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By Pat Baker As we celebrate our sesquicenten nial, we hear stories about what life was like in many parts of the state. The question that comes to mind is, “What was Humboldt County like in 1846? There are few stories about pioneer activities in Humboldt in the 1840s. There is good reason. Part of Humboldt County was still Sioux Indian Territory when Iowa became a state, and re mained so until 1851. Settlers stayed away from Indian Territory. The map above shows how Hum boldt County was divided by boundary lines from various treaties with the In dians. Some of the lines on this map differ from lines on another map which was dated 1833. Did the Neutral Ground end and Sioux Territory begin at the East Fork of the Des Moines River or at the West Fork? It might make a differ ence to someone walking through. The Neutral Ground was created by the government in 1825 to separate the warring Sioux from the Sauk and Fox tribes. First they drew a line from North east Iowa to the forks of the Des Moines River. The Sioux were to stay to the north of that line, the Sauk and Fox to the south. In 1830, they needed to separate the tribes further, and 20 miles was added to each side of that line. This Neutral Ground was given to the Winnebago Indians in 1840, when they were pushed out of Wisconsin. When that didn’t work out, these lands were ceded to the government in 1846. In western Humboldt County, the land west of the West Fork of the Des Moines River was ceded to the govern ment in 1830 by the Sioux and other tribes. Land in the open prairies was not as valued to the pioneers as was the timber land along the rivers. [= became a state 150 years ago. They thought that soil was poor if no trees grew on it. Trees were cleared from the forest so corn could be planted. Later they found that the grassland soils yielded excellent crops and less labor was needed if they did not have to clear trees. It took a while for land to be properly surveyed and mapped. It was not until 1862 that land in Humboldt County was officially open for settlement. This did not stop eager and adventurous hunt ers, trappers and squatters from settling down and making preemptory claims. Many made claims, but did not stay. Of the first 31 persons to make claims in Rutland Township, only two stayed. Perhaps it was the mosquitoes. At first, land sold for $1.25 per acre, or $100 for an 80-acre farm. Those borrowing money sometimes paid 40% annual interest. To prove the claim had been “improved,” one needed only to make a small sod house by using four pieces of sod about a yard square. Dis putes were inevitable. Some early claims were never filed correctly, and some families lost their land after living on it for over 30 years. The earliest record of men of Euro pean descent to come into Humboldt County was in 1825, when a trading post was established at the “forks” by French traders. Joseph Montraville and Joseph Laframboise were licensed to operate a trading post for the Yankton Sioux Indians at Fort Confederation. This was located where the East and West Forks of the Des Moines River meet (now Gotch Park). Their trading post is believed to have been a simple stockade, nothing elaborate. Ap parently, there was already some type of settlement there. hat kind of settlement could have been there before the French arrived? Arche ologists have named the first nomadic hunters to come to Iowa about 10,000 years ago Paleo-Indians. The mound builders were here beginning around 1000 B.C. The Woodland and the Oneota cultures lived here from ap proximately 200 B.C. to A.D. 400. By the 17th century A.D. the Ioway and the Oto tribes lived in Iowa. There is much evidence of Native Americans having lived in this area. The Humboldt County Historical Mu seum has a collection of arrowheads, spearpoints and other tools and cloth ing. The mound at Indian Mound Cem etery and mounds near Avery Hill, west of Bradgate, are some burial sites that have been identified. During the con struction of the Gotch Park Road, many skeletons were uncovered, evidence of an early battle between tribes. An archeological “dig,” called the Soldow Site, was in Humboldt County. It is located on the west side of the East Branch of the Des Moines River, in Section 32 of Grove Township. In 1961, Richard Flanders and Rex Hansman found an Indian campsite there dating back to 4000 - 2000 B.C. The archeologists concluded that the presence of scrapers and punches sug gested the treatment of hides and manu facture of clothing. Other tools indi cated the manufacturing of spears and arrow shafts for hunting. Hematite was probably used for body paint and to ornament spears. The grinding-stone fragments indicated a dependence on gathering vegetable products, and thus, the occupation of complete families rather than men on a hunting trip or war party. he Sauk and Fox Indians came to Iowa from Wisconsin, by way of Illinois about 1800. The in domitable Dakota Sioux hunted and fought their way across Wisconsin, Min nesota and northern Iowa beginning about 1760. They were the last to make treaties surrendering their Iowa soil to the United States in 1851. They were subdivided into the Santee, Sisseton, Yankton, Teon and the Wahpeton Sioux. The Native American lifestyle was based upon the seasonal hunt, an event to be looked forward and prepared for throughout the year. These seasonal ventures determined the good or bad standard of living for a given tribe. If they came into conflict with simi lar plans of other tribes, warfare was the usual result. Gardening, harvesting and preservation of produce took place be tween hunts. The Indian economy was built around the idea of supporting as many armed and mounted braves as possible. The one thing to be desired was an open and free country. Here animal life of the forest and plain, river and lake, and wild fruits, nuts, and herbs in the wooded areas could multiply in abun dance to reward the hunter and food gatherer. The first white men who came as trappers and fur traders did not want to change the Native American social sys tem. They were not their enemy, they were associates in the business of fur trading. In 1825, the federal government signed a treaty with the Yankton Sioux to protect the licensed traders and their property. Licensed traders, such as the two Frenchmen at the forks, were pro hibited from providing alcohol to the Indians. Unlicensed traders frequently traded with alcohol. Trading at Fort Confedera tion during the winter months contin ued until about the mid-1830s. Many traders were agents of the American Fur Trading Company, based in eastern Towa. round that time, lands in east- e= Towa were purchased from the Native Americans by the government and settlers began to ar rive. The Indians were moved into west ern Iowa and beyond, supposedly to protect them from settlers. The Ameri can Fur Company and its agents went out of business. In 1835, the War Department of the United States ordered Lt. Colonel Stephan W. Kearney to lead three com panies of men up the Des Moines River, beginning in Lee County on the Missis sippi River. These 160 “dragoons,” or mounted foot soldiers, were to explore the area and identify a possible site for a military post. Among them were Cap tain Nathan Boone, son of the famous Kentucky explorer, and Lieutenant Albert M. Lea. Six Indian guides joined them. They traveled between the Des Moines and Skunk Rivers. Passing through prairies covered with wild strawberries, “as to make the whole track red for miles,” turkeys, grouse, ducks and prairie chickens rose before them in swarms as they advanced. In every stream pike, pickerel, cat fish, and trout were to be caught. Deer were plentiful and occasionally a buf falo or bear would be within range of their rifles. In some places the prairie grass was so high it could be tied in a knot above the horse and its mount. Kearney and his men reached a point near the mouth of the Boone River on June 22. They turned northeast and crossed into southeastern Minnesota about a week later. The dragoons stayed about three weeks near Winona, MN, then started their return trip back to the Des Moines River, now it was August, and they were still in Minnesota. One of the men noted in his journal, “Frost and no wood to raise a heat.’ They also ran out of food. They were aided by Sioux Indian guides. By heading west and south west, they crossed the East Fork of the Des Moines River south of Armstrong, in Emmett County, Iowa. Near Em metsburg they located the West Fork of the Des Moines and turned south, fol lowing on the east bank of the river. They stayed overnight just west of what is now Bradgate. (A study of the maps indicates it may have been Rutland rather than Bradgate.) They forded the river to the west side. The dragoon wrote: “There are some fine lowlands along the West Fork, but there is lite timber, except near the confluence of the forks, where there is a body of timber of at least 1,000 acres. About 4 miles west of ‘Humboldt’ I saw a herd of elk whilst dining, the first herd I have set on the march.” “ Humboldt’ was sometimes used as a name for the forks. The town of Hum boldt did not exist. There was hte timber on the prairie because of prairie fires. Captain Nathan Boone reconnoitered the confluence of the east and west forks and made a separate drawing. He commented: “1,000 acres on main R., timber woods on E. Fork. High bluff at Fork.” In his report Albert Lea wrote that the junction of the East and West Des Moines had been considered as a site for a fort because it was on the central line of the Neutral Ground between the Sioux and the Sauks, and it was cen trally located between other forts. He also said it would be difficult to supply, uncomfortable and not needed. When a military post was established, some 15 years later, it was at Fort Dodge. he following night they camped at what Albert Lea named Mos quito Creek, later to be called Deer Creek, six miles north of Fort Dodge. The trail blazed by Kearney, Lea and Boone and the dragoons in 1835 was known by early settlers as the Dragoon Trail. What was Humboldt County like in 1846? We can learn a little from one family, Jacob and Phoebe Merkcle and their children (13 in all), who settled in Pleasant Valley Township in Webster County in 1849. They came by boat down the Susquehanna, Ohio and Mis sissippi Rivers. hat was a cholera year, and the disease broke out among the lower deck passengers on the boat they were on from St. Louis to Keokuk. There was a stampede among the terror-stricken passengers for the upper decks and the captain instructed that the doors be held so no one could come up and infect the rest. At Keokuk they hired a team to take them up the Des Moines River to Rac coon Forks, now the city of Des Moines. The future capitol of Iowa was com prised of two families. Polk City had two families and the Hull family lived at what would later be Boonesboro on the Boone River. A family named Bell also lived on the Boone River. The country was absolutely wild with buf falo and elk and deer in abundance. The Mericles and other settlers greatly feared the Indians who came to the cabin looking for food and alcohol, and stealing what they wanted. Mr. Mericle wrote the petition to the government to establish the military post at Fort Dodge. They had heard about the attacks on See Humboldt County, page 2A stows | 1851 1830 Sioux 1ap0 and 1846 1a31 Sioux 439 we 1642 tt a yn! aT seB2 “Gaza milan Indian territory in Humboldt County, dates show when land ceded to United States. Dragoons, 1830's ~ Captain, Nathan Boone required any man wishing to enroll in the Dragoons be honest in character and integrity, now known for loose or disorderly actions. Privates were paid $8.00 monthly. Picture comesy of Greene County Public Library, Ash Grove Branch,
Newspaper Details
Humboldt Independent
Humboldt, Iowa, US
Wed, Jul 03, 1996
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