Having traced the early history of the great empire lying west of the Mississippi, of which the State of Iowa constitutes a part, from the earliest discovery to the organization of the Territory of Iowa, it becomes necessary to give some history of the Indians of Iowa.

According to the policy of the European nations, possession perfected title to any territory. We have seen that the country west of the Mississippi was first discovered by the Spaniards, but afterward, was visited and occupied by the French. It was ceded by France to Spain, and by Spain back to France again, and then was purchased and occupied by the United States. During all that time it does not appear to have entered into the heads or hearts of the high contracting parties that the country they bought, sold and gave away was in the possession of a race of men who, although savage, owned the vast domain before Columbus first crossed the Atlantic. Having purchased the territory, the United States found it still in the possession of its original owners, who had never been dispossessed; and it became necessary to purchase again what had already been bought before, or forcibly eject the occupants; therefore, the history of the Indian nations who occupied Iowa prior to and during its early settlement by the whites, becomes an important chapter in the history of the State, that cannot be omitted.

For more than one hundred years after Marquette and Joliet trod the virgin soil of Iowa, not a single settlement had been made or attempted; not even a trading post had been established. The whole country remained in the undisputed possesssion of the native tribes, who roamed at will over her beautiful and fertile prairies, hunted in her woods, fished in her streams, and othen poured out their life-blood in obstinately contested contests for supremacy. That this State so aptly styled "The Beautiful Land," had been the theater of numerous, fierce and bloody struggles between rival nations, for possession of the favored region, long before its settlement by civilized man, there is no room for doubt. In these

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savage wars, the weaker party, whether aggressive or defensive, was either exterminated or driven from their ancient hunting grounds.

In 1673, when Marquette discovered Iowa, the Illini were a very powerful people, occupying a large portion of the State; but when the country was again visited by the whites, not a remnant of that once powerful tribe remained on the west side of the Mississippi, and Iowa was principally in the possession of the Sacs and Foxes, a war-like tribe which, originally two distinct nations, residing in New York and on the waters of the St. Lawrence, had gradually fought their way westward, and united, probably, after the Foxes had been driven out of the Fox River country, in 1846, and crossed the Mississippi. The death of Pontiac, a famous Sac chieftain, was made the pretext for war against the Illini, and a fierce and bloody struggle ensued, which continued until the Illinois were nearly destroyed and their hunting grounds possessed by their victorious foes. The Iowas also occupied a portion of the State for a time, in common with the Sacs, but they, too, were nearly destroyed by the Sacs and Foxes, and, in the "The Beautiful Land," these natives met their equally warlike foes, the Northern Sioux, with whom they maintained a constant warfare for the possession of the country for many years.

When the United States came in possession of the great valley of the Mississippi, by the Louisiana purchase, the Sacs and Foxes and Iowas possessed the entire territory now comprising the State of Iowa. The Sacs and Foxes, also, occupied the most of the State of Illinois.

The Sacs had four principal villages, where most of them resided, viz: Their largest and most important town--if an Indian village may be called such--and from which emanated most of the obstacles and difficulties encountered by the Government in the extinguishment of Indian titles to land in this region, was on Rock River, near Rock Island; another was on the east bank of the Mississippi, near the mouth of Henderson River; the third was at the head of the Des Moines Rapids, near the present site of Montrose, and the fourth was near the mouth of the Upper Iowa.

The Foxes had three principal villages, viz: One on the west side of the Mississippi, six miles above the rapids of Rock River; another about twelve miles from the river, in the rear of the Dubuque lead mines, and the third on Turkey River.

The Iowas, at one time identified with the Sacs, of Rock River, had withdrawn from them and become a separate tribe. Their principal village was on the Des Moines River, in Van Buren County, on the site where Iowaville now stands. Here the last great battle between the Sacs and Foxes and the Iowas was fought, in which Black Hawk, then a young man, commanded one division of the attacking forces.

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The Sacs and Foxes, prior to the settlement of their village on Rock River, had a fierce conflict with the Winnebagoes, subdued them and took possession of their lands. Their village on Rock River, at one time, contained upward of sixty lodges, and was among the largest Indian villages on the continent. In 1825, the Secretary of War estimated the entire number of the Sacs and Foxes at 4,600 souls. Their village was situated in the immediate vicinity of the upper rapids of the Mississippi, where the beautiful and flourishing towns of Rock Island and Davenport are now situated. The beautiful scenery of the island, the extensive prairies, dotted over with groves; the picturesque bluffs along the river banks, the rich and fertile soil, producing large crops of corn, squash and other vegetables, with little labor; the abundance of wild fruit, game, fish, and almost everything calculated to make it a delightful spot for an Indian village, which was found there, had made this place a favorite home of the Sacs, and secured for it the strong attachment and veneration of the whole nation.

North of the hunting grounds of the Sacs and Foxes, were those of the Sioux, a fierce and warlike nation, who 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 into collision with the Sacs and Foxes; and after many a conflict and bloody 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 trespasses upon each other's side of the line. These contests were kept up and became so unrelenting that, in 1830, Government bought of the respective tribes of the Sacs and Foxes, and the Siux, 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. Both the Sacs and Foxes and the Sioux, however, were allowed to fish and hunt on this ground unmolested, provided they did not interfere with each other on United States territory. The Sacs and Foxes and the Sioux were deadly enemies, and neither let an opportunity to punish the other pass unimproved.

In April, 1852, a fight occurred between the Musquaka band of Sacs and Foxes and a band of Sioux, about six miles above Algona, in Kossuth County, on the west side of the Des Moines River. The Sacs and Foxes were under the leadership of Ko-ko-wah, a subordinate chief, and had gone up from their home in Tama County, by way of Clear Lake, to what was then the "neutral ground." At Clear Lake, Ko-ko-wah was informed that a party of Sioux were encamped on the west side of the East Fork of the Des

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Moines, and he determined to attack them. With sixty of his warriors, he started and arrived at a point on the east side of the river, about a mile above the Sioux encampment, in the night, and concealed themselves in a grove, where they were able to discover the position and strength of their hereditary foes. The next morning, after many of the Sioux braves had left their camp on hunting tours, the vindictive Sacs and Foxes crossed the river and suddenly attacked the camp. The conflict was desperate for a short time, but the advantage was with the assailants, and the Sioux were routed. Sixteen of them, including some of their women and children, were killed, and a boy 14 years old was captured. One of the Musquakas was shot in the breast by a squaw as they were rushing into the Sioux's camp. He started to run away, when the same brave squaw shot him through the body, at a distance of twenty rods, and he fell dead. Three other Sac braves were killed. But few of the Sioux escaped. The victorious party hurriedly buried their own dead, leaving the dead Sioux above ground, and made their way home, with their captive, with all possible expedition.

PIKE'S EXPEDITION.

Very soon after the acquisition of Louisiana the United States Govermnet adopted measures for the exploration of the new territory, having in view the conciliation of the numerous tribes of Indians by whom it was possessed, and, also, the selection of proper sites for the establishment of military posts and trading stations. The Army of the West, Gen. James Wilkinson commanding, had its headquarters at St. Louis. From this post, Captains Lewis and Clarke, with a sufficient force, were detailed to explore the unknown sources of the Missouri, and Lieut. Zebulon M. Pike, with one Sergeant, two Corporals and seventeen privates, left the military camp, near St. Louis, in a keel-boat, with four month's rations, on the 9^th day of August, 1805. On the 20^th of the same month, the expedition arrived within the present limit of Iowa, at the foot of the Des Moines Rapids, where Pike met William Ewing, who had just been appointed Indian agent at this point, a French interpreter and four chiefs and fifteen Sac and Fox warriors.

At the head of the rapids, where Montrose is now situated, Pike held a council with the Indians, in which he addressed them substantially as follows: "Your great Father, the President of the United States wished to be more intimately acquainted with the situation and wants of the different nations of the red people in our newly acquired territory of Louisiana, and has ordered the General to send a number of his warriors in different directions to take them by the hand and make such inquiries as might afford the satisfaction required." At the close of the council he presented the red men with some knives, whiskey and tobacco.

Pursuing his way up the river, he arrived, on the 23d of August, at what is supposed, from his description, to be the site of the present

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city of Burlington, which he selected as the location of a military post. He describes the place as being "on a hill, about forty miles above the River de Moyne Rapids, on the west side of the river in latitude about 41 degrees 21 minutes north. The channel of the river runs on that shore; the hill in front is about sixty feet perpendicular; nearly level on top; four hundred yards in the rear is a small prairie fit for gardening, and immediately under the hill is a limestone spring, sufficient for the consumption of a whole regiment." In addition to this description, which corresponds to Burlington, the spot is laid down on his map at a bend in the river a short distance below the mouth of the Henderson, which pours it waters into the Mississippi from Illinois. The fort was built at Fort Madison, but from the distance, latitude, description and map furnished by Pike, it could not have been the place selected by him while all the circumstances corroborate the opinion that the place he selected was the spot where Burlington is now located, called by the early voyagers on the Mississippi, "Flint Hills."

On the 24^th, with one of his men, he went on shore on a hunting expedition, and following a stream which they supposed to be a part of the Mississippi, they were led away from their course. Owing to the intense heat ahd [and] tall grass, his two favorite dogs, which he had taken with him, became exhausted and he left them on the prairie, supposing that they would follow him as soon as the should get rested, and went on to overtake his boat. Reaching the river, he waited some time for his canine friends, but they did not come, and as he deemed it inexpedient to detain the boat longer, two of his men volunteered to go in pursuit of them, and he continued on his way up the river, expecting that the two men would soon overtake him. They lost their way, however, and for six days were without food, except a few morsels gathered from the stream, and might have perished had they not accidentally met a trader from St. Louis, who induced two Indians to take them up the river, and they overtook the boat at Dubuque.

At Dubuque Pike was cordially received by Julien Dubuque, a Frenchman, who held a mining claim under a grant from Spain. Dubuque had an old field piece and fired a salute in honor of the advent of the first Americans who had visited that part of the Territory. Dubuque, however, was not disposed to publish the wealth of his mines, and the young and apparently inquisitive officer could obtain but little information from him.

After leaving this place, Pike pursued his way up the river, but as he passed beyond the limits of the present State of Iowa, a detailed history of his explorations on the upper waters of the Mississippi more properly belongs to the history of another State.

It is sufficient to say that on the site of Fort Snelling, Minnesota, at the mouth of the Minnesota River, Pike held a council with the sioux, September 23, and obtained from them a grant of one hundred thousand acres of land. On the 8^th of January 1806,

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Pike arrived at a trading post belonging to the Northwest Company, on Lake De Sable in latitude at 47^o. At this time the then powerful Northwest Company carried on their immense operations from Hudson's Bay to the St. Lawrence; up that river on both sides, along the Great Lakes to the head of Lake Superior, thence to the sources of the Red River of the North, and west to the Rocky Mountains, embracing within the scope of their operations the entire Territory of Iowa. After successfully accomplishing his mission, and performing a valuable service to Iowa and the whole Northwest, Pike returned to St. Louis, arriving there on the 30^th of April, 1806.

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