, commanded one division of the attacking force. The battle resulted in the crushing defeat of the Iowas, who were driven west of the Des Moines River in dismay, having lost, in killed and prisoners, a large portion of their former numbers.

INDIAN TREATIES

North of the hunting grounds of the Sacs and Foxes were those of the Sioux, a fierce and warlike nation, which often disputed possession with their rivals in savage and bloody warfare. The possessions of these tribes were mostly located in Minnesota, but extended over a portion of northern and western Iowa to the Missouri River. Their descent from the north upon the hunting grounds of Iowa frequently brought them in collision with the Sacs and Foxes and after many a conflict and struggle, a boundary line was established between them by the government of the United States in a treaty held at Prairie du Chien in 1825. But this, instead of settling the difficulties, caused them to quarrel all the more in consequence of alleged trespass upon each other's side of the line. These contests were kept up and became so unrelenting that in 1830 the government bought of the respective tribes of the Sacs and Foxes, and the Sioux, a strip of land twenty miles in width on both sides of the line and, thus throwing them forty miles apart by creating between them a "neutral ground," commanded them to cease their hostilities. The boundary line of this as surveyed by the terms of the treaty of 1825, was thus fixed: Commencing at the mouth of the Upper Iowa River on the west bank of the Mississippi, and ascending said Iowa River to its west fork; thence by the fork to its source; thence crossing the fork of Cedar River in a direct line to the second or upper fork of the Des Moines River; thence in a direct line to the lower fork of the Calumet River and down that river to its junction with the Missouri River.

On the 15th of July, 1830, the Sacs and Foxes ceded to the United States a strip of country lying south of the above line, twenty miles in width and extending along the line aforesaid from the Mississippi to the Des Moines River. The Sioux also ceded in the same treaty a like strip on the north line of the boundary. Thus the United States became into possession of a portion of Iowa forty miles in width and extending along the Clark and Cass line of 1825, from the Mississippi to the Des Moines River. This territory was known as the "neutral ground" and the tribes on either side of the line were allowed to fish and hunt on it unmolested till the Winnebago's were moved to it in 1841.

Thus the southern boundary of the "neutral ground" was established to pass through the northwest portion of Story County and Jasper became the possession of the Sacs and Foxes under the protection of the national government.

In 1832 the Sacs and Foxes relinquished a strip of country fifty miles wide bordering on the Mississippi, from Minnesota to Missouri, and accepted in exchange a reservation of four hundred sections lying along the Iowa River. In 1836 the Indians ceded a strip lying alongside the lands relinquished in 1832, twenty-five miles wide in the center and terminating in a point at each end. Another treaty was made with the allied tribes in 1837, by which they agreed to dispose of all their land lying south of the neutral grounds, but the bargain was not consummated.

The last treaty was made with the Sacs and Foxes October 11, 1842, and ratified March 23, 1843. It was made at the Sacs and Fox agency (Agency City) by John Chambers, commissioner on behalf of the United States. In this treaty the Sacs and Fox Indians ceded to the United States all their lands west of the Mississippi to which they had any claim or title. By the terms of this treaty they were to be removed from the country at the expiration of three years and all remaining after that were to move at their own expense. Part of them were removed to Kansas in the fall of 1845, and the rest the spring following. In the fall of 1843, under the stipulation of this treaty, a line was surveyed northward from the Missouri State line by George W. Harrison, which passed by the red rocks of the Des Moines about one mile west of the present town of that name. The extension of the line northward very nearly divided section 35 Fairview, through the middle. The western limit of the town of Monroe is one mile east of the line and the residence of what later was S. Zerley, in the same township, stands close to the line. This survey opened about two-thirds of Jasper County for settlement and left a strip ten and a half miles wide for the occupation of the Indians in this county.

INDIANS AND THE WHITES

At the date of the first settlement in Jasper county the band of Indians still hanging around the country was under the leadership of Kishkekosh, who was strong enough to accompany Black Hawk when he visited Washington some years before. The work entitled "Pioneers of Marion County" is the authority for the following concerning this chief and his people:. Having endured much privation during the winter of 1844-5, the band visited the little settlement at Red Rock in quest of hospitality. In the band was Kishkekosh and his wife; Wykoma, son of Wapello, and two wives; Masha Wapetine and his wife, and children belonging to each family. They were entertained at breakfast by Mr. Mikesell. Kishkekosh, having learned the art of dining at the national capital, passed the dishes to his hungry companions with politeness, before helping himself; but when he had organized the meeting, so to speak, the voracious savage sat revealed, he had relapsed from civilization to barbarism and ate like all his mates. He managed five or six cups of coffee, with solids in proportion. When pressed, "to have something more," he drew his fingers across his throat, and then, in further explanation, crammed it down his windpipe.

The Indians who had received the strip of land off the west side of Jasper County prepared to remove late in the autumn of 1845. Kishkekosh and his braves, twenty odd in all, had stored their heavy articles at Red Rock during the summer, not needing them while engaged in hunting. Prior to starting west, they repaired to Red Rock and hired Mr. Mikesell to haul the goods to camp. That night they camped where Monroe now stands. The weather was cold and a heavy snow fell during the night. The Indians huddled together as close as possible to keep warm, and upon opening out in the morning a perfect cloud of steam arose. Part of Mikesell's oxen went astray during the night, and he followed them clear home, the snow still continuing to fall very fast. On returning he found the Indians all bewildered as to the direction they should take, and it took the chief some time to ascertain the course, when the journey was resumed and their village reached that night.

Pasishamone and his band also frequented the Skunk in this county, and at the time of the removal of the band of twenty, just spoken of, the former, with about all his braves, was at Agency City on a visit. The women, children and old men went into camp four miles from Fort Des Moines to await their return, which was at the beginning of winter. Then the band packed up and followed Kishkekosh and his followers.

Another band, under the control of the famous Poweshiek, had a village at the forks of Indian Creek, in what is now Poweshiek Township. Their abandoned wikeups remained standing two or three years after the tribe had removed. These wikeups were built by setting corner stakes into the ground at suitable distances for the intended building. To these were fastened poles at top and bottom, which served as fastenings for the covering of elm bark. This was procured by girdling the trees at the bottom and then as high as the arm could reach, when it was slit and peeled off in one sheet. When a sufficient number had been procured, they were punched at the ends and bound with bark or thongs to the poles, care being taken to lap them sufficiently to make a good joint. The rafters were notched and fastened to the top poles with bark or leather and covered in much the same fashion as the sides.

It is related of this band that on one occasion, in 1846, they visited the trading house kept by Evans, about a mile west of where Newton now stands, with whom they succeeded in exchanging a pony for a keg of whisky. Aydellotte, who saw them, says they were already well saturated with fire water, and that as soon as the transfer was effected one of them lashed the keg to his saddle, when they all jumped on their ponies and made off on a gallop, whooping loud enough to be heard two miles!.

John Green was another well-known chief. He was at the head of a small band of Pottawatomies. On one occasion he found a large lump of iron pyrites and meeting Mr. Sparks, soon after, informed that gentleman that he had found a gold mine. Mr. Sparks, when he saw the specimen, undeceived the poor fellow, who had doubtless looked ahead to a future when he could have whisky three times a day, bought with the avails of hid gold mine.

The horse stealing of that day was not all carried on by the renegade Indians, as was sometimes thought by the pioneers, according to pioneer and first settler William Highland, who declared that a party of bee hunters visited the county in the summer of 1844 (the wet year) and were so unfortunate as to have some horses stolen, which they laid to the Indians. He says many cases of horse theft were charged up to Lo, the poor Indian, of which they were guiltless. From time to time there were white men passing through the county, in whom no more dependence could be placed than in the average Indian. After several years intercourse with the latter, he said he had never had any trouble with them, drunk or sober, but that they seemed very friendly and honorable to him.

INDIAN TRADERS

Two young men, whose names have gone from the memory of the early settlers, had been traders with the Indian tribes in some one or more of Iowa's lower counties, and in the spring of 1844 erected a little shanty in a small grove a mile north of the old "Long farm." Their store of goods consisted chiefly of a barrel of whisky, diluted one-third with water for profit's sake and not for the cause of temperance. As soon as the "store" was open for business a lively trade was carried on with the little band of Kishkekosh. On a certain day a dozen or more of the braves visited his place and managed to get drunk. They then demanded more whisky, which the dealer refused for fear of serious trouble. The Indians became quarrelsome, but after persisting some time without success they went back to their camp grumbling. Soon thereafter they returned with a lot of raw recruits, the total number being three times as many as at first. The traders became alarmed and endeavored to prevent the Indians from entering the store, but the door was easily pushed in. One of the white men knocked down three of the ugly Musquakas, but they were overpowered by the sheer force of superior numbers and borne to the floor of the shanty, where they were badly maltreated. One was badly injured by a blow from an Indian holding in his hand a saw he chanced to get hold of. They finally made good their escape, leaving the store and its "wet" contents plunder for the red men of the forest. The white men found their way to Adam Tool's place, where they found the men all away from home, and they were not pitied much by the good housewife, who had no love in her heart for wreckless liquor dealers. They never engaged in business again in Jasper County.

The same spring (1844) came Matthew Fish, who also began to trade with the Indians. His place was two miles northwest of Tool's Point. He ran a respectable place and sold no whisky to anyone. He traded three years and then sold his claim to a man named Tucker.

Later in the season of 1844 came in one Redick and he stayed with one of the first four settlers, Vance, and there he handled whatever the Indians most wanted, but only remained a few months.

Scott & Nichols visited Jasper County the same year and traded with the Indians, doing a large whisky business. They had located the year before at Red Rock and in the summer of that year Scott, while hunting, had trouble with some Indians, who stole several articles from his camp south of Lynnville. This maddened the Indians, who said, "Scott, he have too much white in his eyes." Scott left, but Nichols remained three years. His principal purchases were ponies, the usual price being sixteen quarts of whisky for a first-class pony.

THE TRAIL MADE BY THE DRAGOONS

Concerning the trail left in the march of the United States dragoons through Jasper County, in the forties, an able writer for the Western Historical Company in the seventies says: "Soon after the treaty of 1842 had been completed, by the terms of which the Sacs and Foxes were to be protected from expeditions from the war-like Sioux, the government made preparations to send troops into the new purchase for that purpose. The infantry was sent up the Des Moines River, arriving at the Raccoon forks May 9, 1843, As soon as the grass had started sufficiently, the dragoons detailed to go as scouts were sent forward to the same point, by way of Iowa City, Their course was really due west, as nearly as the upland of the country would admit of, and it crossed very nearly where now stands the city of Newton. This is the first passage, so far as can be ascertained, by white men through the central part of what became Jasper County four years later. It would be a pleasure to record the halting places of the little journey by this party, but it cannot now be done. The little band hardly dreamed that the prospector's wagon was close behind, and to them It would have been the merest imagination, and an improbable thing, had one of the party prophesied that the day's journey they were making between Red Rock and South Skunk would in thirty years be marked with three prosperous, busy towns, and that on every July day over one hundred harvesters could be counted, on either side of the trail they were then making through the forest and prairie grass.

"At night the camp-kettle bubbled, while the horses were picketed, the sentinels placed and the men in dusty uniforms collected to devour their rations. Pipes and cards were produced, and, indifferent to the future, the men played "old sledge" for an hour, and then, wrapping their blankets about them, bivouacked beneath the stars that winked to each other, as if they knew more about the future than the tired horsemen reposing on the prairie grass never before crushed by the boot-heel."

Transcribed by Ernie Braida in July 2003