UNIV.
LIBRARY
THE IOWA JOUKNAL OF HISTORY
AND POLITICS
THE
/
/
IOWA JOURNAL
OF
HISTORY AND POLITICS
EDITOR
BENJAMIN F. SHAMBAUGH
PROFESSOR OP POLITICAL SCIENCE
IN THE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA
VOLUME VII
1909
PUBLISHED QUARTERLY BY
THE STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF IOWA
IOWA CITY IOWA
1909
COPYRIGHT 1909 BY
THE STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF IOWA
T-
(alto
v.7
OONTENTS
NUMBER 1 — JANUARY 1909
Boundary History of the Counties of Iowa
FRANK HARMON GARVER 3
The Legislative Eeference Movement . JOHN E. BRINDLEY 132
Some Publications 142
JOHNSON — Stephen A. Douglas (p. 142) . Louis PELZEB
POOLET — The Settlement of Illinois (p. 146) JOHN C. PABISH
Americana — General and Miscellaneous 149
Western 153
lowana 154
Historical Societies 161
Notes and Comment 172
Contributors 176
NUMBER 2 — APRIL 1909
The History of Political Parties in Iowa from 1857 to 1860
Louis PELZER 179
The Delegates to Congress from the Territory of Iowa
KENNETH W. COLGROVE 230
Proposed Constitutional Amendments in Iowa 1836-1857
J. VAN DER ZEE 266
Some Publications 284
THWAITES — Wisconsin: The Americanization of a French
Settlement (p. 284) . . . Louis PELZEE
FOLWELL— Minnesota : The North Star State (p. 286)
E. H. DOWNEY
vi CONTENTS
MERRICK — Old Times on the Upper Mississippi — The Recol-
lections of a Steamboat Pilot "from 1854 to 1863
(p. 287) J. VAN DEE ZEE
BOGGESS — Settlement of Illinois, 1778-1830 (p. 289)
JOHN C. PAEISH
GRIFFIN — Writings on American History, 1906 (p. 290)
DAN E. CLARK
Collections of the Minnesota Historical Society — Vol. XIII,
(p. 292) J. VAN DER ZEE
Transactions of the Kansas State Historical Society, 1907-
1908 (p. 294) .... Louis PELZER
Americana — General and Miscellaneous 295
Western 302
lowana 303
Historical Societies 311
Notes and Comment 325
Contributors 328
NUMBER 3 — JULY 1909
A Journal of Marches by the First United States Dragoons
1834-1835 Edited by Louis PELZER 331
Amendments to the Constitution of the United States Pro-"
posed in the State Legislature of Iowa 1846-1909
J. VAN DER ZEE 379
A Critical Study of the Definition and Alteration of County
Boundaries in Iowa and of the Laws by which they
were Established FRANK HARMON GARVER 402
Some Publications 444
MERRIAM — Primary Elections: A Study of the History
and Tendencies of Primary Election Legislation
(p. 444) .... PRANK EDWARD HORACK
The Proceedings of the State Historical Society of Wis-
consin at its Fifty-sixth Annual Meeting (p. 445)
J. VAN DER ZEE
CONTENTS vii
Americana — General and Miscellaneous 446
Western 452
lowana 453
Historical Societies 460
Notes and Comment 475
Contributors 480
NUMBER 4 — OCTOBER 1909
A Bribery Episode in the First Election of United States
Senators in Iowa ETHYL E. MAKTIN 483
The Battle of Shiloh J. W. RICH 503
Some Publications 582
EAT — The Repeal of the Missouri Compromise: Its Origin
and Authorship (p. 582) . . JOHN C. PARISH
Collections of the Illinois State Historical Library (p. 584)
DAN E. CLARK
FLOM — A History of Norwegian Immigration to the United
States from the Earliest Beginning Down to the
Tear 1848 (p. 585) . . J. VAN DER ZEE
Americana — General and Miscellaneous 586
Western 592
lowana 593
Historical Societies 600
Notes and Comment 609
Contributors 611
Index 613
THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTOEY AND POLITICS
JANUARY NINETEEN HUNDRED NINE
VOLUME SEVEN NUMBER ONE
VOL. VII — 1
BOUNDARY HISTORY OF THE COUNTIES OF IOWA
In another paper where the writer has described histor-
ically the formation of counties in Iowa the subject of
boundaries was treated in a general way.1 It is the object
of this paper to trace the boundary history of each county
separately. The discussion centers, in each case, about the
establishment of the county and any alterations made or
proposed in its boundaries. In addition to this it has
seemed wise to note the older counties from which each new
county was carved either in whole or in part (See Map II.)
and also to indicate the Indian land cessions 2 and reserva-
tions to which the territory of each county had belonged.
(See Map I.)
It is well known to students of Iowa history that the ter-
ritory included within the limits of the present State of
Iowa belonged to the Territory of Michigan from 1834 to
1836, and to the Territory of Wisconsin from 1836 to 1838;
also that the period of the Territory of Iowa dates from
1838 to 1846, and the period of Statehood from the later
date to the present time. It has not seemed necessary in
the following paper to note which of the foregoing periods
the history of each county has spanned. When the date of
establishment has been given it is comparatively easy for
the reader to determine this matter for himself. Since the
first counties were established in Iowa in 1834, it has
seemed even less necessary to enumerate the different terri-
torial and foreign jurisdictions of which the territory of
the present State formed a part prior to that date.
iSee article entitled History of the Establishment of Counties in Iowa in
the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOUBNAL OP HISTORY AND POLITICS.
2 A list of Indian land cessions in Iowa accompanies the above mentioned
article.
4 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
It was customary to attach newly created counties to
older ones, at first merely for revenue purposes, later for
judicial, revenue, and election purposes. No mention has
been made of these attachments in this paper on the ground
that such a record belongs more properly to the history of
the organization of the counties — a subject to be treated
in another paper.
Following the treatment of the ninety-nine existing coun-
ties of Iowa will be found some mention of counties which
have been blotted out, temporary counties, and proposed
counties.3
Frequent reference will be necessary to the series of
maps4 which accompanies the writer's former paper, which
appeared in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL.
OF HISTORY AND POLITICS.
I. THE EXISTING NINETY-NINE COUNTIES
Adair. — The boundaries of Adair County were defined
by an act of the legislature of the State of Iowa, approved5
on January 15, 1851.6 As established at this time they
have been permanent.
The western part of the county was carved from the
original County of Pottawatamie.7 The northern tier of
townships had formerly been within the borders of the
original County of Keokuk. (See Map II.) The northwest
corner had been included within both of these counties.8
s See below p. 116.
* See the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OP HISTORY AND POLI-
TICS, pp. 441-456.
s Wherever in this paper a date is given for the establishment of a county it
is to be understood, in case of no explanation, to be the date when the act
creating the county was approved by the Governor.
e Laws of Iowa, 1850-1851, p. 27.
7 This is the spelling of the act creating the county.
8 In this paper the original County of Demoine is not extended across the
BOUNDARY HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTIES 5
The territory in Adair County was not all acquired from
the Indians at the same time. The eastern part was ceded
by the Sacs and Foxes in the treaty dated October 11, 1842.
The western part, after having been once acquired from
various tribes by the terms of the treaty of July 15, 1830,
was given as a reservation to the Pottawattamie nation on
September 26, 1833. It was finally ceded by these Indians
in a treaty dated June 5 and 17, 1846. (See Map I.)
Adams. — Like Adair, Adams County was created by the
act of January 15, 1851.9 Its boundaries received at this
time have never been altered. It was carved entirely from
the original County of Pottawatamie. (See Map II.)
The territory included within the limits of Adams County
was first ceded to the United States government by the
terms of the treaty of July 15, 1830. This cession was
made by several Indian tribes which held rival claims to the
same region. By treaty September 26, 1833, Adams County
became part of a reservation given to the Pottawattamie
nation. This reservation was ceded back to the government
by the terms of a treaty signed on June 5 and 17, 1846.
(See Map I.)
AHamakee. — Allamakee County, in the northeast corner
of the State, was created by an act of the legislature of
the State of Iowa approved on February 20, 1847.10 Its
boundaries as first defined have remained permanent. The
territory included within the new county had been so re-
cently acquired from the Indians11 that it had not yet been
State of Iowa but is limited to the southern part of the Black Hawk Purchase.
(See Map II.) If the larger dimensions were given to this early county, it
could be said that the three southern tiers of present counties were carved from
its original territory.
» Laws of Iowa, 1850-1851, p. 27.
10 Laws of Iowa, 1846-1847, p. 81.
11 October 13. 1846.
6 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
surveyed by the United States government. The treaty of
cession had not yet been ratified by the United States Sen-
ate, nor the Indians removed from the purchase.12 Because
of these facts the act authorized the county commissioners
of Clayton to have the boundaries of the new county sur-
veyed and marked off, the lines so established to be recog-
nized until the government survey should be completed.
Clayton County was to be reimbursed by Allamakee for
the expense incurred.
The southeast corner of the county had been within the
limits of the original County of Dubuque. (See Map II.)
The same area had, since the act of December 21, 1837, been
a part of Clayton County.13 The remainder was carved
from the territory of the original County of Fayette also
created in 1837. (See Map II.)
The southeastern part of Allamakee County — the same
area as mentioned above — was part of the Sac and Fox
cession of September 21, 1832, known as the Black Hawk
Purchase. The northwest corner was ceded by various
Sioux tribes on July 15, 1830. On the same date the
remainder of the county was acquired from the Sac and
Fox tribes. See Map I.) These last two cessions Consti-
tuted what was called the "Neutral Strip" or "Neutral
Ground" of which the most of Allamakee formed a part.
The eastern part of the "Neutral Strip" was given by the
United States government as a reservation to the Winne-
bagoes on September 15, 1832. As a result it was again
ceded to the United States — this time by the Winnebagoes
in the treaty of October 13, 1846. All of the present area
of Allamakee, except the southeastern corner, formed part
of the Winnebago reservation of 1832 and hence of the ces-
sion of 1846.
12 See section 3 of the act.
13 See Map IX in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY
AND POLITICS.
BOUNDARY HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTIES 7
Appanoose. — Established by an act of the legislature of
the Territory of Iowa, approved on February 17, 1843,14
Appanoose County received its permanent boundaries the
day it was established. The territory of the county was
entirely within the limits of the Sac and Fox cession of Oc-
tober 11, 1842, and probably all of it lay east of the line
which divided that cession into two parts. (See Map I.)
Audubon. — The boundaries of Audubon County were
first defined by an act of the legislature of the State of
Iowa approved on January 15, 1851.15 As established at
this time the county was one-fourth larger than at pres-
ent, including one range of townships which now belongs
to Guthrie County.16 On February 5, 1851,17 there was
approved an act redefining the boundaries of Guthrie Coun-
ty by extending its western boundary one range farther
west. The effect of this act was to reduce Audubon County
to its present size, although Audubon was not mentioned in
the law. The change was legal, however, since one section
of the law repealed all acts or parts of acts conflicting with
it. The boundaries received in this way by Audubon Coun-
ty have remained permanent.
The territory within the present limits of Audubon
County was formerly part of the original County of Keo-
kuk. (See Map II.) All except the northeast corner was
later within the bounds of the original County of Pottawat-
amie.
The northeastern part of Audubon was included within
the limits of the Sac and Fox cession of October 11, 1842.
The bulk of the territory of the county was ceded to the
i* Revised Statutes of the Territory of Iowa, 1843, p. 131.
IB Laws of Iowa, 1850-1851, p. 27.
is See Maps XI and XII in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OP
HISTORY AND POLITICS.
IT Laws of Iowa, 1850-1851, p. 194.
8 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
United States government by various Indian tribes as early
as July 15, 1830. The same area was included within a
reservation given to the Pottawattamie nation by treaty of
September 26, 1833, and finally ceded to the United States
by the later treaty of June 5 and 17, 1846. (See Map I.)
Benton. — As first established Benton County was created
by an act of the legislature of the Territory of Wisconsin
approved on December 21, 1837.18 In its main purport this
law was one subdividing the original County of Dubuque.
In reality, however, two-thirds of the Sac and Fox cession
of October 21, 1837, was also made use of in establishing
the hew counties named in the act. But even this was not
all. Four of the counties, namely Benton, Buchanan, Fay-
ette and Keokuk, included vast areas to which the Indian
titles were not yet extinguished. This makes the act of
December, 1837, peculiar in character since, as a rule, lands
were not included in established counties until the Indian
titles were extinguished.
The boundaries of Benton County as given in the law just
mentioned were as follows: "All the country lying west
of the county of Linn and between the line dividing town-
ships eighty-one and eighty- two north, and the line "divid-
ing townships eighty-six and eighty-seven, extended to the
western boundary of the territory". The boundaries of
Linn County had been defined in the preceding section of
the same act, its western boundary being placed on the line
between ranges eight and nine west. The ''western bound-
ary of the territory" which was to limit Benton County on
the west, referred to the western boundary of the Territory
of Wisconsin which at this time was the Missouri and White
Earth rivers. Benton County, therefore, extended from
Linn County across the present State of Iowa to its western
border. (See Map II.) As thus constituted it included
is Laws of the Territory of Wisconsin, 1836-1838, p. 132.
BOUNDARY HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTIES 9
within its borders the territory of Benton, Tama, Marshall,
Story, Boone, Greene, Carroll, Crawford, and Monona
counties, together with the southern tier of townships in
the counties of Woodbury, Ida, Sac, Calhoun, Webster,
Hamilton, Hardin, and Grundy, as these counties exist to-
day. (See Map II.) At the time Benton County was es-
tablished, the Indian titles had been extinguished to only a
part of the territory of the present county of that name.
The original Benton was one of the temporary counties
several of which were established in Iowa in the early
days. Its boundaries were redefined and the county re-
duced in size by an act of the legislature of the Territory
of Iowa approved on February 17, 1843.19 It was undoubt-
edly the intention of the framers of this act to give to Ben-
ton County its present boundaries, but in attempting to do
this an error was made. The boundaries given to the re-
duced county in section nine of the act read as follows : "be-
ginning at the northwest corner of Linn county, thence
west to range (13) thirteen west; thence south on said line
to the corner of townships (81) eighty-one and (82) eighty-
two of range (13) thirteen and (14) fourteen west; thence
east to southwest corner of Linn county; thence north
to the place of beginning." According to this description
the northern boundary of the new County of Benton was to
begin at the northwest corner of Linn County and run
" thence west to range (13) thirteen west". This can only
mean that the line in question reached to the north and
south line which divides ranges twelve and thirteen west.
The western boundary line was then described as running
from this point south to the corner of townships eighty-one
and eighty- two of ranges "(13) thirteen and (14) fourteen
west". In other words the western boundary line was to
run straight south and yet arrive at a point one township
19 Revised Statutes of the Territory of Iowa, 1843, p. 131.
10 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
farther west than its starting point. This was clearly im-
possible and herein lies the error. The eastern boundary
of Tama County was also affected. The line between Ben-
ton and Tama remained defective until corrected by an act
of the General Assembly of Iowa approved on March 22,
1858.20 By this law the boundary in question was redefined
and declared plainly to be the line between ranges twelve
and thirteen west of the fifth principal meridian. From
this time on the boundaries of Benton County have re-
mained unaltered.
The territory of the present county of Benton formerly
belonged to the Sac and Fox Indians, but it was not all ac-
quired from them at the same time. A narrow, triangular
strip in the eastern part of the county, probably four or
five miles wide at the northern border and tapering to a
point near the southern border, was part of the cession of
October 21, 1837. The remainder of the county, about
eleven-twelfths of its area, represents the cession of Oc-
tober 11, 1842. (See Map I.)
Black Hawk. — This county was created by an act of the
legislature of the Territory of Iowa approved on Febru-
ary 17, 1843.21 Located just west of Buchanan County, its
boundaries were described in section eleven of the law as
follows: " beginning at the northwest corner of Buchanan
county, thence west to range fifteen west; thence south to
the corner of townships (86) eighty-six and (87) eighty-
seven, of range (14) fourteen and (15) fifteen west; thence
east to the southwest corner of Buchanan county, thence
north to the place of beginning". From this description it
is seen that the boundaries of Black Hawk County were de-
fined in reference to those of Buchanan. The latter county
had been established by the act of December 21, 1837, its
20 Laws of Iowa, 1858, p. 240.
21 Revised Statutes of the Territory of Iowa, 1843, p. 131.
BOUNDARY HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTIES H
boundaries reaching clear across the State of Iowa and
even into South Dakota. (See Map II.) Those boundaries
had never been altered, consequently the act which de-
scribed the boundaries of Black Hawk County as just quot-
ed, was seriously in error. The northwest and southwest
corners of Buchanan were not at all where the act assumed
them to be. The intention of the f ramers of the act was, no
doubt, to give to these two counties the boundaries usually
accredited to them on county maps of Iowa. Surrounding
counties of necessity give them this shape. The boundaries
of Black Hawk have never been redefined. Left defective
by the act establishing them they remain defective today.22
Black Hawk County, as pictured on ordinary maps, was
carved from the original County of Buchanan. (See Map
II.) Its territory was acquired from the Sac and Fox In-
dians by the terms of the treaty of October 11, 1842. (See
Map I.)
Boone. — Boone County was carved from the territory of
the original County of Benton (See Map II.) by an act ap-
proved on January 13, 1846.23 Its boundaries as defined
in this law have never been altered. An attempt to modify
them slightly in 1880 by throwing the town of Sheldahl into
Story County proved unsuccessful. (For a fuller account
of this attempt see Polk and Story counties below.) The
territory included within the limits of Boone County was
acquired from the Sac and Fox Indians by the treaty of
October 11, 1842. (See Map I.)
Bremer. — Created by the act of January 15, 1851,24 the
boundaries given to Bremer County at that time have never
since been altered. Its territory had for a time been part
22 See Map XVI in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HIS-
TORY AND POLITICS.
23 Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1845-1846, p. 73.
24 Laws of Iowa, 1850-1851, p. 27.
12 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
of the original County of Fayette. (See Map II.) The
southern part of the county (about half) had been acquired
from the Sac and Fox Indians by the treaty of October 11,
1842. (See Map I.) The northern portion was first ceded
by the same tribes on July 15, 1830. It was included
within the region called the " Neutral Strip". By a treaty
signed on September 15, 1832, all that part of the * ' Neutral
Strip ' ' which lay east of the Eed Cedar Eiver was ceded as
a reservation to the Winnebagoes. This included most of
the northern half of Bremer County. (See Map I.) This
same area was ceded back by the Winnebagoes to the Unit-
ed States in the treaty of October 13, 1846.
Buchanan. — The original County of Buchanan was estab-
lished by an act of the legislature of the Territory of Wis-
consin approved on December 21, 1837.25 Its boundaries
were described in section five of the act just mentioned as
including "All the country lying west of the county of
Delaware and between the line dividing townships eighty-
six and eighty-seven, and the line dividing townships ninety
and ninety-one north, extended to the western boundary of
the territory". The boundaries of Delaware had been de-
fined in the preceding section of the act, which placed the
western line of that county on the line between ranges six
and seven west. The "western boundary of the territory"
can refer only to the western limit of the Territory of Wis-
consin, the legislature of which passed the act just quoted.
The western limit of the Territory of Wisconsin was the
Missouri and White Earth rivers. The new County of
Buchanan extended therefore from the western line of Dela-
ware County clear across the State of Iowa and even into
the State of South Dakota. (See Map II.) As thus con-
stituted Buchanan County included all of the territory of
25 Laws of the Territory of Wisconsin, 1836-1838, p. 132.
BOUNDARY HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTIES 13
the present counties of Buchanan and Black Hawk ; all ex-
cept the southern tier of townships in the counties of
Grundy, Hardin, Hamilton, Webster, Calhoun, Sac, Ida and
Woodbury, together with the southern tier of townships in
each of the counties of Plymouth, Cherokee, Buena Vista,
Pocahontas, Wright, Franklin, and Butler. The original
County of Buchanan was not only one of the largest ever
established, either wholly or partially, within the limits of
Iowa, but it was also peculiar in its character. In the for-
mation of counties in Iowa the rule has nearly always been
to include only those territories to which the Indian title
had already been extinguished. The law of 1837 made ex-
ceptions to this rule in establishing the counties of Fayette,
Benton, Keokuk, and Buchanan.26 In the case of the latter
county the Indian title had been extinguished, at the time
of its formation, only from a relatively small part of its
territory.
As first established, Buchanan may be called one of the
temporary counties of Iowa. It was reduced in size, indi-
rectly and imperfectly, by an act of the legislature of the
Territory of Iowa approved on February 17, 1843.27 This
act created nine new counties and altered the boundaries
of three old ones, of which Buchanan County was one.
Among the new counties named in the act was Black Hawk,
in defining the boundaries of which a serious error was
made.28 The law assumed that the western boundary of
Buchanan County was the line dividing ranges ten and
eleven west and then proceeded to define the boundaries of
Black Hawk County in terms of those of Buchanan, the in-
tention being to locate the former immediately west of the
latter. In point of fact, however, the original boundaries
26 See Maps III and IV in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOUENAL OF
HISTORY AND POLITICS.
27 Revised Statutes of the Territory of Iowa, 1843, p. 131.
28 See above p. 11.
14 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
of Buchanan County had never been altered. The western
boundary of the county was still the Missouri Eiver, and
the attempt to describe the boundaries of Black Hawk as
" beginning at the northwest corner of Buchanan County,
thence west to range fifteen west", etc., was an attempt to
do the impossible. Such a county cannot be drawn upon a
map. The intention of the framers of the act, however,
seems perfectly clear. The two counties were to have the
boundaries given them on all county maps of Iowa today.
That the law did not really give to these counties the bound-
aries usually attributed to them is equally clear. Their
boundaries were defined in a defective manner, and, not
having been altered by statute, remain defective today.29
Buchanan County was mentioned only indirectly in the act
of 1843. Nothing at all was said about the remainder of
the original County of Buchanan, which lay west of the new
County of Black Hawk. Technically, the territory west of
Black Hawk remained part of Buchanan County until di-
vided up among other counties by later laws.
Assuming Buchanan County to have the boundaries gen-
erally attributed to it upon our maps, its territory repre-
sents three separate cessions of Indian lands. The eastern
part was within the limits of the Sac and Fox cession of
September 21, 1832, commonly called the Black Hawk Pur-
chase ; the central part belonged to the Sac and Fox cession
of October 21, 1837; while the western part was ceded by
the same Indians on October 11, 1842. (See Map I.) That
portion within the limits of the Black Hawk Purchase was
later a part of the original County of Dubuque. (See
Map II.)
Buena Vista. — The boundaries of Buena Vista County
have not been altered since the county was established by
2» See Map XVI in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HIS-
TORY AND POLITICS. Compare also the text of pp. 434-435 in the same reference.
15
an act of the legislature of the State of Iowa approved on
January 15, 1851.30 The southern tier of townships — in
other words, the southern fourth of the county — had been
formerly within the limits of the original County of Buch-
anan. The remainder of Buena Vista was part of the origi-
nal County of Fayette during the existence of that county.
(See Map II.) The territory of the entire county was ac-
quired by the United States government by the terms of the
treaty of July 15, 1830, when all claims to western Iowa
were surrendered by the Sacs and Foxes, Omahas, lowas,
Otoes, Missouris and the Santee Sioux. (See Map I.)
Butler. — Butler County was one of the fifty new counties
established by the act of January 15, 1851.31 Its bound-
aries as defined at this time have never been altered.
The southern tier of townships was part of the original
County of Buchanan while the remainder had been within
the limits of the original County of Fayette. (See Map II.)
The territory of Butler County represents two Indian
land cessions. The southern third of the county was in-
cluded within the limits of the Sac and Fox cession of Oc-
tober 11, 1842. The northern portion had been ceded by
the same tribes on July 15, 1830, the cession of that date
forming part of the so-called "Neutral Strip". (See Map
I.) The famous "Neutral Line" passed close to the north-
west corner of Butler County.
CalHoun. — Created under the name of Fox County, Cal-
houn was established by an act of the legislature of the
State of Iowa, approved on January 15, 1851.32 Its bound-
aries as described in this act have remained permanent.
The name was changed to Calhoun by an act of January
so Laws of Iowa, 1850-1851, p. 27.
si Laws of Iowa, 1850-1851, p. 27.
32 Lows of Iowa, 1850-1851, p. 27.
16 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
12, 1853.33 The southern fourth of the territory of Calhoun
County had been within the limits of the original County
of Benton. (See Map II.) The bulk of the county, how-
ever, had been part of the original County of Buchanan.
Nearly all of the area of Calhoun County fell within the
limits of the cession made on October 11, 1842, by the Sac
and Fox Indians. The northwest corner had been acquired
from various tribes by a treaty signed on July 15, 1830.
(See Map I.)
Carroll. — This county, like those just described, was es-
tablished by the important act of January 15, 1851.34 Its
boundaries have never since been altered. The entire coun-
ty comes within the limits of the original County of Benton
established by the act of December 21, 1837. The south-
western corner was later included within the territory of
the original County of Pottawatamie created on February
24, 1847. (See Map II.)
The relation of Carroll County to the Indian land ces-
sions is rather complex. The larger part of its territory
was acquired from the Sac and Fox tribes by the treaty of
October 11, 1842. (See Map I.) All that part of the county
not acquired at this time had been ceded by various tribes
on July 15, 1830. The southwest corner had also been
included in the reservation given by the United States gov-
ernment to the Pottawattamie nation in the treaty dated
September 26, 1833. The latter area was ceded a second
time to the United States — this time by the Pottawatta-
mies — on June 5 and 17, 1846.
Cass. — Cass County was erected by the act of January
15, 1851.35 Its boundaries were defined as follows: " Be-
ss Laws of Iowa, 1852-1853, p. 28.
34 Laws of Iowa, 1850-1851, p. 27.
35 Laws of Iowa, 1850-1851, p. 27.
BOUNDARY HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTIES 17
ginning at the north-west corner of township 77 north of
range No. 33 west, thence west on the township line divid-
ing townships 78 and 77, to the north-west corner of town-
ship 77 north of range 37 west, thence south on the range
line between ranges 37 and 38, to the south-west corner of
township 74 north of range 38 west, thence east on the
township line between townships 73 and 74, to the south-
west corner of township 74 north of range 33 west, thence
north to the place of beginning. ' ' This definition of bound-
aries contains an error. It concerns the location of the
southwest corner of the county and affects both the western
and southern boundaries. In the above quotation we read
''thence south on the range line between ranges 37 and 38,
to the south-west corner to township 74 north of range 38
west". It is clearly impossible to follow south on the line
indicated and arrive at the "southwest corner of town-
ship 74 north of range 38 west". The law should have read
north of range 37 ivest. This error has never been cor-
rected. The boundaries of Cass County were defective as
first defined, and, since they have never been altered, re-
main defective today.36 It is absolutely impossible to draw
Cass County on a map according to the boundaries given
it in the act quoted above. The counties round about it,
however, give it shape, and give it, indeed, the boundaries
which the framers of the act no doubt meant it to receive.
The territory which county maps of Iowa accredit to Cass
County was ceded to the United States by various tribes on
July 15, 1830. It was also part of that area given as a
reservation to the Pottawattamie nation by the treaty of
September 26, 1833. The whole region was receded to the
United States by the terms of a treaty dated June 5 and 17,
1846. (See Map I.) Cass County was also included within
so See Map XVI in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HIS-
TORY AND POLITICS.
VOL. VII — 2
18 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
the limits of the original County of Pottawatamie created
in 1847. (See Map II.)
Cedar. — Cedar County was established by an act of the
legislature of the Territory of Wisconsin approved on De-
cember 21, 1837.37 Like its neighbors it was carved from
the territory of the original County of Dubuque. (See
Map II.) Its boundaries first received have remained per-
manent.
The territory of Cedar County was probably entirely
within the limits of the Black Hawk Purchase made of the
Sac and Fox Indians by the terms of the treaty of cession
made on September 21, 1832. (See Map I.) It is possible,
however, that the eastern angle of the Sac and Fox cession
of October 21, 1837, was within the limits of Cedar County,
in which case, a small portion of its area would have been
included within the limits of the second cession.
Cerro Gordo. — Located in the northern part of the State,
Cerro Gordo County was established by an act of the leg-
islature of the State of Iowa approved on January 15,
1851.38 The boundaries first given to the county have re-
mained permanent.
The territory of Cerro Gordo was within the limits of
the original County of Fayette created in 1837. (See Map
II.) Most of the county was ceded by the Medewakanton,
Wahpekuta, Wahpeton and Sisseton bands of the Sioux
in a treaty dated July 15, 1830. It is possible that the
southeastern corner of the county was within the limits of
the cession made by the Sac and Fox Indians on the same
date. These two cessions made up the so-called " Neutral
Ground". The boundary line between the two cessions was
very close to the southeastern corner of the county. The
ST Laws of the Territory of Wisconsin, 1836-1838, p. 132.
ss Laws of Iowa, 1850-1851, p. 27.
BOUNDARY HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTIES 19
northwestern portion of Cerro Gordo was acquired from
the various tribes of the Sioux by the terms of a treaty
dated July 23 and August 5, 1851. (See Map I.) This
was after the establishment of the county.
Cherokee. — The story of the boundaries of Cherokee
County is a very brief one. Created by the important act
of January 15, 1851,39 its boundaries have never been al-
tered. The territory included within the limits of Cherokee
County was acquired by the United States government by
means of a treaty dated July 15, 1830. On this date many
different tribes ceded whatever claims they had to western
Iowa. (See Map I.) The southern tier of townships in
Cherokee — comprising one-fourth of the county — was for
a time within the limits of the original County of Buchanan.
The remaining three-fourths of the county was included
within the borders of the original County of Fayette. Both
of these counties, established in 1837, were only temporary
jurisdictions. (See Map II.)
Chickasaw. — The County of Chickasaw was created by
the act of January 15, 1851.40 Its original boundaries ex-
tended one-half of a township farther north than its present
boundaries. This reduction in the size of Chickasaw was
made by an act approved on January 24, 1855.41 Since the
latter date its boundaries have remained permanent.
Chickasaw County was within the limits of the famous
"Neutral Ground", the northern half of which, including
the northern half of the county, was ceded by four bands of
the Sioux in a treaty dated July 15, 1830. The remainder
of the "Strip", including the southern half of the present
county was ceded by the Sac and Fox tribes on the same
39 Laws of Iowa, 1850-1851, p. 27.
40 Laws of Iowa, 1850-1851, p. 27.
41 Laws of Iowa, 1854-1855, p. 185.
20 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
date. The eastern part of the "Neutral Ground" was
granted by a treaty of September 15, 1832, to the Winne-
bago Indians as a reservation. Most of Chickasaw County
was included. (See Map I.) This reservation was ceded
back to the United States by a treaty dated October 13,
1846. The territory of the entire county falls within the
limits of the original County of Fayette created in 1837.
(See Map II.)
Clarke. — As originally created by an act of the legis-
lature of the Territory of Iowa approved on January 13,
1846,42 the County of Clarke was one-fourth larger than at
present. Its eastern boundary was one range, and its wes-
tern two ranges, farther west than now.43
By an act of the legislature of the State of Iowa ap-
proved on December 27, 1848,44 the boundaries of Clarke
County were redefined, and the county reduced in size and
shifted eastward. Its boundaries have not been altered
since. In the printed laws the name of the county is
spelled "Clark" in the act of December 27, 1848. This is
an error as reference to the original manuscript of the act
proves.45
Clarke County is within the limits of the Sac and Fox
cession of October 11, 1842. It was west of the line of
division. (See Map I.) Its soil was to be vacated by Oc-
tober 11, 1842.
Clay. — This county was one of the fifty established by
the important act of January 15, 1851.46 Its boundaries as
42 Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1845-1846, p. 73.
43 See Map VIII in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF His-
TOKY AND POLITICS.
44 Laws of Iowa, 1848-1849, p. 32.
45 See volume for 1848-1849 of the original manuscript acts of the legisla-
ture of the State of Iowa in the office of the Secretary of State, Des Moines.
46 Laws of Iowa, 1850-1851, p. 27.
BOUNDARY HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTIES 21
originally defined have never since been altered. The terri-
tory of Clay County was acquired by the United States gov-
ernment by the terms of a treaty signed on July 15, 1830.
On this day several Indian tribes yielded their claims to
western Iowa. (See Map I.) Clay County falls within
the limits of the original County of Fayette established in
1837. (See Map II.)
Clayton. — This county was carved from the original
County of Dubuque by an act of the legislature of the Ter-
ritory of Wisconsin approved on December 21, 1837.47 It
was the first named among fourteen counties established
at this time, and was given the following boundaries: "be-
ginning at the point on the Mississippi Eiver, where the
fifth principal meridian intersects the same ; thence running
south on the said meridian line, to the line dividing town-
ships ninety and ninety-one north; thence west, along said
line to the line dividing ranges six and seven west; thence
north, along the said line to the neutral ground; thence
along the southern boundary of the said neutral ground to
the Mississippi river; thence down the middle of the main
channel of the said river to the place of beginning".
The size of Clayton County as first established was about
the same that it is today. Its eastern and southern bound-
aries have never been altered, with the exception that the
eastern boundary does not extend so far north today as
then. The southern half, or thereabouts, of the western
boundary also remains the same. The boundary which
differed most from that of today was the northern or, more
especially, the northwestern. This line was described as
"the southern boundary of the said neutral ground to the
Mississippi river". The so-called "neutral ground" had
been ceded to the United States government, partly by the
47 Laws of the Territory of Wisconsin, 1836-1838, p. 132.
22 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
Sacs and Foxes, and partly by various tribes of the Sioux, in
the treaties of July 15, 1830. The southern boundary of this
strip was a line twenty miles to the southward of the neu-
tral line described in the treaty of August 19, 1825. The
southern boundary of the neutral ground, which was also
the northwestern and northern boundary of Clayton County
was not a straight line but a broken one. It was surveyed
by James Craig in 1833.48
As first established49 the County of Clayton remained un-
changed for nearly ten years. In the meantime the Terri-
tory of Iowa was established, to be in turn superseded by
the State of Iowa. The act altering the boundaries of Clay-
ton County was passed by the first General Assembly of
the State and approved on February 3, 1847.50 In this law
only the northern and western boundaries of the county
were redefined, its other boundaries remaining as they
were. By the changes made at this time a little territory
was lost in the northeast and about the same gained in the
northwestern part of the county.51 The boundaries received
by Clayton County in the act of February 3, 1847, have re-
mained permanent.
Nearly all of the present area of Clayton County was
acquired from the Sac and Fox Indians, as part of the
Black Hawk Purchase, in the treaty of September 21, 1832.
(See Map I.) The same area was later within the jurisdic-
tion of the original County of Dubuque. (See Map II.)
The northwest corner of the county was within the limits
of the Sac and Fox cession of July 15, 1830, and conse-
48 18th Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology, 1896-1897,
Part II, p. 727.
49 See Map III in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HIS-
TORY AND POLITICS.
so Laws of Iowa, 1846-1847, p. 37.
si See Map IX in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY
AND POLITICS.
BOUNDARY HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTIES 23
quently of the " Neutral Ground" of which this cession
made up the southern half. The same northwestern corner
of Clayton, together with all that part of the " Neutral
Ground" east of the Cedar Biver, was granted as a reserva-
tion to the Winnebago Indians, by treaty on September 15,
1832. This reservation was ceded back to the United States
by a treaty dated October 13, 1846. (See Map I.) It was in
consequence of this cession that the legislators of the State
of Iowa were free to add the northwestern corner of Clay-
ton County to that jurisdiction.
Clinton. — This county was carved from the original
County of Dubuque (See Map II.) by an act of the legisla-
ture of the Territory of Wisconsin approved on December
21, 1837.52 The boundaries received at this time have re-
mained permanent. Clinton is one of the few counties of
the State which have two river boundaries.
The territory of Clinton County was acquired from the
Sac and Fox Indians by the cession of September 21, 1832,
known familiarly as the Black Hawk Purchase. (See Map I.)
Crawford. — Crawford County was established by the
act of January 15, 1851.53 As its boundaries were first de-
fined the county was not as large as at present, its western
boundary being located one township farther east than
now.54 On April 2, 1862, there was approved an act55 of
the State legislature which provided a general method for
the alteration of county boundaries. Provision was made
that in case two or more counties desired to change their
boundary lines they were to petition their respective boards
52 Laws of the Territory of Wisconsin, 1836-1838, p. 132.
63 Laws of Iowa, 1850-1851, p. 27.
5< See Map XI in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY
AND POLITICS.
55 Laws of Iowa, 1862, p. 93.
24 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
of supervisors to that effect. Such petitions must be signed
by more than one-half of the legal voters of each county.
Upon receipt of such requests the supervisors were to order
a special election upon the proposed changes, which, to car-
ry, must be favored by a majority of the votes cast in each
county concerned. In 1865 Crawford and Monona counties,
basing their action upon the provisions of this law, altered
their common boundary line, moving it one township farther
west. This had the effect of increasing Crawford County
one-fourth in size. Since 1865 the boundaries of the county
have not been altered.
The territory of Crawford County was first ceded by
various Indian tribes to the United States by a treaty
signed July 15, 1830. The southern part of this cession was
given by the United States as a reservation to the Potta-
wattamie nation on September 26, 1833. The same was
ceded a second time on June 5 and 17, 1846. The south-
eastern corner of Crawford was part of the Pottawattamie
reservation and cession, (See Map I), and in 1847 it came
also within the limits of the original County of Pottawat-
amie. The entire county had at an earlier date formed a
part of the territory of the original County of Benton.
(See Map II.)
Dallas. — The boundary history of Dallas County is rather
complicated. Created by the act of January 13, 1846,56 its
boundaries have undergone many changes. As first estab-
lished the county was the same size it is today, but it was
located one range farther east than now.57 The first de-
scription of the boundaries of Dallas County contained no
errors; that is, the boundaries assigned to the county were
definite.
56 Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1845-1846, p. 73.
57 See Map VIII in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HIS-
TORY AND POLITICS.
BOUNDARY HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTIES 25
By an act approved on January 17, 1846,58 the boundaries
of Jasper, Polk, and Dallas counties were redefined. The
act of the thirteenth had contained serious errors relative
to Jasper County. The act of the seventeenth was supple-
mentary to that of four days earlier. The eastern and
western boundaries of Dallas County were each moved one
range farther west,59 giving to the county its present bound-
aries, indeed, although these were not to be permanent.
Five years later the act of January 15, 1851,60 establish-
ed the new County of Guthrie just west of Dallas defining
its boundaries in such a way as to allow it to overlap the
western range of townships belonging to Dallas.01 This
was probably an error on the part of the framers of the
law, as will be shown later. But, if an error was made, it
was in the location of the county and not in the description
of boundaries, that is to say, the boundaries given to Guth-
rie County were definite and can be drawn on a map. Al-
though Dallas County was not named in the act, that was
not necessary to legally transfer the townships in question
to Guthrie. In spite, however, of the fact that this transfer
was legal, it is still probable that an error was made by the
framers of the act of January 15, 1851, in the location of
Guthrie County, that is, in making it overlap Dallas. At
any rate, twenty-one days later, there was approved an
act62 supplementary to the one under discussion, by the
terms of which the boundaries of Guthrie were defined in
such a way that the county was shifted one range farther
ss Laws of the Territory of loica, 1845-1846, p. 75.
59 See Map IX in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY
AND POLITICS.
co Laws of Iowa, 1850-1851, p. 27.
ei See Map XI in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY
AND POLITICS.
02 Laws of Iowa, 1850-1851, p. 194.
26 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
west.63 That range of townships which had belonged to
Dallas County prior to the act of January 15, 1851, and
which was given by that law to Guthrie County, was now by,
the act of February 5, 1851, left outside of the limits of the
latter. This territory now reverted to Dallas County, since
the act of February 5 contained a section repealing all
conflicting acts or parts of acts. Without such a repealing
clause the townships in question would not have reverted,
now, to Dallas. The only act affected by this repealing
clause was the act of January 15, 1851, and this only in
the section dealing with Guthrie County.64 With the repeal
of this section, which it will be remembered gave to Guthrie
the disputed townships, we are thrown back upon the con-
ditions previously existing. Prior to 1851, at least since
the act of January 17, 1846, the range of townships in ques-
tion had belonged to Dallas County. This leaves no doubt
that they reverted to that county after the passage of the
act of February 5, 1851. It is interesting, however, to note
that on January 19, 1853, there was approved an act 65
by which the boundaries of Dallas were redefined, but not
altered, if the argument made above is correct. The very
passage of this act, however, shows that its framers had
doubts as to just what territories were included within the
limits of Dallas County. It is certain that the boundaries
of Dallas have been permanent since January 19, 1853, if
not since February 5, 1851, as the writer contends.
The territory included in Dallas County was wholly with-
in the limits of the Sac and Fox cession of October 11, 1842.
(See Map I.) It also formed part of the original County of
Keokuk established in 1837. (See Map II.)
es See Map XII in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY
AND POLITICS.
e* Section 17.
es Laws of Iowa, 1852-1853, p. 65.
BOUNDARY HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTIES 27
Davis. — This county on the southern border of Iowa was
established by an act of the legislature of the Territory of
Iowa approved on February 17, 1843.66 In the definition
of its boundaries an error was made, the word "northwest"
occurring where northeast was meant. The effect of this
mistake was to leave the county without a complete bound-
ary on the northeast.67 This error was corrected by a law
to organize Davis County which was approved on February
15, 1844,68 and which redefined the boundaries of the county
in such a manner that they have remained permanent.
The southeast corner was for a time part of the original
County of Demoine (See Map II.) and later part of the
original County of Van Buren. The remainder never
formed part of any other county unless we interpret the
original County of Demoine as extending to the Missouri
Eiver.69
Davis County represents three cessions of Indian land.
The southeast corner was part of the cession of September
21, 1832, commonly referred to as the Black Hawk Pur-
chase. (See Map I.) A small portion of territory next on
the north and west represents the cession of October 21,
1837, while the bulk of the territory of the county was ac-
quired through the treaty of October 11, 1842. All three
cessions were made by the Sac and Fox Indians.
Decatur. — This county was the last of twelve created by
the act of the legislature of the Territory of Iowa approved
on January 13, 1846.™ Its boundaries as first defined have
remained permanent.
ee Revised Statutes of the Territory of Iowa, 1843, p. 131.
67 See Map VII in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY
AND POLITICS.
csLaws of the Territory of Iowa, 1843-1844, p. 137.
69 See below p. 29.
70 Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1845-1846, p. 73.
28 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
The land included within the limits of the county was
ceded to the United States government by the Sac and Fox
Indians in a treaty dated October 11, 1842. Decatur was
west of the line by which this cession was divided into two
parts and therefore did not have to be vacated by the In-
dians until three years after the date of cession.
Delaware. — The boundary history of Delaware County
is brief. The county was carved from the original County
of Dubuque (See Map II.) by an act of the legislature of
the Territory of Wisconsin approved on December 21,
1837.71 The boundaries received at this time have never
been altered but have remained permanent.72
The territory of Delaware County was acquired from the
Sac and Fox Indians by the cession of September 21, 1832,
known familiarly as the Black Hawk Purchase. (See
Map I.)
DCS Moines. — This county, one of the two first estab-
lished within the borders of the present State of Iowa, was
created by an act of the Legislative Council of the Territory
of Michigan approved on September 6, 1834.73 Dubuque
County was established by the same act, and since it was
named first in the law, has that much claim to be the otdest
county in the State. Demoine County (for such is the spell-
ing of the name to be found in the organic act) must be con-
tent to be called the second oldest.
The original County of Demoine was only a temporary
jurisdiction. Its exact shape and size may reasonably be
called in question, because of an apparent error which crept
into the organic act. Both of the original counties of Du-
71 Laws of the Territory of Wisconsin, 1836-1838, p. 132.
72 See Map III in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY
AND POLITICS.
73 Laws of the Territory of Michigan, Vol. Ill, p. 1326.
BOUNDARY HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTIES 29
buque and Demoine were carved from an area which had
only recently been attached to the Territory of Michigan.
The intention of the framers of the act undoubtedly was to
limit the new counties to that part of this newly acquired re-
gion "to which the Indian title has [had] been extinguish-
ed", that is, to the Black Hawk Purchase, the northern
part of which was to become the County of Dubuque and
the southern part the County of Demoine. Section one of
the act, which created Dubuque County, definitely limits it
to territories "to which the Indian title has [had] been ex-
tinguished". Section two by which Demoine County was
established reads as follows: "All that part of the dis-
trict aforesaid, which was attached as aforesaid to the Ter-
ritory of Michigan, and which is situated south of the said
line to be drawn west from the lower end of Bock Island,
shall constitute a County, and be called Demoine." The
phrase which in section one had limited Dubuque County
to territory to which the Indian title had been extinguished
is here omitted, whether by design or by accident may never
be known. Curiously enough the line of division between
the two new counties was extended, in section one of the
act, "west from the lower end of Eock Island to the Mis-
souri river". (The italics are mine.) According to the
actual wording of section two, Demoine County was extend-
ed westward to the Missouri Eiver. For several reasons
this seems to have been an error. (1) No reason appears
why Demoine County should have been defined differently
from Dubuque County. (2) It was customary not to erect
into counties territory still under the control of the Indians.
Throughout the whole history of the formation of Iowa
counties this rule was almost invariably followed. (3)
Demoine County was subdivided by an act approved on
December 7, 1836. This law bore the title "An Act divid-
30 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
ing the county of Des Moines74 into several new coun-
ties".75 The territory erected into new counties at this
time comprised only the southern part of the Black Hawk
Purchase — it did not extend westward to the Missouri.
This last fact, taken in connection with the wording of the
title of the law, would seem to prove that the extension of
the original County of Demoine westward to the Missouri
was an error on the part of the act of September 6, 1834,
at least such appears to be the view of the framers of the
act of December 7, 1836. These facts have convinced the
writer that it was never intended to extend Demoine County
westward across the State, that the original idea was to
limit it to the southern part of the Black Hawk Purchase.
The county is thus drawn on Map II.
Even with these limits the original County of Demoine
was one of the largest ever established within the present
boundaries of Iowa. It should be noted, however, that as
first created Demoine County did not include Keokuk's Ee-
serve, a strip comprising four hundred square miles on the
Iowa Eiver. This reservation was made in Chief Keokuk's
favor at the time of the Black Hawk Purchase, September
21, 1832. It was ceded to the United States by treaty on
September 28, 1836, and was for all practical purposes
made a part of Demoine County which may be said to have
been increased in size to this extent at this time. Most
early maps show Demoine County as including the Keokuk
Reserve. It is so drawn on Map II accompanying this
paper. In this shape Demoine County included all the ter-
ritory in the present counties of Louisa, Des Moines, Lee
and Henry; most of the territory of Van Buren County;
and part of that of Davis, Jefferson, Washington, Johnson,
and Muscatine. (See Map II.)
74 The original spelling of the name of the county (Demoine) is ignored in
this act.
75 Laws of the Territory of Wisconsin, 1836-1838, p. 76.
BOUNDARY HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTIES 31
Dubuque and Demoine were the only counties created in
Iowa during the period of the Territory of Michigan. On
July 4, 1836, they became part of the Territory of Wiscon-
sin.76 During the two years of the Wisconsin period each
was subdivided into smaller counties. The act subdividing
Demoine County, as already mentioned, was approved on
December 7, 1836. It went into effect on the same day. By
the terms of this act the original County of Demoine (plus
most of the Keokuk Eeserve) was divided into several new
counties, one of which retained the name of Des Moines al-
though the modern spelling of the name was adopted. The
boundaries given to the county at this time were peculiar
owing to the fact that the United States government survey
of these lands was not yet completed. The new limits of
Des Moines County were denned in section three of the act
as follows: "beginning on the Mississippi river, at the
north-east corner of Lee; thence up said river to a point
fifteen miles above the town of Burlington, on the bank of
said river; thence on a westerly direction to a point on the
dividing ridge between the Iowa river and Flint creek, be-
ing twenty miles on a due west line from the Mississippi
river; thence a southerly direction, so as to intersect the
northern boundary line of the county of Lee, at a point
twenty miles on a straight line from the Mississippi river ;
thence east with the northerly line of the said county of Lee
to the beginning". These boundaries gave to the county
an irregular shape. It is difficult to draw the county on a
map, although the writer attempted to do so in connection
with a former paper.77 Eeference to the maps indicated
(especially to Map VI) shows the northern boundary of
Des Moines County as defined in the act of December 7,
76 U. S. Statutes at Large, Vol. V, p. 10.
77 See Maps II and VI in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF
HISTORY AND POLITICS.
32 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
1836, just quoted, to run east and west, and to be located
some six miles to the south of the northern boundary of
the present county of the same name, while the western
boundary runs from northeast to southwest and the south-
ern from northwest to southeast along the Skunk River.
As thus drawn the Des Moines County of the act of Decem-
ber 7, 1836, included the southeastern corner of the present
county of Henry, and a little territory in the northern part
of the present county of Lee. On the other hand, a larger
area in the northern part of the present County of Des
Moines belonged then to Louisa County. As established by
the act of 1836 Des Moines County was probably a trifle
smaller than now.
The boundaries just described were temporary because
the act denning them was temporary.78 Soon after the sur-
vey of the region was completed, a new act was passed by
the legislature of the Territory of Wisconsin redefining
the boundaries of Des Moines County and its neighbors.
This act was approved on January 18, 1838.79 The new
boundaries generally followed township lines. The north-
ern boundary of Des Moines County now became the line
dividing townships seventy- two and seventy-three north;
the western boundary became the line separating ranges
four and five west ; while the southern boundary was estab-
lished on the line dividing townships sixty-eight and sixty-
nine north except in its eastern part where the Skunk
Eiver served to form the boundary.80 As thus bounded the
county probably gained a little in size, for while it lost ter-
ritory on the west to Henry and Lee it gained more in the
78 See section 11 of the act.
79 Laws of the Territory of Wisconsin, 1836-1838, p. 381.
so Maps V and VI in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HIS-
TORY AND POLITICS show these boundaries correctly but a slight error occurs in
Map VII.
BOUNDARY HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTIES 33
north from Louisa County. It also undoubtedly gained a
little on the south from Lee.
On July 4, 1838, the act of Congress creating the Ter*ri-
tory of Iowa went into effect. Des Moines County was
given its present boundaries by an act of the legislature of
the new Territory, approved on January 23, 1839.81 This
law which was entitled "An Act to establish the boundaries
of Lee county" made the Skunk River the boundary line
between Lee and Des Moines counties. The change thus
made in the boundaries of Des Moines County was indirect,
that county not having been named in the act in direct con-
nection with the new boundary. By this change Des Moines
County was reduced somewhat in size, for although it
gained a little territory (situated south of Henry County)
from Lee County it lost much more territory south of the
Skunk Eiver to Lee. With this change the boundaries of
Des Moines County became permanent.
Most of the present County of Des Moines, and possibly
all of it, was formerly part of the Black Hawk Purchase of
1832. It is probable that a small area in the northern part
of the county was within the limits of Keokuk's Reserve.
(See Map I.)
Dickinson. — This county was formed by the act of Janu-
ary 15, 1851.82 Its boundaries received at this time have
never been altered. It is one of the smallest counties in
Iowa, containing only 408 square miles. That section83 in
the act of January 15, 1851, which sought to establish Dick-
inson County was unconstitutional. The Constitution of
1846 was then in force. Section two of article eleven of
this document reads as follows: "No new county shall be
laid off hereafter, nor old county reduced to less contents
si Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1838-1839, p. 94.
82 Laws of Iowa, 1850-1851, p. 27.
83 Section 48.
VOL. VII — 3
34 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
than four hundred and thirty-two square miles." Dickin-
son County was established in 1851 and given only 408
square miles of territory. This was clearly unconstitu-
tional. The county continued in this condition until 1857.
Osceola, Emmet, Winnebago, and Worth possessed the
same status.
In 1857 the new State Constitution was ratified and went
into force. Section two of article eleven of this, our pres-
ent Constitution, reads: "No new county shall be hereaf-
ter created containing less than four hundred and thirty-
two square miles ; nor shall the territory of any organized
county be reduced below that area; except the county of
Worth, and the counties west of it along the northern bor-
der of this State, may be organized without additional ter-
ritory." Thus the Constitution of 1857 recognizes the un-
constitutionality of the five counties above mentioned from
1851 to 1857, and then proceeds to authorize their organiza-
tion. (None of them had been organized during the period
of their illegal status.) This action rendered Dickinson
County a constitutional jurisdiction as soon as it was or-
ganized.
The territory of Dickinson was for several years a part
of the original County of Fayette created in 1837. ^See
Map II.) Most of it was within the limits of the cession
made on July 15, 1830, upon which date all the Indian
tribes having any claims to the territories of western Iowa
surrendered those claims. The northeastern corner of
Dickinson County was undoubtedly part of the cession
made on July 23 and August 5, 1851, by the four bands of
the Santee Sioux. (See Map I.) This much of the county
was still Indian territory when the county itself was es-
tablished by act of January 15, 1851.
Dubuque. — Dubuque County was one of the two first
counties established within the limits of the present State
BOUNDARY HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTIES 35
of Iowa. Indeed, it may be called the first, since it was
named before Demoine County in the organic act by which
both were created. This act was one passed by the Legis-
lative Council of the Territory of Michigan, approved on
September 6, 1834, and in effect from October 1 of the same
year. It was entitled "An Act to lay off and organize
counties west of the Mississippi River."84 Section one of
this law which describes the limits of Dubuque County
reads as follows: "Be it enacted by the Legislative Coun-
cil of the Territory of Michigan. That all of that district
of country which was attached to the Territory of Michi-
gan, by the act of Congress entitled 'An Act to attach the
Territory of the United States west of the Mississippi
Eiver, and north of the State of Missouri to the Territory
of Michigan,' approved June 28th, 1834, and to which the
Indian title has been extinguished, which is situated to the
north of [a] line to be drawn due west from the lower end
of Eock Island to [the] Missouri river, shall constitute a
county to be called Dubuque. "
The wording of the act is cumbersome. The "Territory
of the United States west of the Mississippi River and
north of the State of Missouri .... to which the Indian
title had been extinguished" was the strip purchased by
the United States government from the Sac and Fox In-
dians on September 21, 1832. This strip was variously re-
ferred to as the "Iowa District," the "Black Hawk Pur-
chase," and "Scott's Purchase"; more commonly, how-
ever called the "Black Hawk Purchase". By the terms of
the organic act, above quoted, Dubuque County was made
to comprise all that part of the Black Hawk Purchase which
lay to the north of a line to be drawn due west from the
lower end of Rock Island. The county did not extend to
the northern boundary of the present State of Iowa be-
s* Laws of the Territory of Michigan, Vol. Ill, p. 1326.
36 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
cause the Black Hawk Purchase had not done so. Keokuk's
Reserve cut off the southwest corner of the county. Du-
buque County did not extend westward to the Missouri
River and thus include all of the northern half of Iowa as
some writers claim.85 The evident extension of the line of
division between Dubuque and Demoine counties westward
to the Missouri is not sufficient ground upon which to base
the claim that Dubuque County extended clear across the
State. The county was large enough as it was. Its size
and shape may be seen on Map II. In its original form Du-
buque County included all of the territory of the present
counties of Dubuque, Jackson, Clinton, Cedar, Jones, and
Delaware; most of the territory of Clayton and Scott coun-
ties; and part of that of Allamakee, Fayette, Buchanan,
Linn, Johnson, and Muscatine.
Dubuque and Demoine were the only counties created in
Iowa during the period of the Territory of Michigan. On
July 4, 1836, they became part of the Territory of Wiscon-
sin.86 During the two years of the Wisconsin period each
was subdivided into smaller counties. The act subdividing
Dubuque County was approved on December 21, 1837.87
Just two months prior to this date the Sac and Fox Indians
had made their second cession of land within the present
State of Iowa to the United States government. It com-
prised a triangular strip of 1,500,000 acres lying imme-
diately west of the Black Hawk Purchase. (See Map I.)
The act of December 21, 1837, created new counties out of
the northern part (about two thirds) of this new cession
as well as out of the original County of Dubuque.88
«» See Gue 's History of Iowa, Vol. Ill, p. 343.
se U. S. Statutes at Large, Vol. V, p. 10.
87 Laws of the Territory of Wisconsin, 1836-1838, p. 132.
ss See Map III, July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND
POLITICS.
37
It seems best to denominate the original County of Du-
buque a temporary county and to say that it was reduced
in size by the act of December 21, 1837. The only alter-
native is to declare that there is no more connection be-
tween the two counties of Dubuque than between the origi-
nal county of that name and any other named in the act of
December 21, 1837, which was carved from it. The view
that the second County of Dubuque is to be looked upon as
the continuation of the first may be defended by a reference
to the act just mentioned. In section four (the section
establishing Delaware County) we read — "All the coun-
try lying within the following limits, to-wit : . . . . shall be,
and the same is hereby constituted a separate county to be
called Delaware." This is practically the formula used
for all the counties named in the act with the exception of
Dubuque which is not "constituted a separate county" but
merely has its new and reduced boundaries defined.89 In a
later section the sheriff of Dubuque County is authorized to
collect all taxes assessed by and due the original county
of the same name.90
The boundaries received by Dubuque County on Decem-
ber 21, 1837, have remained permanent. As may be in-
ferred from the foregoing discussion, the territory of the
present county was within the Black Hawk Purchase of
September 21, 1832. (See Map I.)
Emmet. — Like Dickinson County Emmet was created by
the act of January 15, 1851,91 with an area of four hundred
and eight square miles which was less than the Constitution
allowed.92 The county was clearly unconstitutional but it
89 See section 3 of the act.
so Section 9.
»i Laws of Iowa, 1850-1851, p. 27.
82 Compare the discussion of Dickinson County, above p. 33. Everything
said above about the unconstitutionality of Dickinson County applies with equal
force to Emmet.
38 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
was not organized until after the Constitution of 1857 had
made legal its organization in spite of its small area.93
Emmet County is within the limits of the original Coun-
ty of Fayette established in 1837. (See Map II.) Most of
the territory of Emmet was ceded to the United States gov-
ernment by the Sioux Indians according to the terms of two
treaties signed July 23 and August 5, 1851. (See Map I.)
The southwest corner of the county was acquired by an
earlier treaty dated July 15, 1830, upon which date a num-
ber of tribes ceded all their claims to western Iowa.
Fayette. — As first established Fayette County was only
a temporary jurisdiction similar in character to the original
counties of Benton, Buchanan, and Keokuk. It was created
by an act of the legislature of the Territory of Wisconsin,
approved on December 21, 1837.94 The character of this
act has been discussed above.95 The extent and boundaries
of Fayette County as described in section two of the law
were as follows: "The whole of the country lying west of
the Mississippi and north of the southern boundary of the
county of Clayton, extending westward to the western
boundary of Wisconsin Territory and not included within
the proper limits of the said county of Clayton, as herein-
before described, shall for temporary purposes be attached
to, and in all respects be considered a part of the county
of Clayton, and be called Fayette."
There can be no doubt, although this wording is peculiar,
that it was the intention of the framers of the act of De-
cember 21, 1837, to create a temporary county to be called
Fayette and to attach the same to Clayton County for those
purposes for which new counties were at this time frequent-
as See Constitution of Iowa, 1857, Article XI, section 2.
9* Laws of tJie Territory of Wisconsin, 1836-1838, p. 132.
95 See above p. 8.
BOUNDARY HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTIES 39
ly attached to older ones, namely for judicial purposes. The
wording of the title of the act and a comparison of the
phraseology of section two with other sections bear out this
view.
Clayton County had been bounded in section one of the
act. Its size, as established at this time, was nearly the
same as at present, although its shape was slightly differ-
ent.96 The "western boundary of Wisconsin Territory"
was the Missouri and White Earth rivers; the northern
boundary was the Canadian border. The new County of
Fayette extended to these boundaries on the west and north.
It covered roughly the eastern two-thirds of the Dakotas
and the western half of Minnesota in addition to the north-
ern fourth of Iowa.97 Its area was upwards of 140,000
square miles,98 making it one of the largest, if not the
largest, county ever established within the limits of the
United States. The Indian titles had been extinguished in
only the southeastern corner of the county.
In its temporary form Fayette County included, in Iowa,
all the territory of the present counties of Lyon, Sioux,
Osceola, O'Brien, Dickinson, Clay, Emmet, Palo Alto, Kos-
suth, Winnebago, Hancock, Worth, Cerro Gordo, Mitchell,
Floyd, Howard, Chickasaw, AVinneshiek, Humboldt, Bre-
mer, and Fayette; most of that of Plymouth, Cherokee,
Buena Vista, Pocahontas, Wright, Franklin, Butler, and
Allamakee; and a corner of Clayton. (See Map II.)
The boundaries of Fayette County were defined as they
now exist by an act of the first General Assembly of the
State of Iowa approved on February 3, 1847.99 In reduc-
se See Map IX in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY
AND POLITICS.
»7 See Map IV in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY
AND POLITICS.
98 Gue 'a History of Iowa, Vol. Ill, p. 344.
99 Laws of Iowa, 1846-1847, p. 37.
ing the county to its present size the act of 1847 says noth-
ing about the vast territory which formerly belonged to it.
The territory included within the present boundaries of
Fayette County was acquired through several cessions
by the Indians. (See Map I.) The southeastern part was
included within the limits of the Black Hawk Purchase of
September 21, 1832. A triangular strip in the southern
part of the county, a little west of the center, was part of
the Sac and Fox cession of October 21, 1837. The south-
western corner was acquired from the same tribes in the
cession of October 11, 1842. The northern part, about one-
half of the county, was from the cession made by the Win-
nebagoes on October 13, 1846. This latter area had been
granted as a reservation to the Winnebagoes on September
15, 1832, before which time it had formed a part of the
famous "Neutral Ground," the southern part of which, in-
cluding the northern half of the present county, had first
been acquired from the Sacs and Foxes through the ces-
sion of January 15, 1830.
The only part of Fayette County which was ever part of
another Iowa county is the southeastern part. The same
area, which was just spoken of as having formed a part of
the Black Hawk Purchase, became a little later part of the
original County of Dubuque.
Floyd. — The County of Floyd was erected, with forty-
nine others, by an act of the legislature of the State of
Iowa approved on January 15, 1851.100 Its boundaries re-
ceived at this time extended one-half of a township farther
north than they do at present.101 They were reduced to
their present limits by an act approved on January 24,
1855.102
100 Laws of Iowa, 1850-1851, p. 27.
101 See Map XI in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY
AND POLITICS.
102 Latvs of Iowa, 1854-1855, p. 185.
BOUNDARY HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTIES 41
The territory of Floyd County was first ceded to the
United States by two treaties signed on July 15, 1830, the
southeastern part being ceded by the Sac and Fox Indians,
the balance by the four bands of Santee Sioux. (See Map
I.) The whole county came within the limits of the so-called
" Neutral Ground." All that part of the strip which lay
east of the eastern branch of the Cedar River was given as
a reservation by the United States government to the Win-
nebagoes by a treaty signed on September 15, 1832. The
northeastern part of Floyd County was included in this
reservation which was ceded back to the United States by
the treaty of October 13, 1846. All of Floyd County came
within the limits of the original County of Fayette created
in 1837. (See Map II.)
Franklin. — Franklin County was established by an act of
the State legislature approved on January 15, 1851.103 Its
boundaries have never been altered since first defined. The
territory within the borders of Franklin had formerly be-
longed to the original counties of Fayette and Buchanan,
both of which were established in 1837. The southern
fourth of the county belonged to Buchanan; the northern
three-fourths to Fayette. (See Map II.)
Most of the area of Franklin County was ceded by the
Sac and Fox Indians to the United States by a treaty
signed July 15, 1830. The northwest corner was ceded at
the same time by the Medewakanton, Wahpekuta, Wahpe-
ton and Sisseton bands of the Sioux. These two cessions
made up the famous "Neutral Ground," within which all
of Franklin County except the southeastern corner came.
This corner was acquired from the Sac and Fox Indians
on October 11, 1842, part of it lying east and part of it
west of the line of division by which this cession was divid-
ed into two parts. (See Map I.)
103 Laws of Iowa, 1850-1851, p. 27.
Fremont. — The county in the southwest corner of the
State was, together with the three lying east of it, estab-
lished by an act of the State legislature approved on Feb-
ruary 24, 1847.104 The boundaries received by Fremont
County at this time have never been altered.
On the same day that Fremont and the three counties just
east of it were created, an act105 was approved establishing
the temporary County of Pottawatamie out of the Potta-
wattamie cession of 1846. The effect of this act is difficult
to determine since Fremont, Page, Taylor, and part of
Ringgold County had been within the limits of this ces-
sion. (See Map I.) It is hardly probable that the authors
of these two acts of the same date meant to put any terri-
tory into two counties at the same time, yet, since there is
no way of determining which of the two laws was approved
last, this is exactly what they seem to have done.106 It is
possible, however, that it was not meant to include the ter-
ritory of Fremont and its neighbors within the limits of
the original Pottawatamie County. When the latter was
reduced to its present size by the act of January 15, 1851,
no mention was made in the act of the counties of Fre-
mont, Page, etc. This would seem to imply that there was
no real overlapping of boundaries, or, if such a condition
did exist, there were good reasons for ignoring it.
The territory within the present limits of Fremont
County was first acquired by the United States on July 15,
1830, upon which date all those tribes107 having any claims
to the soil of western Iowa surrendered the same to the
government. A large area in the southwestern part of the
104 Laws of Iowa, 1846-1847, p. 114.
105 Laws of Iowa, 1846-1847, p. 115.
joe gee Map X in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY
AND POLITICS.
107 July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS, p.
439.
BOUNDARY HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTIES 43
State was granted as a reservation to the Pottawattamie
nation on September 26, 1833, and ceded back by them on
June 5 and 17, 1846. Pottawatamie County of 1847 was to
be coextensive with this cession. The present area of
Fremont County was included within the limits of the
Pottawattamie reservation and cession and apparently of
the county. (See Map I.)
Greene. — The boundaries of Greene County have never
been changed since the county was originally created by
the act of January 15, 1851.108 Its territory was ac-
quired from the Sac and Fox Indians by the cession of Oc-
tober 11, 1842. (See Map I.) Greene County comes with-
in the limits of the original County of Benton established
in 1837. (See Map II.)
Grundy. — Grundy County was established by the act of
January 15, 1851,109 its boundaries being defined thus:
"Beginning at the north-west corner of township 89 north,
range 14 west, thence west on the line dividing townships
89 and 90, to the north-west corner of township 89, range
18 west, thence south on the line dividing ranges 18 and 19
to the south-west corner of township 86 north, range 18
west, thence east on the line between townships 85 and 86
to the southwest corner of township 86 north, range 16
west, thence north to the north-east corner of said town-
ship, thence east to the south-west corner of township 87
north, r-ange 14, thence north on the line dividing ranges 14
and 15, to the place of beginning. ' ' These boundaries con-
tain an error. The phrase * ' thence north to the north-east
corner of said township" should have read, thence north to
the northwest corner. This is not merely a printer's error;
108 Laws of Iowa, 1850-1851, p. 27.
io» Laws of Iowa, 1850-1851, p. 27.
44 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
the word "north-east" may be found in the original manu-
script copy of the act.110 The error just mentioned makes
it impossible to draw the southern boundary of Grundy
County on a map. Tama County, however, gives it the
shape which the authors of the act of 1851 undoubtedly
meant to give it.111 The boundaries of Grundy County
were, therefore, defective, as originally established. Since
they have never been redefined or amended, they remain
defective today.112
The southern tier of townships of Grundy County cornes
within the limits of the original County of Benton created
in 1837. All of the remainder formed a part of the original
County of Buchanan established at the same time. (See
Map II.) The territory included within the boundaries of
Grundy County was formerly claimed by the Sac and Fox
Indians. It was ceded by them to the United States by the
treaty of October 11, 1842. (See Map I.)
Guthrie. — As originally established by the act of January
15, 1851, 113 Guthrie County possessed the same area which
it possesses today but the county was located one range
farther east than now. That is to say, the eastern and
western boundaries were each placed one range farther east
than now.114 Dallas County located immediately east of
Guthrie had been created by the act of January 13, 1846.
The boundaries given to Guthrie County by the act of 1851
no See volume for 1850-1851 of the original manuscript acts of the legisla-
ture of the State of Iowa in the office of the Secretary of State, Des Moines,
Iowa.
in See Map XI in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY
AND POLITICS.
112 See Map XVI in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HIS-
TORY AND POLITICS.
us Laws of Iowa, 1850-1851, p. 27.
114 See Map XI in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HIS-
TORY AND POLITICS.
BOUNDARY HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTIES 45
overlapped those of Dallas. It is impossible to say, definite-
ly, that an error was made in having the boundaries of the
newer county overlap those of the older, but at least this
was an unusual occurrence. In a case of this kind the later
law prevails, and it must be said that a part of the terri-
tory of Dallas was legally transferred to Guthrie by the
law of 1851. In spite of all this it seems probable that the
boundaries of Guthrie County were not made to overlap
those of Dallas intentionally, because on February 5, only
twenty-one days later, an act110 supplementary to that of
January 15, 1851, was approved which redefined the bound-
aries of Guthrie County in such a way as to shift its loca-
tion one range westward.11'5 All acts or parts of acts to
the contrary being repealed by section two of the law, the
territory recently taken from Dallas County now reverted
to that jurisdiction.117
In shifting Guthrie County to the westward, the act of
February 5, 1851, did not diminish it in size. As a result
it now overlafjped the boundaries of Audubon County
located just west; in other words, Audubon lost a range
of townships to Guthrie, since the later law, as mentioned
above, repealed that much of the earlier law conflicting with
it. The boundaries of Guthrie County have not been al-
tered since February 5, 1851.
All of the territory of Guthrie comes within the limits of
the original County of Keokuk established in 1837. The
southwest corner was also included in 1847 in the original
County of Pottawatamie. (See Map II.) The bulk of the
territory of Guthrie was acquired from the Sacs and Foxes
by the cession of October 11, 1842. The southwestern por-
115 Lows of Iowa, 1850-1851, p. 194.
ne See Map XII in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OP HIS-
TORY AND POLITICS.
"7 See above p. 25.
46 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
tion first came into the possession of the United States
through the treaty of July 15, 1830, upon which date all the
Indian tribes118 having any claims to western Iowa sur-
rendered the same to the government. (See Map I.) On
September 26, 1833, the southern part of this cession was
given as a reservation to the Pottawattamie Nation. The
southwestern part of Guthrie County was included in this
reservation which, in turn, was ceded back to the United
States by the treaty of June 5 and 17, 1846. (See Map I.)
Hamilton. — Created by an act approved on December
22, 1856,119 Hamilton County received its present bound-
aries on that date. The northwestern part of the county
was ceded to the United States by the Sac and Fox Indians
according to a treaty signed on July 15, 1830. This cession
made up part of the well known " Neutral Ground." The
remainder of the county was acquired from the same tribes
by treaty of October 11, 1842. (See Map I.)
The territory comprised within the limits of Hamilton
County had belonged at different times to several older
counties before 1856. By an act approved on December 21,
1837, its southern tier of townships was included within the
limits of the original County of Benton, while the ren^ain-
der became a part of the original County of Buchanan.
(See Map II.) This condition of affairs lasted until the
act approved on February 17, 1843, became a law. By the
act of January 15, 1851, the territory included within the
present limits of Hamilton was erected into the County of
Eisley.120 The name of Eisley was changed to Webster by
an act approved on January 12, 1853, and which went into
us See the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLI-
TICS, p. 439.
n» Laws of Iowa, 1856-1857, p. 11.
120 gee Map XI in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HIS-
TORY AND POLITICS.
BOUNDARY HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTIES 47
force on January 22, of the same year. On this latter date
another act was approved creating a county of Webster by
uniting Eisley and Yell.121 When Hamilton County was
established in 1856 it was carved out of the County of Web-
ster.122
Hancock. — This county was established and given its per-
manent boundaries by the act of January 15, 1851.123 The
southern part of its territory had been acquired from the
Medewakanton, Wahpekuta, Wahpeton, and Sisseton bands
of the Santee Sioux by a treaty signed July 15, 1830. This
cession comprised part of the so-called ''Neutral Ground".
The northern part of the county was ceded by the same
bands according to the terms of two treaties signed, one on
July 23 and one on August 5, 1851. (See Map I.) The en-
tire county came within the limits of the original County
of Fayette established in 1837 and in existence about ten
years. (See Map II.)
Hardin. — The County of Hardin was created by the im-
portant act of January 15, 1851.124 Its boundaries have
never been altered since. The southern tier of townships
formed a part of the original County of Benton established
in 1837. The remaining three-fourths of the county came
within the limits of the original County of Buchanan estab-
lished at the same time. This condition of affairs lasted
until the act approved on February 17, 1843, went into ef-
fect. (See Map II.)
The territory of Hardin was mostly acquired from the
Sacs and Foxes by the treaty of October 11, 1842, the larger
121 See Map XII in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HIS-
TORY AND POLITICS.
122 See Map XIV in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HIS-
TORY AND POLITICS.
123 Laws of Iowa, 1850-1851, p. 27.
124 Laws of Iowa, 1850-1851, p. 27.
48 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
part being west of the line of division. The northwest cor-
ner probably came within the limits of the Sac and Fox ces-
sion of July 15, 1830, which formed the south half of the
famous "Neutral Ground". (See Map I.)
Harrison. — Established by an act of legislature of the
State of Towa approved on January 15, 1851,125 the bound-
aries of this county have never been altered.
The whole of Harrison County was acquired by the-
United States according to the terms of a treaty signed on
July 15, 1830, upon which date numerous tribes of In-
dians120 ceded all their claims to western Iowa. (See Map
I.) The southeastern portion was part of a reservation
given to the Pottawattamie nation by a treaty signed on
September 26, 1833. The same area was ceded back to the
government several years later by a treaty bearing the
dates June 5 and 17, 1846. This cession was erected into
the temporary County of Pottawatamie by an act approved
on February 24, 1847. The southern part of Harrison was
included in this temporary county until 1851. (See Map II.)
Henry. — Henry County, as its boundaries were first de-
fined, was carved from the original County of Demoine by
an act of the legislature of the Territory of Wisconsin ap-
proved on December 7, 1836.127 At this time Demoine
County was divided up into seven new counties. Since the
lands of southeastern Iowa had not yet been surveyed, the
boundaries of the newly created counties did not follow
township lines, as in most later acts of similar character,
but were described in rather unusual language. The bound-
aries of Henry County as described in section four of the
125 Laws of Iowa, 1850-1851, p. 27.
120 See the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLI-
TICS, p. 439.
127 Laws of the Territory of Wisconsin, 1836-1838, p. 76.
49
act above mentioned were as follows: "beginning at the
south-west corner of Des Moines; thence north-west with
the line of the said county of Van Buren to the Indian
boundary line; thence north with the said boundary line
twenty-four miles ; thence south-east to the north-west cor-
ner of the county of Des Moines ; thence south with the west
line of the county of Des Moines to the beginning".
The boundaries of Van Buren and Des Moines counties
herein mentioned had been described in sections two and
three of the same act. The "Indian boundary line" was
the western line of the Black Hawk Purchase of 1832.
Given the boundaries of Van Buren and Des Moines coun-
ties and the western line of the Black Hawk Purchase, it is
not difficult to draw on a map Henry County with limits
described above. As denned, probably none of its bound-
aries ran north and south, or east and west. It might seem,
at first thought, that the eastern boundary ran due north
and south, but reference to the western boundary of Des
Moines County as defined in section three of the same act
would cast a doubt upon this supposition, while an attempt
to draw the latter upon a map would prove conclusively
that the line in question did not run north and south, but
from northeast to southwest. The whole county lay on a
bias. Its southeastern corner was probably in the north-
ern part of Lee County, its southwestern corner almost on
the line between Van Buren and Jefferson counties, its
northern or northwestern corner in the southern part of
Washington County, and its northeastern corner in the
northwestern part of the present County of Des Moines.128
In size, the original County of Henry was about one-
fourth larger than the present county of the same name.
As first established its boundaries were retained only a lit-
128 See Map VI in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY
AND POLITICS.
VOL. VII — 4
50 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
tie over a year, having been altered by an act of the legisla-
ture of the Territory of Wisconsin approved on January
18, 1838.129 The new boundaries were defined in terms of
the United States Survey which had, in the meantime, been
completed for this section of Iowa. In other words, the
boundaries of Henry County now ran north and south or
east and west. The new county was about the same size as
the old. Territory was gained from Louisa, Des Moines,
and Lee counties. Other territory was lost to Slaughter,
Des Moines, Lee, and Van Buren. The chief gain made
was in the northeast from Louisa County; the chief loss
was suffered on the west where a strip of territory com-
prising approximately one-fifth of the original county was
left for a time outside the limits of any county. Later it
became part of Jefferson County.130
On July 4, 1838, the Territory of Iowa came into exist-
ence. Henry County was reduced in size and given its
present boundaries by an act of the legislature of the new
Territory, approved on January 21, 1839.131 By the terms
of this act which was entitled, "An Act to divide the County
of Henry, and establish the County of Jefferson", the three
western townships of Henry County were cut off, and, to-
gether with other territory west of them, were erected into
a new county named Jefferson.
The present area of Henry County was entirely within
the limits of the Sac and Fox cession of September 21,
1832, known as the Black Hawk Purchase. (See Map I.)
The northeast corner of the county came up close to the
line of Keokuk's Eeserve. Later, Henry County was part
of the original County of Demoine. (See Map II.) Still
129 Laws of the Territory of Wisconsin, 1836-1838, p. 381.
iso See Map VI in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HIS-
TORY AND POLITICS.
isi Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1838-1839, p. 92.
BOUNDARY HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTIES 51
later its northeast corner was part of the original County
of Louisa ; its southeast corner part of Des Moines County ;
and possibly its southwest corner was part of the original
County of Lee.132
Howard. — As originally established by the act of Janu-
ary 15, 1851,133 Howard County was somewhat smaller
than now. Its southern boundary was moved one-half of
a township farther south by an act approved on January
24, 1855.134 With this change the boundaries of Howard
County became permanent.135
From 1837 to 1847 the territory of the present county
was within the limits of the original County of Fayette.
(See Map II.) The southern portion of the county — a lit-
tle more than half — was first ceded to the United States
by the four bands of the Santee Sioux in a treaty signed
July 15, 1830. (See Map I.) Since this cession made up
the northern part of the famous "Neutral Ground," the
southern part of Howard County was included in the lat-
ter. The same area was also within the limits of the reser-
vation, comprising the eastern part of the "Neutral Strip,"
which was given to the Winnebagoes September 15, 1832,
and ceded back by those Indians to the United States in
the treaty dated October 13, 1846. The northern part of
Howard was not acquired from the Indians until 1851 when
the four bands of Santee Sioux ceded their claims to north-
ern Iowa in two treaties signed respectively on July 23
and August 5 of that year. (See Map I.)
Humboldt. — Of the ninety-nine existing counties in Iowa,
Humboldt, established by an act of the legislature ap-
132 See Map VI in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY
AND POLITICS.
133 Laws of Iowa, 1850-1851, p. 27.
is* Laws of Iowa, 1854-1855, p. 185.
135 See Maps XI, XIII and XIV in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA
JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS.
52 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
proved on January 28, 1857,136 is the youngest. It was
carved out of the older counties of Kossuth and Webster
and is not to be confused with Humbolt a county created
by the act of January 15, 1851, and blotted out by an act
approved on January 24, 1855. Neither is it to be con-
sidered as a continuation of Humbolt because the latter
ceased to exist two years before the present county was
established.137 The only connection between the two coun-
ties is found in the name. It seems that the framers of
the present county desired to perpetuate it, for the two
names were really the same, that is to say, each county was
named for the great German scientist, although his name
was misspelled when applied to the first county.
When Humbolt County was blotted out in 1855 its ter-
ritory was divided evenly between Kossuth and Webster
counties, the northern half going to the former, the south-
ern half to the latter.138 When Humboldt County was
established in 1857 it was given two tiers of townships
from Kossuth County and one from Webster. It was
smaller than Humbolt County had been, in that it did not
contain the southern tier of townships included in the
earlier county.139 That this territory was omitted by mis-
take seems to be proven by the fact that at the next session
the legislature passed an act140 explanatory of the law
of January 28, 1857. The preamble of this explanatory act
declared that the act of January 28, 1857, had originally
created Humboldt County of a larger size, that is, four
townships square, or the size of Humbolt County, and
136 Laws of Iowa, 1856-1857, p. 199.
is? See discussion of Humboldt County below p. 120.
iss See Maps XII and XIII in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOUR-
NAL OP HISTORY AND POLITICS.
139 See Map XIV in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HIS-
TORY AND POLITICS.
140 This act was approved on March 11, 1858. See Laws of Iowa, 1858, p. 49.
BOUNDARY HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTIES 53
further that a mistake had been made when the act was
printed, whereby township 90, ranges 27, 28, 29, and 30
west, had been unintentionally omitted, and also that the
original of the bill had been lost. These explanations
seemed to satisfy the legislature for it passed the bill to
which they were prefixed. This act of March 11, 1858, con-
strued that of January 28, 1857, in such a way as to in-
clude township 90, ranges 27, 28, 29, and 30 west, in Hum-
boldt County. It even went farther and denned the bound-
aries of the county anew in such a way as clearly to include
the territory in dispute.141 It would have been better if
this clause of the act had been omitted as will be explained
later.
The present Constitution of Iowa was declared in force
on September 3, 1857, or between the passage of the two
laws just discussed. It contained a provision142 to the ef-
fect that in the future all laws proposing the alteration of
county boundaries should be submitted to a vote of the
people of the counties concerned and must be approved by
them before going into effect. Now the explanatory act of
March 11, 1858, had not been submitted to the people of
Humboldt and Webster counties for ratification. Conse-
quently the Supreme Court of the State, in a decision hand-
ed down on December 4, 1860, in a case which had been
appealed from the District Court of Webster County, de-
clared the act unconstitutional.143 The court held that the
act was not truly and simply an amendment of the act of
January 28, 1857, but that it was an independent act and
as such was invalid because it had never been submitted to
the people for ratification. Undoubtedly the presence in
1*1 See Map XV in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HIS-
TORY AND POLITICS.
142 See Article III, section 30 of the Constitution. '
143 Duncombe vs. Prindle, 12 Iowa 1.
54 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
the act of that clause (referred to above) which redefined
the boundaries of Humboldt County was the basis upon
which the court based its argument in declaring the law
an independent act.
This decision left Humboldt County with the dimensions
which the act of January 28, 1857, had given it, whether as
printed this act expressed the real intentions of its fram-
ers or not. An interesting question arises as to the size of
the county between March 11, 1858, the date of the ex-
planatory act, and December 4, 1860, the date when the
same was declared null and void. The lawyer will answer
that since the act was invalid it could never have had any
force, therefore Humboldt County was never larger than
the act of January 28, 1857, made it. (At this time it com-
prised twelve square townships). Technically and legally
this claim is correct. The historical student, however, can-
not overlook the fact that the act of March 11, 1858, was on
our statute books for nearly three years during which
time it was observed, and that during this time Humboldt
County actually contained sixteen square townships.144
Since December 4, 1860, the boundaries of the county have
not been altered.
The territory of Humboldt was within the limits of the
original County of Fayette from 1837 to 1847. (See Map
II.) The relation of the county to the various Indian land
cessions is very complicated. (See Map I.) Most of the
county was ceded to the United States by the several treat-
ies of July 15, 1830. On this date the bulk of its territory
was ceded by the four bands of the Santee Sioux and the
southeastern portion by the Sacs and Foxes. These two
cessions made up the "Neutral Ground" famous in the
early history of Iowa. The so-called "neutral line" which
144 See Map XV in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HIS-
TORY AND POLITICS.
BOUNDARY HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTIES 55
separated these two cessions had its western terminus in
the Des Moines Eiver in the southern part of the county.
On July 15, 1830, also, the southwestern portion of Hum-
boldt County was ceded by the Sacs and Foxes, Omahas,
lowas, Otoes, Missouris, and Santee Sioux. The west
central part of the county was retained by the Indians until
1851 when by two treaties signed respectively on July 23
and August 5, 1851, it was surrendered to the government
by four bands of the Santee Sioux.
Ida. — Ida County was established by an act of the legis-
lature of the State of Iowa approved on January 15, 1851.145
Its boundaries as established at this time have remained
permanent. The territory of Ida County was acquired by
the United States government on July 15, 1830, upon which
date the Sacs and Foxes, Omahas, lowas, Otoes, Missouris,
and the Medewakanton, Wahpekuta, Wahpeton, and Sisse-
ton bands of the Sioux ceded all their claims to western
Iowa. (See Map I.) From 1837 to 1843 the southern tier
of townships in Ida County was within the limits of the
original County of Benton; the remainder of the county
forming part of the original County of Buchanan. (See
Map II.)
Iowa. — The boundaries of Iowa County were established
by an act of the legislature of the Territory of Iowa ap-
proved on February 17, 1843.14C The county was carved
from the territories of the original County of Keokuk. (See
Map II.) Its boundaries as first defined have remained
permanent.
The territory within the limits of Iowa County repre-
sents two Indian land cessions both of which were made by
the Sac and Fox tribes. The southeastern portion of the
"5 Laics of Iowa, 1850-1851, p. 27.
«o Revised Statutes of the Territory of Iowa, 1843, p. 131.
56 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
county was part of the cession of October 21, 1837, the re-
mainder was acquired by the treaty of October 11, 1842.
(See Map I.)
Jackson. — This county was carved from the original
County of Dubuque (See Map II.) by an act of the legisla-
ture of the Territory of Wisconsin approved on December
21, 1837.147 The boundaries received at this time have re-
mained permanent.
The territory embraced within the limits of Jackson
County was part of the Black Hawk Purchase, as the Sac
and Fox cession of September 21, 1832, was commonly
called. (See Map I.)
Jasper. — This county was established by an act of the
legislature of the Territory of Iowa approved on January
13, 1846.148 Its boundaries as described at this time were
as follows : ' l Beginning at the north-west corner of Powe-
shiek county, on the line dividing townships 81 and 82,
north of range 17 west ; thence west, to the north-west cor-
ner of township 81, north of range 20 west; thence east to
the south-west corner of township 78, north of range 20
west; thence south, to the south-west corner of Poweshiek
county; thence north to the place of beginning." This 'defi-
nition of boundaries is seriously defective. By two curious
errors the western boundary of Jasper is made to run east
instead of south, and its southern boundary south instead
of east. It is impossible to represent such a county upon
a map, were it not that its surrounding neighbors give it
shape and permit us to see the size and location which the
framers of the act of 1846 meant to give to Jasper Coun-
ty.149 As thus represented Jasper was smaller by one-fifth
147 Laws of the Territory of Wisconsin, 1836-1838, p. 132.
148 Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1845-1846, p. 73.
149 See Map VIII iii the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HIS-
TORY AND POLITICS.
BOUNDARY HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTIES 57
than at present, its western boundary being one range
farther east than now. Otherwise the location of the coun-
ty as first established was just the same as at present.
The errors pointed out above were made by the printers
of the statutes, for a reference to the original manuscript
copy of the act in question shows the boundaries correctly
described there.150 Four days after the approval of the act
creating Jasper County a supplementary act was approved
which sought to redefine the boundary lines of Jasper,
Polk, and Dallas counties.151 Jusy why this act was passed
cannot be said. No errors had been made in the original
definition of the boundaries of Polk and Dallas counties.
The errors in the printed laws relative to the boundaries
of Jasper County had not yet been made, because the laws
were not yet printed. The original of the act of January
13, 1846, must have been at the convenience of the framers
of the act of January 17. The latter law could not have
been passed, therefore, to remedy errors made in the earlier
act. The real reason for the supplementary act of January
17 seems to come out of Polk County. Here a county-seat
war was on. Additional territory was desired on the west
and south in order to make Fort Des Moines more nearly
the center of the county. But Polk County was not exactly
north of Warren County ; hence in redefining the boundaries
of Dallas, Polk, and Jasper counties the first two were
shifted each one range farther west while the western
boundary of Jasper was moved one range in the same
direction. These shifts brought Polk County directly north
of Warren from which it gained one tier of townships. Fort
Des Moines was now near the center of Polk and secured
the county-seat. And so it may be said that the boundaries
iso gee volume for 1845-1846 of the original manuscript copies of the acts
of the legislature of the Territory of Iowa, as kept on file in the office of the
Secretary of State, Des Moines, Iowa.
isi Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1845-1846, p. 75.
58 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
of Jasper County were redefined and the county enlarged
by the act of January 17, 1846, merely to accommodate
Polk County and more especially the boomers of Fort Des
Moines. The boundaries of Jasper have not been altered
since the date last mentioned.
The whole of Jasper County was within the limits of the
original County of Keokuk established in 1837 and in exist-
ence until 1843. (See Map II.) The territory of Jasper
was acquired from the Sacs and Foxes by the terms of the
treaty of October 11, 1842. (See Map I.) The line of par-
tition by which the cession was divided into two parts ran
through the county. The western half was not to be va-
cated until October 11, 1845.
Jefferson. — The County of Jefferson was established by
an act of the legislature of the Territory of Iowa approved
on January 21, 1839.152 This law was entitled "An Act to
divide the County of Henry, and establish the County of
Jefferson." The boundaries of the new county were defined
as follows: "beginning at the south-east corner of township
number seventy-one north, range eight west, thence north
with said line to the line dividing townships seventy-three
and seventy-four, thence west with said line to the Indian .
boundary line, thence south with said line to the line divid-
ing townships seventy and seventy-one, thence east with
line to the place of beginning." "The Indian boundary
line" herein mentioned was the western limit of the Sac
and Fox cession of October 21, 1837. This line ran from
near the southwestern corner of township seventy-one
north, range eleven west, toward the northeast to such an
extent that the northwest corner of Jefferson County was
about five miles farther east than its southwest corner.153
152 Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1838-1839, p. 92.
"3 See Map VII in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HIS-
TORY AND POLITICS.
BOUNDARY HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTIES 59
(See Map I.) This "Indian boundary line" had never
been surveyed154 but the northern half of the cession of
October 21, 1837, had been, and so had the western bound-
aries of the Black Hawk Purchase.155 In other words, three
of the four boundaries of the cession of October 21, 1837,
had been surveyed and the points between which the
fourth boundary was to have been drawn were fixed. A
straight line drawn between these two established points
gives us, then, the missing boundary.
With this explanation, the four boundaries of Jefferson
County as originally established become definite. The
three eastern townships of the new county were taken from
Henry. The remainder was Indian territory which had
never before formed a part of any county. The act does not
say, in so many words, that Henry was to be diminished in
size although the title indicates the division of that county.
The boundaries of Jefferson as first given have never been
altered, that is, not directly or legally.
By an act of the legislature of the Territory of Iowa ap-
proved on February 17, 1843,156 Wapello County was estab-
lished just west of Jefferson. In this act the northern
boundary of Wapello was described as beginning at the
northwest corner of Jefferson County, on the line between
ranges eleven and twelve west, from which point it was to
extend westward. The southern boundary of Wapello was
extended eastward to the southwest corner of Jefferson
County, while its eastern boundary was made to run thence
north on the line dividing ranges eleven and twelve to the
place of beginning. These definitions of the boundaries of
Wapello County assume the western boundary of Jefferson
is* 18th Annual Eeport of the Bureau of American Ethnology, 1896-97, Part
2, p. 767.
isn isth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology, 1896-97, Part
2, p. 737.
ise Eevised Statutes of the Territory of Iowa, 1843, p. 131.
60 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
County to be on the line between ranges eleven and twelve
west, while, in point of fact, it had never been altered since
it had been established by the act of January 21, 1839, on
the "Indian boundary line" mentioned above. The act of
1843 does not redefine the boundaries of Jefferson County,
except by inference. At the same time, it is clear that the
f ramers of the act meant to establish the eastern boundary
of Wapello County on the line between ranges eleven and
twelve, west. It is also true that they assumed this line to
be the western boundary of Jefferson County, but since this
was not the fact, it is not probable that a court would decree
that the act of 1843 had altered the western boundary of
Jefferson County. Technically, then, and legally, it may
be said that the act of 1843 left a triangular strip of terri-
tory, between Jefferson and Wapello counties, outside of
the limits of both.157 The error in the boundary line be-
tween these two counties has never been corrected. The
western boundary of Jefferson County may be called de-
fective since it is technically not where it is supposed to be.
The eastern portion of the county (See Map I.) was part
of the Sac and Fox cession of September 21, 1832, also
called the Black Hawk Purchase. This same area was
later included within the limits of the original County of
Demoine.158 (See Map II.) The remainder of Jefferson
County was acquired from the Sac and Fox Indians by the
cession of October 21, 1837. The triangular strip between
Jefferson and Wapello was part of the cession of October
11, 1842, made by the same tribes.
Johnson. — Johnson County was established by an act of
the legislature of the Territory of Wisconsin approved on
157 See Maps VII and XVI in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL
OF HISTORY AND POLITICS.
IBS This gives to Demoine County the limits which the f ramers of the act
establishing that county meant to give it. See above p. 29.
BOUNDARY HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTIES 61
December 21, 1837.159 As described in this act its eastern
boundary was the line dividing ranges four and five west ;
its western boundary that dividing ranges eight and nine
west. Its southern boundary was the line dividing town-
ships seventy-six and seventy-seven north; its northern
boundary that separating townships eighty-one and eighty-
two north. These boundaries made the county four town-
ships wide (from east to west) and five long (from north to
south), or about three square townships larger than at
present.
Some of the territory given to Johnson County by the act
of December 21, 1837, had belonged to Cook and Musqui-
tine counties160 since their establishment by an act ap-
proved on December 7, 1836. Cook and Musquitine were
not even mentioned in the act creating Johnson County.
Their loss of territory to the latter may be called, there-
fore, indirect.
Johnson County was reduced in size, indirectly, by an
act of the legislature of the Territory of Iowa approved on
January 25, 1839, and entitled "An Act to establish the
boundary lines of Washington county, and for other pur-
poses".161 This law changed the name of Slaughter County
to Washington County and enlarged the latter by adding
to it seven new townships, three of which, namely town-
ships six, seven, and eight west, range seventy-seven north,
were taken from Johnson County without so much as men-
tioning the name of the latter in the act.
By an act of the legislature of the Territory of Iowa ap-
proved on June 5, 1845,162 the Iowa River was made the
boundary line between Johnson and Washington counties
i»» Laws of the Territory of Wisconsin, 1836-1838, p. 132.
iso See Map III in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HIS-
TORY AND POLITICS.
lei Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1838-1839, p. 100.
i«2 Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1845, p. 66.
62 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
for some six or eight miles. By this alteration of bound-
aries Johnson County gained from "Washington that part
of township 77 north, range 6 west, which lay east of the
Iowa River. With this change the boundaries of Johnson
County became permanent.
The territory comprised within the limits of the present
county was acquired from the Indians at three different
dates. The eastern portion was part of cession of Septem-
ber 21, 1832, known as the Black Hawk Purchase. The
southeast corner was included in the Keokuk Reservation
ceded by treaty of September 28, 1836. The remainder of
the county, probably three-fourths of it, was acquired
through the cession of October 21, 1837. All of these ces-
sions were made by the Sac and Fox Indians. (See Map I.)
The eastern part of Johnson County was formerly within
the limits of the original County of Dubuque. For a some-
what shorter period, the southeastern portion was within
the original County of Demoine. (See Map II.) Later,
this area belonged to Cook, a county no longer in existence,
and Musquitine, as the name of the original County of Mus-
catine was spelled. The latter was differently located then
than now.163
Jones. — Like its neighbors Jones County was erected out
of the territory of the original County of Dubuque (See
Map II.) by an act of the legislature of the Territory of
Wisconsin approved on December 21, 1837.164 Its original
boundaries received at this time have remained unaltered
to the present time.
The territory of Jones County was part of the Black
Hawk Purchase made from the Sac and Fox Indians by the
terms of the treaty of September 21, 1832. (See Map I.)
IBS See Map III in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HIS-
TORY AND POLITICS.
is* Laws of the Territory of Wisconsin, 1836-1838, p. 132.
BOUNDARY HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTIES 63
Keokuk. — Like Benton, Buchanan, and Fayette counties,
Keokuk County was established by an act of the legislature
of the Territory of Wisconsin approved on December 21,
1837.165 Like them, too, it was in its original form only a
temporary jurisdiction most of the territory of which was
still owned by the Indians. Its boundaries were described
in the above mentioned act as follows: "All the country
lying west of the County of Johnson, and between the line
dividing townships seventy-six and seventy-seven and the
line dividing townships eighty-one and eighty-two north, ex-
tended to the western boundary of the territory, shall be,
and the same is hereby constituted a separate county, to be
called Keokuk." Johnson County had been located in the
preceding section of the same act. ' ' The western boundary
of the territory" was none other than the western bound-
ary of the Territory of Wisconsin, which was at this time
the Missouri and White Earth rivers. The original Coun-
ty of Keokuk extended, therefore, from Johnson County
on the east across the State of Iowa to the Missouri Eiver.
It was one of the largest counties ever created within the
limits of the present State of Iowa. It included within its
territory all of the present counties of Iowa, Poweshiek,
Jasper, Polk, Dallas, Guthrie, Audubon, Shelby, and Harri-
son, together with the northern one-fourth of the counties of
Pottawattamie, Cass, Adair, Madison, Warren, Marion,
Mahaska, and Keokuk, and the northwestern township of
Washington County. (See Map II.)
The original County of Keokuk, as described above, lost
one square township in area by an act of the legislature of
the Territory of Iowa approved on January 25, 1839.166
This law changed the name of Slaughter County to Wash-
ington and then enlarged the latter by extending its bound-
165 Laws of the Territory of Wisconsin, 1836-1838, p. 132.
lee Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1838-1839, p. 100.
64 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
aries one township farther north and one range farther
west. These changes had the effect of giving one square
township of the territory of Keokuk County to Washing-
ton. (See Map II.)167
The boundaries of Keokuk were redefined and the county
reduced in size by an act of the legislature of the Territory
of Iowa approved on February 17, 1843.168 The chief im-
portance of this act centers in the fact that the location of
the new county was shifted to the southward, indeed, only
the northern tier of townships in the new county was also
in the old. (See Map IT.) The boundaries received in 1843
have remained permanent.
A triangular strip of territory in the eastern part of the
county, six or seven miles wide on the south and tapering
to a point on the north, was ceded to the United States by
the Sac and Fox Indians in a treaty dated October 21, 1837.
The remainder of the county was acquired from the same
tribes by the treaty of October 11, 1842. (See Map I.)
Kossutli. — This, the largest county in Iowa, was first es-
tablished by an act of the State legislature approved on
January 15, 1851.169 But as created at this time the county
contained only 576 square miles. It was located between
Palo Alto and Hancock counties and was of the same size.
The northern part of the present county was a separate
county called Bancroft. Just south was located the County
of Humboldt equal in size to Kossuth.170
The boundaries of Kossuth County were more than doub-
led by a law entitled "An act to extend the boundaries of
Kossuth County, and to locate the seat of Justice thereof"
is? Compare Maps V and VII in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOUR-
NAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS.
iss Revised Statutes of the Territory of Iowa, 1843, p. 131.
169 Laws of Iowa, 1850-1851, p. 27.
170 See Map XI in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HIS-
TORY AND POLITICS.
BOUNDARY HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTIES 65
which was approved on January 24, 1855.171 By the terms
of this act the counties of Bancroft and Humbolt were blot-
ted out. The territory of the former, together with the
northern half of the latter, was added to Kossuth making
that county overlarge.172
These boundaries were decreased by an act approved on
January 28, 1857,173 which created the new County of Hum-
boldt between Wright and Pocahontas. Kossuth County
lost its two southernmost tiers of townships to Humboldt
by this act and received thereby boundaries exactly equiva-
lent to those of today.174 These boundaries, however, were
not to be permanent, for on May 13, 1870, there was ap-
proved an act 175 by the terms of which the northern part
of Kossuth County was erected into a new county called
Crocker.176 This county, located immediately between Win-
nebago and Emmet contained only 408 square miles. This
area being smaller than was allowed by the Constitution,1 7T
the Supreme Court of the State in a decision handed down
on December 11, 1871, declared the act creating the county
unconstitutional.178 The effect of this decision was to re-
store the territory of Crocker County to Kossuth and to
the latter the boundaries which the law of January 28, 1857,
had given it. Since 1871 no alterations have been made in
the boundaries of Kossuth County.
"1 Laws of Iowa, 1854-1855, p. 210.
"2 gee Map XIII in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HIS-
TORY AND POLITICS.
ITS Laws of Iowa, 1856-1857, p. 199.
"4 See Map XIV in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HIS-
TORY AND POLITICS.
175 Laws of Iowa, 1870, p. 239.
170 gee Map XV in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HIS-
TORY AND POLITICS.
177 See Article XI, section 2, of the Constitution.
178 Garfield vs. Brayton, 33 Iowa 16.
VOL. VII — 5
66 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
The territory of the present county of Kossuth was in-
cluded within the limits of the original County of Fayette
established in 1837 and blotted out in 1847. (See Map II.)
The southeastern portion of the county was ceded on July
15, 1830, to the United States by the Medewakanton, Wah-
pekuta, Wahpeton and Sisseton bands of the Santee Sioux.
This cession made up part of a larger area known as the
"Neutral Ground". The bulk of the county was ceded by
the same bands of the Santee Sioux in two treaties signed
respectively on July 23 and August 5, 1851. (See Map I.)
Lee. — Lee County, as its boundaries were first defined,
was carved from the original County of Demoine by an act
of the legislature of the Territory of Wisconsin, approved
on December 7, 1836, and in effect from the same day.179
The boundaries received at this time by Lee County were
described in peculiar language, for reasons explained
above.180 As contained in section one of the act subdividing
Demoine County they read as follows: "beginning at the
most southern outlet of Skunk river, on the Mississippi;
thence a northern direction passing through the grove on
the head of the northern branch of Lost Creek, and thence
to a point corresponding with the range line dividing
range [s] seven and eight, and thence south with the said
line to the Des Moines river ; thence down the middle of the
same to the Mississippi, and thence up the Mississippi to
the place of beginning".
From this description it is easy to indicate on a map all
of the boundaries of Lee County except the northern one.
It is impossible to tell whether this boundary should be
composed of two lines or of one. There is nothing in the
foregoing definition to prevent drawing the boundary with
179 Laws of the Territory of Wisconsin, 1836-1838, p. 76.
iso See above p. 31.
BOUNDARY HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTIES 67
one line only and it is so drawn on certain maps accompany-
ing a former paper by the writer.181
As created by the act of December 7, 1836, Lee County
was of almost the same size as the Lee County of today.
The boundaries of 1836 were retained but little over a year,
having been altered by an act of the legislature of the Ter-
ritory of Wisconsin, approved on January 18, 1838.182 The
United States Survey of the lands of southeastern Iowa
having been completed in the meantime, the boundaries of
Lee County were now denned in terms of that survey. The
new boundaries differed from the old only on the north.
The definition of the northern boundary as contained in the
act of 1838 was as follows: "Beginning at the main chan-
nel of the Mississippi river, due east from the entrance of
Skunk river into the same, thence up said river to where
the township line dividing townships sixty-eight and sixty-
nine north leaves said river; thence with said line to the
range line between ranges four and five west ; thence north
with said line to the township line between ranges sixty-
nine and seventy north; thence west, with said line, to the
range line between ranges seven and eight west". It is
thus seen that the northern boundary of Lee County was
made to consist of three straight lines together with the
Skunk river for some six or eight miles. It is difficult to
say which was the larger, the new Lee, or the old. Map VI
181 See Maps II, III, VI, in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL
OP HlSTOEY AND POLITICS.
The only map that the writer has seen which attempts to show the counties
created by the act of December 7, 1836, is one in the manuscript department
of the library of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, at Madison, Wis-
consin. This map shows the northern boundary of Lee County as composed of
two lines, one running northwestward from the mouth of the Skunk Eiver for
about twelve miles, the other running westward from the northern end of the
first to the western boundary of the county. Since the map contains other
errors this, also, may be an error. Compare note 36 on page 386 of the July,
1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS.
isz Laws of the Territory of Wisconsin, 1836-1838, p. 381.
68 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
accompanying the writer's former paper, already men-
tioned, shows the two practically equal in size.183 It is
probable that the new Lee lost territory to both Henry and
Des Moines counties and gained from both.
The third change in the boundaries of Lee County was
made by an act passed by the legislature of Iowa, approved
on January 23, 1839.184 This law, although it bore the title
of "An Act to establish the boundaries of Lee county "
affected equally those of Des Moines County, since it made
the Skunk Eiver the boundary between the two. By this
change Lee County was increased in size, gaining more
territory south of the Skunk Eiver from Des Moines County
than it lost in return north of the river.185 With this alter-
ation the boundaries of Lee County became permanent.
The northern part of the territory of Lee County was
formerly part of the Black Hawk Purchase made by treaty
with the Sac and Fox Indians on September 21, 1832. The
southern part of the county, that is, the part south of the
northern boundary of Missouri extended eastward, was
long known as the Half-breed Tract. This was because, up-
on the occasion of the cession by the Sac and Fox Indians of
certain lands in Missouri to the United States government
by the treaty of August 4, 1824, this particular strip of ter-
ritory had been reserved for the use of the half-breeds of
the Sac and Fox nation.186
By an act of the legislature of the Territory of Iowa
approved on February 15, 1844, it was proposed to erect
the old Half-breed Tract into a new county to be called
Madison. The act provided for the submission of the ques-
iss See Map VI in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HIS-
TORY AND POLITICS.
is* Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1838-1839, p. 94.
iss For a more complete discussion of this law see above p. 33.
is© This tract was held in common by the half-breeds of the tribe until about
1834, when it was divided among them severally.
BOUNDARY HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTIES 69
tion to the voters of Lee County, who, at an election held in
the following April, voted down the proposition, and the
new county was never established.187
Linn. — Linn County was established by an act of the leg-
islature of the Territory of Wisconsin approved on Decem-
ber 21, 1837.188 The county was regular in shape but four
townships larger than its neighbors on the north and east
which were created at the same time. The boundaries re-
ceived at this time have never been altered. The name of the
county was spelled "Lynn" in the title of the organic act,
although spelled Linn in the body of the same.
The eastern part of the County — a little over a third —
had been since 1834 a part of the original County of Du-
buque. (See Map II.) The territory embraced within the
limits of Linn County represents two Indian land cessions.
The eastern part was acquired from the Sac and Fox In-
dians by the treaty of September 21, 1832 ; the western part
by treaty of October 21, 1837. The earlier cession was
called the Black Hawk Purchase. (See Map I.)
Louisa. — The original county of this name was created
by an act of the legislature of the Territory of Wisconsin
approved on December 7, 1836.189 It was one of several
counties carved from the territory of Demoine County. It
is true that a large part of the original County of Louisa
had formerly been within the limits of the Keokuk Reserve,
but it has been argued above 19° that, although the original
County of Demoine did not include Keokuk 's Eeserve, the
territory of the latter, for all practical purposes became
part of Demoine County upon its cession to the United
I" See below p. 129.
iss Laws of the Territory of Wisconsin, 1836-1838, p. 132.
189 Laws of the Territory of Wisconsin, 1836-1838, p. 76.
19° See above p. 30.
70 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
States on September 28, 1836. The title of the act of De-
cember 7, 1836, creating Louisa and other counties, which
reads ''An Act dividing the county of Des Moines into sev-
eral new counties" implies as much. Fully half of the ter-
ritory which had been within the limits of Keokuk's Re-
serve, which lay on both sides of the Iowa River, was in
Louisa County as first established.
At the time of the creation of the new county southeast-
ern Iowa had not yet been surveyed. For this reason the
boundaries of the counties named in the act were peculiar.
Those of Louisa County were described as follows: " be-
ginning at the Mississippi River, at the north-east corner
of Des Moines ; thence up said river twelve miles above the
mouth of [the] Iowa; thence west to the Indian boundary
line ; thence with said boundary line, to the north-west cor-
ner of Henry and with the line of the same, to the north-west
corner of the County of Des Moines; thence east with the
line of the same county of Des Moines to the beginning".
These boundaries made Louisa the largest county created
by the act of December 7, 1836. The county had five bound-
ary lines instead of the usual number of four. The one dif-
ficulty found in attempting to represent the original County
of Louisa on a map lies in the location of the northeast cor-
ner. Given this point and the boundaries of Henry and Des
Moines counties, which were named before Louisa in the
act, and it is not difficult to draw Louisa on a map.191 As
constituted at this time Louisa County was about twice as
large as at present. It included besides practically all of
the present county of the same name (excepting only a
little territory in the north), the southeastern part of Wash-
ington County, the northeastern part of Henrj^, and the
northern fourth of Des Moines.
191 See Map II in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY
AND POLITICS.
BOUNDARY HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTIES 71
By an act of the legislature of the Territory of Wiscon-
sin approved on January 18, 1838,192 the boundaries of
Louisa County and its neighbors were redefined in terms of
the United States Survey. The new Louisa was less than
half as large as the old, lying along the Mississippi and
Iowa rivers in the eastern part of the original county. Pos-
sibly a narrow strip on the north of the new county was
not in the original County of Louisa, in which case it would
now be gained from the original County of Musquitine. By
the act of 1838 the original County of Louisa lost territory
to Des Moines, Henry, and Slaughter (the predecessor of
Washington) counties.193 The Louisa County of 1838 dif-
fered in size from the present county only in that it lacked
the three western townships of the latter. These were add-
ed by an act of the legislature of the Territory of Iowa
approved on January 12, 1839.194 With the addition of this
area the boundaries of Louisa have remained unchanged to
the present time.
The larger part of the area of the present County of
Louisa was within the limits of the reservation given to
Keokuk on September 21, 1832, at the time of the cession
of the so-called Black Hawk Purchase by the Sacs and
Foxes. The remainder of the county, comprising the north-
east, southeast, and southwest corners, was within the limits
of the above named purchase. The whole county had form-
erly been a part of the original County of Demoine, while
the three western townships once belonged to Slaughter
County, and it is possible that a narrow strip on the north
was once included within the borders of the original Coun-
ty of Musquitine.
i»2 Laws of the Territory of Wisconsin, 1836-1838, p. 381.
193 See Map VI in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY
AND POLITICS.
19* Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1838-1839, p. 89.
72 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
Lucas. — As first created by an act of the legislature of
the Territory of Iowa approved on January 13, 1846,195 the
western boundary of Lucas County was located one town-
ship farther west than at present, making the county five
townships long.196 Clarke County, west of Lucas, was of
the same size.
By an act of the legislature of the State of Iowa ap-
proved on December 27, 1848,197 the boundaries of Lucas
County were redefined and made permanent. The western
tier of townships was given to Clarke County which lost
other territory by the same act.
Lucas County was part of the Sac and Fox cession of Oc-
tober 11, 1842, lying west of the line which divided the ces-
sion into two parts. (See Map I.)
Lyon. — This county was established under the name of
Buncombe County by an act of the legislature of the State
of Iowa approved on January 15, 1851.198 Its boundaries
have never been altered. The name was changed to Lyon
County by a very brief act approved on September 11,
1862.199
The territory of the county was mostly acquired from the
Indians known as the Santee Sioux by two treaties dated
respectively July 23 and August 5, 1851. Certain small
areas on the southern border of the county had been ceded
in an earlier treaty dated July 15, 1830. (See Map I.) Ly-
on County comes within the limits of the original County of
Fayette created in 1837 and in existence for ten years. (See
Map II.)
195 Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1845-1846, p. 73.
i9« See Map VIII in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HIS-
TORY AND POLITICS.
197 Laws of Iowa, 1848-1849, p. 32.
198 Laivs of Iowa, 1850-1851, p. 27.
of Iowa, 1862 (extra session), p. 22.
BOUNDARY HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTIES 73
Madison. — By an act approved on February 15, 1844,200
the legislature of the Territory of Iowa provided for the
erection of the old Half-breed Tract, in Lee County, into a
new county to be called Madison, subject to the decision of
the voters of Lee. At an election held in April, 1844, the
proposition failed to carry and the county was not estab-
lished.
The present County of Madison was established two
years later by an act of the legislature of the Territory of
Iowa approved on January 13, 1846.201 Its boundaries as
defined in this act have remained permanent. Madison
County's northern tier of townships had formerly been
part of the original County of Keokuk. (See Map II.) The
territory of Madison was ceded by the Sac and Fox In-
dians in a treaty dated October 11, 1842, the Indians having
three years in which to vacate its soil. (See Map I.)
Mahaska. — This county was one of several created out
of lands ceded to the United States government by the Sac
and Fox Indians in the cession of October 11, 1842. (See
Map I.) It was established by an act of the legislature of
the Territory of Iowa approved on February 17, 1843.202
The boundaries received at this time have remained perma-
nent. The northern tier of townships had formerly been
a part of the original County of Keokuk. (See Map II.)
Marion. — As established by an act of the legislature of
the Territory of Iowa approved on June 10, 1845,203 the
boundaries of Marion County were described as follows :
" Beginning at the northwest corner of Mahaska County,
and running west on the Township line, dividing Town-
200 Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1843-1844, p. 142.
201 Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1845-1846, p. 73.
202 Bevised Statutes of the Territory of Iowa, 1843, p. 131.
203 Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1845, p. 93.
74 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
ships seventy-seven and seventy-eight north, to the north-
west corner of Township seventy- seven, north of range
twenty-one west; thence south to the south west corner of
Township seventy-four north, of range twenty-one west;
thence east along the line dividing Townships seventy-three
and seventy-four north, to the south west corner of Mahas-
ka county; thence north along the range, line, dividing
ranges sixteen and seventeen, to the place of beginning."
This definition of boundaries contains an error. It was un-
doubtedly the intention of the framers of the act to have
the eastern boundary of Marion County and the western
boundary of Mahaska County coincide. To this end the
northern boundary of Marion County was made to run
westward from the northwest corner of Mahaska, and the
southern boundary of Marion eastward to the southwest
corner of Mahaska County. All that remained to define the
eastern boundary of Marion was to connect these two
points. It was in doing this that the error was made. The
law reads "thence north along the range line, dividing
ranges sixteen and seventeen, to the place of beginning."
It should have read ' ' ranges seventeen and eighteen. ' ' The
line as actually described in the law does not connect the
northeastern and southeastern corners of Marion County.
In reality the eastern boundary of the county as here de-
scribed cannot be drawn on a map.204
That the framers of the act of June 10, 1845, did not at-
tempt to give part of the territory of Mahaska County to
Marion is proven by the wording of an act approved on
January 24, 1847.205 By this law the boundaries of Marion
County were redefined in such a manner as to remove the
error in the former act and to make the eastern boundary
204 gee Map VIII in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HIS-
TORY AND POLITICS.
205 Laws of Iowa, 1846-1847, p. 32.
BOUNDARY HISTOEY OF IOWA COUNTIES 75
of Marion coincide with the western boundary of Ma-
haska.206 These boundaries have remained permanent.
The territory of Marion County was acquired from the
Sac and Fox Indians by the terms of the treaty of October
11, 1842. The line of partition by which this cession was
divided into two parts ran through the county either at or
near the center. (See Map I.) The northern fourth of the
county came within the limits of the original County of
Keokuk established in 1837 and in existence until 1843.
(See Map II.)
Marshall. — This county was established by an act of the
legislature of the Territory of Iowa approved on January
13, 1846.207 The boundaries received at this time have re-
mained permanent.
The territory included within the limits of Marshall
County was acquired from the Sac and Fox Indians in the
treaty of October 11, 1842. The line of division ran through
the county. (See Map I.) From 1837 to 1843 the terri-
tory of this county was a part of the original County of
Benton which extended during this period westward to the
Missouri Eiver. (See Map II.)
Mitts. — The boundaries of Mills County were denned by
the important act of January 15, 1851,208 and have never
since been altered. The county was carved from the terri-
tory of the original County of Pottawatamie established
in 1847. (See Map II.) The territory included within the
limits of Mills was first acquired from the Indians by the
terms of the treaty of July 15, 1830, upon which date all
those Indian tribes having any claims to the soil of western
206 gee Map IX in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY
AND POLITICS.
207 Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1845-1846, p. 73.
208 Laws of Iowa, 1850-1851, p. 27.
76 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
Iowa ceded the same to the United States. (See Map I.)
The southern portion of this cession was given as a reser-
vation to the Pottawattamie nation on September 26, 1833.
The same area was ceded back to the government by the
terms of a treaty dated June 5 and 17, 1846. The territory
of Mills County was included within the limits of both the
Pottawattamie reservation and cession.
Mitchell. — Mitchell County, as established by the act of
January 15, 1851,209 lacked a half township of extending as
far south as it extends today.210 Otherwise the boundaries
of the county were the same. By an act approved on Janu-
ary 24, 1855,211 one-half of the four northern townships of
Floyd were detached from that county and added to the
County of Mitchell.212 With this alteration the boundaries
of the latter became permanent.
Mitchell County came within the limits of the original
County of Fayette established in 1837 and in existence for
ten years. (See Map II.) The southern portion of Mitch-
ell County was acquired from the Medewakanton, Wahpe-
kuta, Wahpeton and Sisseton bands of the Santee Sioux
by a treaty signed on July 15, 1830. Since this cession
formed the northern part of so-called "Neutral Ground" it
follows that the southern portion of the county was in-
cluded within its area. All of the "Neutral Ground" lying
east of the Eed Cedar Eiver was given as a reservation to
the Winnebagoes on September 15, 1832. This reservation,
which included the southeastern portion of Mitchell Coun-
ty, was again ceded to the United States by a treaty dated
209 Laws of Iowa, 1850-1851, p. 27.
210 See Map XI in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HIS-
TORY AND POLITICS.
211 Laws of Iowa, 1854-1855, p. 185.
212 See Maps XIII and XIV in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOUR-
NAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS.
BOUNDARY HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTIES 77
October 13, 1846. The remaining part of the territory of
Mitchell was ceded by the four bands of the Santee Sioux,
above mentioned, in two treaties signed one on July 23, and
one on August 5, 1851. (See Map I.)
Monona. — Like most of the counties of western Iowa,
Monona was established by the act of January 15, 1851.213
As formed at this time the county was larger than at pres-
ent, its eastern boundary being located one range farther
east than it now is.214
On April 2, 1862, there was approved a law which out-
lined a new method of altering county boundaries.215 The
act provided that in case the citizens of two or more coun-
ties desired a change of county boundary lines they might
petition their respective boards of supervisors to that effect.
Upon receipt of such petitions signed by more than one-
half of the legal voters in each county, the supervisors
thereof must order an election upon the changes desired in
the petitions. Such an election must be held in each county
concerned and the proposed changes must be ratified by a
favorable majority in each before they could be made.
This law was employed in 1865 by Monona and Craw-
ford counties to shift the boundary between them one range
farther west.216 By this change Monona County was de-
creased in size. Its boundaries have never since been al-
tered.
The territory of Monona was ceded to the United States
by the terms of a treaty dated July 15, 1830, upon which
date all tribes having any claims to western Iowa yielded
213 Laws of Iowa, 1850-1851, p. 27.
21* See Map XI in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HIS-
TORY AND POLITICS.
215 Laws of Iowa, 1863, p. 93.
2ie See Map XV in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HIS-
TORY AND POLITICS.
78 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
the same to the government. (See Map I.) The county
came within the limits of the original County of Benton,
established in 1837 and reduced in size in 1843. (See
Map II.)
Monroe. — Originally called Kishkekosh after an Indian
chief, this county was established by an act of the legis-
lature of the Territory of Iowa approved on February 17,
1843 ,217 The name of the county was changed to Monroe
by an act approved on January 19, 1846.218 The boundaries
of the county have never since been altered, either directly
or indirectly. The territory of Monroe was within the
limits of the Sac and Fox cession of October 11, 1842, and
lay just east of the line by which the cession was to be di-
vided into two parts. (See Map I.)
Montgomery. — The boundaries of Montgomery County
have never been altered since it was first established by an
act of the legislature of the State of Iowa approved on
January 15, 1851.219 The county was carved from the ter-
ritory of the original County of Pottawatamie itself
created in 1847. (See Map II.) The soil of Montgomery
County was ceded to the United States government by the
terms of a treaty signed on July 15, 1830, upon which date
the Sacs and Foxes, Omahas, lowas, Otoes, Missouris, and
the four bands of the Santee Sioux yielded up all their
claims to western Iowa. (See Map I.) The county was in-
cluded in the reservation given the Pottawattamie nation
on September 26, 1833, and also in the cession made by the
same tribes on June 5 and 17, 1846, upon which occasion
they surrendered the reservation just mentioned to the
United States.
217 Revised Statutes of the Territory of Iowa, 1843, p. 131.
218 Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1845-1846, p. 108.
2i» Laws of Iowa 1850-1851, p. 27.
BOUNDARY HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTIES 79
Muscatine. — The original County of Muscatine was es-
tablished by an act of the legislature of the Territory of
Wisconsin approved on December 7, 1836.220 In this act
the name was spelled "Musquitine". The new county, to-
gether with several others named in the same act, was
carved from the original County of Demoine after the latter
had been enlarged by the addition of Keokuk's Eeserve.221
The boundaries received by Musquitine County were de-
scribed in peculiar phrases for reasons alread}^ explained.222
As given in section six of the act subdividing Demoine
County they read as follows : " beginning on the Mississippi
River, at the north-east corner of the county of Louisa;
thence up said river twenty-five miles on a straight line;
thence west to the Indian boundary line; thence with said
boundary line south to the north-west corner of the county
of Louisa ; thence east with the line of said county of Louisa
to the beginning".
The boundaries of Louisa County were defined in the
preceding section of the same act. The "Indian boundary
line" on the west was the western line of the Black Hawk
Purchase, which did not run due north and south but north
by 28 degrees east.223 The chief difficulty in representing
the boundaries of Musquitine County on a map arises in
connection with the eastern boundary, or, to be more spe-
cific, in connection with the location of the northeastern
corner. This point was to be up the Mississippi River
twenty- five miles "in a straight line" from the northeast-
ern corner of Louisa. A straight line doesn't follow the
river very closely just here because of a wide bend. There
220 Laws of the Territory of Wisconsin, 1836-1838, p. 76.
221 See above p. 30.
222 See above p. 70.
223 Abernethy on Iowa under Territorial Governments and the Bemoval of
the Indians, in the Annals of Iowa, July, 1906, p. 431.
80 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
seems to be no alternative, however, in regard to the
straight line. It extends up the river, not down, and fol-
lows it as closely as possible. The corner in question can
be located, then, at the point, where a twenty-five mile line,
used as a radius with the northeast corner of Louisa County
as a center, intersects the Mississippi River. The only ob-
jection that can be made to such a procedure is that the
point of intersection brings us nearly up to Bock Island
which has the effect of almost crowding Cook224 County
(the boundaries of which were described in the following
section of the act) off the map.
As thus drawn Musquitine County was very long and
relatively narrow.225 It contained about the same area as
the present County of Muscatine, only a little over half of
which was embraced within its borders. In its eastern part
it included territory now belonging to Scott County. Its
western part contained areas now belonging to Johnson,
Washington, and Louisa counties.226
Since its first establishment the boundaries of Muscatine
County have been altered twice. Its original form was re-
tained less than a year. On December 21, 1837, an act227
of the legislature of the Territory of Wisconsin was ap-
proved by the terms of which the original County of Du-
buque, together with some additional territory acquired
from the Sac and Fox Indians by the treaty of October 21,
1837, was subdivided into new counties. In defining the
boundaries of these new counties the framers of the act did
not observe with care either the border-line between the
original counties of Dubuque and Demoine, or the boundary
224 See below p. 117.
225 gee Map II in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OP HISTORY
AND POLITICS.
220 gee Map VI in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HIS-
TORY AND POLITICS.
227 Laws of the Territory of Wisconsin, 1836-1838, p. 132.
BOUNDARY HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTIES 81
lines of the counties established by the act of December 7,
1836. As a result of this negligence a part of the original
County of Dubuque was not included within the limits of any
of the newly created counties,228 while on the other hand, the
new counties of Scott and Johnson were extended so far
south that they encroached upon the domains of the existing
counties of Cook and Musquitine. In this way, since the
later law would, of course, supersede the earlier in so far as
the two came into conflict, Musquitine County lost a little
territory on the east to Scott County and a little on the
northwest to Johnson, and was consequently materially
changed in its shape.
The boundaries of Musquitine County retained this new
form less than a month, for, by an act of the legislature of
the Territory of Wisconsin approved on January 18,
1838,229 they were redefined in terms of the United States
Survey which had now been completed in this part of Iowa.
The shape of the new county was altered materially, it be-
ing made shorter (from east to west) and wider (from
north to south). By the change some territory on the west
was lost to Slaughter (Washington) County. The spell-
ing of the name was changed to Muscatine. The bound-
aries received in 1838 have remained permanent.
Nearly all of the territory within the present limits of
the County of Muscatine was part of the Black Hawk Pur-
chase of September 21, 1832. The southwest corner, which
was not so included, fell within the boundaries of Keokuk's
Reserve acquired by the United States on September 28,
1836. (See Map I.)
The northern part of the county (that part north of a
line drawn due west from the lower end of Bock Island)
228 See Map III in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HIS-
TORY AND POLITIOS.
229 Laws of the Territory of Wisconsin, 1836-1838, p. 381.
VOL. VII — 6
82 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
was within the limits of the original County of Dubuque.
The remainder belonged to the original County of Demoine.
(See Map II.) Later the northern part of this remainder
belonged to the now extinct County of Cook.230
O'Brien. — The boundary history of this county is com-
paratively brief. Established by the act of January 15,
1851,231 its boundaries have never since been altered. The
territory of 0 'Brien County was practically all ceded to the
United States by various Indian Tribes232 in a treaty dated
July 15, 1830. (See Map I.) It is possible that a small
area in the northwestern part of the county was not ceded
until 1851, in which year the four bands of Santee Sioux re-
linquished their claims to certain regions in northern and
northwestern Iowa by treaties signed July 23, and August
5. (See Map I.) O'Brien's area was included within the
limits of the original County of Fayette established in 1837
and reduced in size in 1847. (See Map II.)
Osceola. — This county was established by the important
act of the legislature of the State of Iowa approved on
January 15, 1851.233 The location and size of the county
have never been altered. The area was 408 square miles.
As first created, Osceola County was unconstitutional, be-
cause the Constitution of 1846, which was then in force,
forbade the formation of any county with an area less than
432 square miles.234 The County of Osceola was not organ-
ized until after the present State Constitution was adopted
in 1857. This document, although forbidding the organiza-
230 gee Map III in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HIS-
TORY AND POLITICS.
231 Laws of Iowa, 1850-1851, p. 27.
232 gee the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLI-
TICS, p. 439.
233 Laws of Iowa, 1850-1851, p. 27.
234 See Article XI, section 2, of the Constitution of 1846.
BOUNDARY HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTIES 83
tion of any old county, or the erection of any new county,
with an area of less than 432 square miles, made an excep-
tion in favor of the organization of Worth County, and of
the other counties on the northern border of the State west
of Worth, the areas of which, according to the law creating
them, were less than required by the Constitution.235 This
clause in the fundamental law of the commonwealth may
be said to have legalized the boundaries and even the exist-
ence of Osceola County.
The eastern part of the county was acquired by the
United States according to the terms of an Indian treaty
signed on July 15, 1830, upon which date all those tribes236
having any claims to the soil of western Iowa surrendered
the same. (See Map I.) The western part of Osceola was
ceded by the four bands of the Santee Sioux in two treaties
signed respectively on July 23 and August 5, 1851. From
1837 to 1847 the territory of Osceola County was included
within the original County of Fayette. (See Map II.)
Page. — Page County was created by an act of the legis-
lature of the State of Iowa approved on February 24,
1847 ,237 Its boundaries have never since been altered. The
territory of the county was first ceded to the United States
by the terms of a treaty signed on July 15, 1830, upon which
date all the Indian tribes having any claims to the soil of
western Iowa relinquished the same to the government.
(See Map I.) The southern part of this cession was given
as a reservation to the Pottawattamie nation on September
26, 1833. This reservation was receded to the government
by the terms of a treaty dated June 5 and 17, 1846. The
soil of Page County was within the limits of the Pottawat-
tamie reservation and cession. (See Map I.)
235 See Article XI, section 2, of the Constitution of 1857.
236 See above p. 55.
237 Laws of Iowa, 1846-1847, p. 114.
84 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
On the same day that Page County was created, an act238
was approved creating the temporary County of Pottawat-
amie coextensive with the cession of 1846. The effect of this
act is difficult to determine. Page County was within the
limits of the cession mentioned, and therefore seems to
come within the limits of the temporary County of Pot-
tawatamie. It is hardly probable that the framers of the
two acts of February 24, 1847, meant to put any territory
into two counties at the same time, yet, since there is no way
of determining which of the two acts was approved last,
this is exactly what they seem to have done.239 Fremont,
Taylor, and part of Einggold counties possessed the same
status as Page since all four were established by the same
act. (See Map II.) The temporary County of Pottawat-
amie ceased to exist in 1851 when its territories were divid-
ed up among many smaller counties. It is probable that
the framers of the two acts of February 24, 1847, never in-
tended that Pottawatamie County should include Page
County which was established on the same day. However,
of this point one cannot speak with certainty.
Palo Alto. — Established by the important act of the leg-
islature of the State of Iowa approved on January 15,
1851,240 the boundaries of Palo Alto County have remained
permanent. The territory of the county was included with-
in the limits of the original County of Fayette which was
established in 1837 and continued in existence until 1847.
(See Map II.) Palo Alto represents two Indian land ces-
sions. The western portion was ceded by the Sacs and
Foxes, Omahas, lowas, Otoes, Missouris, and the Medewa-
kanton, Wahpekuta, Wahpeton, and Sisseton bands of the
238 Laws of Iowa, 1846-1847, p. 115.
239 See Map X in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY
AND POLITICS.
240 Laws of Iowa, 1850-1851, p. 27.
BOUNDARY HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTIES 85
Santee Sioux in a treaty signed on July 15, 1830. The
eastern portion was ceded by the four bands of the Santee
Sioux, just mentioned, in two treaties dated July 23 and
August 5, 1851. (See Map I.)
Plymouth. — Like most of the counties in western Iowa,
Plymouth was established by an act of the legislature of
Iowa, approved on January 15, 1851.241 Its boundaries re-
ceived at this time have never been altered. The territory
included in Plymouth was ceded to the United States by
various tribes.242 The treaty of cession was dated July 15,
1830. (See Map I.) The southern tier of townships in
Plymouth was for a few years included within the limits of
the temporary County of Buchanan created in 1837. The
remainder of the county belonged from 1837 to 1847 to the
temporary County of Fayette. (See Map II.)
Pocahontas. — Pocahontas County received its present
boundaries at the time it was established by the act of
January 15, 1851.243 The southern fourth of the county
was included within the bounds of the original County of
Buchanan created in 1837 and in existence for six years.
The northern three-fourths came within the limits of the
original County of Fayette which was established in 1837
and blotted out in 1847. (See Map II.)
The territory of Pocahontas County represents several
Indian land cessions. The larger part of its area was ceded
by the treaty of July 15, 1830, upon which date all those
tribes244 having any claims to the soil of western Iowa re-
linquished the same to the United States. ( See Map I. ) A
small area in the southeastern corner of the county comes
2*1 Laws of Iowa, 1850-1851, p. 27.
242 See discussion of Palo Alto County.
2*3 Laws of Iowa, 1850-1851, p. 27.
244 See discussion of Palo Alto County.
86 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
within the limits of the Sac and Fox cession of October 11,
1842. The northeastern portion of the county, in general,
was acquired from the four bands of Santee Sioux by trea-
ties signed on July 23 and August 5, 1851. A very small
area in the northeastern part of the county, east of the Des
Moines Eiver, had been ceded by the same Sioux bands on
July 15, 1830. (See Map I.) This cession formed part of
the famous " Neutral Ground".
Polk. — The boundary history of Polk County is very com-
plicated. As first established by the act of January 13,
1846,245 the county was four townships square, containing
576 square miles as against 580+ today. It was located one
range farther east than the present Polk County.246 Its
boundaries were definite and there were no errors in the
description of them.
On January 17, 1846, there was approved an act247 sup-
plementary to the act of January 13 by the terms of which
the boundaries of Jasper, Polk, and Dallas counties were
redefined. The boundaries of Polk County were described
in section two of this act as follows: "beginning at the
north-east corner of township 81, north, of range 22 west;
thence west, to the north-west corner of township 81, north
of range 25 west; thence south to the south-west corner of
township 77, north, of range 22 west; and thence north, to
the place of beginning". This description contains a se-
rious error, in that the entire southern boundary of the
county was omitted. Nor it this merely a printer's error —
the original manuscript copy of the act, presumably in the
hand-writing of the author of the bill, contains the same
245 Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1845-1846, p. 73.
24c gee Map VIII in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HIS-
TORY AND POLITICS.
2*7 Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1845-1846, p. 75.
BOUNDARY HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTIES 87
omission.248 It was intended by the act to move the west-
ern boundary of Jasper County one range farther west,
to shift both Polk and Dallas counties one range farther
west, and to extend the southern boundary of Polk one town-
ship farther south giving it one-fourth of the territory of
Warren County.249 The reason for these changes did not
grow out of errors in the act of January 13, 1846. It is
true that that act contained errors in its description of the
boundaries of Jasper County, but those errors could have
been corrected without altering the location of the county.
The real reason for the shifts in the location of the three
counties made by the act of January 17th, arises out of
Polk County itself. It seems that the boomers of Fort Des
Moines were having a hard time in winning the county- seat
for that place. The town was not near enough to the center
of the county, being too far south and west. So the plan
was conceived of shifting the county westward and extend-
ing it, at the same time, farther to the south. The legisla-
ture was manipulated and hence the act of January 17,
1846. Fort Des Moines was now near the center of the
county and secured the county-seat.
By an act approved on January 28, 1847, the boundaries
of Polk County were again defined.250 They were the same
which the act of January 17, 1846, attempted to establish,
indeed, the wording of the two acts is identical with the ex-
ception that the southern boundary, omitted in the earlier
act, is now included. If any doubt existed as to the inten-
tion of the framers of the act of January 17, 1846, to give
part of the territory of Warren County to Polk, that doubt
248 See volume for 1845-1846 of the original manuscript copies of the acts
of the legislature of the Territory of Iowa, as kept on file in the office of the
Secretary of State, Des Moines, Iowa.
249 See Map IX in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HIS-
TORY AND POLITICS.
2co Laws of Iowa, 1846-1847, p. 33.
88 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
is removed by the law of January 28, 1847. Remembering
that the law of January 17, 1846, which first sought to make
this transfer, was imperfect, an interesting question rela-
tive to the status of the territory to be transferred arises.
Did it belong, after this act went into force, to Polk County
or to Warren? The letter of the law failed to transfer it;
the intention of the framers undoubtedly was to make such
transfer, and the courts would probably have decided, had
a test case arisen, in favor of the intention of the framers.
The inhabitants of Warren County did not part willingly
with a portion of their territory. Immediately after the
transfer an agitation was begun for the return of the strip
in question. This was accomplished by an act approved on
January 14, 1853,251 in which the boundaries of Warren
County were denned anew in such a way as to take from
Polk County and restore to Warren the four townships in
question, except that in making the restitution that part
of township 77 north, range 22 west, which lay north of the
Des Moines Eiver was reserved to Polk County.252 This
strip contains between four and five square miles of terri-
tory and brings the area of Polk County up to something
more than 580 square miles.253 The boundaries of Polk
have not been altered since the act of January 14, 1853,
went into force. An attempt was made, however, to alter
them slightly in 1880, but it did not carry. On the northern
border of Polk County there was a small town called Shel-
dahl which was also partly in Boone and partly in Story
County. By an act approved on March 7,254 the General
251 Laws of Iowa, 1852-1853, p. 40.
252 See Map XII in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HIS-
TORY AND POLITICS.
253 The Iowa Official Eegister, 1907-8, gives the areas of Polk and Warren
counties at 576 square miles each, while Polk has 580+ and Warren 571+.
See Iowa Official Eegister, 1907- '8, p. 785.
254 Laws of Iowa, 1880, p. 191.
BOUNDARY HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTIES 89
Assembly sought to throw this town into Story County.
The effect of this would have been to slightly decrease the
areas of Polk and Boone counties and to increase that of
Story. The act, of course, was submitted to the voters of
the three counties but was not ratified.
The territory of Polk was acquired from the Sac and Fox
Indians by the cession of October 11, 1842. Lying west of
the line of division it was not required to be vacated until
three years later. (See Map I.) From 1837 to 1843 the soil
of Polk County was included within the limits of the tem-
porary County of Keokuk. (See Map II.)
Pottawattamie. — The present County of Pottawattamie
was preceded by a temporary county of the same name255
established by an act of the State legislature approved on
February 24, 1847.256 Like all of the other temporary
counties of Iowa, the original County of Pottawatamie was
of very large size. Its boundaries were described in the
act just mentioned in a rather indefinite manner, the act
declaring "That the country embraced within the limits of
what is called the Pottawatamie purchase, on the waters of
the Missouri river, in this State, [Iowa] be, and the same
may be, temporarily organized into a county, by the name
of Pottawatamie".
The "Pottawatamie purchase" here mentioned refers to
the cession made by that nation on June 5 and 17, 1846,257
upon which dates the Pottawattamie tribes ceded back to
the United States the reservation which the government
had made over to them by the terms of a treaty signed at
Chicago on September 26, 1833.258 This reservation con-
255 The name of the temporary county was spelled ' ' Pottawatamie ' ' in the
act creating it. In this discussion the original spelling of all proper names
will be retained.
sse Laws of Iowa, 1846-1847, p. 115.
257 U. S. Statutes at Large, Vol. IX, p. 853.
258 U. S, Statutes at Large, Vol. VII, p. 431.
90 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
tained 5,000,000 acres, as did also the cession of 1846 and
the county of 1847, all three of which were, indeed, the same
tract of land. The boundaries of this tract remain some-
what indefinite since they were never surveyed by the gov-
ernment. Especially is this true of the northern boundary.
The writer has given a detailed description of the bound-
aries of the temporary County of Pottawatamie in a former
paper.239 In this connection an attempt was made to illus-
trate the boundaries of the county upon the map of Iowa.260
(See also Map I accompanying this paper.) As thus drawn
the temporary County of Pottawatamie included the terri-
tory of the present counties of Fremont, Page, Taylor,
Mills, Montgomery, Adams, and Cass; most of Pottawat-
tamie, Shelby, and Audubon; and parts of Einggold, Union,
Adair, Guthrie, Carroll, Crawford, and Harrison.
On the same day that the act authorizing the formation
of the temporary County of Pottawatamie was approved,
there was approved another act establishing the four coun-
ties of Fremont, Page, Taylor, and Einggold.261 The bound-
aries of Pottawatamie were made to overlap those of the
four counties just named. (See Map II.) The effect of this
is difficult to determine. There is no way to tell which act
went into force first. It is hardly probable that the fram-
ers of these two acts meant to put the same territory into
two different counties at the same time. The chances are
that they intended Pottawatamie to include all of the ces-
sion of 1846 not comprised within the limits of Fremont,
Page, Taylor, and Einggold. The law authorizing the estab-
lishment of Pottawatamie was so worded as to make the
very existence of the county depend upon its organization.
259 See article by the writer in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL
OF HISTORY AND POLITICS.
260 See Map X of the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY
AND POLITICS.
261 Laws of Iowa, 1846-1847, p. 114.
BOUNDARY HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTIES 91
It seems to have been actually organized on September 21,
1848. The other four counties were permanent from the
beginning, while Pottawatamie in its original form was
never intended to be anything but a temporary jurisdiction.
The present County of Pottawattamie was formed by an
act approved on January 15, 1851.262 With the exception of
the northwest corner, all its territories were included with-
in the limits of the temporary county of the same name.
The northern tier of townships was also part of the tem-
porary County of Keokuk from 1837 to 1843. (See Map II.)
By an act approved on March 10, 1874,203 the General As-
sembly made an attempt to create a new county to be called
Belknap264 out of the eastern part of Pottawattamie. The
line separating ranges 41 and 42, west, was to be the divid-
ing line between the two counties. Such a division would
have given Belknap County an area of 432 square miles and
left Pottawattamie 444, fulfilling the requirements of the
Constitution as to size in both cases. The act required the
submission of the question of establishing the new county
to the voters of Pottawattamie. At the general election
held on October 13, 1874, the proposition was voted down,
the vote standing 1250 for, and 1558 against, the division.
The proposed county of Belknap was, therefore, never es-
tablished.
The legislature was reluctant to give up the attempt. By
an act approved on March 17, 1876,265 the question of divid-
ing Pottawattamie into two counties was again submitted.
The new county was coextensive with the proposed County
of Belknap. This time it was to be called Grimes. At the
262 Laws Of Iowa, 1850-1851, p. 27.
263 Laws of Iowa, 1874 (Private, Local, and Temporary), p. 19.
264 See Map XV in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HIS-
TORY AND POLITICS.
265 Laws of Iowa, 1876, p. 156.
92 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
general election held on November 7, 1876, the division was
again voted down, 1848 voters favoring it and 2651 oppos-
ing. The second largest county in the State remained un-
divided.
Poweshiek. — Poweshiek County was carved out of the
original County of Keokuk (See Map II.) by an act of the
legislature of the Territory of Iowa, approved on Feb-
ruary 17, 1843.266 The boundaries first received have re-
mained permanent. The territory comprised within the
limits of Poweshiek County was ceded by the Sac and Fox
Indians to the United States government by the treaty of
October 11, 1842. (See Map I.) The county lay in the east-
ern half of the cession which was vacated three years earlier
than the western part.
Ringgold. — This county on the Missouri border was, to-
gether with the three counties lying west of it, established
by an act of the legislature of the State of Iowa, approved
on February 24, 1847.267 The boundaries given the county
at this time have remained permanent.
On the same day that Einggold was created, an act 2GS
was approved creating the temporary County of Pottawat-
amie which was to be coextensive with the Pottawattamie
cession of 1846. The effect of this act is difficult to deter-
mine since the western part of Einggold County had been
within the limits of this cession, as had also the counties of
Taylor, Page, and Fremont. It is hardly probable that the
framers of these acts meant to put any territory into two
counties at the same time, yet, since there is no way of de-
termining which of the two acts mentioned above was ap-
proved last, this is exactly what they seem to have done.269
266 Eevised Statutes of the Territory of Iowa, 1843, p. 131.
267 Laws of Iowa, 1846-1847, p. 114.
268 Laws of Iowa, 1846-1847, p. 115.
269 See Map X in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY
AND POLITICS.
BOUNDARY HISTOBY OF IOWA COUNTIES 93
It is possible, however, that the territory of Fremont, Page,
Taylor, and Einggold counties was not meant to be in-
cluded within the limits of the original County of Pottawat-
amie. When the latter was reduced to its present size by
the act of January 15, 1851, the boundaries of Ringgold
and its neighbors on the west were not redefined. This
would seem to imply that the fact that the boundaries of
the original County of Pottawatamie overlapped those of
Einggold was a matter of no consequence.
The eastern portion of Ringgold County was part of the
Sac and Fox cession of October 11, 1842. (See Map I.)
The western part was ceded to the United States by various
tribes in the treaty of July 15, 1830. On September
26, 1833, it was included within the limits of a reservation
given to the Pottawattamie Indians. The same area was
ceded to the United States by the Pottawattamie nation in
the treaty dated June 5 and 17, 1846.
Sac. — Sac County was given its permanent boundaries
by the act of January 15, 1851.270 The southeastern por-
tion of the county, about one-third of it, was acquired
from the Sac and Fox Indians through the treaty of Oc-
tober 11, 1842. The rest of its territory had been acquired
by the United States as early as 1830, in which year the
Sacs and Foxes, Omahas, lowas, Otoes, Missouris, and the
Medewakanton, Wahpekuta, Wahpeton, and Sisseton bands
of the Sioux ceded all their claims to western Iowa in a
treaty signed on July 15. (See Map I.)
From 1837 to 1843 the southern tier of townships of Sac
County was included within the limits of the original
County of Benton, the remainder being within the borders
of the original County of Buchanan. (See Map II.)
Scott. — This county was established and given its per-
270 Laws of Iowa, 1850-1851, p. 27.
94 IOWA JOUENAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
manent boundaries by an act of the legislature of the Ter-
ritory of Wisconsin approved on December 21, 1837.271
Scott is one of the few counties of the State which has two
river boundaries. All of that part of Scott County lying
north of a line drawn due west from the lower end of Bock
Island came from the territory of the original County of
Dubuque. (See Map II.) That part lying south of the
same line was appropriated to the new county from Cook
and Musquitine, very little, however, coming from the lat-
ter.272 The area acquired from Cook and Musquitine had
formerly been part of the original County of Demoine.
Scott County is sometimes called the successor of Cook.273
This is not accurate since the two counties existed side by
side for over a month, while nine-tenths of the territory of
Scott County came, not from Cook County, but rather from
the original County of Dubuque.
The entire county was included within the limits of the
Sac and Fox cession of September 21, 1832, often called the
Black Hawk Purchase. (See Map I.)
Shelby. — The County of Shelby was established by an act
of the State legislature of Iowa, approved on January 15,
1851.274 Its boundaries have never since been altered. The
territory of the present county was acquired from the In-
dians by the terms of a treaty signed on July 15, 1830, upon
which date all those tribes275 having any claims to the soil
of western Iowa relinquished the same to the United States
government. (See Map I.) All of the county except the
northwest portion was ceded to the Pottawattamie nation
as a part of the reservation granted those tribes on Sep-
271 Laws of the Territory of Wisconsin, 1836-1838, p. 132.
272 See Map III in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HIS-
TORY AND POLITICS.
273 Gue 's History of Iowa, Vol. I, p. 175, note.
274 Laws of Iowa, 1850-1851, p. 27.
275 For the names of these tribes see discussion of Sac County above.
BOUNDARY HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTIES 95
tember 26, 1833. The same area was consequently within
the limits of the Pottawattamie cession of June 5 and 17,
1846, and also of the original County of Pottawatamie cre-
ated in 1847 and reduced in size in 1851. The reservation
of 1833 and the cession of 1846 were coextensive in size and
area with the temporary county shown in Map II. The ter-
ritory of the entire county was included within the limits
of the temporary County of Keokuk established in 1837 and
reduced in size in 1843. (See Map II.)
Sioux. — Like half of the counties of Iowa, Sioux County
was established by the important act of January 15, 1851.276
Its boundaries received at this time have remained perma-
nent. The larger part of its territory was acquired by the
United States government through the treaty of July 15,
1830, upon which date western Iowa was ceded by the Sacs
and Foxes, Omahas, lowas, Otoes, Missouris, and the four
bands of the Santee Sioux. (See Map I.) The northwest-
ern portion, and possibly a little territory on the northern
border of the county, was ceded by the four bands of Santee
Sioux by two treaties dated respectively July 23 and
August 5, 1851. All of the territory of Sioux County came
within the limits of the original County of Fayette estab-
lished in 1837 and in existence for ten years. (See Map II.)
Story. — This county was established by an act of the
legislature of the Territory of Iowa, approved on Janu-
ary 13, 1846.277 The boundaries received at this time have
never been altered, although an attempt was made to do so
in 1880, when the legislature, by an act278 approved on
March 27, sought to throw the unincorporated town of Shel-
dahl into Story County. Part of this town was in Boone
County and part in Polk. The question of the transfer was
276 Laws of Iowa, 1850-1851, p. 27.
27T Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1845-1846, p. 73.
278 Laws of Iowa, 1880, p. 191.
96 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
submitted to the voters of the three counties concerned, but
the change was never made. Had the proposition carried
the area of Story County would have been slightly in-
creased. The county was carved from territory which
formed part of the original County of Benton from 1837
to 1843. (See Map II.)
Story County lies within the limits of the Sac and Fox
cession of October 11, 1842. It was west of the line of di-
vision, in the part vacated by the Indians on October 11,
1845. (See Map I.)
Tama. — Tarna County was carved from the original
County of Benton by an act of the legislature of the Terri-
tory of Iowa approved on February 17, 1843.279 The bound-
aries given to Tama County by this act were denned with
reference to those of Benton County. The description began
as follows: "beginning at the northwest corner of Benton
County, thence west," etc., and closed thus: "thence east
to the southwest corner of Benton County ; thence north to
the place of beginning". From this it is seen that the west-
ern boundary of Benton County was to be the eastern
boundary of Tama. But in defining the western boundary
of Benton County an error had been made, as already ex-
plained. (See Benton County.) It is really impossible to
draw upon a map the western boundary of Benton County
as described in the act of 1843.280 If this boundary was de-
fective the eastern boundary of Tama County was likewise
defective. This condition of affairs continued until 1858
when the State legislature, by an act 281 approved on March
22, redefined the boundary line between the two counties,
definitely establishing it upon the line which separates
279 Revised Statutes of the Territory of Iowa, 1843, p. 131.
280 See Map VII in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HIS-
TORY AND POLITICS.
281 Laws of Iowa, 1858, p. 240.
BOUNDARY HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTIES 97
ranges 12 and 13 west of the fifth principal meridian.282
Since March 22, 1858, the boundaries of Tama County
have remained unaltered.
The territory of the county was acquired from the Sac
and Fox Indians through the treaty of October 11, 1842.
(See Map I.) As hinted at above, the area of Tama was
included within the limits of the original County of Benton
from 1837 to 1843. (See Map II.)
Taylor. — The County of Taylor was established by an
act of the legislature of the State of Iowa approved on
February 24, 1847.283 Its boundaries received at this time
have never been changed. The territory of Taylor County
was first acquired by the government through the terms of
a treaty signed on July 15, 1830, upon which date the Sacs
and Foxes, Omahas, lowas, Otoes, Missouris, and the Med-
ewakanton, Wahpekuta, Wahpeton, and Sisseton bands of
the Santee Sioux ceded all their claims to the soil of west-
ern Iowa. (See Map I.) The southern part of this cession
was given as a reservation to the Pottawattamie nation on
September 26, 1833, and ceded back again to the govern-
ment by the terms of a treaty dated June 5 and 17, 1846.
The soil of Taylor County was within the limits of the
reservation and also of the cession just mentioned. (See
Map I.)
On the same day that the act creating Fremont, Page,
Taylor, and Ringgold counties was approved, there was
approved an act establishing the temporary County of Pot-
tawatamie 284 coextensive with the cession of 1846. The ef-
fect of this law seems to have been to make the boundaries
of the temporary County of Pottawatamie overlap those of
282 gee Map XV in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HIS-
TORY AND POLITICS.
283 Laws of Iowa, 1846-1847, p. 114.
28* JMWS of Iowa, 1846-1847, p. 115.
VOL. VII — 7
98 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
the four counties just named.285 The territory of Taylor
County seems to have been within the limits of two coun-
ties at the same time, since there is no way to tell which law
took precedence.286
The temporary County of Pottawatarnie was reduced in
size by the act of January 15, 1851. This law had nothing
to say about the boundaries of Taylor County which, in-
deed, have never been altered directly since the county was
established by the act of February 27, 1847.
Union. — Established by the act of January 15, 1851,287
the boundaries of Union County have never since been al-
tered. The eastern portion of the territory of the new
county had been acquired from the Sac and Fox Indians
by the terms of the treaty of October 11, 1842. (See Map
I.) The western portion comes within the limits of the
cession of July 15, 1830,288 of the Pottawattamie reser-
vation of September 26, 1833, and of the Pottawattamie
cession of June 5 and 17, 1846.289 The same area was in-
cluded within the boundaries of the temporary County of
Pottawatamie from 1847 to 1851. (See Map II.)
Van Buren. — Van Buren County, as first established, was
one of the counties carved from the original County of
Demoine by an act of the legislature of the Territory of
Wisconsin approved on December 7, 1836.290 Southeastern
Iowa not yet having been surveyed, the boundaries of the
new county did not follow township lines, as in later acts,
285 See Map X in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY
AND POLITICS.
286 See also the discussions of Fremont, Page, and Einggold Counties above.
287 Laws of Iowa, 1850-1851, p. 27.
288 For the tribes making this cession see discussion of Taylor County above.
289 See Map X in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OP HISTORY
AND POLITICS.
2»o Laws of the Territory of Wisconsin, 1836-1838, p. 76.
BOUNDARY HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTIES 99
but were defined in the law as follows: "beginning at the
northwest corner of Lee; thence south with the west line
of said county to the river Des Moines; thence up the
same to where the Missouri line strikes the same; thence
west with the said Missouri line to the Indian boundary
line ; thence north with the said boundary line twenty-four
miles; thence east to the beginning."
The chief difficulty in drawing these boundaries on a map
lies in the location of the starting point. The boundaries
of Lee County were probably the most obscure of those of
any county named in this act. The perplexities which they
present have been discussed above.291 Given the starting
point, the boundaries of Van Buren are easily traced, if
the wording of the act is not taken too literally. The "In-
dian boundary line" on the west is, of course, the western
line of the Black Hawk Purchase, which did not run due
north but north by 28 degrees east.292 Nor should it be
understood from the definition that the northern boundary
ran due east. It, without doubt, ran a little south of east.293
In size, Van Buren County as first established was prob-
ably a trifle smaller than it is today. Its original bound-
aries were retained but little over a year, since they were
redefined by an act of the legislature of the Territory of
Wisconsin approved on January 18, 1838.294 The new
boundaries followed the township lines of the United States
Survey which had now been completed for this section of
Iowa, in other words, the western boundary was made to
run due north and south and the northern boundary due
east and west giving to the county a regular shape.
291 See above p. 66.
292 Abernethy on Iowa Under Territorial Governments and the Removal of
the Indians in the Annals of Iowa, July, 1906, p. 431.
2»3 See Map II in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HIS-
TORY AND POLITICS.
29* Laws of the Territory of Wisconsin, 1836-1838, p. 381.
100 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
By these changes Van Buren County gained territory in
its northeastern and northwestern corners and lost terri-
tory in its southwestern corner. On the whole it must have
gained more than it lost and, therefore, was increased a
trifle in size.295 As a result of this redefinition of boundaries
a part of the earlier county (the southwestern corner) was
now left outside of the jurisdiction of any county whatso-
ever. The boundaries which Van Buren County received
in the act of January 18, 1838, have never been altered.
Most of the territory of the present County of Van Bu-
ren was formerly part of the Black Hawk Purchase made
from the Sac and Fox Indians by treaty on September 21,
1832. The northwestern corner was part of the cession
made by the same tribes on October 21, 1837. (See Map I.)
All except this northwestern part was also within the limits
of the original County of Demoine, (See Map II.) while the
northeastern corner was part of Henry County from De-
cember 7, 1836, to January 18, 1838.296
Wapello. — Wapello was created by an act of the legisla-
ture of the Territory of Iowa, approved on February 17,
1843.297 Its boundaries were defined as follows: "begin-
ning at the northwest corner of Jefferson county, (11) eleven
and (12) twelve west, thence west on township line (73)
seventy- three and (74) seventy- four to range line dividing
ranges (15) fifteen and (16) sixteen; thence south on said
line, to the northwest corner of Davis county ; thence east,
to the southwest corner of Jefferson county ; thence north,
on the range line dividing ranges (11) eleven and (12)
twelve to the place of beginning". From this quotation it
295 See Map VI in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY
AND POLITICS.
296 See Map VI in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY
AND POLITICS.
297 Revised Statutes of the Territory of Iowa, 1843, p. 131.
BOUNDARY HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTIES 101
is seen that the boundaries of Wapello County were de-
fined in reference to those of Jefferson County. The latter
county had been established in 1839. Its western bound-
ary was the western line of the Sac and Fox cession of Oc-
tober 21, 1837.298 This line ran, not from north to south,
but from northeast to southwest. Since the boundaries of
Jefferson County had never been altered in the meantime,
this northeast and southwest line was still the western
boundary of Jefferson in 1843 when Wapello was created.
The eastern boundary of Wapello was, therefore, defec-
tive. " Beginning at the northeast corner of Jefferson
County" would not be beginning on the line between ranges
eleven and twelve, as the law implies. And, similarly, the
eastern boundary could not run north, from the southwest
corner of Jefferson County, on the line between ranges
eleven and twelve. Even if it did, it would not arrive at
"the place of beginning" mentioned above. It seems too
much to imply that the peculiar wording of the definition of
the boundaries of Wapello County as quoted above was
enough to alter legally the location of the western bound-
ary of Jefferson County. The boundaries of Wapello
County have never been altered but remain defective to-
day. Technically there exists a triangular strip of land be-
tween Wapello and Jefferson Counties which is included
within neither.299
The framers of the act of 1843 undoubtedly meant to
make the line between ranges eleven and twelve, west, the
eastern boundary of Wapello. It is so shown on Map I.
The territory of the county thus understood was a part of
that acquired from the Sac and Fox Indians by the cession
of October 11, 1842. (See Map I.)
298 See discussion of Jefferson County above p. 58.
299 See Maps VII and XVI in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL
OF HISTORY AND POLITICS.
102 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
Warren. — The County of Warren was first established
by an act approved on January 13, 1846.300 Its boundaries
were defined in the law as follows: ''Beginning at the
north-west corner of Marion county ; thence west, along the
line dividing townships 77 and 78, to the north-west corner
of township 77, north of range 25 west ; thence south to the
south-west corner of township 71, north of range 25 west ;
thence east, to the south-west corner of Marion county;
thence north, to the place of beginning. ' ' This description
of boundaries contains a serious error. The western bound-
ary is extended so far south that when the southern bound-
ary is run eastward it does not arrive at the southwest
corner of Marion County. It is impossible to draw the
county on a map as its boundaries are described above.301
The error in the section just quoted is very simple. If the
number 74 be substituted for the number 71, the boundaries
will be correct. Possibly this is only a printer's error.
Eeference to the original manuscript copy of the act does
not, however, enable one to say just who is responsible for
the error because the number to be found there could pass
either as a 71 or a 74.302 The context shows plainly that
the number should have been interpreted as 74.
The boundaries which the act of January 13, 1846, gave
or attempted to give to Warren County differed from the
present boundaries of the county only in the northeast cor-
ner. The Des Moines River formed no part of the northern
boundary then, but the line between townships 77 and 78
was extended clear to the northeast corner. In other words
the county was intended to be four townships square. But
soo Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1845-1846, p. 73.
301 See Map VIII in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HIS-
TORY AND POLITICS.
302 gee volume for 1845-1846 of the original manuscript copies of the acts
of the General Assembly as kept on file in the office of the Secretary of State,
Des Moines, Iowa.
BOUNDARY HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTIES 103
it was not allowed to retain this size long, for, by an act
approved on January 17, 1846,303 Polk County was moved
one range westward and extended one township southward
causing it to overlap one-fourth of the area of Warren
County. The reasons for these changes in the boundaries
of Polk County have been explained above.304 Here all that
concerns us is to notice the loss of territory suffered by
Warren County. It is interesting to note, however, that in
attempting to extend the limits of Polk County a serious er-
ror was made in the definition of its boundaries. The
southern boundary indeed, the one which should have over-
lapped Warren County, was omitted altogether. While
some question might be raised as to the validity of the
transfer of territory from Warren to Polk in the light of
this error, no doubt remains as to the intentions of the
framers of the act. All questions of doubt were set at rest
by an act approved on January 28, 1847,305 by which the
boundaries of Polk County were again defined and the er-
ror in the last law corrected. No changes were made in
the boundaries of Polk, the act being merely a copy of that
of January 17, 1846, with the missing boundary included.306
The understanding of the citizens of Warren County con-
cerning the four townships transferred to Polk by the acts
of 1846 and 1847, seems to have been that they were merely
loaned in order to enable Fort Des Moines to get the coun-
ty-seat. At any rate an agitation was begun at once to se-
cure their return to the former county. This result was
brought about by an act approved on January 14, 1853,307
aoa Laws of ihe Territory of Iowa, 1845-1846, p. 75.
so* See above p. 86.
sos Laws of Iowa, 1846-1847, p. 33.
see See Map IX in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HIS-
TORY AND POLITICS.
SOT Laws of Iowa, 1852-1853, p. 40.
104 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
wherein the boundaries of Warren County were redefined
in such a way as to restore to that jurisdiction the four
townships in question. In making the restitution, however,
that part of township 77 north, range 22 west, which lay
north of the Des Moines Eiver was reserved to Polk. The
boundaries received by Warren County through the act of
January 14, 1853, have not been altered since.
The territory of Warren County was acquired from the
Sac and Fox Indians by the terms of the treaty of October
11, 1842. (See Map I.) The northern tier of townships
came within the limits of the original County of Keokuk
established in 1837 and reduced in size in 1843. (See Map
II.) These same townships, as we have already seen, be-
longed to Polk County from 1846 to 1853.
Washington. — Washington County was originally cre-
ated as Slaughter 308 County by an act of the legislature of
the Territory of Wisconsin approved on January 18, 1838.309
This act was one redefining the boundary lines of those
counties carved by the law of December 7, 1836, from the
original County of Demoine. The two laws differed in that
the earlier one included a county called Cook, which was
omitted from the later act, while the latter included a coun-
ty called Slaughter not mentioned in the former.
Slaughter County is not to be considered as a continua-
tion of Cook County.310 None of its territory came from
the latter. Most of it, in fact, was received from the origi-
nal counties of Louisa and Musquitine.311 Possibly the
southwest corner had been within the limits of the original
County of Henry. It is certain that the northwest corner
sos gee Map V in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY
AND POLITICS.
309 Laws of the Territory of Wisconsin, 1836-1838, p. 381.
sio See below p. 117.
311 See Map VI in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY
AND POLITICS.
was new territory. All except this part had been within
the limits of the original County of Demoine at an earlier
date.
As first established Slaughter County included town-
ships 74, 75, and 76 north of ranges 5, 6, 7, and 8, west. The
three easternmost townships, those in range five, are now
part of Louisa County. The remaining nine townships are
part of Washington County today.312
The original County of Slaughter was reduced in size by
an act of the legislature of the Territory of Iowa approved
on January 12, 1839.313 This act, the title of which referred
only to Louisa County, redefined the boundaries of that
county in such a way as to include within them the three
easternmost townships of Slaughter County, although the
latter was not mentioned in the act. This loss of territory
left Slaughter County only three townships, or eighteen
miles, square in size — the smallest county ever included
within the limits of Iowa. In this reduced form it remained
in existence only thirteen days, for on January 25, 1839,
there was approved an act 314 of the legislature of the Ter-
ritory of Iowa which changed the name of Slaughter Coun-
ty to Washington and then enlarged the latter by extend-
ing its limits one township farther north and one range
farther west. By these changes the county gained seven
townships and received practically its present territory.
One more change had to be made, however, before the
boundaries of Washington County were to become perma-
nent. This change was made by an act of the legislature
of the Territory of Iowa approved on June 5, 1845,315, by
312 See Map VII in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HIS-
TORY AND POLITICS.
sis Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1838-1839. p. 89.
si* Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1838-1839, p. 100.
sis Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1845, p. 66.
106 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
the terms of which the Iowa Eiver was made the boundary
line between the two counties for some six or eight miles.
Washington County lost to Johnson that part of township
seventy-seven north, range six west, which lay east of the
Iowa River. Since 1845 the boundaries of Washington
County have not been altered.
The territory included within the present limits of
Washington County was acquired from the Indians in three
separate treaties. All of it was ceded by the Sac and Fox
Indians. Nearly half of the county (the southeastern por-
tion) belonged to the Black Hawk Purchase of September
21, 1832. The northeastern corner was part of the Keokuk
Reserve ceded to the United States government September
28, 1836. The western and northwestern portions were ac-
quired by treaty of October 21, 1837. (See Map I.)
The eastern portion of the county also belonged, for a
time, to the original County of Demoine. (See Map II.)
Certain portions were included a little later within the lim-
its of Cook, Musquitine, Louisa, and Henry counties as es-
tablished by the act of January 18, 1838.316
Wayne. — Wayne County was created by an act of the
legislature of the Territory of Iowa approved on January
13, 1846.317 The boundaries received at this time have never
been altered.
The territory of Wayne County was entirely within the
limits of that cession of land made to the United States
government by the Sac and Fox Indians in the treaty of
October 11, 1842. It probably lay entirely west of the line
by which the cession was divided into two parts. (See
Map I.)
3i6 See Map VI in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY
AND POLITICS.
SIT Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1845-1846, p. 73.
BOUNDARY HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTIES 107
Webster. — Webster County did not receive its present
boundaries until 1857 or possibly not until 1860. The coun-
ty was not created by the important act of January 15,
1851, by which most of the counties of northwestern Iowa
were established. This act created on the present site of
Webster the County of Yell. Just north of Yell was Hum-
bolt (not the present County of Humboldt) which included
the northern tier of townships in the present County of
Webster. Fox County was located west of Yell and Eisley
east.318 North of Humbolt was Kossuth, then only four
townships square, and north of Kossuth there was estab-
lished the County of Bancroft, equal in size to Emmet and
Winnebago. The counties just mentioned were destined to
undergo a large number of boundary changes before the
present conditions were established.
On January 12, 1853, there was approved an act,319 rela-
tive to the attachment and organization of counties, the
fourth section of which changed the name of Eisley County
to Webster. The act provided that it should take effect
upon publication in the Capital Reporter and in the Iowa
Republican. A certificate signed by the Secretary of State
accompanies the law to the effect that it was published in
the Capital Reporter on January 19, 1853, and in the Iowa
Republican on January 22, 1853. It went into effect, there-
fore, on the latter date. It should be remembered at this
point that the County of Eisley had been just south of
Wright and that it was coextensive in size and location with
the present County of Hamilton.
On the same day upon which the act changing the name
of Eisley County to Webster went into force another act
bearing the title of "An Act to create the county of Web-
sis See Map XI in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HIS-
TORY AND POLITICS.
3i9 Laws of Iowa, 1852-1853, p. 28.
108 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
ster" was approved.320 This law, which was very brief,
provided for the union of Yell and Risley counties into a
new county to be called Webster. The act was to go into
force upon publication in the Iowa Star. No accompany-
ing word from the Secretary of State tells when the act
was so published. A diligent search through the files of the
Iowa Star fails to reveal the date of publication. The
writer is practically certain that the law was not printed
in that paper at all. In default of such publication the act
must have gone into force upon the first of July follow-
ing.321 From this it is evident that the act of January 12
went into force before the act of January 22 did. It fol-
lows, then, that when the latter act went into force there
was no Risley County to be united to Yell in creating a new
county to be called Webster, indeed, there was a County of
Webster already in existence. It is difficult to say just
what is the solution of this puzzle. It seems that certain
legislators wished to get rid of the names Risley and Yell,
and that they wanted to honor Webster by naming a county
for him, but that they could not get together in the matter
of their bills. In spite of the fact that the law changing
the name of Risley County to Webster went into effect be-
fore the law providing for the union of Risley and Yell
could possibly have done so, later sessions of the legisla-
ture looked upon Webster County as the product of the
second law, and, therefore, containing the territory of both
the former counties of Risley and Yell.322
This large county was increased in size by an act ap-
proved on January 24, 1855, by the terms of which the coun-
ties of Bancroft and Humbolt were blotted out.323 The ter-
320 Laws of Iowa, 1852-1853, p. 87.
321 Code of Iowa, 1851, Chapter 3, section 22.
322 See Map XII in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HIS-
TORY AND POLITICS.
323 Laws of Iowa, 1854-1855, p. 210.
BOUNDARY HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTIES 109
ritory of Bancroft was given to Kossuth County while that
of Humboldt was divided evenly between Kossuth and Web-
ster counties, the latter gaming eight square townships by
the transfer.324 This law proves that the legislature
looked upon Webster County as formed by the union of the
former counties of Yell and Risley, because that part of
Humbolt County which was now added to Webster was
contiguous to that part of Webster which had formerly
been within the limits of Yell. Had Webster County been
looked upon simply as Eisley with the name changed then
the act of January 24, 1855, could not have added to Web-
ster half of the territory of Humbolt.
By an act approved on December 22, 1856,325 that part
of Webster County which lay east of the line dividing
ranges twenty-six and twenty-seven west, was erected into
a new county to be called Hamilton.326 By this act Webster
County lost two-fifths of its territory, but it was soon to lose
more, for about a month later, by an act approved on Janu-
ary 28, 1857,327 during the same session, the legislature cre-
ated the new County of Humboldt between Wright and
Pocahontas. The new jurisdiction contained only twelve
square townships, eight of which it received from Kossuth
County and four from Webster. By this law Webster Coun-
ty was reduced to the size which it possesses today. The new
County of Humboldt was four square townships smaller
than Wright and Pocahontas. It was also smaller than its
predecessor Humbolt established in 1851 upon the same
site. This was probably a mistake. At any rate at the next
session the legislature passed an act, approved on March
324 gee Map XIII in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HIS-
TORY AND POLITICS.
325 i,au;g Of Iowa, 1856-1857, p. 11.
326 See Map XIV in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OP HIS-
TORY AND POLITICS.
327 Laws of Iowa, 1856-1857, p. 199.
110 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
11, 1858,328 which was meant to be explanatory of the act of
January 28, 1857. The new law after claiming that Hum-
boldt County had suffered a loss of territory through the
printing of the act by which it was established, and also
that the original of the bill had been lost, proceeded to con-
strue the act of January 28, 1857, in such a way as to make
Humboldt County include township 90, ranges 27, 28, 29,
and 30 west. Furthermore, the act denned the boundaries
of the county anew in such a way as clearly to include the
territory in dispute.329 This amendatory law was not sub-
mitted to the people for ratification as the Constitution of
Iowa330 which went into force on September 3, 1857, had
required of all future laws which might have for their pur-
pose the alteration of county boundaries. Consequently
when a case calling in question the legality of the act of
March 11, 1858, was appealed from the District Court of
Webster County to the Supreme Court of Iowa, the latter,
in a decision handed down on December 4, 1860, declared
the statute null and void.331 The court held that the act did
not relate back to the statute of which it claimed to be
amendatory, and that as an independent act it was invalid
because it had never been submitted to the people of the
counties concerned for ratification. As a result of this de-
cision Webster County regained the four townships, which
technically it had never lost, and its boundaries became per-
manent, that is, they have not since been altered.
In addition to the above it should be noted that the south-
ern tier of townships in the present county came within the
limits of the original County of Benton from 1837 to 1843,
328 Laws of Iowa, 1858, p. 49.
329 See Map XV in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HIS-
TORY AND POLITICS.
330 See Article III, section 30.
331 Duncombe vs. Prindle, 12 Iowa 1.
BOUNDARY HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTIES HI
the remainder of the county falling, during the same period,
within the jurisdiction of the original County of Buchanan.
(See Map II.)
The territory of Webster represents three Indian land
cessions. The northwestern corner of the county was ced-
ed on July 15, 1830, upon which date all those tribes332 hav-
ing any claim to the soil of western Iowa relinquished the
same to the United States. The northeastern portion of
the county was acquired from the Sacs and Foxes by the
terms of a treaty signed on the same date. This cession
formed part of the so-called "Neutral Ground". The bulk
of the soil of Webster County was acquired from the Sacs
and Foxes by the cession of October 11, 1842. (See Map I.)
Winnebago. — Winnebago County was created by an act
approved on January 15, 1851.333 Its boundaries have
never been changed. As established, the county con-
tained only 408 square miles and was, therefore, unconsti-
tutional since the Constitution of 1846 334 forbade the erec-
tion of new counties with areas of less than 432 square
miles. Worth, Bancroft, Emmet, Dickinson, and Osceola
counties created by the same act, and of the same size, pos-
sessed a similar status. However, none of these counties
had been organized when the new State Constitution of
1857 went into force. This document repeated the pro-
vision of the Constitution of 1846 which forbade the erec-
tion of new counties, or the organization of old ones, with
an area of less than 432 square miles. At the same time it
made an exception in favor of the organization of Winne-
bago and the other counties mentioned above, whose area
according to the act creating them was less than required
332 See below p. 114.
333 Laws of Iowa, 1850-1851, p. 27.
ss* See Article XI, section 2, of Constitution of 1846.
112 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
by the Constitution.335 In this way both the organization
and the existence of Winnebago County were made legal.
The territory of the county was ceded to the United
States by the Medewakanton, Wahpekuta, Wahpeton, and
Sisseton bands of the Santee Sioux according to the terms
of two treaties signed July 23 and August 5, 1851. (See
Map I.) Thus it is seen that the soil of Winnebago, on the
date of the erection of the county, had not yet been acquired
from its Indian owners. During the ten years from 1837
to 1847 the area of Winnebago was included within the
limits of the original and temporary County of Fayette.
(See Map IT.)
Winneshiek. — This county was carved from the original
County of Fayette (See Map II.) by an act336 of the first
General Assembly of the State of Iowa. Its boundaries as
defined in this law have never been altered. The territory
included within the new county had been so recently ac-
quired from the Indians337 that it had not yet been surveyed
by the United States government. The treaty of cession
had not yet been ratified by the United States Senate or the
Indians removed from the land.338 Because of these facts
the county commissioners of Clayton County were author-
ized in the act to have the boundaries of the new county sur-
veyed and marked off, the boundaries so established to be
recognized until the government survey should have been
completed. Clayton County was to be reimbursed by Win-
neshiek for the expense incurred.
The territory of Winneshiek County represents several
Indian land cessions. The southeastern portion was ac-
835 See Article XI, section 2, of Constitution of 1857.
336 Approved on February 20, 1847. See Laws of Iowa, 1846-1847, p. 81.
SST By treaty of October 13, 1846.
sss See section 3 of the act.
BOUNDARY HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTIES 113
quired from the Sacs and Foxes by the treaty of July 15,
1830. (See Map I.) The remainder of the county, except
the northwest corner, was acquired from various tribes of
the Sioux by a treaty of the same date. These two cessions
constituted the so-called "Neutral Strip" or "Ground" of
which most of Winneshiek County formed a part. The
eastern part of the "Neutral Strip" was given as a reser-
vation by the United States government to the Winneba-
goes on September 15, 1832. It was ceded back to the gov-
ernment by the same Indians in a treaty signed on October
13, 1846. The county of Winneshiek, with the exception of
a small area in the northwest, formed a part both of the
reservation of 1832 and of the cession of 1846. The north-
west corner of the county was not ceded until 1851 when it
was acquired from the four bands of Santee Sioux by a
treaty dated July 23rd and August 5th. (See Map I.)
Woodbury. — Woodbury County was created under the
name of Wahkaw by an act of the State legislature of
Iowa approved on January 15, 1851.339 Its boundaries as
defined in this act were described as follows : ' ' Beginning
at the north-west corner of township 89 north of range 41
west ; thence west to the middle of the main channel of the
big Sioux river ; thence down in the middle of the main chan-
nel of the said big Sioux river to the middle of the main
channel of the Missouri river; thence down the middle
of the main channel of the Missouri river to the intersec-
tion of township line between townships 85 and 86; thence
east on the line between townships 85 and 86 to the south-
west corner of township 81 north, range 41 west ; thence
north on the line dividing ranges 41 and 42 to the
place of beginning." These boundaries are quoted be-
cause they contain an error in connection with the location
339 Laws of Iowa, 1850-1851, p. 27.
VOL. VII — 8
114 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
of the southeastern corner of the county. Where the act
seeks to have the southern boundary of the county run
' * east on the line between townships 85 and 86 to the south-
west corner of township 81 north, range 41 west" it at-
tempts the impossible. The line should have run, of course,
to the southwest corner of township 86, range 41 west.
"The south-west corner of township 81 north, range 41
west," is in the northeastern part of Harrison County.
As denned above it is impossible to draw the boundaries
of the county on a map. Surrounding counties, however,
gave to Wahkaw its shape on the map of Iowa.340 The
name of the county was changed to Woodbury by an act
approved on January 12, 1853,341 but its boundaries have
never been corrected and remain defective today.342
The soil of Woodbury County was acquired from the
Indians through the treaty of July 15, 1830, upon which
date the Sacs and Foxes, Omahas, lowas, Otoes, Missouris,
and the Medewakanton, Wahpekuta, Wahpeton, and Sis-
seton bands of the Santee Sioux ceded to the United States
all their claims to western Iowa. (See Map I.) The south-
ernmost tier of townships of Woodbury County was within
the limits of the original County of Benton from 1837 to
1843. During the same period the territory comprising the
remainder of Woodbury belonged to the original County
of Buchanan. (See Map II.) The soil of Woodbury Coun-
ty never came within the limits of the temporary County
of Pottawatamie.
Worth.— Created by the act of January 15, 1851,343
340 gee Map XI in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HIS-
TORY AND POLITICS.
341 Laws of Iowa, 1852-1853, p. 28.
342 See Map XVI in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HIS-
TORY AND POLITICS.
343 Laws of Iowa, 1850-1851, p. 27.
BOUNDARY HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTIES 115
Worth County was at first an illegal jurisdiction because it
contained only 408 square miles of territory while the State
Constitution required a minimum area of 432 square
miles.344 The counties of Winnebago, Bancroft, Emmet,
Dickinson, and Osceola, created by the same act were also
undersized. None of them were organized before 1857, in
which year the new Constitution of Iowa went into effect.
This document not only forbade the establishment of any
new county, but even the organization of any old one, with
an area of less than 432 square miles.345 At the same time
the Constitution made an exception in favor of the organ-
ization of Worth and the other counties west of it in the
same tier, the areas of which, according to the act of 1851,
were less than 432 square miles each. In this way the coun-
ty of Worth was given a legal status. Otherwise its bound-
aries have never been altered since it was first established.
The territory of Worth County was ceded to the United
States by the Medewakanton, Wapekuta, Wahpeton, and
Sisseton bands of the Santee Sioux in two treaties dated
respectively on July 23 and August 5, 1851. (See Map I.)
It was also included from 1837 to 1847 within the limits of
the original County of Fayette. (See Map II.)
Wright. — The boundaries of Wright County were de-
fined and the county created by the important act of Jan-
uary 15, 1851.346 Its boundaries have never been altered.
The territory of Wright County represents two Indian
land cessions both of which were made by treaties dated
July 15, 1830. The southern part of the county was ceded
by the Sacs and Foxes ; the northern part by the Medewa-
kanton, Wahpekuta, Wahpeton, and Sisseton bands of the
Santee Sioux. (See Map I.) These two cessions comprised
3*4 See Article XI, section 2, of the Constitution of Iowa, 1846.
346 See Article XI, section 2, of the Constitution of Iowa, 1857.
3*6 Laws of Iowa, 1850-1851, p. 27.
116 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
the well-known district called the "Neutral Ground". The
southern tier of townships of Wright County came within
the limits of the original County of Buchanan from 1837 to
1843. The remainder formed a part of the original County
of Fayette created in 1837 and in existence until 1847. (See
Map II.)
IT. COUNTIES BLOTTED OUT
In addition to the ninety-nine counties to be found in
Iowa today, there are several others which need to be dis-
cussed in order to make our treatment of the boundary his-
tory of Iowa counties complete. A group of six counties
formerly in existence have long since been blotted out.
Seven existing counties were created in temporary form
and fall into a class by themselves. Three others were pro-
posed by the legislature but never really came into exis-
tence.
In the following group are discussed those counties which
have been blotted out.
Bancroft. — The County of Bancroft was established by
the act of January 15, 1851.347 It was located between Em-
met and Winnebago counties, comprising the northern part
of the present County of Kossuth.348 In size it contained
only 408 square miles and was, therefore, like several other
counties in the same tier, an illegal jurisdiction since the
Constitution then in force forbade the erection of any new
county with an area of less than 432 square miles.349
On January 24, 1855, there was approved a law entitled
"An Act to extend the boundaries of Kossuth county, and
to locate the Seat of Justice thereof".350 The effect of this
3*7 Laws of Iowa, 1850-1851, p. 27.
3*8 See Map XI in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HIS-
TORY AND POLITICS.
349 See Article XI, section 2, of the Constitution of Iowa, 1846.
sso Laws of Iowa, 1854-1855, p. 210.
BOUNDARY HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTIES H7
law was to blot out the two counties of Bancroft and Hum-
bolt. The territory of the former was given to Kossuth
County. Thus the county of Bancroft perished after a brief
existence of four years during which time it possessed an il-
legal status. The county was never organized. In 1870
the same territory was erected into a new county called
Crocker which continued in existence only a year and a
half.351
Cook. — This is the name of a former Iowa county no
longer in existence. It was established by an act of the
legislature of the Territory of Wisconsin approved on De-
cember 7, 1836,352 by the terms of which the original County
of Demoine, enlarged by the addition of Keokuk's Eeserve,
was divided into seven new counties, of which Cook was
one. The boundaries of these new counties were described
in peculiar language for reasons explained elsewhere.353
The limits of Cook County were defined in section seven of
the act as follows: "beginning on the Mississippi River, at
the north-east corner of the county of Musquitine; thence
up said river to the south-east corner of the county of Du
Buque ; thence with the line of the said county of Du Buque
to the Indian boundary line ; thence with said line south, to
the north-west corner of the county of Musquitine; thence
east with the said line of the said county of Musquitine to
the beginning".
The county herein described turned out to be one of the
most peculiar ever established in Iowa. Although fifty
miles in length it was less than five miles in width.354 No
doubt the framers of the law were mistaken in distances.
35i See Crocker County below.
332 Laws of the Territory of Wisconsin, 1836-1838, p. 76.
353 See above p. 70.
354 See Map II in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HIS-
TORY AND POLITICS.
118 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
Surely they thought it must be farther from the northeast
corner of Musquitine to the southeast corner of Dubuque
County than it really was, yet there is no doubt that the
dimensions given above are substantially correct.355
A map in the manuscript department of the Library of
the State Historical Society of Wisconsin356 gives to Cook
County a triangular shape by extending the northern bound-
ary of the county northwestward from Bock Island to the
angle in the western boundary of Dubuque County. This
is easily shown to be an error. The northern boundary of
Cook County is made by the words of the act just quoted
to coincide with the southern boundary of Dubuque County,
which, in turn, had been defined in the act of September 6,
1834357 as a line running directly west from Rock Island in
the Mississippi River. The northern line of Cook County
could not, therefore, run northwestward.
On December 21, 1837, an act of the legislature of the
Territory of Wisconsin subdividing the original County of
Dubuque into smaller counties was approved.358 By the
terms of this act the new counties of Johnson and Scott
were allowed to overlap the territories of Cook County.359
A later law, of course, supersedes an earlier one dealing
with the same matters, hence these transfers of territory
from Cook County to Johnson and Scott must be looked
upon as legal, although they may be called indirect, since
Cook County was not named in the act. One cannot tell
from the mere reading of the act that Cook County lost any
sss Compare Hull's Historical and Comparative Census of Iowa, 1836-1880,
p. 391.
sse For a fuller description of this map see the July, 1908, number of THE
IOWA JOURNAL OP HISTORY AND POLITICS, p. 386, note 36.
357 Laws of the Territory of Michigan, Vol. Ill, p. 1326.
sss Laws of the Territory of Wisconsin, 1836-1838, p. 132.
359 See Map III in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HIS-
TORY AND POLITICS.
BOUNDARY HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTIES 119
territory at all. This fact appears only when the attempt is
made to trace the boundaries of the newly created counties
on a map. The territory which Cook County lost to Scott
lay east of the range line dividing ranges one and two, east,
while that lost to Johnson County lay west of the line divid-
ing ranges four and five, west.
After these two losses of territory Cook County contin-
ued in existence less than a month. On January 18, 1838,
there was approved an act 36° of the legislature of the Ter-
ritory of Wisconsin which defined anew, this time in terms
of the United States Survey, the boundaries of the counties
carved from the original County of Demoine by the act of
December 7, 1836. By the terms of this act of 1838, Cook
County in its mutilated form was blotted out, its remaining
territories all going to the new County of Muscatine. It is
incorrect to say, as some have said,361 that Cook County
was blotted out by the act of December 21, 1837. That act
merely diminished its size.
The act of January 18, 1838, created a new county called
Slaughter. This must not be looked upon as Cook County
renamed since it contained no part whatever of the terri-
tory of Cook. It is not accurate to say, either, that Cook
County afterward became Scott County,362 because the two
counties existed side by side for a month, while five-sixths
of the territory of Cook was given, by the acts which blotted
it off the map, not to Scott County, but to Muscatine and
Johnson counties.
Cook County, as originally created, was carved almost
entirely from the Black Hawk Purchase of September 21,
1832, its western end coming within the limits of the Keo-
seo Lows of ihe Territory of Wisconsin, 1836-1838, p. 381.
36i Hull 's Historical and Comparative Census of Iowa, 1836-1880, p. 391,
and Gue's History of Iowa, Vol. Ill, p. 335.
362Gue's History of Iowa, Vol. I, p. 175 note.
120 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
kuk Eeserve, ceded on September 28, 1836. As mentioned
above, Cook County comprised part of the territory of the
original County of Demoine.
Crocker. — The now extinct County of Crocker was erect-
ed in the northern part of the present County of Kossuth363
by an act approved on May 13, 1870.364 Its territory
was coextensive with that of the earlier County of Ban-
croft.365 The organic act provided for the first election,
which was held on August 10, 1870. At this time county
officers were chosen and the county duly organized. The
town of Greenwood was selected as the county-seat. But
the new jurisdiction was not to be long-lived. The Consti-
tution of 1857 required that every new county should have
an area of at least 432 square miles,366 while that of Crocker
County was only 408. The county was clearly illegal. The
matter was not long getting into the courts. Soon a case
was appealed from the court of a Justice of the Peace in
Crocker County to the Circuit Court of Emmet County,
whence in turn it was appealed to the Supreme Court of
Iowa. The constitutionality of the act creating Crocker
County was involved. The Supreme Court, reversing the
decision of the lower court, handed down its decision on
December 11, 1871, to the effect that the law was invalid.367
Crocker County, after a brief career of eighteen months,
ceased to exist, its territory reverting to Kossuth County.
Humbolt. — This county is not to be confused with the
present County of Humboldt.368 The two names do not re-
ses See Map XV in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL or HIS-
TORY AND POLITICS.
36* Laws of Iowa, 1870, p. 239.
ses See Bancroft County above.
see See Article XI, section 2, of the Constitution.
367 Garfield vs. Brayton, 33 Iowa 16.
ses See Humboldt County above.
BOUNDARY HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTIES 121
fer to the same county. Neither was Humboldt the suc-
cessor of Humbolt in the same sense in which Muscatine
was the successor of Musquitine, or Des Moines a continua-
tion of Demoine. A period of two years separates Hum-
boldt County from Humbolt and they must therefore be
considered as two distinct counties.
Humbolt County, the earlier of the two, was established
by the important act of the State legislature approved on
January 15, 1851.369 It was four townships square in size
and contained 576 square miles. Located just south of Kos-
suth County, it included the territory of the present
County of Humboldt as well as the northern tier of town-
ships belonging to the present County of Webster.370 Hum-
bolt County continued on the map for four years, (longer
than any other county now extinct except Bancroft which
had exactly the same lease of life.) Both were blotted out
by an act approved on January 24, 1855.371 By this law the
northern half of the territory of Humbolt was given to Kos-
suth County; the southern half to Webster.372
Risley. — Risley County was established by an act of the
legislature of the State of Iowa approved on January 15,
1851. 373 The new county contained 576 square miles, being
four townships square. It was located just south of Wright
County374 and comprised the territory of the present Coun-
ty of Hamilton.
The name of Eisley was changed to Webster by an act
369 Laws of Iowa, 1851, p. 27.
370 See Map XI in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HIS-
TORY AND POLITICS.
371 Laws of Iowa, 1854-1855, p. 210.
372 See Map XIII in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HIS-
TORY AND POLITICS.
373 Laws of Iowa, 1850-1851, p. 27.
37* See Map XI in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HIS-
TORY AND POLITICS.
122 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
approved on January 12, 1853,375 and which went into force
on January 22, 1853. On the latter date there was also ap-
proved a law entitled "An Act to create the county of Web-
ster".376 This was to be done by uniting the counties of
Yell and Eisley. The act of January 22 was to go into ef-
fect upon publication in the Iowa Star. The writer has
carefully gone through the files of this paper but has failed
to find the act published there at all. It must have gone in-
to effect, therefore, on the first of the following July,377
upon which date there was no Eisley County in existence to
be united with Yell. These facts would seem practically to
nullify the act. The intention of the Fourth General As-
sembly which passed both of these acts probably was to
have the second act supersede the first, and in reality to
give to the new County of Webster the territories of both
Yell and Eisley. Later sessions of the legislature gave
this interpretation to the matter in spite of the difficulties
in the way of doing it pointed out above.
Even though the territory of Eisley County was joined
to that of Yell by the act of January 22, we cannot get
around the fact that the name of Eisley was changed to
Webster by the act of January 12 (which went into force
on January 22). It may be said, therefore, that the County
of Eisley was in existence almost exactly two years.378
Yell. — The boundary history of Yell County has been
covered practically by the discussion just given of Eisley
County. Created by the same act of January 15, 1851,379
Yell County was located just west of Eisley and south of
375 Laws of Iowa, 1852-1853, p. 28.
376 Laws of Iowa, 1852-1853, p. 87.
377 Code of Iowa, 1851, Chapter 3, section 22.
378 gee also the discussion of Webster County above.
of loiva, 1850-1851, p. 27.
BOUNDARY HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTIES 123
Kossuth.380 It was four townships square and contained
576 square miles. It comprised all of the present County
of Webster except its northern tier of townships.
Yell County was blotted out by an act approved on Janu-
ary 22, 1853,381 which probably went into force on the first
of the following July. This act united Yell to Risley in
creating the new County of Webster. Certain problems
raised by this law have been discussed above.382 Facts just
given show that the now extinct County of Yell was in ex-
istence practically two years and a half.
III. TEMPOKAKY COUNTIES
Seven of the ninety-nine counties of Iowa were of extra-
ordinary size when first created. All of them had peculiar
characteristics. Most of them included territory to which
the Indian title had not yet been extinguished. In four
cases no attempt at organization was made in the counties
as first established. In every case the counties were soon
reduced in size, that is to say, were divided up into new
counties to one of which the old name was given. In no
case was the continuity of the existence of a county broken.
For these reasons it seems fitting to denominate these
counties — temporary counties, the name being applied to
the seven counties which follow while they were of unusual
size and possessed a peculiar character. (See Map II.)
Benton. — The temporary County of Benton was erected
by an act of the legislature of the Territory of Wisconsin
approved on December 21, 1837. It extended from the
County of Linn westward to the Missouri. (See Map II.)
It included all of the territory of nine present day counties,
sso See Map XI in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HIS-
TORY AND POLITICS.
381 Laics of Iowa, 1852-1853, p. 87.
382 gee the discussions of Risley and Webster counties above.
124 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
together with part of that of eight others. Practically all
of its soil was still owned by the Indians.
The temporary County of Benton ceased to exist with the
passage of an act of the legislature of the Territory of
Iowa approved on February 17, 1843. By this law the
present counties of Benton and Tama were carved out of
the temporary County of Benton. Nothing was said about
the remainder of its territories. As a temporary county
Benton had an existence of a little over five years.383
Buchanan. — Buchanan County, as a temporary jurisdic-
tion, was also created by the act of December 21, 1837.
Located just north of Benton County, it reached from the
western boundary of Delaware to the Missouri River, in-
cluding within its limits all of two and parts of fifteen other
present day counties, as well as a small area in South Da-
kota. (See Map II.)
The temporary County of Buchanan was reduced in size
by the act of February 17, 1843, by the terms of which, in-
directly at least, the present county of that name, together
with Black Hawk, was carved from its territory. Nothing
more is heard of the temporary county most of which re-
verted to the Indians. The life of the temporary County of
Buchanan was of the same length as that of Benton.384
Demoine. — The temporary County of Demoine was one
of the first two counties established in Iowa. It was erected
by an act of the Legislative Council of the Territory of
Michigan approved on September 6, 1834. It comprised, or
was meant to comprise, that part of the Black Hawk Pur-
chase located south of the parallel of Bock Island. (See
Map II.) Keokuk's Reservation may be considered as hav-
ing been added to Demoine County upon its cession by
383 For a fuller account see Benton County above.
384 For a fuller account see Buchanan County above.
BOUNDARY HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTIES 125
treaty of September 28, 1836. Thus enlarged, the county
included all of four, and portions of seven other counties,
now existing in Iowa. The life of Demoine County as a
temporary jurisdiction ceased with the passage of the act
of December 7, 1836. Its career was brief, scarcely over
two years. The reduced county was given the name Des
Moines.385
Dubuque. — As an over-large and, therefore, temporary
jurisdiction, Dubuque886 County was established during
the period of the Territory of Michigan by the act of Sep-
tember 6, 1834, the same act by which the temporary Coun-
ty of Demoine was erected. It comprised that part of the
Black Hawk Purchase lying north of the parallel of Rock
Island, which made it about twice the size of Demoine
County. Fourteen of the present counties of Iowa were
included in whole, or in part, within its borders — seven of
them entirely so. (See Map II.)
The temporary County of Dubuque was blotted out by
an act of the legislature of the Territory of Wisconsin ap-
proved on December 21, 1837. Its term of existence had
covered three and one-fourth years.387
Fayette. — The temporary County of Fayette was estab-
lished by an act of the legislature of the Territory of Wis-
consin approved on December 21, 1837. This was the largest
of all the temporary counties of Iowa, indeed, it was not
limited to the one State but included a large portion of
Minnesota and of the two Dakotas.388 Its area has been
estimated at upwards of 140,000 square miles,389 only a
ass For a fuller account see Des Moines County, above.
sse Writers frequently spell the name of the temporary county ' ' Du Buque. ' '
It was not so spelled in the act creating the county.
387 For a fuller account see Dubuque County above.
sss See Map IV in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OP HIS-
TORY AND POLITICS.
380 Gue '» History of Iowa, Vol. Ill, p. 344.
126 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
small part of which had been acquired, as yet, from the
Indians. The territory of thirty present day counties was
included in whole or in part within its borders. (See
Map II.)
The largest of the temporary counties of Iowa also had
the longest period of existence. It had endured ten years
when, by the act of February 5, 1847, it may be said to have
been discontinued. By this act their present dimensions
were given to Fayette and Clayton counties, the latter re-
ceiving a small area from the temporary County of Fayette.
Fifteen days later another act was approved carving the
new counties of Winneshiek and Allamakee out of the ter-
ritory of the original County of Fayette. Nothing more
is heard of the temporary county after the County of Fay-
ette was given its present boundaries.390
Keokuk. — The County of Keokuk was established as a
temporary jurisdiction by the act of December 21, 1837, at
the same time that the temporary counties of Benton, Buch-
anan, and Fayette were created. It extended from the
western border of Johnson County to the Missouri River,
and included within its boundaries all of nine and parts of
nine other present day counties of Iowa. Most of its soil
was still Indian territory. (See Map II.)
The temporary County of Keokuk ceased to exist with
the passage of the act of February 17, 1843. This law
carved from its territory the present counties of Iowa
and Poweshiek, and gave portions of it also to the counties
of Mahaska and Keokuk. The County of Washington had
received one square township from the original County of
Keokuk by the act of January 25, 1839. The temporary
County of Keokuk was in existence a little over five years.391
390 For a fuller account see Fayette County above.
391 For a fuller account see Keokuk County above.
BOUNDARY HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTIES 127
Pottawatamie. — The temporary County of Pottawata-
mie392 was erected in the southwestern part of the State by
the act of February 27, 1847. Its territory was coexten-
sive with that of the Pottawattamie reservation of Sep-
tember 26, 1833, and the Pottawattamie cession of June 5
and 17, 1846. It contained 5,000,000 acres, comprising all or
part of the area of fifteen counties of today. (See Map II.)
The original County of Pottawatamie continued in exis-
tence scarcely four years when by the act of January 15,
1851, it was reduced in size, all of its extra territory going
to form numerous new counties named in that act.393
IV. PROPOSED COUNTIES
In the history of the formation of Iowa counties there
are three which fall into a class by themselves, in that they
were only proposed by the legislature and never really es-
tablished. The legislature did its part in each case, but
the people, when called upon to respond, voted down each
proposition.
Some might place the County of Crocker in this same
group, but the writer has chosen rather to consider it as
having been actually established before being blotted out by
the Supreme Court. Its establishment had progressed be-
yond the stage of organization, while the very existence of
the counties named below depended upon a favorable vote
of the people which was not secured.
Belknap. — The Fifteenth General Assembly by an elab-
orate act approved on March 10, 1874, made an attempt to
establish a new county to be called Belknap in the eastern
part of Pottawattamie. The line separating ranges 41 and
42 west, was to divide the two counties. If one were to ex-
tend the line which separates Harrison from Shelby County
392 The name is so spelled in the organic act.
s»3 For a fuller account see Pottawattamie County above.
southward across Pottawattamie it would indicate the line
of division between the proposed counties of Belknap and
Pottawattamie.394 This arrangement gave the former
county 432 square miles and the latter 444, in either case
the constitutional requirement as to size being fulfilled.
But the Constitution of 1857 contains a second require-
ment relative to county boundaries, namely, the provision
that any statute, which has for its purpose the alteration
of the boundaries of any county, must be submitted to the
voters of the counties concerned, at some general election,
and be ratified by a majority of those voting before the
same can become a law.395 In obedience to this provision
of the Constitution, the act of March 10, 1874, was submit-
ted to the people of Pottawattamie County for their deci-
sion. At the general election held on October 13, 1874, the
proposition was rejected by a vote of 1250 for and 1558, or
a majority of 308, against.396 The proposed County of
Belknap was therefore never established.
Grimes. — The story of the proposed County of Grimes is
very similar to that of Belknap. The General Assembly
seems not to have been satisfied by the rejection of its
proposition to establish the latter county and, on March 17,
1876, submitted what was practically the same law again
to the voters of Pottawattamie County. This time, how-
ever, the new county was to be called Grimes. Its size and
location were identical with those of the proposed County
of Belknap. Again the question was submitted to the vot-
ers of Pottawattamie County and again at the general elec-
tion of November 7, 1876, the proposition was voted down,
1848 votes being recorded for and 2651 against it.396
so* See Map XV in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF His-
TOBY AND POLITICS.
395 Article III, section 30, of the Constitution of Iowa.
390 The writer is indebted for these facts to Mr. W. C. Cheyne, Auditor of
Pottawattamie County.
BOUNDARY HISTORY OF IOWA COUNTIES 129
Madison. — In 1844 by an act397 approved on February 15
of that year the legislature of the Territory of Iowa made
an attempt to create out of the southern portion of Lee
County a new county to be called Madison, the boundaries
of which were to coincide with those of the old Half-breed
Tract. All of the boundaries of this tract were described
in detail in section one of the law except the northern
boundary which was mentioned as commonly known but
was not denned. The tract in question had been reserved
for the use of the half-breeds of the Sac and Fox nation by
the treaty of August 4, 1824, in which document the north-
ern boundary of the tract was practically described as be-
ing the northern boundary of Missouri extended eastward
to its intersection with the Mississippi River.398
The area of Lee County is 490 square miles. Such a divis-
ion as indicated above, or indeed any division of Lee, would
have produced two counties smaller than any now to be
found in Iowa. The act proposing the new county made
provision (not, however, because of any constitutional re-
quirement) for the submission of the question of dividing
Lee County to the voters of the same at the election to be
held in April, 1844. At this election the proposition was
voted down and the proposed county was never established.
Two years later the name Madison was given to a new
county established in the south central part of the State.
FKANK HARMON GARVER
MOENINGSIDE COLLEGE
Sioux CITY, IOWA
8»7 Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1843-1844, p. 142.
398 u, 8. Statutes at Large, Vol. VII, p. 229.
VOL. VII — 9
THE LEGISLATIVE EEFERENCE MOVEMENT
During the past decade two pronounced movements have
characterized American Democracy. In the first place,
there has been a determined effort to bring government and
administration nearer to the people. This is true at least
of the forms if not of the substance of our political institu-
tions. The most conspicuous result of this movement has
been the provisions for nominations by direct primaries,
while the initiative and referendum are other illustrations
of the same tendency.
In the second place, the growing complexity of our social,
political, and industrial life has made imperative the organ-
ization of expert boards, bureaus, and commissions in order
to collect and systematize those facts without which intelli-
gent and rational legislation is impossible. In the popular
mind the tendency of late has been to magnify the impor-
tance of the former movement and underestimate the neces-
sity of the latter. Both, under present conditions, seem to
be essential in the evolution of American Democracy and
should, therefore, be wisely directed toward the accomplish-
ment of their common purpose, which is the realization of
efficient popular government.
The establishment of expert boards and commissions has
not been confined to any single phase of our political life
nor to any particular unit of government. Indeed, the
movement has become quite general in city, state, and na-
tion. The existence of tax commissions in a number of our
States is a convincing argument for expert knowledge in
the difficult field of Public Finance. Any well informed
man who is without bias will admit that genuine fiscal re-
form in any American Commonwealth is impossible without
LEGISLATIVE REFERENCE MOVEMENT 133
an efficient non-partisan tax commission. Railroad com-
missions also exist in a majority of our States, and the pow-
ers of these commissions are being enlarged and more spe-
cifically defined. At Washington the Interstate Commerce
Commission, the Bureau of Corporations, the Bureau of
Immigration (in fact the whole Department of Commerce
and Labor) may be added to the list. Moreover, the idea
of a permanent tariff commission has many able and influ-
ential advocates. The recent Public Utility Commissions
of New York and the one in Wisconsin are examples of the
latest and most mature thought in this significant move-
ment for expert knowledge in the administration of public
affairs. Nor should voluntary bodies such as the Bureau
of Municipal Research in New York City be overlooked in
this connection.
It is in the light of this logical and perhaps inevitable
tendency to establish expert bodies that one discovers the
origin and growth of the so-called Legislative Reference
Department ; for it is evident that such a department is not
a separate and distinct institution either in growth or pur-
pose. Besides having had organic correlation with State
libraries and State historical societies in our various
Commonwealths, its growth is but a part of the larger
movement to which we have referred.
Legislative reference work may be defined as that par-
ticular form of scientific research and publication which
makes the materials of State libraries, historical societies,
and allied institutions available, with the minimum of ef-
fort, to the legislator and to the public at large. It involves
first, the collection of current and historical data from
other States, and also from foreign countries, together
with expert evidence from every possible source ; and sec-
ondly, it implies the thorough classification of this material,
or what is far better the preparation of scientific mono-
VOL. VII — 9*
134 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
graphs whereby all the facts, historical, industrial, consti-
tutional, etc., may be made the basis of legislation and
therefore of social progress.
The writer, being personally acquainted with the Wiscon-
sin Legislative Reference Department since its inception
in 1901 and thoroughly appreciating the admirable work
of that Department, has been much impressed with the
desirability of the adoption of its fundamental principles
by other States and more especially by Iowa. Before
preparing this brief statement, an investigation of the facts
was undertaken, and letters, pamphlets, and other data
bearing upon the question under consideration were re-
ceived from practically all of the States. The results of
this investigation may be briefly summarized.
The States in which organized legislative reference work
is being carried on at present are:
Alabama Michigan South Dakota
California Nebraska Virginia
Connecticut New York Wisconsin
Indiana North Dakota
Massachusetts Ehode Island
In most of these States the work has been organized with-
in the past two or three years. Indeed, in six States such
departments were provided for at the legislative session of
1907. Furthermore, it appears that plans are now being
made to enact laws providing for legislative reference
work in Oregon, Maine, Kansas, Kentucky, Ohio, Minne-
sota, Pennsylvania, and Georgia. It is apparent that it is
only a question of a short time when such departments
will be established in a majority of our States. (It should
be particularly noted that the movement is especially pro-
nounced in the States of the Upper Mississippi Valley.)
With legislative reference work already in progress in
North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Michigan, In-
LEGISLATIVE REFERENCE MOVEMENT 135
diana, and Nebraska, and with Minnesota and Kansas pre-
paring to enter the list, Iowa will be quite alone unless defi-
nite steps are soon taken to provide for this simple and
inexpensive method of securing rational and at the same
time progressive legislation.
The question naturally arises, where and when did the
legislative reference movement originate? As with so
many other movements, it is not possible to secure data as
to the absolute origin of this work. It has been a growth,
the beginnings of which are not easy to find. A very im-
portant step was taken by the State Library of New York
in 1891 when Melvil Dewey began the publication of Bulle-
tins on State Legislation. Excellent work has been done
by the New York Library ; yet as late as 1903 the statement
is made in one of their own bulletins that "As yet, however,
little more than a beginning has been made toward proper
organization of the resources of the library for this pur-
pose."
Just ten years after the work was commenced in New
York by Mr. Dewey, the Wisconsin legislature made the
modest appropriation of $1500 for reference work. The
Department was placed in the hands of Dr. Charles Mc-
Carthy, under whose efficient management it has expe-
rienced a remarkable development. In Wisconsin the Leg-
islative Reference Department is now recognized as a ne-
cessity. The letters received from Wisconsin State Sena-
tors and other high officials afford eloquent testimony of
the usefulness of legislative reference work in the State
where it has attained its highest development. The rapidity
with which the general movement has grown during the
last five years has in no small degree been due to the ef-
forts of Dr. McCarthy.
If it is true that one can not fix any definite date for the
beginnings of legislative reference work, the reason seems
136 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
to be that, in theory at least, the State Library itself has in
a sense always been a legislative reference department.
Furthermore, it may justly be affirmed that the various
State libraries and the State historical societies do in a
measure exist for the purpose of collecting and publishing
materials useful in legislation. The State Librarian of
Massachusetts writes that "this State Library is organ-
ized, as I believe all State libraries should be, as a legis-
lative reference department."
But often times theory is one thing and practice quite
another. And so, while State libraries and State histor-
ical societies should from the nature of things perform this
high office, the truth is that such institutions quite generally
contain merely so much latent material from the standpoint
of practical legislation. How to make this material avail-
able to the legislator has come to be recognized as an im-
portant problem during the past decade. The Legislative
Eeference Librarian has a necessary part in this work. But
the task can not be performed by him alone. The State
Library and the State Historical Society should direct a
part of their energies toward the realization of the same
end.
It follows from these observations that legislative refer-
ence work should not form a separate and distinct institu-
tion but should be organically correlated with the work of
the State Library or the State Historical Society or with
both. In Wisconsin legislative reference work is, nominally
at least, under the Wisconsin Free Library Commission.
In Nebraska and South Dakota it is officially connected
with the State Historical Society. In Alabama it is treated
as a function of the Department of Archives and History.
And in Indiana it is a department of the State Library.
Be the official connections what they may, the fact is that
all of the institutions mentioned are or ought to be one in
LEGISLATIVE REFERENCE MOVEMENT 137
purpose. Only in this way can duplication of material and
official staff be avoided and the State be given the maximum
of expert service at the minimum of cost.
The history of legislative reference work in the Ameri-
can States may be divided into three distinct periods. The
first period is that in which State historical societies and
State libraries perform their duties in a perfunctory man-
ner as regards practical legislation (the writer does not
refer to State law libraries). Their collections represent
so much dead material save to the trained student of re-
search. Legislative reference work is done only in theory.
Not more than one-third of the States have gone beyond
this stage.
The second period is illustrated by the States that have
organized Legislative Eeference Departments as quasi dis-
tinct institutions in which the ordinary library rules of
arranging and cataloging material are not used. Under
this plan there is necessarily much duplication of material,
official force, and expense. All the States that at present
do reference work, with the possible exception of New York
and Massachusetts, belong in this class. That much excel-
lent and useful work has been accomplished in these States
in this way, no well-informed person will deny. The only
criticism found in the letters I have received may be at-
tributed to that over-enthusiasm which often results by
divorcing such an institution too much from the solid facts
of history.
If the legislature is to pass sound and at the same time
progressive measures — laws that will work and stick —
it is quite as essential to survey the historical background
of our State as it is to collect and tabulate the frequently
ill-digested laws of neighboring States. There is nothing
which prevents ultra-radical action and doctrinaire views
from becoming the basis of legislation like a careful and
138 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
thorough appeal to the facts of history. This is in my opin-
ion the one weak point in the legislative reference move-
ment as it has thus far developed in the American States.
Thus far Legislative Reference Departments have been to
a large extent bureaus merely for the collection and organi-
zation of current material. They have not given enough
attention to the far more important problem of scholarly
historical research and publication. It is this more than
anything else that is now needed to give ballast and dignity
to the movement — especially when one reflects that in
these later days it is quite as essential to safe-guard legiti-
mate business as it is to protect the so-called interests of
the public.
The third period may be characterized as that in which
the State Library, the State Historical Society, and legis-
lative reference work are so correlated, or at least so ad-
ministered, as to effectively cooperate in the purpose and
effort of sound legislation. The New York State Library
is perhaps the nearest approach to this ideal. Under the
cooperation suggested all State institutions would in fact,
if not in organization, form one great bureau of research
and publication in which materials and efforts are not du-
plicated. The Legislative Eeference Expert is a neces-
sary part of such a bureau; and in my judgment his func-
tions should be as follows :
1. To collect current laws and other data necessary for
preparing the last chapters in a long series of historical
monographs. In this way his services are indispensable to
the State Library and the State Historical Society.
2. To act as a medium between the legislature and
trained research work everywhere in the State and along
all lines which in any way touch legislation.
3. To aid legislators in finding material. If this mate-
rial has not been worked over and carefully written up by
LEGISLATIVE REFERENCE MOVEMENT 139
a competent research man, it is the business of the Refer-
ence Expert to see that it is at least arranged in a man-
ner so that it may be easily studied.
4. The Legislative Eeference Expert should be a me-
dium between the legislature and the best expert evi-
dence wherever such evidence may be found. He should
see that all interests are represented. In this connection
he should not be a so-called "lobbyist of the people". He
should represent the public at large and not any particular
class or institution. This function is well illustrated by
the method of passing the Wisconsin Public Utility Law,
concerning which Hon. M. S. Dudgeon of Wisconsin said:
"A somewhat unique situation thus developed. Here were
legislators, experienced draftsmen, eminent economists of
the University, high priced legal counsel and experts rep-
resenting special interests affected, state and city officials,
as well as public spirited lawyers and other citizens inter-
ested in behalf of the public, all centering their efforts and
contributing their best thought toward the forming of a
single law. That such a situation developed was in a large
degree due to the legislative reference department."
5. The Legislative Eeference Expert should not be
an agitator or propagandist. He should in every legitimate
way be a servant of the people's representatives, but in no
case should he aspire to be a legislator. Nor should he be
directly engaged in the framing of bills, a function which
properly belongs to the legislature itself or to experts ap-
pointed by it and therefore directly under its authority as
in New York. In this way there can be no possible danger
of usurping power which can be safely trusted only to the
chosen representatives of the people. Says C. B. Lister of
the New York State Library : " In New York the bill draft-
ing work is done through an entirely separate organization
under the direct control of the Legislature. This bill draft-
140 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
ing feature has been prominent in the work of the western
departments and has always proved very popular. It is,
however, something which I personally think should be un-
der the control of the legislature and in hands different
from those controlling the reference work, but the two
should be carried on in the very closest connection in order
that the one may supplement the other."
In conclusion it is hardly necessary to state the self-
evident fact that legislative reference work should be
strictly non-partisan, and that the office of Legislative Ref-
erence Expert should not be a political one. The Expert
should be appointed on the basis of merit only; he
should be a trained student of history, economics, and po-
litical science; and he must necessarily be a good "mixer",
a man of tact and sound judgment.
Legislative reference work thus organized is universally
recognized to be a necessity in the States where it has been
established. It is considered to be a sine qua non of well
conceived legislation. The writer is convinced that the
average American legislator of to-day has both the honesty
and the ability to enact wise laws after he is in full posses-
sion of the facts. Too much has been said of late from
Chautauqua platforms and elsewhere in way of crimination
and recrimination on this point. The sphere of legislative
reference work is to furnish facts — the legislator himself
not only can but should be trusted in the actual work of
law making.
Is it too much to hope that the State of Iowa will organize
legislative reference work along the lines described as rep-
resenting the third stage in the development of this kind
of work? Mr. Johnson Brigham of the State Library has
investigated the problem and is thoroughly familiar and in
sympathy with the importance of such work; and as re-
gards reference materials a substantial foundation has al-
LEGISLATIVE REFERENCE MOVEMENT 141
ready been laid in our State Library. On the other hand,
as regards scientific research in the field of the historical,
political, and economic conditions of our Commonwealth,
it appears that The State Historical Society of Iowa, under
the direction of its Superintendent, Professor Benj. F.
Shambaugh, has not only outlined and directed such inves-
tigations but has already taken up the work of publication.
It should also be noted that the Thirty-second General
Assembly went on record as endorsing the value of legisla-
tive reference work when it appropriated $2,000 (for the
biennium) for the salary of a "legislative reference and
general assistant" in the State Library.
A good beginning having already been made in our State,
the problem of providing for legislative reference work
with a competent Legislative Reference Expert ought to
be comparatively simple. If our State Library, State
Historical Society, and allied institutions are made one in
purpose they will in fact all together constitute a Greater
Legislative Reference Bureau engaged in collection, re-
search, and publication, doing all the things which legis-
lative reference departments in neighboring States are en-
deavoring to accomplish. In this way through correlation
and concentration of effort the State can receive the maxi-
mum of expert service at the minimum of cost and be af-
forded an institution based on the solid foundation of his-
torical facts. Such an institution will, in a very real sense,
be the means of rational progress — a progress not tem-
pered too much by reaction.
JOHN E. BEINDLEY
IOWA STATE COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE
AND MECHANIC ARTS
AMES
SOME PUBLICATIONS
Stephen A, Douglas: A study in American Politics. By ALLEN
JOHNSON. New York: The Maemillan Company. 1908. Pp.
ix, 503.
Three " books" entitled "The Call of the West," "The Doctrine
of Popular Sovereignty," and "The Impending Crisis" make up
the contents of this volume which is an "interpretation of a per-
sonality whose life spans the controversial epoch before the Civil
War."
In the first book of seven chapters Professor Johnson creates his
hero, sketching his ancestry, birth, youth, education, and his mar-
riage, with distinctness and accuracy. At Jacksonville, Illinois,
young Douglas made his entrance into the profession of law and
its handmaid, politics. The legislature, the United States Land
Office, and participation in the State and National campaigns of
1840 were some of the formative influences in his growing power
of leadership.
But for the intricate problems of law the young political leader
developed neither inclination nor capacity, and as a soldier of po-
litical fortune he was acquiring neither judicial poise nor gravity.
After a term in the office of Secretary of State of Illinois he next
gained, at the age of twenty-seven, a seat upon the Supreme Bench,
where, in spite of his slender legal equipment, justice seems to have
been faithfully administered. At the age of thirty through for-
tune and friends, political generalship and the gerrymander, the
young judge entered Congress as a Democratic Representative
from Illinois.
Under the aegis of Jackson, Douglas began his Congressional
career and was soon able to demonstrate his intellectual power.
With perfervid eloquence he pleaded for the remission of the fine
imposed on Jackson many years before; the improvement of the
Illinois River he urged as a National undertaking; in the annexa-
SOME PUBLICATIONS 143
tion of Texas he secured the application of the Wilmot Proviso;
and the prospect of forfeiting the Oregon Country stirred the bel-
ligerent blood of Douglas and elicited a defense containing much
rhetoric but also a "substratum of good sense and the elements of
a true prophecy."
With the annexation of Texas Congress also annexed a war.
Against John Quincy Adams, Douglas took up the defense of Presi-
dent Polk and the War with Mexico. Again this defense was re-
newed when he was elected to the Senate in 1847. But among his
many excellencies Douglas exhibited many glaring defects. "From
first to last he was an attorney, making the best possible defense
of his client. Nothing could excel his adroit selection of evidence,
and his disposition and massing of telling testimony. ... It
goes without saying that Douglas's mental attitude was the oppo-
site of the scientific and historic spirit. Having a proposition to
establish, he cared only for pertinent evidence. He rarely in-
quired into the character of the authorities from which he culled
his data."
Until 1845 the career of Douglas was a process of adjustment to
the growth, migration, and increase of his Illinois constituency; to
the expanding commercial ambition of Illinois, which rose to Na-
tional greatness in the Illinois Central Railroad Bill; to the Com-
promises of 1850 for all of which but one he voted, and finally to
the presidential games of 1848 and 1852. Ambition and a buoyant
optimism for the future of America permeated his foreign policy
toward Europe and Central America, increasing both his power of
leadership and the number of his followers.
The climax of Douglas's legislative career is, of course, in the
Kansas-Nebraska Act. "The tap-root from which squatter sov-
ereignty grew and flourished", says the author, "was the instinc-
tive attachment of the Western American to local self-government. ' '
The legislative history of this act is sketched in a clear and log-
ical manner which makes the chapter devoted to it perhaps the
most interesting of the volume.
Despite common belief and the verdict of many historians, Pro-
fessor Johnson declares that there is ample evidence that the
144 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
Senator from Illinois had no wish or intent to repeal the Missouri
Compromise with a view to opening up the Nebraska Country to
slavery. The area of slavery he believed definitely circumscribed
by Nature. "The regrettable aspect of Douglas's course", com-
ments the author, "is his attempt to nullify the Missouri Com-
promise by subtle indirection. This was the device of a shifty
politician, trying to avert suspicion and public alarm by clever
ambiguities. ' '
Senator Douglas's closing argument on the Kansas-Nebraska
Bill on March 3, 1854, stimulates the admiration of the author.
It exhibited the magnificent fighting qualities of Douglas, his self-
reliance and his power of rebuttal against a magnificent array of
oratorical and dialectic talent. It was in this speech that Douglas
rechristened the term "squatter sovereignty" with the more digni-
fied name of "popular sovereignty" and also provided it with an
historical pedigree.
Chapter thirteen is a critical and discriminating treatment of
' ' The Testing of Popular Sovereignty. ' ' The effect of the doctrine
in Kansas is reviewed, the reflex action of "Bleeding Kansas" in
Congress is portrayed and its bearing upon the presidential elec-
tion of 1856 is discussed. ' ' The political complexion of Illinois had
changed", remarks the author at the close of this chapter. "It
behooved the senior senator to take notice."
Standing sponsor for justice to "Bleeding Kansas" Douglas led
a revolt when Buchanan's administration embraced the Lecomp-
ton constitution. An overwhelming defeat of this constitution was
followed by the Supreme Court's action countenancing the view
that Kansas was legally a slave Territory. What, then, became of
the great principle of popular sovereignty? This was the question
which Douglas was now called upon by Abraham Lincoln to
answer.
Fifty years ago, explains Professor Johnson, it was Douglas
and not Lincoln who was the cynosure of all observing eyes. The
latter was a lawyer of recognized ability, a seasoned politician and
a man of integrity, frankly aspiring for National honors. The
campaign which saw the Lincoln-Douglas debates just a half cen-
SOME PUBLICATIONS 145
tury ago is graphically described. From Ottawa to Alton the
reader is made to see the eager throngs that attended the debates;
the spirit and atmosphere of the discussions are again revived and
the reader is again enabled to listen to the arguments, the person-
alities, and the mutual blows of the rival candidates debating the
great question of the hour.
During this campaign (in 1858) Douglas made one hundred and
thirty speeches. He drew upon resources which Lincoln could not
command; the Illinois Central Eailroad was friendly to him; un-
doubtedly he spent thousands of dollars from his own purse, and
the constant companionship of Mrs. Douglas, whose tact and beauty
placated feelings which had been ruffled by the opponent of Lin-
coln, was not the least of his campaign assets. When Douglas was
reflected over Lincoln it was said, ''Let the voice of the people
rule. ' ' But, asks the author, had the will of the people ruled ?
A chapter of critical discussion of Lincoln's and Douglas's views
on slavery follows the narrative of their debates. The discussion
on the campaign of 1860 is followed by a chapter entitled, "The
Merging of the Partisan in the Patriot". In the strained rela-
tions between North and South Douglas put himself unreservedly
at the service of the party of compromise. Secession he denounced
as "wrong, unlawful, unconstitutional, and criminal;" he became
the close and trusted adviser of his lifelong rival — the President;
to Lincoln's proclamation calling for 75,000 volunteers he objected
because it did not call for 125,000 more; in his bodily sickness he
could not forget the ills of his country and his dying words to his
sons were that they should obey the laws and support the Constitu-
tion of the United States.
A fuller discussion would be expected of Douglas's interest in
and attitude toward the public domain aside from the questions of
slavery extension over it. When it is remembered that both in the
House and later in the Senate he was Chairman of the Committee
on Territories and reported the bills for the admission of Texas,
Iowa, Florida, and Wisconsin, his work in State-building and legis-
lation becomes fundamental in western expansion. Greater em-
phasis, too, might have been placed on his work for internal im-
VOL. VII — 10
146 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
provements — for river and harbor bills, for railroad land grants,
and for commercial routes to the west. Thirteen pages of index
add to the value of the work.
Scholarship and accuracy are stamped on every page of the book.
Footnote authorities on nearly every page show the critical and
painstaking work by which a vast field of letters, documents,
speeches, newspapers, and reminiscences have been made to do serv-
ice in the preparation of this biography. In a spirit of fairness,
praise and blame have been given by the author when due, while
his deductions are both logical and illuminating.
Professor Johnson's style, which is epigrammatic, incisive, and
interesting, invests his work with a readableness far above that
of the average biography. The lay reader as well as the student
and the historian can read with profit and delight this volume,
which, besides being a new side-light upon the history of the ante-
bellum period, is also a new interpretation of the man generally
pointed out as the opponent of Abraham Lincoln.
Louis PELZER
THE STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF IOWA
IOWA CITY
The Settlement of Illinois from 1830 to 1850. By WILLIAM VIPOND
POOLEY. Madison : The University of Wisconsin. 1908. Pp.
309. Maps.
This monograph, written as a doctor's dissertation and published
as a Bulletin of the University of Wisconsin, is a detailed study of
the various settlements which sprang up and developed or died out
again in the two decades following 1830. The author classes this
as the third period of settlement, its general defining limits being
the opening of steam navigation on the Great Lakes and the open-
ing of railroads across the prairies.
By way of a running start, Mr. Pooley goes back to the settle-
ment of Illinois prior to 1830 and then passes to a discussion of
the causes for the settlement of Illinois. He divides these into gen-
eral causes, affecting the entire Nation, and special causes, affecting
different localities in varying times and manners. This chapter, in-
SOME PUBLICATIONS 147
deed, resolves itself into a treatment of general and local causes of
migration to the West, resulting in the peopling of Illinois and of
other commonwealths in the Upper Mississippi Valley. The final
one of these preliminary chapters deals with the routes of travel
to the West, and gives numerous facts and statistics regarding
overland and waterway transportation. These two subjects of
migration causes and migration routes are of such large propor-
tions that greater success in treatment would perhaps have re-
sulted from a more careful attention to general principles rather
than to individual details. Illinois, largely because of its great
extent north and south and because of its location on water routes
of such importance as the Ohio and Mississippi rivers and Lake
Michigan, drew within its borders a population that came from all
parts of the Nation. The southern and western portions received
continual additions from Kentucky and Tennessee, from Vir-
ginia and the Carolinas and all the middle East that used the
Ohio River as a transportation route. The north was peopled to
a large extent by way of the Great Lakes. A third general tide
of migration came directly west overland from the States of In-
diana and Ohio.
The five middle chapters of the monograph present the growth
of settlements in different sections or localities of the State, name-
ly : the Illinois and the Fox River Valleys ; the Military Tract, ex-
tending along the Mississippi from the mouth of the Illinois to
nearly the mouth of the Rock River; the Rock River Valley;
Eastern Illinois; the Lead Region in the vicinity of Galena; and
the city of Chicago. The sources of information regarding this
growth include county histories, emigrant guides, books of travel,
official reports and statistics, and local newspapers. Infinite de-
tails crowd these chapters. Statistics of growth, accounts of
booms and bubbles, and descriptions of the dress, the habits and
the industries of the people who settled the hundreds of early
Illinois towns give an illuminating idea of pioneer life. There is
generalization also, though not to the extent that one might wish.
The relation of the early hunter-pioneer to the subsequent farmer-
pioneer, the immigration, the intermixing and the relative propor-
148 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
tions of the southerners and the Yankees, the preference for tim-
ber land rather than the plains, receive consideration and are
worthy of still greater emphasis.
Among the potent factors affecting settlement, changing its
channels, and retarding or accelerating its growth were the Black
Hawk War in 1832, which drove back the advancing hunter-
pioneers into the southern part of the State and left a freer field
for the farmer migration from the Great Lakes, the financial tribu-
lations that were prevalent during the late thirties and early for-
ties, and the development of the various means and routes of trans-
portation.
The last five chapters of the work are devoted to four special
topics and a resume of the two decades. One deals with the for-
eign elements in the population of the State, another treats briefly
of the Mormons in Illinois. The history of the sojourn of these
people in Hancock County is not typical of the early settlements,
but their short-lived prosperity and final ignominious departure
form a striking incident in a movement that is of no mean im-
portance in the story of the transcontinental migration. Com-
munistic settlements receive attention in a third chapter. The
most notable of these were two communities of followers of Fourier
in Bureau and Sangamon counties, the Bishop Hill settlement of
Swedish Jansonists, and an Icarian colony founded by M. Etienne
Cabet, on the abandoned site of the Mormon city of Nauvoo. These
communities, though sharing the fate of most communistic at-
tempts, did not arouse the hostility of the neighboring settlers as
had the Mormon colony.
The two decades under consideration were gradually bringing
the settlers to a realization of the possibilities of the open prairies
and a chapter is appropriately given to the treatment of the
prairie pioneer. The first settlers clung to the timber lands along
the streams and looked upon the treeless plains as waste land.
The influence that wrought most effectively for the peopling of
these rich prairies with farmer-pioneers, was the advent of the
railroads that crossed the State and afforded a communication,
the lack of which had so appalled the cautious dweller by the
SOME PUBLICATIONS 149
riverside. Then at last "he swung clear of the timber and built
his cabin on the open prairie." The concluding chapter is a short
summary of the facts concerning the growth of population and
settlements.
The work contains a vast amount of valuable information and
where the writer has drawn conclusions they are well founded.
He has assiduously gathered material from a wide range of sources.
In the multiplicity of details, however, the reader is apt to lose
his bearings and find himself wandering somewhat aimlessly among
the statistics of population and products. More frequent generali-
zation, and more careful synthesis and arrangement of facts within
the chapters would have largely remedied this objectionable feature.
The arrangement of chapters is good. The writer confines himself
very strictly to the development of localities. This system has its
merits, but a treatment of the general relations of the State of Illi-
nois to its constituent points of settlement, a fuller presentation
of the land laws then in operation and other similar topics might
well have been introduced.
The list of authorities appended to the monograph is extensive
and classified as to nature. It is a matter of some wonder to the
reviewer that manuscript collections and the official records of the
State of Illinois were not more often referred to. A very full table
of contents is given, but the volume is seriously marred by the ab-
sence of an index. The work, however, is one of undoubted value
not only to the history of Illinois but to the history of the Missis-
sippi Valley and to an understanding of the movement of western
migration. JOHN CARL PARISH
AMERICANA
GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS
The concluding installment of The Oeronimo Campaign, by H.
W. Daly; Captain Crawford's Last Expedition, by Lieutenant W.
E. Shipp; and Right of Trial of Soldiers in the Philippines, by
150 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
Lieutenants Rhees Jackson and Ronald E. Fisher, may be noted as
articles of particular interest in the October number of the Journal
of the United States Cavalry Association.
The second volume of Professor Edward Channing's excellent
History of the United States has appeared, and volume three is
in preparation.
Two interesting pamphlets recently published by the American
Branch of the Association for International Conciliation are: The
Approach of the Two Americas, by Ambassador Joaquim Nabuco,
of Brazil; and The United States and Canada, by J. S. Willison,
of Toronto.
Regulation of the Liquor Traffic is the topic of discussion in the
November number of The Annals of the American Academy of Po-
litical and Social Science. There are a number of brief articles
dealing with the question in all its various aspects, legal, moral,
political and economic.
The close relation which exists between a period's literature and
its history is clearly pointed out by P. Hume Brown in an article
on Literature and History in The Scottish Historical Review for
October. Another noteworthy article is one by Theodora Keith on
Scottish Trade with the Plantations Before 1707.
The Theory of a Pleading, by Clarke Butler Whittier, is the
opening article in the November number of the Columbia Law Re-
view. Other articles are : The New American Code of Legal Eth-
ics, by Simeon E. Baldwin; Aristotle on Legal Redress, by Paul
Vinogradoff; and The Proper Use of the Writ of Injunction — •
from the Standpoint of Legal History, by Frederick W. Stevens.
The Report of the Fourteenth Annual Meeting of the Lake Mo-
honk Conference on International Arbitration contains a full ac-
count of the proceedings of the conference which was held at the
home of Mr. Albert K. Smiley in May, 1908. A feature of the con-
ference was the emphasis placed upon the part which business men
college men, editors and clergymen should play in promoting in-
ternational arbitration.
SOME PUBLICATIONS 151
Several articles of interest to the student of political and social
science are to be found in The South Atlantic Quarterly for Oc-
tober. William P. Few discusses Education and Citizenship in a
Democracy; under the heading, The Passing of Two Great Ameri-
cans, Edwin Minis writes appreciations of Grover Cleveland and
Joel Chandler Harris ; and other articles are : Robert E. Lee Once
More, by Charles F. Smith; Governor Hughes: A New Type of
Executive, by William H. Glasson; and Hull House, Chicago, by
William Ludlow Chenery.
The tradition of Betsey Ross and the flag, like many other
legends of early American history, has no real basis or proof, as is
shown by John H. Fow in a recent book bearing the title, The
True Story of the American Flag. The author has made a careful
search and finds absolutely no evidence in support of the story
that the first American flag was designed and made by Betsey Ross,
although he does not deny that she might have made the flag merely
as a seamstress under direction of the committee of the Congress.
It is to be regretted that a study so carefully made is printed and
bound in a style more suitable to a child's story-book than to a se-
rious historical treatise.
The November number of the American Historical Magazine
opens with a second installment of The Origin of the Book of Mor-
mon, written by Brigham H. Roberts in reply to Theodore Schroe-
der. Washington's Army in Lowantica Valley, Morris County,
New Jersey, by Andrew M. Sherman, is an account of the quarters
occupied by Washington's army during the winter of 1776-1777.
A brief article by Corra Bacon-Foster, entitled Social Amenities
in Early Washington Society, gives the reader a glimpse into social
life at the national capital during the administration of Thomas
Jefferson. Heroes of the Battle of Point Pleasant, by Delia Mc-
Culloch, is another interesting contribution to this number of the
Magazine.
In an article on The Chief Questions of Present American Poli-
tics, in the September number of the Political Science Quarterly,
John W. Burgess presents a clear-cut discussion of the great issues
152 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
which now confront the American nation, both as to foreign and
internal policies. G. G. Groat writes on The Courts' View of In-
junction in Labor Disputes; and in telling of The Needs of the
Railroads, Logan G. McPherson treats of the railroad question
from a standpoint somewhat different from that taken by most
writers in these days of popular feeling against the railroad. The
Crisis and Panic of 1907, by Joseph F. Johnson, is a study of the
causes and conditions which made the crisis and panic inevitable.
The fourth number of the second volume of The Journal of
American History appears in a cover of purple and gold designed
to be symbolic of the brotherhood of nations. Among the contents
are : First Draft of a Constitution for the United Nations of the
World, by William Osborne McDowell; Journal of the "Great
Voyage" from Philippines to America, by William Henry Wallace,
in which are given extracts from the diary of an Italian named
Careri who made a voyage around the world in 1697 ; Investigation
into the Justice of the Mexican War, by Charles H. Owen, who de-
fends the course adopted by the United States ; and Memoirs of an
American Plainsman, by Gilbert L. Cole, in which are told the
experiences of a pioneer who crossed the plains from Michigan to
Nebraska in 1852. Many other interesting things may be found
in spite of the apparent lack of systematic arrangement of mate-
rial. There is an attempt at an index, but it would be of little as-
sistance to the student looking for details.
Constitution making in America is given special emphasis in the
November number of The American Political Science Review. In
an article on The Federal Constitution and the Defects of the Con-
federation, by Max Farrand, it is shown that the framers of the
Constitution realized that there were defects in the Articles of Con-
federation, "that the convention was called for the purpose of cor-
recting those specific defects, and that the Constitution embodied
in itself little more than the remedies for those defects." The
First State Constitutional Conventions, 1776-1783, by W. F. Dodd,
is a discussion of the part played by the people in framing the
early State Constitutions, and the origin of the distinction between
SOME PUBLICATIONS 153
the constitution and statutory enactments. In addition to these
two articles on closely related subjects there is a discussion of
Amendments in House of Commons Procedure Since 1881, by Ed-
ward Porritt; and Margaret A. Shaffner's Notes on Current Leg-
islation, which as usual is full of valuable information. The Au-
gust number of the Review was omitted in order that in the future
the volume may correspond to the calendar year.
WESTERN
The Culture of the Luiseno Indians, by Philip Stedman Spark-
man, is a recent number of the University of California Publica-
tions in American Archaeology and Ethnology.
A Bulletin of the Geological Society of America published in Oc-
tober contains a paper on the Nebraska "Loess Man", read before
the Society in December, 1907, by Professor Bohumil Shimek of
The State University of Iowa.
The histories of two Mississippi Valley States have recently been
afforded places in the American Commonwealth Series. Dr. Reu-
ben Gold Thwaites is the author of a volume on Wisconsin, while
the history of Minnesota is written by Professor W. W. Folwell.
The Conquest of the Great Northwest, by Agnes C. Laut, is a re-
cent work in two volumes dealing with the history of the Hudson
Bay Company and the experiences of its agents in the northwest.
The work is illustrated by reproductions of old documents, por-
traits, paintings, and maps, and is written in a very readable style.
Volume two part one of the Anthropological Papers of the Amer-
ican Museum of Natural History is a monograph on the Mythology
of the Blackfoot Indians, by Clark Wissler and D. C. Duvall. The
various legends here translated from the Indian tongue are grouped
under five headings : Tales of the Old Man, Star Myths, Ritualis-
tic Origins, Cultural and Other Origins, and Miscellaneous Tales.
In the July-August number of the Records of the Past there are
to be found several interesting western items of an archaeological
and ethnological nature. Robert F. Gilder tells of Indian Sites
154 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
Near Frederick, Wyo.; George Frederick Wright contributes ar-
ticles on The Latest Concerning Prehistoric Man in California, and
on Fort Ancient in Ohio; and Richard Herrmann discusses A Prob-
able Origin of the Custom of Mound-Building. Among the articles
in the September-October number, those of special interest to
archaeologists in the Mississippi Valley are : A New Serpent Mound
in Ohio and Its Significance, by George Frederick Wright; Relics
of the Past in Minnesota, by Anthon F. Gesner; and Preservation
of the Man Mound, Wisconsin.
A four volume work entitled Minnesota In Three Centuries was
distributed to its subscribers in November. The general supervi-
sion of this work has been in the hands of a board of editors, con-
sisting of Warren Upham, Lucius F. Hubbard, James H. Baker,
and William P. Murray. Mr. Upham is the author of the first
volume, which, after introductory chapters on the geography, geolo-
gy, flora and fauna, and the climate, comprises the history of ex-
plorations in the Minnesota country. The second volume, written
by Return I. Holcombe, begins with the establishment of Fort
Snelling in 1820, and extends to the admission of Minnesota into
the Union in 1858. General Hubbard and Mr. Holcombe, in the
third volume, tell of the Indian outbreak, the Civil War, and the
progress of the State down to 1870. The fourth volume, by Frank
R. Holmes, continues the history to the present time, and also con-
tains chapters on the industries and resources of Minnesota, with
a general index to the four volumes. The entire work comprises
nearly two thousand pages, and has many portraits and illustra-
tions.
IOWANA
A special edition of the student paper, Scarlet and Black, issued
on December 2, contains a brief history of Iowa College at Grinnell.
The Masonic Bulletin is a new Iowa publication which made its
appearance in October. It is printed at Des Moines and contains
much of interest to Iowa Masons.
On Tuesday, September 8, during the special session of the Gen-
eral Assembly of Iowa, memorial exercises in honor of the late
SOME PUBLICATIONS 155
Senator Allison were held in the hall of the House of Representa-
tives. A full account of the proceedings has been printed in a
pamphlet issued from the office of the State Printer.
In the Year Book of the Iowa Federation of Women's Clubs for
1908-1909 it is shown that there are in the Iowa federation three
hundred and sixty-four clubs, having a total membership of thir-
teen thousand three hundred and five.
J. E. Conner, United States Consul at Saigon, is the writer of a
brief article entitled In the Oriental Tropics, in the October num-
ber of The Iowa Alumnus. In the November number there are
short biographical sketches of Judge W. D. Evans and Lieutenant
Governor George W. Clarke, by 0. A. Byington and John B. White
respectively.
The first volume of the Roster and Record of Iowa Soldiers in the
War of the Rebellion has appeared. This valuable compilation,
which will consist of eight large volumes, is being published by
authority of the General Assembly, under the direction of Adjutant
General Wm. H. Thrift. The first volume includes the roster and
records of the first eight regiments of Iowa Infantry.
Among the contributions to the October number of the Journal
of History published by the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter Day Saints are: Brief Glimpses into a Century of the
Past, by M. Walker; Character Sketch of Lucy Mack Smith, by
Vida E. Smith; a biographical sketch of Edward Partridge, by H.
H. Smith; and a continuation of the Autobiography of Charles
Derry.
Pioneers of Polk County, Iowa and Reminiscences of Early Days,
by L. F. Andrews, is a splendid item of lowana recently distributed.
The work is in two volumes, and consists, as the title indicates, of
sketches of the leading pioneers of Polk County, written by a man
who has a personal knowledge of them all. Each sketch is accom-
panied by a portrait. As a specimen of the bookmaker's art, as
well as in content, this work is of a high order. Excellent paper,
clear print, and good binding combine to make the volumes unusu-
156 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
ally attractive. To Lowell Chamberlain, whose "generosity and
public spirit" made possible the publication in such excellent form,
the work is dedicated by the author.
On the occasion of the fifth biennial convention of the Modern
Brotherhood of America held at Davenport in October, the Com-
mercial Club of that city issued an attractive souvenir program
bearing the title, Davenport, the Eastern Gateway of Iowa. In ad-
dition to the program of the convention there are included within
the sixty-four pages of this booklet a historical sketch of Davenport,
numerous views of the city, past and present, and descriptions of
the various institutions, public utilities and business enterprises
of the city.
The November number of Midland Municipalities contains the
minutes of the eleventh annual meeting of the League of Iowa
Municipalities held at Ottumwa, September 16-18, and the report
of the Committee on Legislation, in which many recommendations
are made looking toward the betterment of municipal government.
In the December number there may be found the report of a Com-
mittee on Judicial Opinion, and an address on Six Months of City
Government by Commission, in which is told the success of the new
plan in Cedar Rapids.
SOME RECENT PUBLICATIONS BY IOWA AUTHORS
Andrews, L. F.,
Pioneers of Polk County, Iowa and Reminiscences of Early
Days. Des Moines: Baker-Trisler Company. 1908.
Baker, Hugh Potter,
Native and Planted Timber of Iowa. Washington: Govern-
ment Printing Office. 1908.
Bessey, Charles Edwin,
Botany for High Schools and Colleges. (New edition) New
York : Henry Holt & Company. 1908.
Bingham, C. W.,
Selections from Fielding. Cedar Rapids: The Torch Press.
1908.
SOME PUBLICATIONS 157
Brown, Charles Reynolds,
Gospel of Good Health. Boston : Pilgrim Press. 1908.
Strange Ways of God: Study in the Book of Job. Boston : Pil-
grim Press. 1908.
Bryan, William Alanson,
Pacific Scientific Institution. Chicago: Published by the
author. 1908.
Butler, Ellis Parker,
That Pup. New York : McClure Company. 1908.
Carter, Blanche C.,
Some Des Moines Poems. Des Moines : Register and Leader.
1908.
Durley, Ella Hamilton,
My Soldier Lady. Boston : C. M. Clark Company. 1908.
Ellis, Katherine Ruth,
Wide Awake Girls. Boston: Little, Brown & Co. 1908.
Franklin, William Suddards, (Joint author)
Elements of Electricity and Magnetism. New York : Macmil-
lan Co. 1908.
Fultz, Francis M.,
The Making of the Surface and the Soils of the Upper Missis-
sippi Region. Bloomfield: Public School Publishing Co.
1908.
Garland, Hamlin,
The Shadow World. New York : Harper & Brothers, 1908.
Griffith, Helen Sherman,
Help Wanted : A Comedy in Two Acts. Philadelphia : Penn
Publishing Co. 1908.
Guthe, Karl Eugen, (Joint author)
Text-book of Physics. Philadelphia: P. Blakiston's Sons &
Co. 1908.
Hornaday, William Temple,
Camp Fires on Desert and Lava. New York : Charles Scrib-
ner's Sons. 1908.
Hough, Emerson,
The Young Alaskans. New York : Harper & Brothers. 1908.
158 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
Hrbek, Jeffrey D.,
Linden Blossoms. Cedar Rapids: The Torch Press. 1908.
Huntington, Ida M.,
Peter Pumpkin in Wonderland. Chicago: Rand, McNally &
Co. 1908.
Lazell, Frederick J.,
Some Spring Days in Iowa. Cedar Rapids : The Torch Press.
1908.
Lillibridge, William Otis,
Quest Eternal. New York : Dodd, Mead & Co. 1908.
Newton, Joseph F.,
David Swing: Preacher-Poet. Chicago: Unity Publishing
Co. 1908.
Pelzer, Louis,
Augustus Caesar Dodge. Iowa City: The State Historical
Society of Iowa. 1908.
Raymond, William Gait,
Modern Turnout Formulas. Troy: Arthur M. Allen. 1908.
Ross, Edward A.,
Sin and Society. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin Co. 1908.
Stapp, Emilie Blackmore,
The Trail of the Go-hawks. Boston : C. M. Clark Co. 1908.
Walker, Margaret Coulson,
Bird Legend and Life. New York: Baker-Taylor Co. 1908.
SOME RECENT HISTORICAL ARTICLES IN NEWSPAPERS
The Register and Leader
Sketch of Life of B. F. Wright, September 14, 1908.
G. M. Hammond — A Des Moines Booster from Away Back, Sep-
tember 20, 1908.
James J. Daily, A Real Pioneer, by L. F. Andrews, September 20,
1908.
Brief History of Iowa Wesleyan College, September 20, 1908.
Jonathan W. Cattell, a Pioneer Polk County Lawmaker, by L. F.
Andrews, September 27, 1908.
Sketch of Life of W. 0. Curtiss, Pioneer Des Moines Lawyer, Sep-
tember 29, 1908.
SOME PUBLICATIONS 159
Sketch of life of William Salter, October 4, 1908.
General John H. Looby, an Iowa Veteran, by L. P. Andrews, Octo-
ber 4, 1908.
The Home Was the Subject of Pioneer Legislation, by L. F. An-
drews, October 11, 1908.
An Iowa Statue and its Story — Statue of Chief Mahaska, October
11, 1908.
The Rise of the House of Mandelbaum, October 11, 1908.
Sketch of Life of Levi B. Dunton, October 11, 1908.
The Tragedy of an Iowa Author's Career — Incidents in Life of
Miss Jessamine Jones, October 18, 1908.
Sketch of Life of William H. Lear, by L. F. Andrews, October 18,
1908.
Sketch of Life of Ambrose A. Call, founder of Algona, October 24,
1908.
Samuel Kirkwood, Miller and War Governor, November 8, 1908.
The "Big Stick" of the Iowa Band, November 15, 1908.
Sketch of Life of Albert Grefe, Sr., by L. F. Andrews, November
22, 1908.
Sketch of Life of Herbert M. Hoxie, by L. F. Andrews, November
22, 1908.
When Prouty and Hamilton were Rivals, November 29, 1908.
Simon B. Keffer — a Pioneer of the Fifties, by L. F. Andrews, No-
vember 29, 1908.
Augustus Newton — a Pioneer Business Man, by L. F. Andrews,
December 6, 1908.
Incidents in Life of Lorenzo S. Coffin, December 6, 1908.
A. S. Bailey, Last Surviving Member of Famous Pioneer Mormon
Band, December 6, 1908.
Passing of the Picturesque Rafting Days, December 6, 1908.
W. C. Brown — From Section Hand to Railroad Magnate, Decem-
ber 13, 1908.
David Rittenhouse Ewing, Pioneer and Philanthropist, by L. F.
Andrews, December 13, 1908.
Hunting in Iowa in Days Gone By, by John G. Smith, December
13, 1908.
The Burlington Hawk-Eye
Twenty Years Ago. (In each Sunday issue).
Sketch of Life of B. F. Wright, September 16, 1908.
Meeting of Fremont Voters at Fairfield, September 17, 1908.
Sketch of Lives of R. F. Hosford and Jedediah Bennett, Burlington
pioneers, September 19, 1908.
Fort Madison — Oldest Town in Iowa, September 20, 1908.
Old Fort Madison, by William Salter, October 3, 1908.
With the Third Iowa, October 6, 1908.
Life at Old Fort Madison, October 7, 1908.
Major John F. Lacey, Patriotic Republican, October 11, 1908.
Dr. William Salter — Father of the Burlington High School, No-
vember 8, 1908.
Story of a Pioneer — Judge C. C. Nourse, November 8, 1908.
The Cedar Rapids Republican
Down the Cedar River, by F. J. Lazell, September 13, 1908.
Biographical sketch of J. O. Stewart, Iowa's Oldest Printer, Sep-
tember 20, 1908.
Taxpayers of Cedar Rapids Fifty Years Ago, September 20, 1908.
With the Third Iowa, October 6, 1908.
Diary of the Twentieth Iowa, October 16, 1908.
Letter from L. D. Blair, a Veteran of the Twentieth Iowa, October
23, 1908.
The Dubuque Telegraph-Herald
Brief History of St. Vincent de Paul Society, October 4, 1908.
Sketch of History of Liquor Legislation in Iowa, November 15, 1908.
Sketch of Life of William K. De Lorimier, a Dubuque pioneer, De-
cember 3, 1908.
Estimate of Senator Allison's Power in the Senate, December 8,
1908.
The Sioux City Journal
Twenty Years Ago. (In each Sunday issue).
Some Recollections of Col. William P. Hepburn, September 20,
1908.
Sketch of Life of George Weare, a Pioneer of Sioux City, Novem-
ber 6, 1908.
HISTORICAL SOCIETIES
PUBLICATIONS
Some Contrasts Suggested by the Massacre of Wyoming, is the
subject of an address delivered by Henry Budd before the Wyo-
ming Commemorative Association on July 3, 1908. The address is
printed in the Proceedings of the Association for 1908.
A biographical sketch of Galen James, by Helen T. Wild; an ar-
ticle entitled An Old Physician's Record, by John H. Hooper; and
Unpublished Manuscripts of Caleb Swan, with editorial notes, make
up the October number of The Medford Historical Register.
An appreciation of Grover Cleveland, by Lyman Abbott, is the
opening contribution in the October number of The New York
Genealogical and Biographical Record, Another article of more
than local interest is one by the Viscount de Fronsac on the Lords
of Manor of New York.
A concise historical discussion of Legal Qualifications of Voters
in Massachusetts; a list of Haverhill Inscriptions: Walnut Ceme-
tery; a genealogical account of the Descendants of John Brown
of Ipswich; and an article on Salem in 1700, by Sidney Perley,
may be found in the October number of The Essex Antiquarian.
Heath: A Historic Hill Town, by Edward P. Guild; Fifty Years
of Probation Work in Massachusetts, by Frank B. Sleeper ; Colonel
William Prescott's Regiment, by F. A. Gardner; Massachusetts
Pioneers in Michigan, by Charles A. Flagg; and Some Massachu-
setts Historical Writers, are among the articles in The Massachu-
setts Magazine for October.
Der Krieg der Flachkopfe und Regulatoren im sudlichen Illinois,
1831-1850, is the title of the opening contribution to the October
number of the Deutsch-Amerikanische Geschichtsbldtter. Under
the heading, Amana, die Gemeinschaft der Wahren Inspiration,
there is copied from the Davenport Demokrat a review of Mrs.
VOL. VII — 11
162 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
Shambaugh's book on Amana. Among the other articles there is a
continuation of Heinrich Bornmann's Geschichte der Deutschen
Quincy's.
In the Journal of The Presbyterian Historical Society for Sep-
tember there are to be found the following articles: The Centen-
ary of the Town Steeple of Frederick, Maryland, by E. R. Esch-
bach; James Duncan Ferguson: 1837-1906, by Charles S. Cleland;
and a continuation of The Presbyterian Church of Monmouth
County, edited with introduction and notes by James Steen.
The June to September number of The Wisconsin Archeologist
contains the papers read at a joint meeting of Wisconsin scien-
tific societies held at Milwaukee in February, 1908. Among the
many interesting papers are: The Progress of Archaeological Sci-
ence in Wisconsin, by Warren K. Moorehead ; Archaeological Work
in Wyoming, by Harlan I. Smith; and A Mandan Village Site, by
Herbert C. Fish.
The leading article in the October number of The "Old North-
west" Genealogical Quarterly bears the title, Ye Andersons of Vir-
ginia and Some of Their Descendants, Bye One of Ye Famile.
Other contributions are: Israel Clark, An Ohio Pioneer, by Orra
Eugene Monnette; and Judge Byrd's Journals, by N. W. Evans.
There are also printed the rules and regulations and the by-laws
adopted by the Society on June 25, 1908.
The July number of The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical
Association contains two excellent contributions to the source mate-
rial of Texas history. One of these, entitled The Records of an
Early Texas Baptist Church, is a continuation from a previous
number of the Quarterly, and covers the years from 1847 to 1869.
The Recollections of S. F. Sparks is a story of early days in Texas,
told by a man who settled in that country in 1834.
Among the contributions to The Essex Institute Historical Col-
lections for October are the following: The Early Church Plate
of Newburyport, Newbury, West Newbury and Rowley, by John
H. Buck; Transcripts of the, Lost Registers of Rowley, Co. York,
England, by J. Henry Lea; and a continuation of Revolutionary
HISTORICAL SOCIETIES 163
Letters Written to Colonel Timothy Pickering, by George Williams,
and of Robert S. Rantoul's biographical sketch of Frederick Town-
send Ward.
In the July number of The Pennsylvania Magazine of History
and Biography there is printed an address on Anthony Wayne, de-
livered at Valley Forge in June, 1908, by Hon. Samuel W. Penny-
packer, on the occasion of the dedication of a monument to Gen-
eral Wayne. Another article of more than local interest is one by
Charles Henry Hart, which bears the title, An Original Portrait
of Doctor Franklin, Painted by Joseph Wright, Belonging to the
Royal Society, London.
Three contributions make up the contents of the German Amer-
ican Annals for September and October. The first is a brief article
on The Palatines in New York and Pennsylvania, signed J. G. R.
Then follows a somewhat detailed discussion of German American
Researches, by Richard E. Helbig, in which the writer tells of the
growth of the German American collection of the New York Pub-
lic Library during 1906 and 1907. The last article is by Edwin M.
Fogel and bears the title, The Himmelsbrief.
With the exception of Revolutionary Pension Declaration from
Pittsylvania County, Va., the October number of The Virginia
Magazine of History and Biography is devoted to continuations of
original material. The most valuable of these contributions are
perhaps : The Randolph Manuscript, and Journals of the Council of
Virginia in Executive Sessions, 1737-1763. In order that in the
future the volume of the Magazine may correspond with the calen-
dar year, the July and October numbers are made to constitute
volume sixteen.
The Florida Historical Society Quarterly, while unpretentious in
size, is proving to be an excellent addition to the list of historical
periodicals. The third number of this new publication appeared
in October, and contains much of interest. The opening article,
entitled Old St. Augustine, by De Witt Webb, is accompanied by a
view of St. Augustine harbor printed from an engraving made
about 1650. Caroline Mays Brevard concludes her biographical
164 IOWA JOUENAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
sketch of Richard Keith Call, and John Y. Detwiler writes on An-
tiquities at and near New Smyrna, Florida. There is reprinted
from the August number of the Magazine of History an article by
Geo. B. Utley on the Origin of the County Names in Florida.
The leading contribution to the September number of the Mary-
land Historical Magazine is a paper on Benedict Leonard Calvert,
Esq. Governor of the Province of Maryland, 1727-1731, by Bernard
C. Steiner. Under the title, Babylon's Fall in Maryland A Fair
Warning to Lord Baltimore, there is reprinted for the first time in
this country, a pamphlet dealing with the struggle between Parlia-
ment and the Proprietary's forces in Maryland in 1655. The re-
maining contributions consist largely of extracts from the Calvert
papers.
The slavery question and early western transportation facilities
are the topics discussed in The Quarterly of the Oregon Historical
Society for September. T. W. Davenport, in a well written article
on the Slavery Question in Oregon, relates his own recollections of
the slavery agitation in Oregon Territory and its influence on Ore-
gon politics. The "Free-State Letter" of Judge George H. Wil-
liams, which is reprinted from an early Oregon newspaper, is an
able argument against the attempt to establish slavery in Oregon.
Under the title, Oregon's First Monopoly — The 0. S. N. Co., there
is a scholarly account of the origin and early development of the
Oregon Steam Navigation Company, by Irene Lincoln Poppleton.
Under the heading of documents there is printed a Subscription
List for Railroad Survey Funds made in 1863.
The July number of The Washington Historical Quarterly con-
tains a number of brief articles on a good variety of subjects. Rol-
lin J. Reeves, in writing on Marking the Washington-Idaho Bound-
ary, tells of his own experiences as officer in charge of the work
which was done in 1873. History of San Juan Island consists of a
few reminiscences by Charles McKay, the only surviving member
of the colony of Americans who settled on the island in 1859. Un-
der the title, Seattle and the Indians of Puget Sound, Thomas "W.
Prosch discusses the origin of the name of city of Seattle. There is
a second installment of Edward McMahan's Stephen A. Douglas:
HISTORICAL SOCIETIES 165
A Study of the Attempt to Settle the Question of Slavery in the
Territories by the Application of Popular Sovereignty — 1850-1860,
which is written in a scholarly and scientific manner. Three other
articles and a number of documents complete this number of the
Quarterly.
Charles Clinton Nourse, whose late retirement from active life
closes a long and useful legal career in Iowa, writes reminiscently
on the subject, Beginning Fifty Years of Practice at the Iowa Bar,
in the October number of the Annals of Iowa. Under the heading,
Report upon the Propriety of Abandoning Forts Armstrong and
Des Moines, there is printed a document which has recently come
into the hands of the Historical Department, but of which the
authorship is not definitely known. William Salter again contrib-
utes a number of Old Letters from the correspondence of such men
as Henry Dodge, A. C. Dodge, James W. Grimes, Samuel J. Kirk-
wood, and others, as well as a few received by himself during the
fifties. The other contributions are a Diary Kept by William Ed-
mundson, of Oskaloosa, While Grossing the Western Plains in 1850;
an article on Handling the Panic of 1907, by A. C. Miller; and a
brief discussion on Climatic Changes, written by the late Charles
Aldrich.
Early in August there was held at Berlin a great gathering of
historians from all over the world. A similar meeting was held at
The Hague in 1898, and another at Rome in 1903. All of the meet-
ings thus far have been successful and it is hoped that they will be
continued at intervals of five years. Under the heading, The Inter-
national Historical Congress at Berlin, Charles H. Haskins gives
an account of the meeting last summer, in the October number of
The American Historical Review. There is also printed the ad-
dress delivered before this congress by Ambassador David J. Hill
on The Ethical Function of the Historian. Ferdinand Schevill
writes on San Qalgano: A Cistercian Abbey of the Middle Ages.
James W. Thompson, in an article on Some Economic Factors in
the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes, discusses some of the eco-
nomic conditions and movements leading up to this famous event
rather than the economic results. The concluding article is a con-
166 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTOEY AND POLITICS
tribution to the political history of the United States, by St. George
L. Sioussat, bearing the title, Some Phases of Tennessee Politics in
the Jackson Period. Under the heading of documents there may be
found Letters of Sir George Simpson, 1841-1843, edited by Joseph
Schafer.
There is a fascination in the study of prehistoric man in Ameri-
ca which few can resist who have delved even lightly into its
mysteries. The life history of the Mound Builders remains a
closed book to which no key has yet been found. But the material
products of his civilization have survived the ravages of time and
are in evidence throughout the length and breadth of the conti-
nent and especially in the Mississippi Valley. From these ancient
remains science and scholarship may some day gain a clue to the
character and life of their builders. One of the many scholars
who have become deeply interested in this subject is Mr. E. 0.
Randall, Secretary of the Ohio Archaeological and Historical So-
ciety. He is the author of a little book entitled The Masterpieces
of Ohio Mound Builders, which has recently been published by the
Society. Only the hill-top fortifications are discussed in this vol-
ume, which, as the author states in the preface, aims to give a
clear and accurate description of the mounds rather than a scien-
tific or technical treatise of them. A few pages at the beginning
are devoted to the famous Cahokia Mound in Illinois which the
author visited in 1904. The most important of the hill-top forti-
fications which are to be found in Ohio are then enumerated and
described, while a somewhat extended chapter is devoted to Fort
Ancient. It is claimed that there are more localities in Ohio which
give evidence of the existence of a prehistoric race of people than
in all the rest of the country, and hence this little volume will be
of peculiar interest to archaeological students. It is written in a
pleasing style and gives the reader a very good idea of the Ohio
mounds. The author hopes soon to produce another volume deal-
ing with the lowland enclosures, mounds, and village sites of his
State.
HISTORICAL SOCIETIES 167
ACTIVITIES
The Minnesota Historical Society has recently distributed vol-
umes twelve and thirteen of its Collections.
The Mississippi Historical Society has recently published the
Proceedings of the Mississippi Association of History Teachers, a
new auxiliary organization under the auspices of the Society. Vol-
ume ten of the Publications of the Society is now in press.
The Kentucky State Historical Society now occupies quarters
in the new capitol at Frankfort. During the past quarter the So-
ciety's activities have been mainly along the line of organizing
county historical societies and of marking historic sites in the city
of Frankfort.
Among the manuscript collections of the Chicago Historical So-
ciety is the Diary of James K. Polk, which in the manuscript con-
sists of more than a score of volumes. The Society is planning its
publication in the near future. The editor will be Professor
Charles W. Mann.
At a meeting of the Pottawattamie County Historical Society at
the city library in Council Bluffs, on Saturday, November 28,
Judge Horace E. Deemer delivered an address on The Influence
of Iowa Men in the Organization of Nebraska. At this time also
there was presented to the Society a book containing the record of
the organization in Pottawattamie County of a patriotic society of
the early sixties known as the "Union League of America."
The Buffalo Historical Society has acquired a large collection of
original letters, being the correspondence received by Millard Fill-
more while Vice President and President of the United States.
These letters, gathered in forty-five volumes, have for many years
been supposed to have been destroyed, but lately were found in the
garret of a house in Buffalo, which was being dismantled. The
papers had been preserved by their late owner, the last surviving
executor of the will of Millard Powers Fillmore, the President's son.
The collection includes nearly three hundred and fifty letters from
Daniel Webster, many of which have never been published ; letters
168 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
from the members of Fillmore's cabinet; and others from many of
the prominent men and women of his day, such as Edward Everett,
Henry Clay, Lewis Cass, Louis Kossuth, President Arista of Mexi-
co, Mrs. James K. Polk, and scores of others.
An interesting manuscript recently acquired by the Kansas
State Historical Society is the memoirs of Dr. Alexander William
Reese, of Warrensburg, Missouri. This manuscript, which occu-
pies two volumes with a total of nine hundred pages, relates the
experiences of the writer in Missouri from 1855 to 1866, and tells
of conditions during the territorial troubles with Kansas and dur-
ing the War. The thirty-third annual meeting of the Society was
held December 1, 1908, and ex-Governor George W. Glick was
elected President for the year 1909.
Organized in 1897, The Texas State Historical Association has
for ten years been making a heroic struggle against the disadvan-
tages of inadequate financial support. The Association, which is
closely connected with the School of History of the University of
Texas, now has a membership of nearly sixteen hundred, but
receives no aid from the State, its main income being from mem-
bership dues. The high grade of work being done under these
adverse conditions is evidence of the immensely greater service
which the Association would render if supported as such an institu-
tion should be.
The Montana Historical and Miscellaneous Library is endeavor-
ing in a most praiseworthy manner to make itself of service to the
citizens of the State, especially in an educational way. Circular
letters have been sent to the colleges and public schools throughout
the State, urging the teaching of State history and offering to loan
material to aid in making this work possible, and also offering to
loan material pertinent to the question being debated in the Mon-
tana High School Debating League. Still more significant is the
work which the Library is planning to do as a Legislative Refer-
ence Department. Circular letters have been sent to all the mem-
bers of the State legislature calling their attention to the fact that
the Library desires to aid the legislators by furnishing all available
HISTORICAL SOCIETIES 169
information, both historical and current, not only on the great
questions of legislation in which all are interested, but also on any
special subject which is of interest to any individual legislator.
The State Historical Society of Wisconsin has recently spent
about eleven thousand dollars for improvements in the way of in-
creasing its storage and office capacity in the catalogue, newspaper,
and manuscript departments. New shelving, catalogue cases, draw-
ers, lockers, and other modern conveniences have been installed in
these departments. The ethnographical material in the museum is
being reclassified and relabeled according to modern methods. The
Society has in preparation volume nineteen of its Collections, a new
volume of Draper manuscripts, and the Proceedings of the Society
for 1908. The annual meeting was held October 15, and, with a few
exceptions, no changes were made in the official staff.
THE STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF IOWA
At a meeting of the Board of Curators on Wednesday evening,
January 6, Mr. John E. Brindley was elected to the position of Re-
search Assistant in The State Historical Society of Iowa.
Professor F. H. Garver, of Morningside College, and a member of
The State Historical Society of Iowa, read a paper on the Story of
Sergeant Charles Floyd, at the meeting of the Mississippi Valley
Historical Association at Richmond, Virginia, on December 30.
Mr. John E. Brindley, of the State Agricultural College at
Ames, who has for some time been engaged in research work for
the Society, of which he is a member, has been appointed Legisla-
tive Reference Assistant to the Curator of the Historical Depart-
ment of Iowa.
Much interest was manifested in Mr. Curtis 's fine collection of
photographs of North American Indians on exhibition in the rooms
of the Society during the months of October and November. The
photographs were arranged according to subject, and a catalogue
was printed for the convenience of visitors.
The Society has recently issued four neat folders describing its
nature, purposes and activities. One folder contains a list of the
170 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
members of the Society; another describes and enumerates the
publications; a third deals with research in the Society; while the
fourth is a description of the library.
Mr. W. 0. Hart, of the New Orleans bar, and a member of The
State Historical Society of Iowa, is the author of a pamphlet
called Fragments of Louisiana Jurisprudence. It consists of a
number of lectures delivered by Mr. Hart in 1907 in the law col-
lege of the State University of Louisiana.
The biography of Augustus Caesar Dodge, by Louis Pelzer, was
distributed early in December. This is the third volume to appear
in the Iowa Biographical Series and is a book of three hundred and
sixty-nine pages. Augustus Caesar Dodge served the people of the
Territory of Iowa as Delegate to Congress; he was Iowa's first
Senator ; and he represented the United States as Minister to Spain.
Hence Mr. Pelzer 's volume is a valuable contribution, not only to
Iowa history, but to the diplomatic history of the Nation as well.
On Thursday evening, December 3, Mr. Irving B. Richman de-
livered an address on Some Researches in California History, before
the members of The State Historical Society of Iowa and their
friends, in the auditorium of the Hall of Liberal Arts. Mr. Rich-
man, who is a Curator of the Society, has been engaged for some
time in gathering material for a history of California, and he told
in an entertaining manner of his experiences, and of some of the
romantic episodes in the history of this interesting State. Preced-
ing the address a dinner was given at the Burkley Imperial Hotel
in honor of Mr. and Mrs. Richman and other guests of the Society.
At this time brief remarks were made by Governor Garst, Mr. Rich-
man, President A. B. Storms of the State Agricultural College, and
President Charles E. Shelton of Simpson College.
The following persons have recently been elected to membership :
Mr. Paul A. Korab, Iowa City, Iowa; Judge Horace M. Towner,
Corning, Iowa; Mr. E. B. Limpus, Iowa City, Iowa; Mr. J. G. Hen-
ry, Des Moines, Iowa ; Professor Bohumil Shimek, Iowa City, Iowa ;
Mr. C. B. Robbins, Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Mr. Willard J. Welch,
Iowa City, Iowa ; Mr. T. Will Runkle, Cedar Rapids, Iowa ; Mr. O.
HISTORICAL SOCIETIES 171
A. Byington, Iowa City, Iowa ; Mr. Clifford Powell, Red Oak, Iowa ;
Miss Edna Stone, Logan, Iowa; Mr. John Springer, Iowa City,
Iowa ; Mr. J. L. Gillin, Iowa City, Iowa ; Hon. W. L. Harding, Sioux
City, Iowa; Hon J. A. White, South Amana, Iowa; Hon. G. W.
Clarke, Adel, Iowa ; Mr. Chas. J. Deacon, Cedar Rapids, Iowa ; Mr.
Kenneth Colgrove, Cedar Falls, Iowa; Miss Gertrude Branson,
Iowa City, Iowa; Hon. A. F. Dawson, Preston, Iowa; Mr. C. F.
Clark, Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Hon. C. G. Saunders, Council Bluffs,
Iowa; Hon. Frederic Larrabee, Fort Dodge, Iowa; Mr. Lowell
Chamberlain, Des Moines, Iowa ; Hon. A. B. Cummins, Des Moines,
Iowa; Hon. Robert Hunter, Sioux City, Iowa; Mr. Wesley Mar-
tin, Webster City, Iowa; and Hon. A. C. Savage, Adair, Iowa.
NOTES AND COMMENT
The seventeenth annual meeting of the Iowa Library Associa-
tion was held at Cedar Rapids, October 20-22.
Dr. Karl F. Geiser, formerly of the Iowa State Normal School,
is now Professor of Political Science in Oberlin College.
The American Historical Association, the American Political
Science Association and the Bibliographical Society of America all
held their annual meetings at Washington, D. C., and Richmond,
Virginia, December 28-31. On December 30, the Mississippi Valley
Historical Association held its semi-annual meeting at Richmond.
An international congress of administrative sciences will be held
at Brussels, Belgium, in 1910 during the International Exhibition
in that city. The purpose of this congress is to bring together from
all over the world those interested in both the theory and practice
of the administration of government in all its branches. It is ex-
pected that the proceedings will be published in a series of volumes.
On November 5 and 6 there was held at Iowa City a joint meet-
ing of the Iowa Society of the Archaeological Institute of America,
the Iowa Anthropological Society, and the Iowa Branch of the
American Folk-Lore Society. The principal addresses were by
Professor Oscar Montelius, the Curator of the Royal Museum of
Antiquities in Stockholm, Sweden, and Professor Frank B. Tar-
bell, of the University of Chicago.
A thorough investigation of the management of farms in Iowa is
soon to be begun by Professor M. E. McCulloch, formerly of the
State Agricultural College, under the direction of the United States
Department of Agriculture. Before taking up a more intensive
study, Mr. McCulloch will gather information concerning the agri-
cultural history of the State, its climatic and physical features, the
acreage and yields of the various crops, facilities for marketing and
prices received. After this preliminary general work is accom-
NOTES AND COMMENT 173
plished, he will take up a careful study of the types of farming
that prevail in the various sections of the State with reference to
the adaptability to local conditions, their effect on the fertility of
the soil and on the standard of living of the farmer. Detailed in-
vestigations will be made of the management of farms which seem
especially successful, and the results will be published. The work
will be one of great magnitude and will doubtless do much to pro-
mote intelligent and scientific farming in this State.
GEORGE C. DUFPIELD
On September 4, 1908, George C. Duffield, a prominent Iowa
pioneer, passed away at his home near Keosauqua, Iowa. Mr. Duf-
field was born in Ohio in 1824, and came to Iowa with his parents
in 1837 and located in Van Buren County. He served with the
Third Iowa Cavalry during the early part of the War for the Un-
ion. He attended the first Republican convention held in Van
Buren County, and was a delegate to the first Republican State
Convention at Iowa City in 1856. He was a worthy type of the
men who built and developed Iowa.
JOHN W. JAYNE
John W. Jayne, one of the oldest residents of Johnson County
and a member of The State Historical Society of Iowa, passed
away at his home in Lone Tree on July 26, 1908. Mr. Jayne was
born in Pennsylvania on January 28, 1820, and came to Iowa dur-
ing the fifties, first settling in Muscatine County. When the war
broke out he enlisted in Company B of the 8th Iowa Infantry and
served during the early years of the war. Most of his life since
that time was spent on his farm or in business at Lone Tree. He
was a member of the first Republican State Convention held in
Iowa, and although he never held any important office, he always
took an active interest in politics. He collected a large private
library and was a man who read widely. Mr. Jayne retained his
physical and mental vigor to a remarkable extent even to the date
of his death.
174 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
WILLIAM BOYD ALLISON
William Boyd Allison, Iowa's veteran and beloved Senator,
passed away at his home in Dubuque on Tuesday, August 4, 1908.
The end came quite suddenly and without warning except to those
nearest to the Senator in the last few months when his health
failed rapidly.
Senator Allison was born in Wayne County, Ohio, on March
2, 1829. He was educated at Wooster Academy in Pennsylvania
and at Western Reserve College in Ohio. For some time after
completing his college work he practiced law in Ohio, and in
1854 he married Miss Anna Carter who died in 1860. In 1857 he
removed to Dubuque, Iowa, where he immediately began to take
a prominent part in affairs. He was a member of the Republican
State Convention in 1859, and in 1860 was a delegate to the Na-
tional Republican Convention which nominated Lincoln. Gover-
nor Kirkwood chose him as a member of his staff in 1861 to aid in
raising regiments during the early years of the War for the Union.
In 1862 he was elected to Congress from Iowa and until 1871 on
various committees and on the floor of the House he helped to tide
the Nation over the perils of war and reconstruction. In 1872 he
was elected to succeed James Harlan in the United States Senate,
in which body he served the people of Iowa continuously until
the date of his death. He married Miss Mary Neally in 1873, but
in 1883 he suffered his second great bereavement.
In the House of Representatives William Boyd Allison's career
began on the same day as that of James Garfield and James G.
Blaine, and he was one of the last survivors of that group of
statesmen who were the trusted counsellors of Presidents during
the War and the troublesome years that followed. His experience
in the House of Representatives gave him a preparation and a
standing which enabled him to assume a leading position in the
Senate almost from the beginning. For thirty years he was a
member of the Senate Committee on Finance, and for twenty-five
years he served as chairman of the Committee on Appropriations.
His leadership was especially pronounced in all problems of finance,
revenue, or the tariff. Senator Allison possessed the friendship and
NOTES AND COMMENT 175
confidence of every Republican chief executive from Lincoln to
Roosevelt, and was several times offered desirable positions in the
Cabinet, but he preferred his post of power and influence in the
Senate. He had ardent friends and admirers among the leaders
of both parties, and had but few enemies.
In private life as well as in his public career Senator Allison was
rigidly honest and upright. His home life and his devotion to his
invalid wife are described as beautiful by those who enjoyed the
close personal friendship of the Senator. Both as a private citi-
zen and as a public servant William Boyd Allison's influence will
long be felt among the people of the State and Nation which he
served so well for so many years of his life.
CONTRIBUTORS
FRANK HARMON GARVER, Professor of History and Politics
in Morningside College. (See THE IOWA JOURNAL OP HIS-
TORY AND POLITICS for July, 1908, p. 500.)
JOHN E. BRINDLEY, Besearch Assistant in The State His-
torical Society of Iowa and Legislative Reference Assistant to
the Curator of the Historical Department of Iowa. Assistant
Professor of Political Economy in the State Agricultural Col-
lege at Ames, 1907-1908. Born at Boscobel, Wisconsin, 1878.
Graduated from the State University of Wisconsin, 1902. In-
structor in Political Economy in the University of Oregon,
1907.
THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
APRIL NINETEEN HUNDRED NINE
VOLUME SEVEN NUMBER TWO
VOL. VII — 12
THE HISTORY OF POLITICAL PAETIES IN IOWA
FROM 1857 TO I860.1
The relief from a five months* discussion of the Consti-
tution adopted on August 3, 1857, gave a new stimulus to
the discussion of events in Kansas. The contest between
the "Free State men" and the " Pro-slavery men" was
still making that Territory the cynosure of all eyes : pulpit
orators found in it sermons; political editors explained,
commented, approved, and denounced; the administration
of Buchanan was held up to censure and praise, and Stephen
A. Douglas was expected to explain his doctrine of popular
sovereignty and to reconcile its operation in Kansas with
the Dred Scott Decision of March 6, 1857.
About forty counties sent delegates to the Republican
State Convention which was called to order by William
Penn Clarke at Iowa City in the forenoon of August 19,
1857. Committees on organization, credentials, and resolu-
tions were appointed and the Convention adjourned for the
afternoon session. Alfred Sanders was then chosen Presi-
dent and addressed the delegates. On the third ballot Ralph
P. Lowe of Lee County — a longtime opponent of the
Democracy, was nominated for Governor. Oran Faville of
Mitchell County was then nominated for Lieutenant Gover-
nor. It was voted to continue the State Central Committee
of the previous year.2
J. Teesdale of Johnson County reported the platform to
the Convention at the evening session. The absorbing issue
1 For a history of the Democratic party in Iowa for the years 1846 to 1857
see THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS, Vol. VT, No. 2, pp. 163-246.
2 Namely, Samuel J. Kirkwood, W. Penn Clarke, Henry O 'Connor, George D.
Woodin, and Hiram Price.
180 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
they thought was the question whether freedom should be
limited to the free States or slavery to the slave States.
The Dred Scott Decision was pronounced as the "last and
most alarming of those bold innovations upon the rights of
the Free States, which have marked the Administration of
the Government for years past, as sectional and disloyal to
the spirit of our Free Institutions." With unmistakable
emphasis they demanded that "all National Territory
shall be free."
Governor Grimes 's administration was warmly indorsed,
and the people of Iowa were felicitated upon the adoption
of the new Constitution. It was the deliberate conviction
of the Convention that the legislature should provide a
banking system for the State and it was voted to support
only such men as were favorable to such a policy. The
Convention listened to the usual speeches from the nomi-
nees and other leaders; and the applause and cheers were
then terminated by the adjournment.3
A reminder of former political power and persecution
appeared in the meeting of the Know-Nothing party in
State Convention at Iowa City on September 2, 1857. Davis,
Washington, Johnson, and Muscatine counties sent dele-
gates to the meeting of this much hated political organiza-
tion. A platform was adopted, and J. F. Henry of Des
Moines County was nominated for Governor and Eastin
Morris for Lieutenant Governor.4
"The Republican party in Iowa is dead, and in October
next the people of Iowa will bury it", commented William
Porter, a democratic editor, a few days later. The election
returns of August he believed showed Iowa to be Demo-
cratic ; and with equally defective prophecy he wrote : ' ' The
3 Full proceedings of this convention are to be found in The Iowa Weekly
Citizen, Vol. II, No. 28, August 26, 1857.
* The Dubuque Daily Times, Vol. I, No. 73, September 7, 1857.
HISTORY OF POLITICAL PARTIES IN IOWA 181
last act of the Kansas political drama has been played out,
with its curious mixture of tragedy, comedy and farce, and
the authors and actors in this brief drama have played out
their respective parts, and are now by the voice of the peo-
ple passed off the political stage. ' ' 5
For months the Republican journals of Iowa had found
political ammunition in the utterances of Atchison, Keitt,
and Stringf ellow 6 and had used it against the course of the
administration in Kansas. The Daily Iowa State Gazette,
however, disowned their acts and utterances, declaring
them to be professional agitators, and enemies to the ad-
ministration and to the Union. They had no indorsement
from Buchanan, and the printing of their letters in Repub-
lican journals had expatriated them from the ranks of the
Democratic party. Republicans, warned the editor, falsi-
fied history when they quoted the utterances of these men
as the principles of the Democratic party.7
Enoch W. Eastman called to order the Democratic State
Convention assembled at Iowa City on August 26, 1857.8
Nearly forty counties sent delegates, among whom twenty-
four, headed by ex-Governor Hempstead, came from Du-
buque County — the Gibraltar of the Iowa Democracy. The
3 The Iowa State Journal, Vol. I, No. 28, August 22, 1857.
« David E. Atchison was a Kentuckian by birth who sat in the Missouri leg-
islature from 1833-1834. From 1843 until 1855 he was a Senator from Mis-
souri. He was prominent in the legislation for the Territories of Kansas and
Nebraska and was a pro-slavery leader in the Kansas difficulties in 1856-1857.
Lawrence Massillon Keitt was born in South Carolina in 1824 and in 1848
became a member of the Legislature of that State. Two years later he was
elected to Congress as a state-rights Democrat and served until 1860. He was
one of the extreme pro-slavery men in Congress.
Benjamin F. and John H. Stringfellow were two responsible leaders of the
pro-slavery forces in Kansas Territory. The latter was editor of the Squatter
Sovereign, a violent pro-slavery organ.
7 Daily Iowa State Gazette, Vol. Ill, No. 42, August 21, 1857.
8 For the proceedings of this convention see the Daily Iowa State Gazette,
Vol. Ill, No. 51, September 1, 1857.
182 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
forenoon session appointed the various committees and in
the afternoon James B. Thomas of Buchanan County was
elected to preside over the Convention. Seven ballots were
taken for Governor, resulting in votes for Charles Mason,
Enoch W. Eastman, Shepherd Leffler, James Grant and
others. On the eighth ballot, Ben M. Samuels received 138
votes and was declared the nominee of the party. On the
tenth ballot George Gillaspy of Wapello County was nomi-
nated for Lieutenant Governor by 142 votes.
A lukewarm platform emanated from the committee on
resolutions which wished to avoid bringing into contrast the
doctrine of popular sovereignty and the conduct of the ad-
ministration in Kansas. Confidence in Buchanan's admin-
istration was expressed, the " Black Eepublicans" of the
North and the "Fire eaters" of the South were equally
condemned, and obedience to the laws of Congress and the
decisions of the Supreme Court was insisted upon. A dis-
creet silence was maintained upon the spirit of anarchy
which was then stalking about on the plains of Kansas.
In the act of striking the word "white" from the new
Constitution, the Convention discerned "the design and
purpose of abolitionizing the people of this State" and
recognized in the Constitution many features that were
"anti-democratic, unjust, and containing principles that
tend to subvert the distinction between the white and black
races." The last resolution eulogized the public services
of Senator George W. Jones and Representative Augustus
Hall, the Democratic members of Congress from Iowa.
About seven weeks remained for the parties to wage their
campaigns for the third election of this year which was to
fall on October 13, 1857. Besides the two State offices a
new legislature was to be elected in which the Eepublicans
hoped to dislodge from power Senator George Wallace
Jones, one of the charter members of the Iowa Democracy.
HISTORY OF POLITICAL PARTIES IN IOWA 183
The elixir of Federal patronage from Buchanan still acted
as a cohesive and active force among a large portion of the
Democracy of Iowa. Their receding fortunes, however,
were apparent. "We pity the historian", wrote a Repub-
lican, "who may hereafter attempt a delineation of national
Democracy of 1857. If he has all the genius of Prescott,
Eollin, Hume, or MaCaulay, he will fail to give the world
an adequate conception of a party which is composed of all
the inconsistencies that have been gathered up since the
flood of father Noah."9
Various provisions of the new Constitution and affairs
in Kansas furnished the materials for discussion in this
campaign. The Iowa Weekly Citizen, unwilling to see a Re-
publican triumph in the adoption of the Constitution, never-
theless was willing to repel all Democratic onslaughts upon
it. "We proclaim it in our streets," asserted Editor W. H.
Farner, "and from our housetops, and from our inmost
hearts, that the new Constitution of Iowa, sanctioned by
the vote of the people, and fully upheld and vindicated by
popular sentiment, is every way worthy of the party whose
votes had power to rule the Convention which created
it."10
The main prop of the Democracy, ran the Eepublican
argument, is the accusation that Republicans are trying to
efface the difference between blacks and whites. Dark pic-
tures of the effects of coeducation of the two races, and of
allowing negroes to testify in court, were painted by Demo-
cratic editors. Denials and explanations came back from
the other side, with the assertion that no man because his
skin was red or black should be dispossessed of the common
rights of humanity.11
» W. H. Farner in The Iowa Weekly Citisen, Vol. II, No. 37, October 28, 1857.
10 The Iowa Weekly Citisen, Vol. II, No. 29, September 2, 1857.
11 The Iowa Weekly Citisen, Vol. II, No. 33, September 30, 1857.
184 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
The prospective passage of a banking law caused a dis-
cussion of the financial policy of each party. W. H. Far-
ner's indictments against the Democrats declared that
* ' They have retarded our development, paralyzed our ener-
gies, permitted our State to be overwhelmed with shinplas-
terism and a foreign currency, crippled internal improve-
ments. " 12 A conservative Democratic view was expressed
by The Iowa State Journal which opposed wild-cat banking
but not banks in general. "The democracy of Iowa are
willing to have a sound banking law, if such a thing be pos-
sible, submitted to the people, for them to decide the ques-
tion. They ask for and will always demand a system which
will protect the bill holder and prevent fraud upon the
part of the Bank."13
Disquieting news from Kansas, added to the checkered
history of the Democrats in that Territory, continued to
darken the political horizon for the Democratic party.
"Bleeding Kansas", deplored the editors of Democratic
journals, formed the only topic upon which Republicans
could write and talk; furthermore, the "Black Republic-
ans" were persistently dragging the question of slavery
into the national arena and loudly proclaiming that the
Democracy was attempting to make slavery national. ' l The
question of slavery has no part in the canvass whatever",
vainly remonstrated a Burlington Democrat. "The elec-
tion of United States Senator is an after consideration;
and the voters of Iowa are about to decide as to the affairs
of their own state, and not those of Kansas. ... A few
years of Black Republican misrule and legislation have
made it necessary for the people of this State to turn their
attention directly to home affairs. ' ' 14
12 The Iowa Weekly Citizen, Vol. II, No. 30, September 9, 1857.
is The Iowa State Journal, Vol. I, No. 34, October 3, 1857.
i* Daily Iowa State Gazette, Vol. Ill, No. 57, September 8, 1857.
HISTORY OF POLITICAL PARTIES IN IOWA 185
Meanwhile Lowe, Samuels, Faville, and Gillaspy had
been presenting the issues from the stump, and county con-
ventions were passing resolutions and nominating candi-
dates. The canvass was not animated and the debates
lacked the instructiveness of former contests. Samuels,
declaring himself an anti-bank man, insisted that the bank-
ing law be submitted to the people for ratification. Lowe,
arguing that the financial condition of the times was out of
joint, maintained that the Democrats who had opposed the
Constitution, were incompetent to legislate under it. The
personal and the legislative careers of the candidates were
also paraded through the columns of partisan journals:
Lowe was charged with being a spiritualist and with having
formerly consorted with the Know-Nothings of Keokuk.
It was whispered that Samuels did not send his children to
school where they might mingle with blacks; and an Iowa
City editor denounced his speeches as a libel on Christian-
ity. Gillaspy 's business success aroused Republican warn-
ings; while another Democratic editor made merry over
the former love affairs of Oran Faville.
Defeat met the Democrats on October 13, 1857. Of 75,-
592 votes cast, Lowe secured 38,498 ; while the Know-Noth-
ing candidate polled 1,006. Faville was elected Lieutenant
Governor with a vote of 37,633, while the Democratic candi-
date received 35,310, and Eastin Morris, the Know-Nothing
candidate 1,010.15 "Traitors in Camp", was a post election
comment from the Maquoketa Sentinel, which charged that
such Democrats as H. W. Starr, W. F. Coolbaugh, General
Morgan, and Edward Johnstone — the "Ft. Madison
Clique" — had opposed the election of Samuels.16 Disaster
had also entered the Democratic citadel of Dubuque where
is The Iowa Weekly Citizen, Vol. II, No. 49, January 20, 1858.
i« Reprinted from the Maquoketa Sentinel in The Iowa State Journal, Vol.
I, No. 40, November 14, 1857.
186 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
there had been a war between Montagues and Capulets —
headed respectively by Senator George W. Jones and
Judge Thomas S. Wilson — which had opened this strong-
hold to Eepublican ingress. The Dubugue Daily Times was
diligent in feeding the flames of this discord and facetiously
prophesied that these warring clans would finally devour
each other like the Kilkenny cats.17
In the increased gains in the elections to the legislature
the Eepublicans foresaw a new Kepublican Senator from
Iowa and the political exit of Senator George W. Jones.
' ' The prospect for a glorious black republican scramble for
office at the sitting of the Legislature is good, and we ex-
pect some fun", commented the Daily Iowa State Gazette.18
F. E. Bissel, James Thorington, ex-Governor Grimes, and
others were being groomed for the senatorial race by the
Republicans.19 From Dubuque came a demand that the
Senator be chosen from the northern part of the State
because the southern section was already represented by
Senator Harlan. A western journal insisted that he be a
Republican with talents, knowledge of the West, and zeal in
behalf of Freedom — " he is the man above all others ' ',
continued editor Charles Aldrich, * * and we care not whether
he hails from Lee or Buncombe County." 20 To the Demo-
crats this competition among Republican senatorial as-
pirants afforded much satisfaction until the more conserva-
tive Republicans counselled harmony and urged vigilance
against the opposition.
Immediately after the State election of October 13 events
of profound moral and political significance were taking
i* The Dubuque Daily Times, Vol. I, No. 77, September 11, 1857; Vol. I, No.
79, September 14, 1857.
is Daily Iowa State Gazette, Vol. Ill, No. 113, November 11, 1857.
i» Daily Iowa State Gazette, Vol. Ill, No. 131, December 3, 1857.
20 Hamilton Freeman, Vol. I, No. 20, November 26, 1857.
HISTORY OF POLITICAL PARTIES IN IOWA 187
place in Kansas. The contest there between freedom and
slavery found a vibrant note among the freemen of Iowa
which rose to high pitch as the contest drifted to Wash-
ington. A pro-slavery constitutional convention met at Le-
compton on October 19, 1857, in an atmosphere surcharged
with rumors, threats, and portents. An intensely pro-
slavery convention was to form a constitution for an in-
tensely anti-slavery community. This body adjourning on
November 7, 1857, produced the Lecompton Constitution —
an instrument immortalized by its own infamy. In a sub-
tle attempt to legislate slavery into the State and to pre-
serve the letter and spirit of the Kansas-Nebraska Act, a
bogus submission was provided for at the election to be
held on December 21, 1857. The people were required to
vote for the Lecompton Constitution with slavery as a per-
manent institution, or that instrument without slavery as a
permanent institution, but containing a guarantee of the
slave property then in the Territory. "Kansas is a great
country", remarked an Iowa editor. "Thermometer over
100; excitement over 10,000; justice below zero."21
A storm of wrath and protest now burst forth from the
Republicans of Iowa. Feeling a sponsorship for justice to
the suffering Territory, Senator Stephen A. Douglas was
profoundly affected by the course of events in Kansas. On
December 9, 1857, he took up arms against the administra-
tion for its attempt to force upon Kansas the Lecompton
Constitution. "We are glad", said one editor, "that
his life has been relieved by one bright spot upon its
surface Douglas and his companions in tribula-
tion by expressing themselves dissatisfied with the Kansas
Conventionists, have in part simply transferred their in-
fluence to the Republican sentiment of the country. ' ' 22
21 The Fairfield Ledger, Vol. VII, No. 44, October 29, 1857.
22 The Iowa Weekly Citizen, Vol. II, No. 43, December 9, 1857.
188 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
Douglas's revolt from the administration now secured
the admission of his speeches in Republican journals which
regarded them as the highest condemnation of the adminis-
tration's course in Kansas. His defense of Governor Wal-
ker was applauded, a chorus of editorial comment burst
forth, suspicions of a heated quarrel between the President
and the " Little Giant" were reported, and many Republic-
ans of Iowa found in Douglas's course a dire prophecy for
the future of the Democracy.
But even the Democracy of Iowa recoiled at the course of
the Lecompton Convention. From The Iowa State Journal
came a demand for a fair and honest application of the
principle of Territorial government; the difference in the
Democratic party, it insisted, arose only as to the practical
method of carrying out the principles of the Kansas-Ne-
braska Bill. " Senator Douglas, the author of the bill,"
explained the editor, "together with many tried and true
Democrats, backed by an almost universal sentiment in the
North, say that the Convention has not fairly carried out
this principle, and hence oppose the reception of the Le-
compton Constitution. Others have for various reasons
decided that it would be best to receive this Constitution,
and then let the people of Kansas hereafter change or re-
model the instrument. This is the ground of difference."
The writer concluded by proposing another election by the
bona fide residents of the Territory.23
Severe financial depression marked the close of the year
1857. "Banks and bankers, merchants and manufacturers,
traders and speculators, are tumbling to the ground, sus-
pending, assigning, failing, breaking, and showing forth in
every conceivable manner, the different signals of commer-
cial distress. . . . 'Hard times and no money' is the
23 Iowa State Journal, Vol. I, No. 46, December 26, 1857.
HISTORY OF POLITICAL PARTIES IN IOWA 189
word all over the country."24 For over two decades the
State had leaned wholly upon other States and foreign cor-
porations for its currency. In 1857 Bentonsport had issued
$5,500 of scrip and in the following January authorized the
issue of $5,000 more. A tax of $3,000 was levied for its
redemption and the entire corporation became liable. An
issue of $2,000 in one dollar notes payable on demand was
made by the "Davenport Gas and Coke Company" and
Burlington, Iowa City, and other towns issued scrip which
passed as currency in business circles.25 Thus it was clear
that an urgent need of financial legislation confronted the
new Republican administration of Iowa.
To the political annalist the public events and discussions
of 1858 in the State of Iowa bear much meaning and inter-
est. The great religious revival of the time among all class-
es infused the moral element into the great political dis-
cussions. By this year the leaven of abolitionism had raised
the Eepublican party into a dominating agency with a defi-
nite mission. Douglas's revolt from the course of the
administration operates as the dividing wedge among the
Iowa Democracy. More united than ever before sounds
Iowa's protest against Buchanan's course in Kansas. The
Lincoln-Douglas debates find a responsive chord among
Republicans and Democrats of Iowa, and not a little does
the high character of the legislature of this year contribute
to the political events of Iowa fifty years ago.
Governor Grimes 's last message 26 of January 12, 1858, to
the legislature was a fitting chart to guide the future of the
party whose inception and birth he had witnessed and en-
2* The Iowa State Journal, Vol. I, No. 37, October 24, 1857.
25 The Iowa State Journal, Vol. I, No. 38, October 31, 1857.
28 The full text of this message is to be found in Shambaugh 's Messages
and Proclamations of the Governors of Iowa, Vol. II, pp. 40-70.
190 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
couraged, and whose growth to stalwart power he himself
had fostered. State affairs he discusses with a masterly
hand. The Dred Scott Decision he regards as " revolu-
tionary in its character", "extra-judicial", and "subver-
sive of the policy of the founders of the republic". "It
cannot bind the conscience, or command the obedience of
any man."
Blow after blow is dealt at the administration's course in
Kansas. "The attempt is made to subvert every principle
of popular government, by fastening this Constitution [the
Lecompton] upon the people without their consent. . . .
They are not permitted to settle for themselves any of the
important questions connected with their judiciary, rep-
resentation, taxation, internal improvements, education,
finance, State indebtedness, or personal rights." And as
the champions of popular government everywhere the peo-
ple of Kansas are deserving of the sympathy of all freemen
of Iowa. Governor Lowe on the next day re-echoed and
emphasized the views of his distinguished predecessor.27
To elect a successor to Senator George W. Jones was the
first wish of the Eepublican majority of the Seventh Gen-
eral Assembly of Iowa. Rival candidates from rival sec-
tions threatened, as the contest grew warmer, to endanger
the cohesiveness among the Republicans. But, urged The
Iowa Weekly Citizen, while no man's candidacy should be
disparaged, only evil can result from a too zealous discus-
sion of the senatorship. "Our political opponents", con-
tinued the editor, "are for prolonging this Senatorial con-
test, with the hope that they may reap benefit from such
delay, by additional complications and embittered feel-
ings." 28 On January 26, 1858, the joint convention assem-
27 Shambaugh 's Messages and Proclamations of the Governors of Iowa, Vol.
II, pp. 131-134.
zs The Iowa Weekly Citizen, Vol. II, No. 49, January 20, 1858.
HISTORY OF POLITICAL PARTIES IN IOWA 191
bled, and on that day ex-Governor Grimes was elected Unit-
ed States Senator by a majority of twenty-three votes over
Ben M. Samuels who received forty-one votes.29 Thus, dur-
ing the first four years of its history, the Republican party
of Iowa captured both the United States senatorships.
An ever-present trouble upon the political waters were
the affairs in Kansas Territory. Early in January, 1858, a
meeting of Democrats at Mount Pleasant led by Henry
Clay Dean and B. J. Hall indorsed the administration of
Governor Robert J. Walker of Kansas as well as the course
of Douglas. "We now repudiate the baseborn abortion of
fraud and perjury — the Lecompton Constitution," de-
clared one of their resolutions. To impose this odious in-
strument upon the people of Kansas without their consent,
they regarded as an outrage upon the spirit of American
institutions.30 A similar meeting at Keokuk on January
9, 1858, commended Douglas, the Cincinnati platform and
even President Buchanan, although the meeting demanded
a free and honest application of the principle of self-gov-
ernment.31
Self-government, insisted a strong Democratic journal, is
the cementing principle of the Democratic party, while the
Republicans are rejoicing, as under their influence Kansas
is again made to bleed on paper. In trying to effect a
schism among Democratic ranks, complained its editor, the
Republicans "are hopping about, first here and then there
— now assailing the Administration, then complimenting
Douglas, then cursing him, and anon howling away at the
Democracy and the press, at the North and at the South. ' ' 32
The Dubuque Express and Herald blamed President Buch-
a» Senate Journal, 1858, pp. 119, 120. Mr. Grimes was elected to serve for
six years from and after March 4, 1859.
so Daily Iowa State Gazette, Vol. Ill, No. 157, January 5, 1858.
si Daily Iowa State Gazette, Vol. Ill, No. 165, January 14, 1858.
32 Daily Iowa State Gazette, Vol. Ill, No. 159, January 7, 1858.
192 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
anan alone for the Lecompton swindle and was diligent
in flaying the Republicans who were foisting upon Demo-
cratic shoulders the blame for the affairs in Kansas.
For some time a political storm had been gathering in
the legislature at Des Moines. During January the Re-
publicans of both houses were arrayed against the Demo-
cratic minorities on the subject of admitting Kansas into
the Union. On January 23, 1858, Governor Lowe approved
a joint resolution of instruction to the Senators and of re-
quest to the Representatives ' from Iowa to oppose the ad-
mission of Kansas with the Lecompton Constitution. The
President and all others favoring the Lecompton instru-
ment were condemned and one resolution even requested
the Senators from Iowa to resign if they could not obey the
legislature's instructions.33
Two days later the voice of Senator Harlan from Iowa
was proclaiming the irreconcilable differences between the
doctrine of Senator Douglas and the President's adminis-
tration in Kansas. With his moral earnestness he plead
for the sovereign rights of the Kansans and exposed the
political wrongs which he declared had been enforced by
Federal bayonets. ' ' The people of Kansas have been com-
pelled to submit to laws which they never made, and to
officers whom they never elected. ' ' 34
"I present these resolutions as a matter of respect to the
State Legislature of Iowa", explained Senator George W.
Jones on February 4, 1858, as he presented to the Senate
the Kansas resolutions of January 23, 1858. The curly
haired Senator quickly added, however, that he entertained
not the remotest idea that he would obey these instructions
and again expressed his intention to vote for Kansas with
33 These resolutions are to be found in the Congressional Globe, 1st Session,
35th Congress, p. 566.
3< Congressional Globe, 1st Session, 35th Congress, pp. 381-386.
HISTORY OF POLITICAL PARTIES IN IOWA 193
the Lecompton Constitution. Furthermore, the lofty be-
lief was expressed that the people of Iowa would favor the
Lecompton Constitution if only they understood it as he
did 1 35 The career of this pseudo-statesman was, however,
soon to be ended and even his own party was unwilling to
do him reverence for his views on the Lecompton Constitu-
tion when it nominated in his stead Ben M. Samuels. "Alas
poor Jones!" sarcastically paraphrased a Eepublican edi-
tor. "Had he served his country with half the fidelity, with
which he has served his party, he would not now be turned
out on the common, like an old horse to munch and die."36
Laudation, homage and reverence had been poured out
upon the Kansas-Nebraska Bill. It had been regarded as
the political alchemy by which the various compromises of
the Constitution could be vitalized into some active prin-
ciple which would allay excitement and give peace to the
Union. ' ' The doctrine of Squatter Sovereignty, ' ' observed
a Eepublican editor, "as applied to slavery in the Terri-
tories, is rapidly working out its own destruction. The
mask that has hitherto concealed its repulsive visage has
been torn away ; and however plausible may have been the
defense of its apologists up to the time of the Lecompton
Constitution swindle, its speciousness now is incapable of
deceiving any longer."37
From a Democratic editor came the declaration that the
legislature of Kansas possessed no further power under
38 Congressional Globe, 1st Session, 35th Congress, p. 566.
36 J. Teesdale in The Iowa Weekly Republican, Vol. II, No. 51, February
3, 1858. ' ' There is but one paper, we believe, in Iowa that stands with Senator
Jones on the Lecompton swindle. He represents a wretched and a beggarly
minority; and with the prospect of important presidential favors glittering in
the perspective, he stands pledged to assist by his vote a fraud more daring
and audacious than any other recorded in the history of the Eepublie. ' ' — The
Iowa Weekly Citizen, Vol. II, No. 52, February 10, 1858.
ST The Iowa Weekly Citizen, Vol. II, No. 51, February 3, 1858.
VOL. VII — 13
194 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
the Organic Act than to call a constitutional convention.
"It was an assumption of power, then, on the part of the
convention, when it submitted the question of slavery alone
and in the manner it did — an assumption of power un-
warranted and in derogation of the organic act." It was
the President's duty and power to see that the provisions
of the act were fairly and fully carried out. "That it was
not fairly and fully submitted," admitted the editor, "is
too notorious to escape the notice of any one. ' ' 3S
Henry Clay Dean, a lifelong prophet of the Democracy,
issued in February, 1858, a set of lamentations upon the
political ills of his chosen party. ' ' The negro question, with
which we have legitimately nothing under the Heavens to
do, has cost us two Governors, two United States Senators,
four Congressmen, the whole of the Supreme Bench, and
Both Houses of the Legislature, for three successive ses-
sions. We have imposed upon us a constitution in which
nothing but the negro question was fairly discussed before
the people."
"We have buried in this general contention upon the
negro question," continued Reverend Dean, "every ques-
tion of State and National policy. And whilst the Demo-
cratic party has been calling off her troops to fight the
neighboring battles, and settle the police quarrels of Geor-
gia, Alabama, South Carolina and Mississippi, we have
lost every foothold at home. We are without a representa-
tion in Congress. We have nothing left us but our party
platform and our political integrity. ' ' 39
"The people of Iowa are almost unanimously opposed to
the idea of forcing a constitution upon the people of Kan-
sas, Democrats as well as Eepublicans, ' ' observed The Chi-
ss Daily Iowa State Gazette, Vol. Ill, No. 202, February 26, 1858.
39 Quoted from the Daily Express and Herald in The Dubuque Weekly Times,
Vol. I, No. 34, February 24, 1858.
HISTORY OF POLITICAL PARTIES IN IOWA 195
cago Press. "They have emphatically spoken their views
on the subject through the Legislature. The term of Gen.
Jones is near its close, and a gentleman has been chosen
as his successor who is known to hold views on the subject
in harmony with those of a majority of the people. Under
these circumstances, one would suppose that Gen. Jones
would pay some regard to the wishes of his constituents.
But no — he is too good a democrat for that. He has noth-
ing more to hope from them, but Mr. Buchanan has the
power to reward him for misrepresenting the public senti-
ment of his State. " 40
Upon the Dred Scott Decision the Seventh General As-
sembly had also been waging a sharp debate. Senators
Samuel J. Kirkwood, William Loughridge, John W. Ban-
kin and J. B. Grinnell and Eepresentatives T. W. Jackson,
James F. Wilson and E. E. Cooley attacked the doctrines
of this famous decision. Strong counsel for it appeared,
however, in such Democrats as Senators Henry H. Trimble,
W. H. M. Pusey, Jarius E. Neal and Eepresentatives I. C.
Curtis, ex-Congressman Lincoln Clark, and D. A. Ma-
honey.41
The joint resolution of March 23, 1858,42 passed by a
strict party vote, is a powerful condemnation of the doc-
trine announced by Chief Justice Eoger B. Taney. It glows
from the moral earnestness infused into it by Kirkwood
and by Grimes and represents the views of a political party
still young in years but mature in its strength. It is a docu-
ment which well represents the ability and the high moral
purpose of those who defended and promulgated the doc-
trines contained in it.
« Printed from The Chicago Press in the Washington Press, Vol. II, No. 39,
February 10, 1858.
*i Gue's History of Iowa, Vol. I, pp. 365, 366.
42 Laws of Iowa, 1858, pp. 432-434.
196 IOWA JOUENAL OP HISTORY AND POLITICS
Three preambles precede the three resolutions of which
the first reads: "Resolved, that the extra-judicial opinion
of the Supreme Court in the case of Dred Scott, is not bind-
ing in law or conscience upon the government or people of
the United States, and that it is of an import so alarming
and dangerous as to demand the instant and emphatic rep-
robation of every good citizen."
"Resolved," reads the final resolution, "That the State
of Iowa will not allow slavery within her boundaries, in
any form or under any pretext, for any time however short,
be the consequences what they may. ' '
No Eepublican journal was more virulent in its opposi-
tion to the Lecompton Constitution than was the Daily Ex-
press and Herald, a strong Democratic organ at Dubuque,
and a bitter opponent of Senator George W. Jones. "The
passage of the odious Lecompton Constitution through Con-
gress," wrote this paper on May 2, 1858, "is a triumph of
corruption, fraud and treachery, but yet it is a result which
now nothing can avert. It is a triumph over principle not
of principle — it is a success of iniquity over justice. . . .
It is a triumph of the Administration over the advocates
of pure, sound Democratic principles, but it is a barren
triumph — a triumph that will bring down upon the head
of the Administration the curses, deep and fervent, of
sound national Democrats everywhere — curses for the
ruin and division of the party, curses by the suicidal and
obstinate policy of the President."43
Thus stood the political situation in Iowa when the Ee-
publican State Convention assembled at Iowa City on June
17, 1858.44 Samuel J. Kirkwood called to order the meet-
ing which then appointed the various committees and ad-
43 Daily Express and Herald, Vol. IX, May 2, 1858.
4* The proceedings of this convention are to be found in the Iowa Weekly
Eepublican, Vol. IX, No. 501, June 23, 1858.
HISTORY OF POLITICAL PARTIES IN IOWA 197
journed for the afternoon session. Fitz Henry Warren of
Des Moines County was chosen for permanent chairman.
For Secretary of State the Convention nominated Elijah
Sells of Muscatine County; for Auditor, J. W. Cattell of
Cedar County; for Treasurer, John W. Jones of Hardin;
for Attorney-General, S. A. Eice of Mahaska County; for
Eegister of the State Land Office, A. B. Miller of Cerro
Gordo County ; and for Commissioner of Des Moines Eiver
Improvement, William C. Drake of Wayne County.
Thirteen resolutions were adopted for the platform at
the evening session. Once more denunciation falls upon the
"infamous Lecompton Constitution" and again the admin-
istration of Buchanan is held up to censure. The doctrine
of the Dred Scott Decision, declares another resolution,
"has no foundation in the Federal Constitution, is at war
with the verities of our history, civil and judicial, and is
calculated to tolerate the enslaving of our race in all the
free States."
Warm approbation is also expressed of all those who
"opposed with all their might the passage of the Lecomp-
ton constitution and the English swindle through Con-
gress," and they trusted "that among the people there will
continue the same strong opposition to the encroachment
of the slave power, which they have so gallantly manifested
before the nation." Additional censure was voted against
the vast financial expenditures of Buchanan's administra-
tion, economy in the State's administration was promised,
and the Eepublican delegation in Congress was given warm
praise for their advocacy of "true Eepublican principles."
The following persons were then chosen for the State
Central Committee: John A. Kasson and H. M. Hoxie of
Polk County, G. H. Jerome of Johnson County, Thos.
Seeley of Warren County, N. J. Eusch of Scott County, E.
L. B. Clark of Henry County, and D. M. Cooley of Du-
198 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
buque County. On the next day at the same place the Re-
publican Congressional Convention for the second district
adopted the platform of the State Convention and nomi-
nated William Vandever for Congress.
Ver Planck Van Antwerp presided over the Democratic
State Convention assembled at Iowa City on June 24, 1858.45
There was little contest over nominations and the Demo-
cratic ticket as it came from the Convention was as follows :
for Secretary of State, Samuel Douglas of Benton County ;
for Auditor of State, Theodore S. Parvin of Muscatine
County; for Treasurer of State, Samuel H. Lorah of Cass
County; for Attorney General, James M. Elwood of Polk
County; for Commissioner of Des Moines Eiver Improve-
ment, Charles Baldwin of Van Buren County; and for
Register of the State Land Office, James M. Reid of Lee
County. A committee was chosen to prepare an address to
the people of Iowa and a new State Central Committee 46
was appointed.
The platform reported by Ben M. Samuels bears intrinsic
evidences of a discordant spirit in the Convention. To be
sure the ancient principles of the party are again
lauded and the agitation of the slavery question is once
more denounced. A vague resolution speaks of the sacred-
ness of judicial tribunals and their decisions, rigid investi-
gation of the State administration is demanded, " extrava-
gant expenditures" of the Republicans are censured, and a
promise of reform by the Democrats is pledged in the final
resolution. The all absorbing topics in Kansas Territory
are ignored.
Dissatisfaction followed upon the echoes of the Conven-
46 Daily Iowa State Gazette, Vol. Ill, No. 306, June 27, 1858.
*« J. A. Williamson and D. O. Finch of Polk County, E. H. Sylvester and
George Paul of Johnson County, L. W. Babbitt of Pottawattamie County, C.
J. Eogers of Scott County, D. F. Gaylord of Wapello County, I. N. Preston of
Linn County, and George D. Temple of Jefferson County.
HISTORY OF POLITICAL PARTIES IN IOWA 199
tion and a rump conclave of the Administration men was
held. Stilson Hutchins, editor of the North lowan called
to order the meeting which then chose Ver Planck Van
Antwerp for its chairman. Forty-six rebellious delegates
then passed the following resolution which represents the
views of the Buchanan wing of the Iowa Democracy : * ' That
we recognize in his Excellency, James Buchanan, a States-
man of ripe judgment and pre-eminent wisdom, who with
sympathetic devotion to the great principles of representa-
tive Democracy, has thus far conducted the government of
our great confederacy with signal ability, and with a just
and proper regard for the varied and conflicting interests
of States and individuals. " To a prophet who was without
honor even in his own party they accorded the following
resolution of praise: ''That the support given by Hon.
Geo. W. Jones to the Administration of President Buch-
anan, meets with our cordial and unqualified approba-
tion."47
"Popular Sovereignty" and "State Eeform" were the
watchwords of this campaign. Joint debates between the
congressional candidates were held and in their train fol-
lowed the usual crop of election prophets. Democrats cried
harmony, harmony, but there was no harmony. They re-
called that the Eepublicans had been swept into power by
a wave of excitement over the Kansas difficulties; grave
dangers were discerned in the Republican policy toward
banks; increased expenditures and taxes were charged
against Republican misrule ; the new Constitution had sad-
dled the executive department with new officers ; the judici-
ary had been tampered with; and promises and pledges
came from the Democrats that they would free the State
from "Black Republican" misrule.
The defalcation of the late Superintendent of Public In-
47 Daily Iowa State Gazette, Vol. Ill, No. 308, June 30, 1858.
200 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
struction, James D. Eads, was pointed to by the Democrats
as an example of Republican corruption. W. H. Farner,
in the Iowa State Journal, presented a long list of indict-
ments against the Eepublican administration: a profligate
set of officers had increased the State indebtedness, they
had been involved in State printing steals, and the Republi-
can legislature had raised official salaries and had covered
up corruption.48
A Burlington Democrat argued that the Lecompton ques-
tion was one of expediency rather than principle. The edi-
tor disagreed with Senator Jones upon the question but
would not upbraid him for his vote upon it. The past serv-
ices of the Senator were extolled and the editor praised
his honest convictions and his conscientious motives. With
singular confidence this writer saw no schism in the Demo-
cratic party which he regarded as united as the Repub-
lican.49
Unceasing war was waged by the Republicans upon
President Buchanan and the Lecompton Constitution.
They ridiculed the late Convention and commented upon
its lukewarm platform. They discerned an ever widening
breach in the Democratic party and quoted the utterances
of Douglas against Buchanan's policies. Ever confident
of success, they nevertheless welcomed new converts from
the Democratic camp, and were always ready to proclaim
the great mission of the party.
Charles Aldrich also discerned the spectre of Know-Noth-
ingism, declaring that the American party was seeking a
union with the Republicans. They wished to secure a di-
vision of the spoils, and a few of the more eccentric jour-
nals, charged the editor, were aiding and abetting "this
little squad of antiquated politicians". They wished to re-
*8 Printed in the Daily Express and Herald, Vol. IX, October 1, 1858.
4» Daily Iowa State Gazette, Vol. IV, No. 46, August 28, 1858.
HISTORY OF POLITICAL PARTIES IN IOWA 201
duce the Republican party to their level, but, concluded the
editor, "the game of Americanism has been played out." 50
October 13, 1858, registered another defeat for the
Democracy of Iowa. The entire Republican State ticket
was elected and Elijah Sells, whose majority led all the rest,
was given 49,135 votes for Secretary of State, and his op-
ponent, Samuel Douglas, polled 45,587 votes. In the first
congressional district the vote for Congressman stood:
Samuel R. Curtis, 23,529, H. H. Trimble, 22,729. In the
second district William Vandever, the Republican candi-
date received 25,503 votes — a majority of 2,739 over Wil-
liam E. Leffingwell, the Democratic candidate.51
Not since the existence of the State had a party been so
united as was now the Republican. A solid Republican
delegation to Congress was now backed by strong Repub-
lican majorities in both branches of the General Assembly.
A full roster of Republican State officers had been elected
by the party that was waxing stronger both in numbers and
in purpose. A decade had changed and fixed the political
complexion of the State of Iowa.
Meanwhile political events of national interest and im-
portance had been transpiring in Illinois. Abraham Lin-
coln, a comparatively unknown and untried man, was con-
tending for a seat in the United States Senate against
Stephen Arnold Douglas — then the most renowned figure
upon the American political stage. The popularity of
Douglas in Iowa and his war against Lecomptonism had
invested this famous contest with a peculiar interest for
the Democracy of Iowa.52 Said the Daily Iowa State Ga-
50 Hamilton Freeman, Vol. I, No. 49, June 24, 1858.
51 These election returns are taken from the figures found in the Daily Iowa
State Gazette, Vol. IV, No. 134, December 10, 1858.
82 For additional extracts from Iowa newspapers for discussions of the
Lincoln-Douglas debates see Herriott's Iowa and the first Nomination of Abra-
ham Lincoln, in the Annals of Iowa, Vol. VIII, No. 6, pp. 452-466.
202 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
zette on the day of election in Iowa: "From this day to the
third day of November every Democrat in Iowa will look
forward to the result in Illinois with greater interest than
to any result which has transpired within the last quarter
of a century ! Douglas in triumph will bring freedom and
permanency to our institutions." 53
Resenting the report that the Iowa Democracy were
opposed to the election of Douglas, this same journal de-
clared : * ' The Democracy of this State is almost unanimous
in the support of that of Illinois. Let the President, the
Cabinet, and the Washington Union understand that we do
not war against men, but that we are merely obeying the
dictates of principles; that we believe that the Democracy
of Illinois have a right to select and to elect Mr. Douglas
if they choose, and that none outside of a State have a right
to prevent them from doing so. The principle of self-gov-
ernment is the same in Illinois as in Kansas or Louisiana."
The editor concluded by recommending that the Iowa
Democrats encourage the Douglas forces of Illinois by
resolutions and mass meetings.54
Serious charges were whispered against Senator George
W. Jones (whose relations with Douglas were unfriendly)
that he secretly hoped that Lincoln would defeat the ' l Little
Giant". The Eeverend Henry Clay Dean, however, once
more stepped from pulpit to stump to urge the election of
the defender of popular sovereignty. On October 20, he
addressed the Democrats at Monmouth ; 55 on November 1,
he spoke at Dunleith. The Dubuque band preceded him, and
cheers, torches and processions added life to the meeting.
A delegation of Democrats from Dubuque came in a body
to encourage their Illinois brethren and for two and one-
63 Daily Iowa State Gazette, Vol. IV, No. 85, October 13, 1858.
54 Daily Iowa State Gasette, Vol. IV, No. 87, October 15, 1858.
55 Daily Iowa State Gazette, Vol. IV, No. 94, October 23, 1858.
HISTORY OF POLITICAL PARTIES IN IOWA 203
half hours Eeverend Dean addressed the audience. Throw-
ing off his coat and unloosening his cravat, the speaker
plead with pathos, eloquence, invective, and wit for the re-
turn of Douglas to the United States Senate.56
When the year 1859 opened, the breach in the Democratic
party was far from being healed; on the contrary it was
ever widening and the prospect of reuniting upon common
ground was as remote as ever. Many Democrats feared
that these differences if carried into the forthcoming Con-
vention would result in a formal disruption of the organ-
ization. These fears elicited an early discussion of the best
course to be adopted at the next assembling of the Democ-
racy. The Republican journals, moreover, did not assume
the role of a peacemaker for the discordant members of the
Democracy or for its conflicting tenets.
Desertions from the Democratic camp were many. On
January 12, 1859, Enoch W. Eastman, a longtime captain
in the Democracy, issued his edict of renunciation, declar-
ing that the party had forsaken its ancient principles.57 A
warm welcome was extended him by the Eepublicans, al-
though the Vinton Eagle declared: "Now we propose that
Enoch be taken into the Eepublican party on probation."
Commending the new convert The Iowa Citizen said:
"Democrats can be found by the hundreds who are dis-
56 Daily Express and Herald, Vol. X, November 3, 1858.
"Hundreds and thousands of Democrats of Iowa", said this paper on Oc-
tober 21, 1858, "would rejoice if they were in a situation to deal a blow for
Douglas, and have felt as they now feel, willing to sacrifice their own State,
district and county tickets, if by so doing they could contribute to the tri-
umph of the champion of "popular sovereignty" in his contest against
abolitionism and fanaticism. . . . Could the Democracy of Iowa have a
voice in the decision of the question, scarcely an individual could be found vot-
ing against the man who has so boldly defended and advocated the principles
of our party, before the people and before the assembled wisdom of the nation. ' '
67 The Iowa Citizen, Vol. Ill, No. 49, January 19, 1859.
204 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
gusted with the profligacy and corruption of their leaders.
They are about ready to leave their political associations
and seek a more congenial party." 58
In the office of the Iowa City Reporter there lurked a fear
that the bitter feud over Lecomptonism would be drawn
into the Convention and there operate as a disorganizing
element. The Daily Iowa State Gazette at Burlington
wished to drop all discussion of past differences at the altar
of harmony. But the views of the Daily Express and Her-
ald did not harmonize with these plans for securing har-
mony. The masses of the people should not be left in the
dark as to how the State Convention would treat questions
of principle, nor should silence on vital subjects allow the
Eepublicans to mislead the voters as to what is and is not
sound Democratic doctrine. "All questions as to the Le-
compton Constitution are of the past," lectured the editor,
"and we would not have them revived. But the doctrine
that Constitutions should be submitted to a direct vote of
the people for whose government they are framed contains
a vital Democratic principle that is as true to-day as it was
in 1856, and will be equally true during all time as it is to-
day. The Convention of 1857 unfortunately ignored a plain
declaration of that principle, although nine-tenths of the
Convention were staunch believers in it. What was the re-
sult?— Our neighbors of the Gazetee and Reporter know
that during the entire campaign, the refusal of the Conven-
tion to pass a resolution clearly endorsing the doctrine of
'submission' was a powerful weapon in the hands of the
opposition and the opposition candidates."
Commenting upon this discussion59 J. Teesdale of The
Iowa Citizen recalled the antecedents of former Democratic
BS The Iowa Citizen, Vol. IV, No. 5, March 16, 1859.
59 This discussion and comment is taken from a noteworthj editorial in The
Iowa Citizen, Vol. IV, No. 6, March 23, 1859.
HISTORY OF POLITICAL PARTIES IN IOWA 205
Conventions and assumed the functions of prophecy. He
anticipated an ominous silence upon the Homestead Bills,
the Agricultural College Bills, the Tariff and upon the enor-
mous expenditures of the administration. "They will
prove to the satisfaction of all blinded partisans, that Iowa
has nothing to do with measures of national significance;
and they will moreover demonstrate the fact, that the De-
mocracy of Iowa have no other mission on this fallen planet,
than to pursue the 210 darkies in the State, and circulate a
thousand-and-one lies about Eepublican profligacy."
The Eepublicans were already scanning the political hori-
zon for Presidential candidates for 1860. Editor J. Tees-
dale believed that the next president should be a man thor-
oughly identified with the creed and organization of the
Republican party. William H. Seward, the editor believed,
was the choice of Iowa, but loyal support would also be
given such candidates as John McLean, Chase, Winfield
Scott, Fremont, and John P. Hale. From Pennsylvania
Iowa would prefer Galusha A. Grow while many lowans
looked with favor upon John Bell and J. J. Crittenden.
The editor assured his readers, however, that presidential
preferences would not affect the State canvass.60 Of all
these men, thought the Davenport Weekly Gazette, none
possessed higher qualifications and a more consistent, purer
personal and political record than Governor Chase.61
The calls for the State Conventions were the signals for
"mentioning" lists of candidates. The Vinton Eagle sug-
gested Kirkwood for Governor, Charles Aldrich in the
Hamilton Freeman again presented the name of Ealph P.
Lowe; William Penn Clarke's name appeared in the Daven-
port Weekly Gazette. Before June, 1859, almost every
Democratic newspaper had printed the name of some man
«o The Iowa Citizen, Vol. TV, No. 9, April 13, 1859.
«i Davenport Weekly Gazette, Vol. XVIII, No 35, April 28, 1859.
206 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
whom it recommended for the governorship. Augustus
Caesar Dodge, Ver Planck Van Antwerp, and Bernhart
Henn, the former trio in the land office at Burlington, were
named. The list grew with the names of Maturin L. Fisher,
William E. Leffingwell, Ben M. Samuels, Judge Charles
Mason and Gilbert C. R. Mitchell. The mention of the Rev-
erend Henry Clay Dean, however, prompted a Republican
editor to say that it would be incongruous for the Reverend
Dean to serve as the embassador of Christ and at the same
time serve as the embassador of the Democratic party.
Seventy-six counties were represented at the Republican
State Convention at Des Moines on June 22, 1859, which
was presided over by Timothy Davis of Dubuque County.62
A letter from Governor Lowe was presented in which he
withdrew his candidacy for a renomination. Amid the pro-
longed cheers of the delegates Samuel J. Kirkwood was
then nominated for Governor by acclamation. Nicholas J.
Rusch was then nominated for Lieutenant Governor, and
Governor Lowe, L. D. Stockton, and Caleb Baldwin for
Judges of the Supreme Court. On motion of "William P.
Hepburn a State Central Committee of eleven members
representing the eleven judicial districts was selected.
A platform of ten resolutions was reported by G. H.
Jerome of Johnson County. The second condemns the
expenditure of nearly $100,000,000 under the rule of "Afri-
canized Democracy", the fourth condemns the new prohi-
bition of slavery in the territories by the Democrats and
the fifth opposes the demands of the southern Democracy.
Horror is expressed over the revival of the slave trade, a
homestead law is favored and economy in State expendi-
tures is promised.
An immense ratification presided over by John A. Kas-
«2 A full report of the proceedings of this Convention is to be found in The
Iowa Citizen, Vol. IV, No. 20, June 29, 1859.
HISTORY OF POLITICAL PARTIES IN IOWA 207
son was held after the session of the Convention. Senator
Harlan delivered a powerful speech before the delegates in
which he charged the Democratic party with the responsi-
bility for the condition of the country. The Democracy of
the free States had surrendered the administration of the
government to southern men and had abandoned all its
cherished principles. The increase of expenses in the gov-
ernment had been enormous and unnecessary, and for the
ills of the country he considered the Buchanan and Douglas
wings equally responsible. A strong moral and religious
fervor rides on the crest of his utterances and the argu-
ments, facts, and statistics in the speech make it one of the
most important campaign utterances of the year 1859.63
Speeches were also delivered by George May, C. C. Nourse
and by Congressman Samuel E. Curtis.
In February James A. Williamson, the Chairman of the
Democratic State Central Committee, issued the call for
the State Convention to meet in Des Moines on June 1. In
April, however, another call was issued, declaring that at
the request of many Democrats the State Convention was
postponed to June 23, the day following the meeting of the
Republican State Convention. This second manifesto drew
upon the Democrats a fire of Republican criticism, and the
Mt. Pleasant Journal with faint hopes for the Democracy
sarcastically advised that the Convention be postponed to
the year 9000.
The demands for the nomination of Augustus Caesar
Dodge for Governor had been many and persistent. He
was returning, at the time of the Convention, from Spain
where for four years he had served as the American Minis-
ter at the court of Isabella II. The Convention of June
63 A copy of this speech is to be found in the Autobiographical Manuscript
of James Harlan.
208 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
23 64 was compelled to meet without him and placed him in
nomination by acclamation. His running mate for Lieuten-
ant Governor was L. W. Babbitt of Pottawattamie County,
while for Judges of the Supreme Court they nominated
Thomas S. Wilson of Dubuque County, Judge Charles Ma-
son of Des Moines County, and C. C. Cole of Polk County.
The platform adopted reaffirmed the national platform
of 1856 and asserted that no power could prevent the Ter-
ritories from passing such laws upon the subject of slavery
as to them might seem proper. Responsibility for the doc-
trines of the Supreme Court was disavowed; a transconti-
nental railroad was favored; the acquisition of Cuba was
deemed desirable and another plank declared in favor of
the homestead policy. In the State they demanded reform
in taxation and expenditures, and insisted on the repeal of
the Constitutional provision which admitted negro children
to the schools on an equality with the whites.
Immediately after the Conventions had named their res-
pective candidates correspondence between the Central
Committees ensued relative to the arrangement of a series
of joint debates between the two candidates. This corre-
spondence created vaporous charges that Kirkwood was
afraid to meet the oratorical onslaughts of the Democratic
nominee. Scores of editorials voiced these charges and is-
sued denials and counter charges.
A series of joint discussions by the two candidates was
agreed upon.65 Oskaloosa first greeted the candidates who
discussed taxation, State expenditures, the Lecompton Con-
stitution, the Dred Scott Decision, and slavery in all its
bearings. Town after town was visited. Magnolia, Winter-
set, Newton, Iowa City, Adel and various other towns heard
«* Fairall 's Manual of Iowa Politics, Vol. I, Part 1, pp. 51-54.
«5 For a fuller narrative and discussion of this campaign see the writer 's
Augustus Caesar Dodge, Chap. XVIII.
HISTORY OF POLITICAL PARTIES IN IOWA 209
their joint discussions. Barbecues also interspersed the
debates. On September 23, 1859, Des Moines was the host
at a large barbecue where Dodge and Cole discussed the
issues. A dinner of " barbecued beef", pork, mutton, and
wheat and corn bread with a few " chicken fixins" was not
the smallest feature of the celebration.66 In the next month
a barbecue was held at the county fair at West Union. The
day opened by the firing of guns and at 8 o 'clock hundreds
of people were pouring into the town. Drums, fifes, bands,
parades, and processions added to the gaiety of the event.
Speeches followed and a roasted ox was eaten at high noon
by -the enthusiastic supporters of Dodge and Cole.67
It is a charitable characterization of this campaign to say
that it was full of personal abuse and vituperation. At the
polls on October 11, 1859, the entire Eepublican ticket was
elected and Kirkwood's vote was 3,170 over that of Dodge,
while in both branches of the General Assembly there re-
mained Eepublican majorities. The people in Iowa in 1859
felt more keenly and saw more thoroughly than ever before
the effects of Lecomptonism. The political pendulum in
Iowa was swinging farther away from slavery extension
than it had when Dodge was defeated for the Senate in
1855, and the ante-bellum decade had matured new political
creeds and converts.
Five days after this election John Brown descended upon
Harper's Ferry and with his little band seized the United
States arsenal. The news of this epoch-making event
quickly reached Iowa where the sympathizers and friends
of Brown were many. Surprise, shock, and passion fol-
lowed upon the developments of the affair, and with great
detail Iowa newspapers reported the attack, the capture,
«« Iowa State Journal, Vol. Ill, No. 34, October 1, 1859.
67 From an account in The Dubuque Herald, Vol. XVIII, No. 41, October
19, 1859.
VOL. VII — 14
the imprisonment, the trial, and the execution of Captain
Brown.
The event became a text for praise and blame, censure
and apology, warning and prophecy. "Modern democracy,"
moralized a Eepublican editor, "finds in Capt. Brown a fit
exponent of its doctrines and acts. The democracy of the
last five years have encouraged marauding schemes and
have encouraged marauders and cut-throats. . . . Brown
in his late Harper's Ferry raid is only imitating one of the
Democracy's forays John Brown is a martyr to
the democracy. And democracy if true to anything would
erect a monument to his memory. ' ' 68
William Porter recited the many sins of Brown and thus
indicted the Eepublican party: "All these things have
been encouraged and palliated by the press, and orators
of a great political party. The Kansas Aid Society com-
mended them as the legitimate fruit of their contributions
to the cause of freedom. Henry Ward Beecher rubbed
his hands in glee at the sanguinary accounts. Wm. H.
Seward grew bold and declared in favor of an 'irrepres-
sible conflict ' 69 between free and slave States
"What is there, People of Iowa, to commend to your favor
such a party as the Republican, proposing as the ultimatum
of its organization the universal inauguration through the
South of such scenes as that at Harper's Ferry?" 70
68 Iowa Weekly Eepublican, Vol. X, No. 571, October 26, 1859.
69 This much maligned and oft misquoted passage in Seward '& speech reads
as follows: "Shall I tell you what this collision [antagonism between free
labor and slave labor] means? They who think that it is accidental, unneces-
sary, the work of interested or fanatical agitators, and therefore ephemeral,
mistake the case altogether. It is an irrepressible conflict between opposing
and enduring forces, and it means that the United States must and will, sooner
or later, become either a slaveholding nation or entirely a free-labor nation. ' ' —
From Seward 's Eochester speech of October 25, 1858, in Baker's Seward' 's
Works, Vol. IV, p. 292.
TO Iowa State Journal, Vol. Ill, No. 38, October 29, 1859.
HISTORY OF POLITICAL PARTIES IN IOWA 211
Editor Teesdale of The Iowa Citizen believed that Brown
was more sinned against than sinning and regarded him as
the angel of light compared to some of the Buchanan hire-
lings. He also advanced the plea of insanity: "his whole
bearing through this Virginia outbreak, bears indubitable
evidence of a species of insanity that would in a trial for
murder, be received as conclusive cause for a home in the
asylum, instead of a felon's death." 71 Editor Jerome, an-
other Republican editor, was disgusted at the cowardice
and quaking fear manifested by the Virginia "s/wver-elry"
over the Harper's Ferry Raid.72
Captain John Brown was hanged on December 2, 1859.
At Davenport many German and American citizens wore
crape and on many business houses the sign of mourning
was displayed. In Der Democrat appeared an editorial
shrouded in mourning lines and a German theater displayed
a flag at half mast. A meeting of negroes passed resolu-
tions extolling Brown and requested that the city hall be
draped in black and that the mayor appoint thirty days
for fasting and prayer.73
"I feel entirely satisfied with the treatment I have re-
ceived on my trial," John Brown had said just before he
heard his doom.74 But the loiva Weekly Republican did not
remember this. "Now in a word," said the editor, "we
have not, and do not complain of Brown's arrest, nor that
he should have been put on trial, and if found guilty pay
the penalty of his guilt. But we have complained and do
complain of the judicial mockery of his trial, and of the
comic-tragic character of 'his taking off'. The trial was a
burlesque on justice and the execution a tragic farce which
71 The Iowa Citizen, Vol. IV, No. 34, November 2, 1859.
72 Iowa Weekly Republican, Vol. X, No. 572, November 2, 1859.
73 From accounts in The Dubuque Herald, Vol. IX, December 6, 1859.
7* Quoted in Rhodes 'a History of the United States, Vol. II, p. 405.
212 IOWA 'JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
if the world were ransacked from the flood till the reign of
King [Governor] Wise, there can not be found a counter-
part."75
The Republican press of Iowa vibrated between convic-
tion and policy upon the John Brown episode. While it
secretly admired his moral courage and his righteous im-
pulses, it also deplored the lawlessness and anarchy of his
deed. Democratic editors saw in Brown the natural fruit
of Republican teachings; Seward's Rochester speech and
Lincoln's "house-divided-against-itself" speech were tor-
tured into a prophecy of evil and looked upon as a soil that
had nurtured these tares of anarchy and discord. Brown
had been the forerunner of great events, and, although he
was now in his grave, his soul was bound to march on.
Intense and varied political activity is ushered in by the
year 1860. The echoes of Buchanan's last message, face-
tiously called a "political winding sheet" by an Iowa Re-
publican, revive condemnation in Iowa; political forces in
Iowa beat responsive to the bitter contests in Congress and
Helper's Impending Crisis provokes Democratic censure in
Iowa. Never in the history of the State were conventions
and campaigns more numerous; great men were sparring
for the presidential nomination and election and transcend-
ent issues depended upon the contest. On one side was the
Democratic party, looking to the past, weakened by many
defeats and divided in council. In front of it was moving
the Republican party led on by Grimes, Harlan, Kirkwood
and Kasson. Strong in the strength of its youth and in its
supremacy in every department of political power it looked
to the future to solve dominant issues.
For the last time ante-bellum issues were to be led into
the arena of debate and discussion. Compromises of the
TO Iowa Weekly Republican, Vol. X, No. 576, December 7, 1859.
HISTORY OF POLITICAL PARTIES IN IOWA 213
past were to be settled by contests. Strained relations were
to divide or to harden political ties and passion was often
to sever personal bonds. In brief the year 1860 is the
preparation and the prelude for the final act of a drama
which had been enacted by a generation of statesmen. It
is the role which Iowa plays in this preparation which
offers a study of strong political actors, motives and chang-
ing scenes.
Partisan feeling ran high in the Eighth General Assem-
bly of Iowa, and was strained to a still greater tension by
Governor Kirkwood's inaugural address of January 11,
1860. The administration of President Pierce, the work-
ings of the Kansas-Nebraska Bill, and the wrongs inflicted
upon the unhappy Territory of Kansas, argued the Gov-
ernor, had produced their natural fruit in the John Brown
raid. ''While the great mass of our northern people", he
declared, "utterly condemn the act of John Brown, they
feel and they express admiration and sympathy for the
disinterestedness of purpose by which they believe he was
governed, and for the unflinching courage and calm cheer-
fulness with which he met the consequences of his fail-
ure."76
Standing as the boldest utterance of sympathy upon John
Brown's act and coming from such a high source, this mes-
sage could not escape Democratic condemnation. A resolu-
tion directing the printing of 7,500 copies of this inaugural
drew a sharp protest which was signed by the Democratic
minority of each house. To express opinions upon John
Brown was not the province of the Governor of the State ;
they saw in the message an "attempt to extenuate and
excuse his conduct"; protest was registered against the
severe arraignment of President Pierce and southern states-
™ Shambaugh 's Messages and Proclamations of the Governors of Iowa,
VoL II, pp. 236-241.
214 IOWA 'JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
men, and the sentiments of the message, they feared, would
rekindle that blind fanaticism which had threatened the
Union.77
Another occurrence fell into this strained atmosphere.
It will be recalled that the youthful Barclay Coppoc of
Springdale, Iowa, had assisted Captain Brown in his as-
sault upon Harper's Ferry. He had returned to the home
of his youth and to his friends when one C. Camp arrived
in Des Moines and on January 23, 1860, served a requisition
for young Coppoc upon Governor Kirkwood. The Gover-
nor's legal acumen discovered, however, legal and other
technical flaws in the requisition and the surrender of Cop-
poc was declined.
Three weeks passed before Governor John Letcher of
Virginia could serve another requisition bearing the proper
seal, affidavits and indictments. But meanwhile warnings
had been conveyed to Coppoc who had safely escaped to
Canada. This episode had provoked a sharp correspond-
ence between two Governors 78 who were at opposite poles
upon the subject of slavery. Both money and assistance
were offered by Republican members to facilitate the es-
cape of Coppoc and at Springdale an armed guard had been
collected to prevent his arrest by the Virginia authorities.79
What did such events portend? Never had Governor
Kirkwood displayed more dignity and courage. In the
77 This protest is found in Shambaugh 's Messages and Proclamations of the
Governors of Iowa, Vol. II, pp. 247-251.
78 This correspondence is found in Shambaugh 'a Messages and Proclamations
of the Governors of Iowa, Vol. II, pp. 394-402.
7» ' ' Since the requisition on Gov. Kirkwood, for Barclay Coppock, the peace
principles of our Springdale Quakers have almost forsaken them. We learn
that they have received boxes of Sharpe's rifles, and that they have revolvers
in the hands of all the young men of the place. We also learn that they have
taken a brick store, formerly occupied by Thomas Winn, and converted it into
a fort, making holes in the upper part to shoot through. — They say that Cop-
pock shall not be taken." From The (Tipton) Cedar Democrat, Vol. IV, No.
27, February 9, 1860.
HISTORY OF POLITICAL PARTIES IN IOWA 215
legislature eulogy and praise as well as condemnation was
again spoken upon the ill-fated Brown. After reciting some
Republican eulogies in the legislature, the correspondent
of the Weekly Davenport Gazette wrote: "The warm-
heartedness which prompts such expressions as these ap-
pears to be entirely unknown to the Democracy, who do not
seem to understand the difference between a legal and a
moral wrong — between a martyr of his own faith, and a
culprit of ignoble desires, whose violation of law has no
palliation in wrongs endured, in moral principle, or a re-
ligious belief. ' ' 80
As early as December 5, 1859, John A. Kasson had issued
a call for the meeting of the Republican State Convention
at Des Moines on January 18, 1860. The purpose of this
meeting was merely to choose delegates to attend the Re-
publican National Convention of May 16 at Chicago where
a President and Vice President were to be nominated. A
large and enthusiastic body of delegates assembled and
was called to order by John A. Kasson. W. W. Hamilton
of Dubuque County was then elected President and eleven
Vice Presidents and six Secretaries completed the organ-
ization.81
On motion of Benjamin F. Gue of Scott County the
Convention proceeded to elect five delegates at large and
two delegates from each of the eleven judicial districts.
The delegates at large were W. Penn Clarke, Reuben Noble,
J. A. Kasson, Henry O'Connor, and J. F. Wilson. No
resolutions were adopted and the delegates were not in-
structed. Although none of the Congressional delegation
were chosen as delegates, the five men chosen nevertheless
represent a high order of ability. Seward, Chase, McLean,
so Davenport Weekly Gasette, Vol. XIX, No. 28, March 8, 1860.
fii The proceedings of this convention are to be found in The Iowa Citizen,
Vol. IV, No. 50, January 25, 1860.
216 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
Lincoln, Bates, and Cameron had their friends in the dele-
gation but no majority preference was present.
Five weeks later, on February 22, a similar meeting of
the Democracy was held at Des Moines.82 I. M. Preston of
Linn County presided over the deliberations of the Conven-
tion and expressed the hope that Douglas would be chosen
as the nominee of the Democracy for President. The dele-
gates chosen to attend the convention at Charleston on
April 23, were the following : Augustus Caesar Dodge, Ben
M. Samuels, D. 0. Finch, N. B. Baker, T. W. Claggett, W.
H. M. Pusey, J. W. Bosler and E. H. Thayer.
Ten resolutions were adopted. The national platform of
1856 was reaffirmed, abhorrence was expressed over the
Harper's Ferry attack, the execution of Brown was ap-
proved, Republican teachings were again censured, and
confidence in the administration was recommended. The
delegates were then instructed to cast the vote of Iowa as
a unit (at the Charleston convention) for Stephen A. Doug-
las so long as he should be a candidate before that body.
The "Little Giant's" forces in Iowa were in supreme con-
trol. After voting unanimously to abide by the action of
the Charleston convention, the delegates adjourned.
Presidential preferences now began to adorn the mast
heads of the Iowa Democratic political press. Indeed, as
early as January 5, Tine Cedar Democrat had printed the
name of Stephen A. Douglas whom it regarded as a con-
sistent, unswerving, union-loving Democrat.83 The Le
Claire Register claimed the honor of having first printed
the name of Douglas at the head of its editorial columns.84
In common with the policy of Democratic organs, R. H.
82 The proceedings of this convention are to be found in The Dubuque Her-
ald, Vol. XIX, No. 9, February 29, 1860.
83 The Cedar Democrat, Vol. IV, No. 22, January 5, 1860.
s* Printed in the IJavenport Weekly Gazette, Vol. XIX, No. 45, July 5, 1860.
HISTORY OF POLITICAL PARTIES IN IOWA 217
Sylvester of the Weekly Iowa State Reporter reposed his
choice in the prospective nominee of the Convention to meet
at Charleston on April 23, 1860. This man, everybody ex-
pected and the majority of the Democrats of Iowa hoped,
would be Stephen Arnold Douglas of Illinois.
Editor C. Curtiss of The Cedar Democrat counselled har-
mony in discussing presidential preferences, and deplored
the prejudices and abuse which an acrimonious discussion
was creating. "Mr. Douglas can be praised without any
detraction from Mr. Buchanan, Mr. Breckenridge, Mr. Hun-
ter, or any other. An ability to appreciate the greatness
of one distinguished man implies the power of seeing the
excellencies of others. ' ' 85
Expressions from Republicans as to presidential prefer-
ences are conspicuously absent in Iowa. Timidity, doubt,
and a fear of creating a discordant discussion made Re-
publican editors withhold the names of their favorites for
the presidential race course. Even Horace Greeley's early
advocacy of Edward Bates for President roused a protest
from the German Republicans of Davenport. Their meet-
ing of March 7, 1860, resolved that under no circumstances
would they vote for this Missouri statesman whom they re-
garded as infected with Americanism and as an unorthodox
Republican.86 Such a protest with its subsequent discus-
sion acted as a check to any exploitations of any presiden-
tial preferences.87 A week before the meeting of the Na-
tional Convention the editor of the Davenport Weekly
Gazette wrote: "We have advocated the claims of no
SB The Cedar Democrat, Vol. IV, No. 36, April 12, 1860.
8« The resolutions of this meeting are to be found in the Weekly Iowa State
Reporter, Vol. Ill, No. 35, March 14, 1860.
87 The Marion Register, however, declared that Seward was its first, last, and
only choice for President, and that if it had to give up the New York states-
man it would prefer Lincoln, although not very warmly. — The Iowa State Reg-
ister, Vol. V, No. 10, April 18, 1860.
218 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
man whose name has been mentioned in connection with this
nomination, and we do not intend to do so at this late day.
Not a name has been mentioned with any great prominence
as a candidate for the nomination of the Chicago Conven-
tion, whom we would not heartily and with our whole might
support, if the choice of that body. All maintaining the
same political principles, we regard this choice as a mere
question of men and popularity. ' ' 88
In the discordant Democratic National Convention the
Republicans of Iowa saw an omen of success. The seceding
delegates at Charleston were to hold another convention
at Baltimore on June 28 — three days after the meeting of
the Eepublican National Convention at Chicago. The Iowa
delegation at Charleston had, however, been faithful to
Douglas whose loyal supporters had been unable to effect
his nomination. After fifty-seven ineffectual ballots the
Convention had adjourned to reassemble at Baltimore on
the eighteenth of June.89
In the Eepublican Convention at Chicago the Iowa dele-
gation was honored by important places in the organiza-
tion and upon committees. Notable service was rendered
by John A. Kasson in drafting the platform. Said Horace
Greeley: "That the platform presented is so generally
satisfactory as it has proved, is eminently due to John A.
Kasson, of Iowa, whose efforts to reconcile differences and
ss Davenport Weekly Gazelle, Vol. XIX, No. 38, May 17, 1860.
8» ' ' But while we are disappointed at the results at Charleston, and regret
sincerely that a harmonious feeling did not prevail, and result in the hearty
nomination of a man who should be the next President, we are not alone in
our regrets. The Eepublican party, are more outraged at the result than we
are. Upon the nomination at Charleston depended greatly the action of the
Chicago Convention, now just on the eve of assembly. They expected to know
to a certainty, when they met, just who and what they had to contend with,
and could therefore cut their garment according to the requirements of the
season." — A. P. Durlin in The Lyons City Advocate, Vol. V, No. 14, May 5,
1860.
HISTORY OF POLITICAL PARTIES IN IOWA 219
secure the largest liberty of sentiment consistent with fidel-
ity to Republican principles, were most effective and untir-
ing. I think no former platform ever reflected more fairly
and fully the average convictions of a great National
party. "90
Shortly after Lincoln's nomination,91 the Republican
State Convention assembled at Iowa City on May 23, 1860,
and was called to order by John A. Kasson.92 Ed. Wright
of Cedar County presided over this Convention which was
largely a ratification meeting filled with hope and enthusi-
asm for the November election. The brief platform of
four resolutions endorsed the Chicago platform, the nomi-
nations of Lincoln and Hannibal Hamlin and as usual prom-
ised economy in State expenditures. The State officers
nominated were : Elijah Sells for Secretary of State, J. W.
Cattell for Auditor, John W. Jones for Treasurer, Chas.
C. Nourse for Attorney General, and A. B. Miller for Reg-
ister of the State Land Office. Fitz Henry Warren and
Jos. A. Chapline were nominated for electors at large while
for the first and second Congressional districts M. L. Mc-
Pherson and Chas. Pomeroy were respectively nominated
for electors.
Nearly three weeks intervened between the nomination
on June 23, 1860, of Douglas and Johnson at Baltimore, and
the meeting of the Iowa Democratic Convention at Des
Moines on July 12, 1860. To Democrats it was a period of
anxiety for the future of their party. The seceding dele-
so Quoted in the Iowa Weekly Republican, Vol. XI, No. 601, May 30, 1860.
si ' ' He is the most acceptable man to the Democracy of any named at Chi-
cago", wrote an Iowa Democratic editor. "He never had and never can have
the strength of Seward, the most formidable name presented for ballot. Simon
Cameron would have rallied a more enthusiastic support. Bates himself would
have been an antagonist of equal dread to the Democratic party." — E. H.
Sylvester in the Weekly Iowa State Reporter, Vol. Ill, No. 45, May 23, 1860.
92 The proceedings of this convention are to be found in the Iowa WeeJcly
Republican, Vol. XI, No. 601, May 30, 1860.
220 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
gates at Charleston had reassembled at Baltimore and on
June 28, had placed John C. Breckenridge and Joseph
Lane in nomination for President and Vice President.
Since May the Constitutional Union party had had its can-
didates, John Bell and Edward Everett, in the field. What
did this quadrangular presidential contest augur for the
future of the Democratic party?
Amos Harris presided over the deliberations of the dis-
tracted Democracy at the Des Moines Convention.93 The
following nominations were made: for Secretary of State,
John M. Corse ; for Treasurer, John W. Ellis ; for Auditor,
George W. Maxfield; for Attorney General, William Mc-
Clintock; for Register of the State Land Office, Patrick
Eobb. For Electors they nominated Lincoln Clark, Henry
Clay Dean, M. V. B. Bennett and LeGrand Byington.
A long platform of plans and promises was adopted. The
action of the Charleston and the Baltimore Conventions
was indorsed, the doctrines of non-intervention and popular
sovereignty were reaffirmed, the attempts to form "so
called union electoral tickets" they totally disapproved,
and they invited help to ' ' crush the hydra-headed monster,
Congressional Intervention". Eepublicanism was again
denounced, and in the program of State policy they prom-
ised reduction in taxes and expenditures, and the revision
of existing banking laws and of the State Constitution.
Meanwhile the spirit of discord had been at work among
the Democracy, although scores of ratification meetings
»3 The proceedings of this convention are to be found in The Dubuque Her-
ald, Vol. XIX, No. 29, July 25, 1860.
' ' Few of the old stagers, — the wheel-horses of the party, — were present.
Dodge, Coolbaugh, Hall, Johnston, Mahoney, Hempstead, Grant, Gillaspie, &c.,
&c., were all absent. They regard the present posture of affairs as too hope-
less to warrant an expnditure of time or money. Besides there is no chance
to draw upon the Administration, the corruption fund, or the office-holders.
The Breckenridge men hold the bag, and they propose to hold it tight enough
to prevent the friends of Douglas from getting anything out of it. ' ' — J. Tees-
dale in The Iowa State Eegister, Vol. V, No. 23, July 18, 1860.
HISTORY OF POLITICAL PARTIES IN IOWA 221
and jubilees had celebrated the nomination of Douglas.
Davenport seems to have been the instigator of the Breck-
enridge-Lane movement in Iowa. There as early as June
12, 1860, a coterie of Buchanan dyed Democrats had rati-
fied the nomination of Breckenridge and Lane.94 Another
meeting at the same place on June 30 was presided over by
T. D. Eagel and passed a set of resolutions. Breckenridge
and Lane they regarded as the true Democratic ticket and
they considered it their duty to place an electoral ticket in
the field for the voters of Iowa. A committee of three was
appointed to propel the movement.95
A few weeks later there appeared an " Address to the
National Democracy of Iowa" over the signature of H. H.
Heath of the National Committee of Iowa. He took issue
with the Douglas Democrats and declared that there were
thousands and thousands of National Democrats in Iowa.
"They must be permitted to have an Electoral ticket to
vote for, that they may vote for their principles; nothing
else will serve them — as honest men, nothing else can sub-
serve the great interest they have in the Ballot Box, and
their free untrammeled suffrage. ' ' 96
"The Eepublican press", assured J. Teesdale, "is prop-
erly disposed to see fair play between the fragmentary
Democracy. The Douglas organs are determined to crush
out the Breckenridge movement in Iowa; while it is vice
versa, (only a little more so) where the Breckenridge wing
is in the ascendant. As an item of intelligence we would
state that we have undoubted Democratic authority for say-
ing that the Breckenridge and Lane Democracy mean to
organize at an early day in this State. They will have a
State Convention, and respond to the insolent and dicta-
9* The Iowa State Register, Vol. V, No. 22, July 11, 1860.
»e Iowa Weekly Republican, Vol. XI, No. 606, July 4, 1860.
»« Iowa Weekly Republican, Vol. XI, No. 608, July 18, 1860.
222 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
torial gentlemen of the late State Douglas Convention, in a
tone that cannot be mistaken. As they have received no
quarters they will give none."97
Editor Teesdale was right. Late in July there was is-
sued a call for a mass meeting of the National Democracy
of Iowa to meet at Davenport on August 15, 1860. The
names signed to the call indicated the strength and the area
of the Breckenridge sentiment. Of the eighty-one signers,
thirty-nine hailed from Davenport, eighteen came from Du-
buque, others were from Keokuk, Fort Dodge, Keosauqua,
Council Bluffs and Le Claire. The name of Austin Corbin
of Davenport is first on the list, and the spirit of James
Buchanan certainly animated these delegates.98
John Johns called the Breckenridge State Convention of
August 15, to order, which chose T. S. Espy of Lee County
for its President. Committees were appointed to manage
the campaign and the following were nominated for Presi-
dential Electors : G. C. R. Mitchell, T. S. Espy, J. D. Test,
and J. F. Duncombe. No State nominations were made.
The platform of seven resolutions reported by P. Quigley
is an ultra Buchanan document. The Dred Scott Decision
is eulogized, the right of Congress to interfere with the
introduction of slaves into Territories is denied, as well as
the right of the Territories themselves to prohibit slavery.
"The true Democratic and constitutional doctrine is, that
the Territories, being the common property of all the States,
and all citizens being thereby joint owners, all have an
equal right to settle in them with whatever property they
may legally possess." The final resolution cordially in-
dorsed President Buchanan's administration.99
97 The Iowa State Register, Vol. V, No. 23, July 18, 1860.
98 Reprinted from the Davenport Democrat $• News in The Dubuque Her-
ald, Vol. XIX, No. 29, July 25, 1860.
99 The Iowa State Register, Vol. V, No. 28, August 22, 1860, and the Mus-
catine Weekly Journal, Vol. XII, No. 8, August 24, 1860.
HISTORY OF POLITICAL PARTIES IN IOWA 223
"The National Democratic party is confused and dis-
tracted, but it is not dead", began the address which the
Convention published the next month. It presents the his-
tories of the various nominations, and is a long and detailed
statement and argument of the pro-slavery wing of the
Democratic party.100
But a fourth party now entered upon the political stage
in Iowa. This was the Constitutional Union party gener-
ally composed of men of ability. These men as a rule were
the former adherents of Clay and of Fillmore. Whig and
Know-Nothing instincts still lingered in them and they
looked with equal alarm at both the Democratic and the
Eepublican party. From Iowa City on August 6, 1860,
came a call for a Union State Convention to meet at Iowa
City on August 31, to nominate an electoral ticket and to
organize the party for efficient action. The signers of this
call were Eastin Morris, W. H. Henderson, Geo. D. Cros-
thwait, Joseph P. Troxel, D. W. Henderson, and Walter
Curtis.101
A mass meeting of thirty-two Union men met at Musca-
tine on August 25, 1860. George Eeeder was President
and the meeting passed strong resolutions condemnatory of
the Republican party which it regarded as a "purely sec-
tional faction". John Mahin, a Republican editor, repri-
manded the members of this gathering for squandering
their political influence upon an independent and hopeless
organization, and the names of all the persons in the meet-
ing were published under the editorial caption of "The
100 The full text of this address is in The Lyons City Advocate, Vol. V, No.
32, September 8, 1860. Four days before the Breckenridge State Convention
this paper replaced in its editorial column the names of Douglas and John-
son by those of Breckenridge and Lane. Thia paper under the editorship of
A. P. Durlin was one of the strongest if not the strongest Breckenridge organ
in Iowa.
101 Weekly Iowa State Reporter, Vol. IV, No. 7, August 29, 1860.
224 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
Know-Nothing Convention".102 At a similar meeting in
Des Moines on the same day delegates were appointed to
attend the State Union Convention.103
Forty or fifty Union delegates most of whom came from
Davenport and Muscatine were called to order by Eastin
Morris at Iowa City on August 31, I860.104 The gathering
represented about fifteen counties principally of the eastern
part of the State. Ebenezer Cook presided over the meet-
ing and W. H. Henderson, H. D. McHenry, C. W. Boyer,
and J. J. Lindley were nominated as electors. A State
Executive Committee of ten members was selected to man-
age the campaign. A proposition to nominate a State
ticket was strenuously opposed and voted down.
Five resolutions were adopted as reported by H. D. Mc-
Henry, J. H. Wallace, and L. S. Viele. They deplored the
sectional strife between the Democratic and the Republican
parties and expressed alarm at the growth of the Executive
power. They referred to the delusive and ambiguous plat-
forms (of which theirs was certainly one) and invited the
people of Iowa to look to the records of Bell and Everett
as they stood upon "the basis of the Constitution, the
union of the States and the enforcement of the laws."
Four parties in Iowa were now aspirants for Presidential
honors. In the first district the Eepublicans were again
matching Samuel E. Curtis against Chester C. Cole for
Congressional honors, while in the second district William
Vandever, Republican, was opposing Ben M. Samuels. Two
State tickets were in the field and a new House of Represen-
tatives was to be elected. This was Iowa's fourth Presi-
102 Muscatine Weekly Journal, Vol. XII, No. 9, August 31, 1860.
los The Iowa State Register, Vol. V, No. 29, August 29, 1860.
104 The facts concerning this convention are found in the Iowa Weekly Re-
publican, Vol. XI, No. 615, September 5, 1860, and in the Muscatine Weekly
Journal, Vol. XII, No. 10, September 7, 1860.
HISTORY OF POLITICAL PARTIES IN IOWA 225
dential election and the contest remains a memorable one
in Iowa's political history.
Never had Iowa furnished a more brilliant and a more
aggressive galaxy of speakers than in this campaign. Har-
lan, who had been reflected Senator on January 14, 1860,
was everywhere in demand; immense throngs listened to
Governor Kirkwood; powerful speeches were delivered by
Senator Grimes; editors often exchanged their editorial
chairs for the stump; Vandever and Curtis made long
speaking tours; C. C. Nourse, the candidates for elector
and for State offices, and scores of minor speakers did
noble work for Lincoln and Hamlin.
Among the Democratic campaigners Samuels and C. C.
Cole were foremost in urging the election of Douglas ; Lin-
coln Clark spoke frequently; LeGrand Byington bitterly
assailed Kirkwood, Lincoln, and the Republicans generally ;
the candidates for State office presented their claims, and
the Reverend Henry Clay Dean — more deserving of the
cap and bells than the cloth — perambulated the State from
one end to the other. Neither the Breckenridge men nor the
Bell-Everett men seem to have conducted an aggressive
campaign in Iowa and neither seemed to gather force as
the day of election approached.
Never were ratification meetings, mass meetings, rallies,
and joint discussions more numerous. Scores of Douglas
clubs were formed while the "Wide Awake " clubs of the
Republicans guarded the interests of Lincoln. Instances
of personal violence were not wholly uncommon and per-
sonal abuse and vituperation were by-products of this cam-
paign. But in all these features there is discernible a
deeper appreciation of the grave and momentous issues of
this contest.
A noteworthy event in this campaign was the speech of
VOL. VII — 15
226
William H. Seward at Dubuque on September 21, I860,105 in
which he plead earnestly for the election of the man who
four months before had defeated him for the nomination
for the Presidency. Under Democratic rule, the speaker
stated, the policy of the federal government had been to
extend and fortify African slave labor in the United States.
"Our policy," said Mr. Seward, "stated as simply as I
have stated that of our adversaries, is, to circumscribe
slavery, and to fortify and extend free labor or freedom."
The various compromises on the slavery question are re-
viewed, free labor in Iowa is contrasted with slave labor,
the claims of Douglas and Breckenridge are considered,
and he pleads that when a Territory shall be admitted as a
State it shall, like Iowa, be left untrammeled and un-
crippled by slave labor. "A strange feeling of surprise
comes over me that I should be here in the State of Iowa,
the State redeemed in the compromise of 1820; a State
peopled by freemen; that I should be here in such a State
before such a people, imploring the citizens of the State
of Iowa to maintain the cause of Freedom instead of the
cause of Slavery."
Still more notable was the visit of Douglas to Iowa dur-
ing which he spoke at Cedar Rapids 106 and at Iowa City
in the month of October. The booming of cannon and the
cheers from thousands of Democratic admirers greeted the
"Little Giant" when he arrived at Iowa City in the fore-
105 This speech is printed in The Iowa State Eegister, Vol. V, No. 35, Oc-
tober 10, 1860.
See also Baker's Seward' 's Works, Vol. IV, pp. 368-385.
106 < < Mr. Douglas spoke to a crowd of 5,000 at Cedar Bapids at 10 o 'clock
yesterday [October 10, I860]. We understand that he was not able to finish
his speech on account of being disturbed by the Eepublicans. Shame upon
such conduct. The Eepublicans have much to say about free speech and free-
dom. Their freedom seems to mean that they have the right to disturb Demo-
cratic meetings. Who would belong to a party which would be guilty of such
cowardly conduct!"— Cedar Democrat, Vol. V, No. 10, October 11, 1860.
HISTORY OF POLITICAL PARTIES IN IOWA 227
noon of Tuesday, October 9, 1860. With him came also a
group of Chicago Democrats who were escorted to the
Crummey House where a reception was held in honor of the
candidate. Augustus Caesar Dodge, Douglas's former col-
league in the Senate, had also come to enjoy this gala day
for the Democracy of Iowa.107
Stephen Arnold Douglas was in his forty-eighth year
when he rose in the afternoon to address the Democracy of
Iowa. Veteran and victor in a score of political contests,
this campaign was the last time (as it proved) that he took
up arms against a sea of troubles. He was weary and worn
from months of speaking and was suffering from a hoarse-
ness that hindered his speech. He had spoken ten times
on the day before, which, he humorously remarked, had been
one of his "leisure days".108
With his wonted skill he at once gained the confidence of
the large audience by complimenting the intelligence and
the greatness of Iowa, and by recounting his own share in
the State's Congressional career. Why cannot we all re-
turn to the doctrine of non-interference and non-interven-
tion as all parties did in 1850? The Democratic platform
stands for this and the Democratic party fought both north-
ern and southern fanaticism. "If you would banish the
slavery question from the halls of Congress, and leave the
people to decide it, Northern Abolitionism would not last a
week, and Southern disunion would die in a day."
Northern Eepublicans, complained Douglas, demand that
Congress prohibit slavery wherever people want it, while
the Breckenridge men insist that Congress maintain and
protect it where the people do not want it. The Eepublicans
107 Cedar Democrat, Vol. V, No. 10, October 11, 1860.
108 This speech is found in The Muscatine Daily Beview, Vol. I, No. 17, Oc-
tober 11, 1860. It was reported by W. H. Jenkins, the only short-hand re-
porter present, exclusively for this paper.
228 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
want Congress to act for the North and the Southern Dis-
unionists for the South. "Have you ever seen a Republic-
an leader who did not say he preferred Breckenridge to
Douglas?" demanded the speaker.
A voice here interrupted saying that the southerners were
not disunionists. Why then did they secede at Baltimore,
asked the speaker. Not to defeat Lincoln but to defeat me ;
they are dividing the party for the benefit of Lincoln.
"They can't divide us here," assured a faithful Democrat,
"we are all for Douglas."
The patriotism of the politician now showed itself, when
he denounced all threats of disunion. "I tell you people
of Iowa to-day," rang his words, "that whoever is elected
President, must be inaugurated, and after he is inaugurated
he must be supported in the exercise of all his just powers.
If after that he violates the Constitution, I would help pun-
ish him in obedience to it, by hanging him as a traitor to
his country."
Cheers, applause, and shouts of approval punctuated this
speech which found a warm response in Democratic hearts.
His hoarseness increased but he continued. ' ' This Union
cannot be dissolved without severing the ties that bind the
heart of the daughter to the mother and the son to the
father. This Union cannot be dissolved without separating
us from the graves of our ancestors. We are bound to the
South as well as to the East, by the ties of commerce, of
business, and of interest. — We must follow, with our pro-
duce in all time to come, the course of the Mississippi River
to the broad ocean. Hence, we cannot permit this Union to
be dissolved. It must be preserved. And how? Only by pre-
serving inviolate the Constitution as our fathers made it."
Prophecies and forecasts — those volatile elements of
all political campaigns — became more and more numerous.
The October elections of other States gave moral stimulus
HISTORY OF POLITICAL PARTIES IN IOWA 229
to Bepublicanism in Iowa. But Democrats as well as Re-
publicans were surprised at the magnitude and number of
Republican majorities in the election of November 6, 1860.
The Republican triumph was as complete as it was over-
whelming. The popular vote for President stood : Lincoln,
70,118; Douglas, 55,639; Breckenridge, 1,034, and Bell,
1,763.109 For Secretary of State, Elijah Sells polled 70,706,
a majority of 13,670 over J. M. Corse. The remainder of
the Republican ticket was elected by almost equally large
majorities. Ben M. Samuels receiving 27,306 votes was de-
feated for Congress by a majority of 9,499 votes by William
Vandever. In the first district Samuel R. Curtis received
33,936 votes — a majority of 3,696 over C. C. Cole the
Democratic nominee.110
With the election of Abraham Lincoln there ends the
ante-bellum period of our political history. Decades of
slavery agitation and compromises evolve into the issues of
secession and union; the political historian must write "of
arms and the man", and the man is Lincoln, rather than
Douglas, Kirkwood rather than Jones, and Grimes rather
than Dodge. And no longer can the questions of the hour
be settled by Chief Justice Taney in the Supreme Court but
rather by General Grant at Appomatox Court House.
Louis PELZER
THE STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF IOWA
IOWA CITY
109 Iowa Official Register, 1907-1908, p. 530.
no These statistics are taken from The Cedar Valley Times, Vol. X, No. 14,
December 20, 1860, and The Iowa State Register, Vol. V, No. 44, December
12, 1860.
THE DELEGATES TO CONGRESS FEOM THE
TERRITORY OF IOWA
[This paper was awarded the prize of seventy-five dollars offered in 1908 by
the Iowa Society of the Colonial Dames of America for the best essay on Iowa
history. The essay has been revised and enlarged for publication. — EDITOB.]
The institution of Territorial representation in Congress
had its origin in the Ordinance of 1787 for the government
of the Northwest Territory. That Ordinance contemplated
the formation of from three to five States in the Northwest
Territory; but for the time being provision was made for
the establishment of Territorial government. In regard to
this temporary government it was provided that as soon as
the population should number five thousand the people
might elect members to a Territorial House of Representa-
tives who, together with the Governor and a Council ap-
pointed by Congress, were to form the Territorial General
Assembly; and the General Assembly was empowered to
elect a Delegate to Congress, who should "have a seat in
Congress, with a right of debating, but not of voting during
this temporary government. ' ' 1
What would be the exact status of the Territorial Dele-
gates to Congress was somewhat uncertain. It seems that
they were to have the same privileges as representatives
from the States, save the right of voting; but evidently
there was little thought of what questions they should de-
bate, or precisely what their duties should be. The Ordi-
nance did not even state in which branch of Congress they
should sit. Obviously, then, the position, influence, and
i United States Statutes at Large, Vol. I, p. 52.
The Congress of the United States slightly revised the Northwest Ordinance,
August 7, 1789. — United States Statutes at Large, Vol. I, p. 51.
THE IOWA TERRITORIAL DELEGATES 231
privileges of the Territorial Delegates in Congress would at
the outset depend largely upon the men who would be
chosen to fill the office.
The Northwest Territory was not the first Territory to
send a Delegate to Congress. When in 1790 Congress
established the Southwest Territory (which eventually was
admitted into the Union as the present State of Tennessee)
it provided in the Organic Act a government similar to that
provided for in the Northwest Ordinance.2 Four years
later (1794) Congress was quite surprised to receive the
credentials of Dr. James White, as duly elected Delegate
from the Southwest Territory. A two days' desultory de-
bate followed in the Committee of the Whole House as to
whether this first Delegate to Congress should be admitted
to a seat in the House or in the Senate or in both.3 Some
members even denied his right to a seat anywhere ; but this
point was settled by reference to the provisions of the Or-
dinance of 1787. Finally the Delegate from the Southwest
Territory was admitted to a seat in the House. The journal
of Congress does not show whether this first and only Dele-
gate from the Southwest Territory took any active par-
ticipation in debate, either on Territorial affairs or on
other business.
It was not until 1799 that the Assembly of the Northwest
Territory elected as the first Delegate to Congress, William
Henry Harrison (a young Virginian of the famous Harri-
son family of Virginia) who had already won military hon-
ors in the Northwest under General Anthony Wayne.
Delegate Harrison took his seat in Congress in December
of the year he was elected.4 He was voted the franking
2 Annals of Congress, 1st Congress, p. 2286; United States Statutes at Large,
Vol. I, p. 123.
s Annals of Congress, 3rd Congress, p. 873.
* Annals of Congress, 5th Congress, pp. 187, 109 ; United States Statutes at
Large, Vol. II, p. 4.
232 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
privilege and the same compensation as Representatives,
and he took the same oath of office.
Unlike the Southwest Delegate, Harrison, being a man of
initiative and well known in the East through his family
connections, immediately assumed a leading position in
Congress with regard to Territorial affairs. During this
period of congressional history the greater part of the
business of the House of Eepresentatives was considered in
the Committee of the Whole, where the debate, in which all
the members participated, was exhaustive and unlimited.
The practice of committing business to standing commit-
tees was not so regularly followed as it is to-day. There
was in fact no committee on the Territories; and so Dele-
gate Harrison in calling the attention of Congress to needed
Territorial legislation observed the usual method of moving
a resolution for the appointment of a special committee to
inquire into the expediency of enacting legislation in re-
gard to the Territorial question described.5 The bill which
such a committee would report was then fully discussed
in the Committee of the Whole House before being voted
upon. Delegate Harrison was appointed a member of
nearly every special committee having to do with Territo-
rial business, and was, indeed, chairman of three of these
committees.6
While the Delegate from the Northwest Territory thus
took an active part in legislation relating to the Territories,
he spoke but once on any other subject, thus establishing
the precedent of Delegates confining their attention largely
to questions of Territorial concern.7 It appears reasonable
s Annals of Congress, 6th Congress, pp. 194, 209, 529.
6 Annals of Congress, 6th Congress, pp. 198, 210, 538.
7 Toward the close of a long debate on the reduction of the army, Harrison
made some brief remarks concerning hia own experience with the militia. —
Annals of Congress, 6th Congress, p. 316.
THE IOWA TERRITORIAL DELEGATES 233
that Delegates should thus restrict their debate; and so,
the precedent established by Harrison has been more or less
strictly observed down to the present day.
As Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan were organized into
independent Territories, they were each empowered to send
a Delegate to Congress.8 In 1809 Congress passed a law
providing that the people of the Territory of Indiana 9 at
the time of electing representatives to the General Assem-
bly might elect a Delegate to Congress. The same provi-
sion was made in 1812 for the Territories of Illinois and
Missouri.10 And in 1817 Congress passed a general act
providing that thereafter all Delegates should be elected
every second year by the citizens of the Territories who
were entitled to vote for representatives to the Territorial
legislatures.11 This placed the election of Delegates di-
rectly in the hands of the inhabitants of the Territories.
That part of the Northwest Territory which now forms
the State of Wisconsin was for thirty years prior to 1835
a part of the Territory of Michigan ; and in 1834 a consid-
erable area west of the Mississippi Eiver was attached to
and made a part of this same Territory of Michigan.12 But
in 1835 the people of eastern Michigan adopted a State
s United States Statutes at Large, Vol. II, pp. 58, 514, 309.
Besides those named in the text, the following Territories at various periods
before 1846 sent Delegates to Congress: Southwest Territory, Mississippi Ter-
ritory, District of Orleans, and Missouri, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Wiscon-
sin and Iowa.
9 United States Statutes at Large, Vol. II, p. 525.
10 United Statutes Statutes at Large, Vol. II, pp. 476, 742.
11 United States Statutes at Large, Vol. Ill, p. 363.
12 United States Statutes at Large, Vol. IV, p. 701.
In discussing the Delegates to Congress from the Territory of Iowa, it is
well to consider the Delegate from the original Territory of Wisconsin from
1835 to 1838, since by the Organic Act of Wisconsin, approved April 20, 1836,
the Iowa country was included as a part of this original Territory of Wiscon-
sin and was called the "Iowa District".
234 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
constitution and government, and though not yet admitted
into the Union neglected to elect a Territorial Delegate to
succeed the Delegate whose term expired that year. This
left the western part of the original Michigan Territory un-
represented in Congress. Accordingly, it appears that in
the same year the people of Western Michigan assumed to
themselves the Territorial government and held an election
for Delegate to Congress which resulted in the choice of
George Wallace Jones.13
On December 7, 1835, Delegate Jones took his seat in the
House of Representatives,14 and was recognized as repre-
senting that part of Michigan Territory which did not
claim to be a State.15 This was the first session of the
Twenty-fourth Congress. The Territories of Arkansas and
Florida were also represented each by a Delegate.16 But
none of the Delegates were placed on any of the standing
committees; for, since Harrison's term as Delegate, a
change had taken place in the procedure of the House of
Representatives. Instead of only a few standing commit-
tees, necessitating a discussion of all the business in the
Committee of the Whole House, Congress as early as 1836
had adopted the present congressional system of appoint-
ing many standing committees.17 To the committees were
committed or referred the large majority of the bills intro-
duced and the resolutions and petitions presented. As is
is Strong 'a History of Wisconsin Territory, p. 158.
n Congressional Globe, 1st Session, 24th Congress, p. 3.
is Although the people of eastern Michigan Territory adopted a State Con-
stitution in 1835 and elected no Delegate to Congress, yet they were not ad-
mitted until January 26, 1837. Jones, considering that he represented only
what was left of Michigan Territory, took no part in the debates of Congress
concerning the admission of eastern Michigan as a State.
16 Congressional Debates, 1st Session, 24th Congress, p. 1940.
!7 See Standing Rules and Orders of the House of Representatives of the
Twenty-fourth Congress in the Journal of the House of Representatives, 1st
Session, 25th Congress, p. 247.
THE IOWA TERRITORIAL DELEGATES 235
the practice today, the committees after considering the
different legislative matters referred to them, reported
favorably or unfavorably to the House. If the report was
favorable it was accompanied by a bill embodying the de-
sired legislation; and the bill thus introduced by the com-
mittee was open to very limited debate and amendment
before the vote thereon was taken.
Thirty-two standing committees were appointed for the
session of 1835-36.18 Only eight of these committees con-
sidered any Territorial business, namely: the committees
on Claims, Public Lands, Post Office and Post Koads, the
Judiciary, Indian Affairs, the Territories, Public Expen-
ditures, and Private Land Claims.
Petitions and memorials from the inhabitants of the Ter-
ritories were presented to Congress by their respective
Delegates on "petition and resolution days", when the roll
of the States and Territories was called. The petitions
thus presented were referred to the proper committees.19
On such days it was also in order to move a resolution that
a certain committee consider a specifically mentioned ques-
tion needing legislation, or frame and report a bill embody-
is Congressional Globe, 1st Session, 24th Congress, p. 21.
19 Attention is called to the following rules :
"16. As soon as the journal is read, the Speaker shall call for petition*
from the members of each State, and delegates from each Territory, beginning
with Maine; and if on any day the whole of the States and Territories shall
not be called, the Speaker shall begin on the next day where he left off the
previous day: Provided that after the first thirty days of the session, peti-
tions shall not be received, except on the first day of the meeting of the House
in each week.
17. The petitions having been presented and disposed of, reports, first from
the standing, and then from the select committees, shall be called for, and dis-
posed of. Eesolutions shall then be called for in the same order, and disposed
of by the same rules, which apply to petitions: Provided, that no member
shall offer more than one resolution, or one series of resolutions, all relating to
the same subject, until all the States and Territories shall have been called."
— Standing Rules and Orders of the House of Representatives of the Twenty-
fourth Congress, Journal of the House, 1st Session, 25th Congress, pp. 247, 248.
236 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
ing the same. On "resolution and petition days" Delegate
Jones was always in attendance to present numerous peti-
tions and memorials from western Michigan.
The newly organized Territories of the West were com-
pletely under the control of Congress. Almost all the lands
were still government land. There was no system of taxa-
tion. Congress voted the Territorial expenses. For inter-
nal improvements, preemption rights, and other legislative
measures the inhabitants were obliged to look to Congress.
There was, in fact, no end to petitions and resolutions from
the West. On March 1, 1836, among the seventeen recorded
in the Congressional Globe as presented by Delegate Jones
are the following :
Petition of the inhabitants of the county of Milwaukie, Michigan
Territory, praying for the establishment of a land office in that
county, for the sale of the public lands.
Petitions of the citizens of Du Buque, praying the passage of a
law to perfect their titles to their lots in that town.
Petitions of inhabitants of Fort Madison, Des Moine county,
Michigan Territory, praying the establishment of mail routes.
Memorials of the Legislative Council asking appropriation for
pay of its members, officers, printers, &c.20
Moving such resolutions and getting the House to agree
to them did not necessarily insure a favorable report from
the committee instructed to consider the matters. Indeed,
the committees were pressed for time by the constantly ac-
cumulating business of the session and might neglect to
report on the subject or even to consider it. This was es-
pecially true of the Committee on Claims, in the face of an
ever increasing number of private bills. Therefore it de-
volved upon the Delegate, or for that matter upon any
member of the House who had obtained the agreement of
the House to his resolution, to appear before the proper
committee and urge his claim.
20 Congressional Globe, 1st Session, 24th Congress, p. 217.
THE IOWA TERRITORIAL DELEGATES 237
Neither the Congressional Globe nor the Journal of the
House shows the complete work of members of Congress.
To ascertain how eagerly they advocated some bill or pre-
sented some constituent's claim, would necessitate follow-
ing them from the floor of the House to the committee meet-
ings. It may be noted that George W. Jones was eminently
successful in obtaining favorable reports from committees.
This was due to his persistence and to the concise, practical,
and forceful manner in which he presented his claims.
In January it appears that Delegate Jones presented a
memorial from the Legislative Council of the west Michi-
gan Territory praying for the establishment of the separate
Territorial government of Wisconsin.21 He was vigorous
in urging the passage of a bill embodying the objects of
this memorial, pressing the matter upon the attention of
the Committee on Territories in the House and the Com-
mittee on Judiciary in the Senate. Mr. John M. Clayton
of Virginia, chairman of the Senate Committee on Judi-
ciary, took charge of the Wisconsin bill in the Senate;22
and, in the House, the chairman of the Committee on Ter-
ritories was its manager.23 After a conference with the
Senate committee the bill was finally passed on April 18,
1836.24 Local writers have given Delegate Jones the en-
tire credit for its passage — which is hardly justifiable.25
In regard to obtaining congressional appropriations for
the new Wisconsin Territory, Delegate Jones was success-
ful in inducing Congress to vote generous amounts. An ap-
propriation of $19,800 for salaries of Territorial officers
and other contingent expenses, $50,000 for the survey of
21 Congressional Globe, 1st Session, 24th Congress, p. 81.
22 Congressional Globe, 1st Session, 24th Congress, p. 978.
zs Congressional Globe, 1st Session, 24th Congress, p. 314.
24 Congressional Globe, 1st Session, 24th Congress, p. 375.
25 For instance see Iowa Historical Record, Vol. Ill, 1887, p. 438.
238 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
public lands, $20,000 for the erection of public buildings,
$5,000 for the purchase of a Territorial library of law,
and appropriations for post roads and for the construction
of light-houses on the lakes were among the items obtained
for Wisconsin.26 When Congress adjourned in July, 1836,
the Delegate from Wisconsin went back to the new Terri-
tory with a "good record'*.
The Organic Act of the original Territory of Wisconsin,
passed by the Twenty-fourth Congress, went into effect
July 4, 1836; and under it the first election for Delegate
was to be held in accordance with the Governor's proclama-
tion. In respect to the Delegate this act provided that his
term should be two years ; that the qualifications of electors
should be the same as those of electors of members of the
Legislative Assembly; and that the time, place, and man-
ner of the first election should be as the Governor directed,
but thereafter these particulars should be determined by
the Legislative Assembly.27
On September 9, 1836, Governor Henry Dodge issued a
proclamation directing a general election of Territorial
officers on October 10, 1836.28 The first political campaign
though brief excited considerable attention. Besides George
W. Jones, Moses Meeker of Galena, Iowa County, an-
nounced himself as candidate for the office of Delegate.28
At this time, there being no definite party lines and issues
in the western settlements, the campaign was not a con-
flict between parties, but a contest of local interests.30 In
28 United States Statutes at Large, Vol. V, p. 23.
27 United States Statutes at Large, Vol. V, p. 10.
28 Shambaugh 's Messages and Proclamations of the Governors of Iowa, Vol.
I, p. 50.
29 Du Buque Visitor, Vol. I, No. 19, September 14, 1836.
so For a discussion of party conditions in Wisconsin and Iowa Territories,
see Pelzer's The History and Principles of the Whigs of the Territory of
Iowa, and The History and Principles of the Democratic Party of the Territory
THE IOWA TERRITORIAL DELEGATES 239
Iowa County,31 for instance, George W. Jones headed the
ticket nominated by a meeting in Belmont, while Moses
Meeker headed one nominated later at Mineral Point.32
Throughout the whole Territory, Jones's past record
commended him most highly to the people ; and of the 4218
votes cast he received a majority of 2826.33 A statement
appearing in the Belmont Gazette some time later explains
why, in Iowa County, Jones's election was not unanimous
and illustrates how local interests forced themselves into
the campaign.
A temporary excitement, with regard to the seat of government
was made to operate against him [Jones] ; gratuitous and unfound-
ed reports of his being interested in a particular place were circu-
lated and to this, and this alone, is to be ascribed his loss of votes.34
Personally, George W. Jones was an interesting man.
He was born at Vincennes and educated at Transylvania
University, in Kentucky, where he was under the guardian-
ship of Henry Clay, his father's friend. He came to the
Dubuque lead region in 1827, built the first reverberating
furnace in that region, carried on an extensive mercantile
business in the new towns, won distinction in the Black
Hawk Indian War, married the sister of John Scott, the
famous Missouri Delegate to Congress, and in 1833 was
appointed a District Judge in the Territory of Michigan.
His judicial honors, however, did not deter him from ac-
quiring a reputation as the hero of several western duels.
of Iowa, in THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS, Vol. V, pp. 46-90,
and Vol. VI, pp. 3-54.
81 Iowa County was a county in Wisconsin Territory east of the Mississippi
Eiver. The Iowa District was west of the Mississippi, and contained the two
counties of Du Buque and Demoine.
32 Strong 'a History of Wisconsin Territory, pp. 221, 222.
38 For a discussion of how these elections were conducted, see Peterson '«
The Regulation by Law of Elections in the Territory of Iowa in THE IOWA
JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS, Vol. V, p. 493.
8* Strong's History of Wisconsin Territory, p. 222.
240 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
Delegate Jones was present on the opening day of the
congressional session of 1836-37. The Delegates from Wis-
consin and later from Iowa Territory were prompt in their
attendance on Congress, though the distance to Washing-
ton was great and the means of travel miserable. To go
from Wisconsin Territory to Washington one had the
choice of three routes. First, one could go by river-boat
from St. Louis to Wheeling, Virginia, and thence by the
Cumberland Road through the Alleghanies. Another route
was by road through Illinois, reaching the Cumberland
Eoad near Terre Haute, Indiana, and continuing on it
through the Alleghanies. The third and less common route
was by boat from Milwaukee on the Great Lakes to Buffalo,
New York, from which point one might reach Washington
via New York City. Congress opened the first Monday in
December, and Delegates from the western Territories had
to plan their trips east accordingly. In early winter heavy
snows in the Alleghanies caused tedious delays to the stage-
coaches.
Delegate Jones was now well known in Congress, not be-
cause of any speech in the preceding session but because of
his pleasing and persuasive personality. He had proved
that a Delegate could do more by clear and persistent pre-
sentation of wants before committees than by the bluster-
ing attempted by some Delegates on the floor of the House.35
Congress had by this time developed into a very busy as-
sembly, and the contest for precedence of business was
fully as sharp as it is today; therefore it is much to the
credit of Delegate Jones that he was able to have the House
set aside on its calendar certain days for the consideration
of Territorial matters.36 Moreover, Jones was the per-
30 Notably David Levy of Florida, to whom John Quincy Adams refers as
' ' the Jew Delegate ' '. — Memoirs of John Quincy Adams, Vol. VII, pp. 164, 500.
3« Congressional Globe, 2nd Session, 25th Congress, p. 380.
THE IOWA TERRITORIAL DELEGATES 241
sonal friend of Senator Lewis F. Linn of Missouri; and
since Linn was himself a half brother of Henry Dodge, Gov-
ernor of Wisconsin Territory, it followed quite naturally
that Senator Linn should look after the Wisconsin business
in the Senate 37 and, indeed, often go out of his way to se-
cure prompt legislation for this Territory.
In this same session of 1836-37 Jones secured all of the
appropriations that a new Territory might properly expect.
But in regard to obtaining a satisfactory preemption law,
of which the Territory stood in great need, even his stren-
uous efforts were not enough to influence Congress. Dur-
ing the succeeding session of Congress, however, a pre-
emption law was passed (partly through his efforts before
the committees) which afforded some relief to the settlers
in Wisconsin.38
The most important measure that Jones was influential
in causing Congress to pass in 1838 was the act to divide
the Territory of Wisconsin and establish the Territorial
Government of Iowa. There was some opposition to the
passage of this act both in the House and in the Senate.
Senator John C. Calhoun was vindictively opposed to it,
as he was to all bills providing for the organization of free-
soil Territories, and he announced that he would speak
against the bill when it should be reported for the consid-
eration of the Senate. It appears that Delegate Jones
(who, by the way, prided himself on his gallant manner)
was able to persuade the daughter of Senator Calhoun to
call her father away from the senate chamber at the time
that the bill came up for final discussion. And so, in the
absence of the southern Senator the bill passed the Senate
37 Congressional Globe, 1st Session, 25th Congress, p. 29.
38 Congressional Globe, 2nd Session, 25th Congress, p. 435.
For a discussion of the needs of preemption rights for settlers, see Sham-
baugh's History of the Constitutions of Iowa, pp. 30-65.
VOL. VII — 16
242 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
and was approved June 12, 1836.39 This act, which pro-
vided that that part of Wisconsin lying west of the Mis-
sissippi should form the Territory of Iowa, was moreover
a literal copy of the Organic Act of the original Territory
of Wisconsin in its provisions relative to the election by the
people of a Delegate to Congress.
It was in the session of 1837-38 that Delegate Jones was
notoriously connected with the Graves-Cilley duel as sec-
ond to Cilley. Northern people were especially active in
denouncing the killing of Mr. Cilley and in demanding the
expulsion from the House of all those involved in the affair.
It does not appear that Jones lost his standing in Congress,
but it is a fact that this episode led many of his constituents
to mistrust him.40
The term of the Wisconsin Delegate expired in 1838.
Jones's announcement as a candidate to succeed himself
was preceded by that of William W. Chapman in the Iowa
District.41 Congress not having adjourned, Jones offered
himself as a candidate in a circular letter to the people,
June 20, 1838.
By the act of June 12, 1838, Iowa, now as a separate
Territory, was entitled to a Delegate to Congress. By
proclamation from the new Governor's office the first gen-
eral election in the Territory of Iowa was appointed to be
39 United States Statutes at Large, Vol. V, p. 235.
On November 6, 1837, a convention of the counties of Wisconsin, west of
the Mississippi, was held at Burlington, and memoralized Congress for a di-
vision of Wisconsin Territory. Jones presented this memorial to the House,
December 14, 1837. The memorial commended highly the services of both
Governor Dodge and Delegate Jones. — • Congressional Globe, 2nd Session, 25th
Congress, p. 28.
40 A good account of this famous duel is contained in the report of the
"Duelling Committee" of the House. — Congressional Globe, 2nd Session, 25th
Congress, p. 326.
41 Strong 's History of Wisconsin Territory, p. 270.
THE IOWA TERRITORIAL DELEGATES 243
held on September 10, 1838.42 In the meantime William W.
Chapman transferred his candidacy as Delegate from Wis-
consin Territory to the Territory of Iowa. Besides Chap-
man a surprisingly large number of citizens announced
themselves as candidates for the same office. The Fort
Madison Patriot issued an extra number on September 2,
1836, containing the announcements of seven candidates for
Delegate. As in the first election campaign of Wisconsin
there was no systematic party grouping of candidates ; even
the local interests were vague, the contest for Delegate cen-
tering around the personalities of the many candidates who
energetically canvassed the young Territory in a body.43
The election returns showed that Chapman was elected by
the small majority of thirty-six votes over the next highest
competitor.44
Chapman went to Congress in the winter of 1838, repre-
senting the latest Territory formed in the West, with an
area including the present States of Iowa, Minnesota,
and parts of North and South Dakota, and having a
population of twenty-two thousand.45 While it could boast
of only two large towns (Dubuque and Burlington),
thousands of settlers from all parts of the Union were
crossing the Mississippi each year. As was the case
with almost all of the growing western Territories, these
settlers of Iowa were largely men with families — farmers
seeking a permanent home and fertile land. Thus the busi-
ness of the new Territory which Chapman was to represent
*2 Shambaugh 's Messages and Proclamations of the Governors of Iowa, Vol.
I, p. 209.
*s Article on W. W. Chapman by T. S. Parvin in the Iowa Historical Eecord,
Vol. II, 1886, p. 247.
** Election returns are among the Archives in the Historical Department at
Des Moines.
« The census of Iowa in 1838 gives 22,859. — Journal of the House of Rep-
resentatives of the Territory of Iowa, 1840, p. 315.
244 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
involved the questions of disputed land claims, preemption
rights, the survey and sale of the public lands, the securing
of appropriations to build roads, bridges, and public build-
ings, and grants of the public domain for educational and
local government purposes. The greater part of this busi-
ness was of such a nature that it could be adjusted before
the committees, and thus many Territorial propositions, as
for instance those involving appropriations, were well con-
sidered in the committees, whose decisions, reported as bills,
were passed with little or no debate.
As usual the Delegate received from his constituents
scores of memorials to present to Congress. Indeed, this
was the period in congressional history when, day after day
in the House, John Quincy Adams presented numerous me-
morials on slavery, while the committee rooms were flooded
with petitions and resolutions on all sorts of subjects. It
is, moreover, a fact worthy of remark that the petitions and
memorials from the several Territories far exceeded in
number those from many of the more populous States. For
instance, on the day (February 14, 1838) that John Quincy
Adams presented his famous three hundred and fifty peti-
tions, the Delegate from Wisconsin Territory presented
twenty-one petitions from his constituents, which was a
greater number than the whole delegation of either South
Carolina, Maryland, Indiana, Vermont, or Delaware pre-
sented on the same day.46 These petitions ranged in variety
from memorials of Territorial legislatures praying for
more appropriations to requests from individuals asking
compensation for a horse killed in an Indian War or for a
bridge over a certain creek. All received courteous atten-
tion from the House and were committed or referred to
proper committees — which in most cases was the end of
them. Delegate Chapman, in order to gain more prompt
*6 Congressional Globe, 2nd Session, 25th Congress, pp. 180-182.
THE IOWA TERRITORIAL DELEGATES 245
attention to a certain claim, once made an ill-advised at-
tempt to transfer its consideration from the proper com-
mittee (that on Claims) to another, which, of course, on
the immediate opposition of the proper committee, failed.47
The business of the congressional session of 1839-40 (the
second year of Chapman's term) was somewhat delayed at
the outset by disorderly debate on the contested election of
certain members, and in the press of business following
Territorial matters were largely postponed. A few hours
only were taken to debate the Missouri-Iowa Boundary
question, which came up shortly after some open hostilities
had taken place on the border.48 It appears that in the
summer of 1839, Governor Robert Lucas of the Territory
of Iowa had called out the militia of Iowa to resist the en-
croachment of the Missouri authorities on what the people
of Iowa considered as their territory, and the Governor of
Missouri had responded in a like belligerent manner. In the
House, Chapman moved that the communication of Gover-
nor Robert Lucas concerning this dispute be referred to
the Committee on Territories.49 In the Senate, Lewis F.
Linn, who in the preceding Congress had taken charge of
the Wisconsin bills, emphasized the argument that the
boundary claimed by the Iowa people was illegal, and in
the course of his remarks he made some uncomplimentary
statements concerning "his young friend, the Delegate
from Iowa", who it appears had addressed a letter to the
Senate explaining his position on the question.50
47 Congressional Globe, 1st Session, 26th Congress, p. 415.
48 For a discussion of the Missouri-Iowa Boundary conflict, see Parish 's
Eobert Lucas, pp. 226-257; also Pelzer's Augustus Caesar Dodge, pp. 77-93.
Although this article was written previous to the publication of Pelzer's
Augustus Caesar Dodge in the Iowa Biographical Series, footnotes with refer-
ences to this biography have since been added.
49 Congressional Globe, 1st Session, 26th Congress, p. 95.
50 Congressional Globe, 1st Session, 26th Congress, p. 111.
The letter is interesting to note, since this episode suggests the debate in
246 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
Iowa's Delegate, as well as the Missouri delegation,
wished the boundary dispute settled immediately by Con-
gress, as the people of both Iowa and Missouri had become
somewhat excited. Chapman industriously bombarded both
the House and Senate committees. But these committees
were slow to act, since the question seemed to involve judi-
cial considerations and to lie outside the jurisdiction of
Congress. Whether Governor Lucas doubted Chapman's
ability to handle the boundary matter is not certain ; but it
appears that in the early part of December he sent James
M. Morgan to Washington with dispatches to the govern-
ment.51 Morgan seemed to consider himself the special
representative of the Territory, and without consulting
Chapman he seems to have besieged the committees and
the Secretary of State for two months and then gone home
without accomplishing anything.52 The Missouri-Iowa
Boundary question was not settled by Congress at this
time. It was scarcely even debated in the House, though
well threshed over in the committees. It remained a live
question to engage the energies of the Delegate who fol-
lowed Chapman.
Since Congress in 1839-40 was especially preoccupied
and as the Appropriation Bill became in the last two
months of the session the all-absorbing question, Territorial
business was continually delayed. Chapman repeatedly
and contentiously tried to induce Congress to set aside a
day for the consideration of reported Territorial bills, but
the Speaker always courteously yet firmly decided that he
Congress in 1794, when Congress was at a loss to decide whether Delegates
should be allowed a seat in the House or in the Senate or in both.
5i Parish's "Robert Lucas in the Iowa Biographical Series, p. 254.
62 In a letter to Governor Lueas, dated January 29, 1840, at Washington, he
says: "I don't know what our Delegate is doing in the matter. I never see
him." — Letter among papers in office of Benj. F. Shambaugh, Iowa City.
THE IOWA TERRITORIAL DELEGATES 247
was out of order.53 Finally, one hour before adjournment
the House took up Territorial business, but adjourned in
the midst of the discussion with few bills passed. Perhaps
Chapman did not receive fair treatment in thus being put
off so long, but the other Territorial Delegates were treated
in exactly the same way. Indeed, Chapman's manner may
have been irritating — as, for instance, at the last moment
he charged his fellow Delegate from Wisconsin with being
dishonorable.64
In reviewing Mr. Chapman's short career in the House
of Kepresentatives it should be noted that he rendered
faithful service as Delegate, although his service was
neither graced by tact nor by eminent success. It is said
that he originated the bill granting 500,000 acres to the
State for public school support. He introduced a good pre-
emption bill, and carefully attended to the Territory's in-
terests before Congress. To say that he was a highly
respectable lawyer and served as a highly respectable Dele-
gate nicely sums up his congressional career as well as his
life.
A law passed on March 3, 1839,55 provided that the term
of office of the Delegate from Iowa should expire on October
27, 1840, and that a Delegate should be elected to serve from
that date to March 4, 1841.56 In the spring of 1840, the year
of the sensational presidential campaign of William Henry
Harrison, party spirit was strongly manifested in the Iowa
Territory. During the summer a Territorial convention of
63 Congressional Globe, 1st Session, 26th Congress, p. 541.
&* Congressional Globe, 1st Session, 26th Congress, p. 547.
BO United States Statutes at Large, Vol. V, p. 357.
B« In 1839 a premature and extra-legal election for Delegate had taken place,
through a misinterpretation of the Territorial law. The incident came to noth-
ing.— See Pelzer 's The Election of Francis Gehon in 1839 in THE IOWA JOUR-
NAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS, Vol. V, p. 534.
248 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
Whigs met and nominated Alfred Rich for Delegate, while
the Democrats nominated Augustus Caesar Dodge for the
same office. Chapman was also a Democrat, but having
failed of the Democratic nomination announced his candi-
dacy as an independent one day after the party convention.
It was but natural, however, that Dodge, who as a son of
one of the most famous families in the West had already
won the confidence of the settlers as Register of the United
States Land Office at Burlington, and was liked by all,
should be the real choice of the Democrats.
Dodge won in the close election which followed, and on
December 8, 1840, he took his seat in the second session of
the Twenty-sixth Congress. Little Territorial business
came up during this session, and almost all that Delegate
Dodge seems to have done was to present petitions which
were sent by his constituents in the usual numbers.
Dodge's short term as Delegate expired March 4, 1841.
In the summer Dodge and Rich were again nominated as
candidates for Delegate in the conventions of their respec-
tive parties. The election resulted in the return of Dodge
to Congress.
The Territories of Wisconsin and Florida, like Iowa,
were represented in this Twenty- seventh Congress by con-
spicuous Delegates — Florida by David Levy, a politician
with a shady reputation, and Wisconsin by Henry Dodge,
the father of the Delegate from Iowa. There being a hearty
spirit of cooperation between father and son, the slight
friction between the Delegates from Wisconsin and Iowa,
apparent in the last session, could not again occur. In fact
they now worked so well together that their business took
precedence of that of Florida, although that Territory was
represented by a clamorous Delegate.57
5? This unique coincidence of father and son both being members of the
same Congress was repeated after Iowa and Wisconsin were admitted into the
THE IOWA TERRITORIAL DELEGATES 249
In the debate upon the Civil and Diplomatic Appropria-
tion Bill, Dodge offered an amendment appropriating some
thirteen thousand dollars for arrearages of the expenses of
the Legislative Assembly of the Territory of Iowa. This
was strongly opposed on the ground that Iowa's legisla-
ture had been wantonly extravagant, which was very true.
Dodge admitted this, but so tactfully explained the matter
through plausible arguments that he was able to secure
favorable action on the amendment in the House.58 But in
the Senate the item was stricken from the general appro-
priation bill. Not until June 17, 1844, was final action taken
upon the subject of arrearages, when the amount of some
sixteen thousand dollars was appropriated. Previous to
this, however, a regular session of the Legislative Assem-
bly had been postponed and the money appropriated for
that session was applicable to the liquidation of all past and
present arrearages.
During the discussion on the tariff, in July, when the
proposition was made to reduce the import duty on lead,
Augustus Caesar Dodge and his father both strenuously ob-
jected with well prepared remarks. The House recog-
nized their right and authority to speak on this question,
since the Dubuque and Galena mineral regions contained
rich lead mines and produced at that time nearly all the
lead mined in the United States. The Dodge family for a
number of years had been largely interested in the Upper
Mississippi Lead Mines, and the speeches of the two Dele-
gates are a frank demand for tariff protection for the lead
industry. Henry Dodge argued in part as follows :
Union, when the same father and son were returned to Congress as Senators.
Pelzer's Augustus Caesar Dodge gives an interesting account of the life of
Henry Dodge in the West, and of the early life of Augustus Caesar Dodge,
pp. 1-62.
58 Congressional Globe, 2nd Session, 27th Congress, p. 430 ; also Appendix,
p. 286.
250 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
In the first place, it should be recollected that lead is not an
article of so general and considerable use, as that a difference of a
dollar or two dollars a hundred could be felt by the people as a
burden. Secondly: the mining business, and the manufacture of
the ore into the marketable article, is yet in its infancy in those dis-
tricts where lead ore is found, and need[s] the fostering hand of
the Government to sustain them. Thirdly : the article of lead is an
important and indispensable ingredient in war; and that policy
which, as to those ingredients, will render us independent of foreign
nations, cannot be questioned.59
The proposition to reduce the tariff on lead was rejected
by the House of Representatives.
Toward the close of the session the chairman of the Com-
mittee on Territories reported a bill to determine the Mis-
souri-Iowa boundary.60 Bather sharp debate followed, and
Dodge, who had apparently threshed this matter over with
the committees, spoke at length in a well prepared speech ;61
but no agreement could be reached and the bill was dropped.
At the next session of Congress (1842-43) little was done
in Territorial matters, save the voting of the customary
appropriations — and attempts were made to reduce these.
Many Congressmen from eastern States were convinced
that altogether too much of the public funds was being ex-
pended in the Territories. It was not pleasant to members
from New York to see large sums voted to improve navi-
gation on the distant Mississippi, or to build post roads in
the wilderness.62 In view of a probable treasury deficit
that year, provoking resolutions of retrenchment and econ-
omy in expenditures, it is really surprising that the Terri-
torial appropriations voted were as large as they were. In
°9 Congressional Globe, 2nd Session, 27th Congress, pp. 754, 755.
eo Congressional Globe, 2nd Session, 27th Congress, p. 770.
*i Congressional Globe, 2nd Session, 27th Congress, Appendix, p. 943.
«2 For example see Congressional Globe, 3rd Session, 27th Congress, pp. 228-
233; and Congressional Globe, 1st Session, 29th Congress, Appendix, pp.
341-344.
THE IOWA TERRITORIAL DELEGATES 251
spite of the close watch upon expenditures Dodge was able
to secure in the House the passage of a bill to pay the militia
of Iowa for their services in 1839 when called out by Gov-
ernor Lucas at the time of the "unpleasant controversy
with Missouri",63 but he was never able to influence the con-
servative Senate to allow this claim.
The two-year term of Delegate Dodge expired with this
session. In June, 1843, he was renominated by the Demo-
crats in convention at Iowa City ;64 while the "Whigs nomi-
nated a prominent opponent. The two candidates held a
series of joint debates. Dodge was criticised for not obtain-
ing more appropriations in the last session. Since the
expenses of Territorial government were defrayed out of
the United States Treasury and not by local taxation, it was
natural that extravagant hopes of Federal appropriations
were entertained by many citizens; and to charge a Dele-
gate with not securing adequate appropriations was no un-
usual attack upon his official record.
Altogether the campaign was rather spiritless since there
were no really live issues and the question whether Iowa
should seek admission as a State, which so soon afterwards
became interesting, was not presented by either party. In-
deed, in the absence of vital questions the public men, law-
yers, and politicians of Dubuque, Iowa City, and Burling-
ton found it difficult in this election to stir up political
interest among busy settlers and homesteaders, scattered
over the vast prairies and separated by woods, creeks, and
swamps. The popular candidate was the candidate who
"campaigned next the ground", who met the settlers easily,
whether in the cabin or the field or in the church, and who
«3 Congressional Globe, 3rd Session, 27th Congress, pp. 228-229. For a full
discussion of the appropriations Dodge secured, see Pelzer's Augustus Caesar
Dodge, pp. 94-111.
** Iowa Capital Reporter, Vol. II, No. 24, May 20, 1843, contains a Demo-
cratic endorsement of Dodge.
252 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
talked with them instead of at them. Dodge was one of
this kind.65 In October he was reflected.
Congress opened in December, 1843, with the same Dele-
gates present as in the preceding Congress. Almost at the
outset, Levy, the Delegate from Florida, becoming some-
what hasty, probably because his election was being con-
tested, gave notice of his intention to introduce numerous
Territorial bills which he had prepared.66 This particular
procedure — to introduce bills independently instead of
through the proper committees — was not attempted by
the early Delegates, although both Chapman and Dodge had
on several occasions introduced unimportant bills on the
floor, evidently with the consent of the committees. This
fact suggests how the three present Delegates, each having
now been in Congress for some time, assumed more pres-
tige than probably any other Delegates since the establish-
ment of the congressional standing committee system.67
And this was apparent later in administration circles; for
in 1845, on the accession of President Polk, Dodge was in-
vited to recommend the Federal appointments in Iowa.68
The courtesy and confidence thus extended to Iowa's Dele-
gate was a departure from long established custom, for
politicians in the East had hitherto regarded the Territo-
rial appointments as rewards to be bestowed by the party
in power for political services, and so easterners were as a
rule thrust upon the people of the Territories without con-
sulting their wishes. For example, William B. Conway
es Iowa Historical Record, Vol. Ill, 1887, pp. 397-401. Pelzer 's Augustus
Caesar Dodge gives a good account of Dodge's ability as a "campaigner",
pp. 65-74.
66 Congressional Globe, 1st Session, 28th Congress, p. 44.
67 In the debate upon the West Point Bill, Dodge even offered an amendment
which was passed. — Congressional Globe, 3rd Session, 27th Congress, p. 225.
68 Harrison 's and Tyler 's administration being Whig, on the accession of
Polk, a change in federal appointments was made in accordance with the
"spoils system".
THE IOWA TERRITORIAL DELEGATES 253
was, in 1838, appointed Secretary of the Territory of Iowa
as a reward for his services as editor of a violent Jackson-
ian paper in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania.69
The first time that a Delegate appears to have been con-
sulted to any extent in the making of appointments was at
the time of the establishment of the original Wisconsin Ter-
ritory, when George W. Jones, after urging strenuously
upon President Jackson the desire of the Wisconsin people
to have western men at the head of their government, was
allowed to recommend some of the nominations.70 In 1845
Dodge was requested without application on his part to
make recommendations, and the men he named were ac-
cordingly appointed, James Clarke his personal friend
heading the list as Governor.71
In the session of 1843-44 little Iowa business was con-
sidered, save the usual appropriations and the tedious
Missouri-Iowa boundary question. On June 15, 1844, Con-
gress passed an act providing for the appointment of com-
missioners to survey and locate the northern boundary of
the State of Missouri, but the law failed of accomplishing
any result, since the Missouri delegation had succeeded in
inserting an undesirable condition in the bill, which de-
feated its purpose.72
Thus far in his congressional service Delegate Dodge had
practically made no move in Congress for the admission of
Iowa as a State, since a majority of the people of Iowa up
to this time did not desire statehood.73 Every effort on the
part of Governor Lucas and other public spirited men look-
6» Annals of Iowa, Vol. II, 3rd Series, p. 222.
70 Iowa Historical Eecord, Vol. XII, 1896, p. 386.
71 Iowa Historical Eecord, Vol. Ill, 1887, p. 409.
72 Congressional Globe, 1st Session, 28th Congress, p. 693; United States
Statutes at Large, Vol. V, p. 677.
73 For a discussion of the agitation for a State Constitution see Shambaugh 's
History of the Constitutions of Iowa, pp. 144-174.
254 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
ing toward admission had been rejected. And with, the
characteristic indifference of the American people toward
a government in which they have faith, the busy settlers
had gone ahead breaking the prairies, developing the mines
at Dubuque, and speculating in town lots, content to re-
main a Territory since the United States defrayed the ex-
penses of their government at Iowa City. But Iowa was
growing. Each year literally thousands of families were
ferried across the Mississippi. The population had in-
creased from 22,000 in 1838, to 75,152 in 1844; 74 and with
the increase of population and the passing of pioneer hard-
ships came time to reflect on political needs.
Early in 1844 the Legislative Assembly passed a law call-
ing a constitutional convention to be held in October, pro-
viding the people at the April election of that year should
approve of such a convention.75 A vigorous campaign of
education was prosecuted, with the result that at the polls
the proposition carried. The convention, meeting in Oc-
tober, formulated a constitution and described the bound-
aries of Iowa as follows: on the east by the Mississippi
River, on the west by the Missouri Eiver, on the south by
the northern boundary of Missouri, and on the north by the
St. Peters Eiver.76
In December, 1844, when Congress opened, Delegate
Dodge presented in the House the new Constitution of Iowa
and a memorial adopted by the convention and he moved
that the same be referred to the Committee on Territories.77
Dodge immediately became active in placing before the
House and the Committee on Territories accurate informa-
7* Census of 1844, quoted in Census of Iowa, 1880, p. 168.
75 Laws of Iowa, 1844, p. 13.
76 For the exact statement of these boundaries, which were called the ' ' Lucas
Boundaries", see Journal of the Convention of the Formation of a Constitu-
tion for the State of Iowa, 1844, p. 187.
77 Congressional Globe, 2nd Session, 28th Congress, p. 24.
THE IOWA TERRITORIAL DELEGATES 255
tion concerning Iowa. He offered a resolution to have
Nicollet's map of the western country published; 78 he pre-
sented the act of the Legislative Assembly concerning the
constitutional convention, with the census of Iowa and an
abstract of the vote, and had them printed ; 79 and he offered
a resolution (supporting it against opposition) requesting
the Secretary of War to communicate the reports of certain
military explorations relative to Iowa.80
On February 6, 1845, the chairman of the Committee on
Territories introduced a bill for the admission of Iowa and
Florida into the Union.81 In accordance with the principle
that the balance of slave and free State representation in
Congress must not be destroyed the admission of the free
Territory of Iowa was associated with the admission of the
slave Territory of Florida. Curiously enough, while Levy,
the Delegate from Florida, stormed in Congress because
the bill proposed to admit his Territory as one instead of as
two States, Dodge "most solemnly protested" against the
amendment offered by Mr. Alexander Duncan, of the Com-
mittee on Territories, to reduce Iowa's boundaries by cut-
ting the Territory in two by a line north and south and thus
depriving it of the area bordering on the Missouri.82 Dele-
gate Levy was influenced by southern representatives who
were delighted at the prospect of two slave States being
carved out of one slave Territory. On the other hand,
northern Congressmen urged upon Dodge their desire to
divide the great Northwest into as many States as possible.
Yet Dodge stoutly maintained his position that the bound-
aries proposed by the Territorial convention (which in-
78 Congressional Globe, 2nd Session, 28th Congress, p. 67.
7» Congressional Globe, 2nd Session, 28th Congress, p. 215.
so Congressional Globe, 2nd Session, 28th Congress, p. 104.
si Congressional Globe, 2nd Session, 28th Congress, p. 104.
82 Congressional Globe, 2nd Session, 28th Congress, p. 274.
256 IOWA JOURNAL OP HISTORY AND POLITICS
eluded the area from the Mississippi on the east to the
Missouri on the west) were the rightful boundaries of the
proposed State of Iowa.
Mr. Samuel F. Vinton of Ohio, one of the ablest men in
Congress, forcibly urged Mr. Duncan's amendment, declar-
ing that the political interests of the West were injured by
dividing the western Territory into large and over-popu-
lous States, while the eastern States were small, thus giv-
ing the eastern States greater power in the Senate ; and he
appealed to the western people to check this tendency to
deprive them of their just representation.83 This argu-
ment was tacitly understood to include also the unexpressed
argument that since Texas, with an area large enough for
live slave States had been annexed, the free northwestern
territory should produce as many free States. And so,
without much debate the bill as amended passed by a large
majority admitting Florida as a single State and Iowa with
reduced boundaries.84 Congress was too engrossingly oc-
cupied at this time with the vexing troubles connected with
the annexation of Texas and the conflict with Great Britain
over the Oregon question to give any more than a passing
notice to the Iowa-Florida Bill, for it embodied a congres-
83 Congressional Globe, 2nd Session, 28th Congress, p. 273.
s* United States Statutes at Large, Vol. V, p. 742.
' ' By a slave-monger trick, the admission of the two territories of Iowa and
Florida was included in one bill." — Memoirs of John Quincy Adams, Vol. XII,
p. 164.
' ' The admission of Iowa and Florida had to be determined in reference to
this all-devouring question of National Politics [slavery] ' '. — Shambaugh 's
History of the Constitutions of Iowa, p. 245.
' ' To gain an entrance into the union, free young strong Iowa, had to sub-
mit to having strapped to her back Florida, which the curse of slavery had
made old in infancy. ' ' — Von Hoist 's Constitutional History of the United
States, Vol. Ill, p. 141.
"It would seem strange that two territories so different in age, so distinct
from each other, so antagonistic in natural features and political institutions
should come into the union by a single act." — Benton's Thirty
Years' View, Vol. II, p. 660.
THE IOWA TERRITORIAL DELEGATES 257
sional principle of slave and free State representation that
had already been settled.
Immediately after the passage of this bill in March, 1845,
Dodge addressed a letter to the people of Iowa which was
printed in the Territorial newspapers.85 In this letter he
reviewed his attempt to prevent the reduction of Iowa's
boundaries and the abrupt opposition of Mr. Duncan, Mr.
Vinton, and other northern members. He further declared
that no matter what might be the decision of the people in
the coming April election, on the ratification or rejection of
the Iowa Constitution,86 they could not expect * * one square
mile more" for the new State. Unfortunately in this letter
Dodge did not say exactly what the boundaries proposed by
Congress were. At the April election the proposed Consti-
tution was rejected, both because of opposition to the Con-
stitution and because of uncertainty in the mind of the
people concerning the exact boundaries proposed by Con-
gress.
At the August election Dodge was returned to Congress
as Delegate, although there was much opposition to him on
account of his March letter advising the acceptance of the
congressional boundaries. The Whigs had denounced him
for " taking sides with Congress in the mutilation of our
Territory" and had pressed their accusation with much
vigor.87 In the campaign leading up to the August election
Dodge was forced to take an aggressive part and to defend
himself against this vigorous attack of the Whigs. In
his speeches he promised the people (who seemed now very
determined not to accept admission into the Union until
88 Eeprinted in Shambaugh 's Fragments of the Debates of the Iowa Constitu-
tional Conventions of 1844 and 1846, pp. 231-235.
8« Laws of Iowa, 1844, p. 15.
87 Iowa Territorial Gazette and Burlington Advertiser, Vol. VIII, June 21,
1845.
VOL. VII — 17
they were allowed all the area from the Mississippi to the
Missouri and who ignored the vital national problems in-
volved) that he would go to Congress, if elected, determined
to insist again on the larger boundaries.
At the next session of Congress (1845-46) Dodge took
matters into his own hands, and at an early day he intro-
duced a bill defining the boundaries of Iowa.88 But this new
business was laid aside for the discussion of Texas affairs,
hostilities with Mexico, and the Oregon question, which
were the vital questions of the day. Indeed, war with Eng-
land upon the Oregon boundary seemed imminent. The
demand for * ' the whole of Oregon or none, with or without
war with England" was carried into the Senate and into
the House, where the resolution to settle the question im-
mediately with England was championed by Stephen A.
Douglas.89 The Oregon question was one of the few great
national problems in which the people of Iowa and Wiscon-
sin seem to have been deeply interested. Naturally they
appreciated, more than did the East, the immense value of
the great Northwest. And they realized that the securing
of it would give more power to the Middle West. Part of
this interest was also due to personal reasons, for many
friends and neighbors of many Iowa and Wisconsin settlers
had migrated to the Oregon region, trusting that it would
eventually be acquired by the United States.
It was in the midst of this protracted debate in the House
that Dodge on February 7, 1846, gained the floor and ad-
dressed the members for an hour. He explained carefully
in the beginning of his speech that he thus departed from
the usual custom of Delegates, which was to speak only on
questions that directly related to the Territories they rep-
resented, because the Oregon question was one which con-
ss Congressional Globe, 1st Session, 29th Congress, p. 86.
89 Congressional Globe, 1st Session, 29th Congress, p. 258.
THE IOWA TERRITORIAL DELEGATES 259
cerned the future of Iowa and other western lands.90 His
speech probably had no great effect, at least not greater
than that of the other speeches delivered in the long session
of fourteen hours that day, but it indicates how well estab-
lished Dodge was in Congress. In obtaining permission to
speak on this subject he was allowed to disregard the old
precedent established by William Henry Harrison which
limited Delegates to the discussion of those subjects only
which immediately concerned their own Territories. In
later congressional history the precedent of Delegates re-
stricting their debate has been so closely followed, that to-
day he would be a bold Delegate indeed who would attempt
to discuss, for instance, such a general subject as the Philip-
pine tariff.
There is one other feature of Dodge's speech which is
worthy of mention, namely, its defense of the Oregon pio-
neers and, indeed, of all western pioneers, in reply to some
provoking remarks by eastern members concerning the
"lawless character" of the Oregon frontier population.
In particular, this reply was addressed to Mr. John S.
Pendleton of Virginia, who on the floor of the House on
January 26, 1845, had sarcastically referred to the Oregon
people as our " patriotic pioneers".91 He charged them
with "disregarding the influences that bind ordinary men
to the places of their nativity, by snapping recklessly the
ties of blood, and kindred, and social connexions", and he
strongly urged that the United States was by no means
bound to protect such "restless and wayward wanderers".
Similar views of the character of the western pioneers
were entertained by not a few Congressmen and by many of
the conservative eastern people. Some New Englanders
looked upon all settlers as a "lawless rabble", and as
•o Congressional Globe, 1st Session, 29th Congress, Appendix, p. 344.
»i Congressional Globe, 1st Session, 29th Congress, Appendix, p. 144.
260 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
"government land robbers", and "fugitives from justice".
In the Senate, Mr. Thomas Ewing of Ohio for years harsh-
ly criticised them, charging them as given to constant con-
flicts and murders and as professional squatters on public
domain.92 Even Clay and Calhoun some ten years previous
to this time stated that they were informed that "the Iowa
country had been seized upon by a lawless body of armed
men. ' '
In the face of such hostile opinions concerning the morals,
intelligence, and motives of the men and women who left
the East to make new homes in the uncultivated West, a
defense of their character by one of their own number in
the legislative halls of the Nation was both unique and in-
structive. Delegate Dodge spoke with personal feeling and
pride. For two generations the Dodge family had been
pioneers in the Mississippi Valley. The grandfather of the
present Delegate established a farm near Ste. Genevieve in
1788 or 1789 and shipped his produce to New Orleans by
river-boats. His son, Henry Dodge, mined lead in the Ga-
lena mineral district of Illinois, and served as the first Ter-
ritorial Governor of Wisconsin. Thus the grandson, Augus-
tus Caesar Dodge, born and raised among western pioneers,
could speak of them as his own people and with authority.
In speaking of his father, Governor Henry Dodge, he said:
The first official documents I ever remember to have heard, were
read at my father's log cabin, by the officers and agents of the
United States, to himself and neighbors, who had assembled to
hear them. They were mandates, commanding us .... not
exactly to disperse, but to withdraw from the country in which we
had settled, under the general pains and penalties .... of ex-
pulsion at the point of the bayonet. But, sir, we did not go. We
treated the officers with every civility in our power, and informed
them that any other order they might issue, than one to abandon
92 For example see Congressional Debates, 2nd Session, 24th Congress, Vol.
XIII, pp. 535-550.
THE IOWA TERRITORIAL DELEGATES 261
the premises upon which we had settled, should be promptly obeyed.
Owing to our interior position and the rigors of the climate, at the
time of which I now speak, these settlers were not marched upon by
the regular soldiers, but maintained their position. Many of them
now own the land upon which they were then squatters, and the
country is densely populated — the inhabitants having defended
it, through two Indian wars, are now industriously engaged in de-
veloping its resources, both agricultural and mineral.93
Later, turning towards the seat of Jefferson Davis, Dodge
said that his "gallant and esteemed friend and talented
Representative from the State of Mississippi [Jefferson
Davis] , who was then an officer in the army, and at the head
of a military force, expelled some three hundred of my
constituents from the spot where now stands the city of
Dubuque, with a population of nearly three thousand in-
habitants. It was to my friend the performance of an
unwelcome duty, kindly and courteously executed by him,
for his sympathies were all with the frontier people. ' ' And
to this remark the reporter of the Congressional Globe
added that "Mr. Davis nodded assent".
In the meanwhile Dodge continued to press the matter of
boundaries for the proposed State of Iowa before the Sen-
ate and House committees. On March 27, 1846, Stephen A.
Douglas, chairman to the Committee on Territories, re-
ported a bill amendatory to the bill defining the boundaries
of Iowa as introduced by Dodge. It adopted practically
the same boundaries as proposed by the Territorial Con-
stitutional Convention of 1844, save that the northern
boundary should be the parallel of 43 degrees and 30 min-
utes.94 A month later another constitutional convention
was called in Iowa. It possessed a copy of the bill pro-
posed by Douglas ; and concerning its provisions the Presi-
93 Congressional Globe, 1st Session, 29th Congress, Appendix, p. 345.
9* Congressional Globe, 1st Session, 29th Congress, p. 562.
262 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
dent of the convention and Dodge entered into correspond-
ence.
On June 8, 1845, the Douglas Bill was called up among
other Territorial bills, and Douglas warmly supported it in
the Committee of the Whole House, saying that the bound-
aries proposed at the last session of Congress were "the
most unnatural ; the most inconvenient for the State itself,
and leaving the balance of the territory in the worst shape
for the formation of other new States".95 Members from
Massachusetts and New York, besides the astute and able
debater, Mr. Vinton of Ohio, strongly opposed giving Iowa
so large an area. Dodge replied at length and read a letter
from the President of the Iowa Territorial convention then
in session, stating that the convention had by vote agreed
to accept the boundaries proposed by the Committee on
Territories.96 When Dodge had concluded, Mr. Vinton art-
fully moved an amendment fixing the 43rd parallel as the
northern boundary. Whereupon, after Douglas had briefly
rejoined, Dodge again rose and, as the congressional re-
porter noted, "speaking under obvious excitement", up-
braided Mr. Vinton for his constant attempts to take the
people of Iowa "under his especial guardianship and con-
trol", and he concluded by stating that the people of Iowa
would never acquiesce in the further reduction of their
boundaries, even though it prohibited them from obtaining
statehood. These remarks led to an explanation by Mr.
Vinton and other members, after which the question being
taken on Mr. Vinton 's amendment it was lost.97 A member
from Missouri then moved an amendment that the bound-
aries be described in the exact language used by the Terri-
torial Constitutional Convention, which amendment was
95 Congressional Globe, 1st Session, 29th Congress, p. 938.
»« Congressional Globe, 1st Session, 29th Congress, Appendix, p. 668.
s? Congressional Globe, 1st Session, 29th Congress, p. 941.
THE IOWA TERRITORIAL DELEGATES 263
agreed to, and the bill thus amended was passed the next
day.98 The bill passed the Senate a few days later and was
approved August 4, 1846."
Before the session closed Dodge made a last attempt to
pass the bill for paying the Iowa militia in the Missouri-
Iowa boundary unpleasantness, but the sensible objections
of Mr. Vinton and others caused it to be rejected. The
long continued controversy over the Missouri-Iowa bound-
ary was, however, definitely concluded at this session; for
a section was added to the bill denning the boundaries of
Iowa which referred the dispute to the Supreme Court of
the United States "for adjudication and settlement".100
At the August election of 1846 the people of Iowa adopt-
ed the Constitution drawn up by the convention which met
in May, 1846, and by which the boundaries proposed in the
Douglas Bill were accepted. At the opening of the next
session of Congress in December, 1846, Dodge was in at-
tendance ready to present the new constitution to Congress
and to hasten the act declaring Iowa a State. Through Mr.
Douglas, he secured the immediate attention of the House
and with little debate, although some would have liked to
debate it, an act was passed, December 19, 1846, declaring
Iowa admitted as a State.101 Dodge arranged to have the
bill hurried through the Senate. On December 28, 1846,102
when the bill was approved by the President, Iowa became
a State and the services of Augustus Caesar Dodge as
Delegate to Congress from the Territory of Iowa ceased.
Thus for ten years previous to the admission of Iowa
into the Union as a State, the Iowa country was represented
98 Congressional Globe, 1st Session, 29th Congress, p. 948.
»» United States Statutes at Large, Vol. IX, p. 52.
100 Decision of the Supreme Court, 7 Howard 660.
101 Congressional Globe, 2nd Session, 29th Congress, p. 57.
102 United States Statutes at Large, Vol. IX, p. 117.
264 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
in Congress by a Delegate — from 1836 to 1838 as a part
of the original Territory of Wisconsin, and from 1838 to
1846 as the Territory of Iowa. During this short period
the population of Iowa increased remarkably. In 1836
there were 10,531 people in the Iowa country, and in 1846
the number in Iowa was 102,388.103 These people, coming
from all parts of the Union, had been attracted by the fer-
tile lands open for settlement. The first public land sales
were held by the government at Dubuque and Burlington
in November, 1838, when forty-seven townships in the east-
ern part of the Territory were proclaimed for sale. On
each following year large tracts of public lands were opened
for entry and sale and were acquired by Iowa settlers, not
only in eastern Iowa, but further and further west toward
the Missouri River.
The Delegates then represented settlers in a new
country. The business which these Delegates brought be-
fore Congress was similar to that of the other western Ter-
ritories. It included the presentation of petitions and me-
morials, the securing of legislation on preemption rights,
the survey and sale of the public lands, appropriations for
public buildings, for roads, and bridges, and for the Terri-
torial government, and the private claims of various con-
stituents.
A study of the Territorial Delegates to Congress pre-
sents the connecting link between the local Territorial gov-
ernment on the one hand, and the national government at
Washington on the other; for these Delegates carried to
Congress the opinions, wishes, and claims of the people of
their Territory, and after the session adjourned they re-
turned to the people prepared to state the congressional
attitude on Territorial questions. The usefulness of such
103 The First Census of the Original Counties of Dubuque and Demoine,
edited by Benj. F. Shambaugh; Census of Iowa, 1905, p. xvii.
THE IOWA TERRITORIAL DELEGATES 265
Delegates may be summed up under three heads: (1) to
present to Congress the views of the inhabitants of the Ter-
ritory, especially if their view on a Territorial measure
differed from that of Congress; (2) to call the attention of
Congress to Territorial matters; and (3) to take charge of
Territorial business and private claims before the com-
mittees.
Thus in shaping the congressional policy on any Terri-
torial matter the Delegate had great opportunities, but
when it came to a decision on any question the Delegate
had no power whatever because he was not accorded the
right of voting. The Delegate was neither a representa-
tive, nor was he a lobbyist. He possessed the privilege of
speaking on the floor of the House. He was recognized as
the legal agent of the Territory, and as such received
marked attention by the House and by the Senate com-
mittees.
The three Delegates who represented Iowa performed
the functions of the office in much the usual way. Their
history is practically the same as that of the Delegates from
the earlier Territories of Michigan, Illinois, and Indiana,
and it has been repeated by the Delegates from Minnesota,
Dakota, and Oregon. Concerning the three Iowa Delegates,
George Wallace Jones, William W. Chapman, and Augus-
tus Caesar Dodge, little would be accomplished by an ex-
haustive comparison of their services, for each in his own
way represented the Territory with great sincerity and
faithfulness.
KENNETH W. COLGBOVE
THE STATE UNIVERSITY OP IOWA
IOWA CITY
PEOPOSED CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS
IN IOWA— 1836-1857
Students of the constitutional history of Iowa find con-
siderable interest in the large number of amendments to
the fundamental law which were proposed but not accepted.
To be sure a discussion of "what might have been" in
political history is obviously useless and productive of little
but idle speculation. But in the field of constitutional his-
tory an investigator need not be deterred by such a criti-
cism : knowing that the Constitution of the State of Iowa is
an evolutionary growth, he is able to throw additional light
upon this fact by an attempt to enumerate and discuss
proposed amendments which failed of acceptance in Terri-
torial and State legislatures and in Congress.1 The study
of such a subject likewise illustrates the difficulty of alter-
ing the fundamental law ; and the partisan of flexible con-
stitutions will doubtless point to it as an object lesson for
those who do not advocate his principles, and he will, with
a sense of keen satisfaction refer to it as an example of
what he means by "rigidity".
For the purposes of this paper it is not necessary to con-
sider the Organic Law of the Territory of Michigan, the
first constitution under which inhabitants of the Iowa coun-
try lived. During the first three years of their occupation
of the newly opened lands, settlers were chiefly engaged in
the conquest of nature. Furthermore the Legislative As-
sembly of the Territory of Michigan in which the Iowa
i Constitutional Amendments in the Commonwealth of Iowa is the subject of
an article written by Dr. F. E. Horack. Only amendments actually adopted
receive consideration in this article. — See the Iowa Historical Eecord, Vol.
XVI, No. 2.
PROPOSED CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS 267
country was represented in January, 1836, did little more
than urge Congress to establish the separate Territory of
Wisconsin. Starting with the year 1836, when Iowa pio-
neers came under the jurisdiction of the government of the
Territory of Wisconsin and actually numbered about half
of the population, the matter of constitutional amendments
first attracted the attention of the legislators assembled at
Belmont.
Almost immediately after the House of Eepresentatives
and the Council of the first Legislative Assembly had com-
pleted their organization, a movement was started to obtain
certain modifications of the Organic Law. The lower house
passed a resolution instructing its Committee on Territorial
Affairs to memorialize Congress to grant such alterations
as the situation and circumstances seemed to require.2 The
Council, or upper house, resolved to appoint a committee of
five, consisting of one member from each county, to propose
such amendments as to them might appear expedient.3
Neither of these committees appears to have taken the first
step in proposing modifications, for the house Committee
on the Judiciary took action on the subject of securing from
Congress the appointment of two additional district attor-
neys, as will be shown later.
Of the fairly numerous amendments proposed during the
Territorial period, none recurred with such frequency as
the one which sought to enlarge the jurisdiction of justices
of the peace. This shows rather clearly that the prompt
administration of justice was one of the chief needs of the
early settlers. The first labor of the Legislative Assembly,
therefore, lay in the direction of enabling litigants to secure
2 Journal of the House of Eepresentatives, 1836, p. 30.
Congress alone can change the Constitution of a Territory, and seldom does
eo, except in answer to a memorial from the Territorial legislature,
s Journal of the Council, 1836, pp. 28, 30.
268 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
easier access to the local courts of law. By the Organic Law
justices were permitted to officiate in civil cases when the
value of the property or the debt or sum claimed did not ex-
ceed fifty dollars. The Council committee, very wisely no
doubt, urged that such a limitation would work great incon-
venience to the citizens inasmuch as district courts were
"held at places so remote from many settlements in the
extensive counties of Wisconsin" as to compel the parties
"to travel from thirty to eighty miles in order to commence
and prosecute their suits." Consequently the Council re-
solved that the Legislative Assembly should make applica-
tion to Congress to amend the Organic Law so as to give
justices of the peace jurisdiction in cases involving not
more than one hundred dollars.4
When this resolution came before the House of Repre-
sentatives it was ordered to lie on the table, but was recon-
sidered later when the House concurred in its provisions.
Whether it received Governor Dodge's approval is uncer-
tain — at any rate it seems to have been despatched to
Washington where the houses of Congress instructed their
committees on the Judiciary * ' to inquire into the expediency
of so amending the act establishing the Territorial Govern-
ment of Wisconsin, as to authorize the appointment of two
additional attorneys; and that the committee also inquire
into the expediency of authorizing .... the extension
of the jurisdiction of justices of the peace. ' ' 5 The first
recommendation contained in this resolution was referred
to above as having commanded earliest attention in the
Territorial House of Representatives, though it seems
never to have taken the shape of a joint memorial adopted
4 Journal of the Council, 1836, pp. 37-38.
B Journal of the House of Eepresentatives, 1836-37, pp. 54, 56 ; and Journal
of the United States House of Eepresentatives, 1836-37, p. 69; and Journal of
the United States Senate, 1836-37, p. 50.
PROPOSED CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS 269
by both houses. When the Committee on the Judiciary
reported a bill embodying the foregoing provisions, the
Senators refused to give the measure their support,6 and so
the matter rested for nearly four years. It was characteris-
tic of Congress in those days not to treat Territorial affairs
with that consideration which they merited, chiefly because
pioneers of the West were mentioned and thought of by
many of the members in terms of reproach and dishonor,
and besides, the press of national business was so tremen-
dous as to exclude very largely the needs of the people who
lived upon the confines of civilization.
Two other amendments were proposed during the first
session of the Council of the original Territory of Wiscon-
sin. Instructions were given the Committee on the Judici-
ary to consider the propriety of memorializing Congress
on the subject of amending the ninth section of the Organic
Law so as to abolish a county commissioners court. Ref-
erence to the section noted fails to identify the court. It is
difficult, therefore, to discern just what was wanted, though
it may have been the repeal of a law of the Territory of
Michigan establishing county courts; and perhaps the
Council formed the same conclusion, since the resolution
was placed upon the table and was never heard of again.7
A change of more far-reaching importance was proposed
in a lengthy preamble and resolution relative to elections
and the suffrage. Pursuant to a provision of the Organic
Law members of the Council and the House of Representa-
tives had been elected for four and two years, respectively ;
but circumstances were rapidly producing new conditions,
for as the preamble has it, "the tide of emigration flows
to this Territory, with unabated force, in the vernal and
autumnal seasons of every year, and the citizens who thus
« Journal of the United States Senate, 1836-37, pp. 205, 288.
7 Journal of the Council, 1836, p. 38.
270 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
arrive and locate themselves in Wisconsin, can not exer-
cise the right of suffrage till the end of the quadrennial pe-
riod in relation to the Council, nor till the end of the
biennial period in relation to the House of Bepresenta-
tives." Newcomers were thus compelled to obey laws en-
acted by a body in whose election they had had no voice.
In justice to these citizens, therefore, and "with a view to
public order and tranquillity", it was proposed that Con-
gress be asked to provide for biennial elections of Council
members and annual elections of House members. The
resolution failed of acceptance and was tabled "until the
4th of July next", which meant that for the time being at
least the matter would be dropped.8
During the next session of the Legislative Assembly held
at Burlington another attempt was made to revive the ques-
tion of more frequent elections. In fact the House of Bep-
resentatives declared that the people were dissatisfied and
that "the power vested in them of selecting their own rep-
resentation" should revert to them so that each branch of
the legislature might be renewed or re-elected twice as often
as the Organic Law allowed.9 The Council paid no atten-
tion to this appeal; but when Congress passed an act or-
ganizing the new Territory of Iowa provision was made for
the annual election of members of the House and the bien-
nial election of members of the Council.10
s Journal of the Council, 1836, p. 62.
It is worthy of note that a member from Des Moines County introduced the
resolution and a member from Milwaukee County secured its consignment to
the table. In the Territorial legislatures of Wisconsin, Council and House
members from the two original Iowa counties, Demoine and Du Buque,
numbered six out of thirteen and twelve out of twenty-six respectively. Hence
if they wished to carry any measure of advantage to their constituents who
dwelt in the Iowa country, they might be outvoted by members who probably
represented the then less populous district of Wisconsin.
» Journal of the House of Representatives, 1837-38, p. 227.
10 The new Organic Law of the Territory of Iowa resembled the old Consti-
PROPOSED CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS 271
No greater activity and zeal in the interest of amending
the Organic Law was manifested than during the first
three sessions of the Legislative Assembly of the new Ter-
ritory of Iowa. A variety of subjects came up for the con-
sideration of both houses: the Council authorized a select
committee to propose such amendments as appeared expe-
dient,11 while the House of Eepresentatives instructed its
Committee on the Judiciary to memorialize Congress if
necessary on the subject of extending the jurisdiction of
justices of the peace to cases involving one hundred dollars
or less.12. Although no definite action was taken in this im-
portant matter until the following year, it may be well to
trace the fortunes of the amendment whenever it was pro-
posed during the Territorial period.
In a memorial to Congress the legislature asserted em-
phatically that inhabitants of the Territory of Iowa suf-
fered great inconvenience and in many cases actual loss
because justices of the peace had jurisdiction only in cases
involving fifty dollars or less. Indeed, under such restric-
tions it was deemed preferable for those who had a good
and just cause of action, when the amount involved was
larger, "to submit to the loss, and neglect to enforce the
claim, than to seek redress in a court of record, thereby sub-
jecting themselves to the expense and trouble of traveling
in .... many cases twenty or thirty miles to a place
where the court is held, and all the expense incidental to
prosecuting a suit to final judgment."13
tution of the Territory of Wisconsin very much in form and contents. None
of the other amendments proposed during the Wisconsin period was embodied
in the Constitution of the new Territory.
11 Journal of the Council, 1838-39, p. 27.
12 Journal of the House of Representatives, 1838-39, p. 42.
is Journal of the House of Representatives, 1839-40, pp. 45, 54, 57, 75, 250 ;
and Journal of the Council, 1839-40, pp. 54, 57, 60. Other references to the
jurisdiction of justices of the peace are made in Journal of the House of Bep-
272 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
Prom the year 1838 onward congressional interest in
Iowa constitutional questions may be evinced by the fact
that the Organic Law was actually amended in two very
important respects ; 14 and no other Iowa business received
so much space in the journals of Congress as the proposal
to enlarge the jurisdiction of justices of the peace. The
memorial quoted above was presented to the Senate of the
United States by the Vice President and then entrusted to
the Committee on the Judiciary.15 In the House of Repre-
sentatives a bill passed two readings but never appeared
before a Committee of the Whole House, as had been con-
templated.16 Then followed an adverse report of the Sen-
ate Committee on the Judiciary : opposition to the memorial
rested largely on a general assumption that a justice court
was not fully competent to administer the law. Profes-
sional men were excluded from an office which rendered the
incumbent such small emolument, or in words of the report :
''Our justices of the peace are seldom very intimately ac-
quainted with the common or municipal law; they are gen-
erally taken from the various pursuits of life, selected from
the great mass of their fellow-citizens for their honesty and
probity and not for their legal qualification to fill the sta-
tion. ' ' Under the desired law there would arise much dan-
ger of illegality and appeals to higher courts and conse-
quently ruinous costs to be borne by the losing party.
The Committee concluded its report with the humble
resentatives, 1840-41, pp. 73, 78, 83, 97, 298; 1841-42, p. 161; and 1842-43, p.
115. Journal of the Council, 1840-41, p. 44.
i* One amendment stripped the Governor of an unconditional veto power, and
the other deprived him of the power to appoint sheriffs, judges of probate,
justices of the peace, and county surveyors. Henceforth a bill disapproved by
the executive might still be passed by a two-thirds majority in each house.
The officers mentioned became elective.
is Journal of the United States Senate, 1839-40, p. 85.
i« Journal of the United States House of Representatives, 1839-40, p. 507.
PEOPOSED CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS 273
declaration that if the view taken were erroneous, " little
injury can result to the people of Iowa, as the law in ques-
tion and all other laws of the Territory, will shortly be
subjected to their action, under a constitutional form of
government." 17 Nevertheless a bill embodying the wish of
the Iowa Legislative Assembly passed the Senate but failed
of approval in the House of Representatives.18 During the
next session of Congress a similar bill underwent two read-
ings in the Senate — in both houses it was referred to the
committees on the Judiciary, and its death was postponed
until the House committee was discharged after present-
ing an unfavorable report.19
Eelations between the executive and the legislature dur-
ing Governor Eobert Lucas's incumbency could hardly be
described as pleasant and pacific. The Governor offended
his Democratic friends whenever he undertook to follow his
own convictions : his frequent use of the veto and his inde-
pendent exercise of the appointive power naturally aroused
the hostility of men who had been accustomed to the meth-
ods of State governments. Finally the Legislative Assem-
bly forwarded to Congress resolutions condemning in
strong terms such provisions of the Organic Law as were
at variance with the principles of Democracy; but even
when Congress had complied with requests for alterations
in the two respects above noted, the Territorial legislature
proposed a more revolutionary measure. As early as the
first session of the Council instructions had been given the
Committee on Territorial Affairs to inquire into the expe-
diency of memorializing Congress to permit the people of
the Territory of Iowa to elect their own Governor and Sec-
" Journal of the United States Senate, 1840-41, pp. 63, 76.
« Journal of the United States Senate, 1840-41, pp. 81, 196, 200.
19 Journal of the United States Senate, 1841-42, p. 17; and Journal of the
United States House of Eepresentatives, 1841-42, p. 86; and 1842-43, p. 482.
VOL. VH — 18
274 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
retary, while both officers should still be commissioned by
the President. The second Legislative Assembly passed a
joint resolution requesting the Territorial Delegate in Con-
gress to obtain the passage of a law granting the right of
popular election of Governor. Similar action was taken
by succeeding Legislative Assemblies.20
Reference to the journals of Congress reveals the fact
that both Vice President and Speaker presented to their
respective houses a resolution "to procure the passage of
a law authorizing the election of the Governor of the Ter-
ritory by the people, after the term of the present incum-
bent shall have expired." This project seems to have sav-
ored too much of radicalism, and Congress never took kind-
ly to the agitation, to which the Senate and the House
committees on the Judiciary finally put an end by failing
to make any report.21
As noted above, the Legislative Assembly procured from
Congress the popular election of such local officers as sher-
iffs, judges of probate, justices of the peace, and county
surveyors. But even this extensive privilege did not pro-
duce entire satisfaction among the electorate. All militia
officers except those of the staff were still appointed by the
Governor with the Council's advice and consent, and clerks
of the district courts owed their appointments to the judges.
Immediate modification of the Organic Law so as to con-
fer on the people the privilege of electing those officers
would "accord more fully with the spirit of our liberal in-
stitutions. . . . Such has been the privilege heretofore
extended to other territories, and I know of no cause which
20 Journal of the Council, 1838-39, p. 113 ; 1839-40, p. 149 ; and 1840-41, pp.
107, 110, 114. Journal of the House of Representatives, 1839-40, pp. 201, 205;
1840-41, pp. 100, 104, 118, 131, 143, 166, 172, 308; and 1842-43, p. 115.
21 Journal of the United States Senate, 1839-40, p. 185. Journal of the
United States House of Representatives, 1839-40, p. 1002; and 1841-42, pp.
83, 86.
PROPOSED CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS 275
should prompt Congress to refuse a like extension of that
privilege to us. ' ' 22
The liberty of electing militia officers was unsuccessfully
advocated by the Council. In a resolution adopted by that
body it was provided that a prospective candidate for a
military office should first obtain from the commander-in-
chief a certificate of confidence in the individual's valor.
The measure failed on third reading in the House of Rep-
resentatives, and except for a subsequent announcement of
its re-introduction in that body the matter never came up
again.23
Of rather more significance in the history of local govern-
ment were the attempts to procure popular election of
clerks of the district courts. To this end a resolution suc-
ceeded in the Council, though an amendment failed, com-
pelling candidates before election to obtain certificates from
the judges of the district courts that they were qualified
to discharge the duties of the office. The measure met with
favor if we may judge from editorial comment : "When we
consider the difficulties which have arisen and are likely
to arise, the dissatisfaction created by the appointments
and removals made by Judges, we cannot help thinking that
the alteration. . . . will meet the wishes of the people.
.... And inasmuch as the Clerks are county officers,
and transact business for the people generally, we see no
impropriety in permitting the people to elect their own
clerks."24
Unfortunately for the good intentions of the Council,
the House of Eepresentatives concurred in the hostile
22 Fort Madison Patriot, July 4, 1838.
28 Journal of the Council, 1838-39, p. 113; and 1840-41, pp. 42, 50, 67, 71.
Journal of the House of Eepresentatives, 1840-41, pp. 89, 90, 93, 98 ; and 1841-
42, p. 160.
24 Iowa City Standard, December 11, 1840.
276 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
recommendation of its Committee on Territorial Affairs.
Two years later similar action by the Council precipitated
a lengthy conflict between the houses. After two readings
the House of Representatives referred the Council reso-
lution to its Committee on the Judiciary which reported
favorably but tacked on certain amendments providing for
the concession of popular election of Governor and Secre-
tary and enlarging the jurisdiction of justices of the peace.
The amended measure was approved and referred to a
second committee, was returned with an additional amend-
ment relative to the per diem allowance for service em-
ployed by members of the Legislative Assembly, and in
this form gained adoption in the House of Eepresentatives.
But the Council refused to accede even when the House in-
sisted. Both houses thereupon appointed committees of
conference — Councillors remained obdurate in spite of a
favorable report and Eepresentatives adhered to their
amendments, so that the whole business ended in a dead-
lock.25
Two amendments of minor importance were proposed in
the first Legislative Assembly. A resolution relative to an
increase in the daily compensation of legislators was intro-
duced and immediately rejected; and though another reso-
lution of the House of Eepresentatives instructing William
W. Chapman, the Territorial Delegate in Congress, to use
his influence to secure more pay for members of the Terri-
torial legislature was adopted, nothing further was done
along this line.26 The Organic Law made no provision for
the salary of a Supreme Court reporter, and inasmuch as
SB Journal of the Council, 1840-41, pp. 40, 49, 60; and 1842-43, pp. 27, 30,
32, 71, 77, 78, 84, 93, 94, 97. Journal of the House of Eepresentatives, 1840-
41, pp. 75, 78, 81, 101; and 1842-43, pp. 63, 67, 68, 113, 115, 117, 126, 128,
132, 141, 142, 147, 162, 187, 191, 192, 193.
a« Journal of the House of Representatives, 1838-39, pp. 192, 216.
PROPOSED CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS 277
reports of decisions of that tribunal were absolutely neces-
sary for legislators and people alike, Mr. Chapman was ac-
cordingly urged to use his exertions to obtain four hundred
dollars annually as compensation for the reporter's impor-
tant services; but Congress seems to have taken no final
action in the matter.27
This completes the discussion of amendments proposed
prior to the adoption of the State Constitution of 1846.
During the whole Territorial period there had been con-
tinual agitation for the establishment of State government,
rather as an end in itself than as a sign of opposition to the
Organic Law or dissatisfaction with the Territorial govern-
ment. The question of holding a constitutional convention
had been defeated twice by the people, and the proposed
Constitution of 1844 had been twice rejected before the
principles of the Democratic party were successfully em-
bodied in the first State Constitution. But the struggle
between rival political parties did not end here : Democrats
may have controlled both constitutional conventions and
actually established their regime for nearly a decade of
the State's history, but nothing dismayed the Whigs whose
chief ideas permeate the Constitution of 1857. In vain had
one editor declared that interests and principles were in-
volved which made it necessary that all classes and all par-
ties should be represented in a constitutional convention:
if party lines were drawn nothing could be anticipated but
distraction and want of harmony, * ' all local interests would
be lost sight of and the monster Party would begin to reign
before his time in this fair Territory."28
The intensely bitter rivalry which existed between Whigs
27 Laws of the Territory of Iowa, 1838-39, p. 554. Journal of the Council,
1838-39, p. 141. Journal of the United States Senate, 1839-40, p. 137; and
Journal of the United States House of Representatives, 1839-40, p. 404.
28 The Iowa Patriot, June 27, 1839.
278 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
and Democrats during the latter years of the Territory,
nevertheless, continued to thrive after the latter were es-
tablished in power. They had successfully opposed the
establishment of banks and corporations (except those for
political and municipal purposes) in Iowa, but the Whigs
were still actively engaged in the propagation of their
views : it was unnecessary to remind them of a time when
they had resolved that members of the next legislature
should appear "clad in Iowa Manufacture".29 Such rare
evidence of a desire to encourage home industry was char-
acteristic of Whig policy. There is no doubt but that at
the bottom of all agitation for a revision of the Constitu-
tion of 1846 lay the Whig desire to develop the natural re-
sources of the Commonwealth, to invite capital and en-
courage labor so that Iowa might become a great producing
and manufacturing State.30
The history of proposed amendments for the years 1846-
1857 is, therefore, an account of numerous attempts to get
the question of a Constitutional Convention before the elec-
torate. To revise or amend the Constitution had been made
unusually difficult: an act of the legislature must first pro-
vide for a vote of the people for or against a convention;
then at the next ensuing election for members of the Gen-
eral Assembly (in case the vote favored a convention), the
General Assembly must provide for an election of delegates
to a convention to be held within six months after the vote
of the people in favor thereof.
In the First General Assembly of Iowa a bill was pro-
posed in the House of Representatives to provide for the
expression of the people upon amendment, and after a mo-
tion to indefinitely postpone and a minority report of the
Committee on Elections to reject, the bill was passed and
29 Journal of the House of Representatives, 1842-43, p. 25.
so Davenport Gazette, July 3, 1845.
PROPOSED CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS 279
forwarded to the Senate, where a majority of two voted to
postpone indefinitely.31 A Whig newspaper called atten-
tion to this action of the legislature to prevent the revision
or amendment of "our Loco constitution" — surely it was
a bold position for men who professed to be ultra-demo-
cratic in their politics to assume that the people should not
have the privilege of amending their constitution.32
The Constitution had been accepted "purely from mo-
tives of expediency and with a tacit understanding that it
was to receive some slight amendments as soon as they
could be constitutionally and legally made." It was be-
lieved that the failure of electors to petition influenced a
sufficient number of legislators to vote against the bill, and
hence it was considered proper for public meetings in every
county, town, and township to freely canvass the subject
and specify the objectionable articles and sections of the
Constitution, especially "the abominable fooleries" in re-
lation to corporations and issue of bank notes: railroads,
canals, and bridges could never be constructed in Iowa un-
der the provisions of its Constitution.33
Before the general election of August, 1848, every elector
was urged to cast his vote for that candidate for the legis-
lature who professed to be in favor of revision, so that there
would be no danger of a recurrence of that ' ' aristocratic im-
pudence" which had refused to let the people vote aye or no
on this all-important subject. "Advocates of the stand-
si Journal of the House of Representatives, 1846-47, pp. 259, 275, 281, 297,
310; Journal of the Senate, 1846-47, pp. 227, 228, 229, 236.
32 Iowa City Standard, March 3, 1847. The editor continues : ' ' But thank
God, the people can speak without asking permission of the representatives
and in the name of Liberty we now call upon them to do it. Let every voter
at the next township election, at the next August election, and at every election
thereafter until their votes are regarded, write or print upon their tickets
'convention' or 'no convention' and let the Judges and Clerks dare to refuse a
certificate of the voter for and against the measure."
33 Iowa City Standard, January 5, 1848.
280 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
still-and-do-no thing policy" and " smooth-tongued politi-
cians who profess to bow to the will of the people" were
asked why the matter should be postponed another two
years when it might now perhaps be settled once for all.34
A Whig county convention passed a resolution which sum-
med up the case very briefly: the State Constitution had
been imposed upon the people by the wretched policy of
a party ; it had hindered the influx of capital and enterprise,
and consequently the development of inexhaustible mineral
resources, of great agricultural and manufacturing and
commercial facilities ; it was a burden to which the people
would not long submit and therefore no candidate for the
legislature should be supported who would not pledge his
vote for a law referring the question of amendment to the
people.33
In the General Assembly of 1848-49 the Whigs were not
strong enough to take the first step: a bill to provide for
revision was indefinitely postponed in the lower house, and
the Senate passed a bill for an act to allow the people to ex-
press their opinion upon the subject of a convention to
amend the Constitution. The following year a similar bill
failed in the House,30 and after two readings in the Senate
was on motion referred to the Committee on Ways and
Means which submitted majority and minority reports.
The former report recommended indefinite postponement
because such a law was not "expected, required or de-
manded" by the people who would otherwise have forward-
ed petitions to that end. And even when the subject be-
came a direct issue at the August election for State officers
and members of the General Assembly, the Whig idea of
s* Iowa City Standard, April 12, 1848.
ss Iowa City Standard, May 17, 1848.
ss Journal of the House of Representatives, 1848-49, p. 376 ; and 1850-51, p.
308. Journal of the Senate, 1848-49, pp. 172, 195, 200, 202.
PROPOSED CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS 281
amending the Constitution was not sustained by a majority
vote of the people. The Whig party had been opposed to
an adoption of the Constitution, had continually shown
their dislike of its provisions, and accordingly the small
minority of Whigs in the General Assembly now sought to
thrust the question upon the people and "if possible to ex-
cite local animosity and civil discord."
On the other hand it was urged that no expense would
be incurred by submitting the question to the people at a
general election, thus also obtaining "a full, definite and
deliberate expression" of their will: the proposition was
so reasonable and just, and in such accord with the princi-
ples of Democracy that it could not be denied that the
popular will could be ascertained only by a direct vote of
the people, and thus "in an inexpensive manner a vexa-
tious and often exciting controversy" could be settled. The
majority report, however, was adopted.37
The question of a constitutional convention underwent a
thorough discussion in both branches of the Fourth General
Assembly. Eepresentatives favored amendment by a very
large majority and Senators concurred, though a facetious
gentleman took occasion to propose the following title: "A
bill to authorize the advocates of exclusive privileges to de-
stroy that safeguard of the masses and to build up a sys-
tem of irresponsible corporations for the benefit of the ' rich
and well born' and to crush the laboring poor of this State."
But Governor Stephen Hempstead satisfied himself that
the act was not "in accord with the spirit and intent of the
constitution", and so vetoed the act. The legislature, how-
ever, not only voted by an overwhelming majority to abide
by his decision but passed a second act against which the
Governor could not urge the same objections. In the Sen-
87 Journal of the Senate, 1850-51, pp. 168, 194, 239.
282 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
ate the following substitute title failed of adoption: "A
bill to enable eight by ten politicians to become Pachas with
five tails. ' ' This time Mr. Hempstead sought refuge in the
criticism that in consequence of its indefinite provisions the
act would end in misunderstandings and confusion, and be-
sides he was more strongly than ever impressed with the
belief that "it would be suicidal to part with a Constitu-
tion which throws around the people its protecting arm and
places between them and crafty adventurers formidable ob-
stacles to the acquisition of influence and power, which
places them above the reach of that species of legislation
which leads a State to bankruptcy and her citizens to degra-
dation. ' ' In the lower house only a few votes were lacking
to make a constitutional majority in favor of the act, the
Governor's veto notwithstanding.38 Although several pe-
titions from citizens of Linn County were read before the
General Assembly,39 it was not until the next session that
the measure was accepted in both houses by large majori-
ties40 and approved by Governor Grimes.
It is unnecessary to add more than that the people in
August, 1856, voted in favor of a convention to revise or
amend the Constitution. Delegates assembled at Iowa City
in January, 1857, and the old Whig principles, already
adopted and represented by the new Republican party,
preponderated there to such an extent that the Constitution
of 1857 when ratified by the people really amounted to a
complete revision of the Constitution of 1846. A special
amendment for the extension of the right of suffrage to ne-
38 Journal of the House of Representatives, 1852-53, pp. 125, 137, 173, 182,
193, 209, 258, 264, 283, 291, 319, 328, 333, 343, 373, 376, 381, 412; and Journal
of the Senate, 1852-53, pp. 35, 167, 170, 181, 191, 208, 271, 273, 291.
39 Journal of the Senate, 1852-53, pp. 69, 80, 117.
40 Journal of the House of Representatives, 1854-55, pp. 323, 336, 357, 420.
Journal of the Senate, 1854-55, pp. 37, 54, 141, 159, 193, 251, 298, 303.
PROPOSED CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENTS 283
groes failed to meet with popular approval at this early
date.41 Amendments, therefore, which had been in the
minds of reformers for nearly eleven years at last found
expression in the State Constitution of 1857.42
J. VAN DEB ZEE
THE STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF IOWA
IOWA CITY
*i Shambaugh 'a History of the Constitutions of Iowa, pp. 347, 352.
42 For the important changes embodied in the new Constitution, see the
Iowa Historical Record, Vol. XVI, No. 2.
SOME PUBLICATIONS
Wisconsin: The Americanization of a French Settlement. By
REUBEN GOLD THWAITES. American Commonwealths. Boston
and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. 1908. Pp. viii,
466. Map.
Between the coming of Jean Nicollet and Father Marquette and
the Wisconsin of to-day there is a long story of one of the great
American commonwealths. Nineteen chapters have been devoted
thereto by a man endowed with both love and experience for the
work of telling the narrative. The account traces the history of
three national jurisdictions which have resulted in ''the Americani-
zation of a French settlement."
The first seven chapters prepare the way for the establishment of
American dominion and influence. After Nicollet and Marquette
had piloted the way to Wisconsin there came the era of French ex-
ploration and missionary effort. The Bible and the crucifix came to
Wisconsin ; trading posts were established and under the zeal of the
voyageurs and the coureurs de bois the Indian trade and the com-
merce in peltries began. Soldiers came and forts were established
to protect this growing trade.
Out of the disastrous Fox Indian wars there grew the decline of
New France in Wisconsin. French occupation collapsed and the
British regime began. Although Dr. Thwaites regards British
influence as "negligible" he has devoted three long chapters to
this era. "The British departed from our territory with regret,"
he writes, "and both Creoles and aborigines were equally reluctant
to witness the advent of the 'Bostonnais' into their beloved land.
It was recognized that Americans were quite out of tune with the
easy-going methods of the people who had dominated Wisconsin for
upwards of a century and a half."
Chapter IX entitled "Lead-Mining and Indian Wars" deserves
special mention for the compact, clear, and judicious treatment
SOME PUBLICATIONS 285
given it. Until 1822 mining in Wisconsin was intermittent, in-
dividual, and without system. In 1825 the Galena district became a
lead-mining camp and the rush for the ore was so great that the re-
turn flow soon reached well up into Wisconsin. Furnaces were
established, roads were laid out, houses and villages rose, and a
great industry was established.
Rudely pushed aside by this enterprising population, the Indians
soon showed their dissatisfaction, and Indian dangers grew into out-
breaks and wars. The Winnebago and the Black Hawk wars fol-
lowed. The latter with its dramatic incidents attracted wide atten-
tion : the Black Hawk Purchase was a direct result, land offices were
opened, the lead-mine district again attracted miners and specula-
tors, and agricultural communities multiplied and grew. In 1836
Wisconsin became a separate Territory.
By 1836 nearly 11,000 people were living in that portion of the
Territory lying west of the Mississippi River which two years later
was erected into the Territory of Iowa. In the chapter on ' ' Terri-
torial Pioneers" occur the names of such lawyers as James D. Doty,
Henry S. Baird, and Morgan L. Martin. Ebenezer Childs and
William Dickinson are names conspicuous in early trade and manu-
factures. Henry Dodge, miner, soldier, and politician, was the
most widely known pioneer of the lead region.
Among economic influences in Wisconsin Dr. Thwaites justly pays
tribute to the vast influence of the Teutonic settlements in the State.
The development of natural resources is traced and the advent and
growth of transportation is sketched. Other chapters describe the
attitude of Wisconsin toward the great ante-bellum questions and
its part in the war between the States. Another chapter on
"Economic Development" is given to the discussion of industrial
conditions and growth after the war. In the chapter on "Some
Notable Contests" the author describes recent political, social, and
industrial campaigns in the State.
In " Wisconsin To-day" are named the religious agencies and
activities in the State; the educational system is described; the
penal and charitable institutions are briefly mentioned; and refer-
ence is made to the various administrative boards and commissions
of the State government. These agencies, concludes the author,
286 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
have made the State most markedly enterprising in the matters of
popular education and the science of government. "Both intellec-
tually and materially, she faces none but pleasing prospects."
Louis PELZER
THE STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF IOWA
IOWA CITY
Minnesota: Tlie North Star State. By WILLIAM WATTS FOLWELL.
American Commonwealths. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Com-
pany. 1908. Pp. vi, 382. Map.
The histories of the Upper Mississippi Valley States closely re-
semble each other in their larger features. In each the first explo-
ration was made by French adventurers, and "civilization" — of a
sort — was first brought in by the representatives of the great fur-
trading companies. In each, again, the rule of the fur-trader was
somewhat abruptly followed by that of the pioneer with its charac-
teristic incidents: the rapid influx of "settlers," Indian troubles,
the fight for early statehood, the struggle for internal improvements,
land "grabs", erratic public and private financiering, the begin-
nings of educational and civic institutions. After the stage of
whooping cough and measles comes a period of astonishing develop-
ment. Population goes forward by leaps and bounds. Railroads
spread their net-work over the prairie, the wilderness is transformed
into farmsteads, towns spring up over night and villages grow into
cities with mushroom rapidity. While public attention is thus en-
gaged in material development the crafty and unscrupulous take
advantage of the situation to gobble up the richest resources of the
State. Great corporations set at defiance the legislature which
created them, "graft" runs riot and huge fortunes are acquired.
To the storm and stress period succeeds that of maturity in which
the people slowly resume control over public utilities, create a
reasonably efficient system of education and make long strides in the
direction of effective democratic government.
All this is well related by Mr. Folwell. In particular, the exact
nature of the "public services" rendered by the distinguished high-
SOME PUBLICATIONS 287
waymen who "financed" Minnesota's railroads, stole her timber,
and appropriated her water power is made abundantly clear. De-
served attention is bestowed upon the growth of the public school
system and of the great university with which the author was so
long and honorably connected. Disproportionate space (nearly one-
fifth of the entire text) is devoted to the Sioux outbreak and Minne-
sota's part in the Civil War. The early history is commendably
curtailed. It might have been even more briefly treated to ad-
vantage. On the other hand the book would gain much by a fuller
treatment of the rich social and economic history of the past twenty
years. E. H. DOWNEY
THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
CHICAGO
Old Times on the Upper Mississippi — The Recollections of a Steam-
boat Pilot from 1854 to 1863, By GEORGE BYRON MERRICK.
Cleveland: The Arthur H. Clark Company. 1909. Pp. 323.
Plates, map.
Old Times on the Upper Mississippi comes as an excellent shelf-
mate for Hulbert's Historic Highways of America, published by
the same company a few years ago. Such scholarly studies are of
course keenly appreciated by the historian, both local and national,
not only for their local coloring, but also for the romance which they
weave around our country as an empire-builder. Long before the
advent of railroads Americans had to content themselves with the
simple improvements which they could make on the avenues of
travel presented by nature: there were ordinary wagon roads in
plenty, a few macadamized roads, some canals, and rivers every-
where. All these played an important part in the conquest of the
West, since they were the roads and waterways along which poured
a constant stream of emigrants. Just as the great National Road
afforded the best route for travelers by land, so the Ohio and the
Mississippi rivers were the best water route for emigrants who
sought the rich prairies of the Middle West.
When the vast resources of the Valley of the Mississippi came to
288 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
be exploited by hardy and industrious pioneers, when the output of
mines, tilled fields, and forests had to be moved to market, our
largest river became the scene of an extensive inland commerce such
as we of this generation can not fully realize or even imagine.
Numerous steamboats, large and small, plied between the river ports,
carrying on a brisk trade. All this represents but slightly a phase
of western life now almost extinct.
Fortunately for those who take pride and interest in the lives
which the pioneers led, Mr. Merrick devoted much time during the
last six years to the composition of a story which is being gradually
forgotten as the old river men pass away. While he has limited
himself to only a few years on the Upper Mississippi, he has never-
theless, in clear and vigorous language, depicted that life as it was
during the ante-bellum days, at the height of its prosperity, just
before the competition of railroads began to rob it of means of
support.
Actual participation and experience in addition to years of re-
search work enable Mr. Merrick to write with authority on condi-
tions described. As a boy of twelve he first became identified with
the town of Prescott in Wisconsin. He recounts incidents of his
life as a " levee rat", then as "cub" engineer, later as "mud" clerk,
and finally as pilot. The work and duties of each officer are de-
tailed, and several interesting chapters are devoted to the amenities
of social life, such as steamboat menus, bars and barkeepers, gam-
blers, racing, music and art. A chapter on "Steamboat Bonanzas"
contains accurate statistics relative to the passenger and freight
business, and fraudulent land schemes and wild-cat currency re-
ceive their share of attention.
It is unnecessary to add more than to assert that the whole volume
is intensely interesting and readable owing to its fund of incident
and anecdote, and its value is especially enhanced by several excel-
lent illustrations, chiefly pictures of river towns and steamboats, by
a lengthy appendix containing much information relative to west-
ern economic history, and by a comprehensive index which com-
pletes the work. J. VAN DEB ZEE
SOME PUBLICATIONS 289
Settlement of Illinois, 1778-1830. By ARTHUR CLINTON BOGGESS.
Chicago: Chicago Historical Society. 1908. Pp. 267. Maps.
In this monograph Mr. Boggess has undertaken — and with
good results — to present the most important facts connected
with the development of the Illinois settlements for a period of
fifty-two years. The attempt has been made, he explains, to apply
in the field of history the study of types ; and the trend of events
in the settlement of Illinois is sufficiently typical to make it a valua-
ble study. The shadow of an apology in the preface, however, ex-
cites somewhat of a protest. "If the settlement of Illinois", he
says, "had been an isolated historical fact, its narration would have
been too provincial to be seriously considered, but in many respects,
the history of this settlement is typical of that of other regions."
Even if it were not typical, it would deserve consideration because
of its relation to the east and south from which it recruited its
population, because of its influence upon the still further west
where the frontier steadily advanced, and because of the intrinsic
worth of its own individual history. The scriptural quotation "no
man liveth unto himself" may be as truly applied to Common-
wealths, and "an isolated historical fact" would be an extremely
hard thing to find. Provincial the settlements certainly were, but
provincialism does not preclude historical value. The time has for-
tunately passed when events and movements are deemed worthy of
consideration by the historian in inverse ratio to their distance west
of the Atlantic seaboard.
The series of studies of the Settlement of Illinois, of which that
of Mr. Boggess is a part, is one of exceeding value ; and the period
covered in the present monograph is not the most easy to treat suc-
cessfully. It is a period of varying conditions and diverse govern-
ments. It links the west with the Revolutionary War at one end and
with the problem of slavery at the other. The writer has wisely
taken cognizance of the extended scope and has not made it too
intensive a study.
He sketches the events of the period when the settlements formed
a part of the Commonwealth of Virginia under the name County
of Illinois, then passes to a discussion of the hopeless period of
VOL. vn — 19
290 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
anarchy that ensued between 1782, when the County of Illinois
ceased to exist, and 1790 when government under the Ordinance
of 1787 was inaugurated.
The third, fourth and fifth chapters deal respectively with the
settlement prior to the organization of the Territory of Illinois, the
Territorial period, and the first years of Statehood. In each of
these chapters the writer selects topics for consideration such as
the Indian and land questions, transportation and settlement, and
the life of the settlers. He thus keeps himself upon the essential
lines and avoids miring in the slough of less important details.
The sixth chapter concerns slavery in Illinois as affecting set-
tlement, a phase of history in which Illinois was not so typical of
the States of the Northwest. The final chapter consists of a series
of short biographical sketches of successful frontiersmen, who left
an impress upon Illinois. The characters are well chosen and valua-
ble information is given which helps the reader to understand the
personal element in the settlement of the Commonwealth. It seems,
however, somewhat of a departure from the unity of the monograph.
The work is well supplied with maps and with copious footnotes.
A considerable list of works consulted, arranged as sources and sec-
ondary works, is appended. It is evident that Mr. Boggess has ex-
amined the field with care and exercised discrimination in his use
of sources. It is a matter of regret that the volume was prepared at
a time when the Cahokia Records, edited by Mr. Clarence "W. Al-
vord, were not yet accessible. JOHN CARL PARISH
THE STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF IOWA
IOWA CITY
Writings on American History 1906. Compiled by GRACE GARD-
NER GRIFFIN. New York: The Macmillan Company. 1908.
Pp. xvi, 186.
The student or teacher of American history who wishes to keep
informed and up-to-date in his subject, as well as the investigator
seeking material on some special point, constantly feels the need
of a reliable reference list of late historical publications. Until in
SOME PUBLICATIONS 291
recent years very little has been done in the United States toward
meeting this need. In 1904 there was published at Princeton a
volume entitled Writings on American History, 1902, compiled by
Professor Ernest C. Richardson and Mr. Anson E. Morse; and the
following year the Carnegie Institution of Washington published
a list of Writings on American History, 1903, edited by Professor
Andrew C. McLaughlin. With the latter publication, however, the
work so well begun was discontinued through lack of adequate
support, until this year when the volume by Miss Griffin appeared.
There is now reasonable assurance that similar volumes will be is-
sued covering the historical publications at least of the years 1906-
1910 inclusive.
In the present work the general plan of classification of the ear-
lier volumes has been followed. In the first place there are listed
such general works as bibliographies, indexes, archives and manu-
script collections, and methods of teaching. Following this are the
publications on America in general, dealing with the aborigines
and with discovery and exploration. The writings on United States
history are next listed; first the general works classified as to the
period covered, then writings on the local history of various States.
Then come biographies, genealogies, writings on military and naval
history, works on politics, government and law, social, economic, re-
ligious and educational history, fine arts and literature. Finally,
there are lists of writings relating to the history of British Amer-
ica, Latin America, and the Pacific islands.
Judging from the thorough manner in which Iowa publications
are covered, the work is unusually complete and comprehensive. A
careful examination of the book fails to reveal the omission of any
Iowa item at all worthy of mention in a list of writings on Amer-
ican history published during the year 1906.
One error, which is clearly a mistake on the part of the printer,
should be noted. On page seventy-six Thomas Gary Johnson is
cited as the author of The Life and Letters of Theodore Button
Parvin, whereas the author of the book is Joseph E. Morcombe.
The index is commendably thorough and comprehensive, and yet
in certain respects might be improved. For instance, under the
292 IOWA JOURNAL OP HISTORY AND POLITICS
heading "Iowa" in the index are listed only a portion of the writ-
ings relating to Iowa history cited in the body of the volume.
Miss Griffin has produced a volume remarkably free from errors,
and of immense value to historical students. It is to be hoped that
the succeeding volumes will maintain the same high standard of
accuracy. DAN ELBERT CLARK
THE STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF IOWA
IOWA CITY
Collections of the Minnesota Historical Society. (Volume XIII).
St. Paul: Published by the Society. 1908. Pp. xii, 480,
Portraits.
That biography is one of the most instructive and most delight-
ful forms of literature is undoubtedly apparent to the reader of
Volume XIII of the Minnesota Historical Society Collections.
This publication of nearly five hundred neatly printed pages con-
tains short sketches and portrait reproductions of Minnesota's
eighteen Territorial and State executives, besides the author's pref-
ace, his portrait as frontispiece, and a brief index.
That General James H. Baker, the author, should have "known
intimately each and every one of the Governors of the Territory
and State, having lived on terms of personal friendship with them
all, " is in itself a unique claim which admirably qualifies any biog-
rapher; but General Baker is not unconscious of the danger which
lurks in such a qualification — he admits the difficulty of survey-
ing without bias the lives of one's contemporaries. Yet in spite
of this he has succeeded in writing substantially unprejudiced and
impartial accounts of his subjects, whether living or dead, friend or
foe.
In writing the lives of Minnesota's Governors, General Baker
follows a general plan : first, he presents a rapid sketch of his sub-
ject's life, then a character appreciation, and finally some excerpts
from messages and addresses, as well as a list of addresses, reports
and papers. The space allotted to each Governor varies from ten
pages for Samuel Medary to forty-seven for Alexander Ramsey.
SOME PUBLICATIONS 293
Perhaps the best character appreciation is that of Governor Ram-
sey. To quote: "The roster of our eighteen governors comprises
a roll of admirable men, of vigor and marked ability. But Alex-
ander Ramsey is easily the Nestor of them all. His figure stands
out in bold relief, and his primacy is universally conceded." In
fact it is doubtful whether General Baker has maintained through-
out the high standard set in his first sketch, unless perhaps in his
lives of Henry Hastings Sibley, Cushman Kellog Davis, Knute Nel-
son, and John Albert Johnson. Of the late Senator Davis, he says :
"His accomplishments as a man of letters and his wonderful skill
in state craft are the two Corinthian columns on which rest his
glory and his fame"; and also, "it is a dangerous example, of evil
tendency to let the private faults of great statesmen pass uncen-
sured." It is very interesting to note what the author has to say
about "the washerwoman's son" and "the most picturesque of all
our Governors", John Albert Johnson: "The ego was not largely
developed in the new governor. Self-conceit was no part of his
mental structure. It sometimes required a good deal of persuasion
on the part of his friends to convince him that he had ability to do
things. This modesty and reserve was not assumed, it was innate. ' '
"One word symbolizes Johnson's success — personality."
The author also touches off with considerable skill such promi-
nent participants in Minnesota politics as Ignatius Donnelly, "that
Celtic genius, whose dazzling intellect shone like a meteor"; C. E.
Flandrau, "the cavalier of the border, lawyer, jurist, soldier, the
Prince Rupert of the Northwest"; James J. Hill, "a strong, unique,
virile, monumental character, for whom a sharp claim will be
justly pressed with all the power of steam, for a high niche in the
Pantheon of Minnesota's great men"; and also Archbishop John
Ireland.
It is no reflection on the author to say that the value of his book
lies not in its fund of critical history but in its brilliant character
sketches. Indeed, General Baker remarks somewhere that he en-
deavors "to make clear the personalities of the men, to marshal
them as in a gallery that we may see those who have moved the po-
litical wheel and shaped the policies of the State", and elsewhere
294 IOWA JOURNAL OP HISTORY AND POLITICS
he says: "True, we stumble over the images of many other dis-
tinguished men, and the fragments of many weighty events, but
the canvass will not carry all things in a single picture. The artist
has aimed at the general effect, without arithmetical weariness of
detail." 'J. VAN DER ZEE
THE STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OP IOWA
IOWA CITY
Transactions of the Kansas State Historical Society, 1907-1908.
(Volume X). Edited by George W. Martin, Secretary. To-
peka : State Printing Office. 1908. Pp. xiii, 767. Portraits,
maps.
"There is an absorbing interest about the history of Kansas
without limit or abatement." It is in response to this sentiment
that another volume of historical Collections has been issued. This
book includes addresses given at the annual meetings of the So-
ciety, the centennial of Zebulon M. Pike's visit, the semi-centen-
nial of the anniversary of the first free-state territorial legislature,
accounts of the first State legislature in 1861, of the soldiers and
the Indians of Kansas, and a large number of personal narratives.
About fifty maps and illustrations are included in the volume.
A scholarly paper is that entitled The White Man's Foot in
Kansas, by John B. Dunbar, which describes the exploring expe-
dition of Zebulon M. Pike through Arkansas, Kansas, and New
Mexico. The biographies of the members of the free-state legis-
lature of 1857-1858, although very brief, will be of excellent serv-
ice to the student of the legislative history of Kansas in its dark
days. A similar list of biographical sketches is given for the State
legislature of 1868.
Nine papers are devoted to the Indian. The customs, manners,
and folk-lore of the Kaw or Kansas Indians are described. An-
other interesting paper by Warren K. Moorehead narrates the pic-
turesque and adventurous career of Red Cloud, the former head
chief of the Sioux Indians, who was then (1907) in his eighty-fifth
year at Pine Ridge Agency in South Dakota. In another paper
Ely Moore describes a buffalo hunt with the Miamis in 1854.
SOME PUBLICATIONS 295
The Wakarusa War, by Mrs. Sara T. D. Robinson, once more
recites some of the dramatic features of this contest. There ap-
pears a brief but instructive sketch of John Speer, who was one
of the strenuous anti-slavery editors of Kansas Territory. A fine
contribution to the local history of Kansas is entitled, The Wake-
field Colony, written by Dr. William J. Chapman. It is the
story of the origin, settlement, and organization of a colony of En-
glish pioneers in Clay County. Maps show the distribution of these
colonists. About fifty pages of personal narratives are found near
the close of the book.
The grouping of the various papers under proper headings is to
be commended, while the index is very complete. It would seem,
however, that many of the papers would bear a rearrangement or
a reduction in size that would add to their value and not detract
from their interest. Much of the material is too reminiscent to ap-
pear entirely trustworthy, and too " interesting" to bear the stamp
of scientific research. The use of authoritative and explanatory
footnotes adds greatly to the value of many of the articles. A
proper winnowing of the material in this volume will give a good
and substantial harvest of Kansas history, and the Collections will
claim a useful place in schools, public libraries, and in the estima-
tion of students as well as of readers of Kansas history.
Louis PELZER
THE STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OP IOWA
IOWA CITY
AMERICANA
GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS
Ideals of the Republic is the title of a new volume by James
Schouler.
The Life and Times of Anne Royal, by Sarah Harvey Porter, is a
recent book printed by The Torch Press, Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
The Library of Congress has recently issued a List of References
on International Arbitration, compiled under the direction of Ap-
pleton P. C. Griffin.
296 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
Two recent numbers of the Johns Hopkins University Studies in
Historical and Political Science are: Beneficiary Features of
American Trade Unions, by James B. Kennedy, and The Self-Re-
construction of Maryland, by William Starr Myers.
Tax Reforms versus Local Self -Government is the subject of an
address delivered by George Curtis, Jr., of the Wisconsin Tax Com-
mission, on September 3, 1908, before the Wisconsin Municipal
League. The address has been issued in pamphlet form.
A Tear After the Panic of 1907, by Alexander D. Noyes ; Recent
and Prospective State Banking Legislation, by Pierre Jay ; and The
Present Period of Income Tax Activity in the American States, by
Delos O. Kinsman, are prominent articles in the February number
of The Quarterly Journal of Economics.
Besides continuations the January number of the American His-
torical Magazine contains an article on the Rise of the United Em-
pire Royalists, by Viscount de Fronsac ; the opening installment of
a study of The Literature of Colonial Virginia, by Carl Holliday;
and A Letter of Lord Napier, contributed by Duane Mowry.
Among the articles in The Scottish Historical Review for January
may be mentioned: Ballads Illustrating the Relations of England
and Scotland during the Seventeenth Century, by C. H. Firth;
A New View of the War of Independence, by Evan M. Barren ; and
Letters of Cardinal Beaton, 1537-1541, by Andrew Lang.
During the Spanish-American War opposition to the acquisition
of the Philippines crystallized in the formation of an Anti-Impe-
rialist League. The work and objects of this organization are de-
scribed by its secretary, Erving Winslow, in a recently published
pamphlet bearing the title, The Anti-Imperialistic League : Apologia
Pro Vita Sua.
That the people of Massachusetts are keenly alive to the value of
properly preserving and caring for their public records is evinced
by the Twenty-first Report on the Custody and Condition of the
Public Records of Parishes, Towns, and Counties. The commis-
sioner, Henry E. Woods, reports that in many cities and counties
SOME PUBLICATIONS 297
fire-proof vaults have been or are being built for the safe-keeping of
official records ; that in over a score of towns and cities much prog-
ress has been made during the past year in the way of binding
public documents ; and that in some places parts of the earlier rec-
ords have been printed.
A valuable reference work, which has recently been completed by
the publication of part four, is R. R. Bowker's compilation of
State Publications: A Provisional List of the Official Publications
of the Several States of the United States from their Organization.
The publications of the southern States are listed in the present
volume.
The January number of The Annals of the American Academy of
Political and Social Science is devoted to Industrial Education.
Besides articles on the subject in general, its relation to National
progress and its place in the public schools, the more important
trade schools throughout the country are described by men inti-
mately connected with the work.
In the March number of Army and Navy Life may be found an
article on The Balance in the Pacific, by Richmond Pearson Hob-
son, in which he reiterates the warning, so often made by him on
the public platform, of the danger of an Oriental invasion of our
western coast. Catherine Frances Cavanagh contributes an inter-
esting sketch of Inaugurations of the Past.
An Educational Department Bulletin published in January by
the University of the State of New York consists of a Digest of
Governors' Messages for 1908, edited by Clarence B. Lester, Legisla-
tive Reference Librarian. All the recommendations made by Gov-
ernors throughout the United States and Porto Rico on important
questions of legislation during 1908 are included in this index.
The Tale Review for February opens with an editorial comment
bearing the title, The Atlantic City Meetings; Are Economists
Wasting their Time? Under the heading, The Government of Eng-
land, Allen Johnson presents an extended review of Professor
Lowell's two volume work. Fred Rogers Fairchild discusses The
298 IOWA JOURNAL OP HISTORY AND POLITICS
Economic Problem of Forest Taxation; Theodore H. Boggs con-
tributes a critical statement of England's Problem in India; and
Hubert H. S. Aimes describes Coartacion; A Spanish Institution
for the Advancement of Slaves into Freedmen.
The Report of the Twenty-sixth Annual Meeting of the Lake
Mohonk Conference of Friends of the Indian and Other Dependent
Peoples contains the proceedings of the meeting which was held
October 21-23, 1908. About two hundred members were present,
and the discussions included, besides Indian affairs, subjects con-
nected with the Philippines, Porto Rico and Hawaii.
A suggestion worthy of consideration as to Uniformity and Co-
operation in the Census Methods of the Republics of the American
Continent, is made by S. N. D. North in the December number of
the Quarterly Publications of the American Statistical Association.
Another article of interest and of value for purposes of comparison
is one by Edward M. Hartwell on The Cost of Municipal Govern-
ment in Massachusetts.
Two pamphlets issued by the American Branch of the Associa-
tion for International Conciliation in November and December are
entitled respectively, The Policy of the United States and Japan
in the Far East, and European Sobriety in the Presence of the
Balkan Crisis. The former contains the important notes exchanged
between the United States and Japan on November 30, 1908, while
the latter is a brief article by Charles Austin Beard, of Columbia
University.
Ambassador James Bryce's masterful address on The Relations
of Political Science to History and to Practice, which was delivered
at a joint meeting of the American Political Science Association and
the American Historical Association at Washington, D. C., Decem-
ber 28, 1908, is the opening contribution in the February number
of The American Political Science Review. George Frederick An-
drews is the writer of an article on The North African Question and
its Relation to European Politics, which is devoted largely to the
past, present and future policy of France relative to Morocco. One
of the problems which the acquisition of island possessions brought
SOME PUBLICATIONS 299
before our government is discussed by Russell M. Story under the
heading, The Problem of the Chinese in the Philippines. Margaret
A. Schaffner's Notes on Current Legislation are of their usual
interest and value; while an Index to Recent Literature — Books
and Periodicals, and a list of Recent Government Publications of
Political Interest will prove useful to the student.
Under the heading, Municipal Review 1907-1908, Clinton Rogers
"Woodruff presents, in the January number of The American Jour-
nal of Sociology, an admirable survey of the progress in municipal
government in the United States during the year indicated. The
writer concludes with the statement that the developments "are
such as to justify the expectation that the cities of the country are
rapidly freeing themselves from the opprobrium that they were the
worst governed municipalities in the world."
In an article bearing the title, An Inquiry into the Power of Con-
gress to Regulate the Intro-State Business of Interstate Railroads,
in the January number of the Columbia Law Review, David W.
Fairleigh propounds the doctrine that Congress has the constitu-
tional power to regulate not only the interstate, but also the intra-
state business of railroads. Joseph W. Bingham offers Some Sug-
gestions Concerning (( Legal Cause" at Common Law, a discussion
which is concluded in the February number, where may also be
found an article entitled, Is a Large Corporation an Illegal Combi-
nation or Monopoly Under the Sherman Anti-Trust Act?, by George
F. Canfield.
Volume three number one of The Journal of American History,
besides containing much of interest and value, is a fine specimen of
typography. Many illustrations including views of battle fields and
other historic places; portraits, especially some excellent ones of
Abraham Lincoln ; and reproductions in color of mural paintings in
American public buildings, make this an unusually attractive issue
of the Journal, The Manuscript of the Autobiography of Lincoln,
reproduced in Lincoln's hand- writing, is accorded the most promi-
nent position, and is followed by an article on Triumph of Ameri-
can Character, by Francis Trevelyan Miller, in which an attempt is
300 IOWA JOUBNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
made to point out the true significance of the Lincoln centenary.
A number of extracts from General Washington's Order Book in
the American Revolution throw light on Washington's military
character. Under the heading, First Letter Written in America,
there is a translation with explanatory remarks of a letter written
by Diego Alvarez Chanca, a physician who accompanied Columbus
on his second voyage in 1494. Zoeth S. Eldredge, in writing on the
First Overland Route to the Pacific, continues his account of Colo-
nel Anza's journey across the Colorado desert to California. A
number of other contributions on a variety of subjects may be found
in this number which deserves especial commendation.
In spite of the poor arrangement of material the diligent student
may find in the January number of The American Catholic Histor-
ical Researches much of interest in the field of early American his-
tory. Martin I. J. Griffin writes a brief article entitled Religious
Liberty for Protestants and Toleration for Catholics in Maryland —
Liberty for All in Pennsylvania. Other contributions worthy of
notice are : The Clergy of France Make a Gift to the King of Six
Millions of Dollars to Aid in the War Against England in Behalf of
the Revolted American Colonies — 1780, by Thomas Dwight ; George
Washington's Relation to Masonry; and Colonel John Fitzgerald,
Aid-de-camp and Secretary to Washington.
Reprinted from Year Book No. 7 is the Annual Report of the
Director of the Department of Historical Research of the Carnegie
Institution of Washington for 1908. The main activity of the De-
partment during the past year has been along the line of preparing
and publishing guides to the material for United States history to
be found in the archives of this country and of Europe. A second
and enlarged edition of Van Tyne and Leland's Guide to the Ar-
chives of the Government in Washington was printed early in the
year. In the fall a Guide to the Manuscript Materials for the His-
tory of the United States to 1783, in the British Museum, in Minor
London Archives, and in the Libraries of Oxford and Cambridge,
by Charles M. Andrews and Frances G. Davenport, was put to
press. Waldo G. Leland in Paris, and Herbert E. Bolton in Mexico,
SOME PUBLICATIONS 301
have made much progress with their work. Professor Carl Russell
Pish is now engaged in similar searches in the archives and libraries
at Rome. An investigation of the unpublished letters of delegates to
the Continental Congress and the Congress of the Confederation
has been completed. Miss Davenport has spent much time on the
preparation of the proposed publication of treaties between foreign
powers bearing on American history, and various other fields of in-
vestigation have been opened up. The plans for the coming year
follow the same general lines as in the past, and the Director, Dr.
J. Franklin Jameson, urgently recommends the erection of a fire-
proof building for the Department in the immediate neighborhood
of the Library of Congress.
In the January number of The South Atlantic Quarterly there
may be found an interesting article entitled Backward or Forward?,
by Edgar Gardner Murphy, who shows that race friction at the
South does not possess the over-shadowing significance it once did.
He points to the oil fields of Texas, the Galveston plan of city gov-
ernment, the industrial rise of Birmingham, the cotton factories of
the Carolinas, the prohibition movement in Georgia, and other social
and economic developments, as evidence of the rise of a new South
with other problems than the negro question. Another contribution
to this number of the Quarterly is the opening installment of a dis-
cussion of The Freedman's Bureau in North Carolina, by J. G. de
Roulhac Hamilton.
The initiative and the referendum are instructively discussed in
the Political Science Quarterly for December, in two articles which
bear the general heading, Popular Legislation in the United States.
Charles Sumner Lobingier traces The Development of the System,
of which he seems to approve ; while John Bell Sanborn presents an
estimate of The Value of the System, in which he expresses the
opinion that legislative reform is to be attained not through such
a radical change in our representative government, but rather
through the selection of better men as members of our legislatures.
Other articles are : Instruction in Public Business, by William H.
Allen ; Federal Quarantine Laws, by Edwin Maxey ; and The Causes
of Poverty, by Lilian Brandt.
302 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
WESTERN
Porno Indian Basketry is the title of a copiously illustrated
monograph written by S. A. Barrett, and published in December
as one of the University of California Publications in American
Archaeology and Ethnology.
The University of California Chronicle for January contains a
number of tributes to the memory of the late Daniel Coit Gilman,
and an article on The Conflict between Private Monopoly and Good
Citizenship, by John Graham Brooks.
Volume two, part two of the Anthropological Papers of the
American Museum of Natural History consists of a monograph
on The Northern Shoshone, by Robert H. Lowie, in which are de-
scribed the material culture, the customs, economic life, religion
and mythology of this Indian tribe.
An University of Oregon Bulletin published in December con-
tains the opening installment of an interesting monograph on
The Acquisition of Oregon Territory, by Professor Joseph Schafer.
In this paper the author discusses Discovery and Exploration.
Subsequent papers will deal with the occupation of the Oregon
country, and the diplomatic features of the acquisition of Oregon.
Among the contributions to the January-February number of
the Records of the Past may be found a brief sketch of The
"Spanish Diggings", Wyoming, by Robert F. Gilder; a copiously
illustrated article on Eecently Discovered Cliff -Dwellings of the
Sierras Madres, by A. Hooton Blackiston; and a somewhat ex-
tended discussion of The High Intellectual Character of Primeval
Man, by D. Gath Whitley.
The Wisconsin Free Library Commission has recently issued
an admirable study outline on the History of Wisconsin, 1634-1909.
Eight out of the twelve outlines are very properly devoted to the
history of the Wisconsin country before it was admitted into the
Union as a State. There is a logical grouping of subjects and a
valuable reference list is appended to each outline. A classified
list of the papers in the Collections and Proceedings of the State
Historical Society of Wisconsin is also of value to the student.
SOME PUBLICATIONS 303
IOWANA
A recent Iowa pamphlet contains an address on Lincoln, de-
livered at Sioux City on February 12, 1909, by George D. Perkins.
The second volume of the Roster and Record of Iowa Soldiers
in the War of the Rebellion has been issued, and is devoted to the
ninth to sixteenth regiments of infantry.
A series of articles by L. P. Andrews, on Iowa — Its Origin and
Participancy in the Civil War, has been appearing in the num-
bers of The Midwestern this year.
Pioneer Traits is the title of an address delivered by B. L. Wick
at the semi-centennial of the Norwegian settlement at Dunbar,
Iowa, on September 11, 1908. The address has been printed in
pamphlet form.
The somewhat belated eighteenth volume of the Iowa Geological
Survey contains the annual report for 1907 ; a statistical statement
of Mineral Production in Iowa in 1907, by S. W. Beyer; and an
extended monograph on Devonian Fishes of Iowa, by Charles R.
Eastman.
In The Iowa Alumnus for February may be found biographical
sketches of Carl F. Kuehnle, the newly elected Regent of The State
University of Iowa, and Guy A. Feely, Speaker of the House of
Representatives of the Thirty-third General Assembly. There is
also an obituary sketch of the late William 0. Lillibridge, who is
well known as a writer of fiction.
One of the earliest acts of the City Council of Cedar Rapids
after the adoption of the commission plan of government was to
call in an expert to make a survey of the city, and report as to
the possibilities of improvement. The results of the investigation
are embodied in the Report of Charles Mulford Robinson, on Civic
Improvement and Beautification in the City of Cedar Rapids,
Iowa, a neatly printed pamphlet with numerous illustrations.
Among the contributions to the January number of the Journal
of History, published by the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter Day Saints, are: Succession in the Presidency, which
consists of a letter written by Heman C. Smith; a continuation of
the Autobiography of Charles Derry, and of Mrs. Walker's Brief
Glimpses into a Century of the Past; a biographical sketch of
Newel K. Whitney; and an article on Proper and Improper Use
of History, by H. H. Smith.
Uniform Features of Water Rates for Cities and Towns of Iowa,
by F. H. Hunger; Uniform Municipal Accounting in Iowa, by A.
D. Sheets; and The Relation of Mayors and Township Clerks to
the State Board of Health, by A. P. Hanchett, are interesting ar-
ticles in the January number of Midland Municipalities. In the
February number may be found a discussion of The New York
Public Service Commissions, by Thomas M. Osborne, a member of
one of the commissions; and an article on Railroad Taxation, by
Clem F. Kimball, which is continued in the March number.
SOME RECENT PUBLICATIONS BY IOWA AUTHORS
Arnold, Ralph, (Joint author)
Preliminary Report on the Coalinga Oil District, Fresno and
Kings Counties, California. Washington : Government
Printing Office. 1908.
Beede, Charles Gould,
Reincarnation: A Romance of the Soul. Ames: Newport
Publishing Co. 1909.
Brown, John Franklin,
The American High School. New York: The Macmillan Co.
1909.
Devine, Edward Thomas,
Report on the Desirability of Establishing an Employment
Bureau in the City of New York. New York: Charities
Publication Committee. 1909.
Dixon, Clarissa,
Janet and her Dear Phebe. New York : Frederick A. Stokes
Company. 1909.
Glaspell, Susan,
The Glory of the Conquered. New York: Frederick A.
Stokes Company. 1909.
SOME PUBLICATIONS 305
Harwood, William Sumner,
Life and Letters of Austin Craig. New York and Chicago:
Fleming H. Revell Co. 1909.
Hayes, Samuel,
The Justice Practice of Iowa, Civil and Criminal. Chicago:
T. H. Flood & Co. 1909.
Hough, Emerson,
54-40 or Fight. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill Co. 1909.
Huntley, Florence,
Who Answers Pray erf Chicago: Indo- American Book Co.
1908.
The Dream Child. Chicago : Indo- American Book Co. 1908.
The Gay Gnani of Gingalee. Chicago: Indo- American Book
Co. 1908.
McClain, Emlin,
Digest of Decisions from the Organization of the Territory
of Iowa. Chicago: Callaghan & Co. 1908.
Putnam, Edward Kirby,
Spelling Reform and Authority in Language. Davenport:
Contemporary Club. 1909.
Sieg, Vera,
Negro Problem : A Bibliography. Madison : Wisconsin Free
Library. 1909.
Stanton, Gerritt Smith,
When the Wildwood was in Flower. New York: J. S. Ogil-
vie Publishing Co. 1909.
Steiner, Edward Alfred,
Tolstoy,, the Man and his Message. (Enlarged edition.) New
York and Chicago: Fleming H. Revell Co. 1909.
Thompson, Robert John,
Suggestions for the Development of Export Trade to Ger-
many. Chicago: National Business League of America.
1909.
Tracy, Frank Basil,
The Tercentenary History of Canada. New York : The Mac-
millan Co. 1908.
VOL. VII — 20
306 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
Travers, Libbie Miller,
The Honor of a Lee. New York: Cochrane Publishing Co.
1908.
Tyler, Alice Sarah,
John W. Tyler, 1808-1888: Memorial of the One Hundredth
Anniversary of his Birth. Cedar Rapids: The Torchj
Press. 1909.
SOME RECENT HISTORICAL ITEMS IN NEWSPAPERS
The Register and Leader
Martin D. Henry — A Pioneer East-Sider, by L. F. Andrews,
December 20, 1908.
Historic Old Des Moines Homes, in Sunday issues, December 20,
1908, to March 14, 1909.
Sketch of Life of Charles Addison Sherman, December 27, 1908.
General Ed Wright — For Many Years a Useful Citizen, by L. F.
Andrews, December 27, 1908.
Jeremiah Rosser — Seventy Years an lowan — Other Pioneers of
Clayton County, January 3, 1909.
Career of John H. Clark — Forty Years an Iowa Court Reporter,
January 3, 1909.
"Uncle Dick" Clarkson, by L. F. Andrews, January 3, 1909.
Iowa's First General Assembly and Its Sensations, by Louis Pel-
zer, January 17, 1909.
Lost in a Snow Storm in the Early Days, by William Larrabee,
January 20, 1909.
Sketch of Life of Rev. J. E. Snowden of Cedar Falls, January 22,
1909.
When the Grasshoppers Swept Over Iowa Farms, by L. F. An-
drews, January 24, 1909.
"Ret" Clarkson, Writes of Iowa Politics and Iowa Men, January
24, 1909.
When Abe Lincoln Visited this State, by Grenville M. Dodge,
January 27, 1909.
Curious Incident of Early Evangelical Work in Iowa, January
31, 1909.
SOME PUBLICATIONS 307
Sketch of Life of James S. Clarke, by L. F. Andrews, January 31,
1909.
Eemoval of the Remains of Iowa's First Governor, February 7,
1909.
Des Moines Bridges and Ferries, by L. F. Andrews, February 7,
1909.
Account of Lincoln's Visit to Burlington, February 7, 1909.
Lincoln Election in Iowa in 1864, February 7, 1909.
Sketch of Life of James D. Place, a Veteran Railroad Man, Feb-
ruary 7, 1909.
Senator Dolliver's Tribute to William B. Allison, February 7, 1909.
A New Chapter in Lincolniana Contributed by Iowa, February 7,
1909.
General Grenville M. Dodge tells of Lincoln and the Civil War,
February 7, 1909.
Lincoln's Visit to Council Bluffs and Letters Written by him to
lowans, February 7, 1909.
Statue of Lincoln at Clermont, Iowa, February 7, 1909.
W. Witmer heard Lincoln at Gettysburg, February 8, 1909.
Anecdotes of Lincoln from Oskaloosa, February 10, 1909.
Reminiscences of Lincoln by A. M. Kirk, February 12, 1909.
Meeting of Fort Donelson Veterans, February 14, 1909.
Sketch of Life of Jeremiah Church, by L. F. Andrews, February
14, 1909.
When Barbed Fence Wire was Made in Des Moines, February 21,
1909.
General Weaver and Pioneer Iowa, February 21, 1909.
Home Where George Davenport was Murdered, February 21, 1909.
Some Early History of Cherokee, Iowa, February 28, 1909.
Sketches of Lives of Corning Pioneers, February 28, 1909.
General Weaver Tells of Pioneer Iowa Wedding, February 28,
1909.
Sketch of Life of Thomas McMullin, by L. F. Andrews, February
28, 1909.
Sketch of Life of S. R. Ingham, by L. F. Andrews, March 7, 1909.
Three Bachelors of Pioneer Des Moines, March 7, 1909.
308 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTOEY AND POLITICS
Sketch of History of Iowa's Official Seal, March 7, 1909.
John Spencer — An Old Virginian in Newest Iowa, by James B.
Weaver, March 7, 1909.
Sketch of Life of David Sheward — Pioneer Iowa Journalist,
March 7, 1909.
Sketch of Life of James W. Blythe, March 7, 1909.
Sketch of Life of Ralph Robinson — Pioneer Editor at Newton,
March 8, 1909.
Sketch of Life of William Biddle, by L. F. Andrews, March 14,
1909.
Two Noted Iowa Pioneers, by James B. Weaver, March 14, 1909.
Cousin of Daniel Boone the Oldest lowan, March 14, 1909.
The Burlington Hawk-Eye
Twenty Years Ago. (In each Sunday issue).
Chief Events in Burlington During 1908, January 2, 1909.
Thrilling Escape of Milton Rhodes from Prison during Civil War,
January 3, 1909.
Sketch of Life of William Harper, Pioneer of Des Moines County,
January 3, 1909.
The "Big Stick" of the Iowa Band, January 3, 1909.
The Coming of Cummins, January 8, 1909.
Sketch of Life of James Madison Crawford, Early Resident of Des
Moines County, January 15, 1909.
Half Century of Journalism in Iowa, January 24, 1909.
When W. C. Brown Lived in Burlington, January 30, 1909.
Sketch of Life of N. P. Sunderland, Pioneer of Burlington, Feb-
ruary 2, 1909.
Interesting Iowa and Illinois Early Railroad History, February
2, 1909.
How Douglas Won the Senatorship, but Lost the Presidency to
Lincoln, February 7, 1909.
Lincoln in the Illinois Military Tract, February 7, 1909.
When Lincoln Visited Council Bluffs, February 7, 1909.
The Old Time Pilots on the Mississippi, February 7, 1909.
Allison Day in the Senate, February 7, 1909.
When Lincoln Spoke in Burlington, February 7, 1909.
SOME PUBLICATIONS 309
Demolition of Old Hawkeye Mills Built in 1856, February 10, 1909.
'James B. McBride, a Pioneer Minister, February 19, 1909.
Lincoln's Nomination Seconded by Aledo Record in Editorial, Feb-
ruary 20, 1909.
Sketches of Pioneers, February 21, 1909.
Some Unpublished Lincoln Letters, February 21, 1909.
The Blizzard of 1864, February 24, 1909.
Mose Arquette — Helped Build Iowa Central, February 24, 1909.
Sketch of Life of Joseph W. Blythe, March 7, 1909.
Sketch of Life of J. D. Edmundson — Born in Des Moines County
in 1838, March 12, 1909.
Sketch of Life of George W. Pierson, an Old Burlingtonian, March
13, 1909.
Stephen J. Sparks claims to be Iowa's Oldest Citizen, March 14,
1909.
Early Iowa Towns, by Howard A. Burrell, March 14, 1909.
Sketch of Life of George E. Grasham, Pioneer of Louisa County,
March 14, 1909.
The Sioux City Journal
Twenty Years Ago and Forty Years Ago. (In each Sunday issue) .
Senator Cummins Tells the Story of his Life, January 10, 1909.
Pioneer Railroading in Northwestern Iowa, by S. A. Lincoln,
January 10, 1909.
Passing of the State of Dubuque, January 24, 1909.
Life in Southern Iowa Before the Civil War, by Duncan Camp-
bell, January 24, 1909.
Pioneer Life in Iowa, January 31, 1909.
Lincoln in Iowa, February 7, 1909.
Reminiscences of Lincoln by Veterans of the Civil War, February
7, 1909.
Exercises held at Sioux City on Anniversary of Lincoln's Birth-
day, February 13, 1909.
Dr. Frederick Andros — Iowa's First Physician, February 14,
1909.
Allison Day in the House of Representatives, February 23, 1909.
310 IOWA 'JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
Weaver of Iowa and the ''Party of the Center", February 28, 1909.
Some First Things in Iowa, by Howard A. Burrell, March 7, 1909.
Old Time Schools and Teachers, by F. A. Moscrip, March 14, 1909.
The Duluque Telegraph-Herald
St. Luke's M. E. Society Celebrates Diamond Jubilee of Metho-
dism's Advent in Iowa, December 20, 1908.
Account of Founding of Presbyterian Church at Bellevue, Jan-
uary 10, 1909.
Anniversary of Julien Dubuque, January 10, 1909.
When King Bacchus was a Privileged Character in Dubuque
County, January 17, 1909.
Tributes to the Memory of Thomas J. Healy, January 17, 1909.
Dubuque Claims Oldest Resident — Alexander Simplot, January
31, 1909.
Tale of the Snow and Cold of Famous Iowa Winter, 1856-7, by
William Larrabee, February 7, 1909.
Dubuquers Who Knew Lincoln, February 14, 1909.
Story of the Rise of Edwin Cooley, February 21, 1909.
Pioneer Life in Iowa Fifty Years Ago, February 21, 1909.
Iowa's First Governor, February 21, 1909.
Allison's Birthday, March 2, 1909.
The Cedar Rapids Republican
Some Men Who Voted for Lincoln and the Tales they Tell, Feb-
ruary 7, 1909.
An Iowa Man's Fine Collection of Lincolniana, February 7, 1909.
William Cessford Knew Lincoln and Douglas, February 7, 1909.
The Sole Lincoln Monument in Iowa, February 7, 1909.
These Saw and Talked with Lincoln and his Friends, February 7,
1909.
When Douglas Came to Cedar Rapids, February 10, 1909.
These Also Cast Votes for Lincoln, February 10 and 12, 1909.
Story of Lincoln's Visit to Council Bluffs, February 10, 1909.
A Rare Lincoln Photograph in Cedar Rapids, February 13, 1909.
Allison Eulogies Spoken in Congress, February 23, 1909.
Linn County Letter Written in 1848, February 21, 1909.
HISTOKICAL SOCIETIES
PUBLICATIONS
Volume three of The Cambridge Historical Society Publications
contains the proceedings of the Society from January 28 to Octo-
ber 27, 1908.
The State Historical Society of Wisconsin has recently issued
a number of convenient folders describing the library, publications,
and other objects and activities of the Society.
Volume twelve of the Collections of the Connecticut Historical
Society is made up entirely of Lists and Returns of Connecticut
Men in the Revolution, and will prove of particular value to the
genealogist.
The two articles in the January number of The Medford Histor-
ical Register are : The First Methodist Episcopal Church of Med-
ford, by Mrs. Abby D. Saxe ; and Wood's Dam and the Mitt Beyond
the Mystic, by Moses W. Mann.
The Mississippi Historical Society has begun the publication of
a series of bulletins, the first of which contains the Proceedings of
the Mississippi Association of History Teachers, at the meeting in
June, 1908.
The Custodian's Report of the Oklahoma Historical Society for
1907-1908 contains a record of the transactions and accessions of
the Society from November, 1907, to December 31, 1908, and re-
veals a creditable growth in the Society's work.
The Biennial Report of The State Historical and Natural His-
tory Society of Colorado for the period from December 1, 1906, to
November 30, 1908, gives a detailed description of the work of the
Society, and of the progress made during the past two years.
Among the contributions to the Register of the Kentucky State
Historical Society for January may be mentioned a biographical
312 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
sketch of Richard Collins — Historian, by Jennie C. Morton; an
article on The Pioneer Child's Education, by Martha Stephenson;
and a continuation of L. F. Johnson's History of Franklin County.
Among the contributions to The Essex Antiquarian for January
are: Ipswich Inscriptions. Ancient Burying Ground which con-
tains fac-similes of all the inscriptions to be found in this cemetery
bearing dates prior to 1800; Salem Court Records and Files; and
Salem in 1700. No. 34, by Sidney Perley.
Bernard C. Steiner concludes his monograph on Benedict Leon-
ard Calvert, Esq. Governor of the Province of Maryland, 1727-1731;
in the December number of the Maryland Historical Magazine.
The Case of the Good Intent, by Richard D. Fisher, is also con-
cluded, and there is a short article entitled, The After-Story of the
Good Intent, by the same writer.
The Experiences of an Unrecognized Senator, by 0. M. Roberts,
in The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association for Oc-
tober, is the interesting story of the author 's vain journey to Wash-
ington during the winter of 1866-1867, to claim his seat as United
States Senator from Texas. Herbert E. Bolton is the contributor of
some Notes on Clark's <(The Beginnings of Texas."
Number seventeen of the Publications of the American Jewish
Historical Society has appeared. Among the papers which make
up the contents perhaps the most interesting are : General Ulysses
S. Grant and the Jews, by Joseph Lebowich ; Lincoln and the Jews,
by Isaac Markens; and The First Jew to Hold the Office of Gov-
ernor of One of the United States, by Leon Hiihner.
The January number of the Journal of the Illinois State Histor-
ical Society, as is natural, contains much that relates to Lincoln.
Jessie Palmer Weber is the writer of a brief article on Abraham
Lincoln, the Typical American; there is an account of the prepa-
rations for The Lincoln Centennial Celebration at Springfield;
while Mary Josephine Booth contributes a Partial Bibliography of
Poems Relating to Abraham Lincoln. Two letters written in 1828
and 1829 by Governor John Reynolds, and an article on Prehistoric
HISTORICAL SOCIETIES 313
Illinois — Certain Indian Mounds Technically Considered, by J.
F. Snyder, are of particular interest to the student of Illinois his-
tory.
In the January number of the Deutsch-Amerikanische Ge-
schichtsbldttcr, besides a continuation of Heinrich Bormann's
Geschichte der Deutschen Quincy's, there may be found a bio-
graphical sketch of Friedrich August Conrad Muhlenberg, by
Oswald Seidensticker ; and an article on Deutsche Zcitungen in
Philadelphia wahrend der ersten Hdlfte des neunzehnten Jahrhun-
derts, by F. E. Huch.
The first moderator of the Presbyterian Church in the United
States was Francis Makemie of Virginia. The December number
of the Journal of the Presbyterian Historical Society contains an
account of The Dedication of Makemie Memorial Park and Monu-
ment; a paper entitled, A Summary of the Evidence that the Tra-
ditional Place of Francis Makemie's Burial is the True Site, by
Henry C. MeCook ; and a Chronological Outline of the Life of
Francis Makemie, by Harry P. Ford.
Articles of a purely historical character in the January number
of The Florida Historical Society Quarterly are: In Memoriam:
David Elwell Maxwell, by John C. Cooper; Jacksonville, Fifty-
three Years Ago, by Otis L. Keene, who relates some recollections
of Jacksonville when it was a city of less than two thousand in-
habitants ; and Tallahassee Before the War, by Capt. F. A. Hendry,
which is an extract from an article recently printed in a Florida
newspaper.
A number of excellent contributions to early American history
are to be found in the January number of The Essex Institute
Historical Collections. Robert E. Peabody tells of The Naval
Career of John Manley of Marblehead; George F. Dow contributes
some Records of the Vice-Admiralty Court at Halifax, Nova Scotia,
for the period of the Revolution and the War of 1812 ; while other
documents are : Journal of John Noyes of Newbury in the Expe-
dition Against Ticonderoga, 1758, and Letters Written During the
Revolution by Capt. John Noyes of Newbury.
314 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
Three articles comprise the October to December number of
The Wisconsin Archeologist. Charles E. Brown writes on The
Preservation of the Man Mound, and Wisconsin Spirit Stones;
while Newton H. Winchell is the contributor of a brief description
of Habitations of the Sioux in Minnesota. Notes on recent addi-
tions to "Wisconsin museums are given under the heading of The
Wisconsin Museums Movement.
Volume ten of the Proceedings and Collections of the Wyoming
Historical and Geological Society is an excellently printed book of
two hundred and fifty pages, which contains the proceedings of the
Society and the papers read before it during 1908, together with
various other articles and compilations. The celebration of the
Society's semi-centennial and of the centennial of Jesse Fell's
discovery of the value of anthracite coal, which was held February
11, 1908, is treated in much detail.
The Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society at the
Annual Meeting Held in Worcester October 21, 1908, contains, be-
sides the proceedings, three contributions to American history.
Under the title, Dr. Saugrain's Note-Books, 1788, Eugene F. Bliss
communicates the journal of a trip down the Ohio River in 1788.
George Parker Winship describes Early South American News-
papers, and there is A List of Additional Manuscripts of the
French and Indian War, prepared by Charles Henry Lincoln.
Students not only of the history of the State of Wisconsin, but
of the history of the whole lake region and the upper Mississippi
Valley as well, will find much of value in volume eighteen of the
Collections of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, edited by
Reuben Gold Thwaites. Here will be found a large number of
manuscripts and documents, many of them hitherto unpublished,
relating to the latter years of the French regime, from 1743 to
1760, and to the period of British control from 1760 to 1800.
The two articles which, with the exception of various original
documents and papers, make up the January number of The
South Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine are: Will-
town or New London, by Henry A. M. Smith; and The Second
HISTORICAL SOCIETIES 315
Tuscarora Expedition, by Joseph W. Barnwell. Among the origi-
nal material perhaps the most interesting are some Letters from
Commodore Alexander Gillon in 1778 and 1779, and an Historical
Relation of Facts Delivered by Ludovick Grant, Indian Trader, to
His Excellency the Governor of South Carolina.
Volume four of the Publications of the Louisiana Historical So-
ciety contains, among other things, a transcript of a volume of
French documents relating to the Mississippi Valley during the
years from 1679 to 1769. These documents consist largely of royal
edicts, ordinances and letters of patent. Another valuable contri-
bution for purposes of reference is a chronological list of manu-
scripts and documents to be found in the National Historical Ar-
chives in Madrid, Spain, relative to Louisiana.
The November-December number of the German-American An-
nals contains a brief but excellent article on Germans in Texas,
by Gilbert C. Benjamin. The discussion is divided into two parts
or chapters, the first dealing with German immigration from 1815
to 1848, while the second tells of the early German settlers and the
reasons for settlement. Copious foot-note references indicate that
the work has been done carefully. There is also in this number of
the Annals a description of the celebration of German day of
Founder's "Week last October at Germantown, Pennsylvania, on
the occasion of the two hundred and twenty-fifth anniversary of the
arrival of the first German settlers at that place.
The October number of the Ohio Archaeological and Historical
Quarterly is taken up by an article on Old Fort Sandoski of 1745
and the Sandusky Country, by Lucy Elliot Keeler; and Washing-
ton's "Tour to the Ohio" and Articles of "The Mississippi Com-
pany," with introduction and notes by Archer B. Hulbert. The orig-
inal documents from which the latter contribution is printed are
entirely in Washington's handwriting. Among the articles in the
January number may be mentioned: A New Serpent Mound in
Ohio, by George Frederick Wright; The Mound Builders of Cin-
cinnati, by Marie Paula Dickore; Rutland — "The Cradle of
Ohio," by E. O. Randall; and Morgan's Raid, by L. J. Weber.
316 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
The third volume of the Collections of the Illinois State Histor-
ical Library consists of a new edition of the Lincoln-Douglas De-
bates of 1858, edited by Edwin Erie Sparks. There is much mate-
rial not included in previous editions, in the way of newspaper
comment which adds local color and reveals the interest taken in
the debate throughout the Mississippi Valley. The events imme-
diately preceding and following the debates are also given more
attention than has usually been afforded them in earlier editions.
Illuminating explanations by the editor, many views of historic
places and portraits of prominent men, and an excellent index, all
combine to make this volume an important contribution to the
material of American history.
JVluch valuable original material is to be found in the January
number of The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography. W.
N. Sainsbury contributes a number of colonial papers relating to
Virginia in 1641-49. Under the heading of Miscellaneous Colonial
Documents those of especial interest are a letter regarding the duty
on imported negroes, and the instructions given to the commander
of the Virginia troops sent to South Carolina in 1715. Revolution-
ary Army Orders for the Main Army under Washington, 1778-
1779, is an important continuation; while the Virginia Legislative
Papers here printed consist of the reports of Colonels Christian
and Lewis during the Cherokee expedition in 1776.
Charles W. Smith makes A Contribution Toward a Bibliography
of Marcus Whitman in the October number of The Washington
Historical Quarterly. He cites an amazingly large number of ref-
erences to documents, letters, books and periodicals which contain
material relating to the life of this missionary about whom has
centered such a controversy. T. C. Elliott gives an entertaining ac-
count of Dr. John McLoughlin and his Guests, in which he quotes
frequently from the journals of early western travelers. Fort
Colville, 1859 to 1869, is a brief sketch by W. P. Winans. Under
the heading, Transfer of Alaska to the United States, may be found
the instructions from Secretary of State William H. Seward, and
the report of General Lovell H. Rousseau, United States Commis-
sioner.
HISTORICAL SOCIETIES 317
In the January number of the Missouri Historical Review there
is a brief article on Daniel Boone, written by William S. Bryan,
whose grandfather was not only a nephew of the great pioneer's
wife, but was also an intimate neighbor and friend of Boone during
the years he lived in Missouri. Under the heading, A German
Communistic Society in Missouri, William Godfrey Bek concludes
his sketch of the Bethel Community. A Decade of Missouri Politics
— 1860 to 1870. From a Republican Viewpoint, is the title of a
paper by Judge H. C. McDougal. The other contributions are a
historical sketch of the Missouri Historical and Philosophical So-
ciety, and the Muster Roll of Company B, First Missouri Cavalry,
Trans-Mississippi Department, C. S. A.
The January number of the Annals of Iowa is a memorial num-
ber to the late Charles Aldrich, the founder of the Historical De-
partment of Iowa. There is a biographical sketch by John M.
Brainard, who was a fellow-townsman and intimate friend of Mr.
Aldrich. Then follows the complete proceedings of the memorial
services held at the Historical Building at Des Moines, on March
11, 1908, containing a verbatim report of the addresses delivered
at that time. Tributes from absent friends, received in letters and
telegrams at the time of Mr. Aldrich 's death, memorial resolutions
of various organizations, press comments, and an editorial com-
plete the number. It was very fitting that one issue of the Annals
of which Mr. Aldrich was so long the editor should be entirely
devoted to a full account of the last sad rites over his body.
The presidential address on History and the Philosophy of His-
tory, delivered by George Burton Adams before the American
Historical Association at Richmond on December 29, 1908, is the
opening number in The American Historical Review for January.
Professor Adams defends the principle that the true field of the
historian is the discovery and recording of what actually happened.
In a paper on The State and Seignorial Authority in Early Ger-
man History, Gerhard Seeliger discusses the influence of seignorial
authority upon the development of the town and of the sovereign
state. The Origin and Credibility of the Icelandic Saga, is the
318 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
title of an interesting paper read by Professor Alexander Bugge
at the International Congress of the Historical Sciences at Berlin
in August, 1908. Great Britain and the Dutch Question in 1787-
1788, by J. Holland Rose; and President Lincoln and the Navy,
by Charles Oscar Paullin, are the remaining contributions, with
the exception of Letters of General Thomas Williams, 1862, which
are printed under the head of documents.
Among the contributions of general interest in the October num-
ber of The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography may
be noted : Selections from the Military Correspondence of Colonel
Henry Bouquet, 1757-1764, by Helen Jordan, which throw an in-
teresting side-light on the expedition against Fort Duquesne in
1758 ; Pirates and Privateers in the Delaware Bay and River, by
William M. Mervine; President Washington in New York, 1789,
which consists of a number of letters from Washington's private
secretary, Tobias Lear, to Col. Clement Biddle, of Philadelphia,
in regard to procuring certain personal and household articles for
the use of the President; and a Letter of William Penn to Thomas
Janney, 1681. In the January number, besides continuations, there
is a paper on Dutch and Swedish Settlements on the Delaware, by
Hampton L. Carson ; Letters of Gen. John Forbes, 1758, which also
tell of the capture of Fort Duquesne; and Reinchke's Journal of a
Visit Among the Swedes of West Jersey, 1745.
ACTIVITIES
Under the auspices of the Massachusetts Historical Society exer-
cises commemorative of the birth of John Milton were held at
Boston on December 9, 1908. The publications of the Society will
in the future be edited by Mr. Worthington C. Ford, who for six
years has been Chief of the Division of Manuscripts in the Library
of Congress.
The legislature of Kansas has been generous toward the Kansas
State Historical Society. Fifteen hundred dollars were appro-
priated to mark the graves of victims of the Indian raid in 1878.
The Society was granted two additional employees, making a total
of eight, and an appropriation of two hundred thousand dollars
HISTORICAL SOCIETIES 319
was made for the erection of a historical building. The collections
of the Society, including books, pamphlets, newspapers, bound
magazines, archives, manuscripts, pictures and maps, now number
over three hundred and fifty thousand items.
For many years the Wyoming Historical and Geological Society
of Wilkesbarre, Pennsylvania, has been making an effort to secure
an endowment of fifty thousand dollars. Only three thousand
dollars are now lacking, and there is good prospect that the whole
sum will be secured in the near future, and that the perpetuity of
the Society will thus be assured.
The Madison County Historical Society held its annual meeting
at Winterset on Tuesday, March 16, 1909. A number of interesting
papers were read dealing with the early history of the County, and
a committee was appointed to investigate as to the advisability of
providing suitable markers for historic sites. The following of-
ficers were elected for the ensuing year : H. A. Mueller, President ;
E. R. Zeller, Vice President; Walter F. Craig, Secretary; W. H.
Lewis, Treasurer ; and J. J. Gaston, Wm. Brinson, Fred Beeler, and
W. S. Wilkinson, Directors.
By an act of the legislature of the State of Maine approved March
20, 1907, the Governor was authorized to appoint a State Historian
from among the members of the State Historical Society. It was
made the duty of the State Historian to compile data relative to
the history of the State and encourage its teaching in the public
schools, to promote the writing of town histories, and to examine the
material for such local histories and approve of the work when
completed. In the Report of the State Historian, 1907-1908, Henry
S. Burrage tells of the work done by him since the creation of the
office.
Legislation is now pending (March 23) in Wisconsin, which
if favorably acted on by the legislature now in session, will add
nearly seven thousand dollars to the annual support of the State
Historical Society of Wisconsin. It is expected also that the legis-
lature will vote one hundred and fifty thousand dollars for a new
wing to the Society's building. Acting conjointly with the Green
320 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
Bay Historical Society the Society will place bronze tablets on
historic sites in the Green Bay region. In August these tablets
will be unveiled at the time of the celebration of the two hundred
and seventy-fifth anniversary of the discovery of Wisconsin by the
French.
The Virginia Historical Society held its annual meeting January
1, and W. Gordon McCabe was elected President in place of the
late Joseph Bryan. This Society which has a large membership is
rapidly gaining a valuable collection of manuscripts. Among the
most important of the recent additions are a large number of let-
ters written by various members of the Lee family. Plans are be-
ing made for the publication of the letters and papers of Richard
Henry Lee, and during the past year much work has been done in
the way of gathering and copying. Mr. Herbert Du Puy, of
Pittsburg, has recently donated to the Society the business cor-
respondence of Henry Banks, a prominent Richmond merchant
during the period of the Revolution.
Among the recent acquisitions of the Chicago Historical Society
are five volumes of early Chicago newspapers, most of them being
published during the early forties. The Lincoln centenary was
celebrated by the Society on February 12, at which time an ad-
dress was delivered by Col. Clark E. Carr. During the week of
February 8-13 there were on exhibition a large number of por-
traits and manuscript relics, many of them being loaned by Robert
T. Lincoln and other collectors of Lincolniana. Joseph Harris, a
member of the Society donated a bronze head of Lincoln, while the
Gettysburg speech in bronze mounted on marble is a recent gift of
the Spaulding Company. The expense of the publication of volume
five of the Society's Collections was borne by Dr. O. L. Schmidt.
The diary of James K. Polk, edited by Charles W. Mann, is now
in press, and there is in preparation a monograph on Fort Dear-
born — Its Place in History.
On January 25, 1909, there was organized at Cedar Falls a new
historical agency known as "The Association of Contributors to
HISTORICAL SOCIETIES 321
Iowa Education and History." The officers and the constitution
of the Association are as follows:
OFFICERS
President H. H. SEERLEY Secretary IRA S. CONDIT
Vice President J. J. MCCONNELL Treasurer J. W. JARNAGIN
Superintendent G. W. WALTERS
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
CHAS. H. MEYERHOLZ M. F. AREY
G. W. WALTERS B. F. OSBORN
BOARD OF CURATORS
JOHN F. BIGGS W. H. HARWOOD MARION M. WALKER
B. F. OSBORN D. S. WRIGHT SARAH M. BIGGS
E. H. GRIFFIN G. W. SAMSON C. H. MEYERHOLZ
I. J. MCDUFFIE G. W. WALTERS GEORGE PERKINS
BOGER LEAVITT M. F. AREY MORTON E. WELDY
J. B. HARSH L. W. PARISH EMMONS JOHNSON
CONSTITUTION
ARTICLE I. NAME
The name of this society shall be "The Association of Contributors to
Iowa Education and History".
ARTICLE II. OBJECT
The object of this association shall be the collection and preservation of
facts, data and materials relating to the educational, historical, scientific
and social development of Iowa.
ARTICLE III. MEMBERSHIP
Membership in this association shall be limited to such persons as are
willing to contribute some definite service to the society each year. Services
may consist of official duties, contributions of facts, data, etc., and of dona-
tions and loans of such materials as are of value to the association. Persons
shall be admitted to membership on recommendation by the Superintendent
and the Executive Committee.
ARTICLE IV. OFFICERS
The officers of this association shall be a President, a Vice-President, a
Secretary, a Treasurer, a Superintendent and a Board of eighteen Curators
which shall include the Board of Trustees of the State Normal School as
members ex-officio. The Superintendent shall be a Curator. All officer* shall
be chosen by a vote of the association at its regular annual meeting. The
President, Secretary and Treasurer shall be residents of Black Hawk County.
The Superintendent and three of the Board of Curators shall be members of
the Normal Faculty. The Superintendent and Curators shall hold office for
two years, all other officers for one year.
VOL. vn — 21
322 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
ARTICLE V. DUTIES OF OFFICERS
The duties of the President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer shall
be such as are usually performed by those officials. The President shall call
and preside over all meetings provided for by the Constitution of the asso-
ciation. The Board of Curators shall have full control over all the affairs of
the association subject only to the regular meetings and their orders. The
Board of Curators shall be represented in all their active duties by an Execu-
tive Committee consisting of the Superintendent and three other members.
Meetings of the Board of Curators shall be presided over by the Superin-
tendent. The Superintendent shall have charge of the museums and the col-
lections and deposits of the association. He shall receive and acknowledge
all contributions to the association and keep a record of the same. He shall
make a report covering the duties and transactions of his office to the Board
of Curators and through them to the association at its regular meetings. He
shall have under his charge the publication of such reports and articles as the
association, on the recommendation of the Board of Curators, shall agree.
ARTICLE VI. MEETINGS
The regular meetings of the Association shall occur during Commencement
week of the State Normal School. Special meetings shall be called by the
President upon the request of the Board of Curators, or upon a request pre-
sented in writing of twenty members of the association. The Board of
Curators shall meet at the call of the Superintendent, or upon a request of a
majority of their number. The regular place of meeting shall be at the head-
quarters of the association.
ARTICLE VII. DEPOSITARY
The headquarters and depositary of the association shall be with the Iowa
State Normal School at Cedar Falls. Kooms used by the association for the
preservation of materials shall be such as may be provided by the Board of
Trustees and shall remain under their direct control. The collections and
deposits of the association shall be classified and arranged into separate groups
or museums.
ARTICLE VIII. MUSEUMS
The museums of the association shall contain general and special collec-
tions and the materials displayed shall be so classified and arranged as to
come within one or the other museum. The number and names of the dif-
ferent museums shall be such as the Board of Curators may determine.
ARTICLE IX. ORGANIZATION
The organization of this association shall be perfected through a meeting
of members of the faculty of the State Normal School, at which meeting
officers shall be chosen for the remainder of the association year. Such per-
sons shall be considered charter members of the association.
ARTICLE X. AMENDMENT
This constitution may be amended at any regular meeting, notice of such
proposed amendment having been given by the President at least two weeks
previous to the meeting, and by a two-thirds vote of those present.
HISTORICAL SOCIETIES 323
THE JEFFERSON COUNTY HISTORICAL, ASSOCIATION
Mr. Hiram Heaton, Secretary of The Jefferson County His-
torical Association, has kindly furnished the following information
concerning the activities of this enterprising local society :
"We organized this Society in January, 1903, six years ago. Mr.
Jones was the first President and has been reflected at each annual
election since. Our first Secretary was Wm. J. Ross, who is Post-
master at Fairfield. For a number of years I have been Secretary,
although I live on a farm ten miles from Fairfield, where meetings
are always held, in the Carnegie Library, on the first Saturday of
every month. We have forty members.
' ' Our first work was to get as full a history of each of the twelve
townships as possible: of pioneers, of their descent, etc.; descrip-
tions of the township when the first white settlers came; the first
houses in the township; descriptions of life in the early days, of
customs, schools, manufactures, churches, celebrations, amusements,
etc.; local names of towns, by whom given; of creeks, churches,
etc. ; recollections of wild animals, of birds, of forests, of Indians,
etc.; collection of relics, records and recollections of the Civil
War, etc.
"Our society has given birth to a secondary society, The Old
Settlers Society, which has bought a tract of eleven acres adjoining
the city, onto which has been removed an old log house, believed to
be the oldest house in the State. It was built in 1838, and was
continuously inhabited until the beginning of this Society, when
for a term or two it was used as a district school house. It was the
first Post Office in the County. Two thousand dollars have been
raised and paid on it.
"We have collected many records, relics and papers of interest
now, and without doubt they will be of more in coming years.
We have had many papers, reminiscences of pioneers and old set-
tlers. We have made a list of all pioneers living ; that is, of those
who were in the County when Iowa was admitted as a State.
There are now only five men and women who came in 1836, the
first year of settlement. There are very nearly two hundred who
were here when Iowa became a State."
324 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
THE STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF IOWA
A biography of Henry Dodge is being prepared by Mr. Louis
Pelzer, whose Augustus Caesar Dodge appeared last December.
Mr. E. H. Downey, formerly Research Assistant in The State
Historical Society of Iowa, is fellow at the University of Chicago
for the current academic year.
The twenty-seventh biennial report of the Society, which was
submitted to the Governor last October, has been printed. It con-
tains an account of the organization and work of the Society, to-
gether with recommendations for an additional appropriation.
Mr. Samuel Ritter, of Philadelphia, formerly of Dubuque, Iowa,
has presented to the Society some old prints giving views of Du-
buque in 1848 and 1856, and some splinters taken in 1856 from
the old cedar cross which for many years marked the grave of
Julien Dubuque.
The following persons have recently been elected to membership :
Hon. B. P. Birdsall, Clarion, Iowa; Judge Matthew C. Matthews,
Dubuque, Iowa ; Hon. Lars W. Boe, Forest City, Iowa ; Mr. Henry
Cadle, Bethany, Missouri; Mr. C. H. Wegerslev, Alta, Iowa; Mr.
Albert T. Cooper, Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Mr. Frank Shinn, Carson,
Iowa; Judge Franklin C. Platt, Waterloo, Iowa; Mr. John M.
Grimm, Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Mr. E. M. Scott, Cedar Rapids, Iowa;
Mr. Willis G. Haskell, Cedar Rapids, Iowa ; Mr. Frank F. Dawley,
Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Mr. Henry B. Soutter, Cedar Rapids, Iowa;
Judge W. N. Treichler, Tipton, Iowa; Judge A. D. Bailie, Storm
Lake, Iowa; Mr. Robt. J. Bannister, Des Moines, Iowa; Mr. John
S. Ely, Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Hon. Charles J. Fulton, Fairfield,
Iowa ; Hon. James W. Good, Cedar Rapids, Iowa ; Mr. Maro John-
son, Chicago, Illinois; Mr. N. W. Macy, Pasadena, California; Mr.
J. F. Rail, Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Judge Chas. E. Ransier, Inde-
pendence, Iowa; and Hon. Milton Remley, Iowa City, Iowa.
NOTES AND COMMENT
Professor Jesse Macy of Iowa College is conducting courses at
Stanford University during the present semester.
A biography of Grover Cleveland is being prepared by President
Finley of the College of the City of New York.
The State Conference of Charities and Corrections held its tenth
annual session at Des Moines, January 20-22, 1909.
The Iowa State Fish and Game Protective Association is a new
Iowa organization which held its first annual meeting at Dubuque
on January 4, 1909.
Mr. Clarence S. Brigham, formerly librarian of the Rhode Island
Historical Society has been chosen librarian of the American Anti-
quarian Society.
The Iowa Equal Suffrage Association, assisted by the Profes-
sional Women's League of Des Moines, gave a banquet at the
Savery Hotel in Des Moines on January 15, 1909.
The State of Michigan is now being governed under a revised
Constitution, which was ratified by the people last November by a
vote of 240,000 to 130,000 and which went into effect January 1,
1909.
The scholarship of the far west will be represented at the Uni-
versity of Berlin next year when President Benjamin Ide Wheeler,
of the University of California, will occupy the position of Roose-
velt Professor.
On December 20, 1908, Francis Philip Fleming, ex-Governor of
Florida, who for two years had been President of the Florida His-
torical Society, passed away. He was born in Florida, was a soldier
during the War for the Union, and was a successful lawyer and a
politician of the best type.
326 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTOEY AND POLITICS
At Atlantic City, December 28-31, 1908, there were held the
annual meetings of the American Economic Association, The
Sociological Society, The American Association for Labor Legisla-
tion, and the American Statistical Association.
On Washington's Birthday the annual Iowa picnic was held at
Los Angeles, California. According to reports nearly twenty
thousand former lowans gathered at Agricultural Park, where the
ground was laid off in the shape of a gigantic map of the Hawkeye
State, with spaces assigned to the various counties.
A worthy effort to secure intelligent legislation on a great public
question is to be seen in Michigan. There a committee of the dele-
gates to the late constitutional convention and a committee of the
League of Michigan Municipalities worked together to formulate
a new general law for the incorporation of cities.
Adelaide R. Hasse, of the New York Public Library, has been en-
gaged by the department of economics and sociology of the Carnegie
Institution of Washington to direct the preparation of an index of
economic material contained in State documents. A volume will
be devoted to each State, and will cover all State publications down
to the close of the year 1904.
Evidence of the growing appreciation of the need for more
scientific methods in the field of legislation is to be found in the
number of States which are providing for legislative reference
bureaus of one kind or another. During the past year legislative
reference work has been either newly established or enlarged in
Alabama, Indiana, Michigan, Nebraska, North Dakota, Rhode
Island and South Dakota.
The Twenty-fourth annual meeting of the American Historical
Association was held at Washington and Richmond, December 28-
31, 1908, in connection with the meeting of the American Political
Science Association. The presidential address by Professor George
Burton Adams was on the subject, History and the Philosophy of
History. One session was devoted mainly to the discussion of the
value of the newspaper as an historical source, while European His-
NOTES AND COMMENT 327
tory and the Wilderness Campaign each occupied a session. A
number of conferences and a business session took up the remaining
time. Various receptions, smokers and luncheons afforded the op-
portunity for making and renewing acquaintances which is such
an important part of these meetings.
The third semi-annual meeting of the Mississippi Valley Histor-
ical Association was held at Richmond, Virginia, on December
30, 1908. The following papers were read at that time: Trade
Conditions in Illinois, 1785-1798, by C. E. Carter; The North
Carolina Session of 1784 in its Federal Aspects, St. George L.
Sioussat; William Clark, the Indian Agent, by Harlow Lindley;
and the Story of Sergeant Charles Floyd, by F. H. Garver. The
mid-summer meeting of the Association will be held at St. Louis
late in June.
The American Political Science Association held its fifth annual
meeting at Washington, D. C. and Richmond, Va., December 28-
31, 1908. The papers read before the Association were devoted to
such general subjects as the Increase of Federal Influence and
Power in the United States, Recent Tendencies in State Constitu-
tional Development, Agencies in the Betterment of Municipal Ad-
ministration, American Colonial Problems, International Law, and
Instruction in American Government in the Secondary Schools.
Many luncheons, receptions, and excursions, combined to make the
meeting a pleasant one socially. Professor A. Lawrence Lowell,
of Harvard University, was chosen President of the Association for
1909. The next annual meeting will be held in New York City dur-
ing Christmas week.
CONTBIBUTOKS
Louis PELZER, Research Assistant in The State Historical
Society of Iowa. (See THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND
POLITICS for January, 1908, p. 159.)
KENNETH W. COLGROVE, Student at The State University of
Iowa. "Won the Colonial Dames Prize for the best essay on
Iowa history, in 1908. Born at Waukon, Iowa, 1886. Gradu-
ated from the State Normal College, 1905.
JACOB VAN DER ZEE, Research Assistant in The State His-
torical Society of Iowa. Born at St. Anna Parochie, Friesland,
The Netherlands, February 9, 1884. Graduated from The
State University of Iowa, 1905. Rhodes Scholar at the Uni-
versity of Oxford, 1905-1908. Author of Roads and Highways
of Territorial Iowa.
THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
JULY NINETEEN HUNDRED NINE
VOLUME SEVEN NUMBER THREE
VOL. VII — 22
A JOURNAL OF MARCHES BY THE FIRST UNITED
STATES DRAGOONS 1834-1835
INTKODUCTION
The Journal which is given below was written by a
Dragoon and contains sketches of several of the marches of
the First United States Dragoons, a military organization
created by Congress in March, 1833. The operations
described extend over the area of five of the States of the
Mississippi Valley and embrace explorations and councils
and treaties with Indian tribes.
The Dragoons, organized for the more perfect defense
of the frontier, were a fine body of men who had been
enlisted from nearly every State in the Union in the
summer months of 1833. The commanding officer of this
regiment of ten companies was Colonel Henry Dodge.
Among the other officers were such men as Lieutenant
Colonel Stephen W. Kearney, Captains Nathan Boone,
Jesse B. Browne, Edwin V. Sumner, and Lieutenants Jef-
ferson Davis and Albert Miller Lea. The rendezvous of
the regiment was Jefferson Barracks, near St. Louis, where
the companies were drilled and instructed in the fall of
1833. The Journal records the four distinct marches or
campaigns in which Company I participated.
The first march chronicled by the Dragoon historian in
the Journal was made between May 11, 1834, and June 2,
1834, and extended from Jefferson Barracks to Fort Gib-
son — a distance of 453 miles. Company I was under the
command of Captain Browne, and the route led in a south-
westerly direction across the State of Missouri. Five
companies under Colonel Dodge had arrived at Fort Gibson
332 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
on December 17, 1833 ; and other companies arrived in the
spring of 1834. Company I was among the last to reach
Fort Gibson.
Another march was the summer campaign (from June
15, 1834, to August 15, 1834) to the Pawnee Pict and
Comanche villages on the headwaters of the Bed Eiver.
Eight companies of about five hundred men left Fort Gib-
son to hold treaties and councils with these roving tribes.
The hardships endured and the great number of deaths
in the regiment make this march and the return to Fort
Gibson a notable one in the history of military campaigns.
The Journal for this campaign is a narrative account rather
than a journal or diary of events. Moreover, large portions
of this Journal, describing the outward march to the Paw-
nee Pict village, were more or less literally incorporated in
Hildreth's Dragoon Campaigns to the Rocky Mountains.1
A third march recorded in the Journal was the journey
of companies B, H, and I, under the command of Lieutenant
Colonel Stephen W. Kearney. These companies left Fort
Gibson on September 3, 1834, and arrived at Fort Des
Moines on the Mississippi on the 25th of the same month.
"As barrack life has a great sameness", concludes this
part of the Dragoon's Journal, "I shall bid adieu to my
i James Hildreth was a member of Company B and received Ms discharge at
Fort Gibson soon after the return of the Dragoons from the Pawnee Pict vil-
lage. His Dragoon Campaigns to the RocJcy Mountains, a volume of 288 pages-
published in 1836 by Wiley and Long of New York City, is a history of the
formation, organization, marches, and campaigns of the First Regiment of
United States Dragoons. The account is presented in the form of letters
and the writer's own observations are supplemented by facts and descriptions
from many sources. "In selecting materials from a prolific correspondence,,
he has had to pick here and there a scrap, and cement them together as well
as circumstances would permit." (p. 6.) The journal of the march to the
Pawnee Pict village which was kept by Lieutenant T. B. Wheelock and pub-
lished in the American State Papers, Military Affairs, Vol. V, pp. 373-382, is
specifically mentioned in the author 's preface. Comparisons show that Hildreth
found excellent material for his volume in the Journal kept by the Dragoon of
Company I.
333
/
journal untill something worthy of not[e] transpires." — •
(See below p. 364.)
The fourth and last part of the Journal holds by far the
greatest interest and value to students of Iowa history, for
it records the story of the march of 1,100 miles by com-
panies B, H, and I, under Lieutenant Colonel Kearney. On
June 7, 1835, this detachment left Fort Des Moines and
marched between the Des Moines and Skunk rivers to near
the mouth of the Boone Eiver. Then taking a northeasterly
course they arrived at Wabashaw's village on the Missis-
sippi Eiver in Minnesota. After remaining here a!bout a
week the companies marched westwardly. Then taking a
southerly course they reentered Iowa in Kossuth County
and reached the Des Moines. After crossing this stream,
they descended it on the lower side and reached Fort Des
Moines on August 19, 1835, without sickness or the loss of
a single horse or man.
Eecords of this expedition have survived in several
geographical names in Iowa. It is likely that the accounts
of the fertility of the prairies stimulated immigration and
settlements. Lieutenant Albert Miller Lea, commanding
Company I, was the chronicler and topographer of the
expedition. The writing of his Notes on Wisconsin Terri-
tory2 would not have been possible without the knowledge
and observations gained during this expedition through
Iowa to Wabashaw's village and the return down the Des
Moines Eiver.
The authorship of the Journal has not yet been deter-
mined by students of the history of Iowa. At two different
2 This rare volume published in 1836 by Henry S. Tanner of Philadelphia
contains 53 pages and a map of the Iowa region. The work is an excellent
description of that part of the original Territory of Wisconsin lying west of
the Mississippi Eiver. It was this region that the book christened the "Iowa
District. ' ' The map shows the route of the Dragoons and was an indispensable
aid in correlating the Dragoons' track with modern Iowa geography.
334 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
places the author has signed himself as "L", and he states
that he was a member of Company I commanded by Cap-
tain Browne. From an examination of the roster of this
company for 1835-1836 no safe deductions as to the author-
ship can be drawn; and the identity of the writer of the
Journal may, perhaps, never be discovered.
Twenty-eight pages thirteen by eight inches roughly
stitched together at the back comprise the original manu-
script of the Journal. Many of the pages are discolored
and faded by age; but the writing, which is all in ink,
remains fairly legible. For many years the manuscript
was in the possession of Mr. Chas. "W. Gaston, a former
member of Company I and the first settler of Boone County.
On his death in 1892 the Journal came into the possession
of his step-daughter, Mrs. Kate Zimbleman of Boone, Iowa.
In September, 1908, information concerning the manuscript
was sent to Mr. C. L. Lucas, President of the Madrid
(Iowa) Historical Society, who then examined the Journal,
considered it of historical value, and caused the fourth part
of it to be published in the Madrid Register-Neivs of Octo-
ber 1, 1908.3 Correspondence between Mr. Lucas and
Professor Benj. F. Shambaugh, Superintendent and Editor
of The State Historical Society of Iowa, ensued; and in
compliance with Professor Shambaugh 's request the orig-
inal manuscript was sent to Iowa City to be edited and
published in THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS.
It was upon the request of Professor Shambaugh that the
writer undertook to edit the original manuscript for publi-
cation. Louis PELZER
THE STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OP IOWA
IOWA CITY
s In a prefatory paragraph to the fourth portion of the Journal published
in this newspaper, the authorship is attributed to Lieutenant Albert Miller
Lea. Internal evidence in the Journal would seem to prove, however, that
such is not the case, and that it was written by either an officer of lower rank
or by a private.
335
Journal of different Marches Made by the Dragoons in
the years 1834, 5 & with some remarks
[THE MARCH FROM JEFFERSON BARRACKS TO FORT GIBSON-
MAY 11, to JUNE 2, 1834]
[Sunday, May the Eleventh]
Upon the llth May 1834 we were ordered to march upon
our summers Campaign by the way of Ft Gibson 4 (Arkan-
sas Territory) we this day made but a short march of only
2 miles & encamped upon the banks of Clear creek
[Monday, May the Twelfth]
12 Made 18 miles & encamped near the Village of Man-
chester 5 a small town containing I should suppose 10 or
15 families
[Tuesday, May the Thirteenth]
13 After marching 20 miles encamped about 15 miles
North of Uniontown 6 in a good situation. Here one of the
men was so unfortunate as to lose his horse & was supplied
with one from the packs
[Wednesday, May the Fourteenth]
14 Came 21 miles and encamped upon Bobois Eiver
[Thursday, May the Fifteenth]
15 Encamped at Kearney having come 25 miles
4 Fort Gibson was situated on the left bank of the Neosho or Grand River,
two and a half miles from its confluence with the Arkansas Eiver. The site
is now occupied by the village of Fort Gibson in Muskogee County, Oklahoma.
The commanding officer was Colonel Matthew Arbuckle, and when Colonel
Dodge's five companies of Dragoons arrived there on December 17, 1833, the
garrison consisted of nine companies of infantry of a total of 372 men and
officers.
5 The present day village of Manchester in St. Louis County, Missouri, con-
tains a population of about 500, and is located about twenty miles to the west-
ward of the city of St. Louis.
s This place seems to correspond to the location of the town of Union, the
county seat of Franklin County, Missouri.
336 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
[Friday, May the Sixteenth]
16 Came 22 miles and slept at Camp Dodge
[Saturday, May the Seventeenth]
17 Made 23 miles
[Sunday, May the Eighteenth]
18 Marched 25 miles and encamped upon a small river
call by the Inhabitants Big Piney
[Monday, May the Nineteenth]
19 This day we made 15 miles & encamped upon Eoberts
River. Our horses & mules Much Fatigued & some of the
men sick One of the men (Neale) was put in confinement
for disobedience of orders this evening. Here we found
good water, grass &c
[Tuesday, May the Twentieth]
20 We encamped upon the Gasconade river 7 having made
only 15 miles
[Wednesday, May the Twenty-First]
21 Encamped upon the osage branch 8 of the last named
river (Made but 20 miles) Encampment good. Corn for
our horses plenty. Country very broken. Plantations ten
or fifteen miles distant. This country is mostly an oak bar-
ren with some small Praries of Good land, Wild game &
fish are plenty
[Thursday, May the Twenty-Second]
22 Marched 23 miles encamped at camp mason. All thing
required plenty except corn. Passed some Cherokies Mov-
ing from Georgia to Arkansas, they state they have been
2 months on the road.
7 Gasconade River has its sources in the southern part of Missouri and flows
northward, emptying into the Missouri Eiver at a point about seventy miles
due west of St. Louis.
s The Osage Fork and the Lock Fork of the Gasconade Eiver rise in Web-
ster County, Missouri, and meet in Laclede County.
JOURNAL OF MARCHES OF DRAGOONS 337
[Friday, May the Twenty-Third]
23 After a march of 27 miles made Camp Clyman. The
first part of this days march was over a barren soil with
good water, in the afternoon the land was good with some
of the best springs I ever saw. Our men & horses are im-
proving & our situation is as pleasant as can be expected
while on a march. Our officers are J. B. Brown [e], Capt.9
A. G. Edwards Lieut. L. A. Styles 1 B. F. Price 2 J. C.
Parrott10 3 L. A. Thompson 4 sergents Bartlett — 1J- Ter-
rill Easman & rice Corporals
[Saturday, May the Twenty-Fourth]
24 This day made 21 miles over a fine country well
watered and at some future day will be full of inhabitants.
We passed a Village called Springfield with 15 or 20 log
Cabbins & to all appearance the inhabitants are idle & lazy
depending upon their negroes for support which is the cus-
tom in all slavestates. I observed no less than 4 or 5 grog
shops in fact all men in this country sell Whiskey & other
things to us soldiers at a most exorbitant price — For in-
stance 25 cts a pt for Whisky 12^2 cts a qt for milk &c
• Jesse B. Browne was a Kentuckian by birth and at an early age removed
to Illinois where he became a captain of the United States Rangers commanded
by Major Henry Dodge. In August, 1833, he was commissioned captain of
Company I of the First United States Dragoons and served as such until 1837.
During the Territorial period of Iowa he served four terms in the Council and
one term in the House of Eepresentatives. He became the first Speaker of
the House of Eepresentatives when Iowa was admitted as a State in 1846.
He was a man of commanding presence and polished manners and was popular
among his constituents. His death took place in Kentucky in 1864.
10 James C. Parrott enlisted in the regiment of Dragoons on February 10,
1834, when twenty-two years of age and served for three years. Until 1852
he was engaged in mercantile business at Fort Madison after which he became
a resident of Keokuk. During the Civil War he rose to the rank of lieutenant
colonel and was brevetted brigadier general by Congress. For ten years from
1867 he was postmaster at Keokuk where he died in 1898. — See his article on
The First United States Dragoons in the Iowa Historical Eecord, Vol. VI, No.
3, pp. 523-526.
11 This name is evidently S. M. Burtlett, from an examination of the roster
of Company I as found in the Iowa Historical Eecord, Vol. I, No. 1, pp. 34-36.
338 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
[Sunday, May the Twenty-Fifth]
25 Made 22 miles & stopped at Camp Edwards
This country is a sort of Oak barren. We passed old Dela-
ware Town which is deserted by all its old inhabitants, We
have as yet seen no Indians & but few white inhabitants.
We are still in company of the half breeds moving a[s]
stated above
[Monday, May the Twenty-Sixth]
26 In a heavy rain came 15 miles encamped on a branch
of White river at a place called camp cass.12 The appear-
ance of the country much the same as yesterday. Only 2
squatters on the road and no others within some miles.
There is said to be plenty of Elk in this section but we
have seen none & no game of any kind for several days
We are now on half rations of meat in consequence of our
neglect in curing beef which was issued to us 5 days since
Most of the men are getting better but some have the
Mumps & encamping on the ground & living in a manner
new to them makes it bad for them to ride as they in most
instances have[?] & renders them both troublesome & dan-
gerous, Our mules & pack horses are improving or at least
getting no worse. Most of the rode horses are in good con-
dition & some of them in beter order than when we started.
We encamped without corn in the wood far from the abode
of man & we anticipate a heavy rain & disagreeable night.
This country is remarkable for insects such as snakes,
Ticks, & Cattipillars.
[Tuesday, May the Twenty-Seventh]
27 Came 25 miles. Encamped at Webster. Plenty of
Wood & water. The first half of this days march was over
a country poor by nature But in the afternoon we marched
12 Evidently in Barry County, Missouri, the county seat of which is Cass-
ville, a village of 700 people.
JOURNAL OF MARCHES OF DRAGOONS 339
over the best land I have seen in (Mo) We are near the
line and shall probably be in Arkansas to-morrow There
are but few inhabitants on the road but we get corn for our
horses We sent back 3 sick men to a white settler this
morning in the evening 2 more were left
[Wednesday, May the Twenty-Eighth]
28 Came 23 miles & encamped at Jackson.13 The first
part of the land we passed to day was hilly the middle rich
bottom land the latter part a beautiful Prairie. Saw sev-
eral Deer. Passed some Indians and 2 White plantations.
[Thursday, May the Twenty-Ninth]
29 Came 34 miles over a variety of soil some good some
bad but in general better than in Missourie. Saw some In-
dians & several white settlements. We passed this evening
a cluster of buildings & as the Village has no name I called
it Browns town. We are now less than 70 miles from the
place of our destination & if we are favoured by Providence
the rest of the way we shall have no reason to complain of
the tediousness of the way. We have had the good for-
tune not to have a rainy night since we left (Jeff. Bks)
[Jefferson Barracks] & our health have been better than
could be expected. Men & horses are improving daily &
time passes Mer[r]ily. There are some fine springs in
this country we have passed several which are sufficient to
turn a mill at all seasons of the year. It is now past 11 &
we have to rise before 3 therefore I must take to my blank-
etts for repose trusting the fatigues of the days march will
render sleep inviting
[Friday, May the Thirtieth]
30 This day we came 28 miles to camp Downingsville
situated in a pleasant Valley belonging to the Cherokees
!8 The route of this day 's march seems to pass through Benton County, the
northwesternmost countv of the State of Arkansas.
340 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
We are only one days march from the Fort & should arrive
there tomorrow but we must stop and prepare for inspec-
tion when we arrive there.
[Saturday, May the Thirty-First]
31st Came 22 miles & encamped at a place called Big
Spring. This evening Col Kearney14 arrived from Jeff Bks
[Jefferson Barracks]. We passed a small river called Illi-
nois 15 what was the cause of the name I have not learned
[QThe land is better in general than in Mo[.]) We see
many Indians & but few whites in this part of Arkansas
[Sunday, June the First]
June 1st Tarried all day it being remarkably warm for the
for the season. We are now 10 miles from the Fort.
[Monday, June the Second]
2d Marched 9 miles and encamped 1 mile from the Fort
at a place called camp Jackson16 We are now at the end
of our journey to this place, having marched 453 miles
but when we shall start is uncertain — here a great altera-
tion took place in our non commissioned officers, to my
14 Stephen Watts Kearney, lieutenant colonel of the First United States
Dragoons, was born in 1794 and served through the War of 1812. In 1846 he
rose to the rank of brigadier general and served in the western division of
the army. He served with honor in the Mexican War, became Governor of
California in 1846 and died the next year. He was the author of a Manual of
the Exercise and Manoeuvering of U. S. Dragoons.
is Fort Gibson was located about twenty-one miles northwest from the point
where this river emptied into the Arkansas River. The sources of the Illinois
Eiver are in Benton County, Arkansas.
16 James Hildreth, a Dragoon in Company B, commanded by Captain Edwin
V. Sumner, wrote in the spring of 1834 concerning this camp as follows : ' ' We
are now quartered in large barrack-rooms, built of oak shingles, situated at
the orter edge of the wood, upon a high piece of ground which overlooks a
wide and lovely extent of country. Each troop has one of these barrack-rooms,
or rather barns; for indeed although they answer a somewhat better purpose
than our tents towards keeping us from the inclemencies of the weather, still
they are, in point of comfort, scarcely equal to a country barn." — Dragoon
Campaigns to the EocTcy Mountains, p. 85.
JOURNAL OF MARCHES OF DRAGOONS 341
satisfaction & I hope to the satisfaction of both officers &
soldiers Parrott, 1 Price 2 Thompson 3 Styles 4 Sergeants
all the corporals remain as before.
[THE MAECH FKOM FORT GIBSON TO THE PAWNEE PICT AND
COMANCHE VILLAGES JUNE 15 TO AUGUST 15, 1834]
The regiment of Dragoons being assembled at Fort Gib-
son on the 15 June 1834 we17 commenced an expedition to
the Pawnee & Camanchie Villages of Indians for the pur-
pose of making a treaty of peace or enforcing such meas-
ures for the preservation of our citizens while engaged in
hunting and exploring that section of the country.18 Hav-
ing crossed the Arkansas River we were joined by a small
party of Osages, Senecas, Cherokees & Delawares and
under their guidance 19 set forward in the direction most
likely to lead us to the abodes of these savages Nothing
worthy of remark occurred for several days except the
sight of a fine country, entirely uncultivated which seems
of no value while in the hands of these half civilized In-
dians But the time no doubt will arrive and that too before
many years when civilization shall have extended its influ-
ence entirely throughout that region of the country Lying
west of the Arkansas at present in a state of unprofitable
17 That is, eight companies besides that of Captain Jesse B. Browne.. The
entire force as it left Camp Jackson consisted of about 500 men commanded
by Colonel Henry Dodge. A complete account of Dodge 's expedition was
kept by Lieutenant T. B. Wheelock, and is to be found in American State Pa-
pers, Military Affairs, Vol. V, pp. 373-382.
18 The locations of these villages have not been accurately determined, but
they were situated somewhere on the headwaters of the Eed Eiver. "It is
deemed indispensable to the peace and security of the frontiers that a reepect-
able force should be displayed in that quarter," said Lewis Cass, the Secretary
of War, "and that the wandering and restless tribes who roam through it
should be impressed with the power of the United States by the exhibition
of a corps so well qualified to excite their respect."
is Eleven Osages, eight Cherokees, six Delawares, and seven Senecas.
342 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
idleness and many an enterprizing and industrious emi-
grant may fearlessly rear his humble cot in the very heart
of this savage country. The Canadian river on which
has lately been established a military post is at times a
considerable stream but this season having been uncom-
monly dry we found no difficulty in fording the water
scarcely reaching our horses knees.20
Having crossed late in the day we pitched our tents and
formed an encampment on the western bank. This country
is famous for Buffalo which from various signs appeared
to have been quite unmolested this season. Col. Dodge our
commanding officer with a party of about 40 men left our
camp and proceeded in advance for Washitaw where we
expected to be reinforced by 2 companies of Infantry under
the command of Genl. Leavenwork [Leavenworth] 21 The
ballance of the Regiment set forward the same day and
arrived at Camp Washitaw a new military Post about one
mile and a half from false Washitaw River 22 On the 1st
of July having travelled 220 miles from Fort Gibson. The
country between Camp Canadian & the Washitaw is very
interesting. At times we found ourselves in the middle of
a large Prarie the surface unobstructed as far as the eye
20 This day 's march was in Hughes County, Oklahoma. On June 25, 1834,
Lieutenant Wheelock, Colonel Dodge 's chronicler, records : ' ' Colonel Dodge
and staff reached Camp Canadian, on the west bank of the Canadian, thirteen
miles from last camp, at twelve o'clock; reported to General Leavenworth,
whom we found in camp; command came up at two o'clock. Eoad to-day
through open, level prairie, well watered; crossed the Canadian half a mile
below the mouth of the Little river; Canadian two hundred yards wide, bed
nearly dry, low banks ; Indian name signifies ' river without banks. ' '
21 " At half past eight o 'clock ' ', records Lieutenant Wheelock on June 26,
"Colonel Dodge and part of his staff and a detachment of about twenty dra-
goons, and our bands of Indians, preceded the command, and found General
Leavenworth at Camp Osage, five miles south of Cane creek; halted at half-
past five o 'clock p. m., thirty-two miles from Camp Canadian. ' '
22 Evidently the Washita Eiver.
JOURNAL OF MARCHES OF DRAGOONS 343
could reach at others winding our way through rich wood-
lands over craggs and thro dells delightfully Romantick and
interesting. The soil of this country is capable of produc-
ing almost any grain or produce necessary for support.
Wild grapes & plumbs are to be found in great abundance.
The greatest difficulty is in obtaining good water which we
found very scarce about 40 miles west of Canadian. We
passed a village of Osages a nation which are scarce more
civilized than those who have never been treated with.
They still retain most of their wild habits, living on game
& possessing a vast extent of country almost entirely un-
tilled. They clothe themselves in Buffalo & other skins but
during the warm season they go almost naked and paint
themselves in the most grotesque and unmeaning figures.
The village contained probably three hundred males &
females including children. They offered various trifles
of their own manufacture in exchange for tobacco &
Butcher Knives, many of them accompanied us to our
Camp and such trifling articles as they could not obtain by
traffick they found means of Pilfering Their manner of
living reminds me of the wandering Gypsies hunting &
theft being their principle means of subsistence ; during the
summer they wander from place to place providing for
the day without thought or care for the morrow. They
frequently during the summer encounter other Tribes of
Indians who infest the Prairies and prowl about for plun-
der or other mischief. In a recent engagement with the
Pawnee & Kioways the Osages succeeded in taking prison-
ers 2 squaws 1 a Pawnee & the other a Camanchie or
Kioway who are both now with us for the purpose of res-
toration in the hopes of an amicable treaty or to be ex-
changed for a Prisoner (one of the rangers) taken from
Capt Boon[e']s Company during the campaign of 1833.
344 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
Having arrived at Camp Washitaw we received a supply
of provisions & after a few days delay we crossed the
Washitaw river tho' not without considerable difficulty.
The water being quite deep we were obliged to swim our
horses which we accomplished tho not without the loss of
several. Our baggage we transported by means of a raft
constructed by canoes lashed together and covered with
planks. We also used a canvass Boat covered with gum
Eiastick belonging to Col Kearney which we found to
answer an excellent purpose23 Having encamped on the
opposite side with our whole force & concluding it best to
travel with as little encumbrance as possible, Col Dodge
selected about 250 men24 & horses most able for duty &
taking only 10 days provisions for 20 days sustinence, set
forward on a forced march. Our waggons were all left at
this Camp expecting to follow and join us when reinforced
by Gen 'Is Leavensworks Infantry. On the 7 July we com-
menced our march from the Washitaw. The weather was
extremely oppressive & it being late we proceeded but 8
miles when we encamped and strengthening our Guard we
concluded to pass the night Many suspicious signs were
seen such as Poney tracks recent fires and so forth and in
fact an Indian spy probably a Pawnee or Camanchie was
actually discovered near our Camp pursuit was made but
to no purpose Having retired to rest the night being dark
& in an enemies country anxiety naturally pervaded every
rank. All was silent. The mouldering embers of every fire
occasionally stirred by the evening breze shot forth a mo-
23 Lieutenant Wheelock's journal of July 4, 1834, reads: "The right wing
of the regiment crossed the Washita. Command encamped about four miles
west from Camp Washita. Four horses drowned; last wagon passed over after
dark in the evening. The Washita is a narrow stream, about forty-five yards
in width; water of a dark red color, banks bold; shores miry; inconvenient
landing for horses. ' '
24 The nine companies chosen for this march were B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I,
and K.
JOURNAL OF MARCHES OF DRAGOONS 345
mentary flickering which served to render the night still
more gloomy Nought could be heard but the steady steps
of the sentinel or the occasional tramping of our horses
which were picketed in the centre of the encampment.
Most of the men worn with fatigue had sunk in profound
slumbers. Twas probably midnight when we were unex-
pectedly startled from our sleep by a sudden alarm. Our
horses broke their fastenings & ran in all directions all was
confusion & dismay — each man seized his arms & prepared
himself for an attack — the bugle sounded the assembly —
the several Companies arrayed themselves opposite their
respective divisions — each one expecting the Indians were
upon us but having restored order we found the alarm had
proceeded from the mistake of a sentinel who fired upon &
killed a horse that had slipped his fastenings and wandered
beyond the line of our Encampment. After being shot the
horse ran violently among the horses which occasioned them
to break. Our horses were now our main dependence and
some means were necessary to recover them and fearing
they might fall into the hands of the Indians we divided
ourselves into several parties and taking different routs
set immediately out in search of them. A party of six men
under the Command of Lt. Nortrop [L. B. Northrop] an
officer who exhibited many marks of fearlessness and cour-
age during the campaign set out in the direction of our
former camp. The night was too dark to discover our
course we however marched to the old camp and concluding
it best to wait their untill day we lay down anxiously look-
ing for light. Which having arrived we subdivided our-
selves into 3 parties and each party taking a different rout
pursued the search — our party consisting of six taking a
southerly course travelled through thickets & swamps over
knolls & through hollows for about 8 miles and succeeded
in finding six horses, which having secured we prosecuted
VOL. vii — 23
346 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
our search still further, having entered a a thicket almost
impassable we came to a small creek of standing water — ,
the banks being of Clay we very distinctly discovered the
tracks of a Poney which appeared quite recent. We also
discovered the tracks of a bear which we followed some dis-
tance farther into the thicket but finding the horse tracks
to grow more numerous we concluded it best to retrace our
steps (our party being small) which we accordingly did
with our recaptured horses into camp where we found many
had already been brought in. We remained in Camp this
day and early next morning (July 9) commenced our march
we had proceeded but a few miles when our flank guard
espied a small party of mounted Indians on our left we were
immediately ordered to halt & a party of about 40 men un-
der the command of Capt Hunter were ordered towards
them with a Flag of truce having proceeded 2 or 3 miles
they sent back word that they could distinguish their white
Flag. This however probably was a mistake as we soon
lost sight of the Indians & saw no more of them for several
days but from this time forward we carried in advance on
each side a white flag. The next morning (July 10) having
seen a number of Buffalo several hunting parties were sent
out. Our party under Capt Boone after riding through a
thicket of Briers almost impassable found 2 that had been
killed the night before & loading our horses with as much
meat as they could conveniently carry returned to the Eegi-
ment which we found already on the march. Having dis-
posed of our burthen we started off again in pursuit of
more — we rode through several thickets composed of net-
tles & briers so thickly matted together — as almost to
forbid a passage — our horses were so torn by them that
the blood literally streamed down their legs & breasts.
Ourselves not entirely escaping our hands & faces being
more or less scratched We saw but one drove of Buffalo
JOURNAL OF MARCHES OF DRAGOONS 347
during the morning which having been closely pursued &
fired at by the Indian of our party we were unable to ap-
proach near enough to fire among them. We rode 20 miles
when towards evening having entered the grand Prairie we
unexpectedly found ourselves in the midst of 2 or 3000
head — Within about 200 yds stood a fierce bull of most
extraordinary size weighing not less than 2500 Ibs.
This was the first opportunity I had had of viewing closely
one of these prodigious animals They appear well adapted
the country they live in, their heads & necks even as far
down as the shoulders are covered with long shaggy hair
and also their fore legs as far down as the fetterlock joint
which protect their feet from the thorns & briers which
they force their way through without the least inconven-
ience. We all dismounted and advancing cautiously fired
three successive shots into him before he fell. When we
closed in upon him as near as our horses would approach
and at one well aimed fire laid him prostrate and imme-
diately commenced butchering him. In his left shoulder
(grown into the flesh) we found the steel point of an Indian
arrow which had no doubt been long there as the flesh
around it had become completely calloused, having ladened
our horses with as much of the meat as they could con-
veniently carry and finding night approaching we moved on
to our encampment where we found several Buffalo had
been brought in — One of the command this morning while
riding through the thicket found several pieces of a pair of
saddle bags which had no doubt belonged to a citizen by
the name of Martin who had been murdered by the Pawnees
but a few weeks before on Washitaw Eiver. The barbarous
acts of thes[e] Indians are not confined only to their own
dominions but extend even as far East as the waters of the
Arkansas, but their principle aim is to intercept the Santa
Fee Traders where their object alone is plunder. Company
348
A of the Dragoons was ordered this season to accompany
& protect the traders while on their expedition,25 but the
strength of the parties engaged has within a few years in-
creased to a sufficient force to repulse any attack that may
be made upon them by the Indians.
We are now on the Grand Prairie an unbroken barren as
far as the eye can reach faintly on the extreme edge may be
discerned the river timber which resembles the first faint
glad sight of land at sea, on eather side may be seen herds
of Buffalo & occasionally herds of wild horses which are
quite numerous here, several have been taken by the In-
dians belonging to our party. They are remarkably fleet
& well formed horses not stunted & small as those generally
rode by the Indians which is caused by their being rode
much to young. They are of a noble appearance.
On the 14 July having marched about 6 miles we discovered
on an eminence about 3 miles distant a party of mounted
Indians about 40 in number we moved cautiously towards
them untill within about a mile of their position & halt-
ing our main body sent forward our guard towards them.
The Indians also sent a party of about the same strength
to meet them but becoming suspicious several times re-
treated when within a few hundred yards of our guard. We
then sent a single man who was met by the foremost of the
Indians. Twas a moment of anxiety and interest on this
evidently depended the issue of the expedition. Every voice
was still and even the horses seemed instinctively to main-
tain order & silence. The hand of friendship was proffered
& received on either side and the next moment with more
confidence that might be expected this small band of sav-v
ages were riding fearlessly in the centre of our colums —
We learned they belong to the Camanchee Tribe and were
25 Colonel Dodge 's instructions of May 9, 1834, to Captain Clifton Wharton
of Company A are to be found in Dodge's Military Order Book, pp. 82, 83r
in Historical Department, Des Moines, Iowa.
JOURNAL OF MARCHES OF DRAGOONS 349
on a hunting expedition for Buffalo However we imme-
diately set forward under their Guidance for the village of
the Pawnees & their encampment They are a very numer-
ous tribe & extend over a vast extent of country lying
between Bed river and the north fork of the Washitaw.
They have no villages but wander from place to place living
entirely on game & wild fruits. They are armed with Bows
Arrows & Spears and clothed in Buffalo, Elk & Deer Skins.
Many of them have manufactured clothing which has been
either plundered from the Americans or bartered for from
the Spaniards. They are of a copper colour, their faces
broad & large & are powerful built men. The squaws are
distinguished by their hair being cut short. They are allies
of the Pawnees & Kioways and Aripatroes [Arapahoes]
& together when prepared for battle form a force not easily
conquered. (On the 16 inst) We arrived at the encampment
of the Camanches. The day was wet & unpleasant but the
beauty of the surrounding country the natural associations
mingled with our present situation the sight of these sav-
ages and their wild abodes and the consiousness of our
being in a country hitherto untraversed by cizilized man
seemed to attract an interest to every incident or object that
presented itself. A chain of Mountains formed entirely of
rock of stupendous appearance extend themselves in a dis-
tance on the left which from their situation evidently con-
nect themselves with the rocky mountains
The whole country in the vicinity of these mountains is well
watered and seems formed by nature expressly for the pur-
suits & sports of these wild Indians — Our encampment is
divided from the wigwams of the Indians by a small stream
of water the banks of which are almost perpendicular &
probably 40 feet above the water I cannot forbear men-
tioning to show the fearlessness of the squaws a little
incident which I noticed soon after our arrival. Hundreds
350 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
of them swarmed around our camp to reach which they
were obliged to cross the ravine Which appeared impossible
to accomplish on horseback, one squaw with a small child
about 2 years old plunged down the precipice on a horse as
wild and fearless as herself followed by at least 30 men who
pushed forward without regard to the safety of each other
She arrived safe at the bottom of the creek but while in
the act of ascending the opposite bank her horse being un-
able to attain a sufficient foothold fell backward down the
bank precipitating his rider full 30 ft Below in eminent
danger of being trodden to death by the other horses. I
ran forward expecting to behold both mother & child
mangled & Bruised perhaps Dead, but what was my sur
prize to see her comrades laughing as though they were
pleased beyond measure and offering them no assistance.
I turned from them in disgust and was about leaving the
scene of action When to my astonishment I Beheld both
riders beside me with the same horse unhurt & participating
in the general joy. I thought to myself that even these
savages were protected by a special Providence and re-
tired to my blankets fully impressed with the omnipresence
of the Deity The women carry their small children cased
up in a frame covered with skin in such a manner as to
forbid them the use of their limbs, their position colour
& whole appearance reminds me of the Egyptian mum-
m[i]es exhibited in the Museums of the East.
The natural feelings of man will not allow him to look upon
this race of human beings without causing some emotions
of pity for their ignorance and barbarous nature but if
they were left alone no doubt they would be contented with
their present situation — They have a fine country of almost
boundless extent, but their habits are so indolent that rather
than trouble themselves to provide for the future while
amidst plenty they are sometimes compelled to kill the
JOURNAL OF MARCHES OF DRAGOONS 351
very horses on which they ride for subsistence Their dis-
position when friendly appears mild & humane & there is
little doubt if civilization could make its way among them
they would be as intelligent and Christian like a nation as
many of the civilized Powers.
They have a religion at least they worship a supreme power
— their creed if we could ascertain what it is, is is perhaps
based on as substantial an origin as our own but even if
they consider it a true mode of worshiping a Deity whether
it be right or wrong they are uncensurable.
A nation susceptible of such feelings as I have know[n]
them to possess cannot be destitute of the principle atri-
butes of the human family. The land they live in is
admarablely [admirably] adapted to their mode of life, but
could not possibly support a permanent settlement &
although of a productive & fertile soil but would be of little
value for agricultural purposes owing to the lack of many
appendages such as timber water & building materials
July 18 We this day constructed a breast work of brush
& trees and left those of our company unable to travel
under the charge of the Surgeon D Findley and protection
of a strong guard to await our return from the Village of
the Pawnees for which we set forward on the following
morning accompanied by an Indian Guide26
Our course lay directly across this chain of rocky mountains
before spoken of which we found to be almost an impassa-
ble & in many places entirely forbid a passage we were
obliged to dismount & lead our horses The whole appear-
ance of the mountains was romantick in the extreme over-
hanging cliffs of stupendous size encircled us on every side.
26 Lieutenant Wheelock's journal of July 19, 1834, records: "Marched at
8 o'clock for the Toyash villages; command reduced to 183 men; left sick in
camp, covered by a breastwork of felled timber, seventy-five men; thirty nine
of these sick; Lieutenant Moore left here sick; Surgeon Findlay for duty;
Lieutenant Izard in command."
352 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
We were obliged to force our way through narrow defiles
natural arches and almost subterraneous passages some-
times almost shut out from the light at others trembling
over lofty peaks the view From the summit of which
seems to encompass the limits of the earth From the
loftiest of these peaks I took occasion to look back upon
our small force who now extended themselves in all direc-
tions, with little regard to order, some worn with fatigue
had halted to rest themselves & horses — Others wandered
from the main column to seek some passage of easier access.
Our horses were mostly without shoes and their hoofs were
so completely worn down as to render it extremely painful
for them to travel over thes[e] craggy rocks this tedious
course continued nearly throughout the day till towards
evening when we entered a large level Prairie situated
almost as high as the surrounding mountains.
Here we found an excellent stream of water and encamped
for the night.
Early the next morning we again moved forward but found
a far better country for travelling over, we however crossed
several rocky ridges over which we were obliged to lead
our horses. These mountains are not found in one solid
mass but are made up of separate fragments which seem
to have been thrown promiscuously by some revolution of
nature into high piles The country in the immediate vicinity
of the mountains is excellent well watered and extremely
romantic — rich prairies undulating in gentle slopes as far
as the eye could reach occasionally changing the sameness
of the scenery by a small grove of stunted timber growing
in some ravine or dell which absorb the waters of the sur-
rounding Prairie We are now within 20 miles of the Paw-
nee Village and in the midst of a singular settlement t'is
a village of Prairie Dogs consisting of hundred holes in
which they live, they are similar in form to a common
JOURNAL OF MARCHES OF DRAGOONS 353
squirrel but considerable larger and embibing the species
of a Dog in their cells also live the rattlesnake & the owl
and strange to say they live in the most perfect harmony
This Prairie is extremely level & scattered for miles in
extent with small honey locust trees bearing very plenti-
fully of honey bean which we found very acceptable as our
provisions were entirely exhausted The same night we
pitched our tents on a small fork of Red Eiver the water of
which we found extremely salt so much so we could not use
it. We had scarcely unsaddled our horses when we espyed
about 2 Miles distant from us leading pack horses pursuit
was immediately made by Lt Northrop & one or two osages
succeeded in bringing one of them to camp, gave him chase
& soon overtook him the Indian seeing his pursuers close
upon him stopped and made no resistance Lt. Nortrop
drew his pistol and advanced cautiously towards him with
it in his left hand at the same time extending the other in
a friendly manner. The Indian was so agitated that he
could scarcely support himself the Lt by various tokens
of friendship succeeded in bringing him to himself & re-
turned to camp with his prize At the time he was brought
in he was still in such a state of trepidation as almost de-
prived him of speech. Our prisoner the Pawnee squaw27
was brought before him and they received each other in a
most affecting manner. "We found him to be a Pawnee he
said he had been carrying wood to the village which was
about 5 miles distant from him We got considerable infor-
mation. In the morning we released him & sent him to his
friends, as soon as we could prepare ourselves we started
for the Village but had scarce got in motion before we were
were met by almost 200 Indians. It was an interesting sight
27 Two Indian girls, one a Pawnee of eighteen years and the other a Kiowa
of fifteen years, had been taken with the regiment. The return of these hos-
tages, it was believed, would facilitate friendly negotiations with their tribes.
354 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
as well as ridiculous, many of them were clothed in scarlett
Broad Cloth coats made & trimmed in the most gaudy
fashion but this was their only garment their other parts
being entirely naked. Their faces & hands & bodies were
painted and daubed with mud & clay in all variety of forms.
Braided in their hair hung behind them a cue if it may be
so called of Buffalo from 4 to 6 ft in length decorated with
ornaments of solid silver of some considerable value — at
the end of the Cues worn by the warriours was fastened a
variety of scalps of different hues probably torn from the
heads of their unfortunate victims We halted the col-
um[n]s. They arrayed themselves before us while on[e]
who appeared to be chief rode backwards & forwards in
front of the rest apparently giving orders in a most vocifer-
ous manner. Their numbers were momentarily increasing
they far exceeded ours already — still could be seen gal-
loping off from all quarters — hundreds of them as though
every thing depended on their speed. Col. Dodge accom-
panied by the staff rode among them & shook hands with
many of them who appeared perfectly satisfied with our
friendship and immediately escorted us to their Village
which was situated in a nook of the mountains bordering
on red river or rather a fork of the same. It consists of a
number of huts made in Pyramidical form of Grass & a
variety of Wigwams formed by streaching skins over poles
fastened in the ground Their situation is such as to forbid
a surprise or sudden attack; two sides being completely
walled by perpendicular rocks the river on one side and on
the other opens a level Prarie of many miles in extent of
which they command a full sight. On the Prarie are a
vast number of cornfields enclosed by fences of brush and
roots of trees which have been drifted down the river The
Pawnees are a much finer race of men than the Camanches
they do not live a life of entire indolence but raise corn
JOURNAL OF MARCHES OF DRAGOONS 355
Pumpions & other vegitables sufficient to keep them through
the winter for which the Camanches exchange dryed Buf-
falo & Deer meats What could be more welcome to the
eyes of half starved soldiers than the sight of cornfields
in such an unlocked for spot. It was with the utmost dif-
ficulty the men could be constrained from committing depre-
dations— but on our conduct here depended in a good
measure our treatment from the Indians every man al-
though not the least awed must have felt the uncertainty
of our situation. A handful of soldiers amidst 2000 Savages
in their own dominions The advantages were certainly
theirs had we molested their property no doubt they would
have attacked us but as it was we secured their friendship
& confidence and were supplied though scantily with every
thing they could offer which was freely exchanged for all
kinds of ornaments Knives shirts handkerchiefs and in
fact they bartered for the buttons of our coats. During
our sojourn at their village although on the alert we were
not idle in using means of reconciliation and thereby form-
ing an amicable alliance. In the edge of a small grove of
timber which seemed to intrude itself upon the rich carpet
of unvaried green which was otherwise unobstructed for
miles in extent we formed a bower of trees & brush for the
purpose of holding a council but previous to this while en-
gaged in council at the wigwams an accident took place
which liked to have destroyed our hopes of a treaty and
jeopardizing the lives of all engaged in the meeting, While
through the help of a Cherokee Interpreter attempting to
explain the many benefits arising to them from a friendly
intercourse with the U. States A pistol in the hand of a
friendly Indian (a Cherokee) was accidentally discharged,
it was a sign for general confusion — the Indians as if yet
suspicious of our intentions in a moment were prepared
and eager for the pray [fray] The squaws by one concent
356 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
fled towards the mountains and clambered up in all direc-
tions, twas a moment that required the utmost calmness &
intrepidity to avert the danger that threatened The least
shadow of fear on our side would but have added fuel to
the fire already enkindled. Our party with one or two ex-
ceptions (officers whose names through pity I forebear to
mention) maintained their seats with the utmost calmness
& presence of mind. But it was with the greatest difficulty
the savages could be pacified nor were they entirely satis-
fied of its being an accident untill the hand of the Cherokee
who had caused the alarm was shown them bloody and con-
siderably injured by the discharge. Order being somewhat
restored although suspicion lurked in the minds of many
the council adjourned & each returned to his camp & doubt
and suspicion reigned in the bosom of all
The succeeding day the council was again summoned, the
chiefs of nations in their uncivilized state were assembled
together and formed themselves around our commanding
officer and once more attempted to devise means for their
mutual benefit & safety. How different in form yet equal
in substance to the different courts of civilized Powers.
Heads of nations without pomp without ambition assembled
to assert and claim the rights & dominions which their fore-
fathers bequeathed to them.
No pompous Equipage — No glitering trains mark the dis-
tinction of Power. But wrapped securely within their
blanketts they move fearlessly along & alone — natural dig-
nity insures them respect Thousands of beings look up to
them to redress their wrongs and none dare oppose the
mandates of their will. How absolute is their power inde-
pendent of the world unswayed by Petty contests contented
within the limits of their own sphere. Civilization itself
would rather lessen their enjoyments than improve their
condition. The consent of their chiefs was obtained to send
JOURNAL OP MARCHES OF DRAGOONS 357
a deputation to our people & it was finally agreed that
about 12 or 15 chiefs embracing some of each nation should
accompany us. After coming to an understanding our first
business was to restore our prisoners ; among civilized peo-
ple the meeting of long separated friends & more particu-
larly when their situation has been critical & dangerous
cannot but be affecting. But what different feelings must
it cause to witness the restoration of natures child to the
arms of those who fostered it after an abscence that forbade
the slightest hope. Our prisoners 28 were returned to their
friends with the mingled tears of heartfelt affection — &
gratitude filled the eyes of the savages. Warriours whose
very feelings of humanity had long since been buried in
human gore were again roused to virtue and participate in
the sacred acknowledgments of greatful hearts. But the
sympathy of my readers must be called to the situation of
those to whom by nature we seem more closely allied. In
the foregoing part of my journal I mentioned the circum-
stance of a Pair of saddlebags being found belonging to
Judge Martin who was killed by the Indians a short time
before. It seems he was hunting for Buffalo & had with
him a Negro man & a little boy his son 4 or 5 years of age.29
The Father was killed, the Negro escaped & the boy taken
prisoner — his clothes were stripped off from him & instead
was tied a breach cloth according to their manner of cloth-
ing themselves.
Thus was he exposed naked to the rays of the Midsummer
sun in a southern clime and obliged to take up with the
28 These are the two girls referred to in note 27.
29 ' ' The little boy [Matthew Wright Martin] of whom I have spoken, was
brought in, the whole distance to Fort Gibson, in the arms of the dragoons,
who took turns in carrying him; and after the command arrived there, he was
transmitted to the Bed Kiver, by an officer, who had the enviable satisfaction
of delivering him into the arms of his disconsolate and half -distracted mother. ' '
— Catlin's North American Indians, Vol. II, p. 505.
358 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
wild fare of the Indians which from his own account was
rather scanty. In exchang for our Prisoners we received
him & also a Negro boy who had ran away from his mas-
ter on the Arkansas & had wandered on the Prairies untill
taken up by a hunting party of the Pawnees They found
him of considerable service in learning them many of the
customs of civilized life. They treated him in a friendly
manner at least the best manner they could. He had his
own horse & Indian equipments & was much better con-
tented there than at home — he was loth to leave them &
we were obliged to bring him home in the Capacity of a
Prisoner I cannot but speak of the Indian markets — Every
morning early as the day dawned hundred of Squaws might
be seen ladened with corn Pumpions & water-mellons &
Buffalo meat strolling through our camp more anxious to
trade than our Yankee Pedlers — whatever ornaments or
decorations we could offer whether Paints, Buttons, Bib-
bands or any thing else to make a show they quickly bar-
tered. Horses of the finest form & appearance were
willingly exchanged for a single blanket.
On the 25 July having accomplished the main object with
all expedition we were ordered to caparison our horses &
set forward the same morning on our return rout Our priva-
tions & hardships appeared now at an end.
The idea of home after so long an abscence from the world
at least the civilized world and holding no converse with
civilized nations, seemed to resusitate our reawakened
energies — On the 3 day after our leaving the Villages of
the Indians we arrived at the camp at which we had left
our sick Our journey outward owing to our Indian Guide
taking us by a circutous rout probably for the purpose of
giving to the Camanchees time to communicate with the
Pawnees before our arrival was long & tedious.
Having again consolidated our forces we are eagerly pur-
JOURNAL OF MARCHES OF DRAGOONS 359
suing our way home in company with our Indian Ambasa-
ders 30 who seem remarkably jovial & delighted with every
thing they see Nightly they amuse us with their wild unin-
telligible & unaccountable songs which are far from being
displeasing as they all join in seemingly endeavoring to
exceed each other in noise, altogether creating a compound
of the most unearthly discord
Among these Indians necessity can claim the origin of most
inventions Whatever they become possessed of they con-
vert into some use. The Buffalo answers diverse purposes
— food & raiment They construct vessels for carrying
water of their horns & even their hoofs they make into
something useful — the meat of the Buffalo seems peculiarly
adapted to their situation, it is of itself sufficiently salt &
palitable & probably the most healthy of animal food. They
divide the fat from the lean the latter they call meat the
other bread
It was with the most heartfelt regret that I took my last
look at the last herd of Buffalo we expected to see, & so it
indeed proved for on the 5 of August as we were slowly
winding our serpentine course along the marjin of a deep
ravine seeking for a suitable crossing place that we were
called upon to look our last look upon about 500 of these
welcome Prairie Companions — they were the first we had
seen for several days, but being tolerably supplied with
dried meat at the time and anxious to reach Fort Canadian
in a day or two, we cast a few wishful glances towards them
as they liesurly one by one receeded from our sight over a
Prairie Mound & pursued our course without disturbing
them We were however mistaken in the distance to the
Fort as we did not arrive there untill the 10 which un-
anticipated prolongation of our march necessarily required
so A deputation of Indians accompanied the Dragoons back to Fort Gibson
to participate in a grand council at that place in September, 1834.
360 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
great economy in the distribution of our provisions. Often
did I look back with sorrow at our having bid so peaceful
an adiu to the last drove of Buffalo Having arrived at Fort
Canadian we encamped & retired to rest with the substan-
tial consolation of having once more swallowed a hearty
supper. There were a few men (belonging to the Infantry)
stationed at this place for the purpose of building a tem-
porary out post but it has since been evacuated. We re-
mained here 2 nights and having obtained a sufficient supply
of Provisions to last us to Ft. Gibson (at half rations) we
set forward & in 3 days we arrived at a Fort known as
little Canadian where we found a white settler An excellent
spring of Cool Water supplied the camp and the fires bore
evident marks of a plentiful repast of Eoasting ears. Our
horses were well provided with green corn & blades & the
poor jaded beasts seemed full as well contented as our-
selves at the nights encampment We arrived at Camp
Covington on the West Bank of the Arkansas on the 15
Aug't and were welcomed back by the severest hail storm
I most ever experienced, for my own part I stripped my
blankett from the sadd[le]b[a]g & wrapped myself up as
well as possible I turned my back to the storm and consoled
for my dranching with a fair prospect of a good supper & a
comfortable nights lodging 31
si Here ended the expedition. ' ' Perhaps their never has been in America a
campaign that operated More Severely on Men & Horses", wrote Colonel Dodge
on October 1, 1834, to George W. Jones. "The excessive Heat of the Sun
exceeded any thing I ever experienced I marched from Fort Gibson with 500
Men and when I reached the Pawnee Pict Village I had not more than 190
Men fit for duty they were all left behind sick or were attending the Sick the
Heat of the Weather operated Severely on the Dragoon Horses there was at
Least 100 Horses that was Killed or Broke down by the excessive Heat of the
Weather the Men were taken with fever and I was obledged to Carry Some of
my Men in Litters for Several Hundred Miles".
361
[THE MAECH FROM FORT GIBSON TO FORT DES MOINES
SEPTEMBER 3 TO SEPTEMBER 25, 1834]
On the 3 Sept we left our camp upon the Arkansas for
Fort Des Moines 32 upper Mississippi. Crossed the Arkan-
sas & Grand 33 rivers by a ford and marched 5 miles from
the Fort & encamped on the last named river
[Thursday, September the Fourth]
4 This day we marched about 20 miles & encamped near
a small creek, on the banks are many fields of corn. Many
of the men left back sick. Capt Brown [e] is left Back sick
[Friday, September the Fifth]
5 This day we came to the Grand Saline 34 situated near
grand river and encamped about 200 yards from the vil-
lage— This except St Louis is the most business place I
have seen in Missouri. Here is a salt spring which is well
managed & within a few yards are two springs of fresh
water This country is broken and well watered
[Saturday, September the Sixth]
6 Came 16 miles & encamped at an Osage Mission upon
the waters of Grand river. The land we passed to day was
barren except near the station Several Indian Families
reside here & subsist principally on fish & the chase with a
32 < < Three companies under Lieut Col Kearney marched from this place for
the Demoin on the Mississippi on the 3d of this Instant [September 1834]
where they are to be wintered in the Sack country "[.] — Dodge's Military Or-
der Book, p. 90.
The force commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Kearney consisted of com-
panies B, H, and I. The first two were under the command of Captain Sumner
during the absence of Captain Boone of company H. Company I was under
the command of Jesse B. Browne and the total number of non-commissioned
officers, musicians, and privates aggregated 107.
ss The Neosho River was also called the Grand River.
s* Salina, a village of less than 300 population, is located in Mayes County,
Oklahoma, on the Neosho River.
VOL. VII — 24
362 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
few vegitables they raise themselves in poorly cultivated
fields or rather patches
[Sunday, September the Seventh]
7 Came 25 miles & encamped upon a small stream that
enters Grand river a few miles East of Seneca Town. This
country is mostly a Prairie of good quality. The Osage
Indians as far as I have seen are a filthy race but naturally
of a robust constitution. The Union Mission is 40 miles to
the south West from here
[Monday, September the Eighth]
8 Made 18 miles
[Tuesday, September the Ninth]
9 Came 30 Miles. Encampment good.
[Wednesday, September the Tenth]
10 Marched about 19 miles and encamped in a pleasant &
convenient place. Weather cool this season, remarkably
dry. Some prospect of rain this evening —
[Thursday, September the Eleventh]
11 After a march of 20 miles we encamped on a small
Prairie. We passed a variety of soil this day, some good
Praries, some oak barrens & some good timber land. Corn
for 1.00 per bushel
[Friday, September the Twelfth]
12 Made 25 miles. Encamped 1 Mile from water plenty
of corn — The land this day was broken & most miserably
Poor
[Saturday, September the Thirteenth]
13 Came 18 Miles. Country much the same as yesterday.
Course N. by E — good weather for Marching Except dust.
[Sunday, September the Fourteenth]
14 Made 33 miles Good encampmen[t]. land poor &c.
[Monday, September the Fifteenth]
15 Marched 15 Miles Crossed the osage. Was much dis-
JOURNAL OF MARCHES OF DRAGOONS 363
appointed in the size of the stream. Banks wide but the
quantity of the water small.
[Tuesday, September the Sixteenth]
16 Much rain. Came only 8 miles. Country much the
same as we have passed for several days. Settlement more
common as we draw near the Missouri. Horses in this
country fine — Crop of Indian corn good
[Wednesday, September the Seventeenth]
17 Continued rain — this morning, in the afternoon we
marched 20 miles. Encampment good — Land getting bet-
ter 35 miles from Boonsville35
[Thursday, September the Eighteenth]
18. 27 miles. The country is getting better as we draw
near the river
[Friday, September the Nineteenth]
19 Crossed the Missouri at Boonsville Marched 10 miles
on the west side of the Missouri. The land good & thickly
settled
[Saturday, September the Twentieth]
20 Marched 30 miles Land good well timbered & thickly
settled.
[Sunday, September the Twenty-First]
21 — After a march of 20 miles we encamped in a bad
situation, wood & water scarce. Land good & well settled.
[Monday, September the Twenty-Second]
22. Marched 20 miles
[Tuesday, September the Twenty-Third]
23. Marched 26 miles
[Wednesday, September the Twenty-Fourth]
24 Marched 22 miles. Land much the same as yesterday
ss Boonville, the county seat of Cooper County, Missouri.
364 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
[Thursday, September the Twenty-Fifth]
25 Arrived at Des Moines 36 having come 26 miles
As barrack life has a great sameness I shall bid adieu to
my journal untill something worthy of not[e] transpires.
[THE MARCH FROM FORT DES MOINES TO WABASHAW'S VIL-
LAGE AND THE BETURN FROM JUNE 7 TO AUGUST 19, 1835]
[Wednesday, May the Twentieth]
1835 May 20 By order 37 this day we learn we are to start
upon our summers Campaign on the 7 of June next. There
has been much disagreeable wet weather this spring, last
winter was remarkably cold. The navigation of the Mis-
sissippi this high up is altogether by steamboats taking
se On the 26th of September, Lieutenant Colonel Kearney, writing from Camp
Des Moines, reports his arrival which occurred the preceding evening: "The
quarters for the officers and soldiers, ' ' he complains, ' ' are not as far advanced
as I had expected and not a lag is yet laid for stables for our horses. We
shall on the 28th go to work with all our disposable force, and I hope by
the close of next month we may complete the buildings, tho' they will be less
comfortable and of meaner appearance, than those occupied by any other por-
tion of the Army." He is yet uncertain as to the purposes for which he ha&
been sent to this most isolated spot. "I should like to know," he adds, "if
it is contemplated that we are to occupy this post, after the ensuing winter,
and I wish to know whether I am authorized to keep away settlers from here,
and how far I may proceed in doing so; also what is required of this command
while stationed here". — Keprinted from an historical sketch of Fort Des
Moines prepared by the War Department and printed in the Annals of Iowa,
Third Series, Vol. Ill, pp. 351-363.
37 The following order from the Adjutant General under date of March 9,
1835, is printed in the Annals of Iowa, Third Series, Vol. Ill, p. 355: "The
three companies under the command of Lieut. Colonel Kearney will proceed up
the Eiver Des Moines to the Eaccoon Fork, there halt and reconnoitre the posi-
tion with a view to the selection of a site for the establishment of a military
post in that vicinity; on which subject Lieut. Colonel Kearney will proceed
with his command to the Sioux Villages near the highlands on the Mississippi
about the 44° of North Latitude, thence taking a direction to the westward
return to his original position at the mouth of the Des Moines passing by the
right bank of said river."
365
goods & passengers to Galena & bringing down lead & pro-
duce. There are but few settlers on this side the river but
the Illinois side is fast settling and increasing in wealth &
population. We are situated on a track of country granted
to the half breeds and under the government of the state
[Territory] of Michigan
[Sunday, June the Seventh]
June 7. This day we left Fort Des Moines. Marched only
7 miles we have had so much rain this spring that the
travelling is very bad Companies B. H. & I are in company
& expect to remain together untill fall
[Monday, June the Eighth]
8 Marched 10 miles over a handsome Prairie. Better
travelling than yesterday No settlements. Our Course
about west bearing a little to the north
[Tuesday, June the Ninth]
9 Marched only 6 miles. Encamped on a branch of Sugar
Creek — 38 Land better & more dry the fa[r]ther we ad-
vance into the interior As yet we see no game
[Wednesday, June the Tenth]
10 Made 16 miles Handsome Praries. Level land &
better than yesterday. Health of the command remarkably
good
[Thursday, June the Eleventh]
11 Came 15 miles. Encamped in a good situation. Heavy
rain this evening — much thunder & lightning. Foley39
of our Co. is sick. Most of the men in good health & spirits.
Sergt Martin of B and a man of H company lost their
horses this morning. Lt Lea 40 commands our company &
38 The encampment of this date was either in Cedar or Harrison township
in Lee County.
3»Jas. A. Foley.
*° Albert Miller Lea was born in east Tennessee in 1807 and was educated
as a civil engineer at West Point where he graduated in 1831. He was as-
signed to the artillery service but in 1834 was transferred to Company I of
366 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
Capt Brown [e] left Back sick all the other Officers the same
as last year^
[Friday, June the Twelfth]
12 This day we remained in camp41 till 3 P. M. on ac-
count of the rain we marched 6 miles & encamped in the
mud all things badly situated. This night we had a hard
storm of wind rain & hail.
[Saturday, June the Thirteenth]
13 The rain continued untill 10 oclock when the weather
cleared up & we moved out of the mud to a better situation
1/2 mile distant where we shall continue untill tomorrow
perhaps longer
[Sunday, June the Fourteenth]
14 Eemained encamped untill noon than marched 4 miles
to a better situation wood water & grazing plenty. We
left Keokirks town 42 a few miles to the left
6 or 7 Indians are to go on with us. Frances Labashir
[Frank Labashure] 43 is to be our interpreter
[Monday, June the Fifteenth]
15 Marched 16 miles over a marshy Prairie encamped on
a dry piece of land but at night had a hard storm of rain &
wind accompanied with much thunder & lightning. We left
the First United States Dragoons. His place in Iowa history is due to his
authorship of Notes on Wisconsin Territory mentioned in note 2. He served
in various official capacities, espoused the Confederate cause during the Civil
War and died in Texas at the age of eighty-four.
41 The encampment for this day and the next was a few miles west of the
present city of Fairfield in Jefferson County.
42 Near present town of Agency in Wapello County.
43 ' ' One of the most fascinating men about the camp [of the Dragoons]
was the half-breed interpreter Frank Labashure (his mother being a French
woman), an able and brilliant man. He had been educated by the Catholics
at St. Louis and was with the regiment three years. He furnished a constant
entertainment for the soldiers, but was addicted to the use of whiskey. He
died in the early forties, and lies in the burying ground at Keokuk. " — Whit-
comb's article on Reminiscences of Gen. James C. Parrott, in the Annals of
Iowa, Third Series, Vol. Ill, pp. 364-383.
JOURNAL OF MARCHES OF DRAGOONS 367
opponuse or Iway town 44 6 miles to our left Col Kearney is
very mild & the command in good health & spirits. So
much rain renders marching unpleasant we have to encamp
each night in mud & water but still I am better contented
than when in quarters
[Tuesday, June the Sixteenth]
16 Came 20 miles Encampment good. The Prairies on
this section are covered with strawberries
[Wednesday, June the Seventeenth]
17 Marched 20 miles & encamped in a good situation. Our
course is north of west. This evening our waggoner is
sick
[Thursday, June the Eighteenth]
18 Made 20 miles, Encampment good, Handsome Prai-
rie of a good quality
[Friday, June the Nineteenth]
19 Made 25 miles Encamped at Camp Gaston 43 Plenty of
Game
[Saturday, June the Twentieth]
20 This day we marched 25 miles over a dry prarie. En-
campment good. Our Indians kill much game mostly Deer
[Sunday, June the Twenty-First]
21 21 Miles Handsome rolling Praries. Encampment
good — The weather cold even for this season in a northern
latitude we expect to reach the Rackoon fork to-morrow
[Monday, June the Twenty-Second]
22 Came only 12 miles.46 It is supposed we have passed
44 The present site of South Ottumwa in Wapello County.
45 Named after Chas. W. Gaston, already mentioned in the introduction.
This day's encampment would seem to be located about six miles southwest
of the eity of Colfax in Jasper County.
46 Encampment about two miles northeast of the mouth of the Boone River,
in Webster Township in Hamilton County.
368 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
the forks & came 40 or 50 miles out of the direction. What
course the Col will persue is uncertain
[Tuesday, June the Twenty-Third]
23 Marched only 12 miles. Bad encampment. The water
in some places was 4 or 5 feet deep through which we had
to draw the waggon of the command & lead our horses, we
left the course of the Des Moines this morning & shall
strike a due course for "Wabashaw Village. Last night was
issued our last pork so that we must depend upon the chase
& Beef for a supply (of which there is plenty) Our salt
and sugar are nearly exhausted but as yet we have plenty
of flour
[Wednesday, June the Twenty-Fourth]
24 Marched 25 miles & encamped on the banks of the
Iway47 a small stream 30 yards broad. This day for the
first this season we saw Buffalo. Killed 5 or 6 — many of
our men are recruits from the north & never saw a Buffalo
before & therefore to them a Buffalo chase was something
remarkable. This day was spent in eating Buffalo beef
& sleep.
[Thursday, June the Twenty-Fifth]
25 After crossing the river in which 3 hours were spent
we marched 20 miles over an almost boundless Prairie.
Passed a soux Fort in the Prairie some 20 or 30 holes large
enough to contain 5 or 6 men were dug in a circular form
upon a small eminence & nothing like barricading except
the dirt dug from the holes. This evening killed an elk.
[Friday, June the Twenty-Sixth]
26 Marched 20 miles. Crossed 2 branches of the Iway
with some difficulty. Handsome rolling Prarie. Good en-
campment.48 Remarkably cold with some frost
47 Kepresentations and figures on Lieutenant Albert Miller Lea 's map would
rather indicate this stream to have been the West Fork of the Cedar River.
*s Evidently on Lime Creek in Portland Township in Cerro Gordo County.
JOURNAL OF MARCHES OF DRAGOONS 369
[Saturday, June the Twenty-Seventh]
27 Made 20 miles passed 2 streams49 supposed to be
branches of the Iway. Good crossing — thought to be 30
yds broad
[Sunday, June the Twenty-Eighth]
28 Marched 15 miles. Encamped on Cedar river.50 Killed
several Buffalo. Miller 51 caught a calf. The weather still
continues very cold.
[Monday, June the Twenty-Ninth]
29 Crossed Cedar river & marched 25 miles
[Tuesday, June the Thirtieth]
30 Marched 25 miles — 52 Land a kind of oak barren. By
the appearance of some deserted wigwams we suppose the
soux have been here lately.
[Wednesday, July the First]
July 1 Marched only 12 miles. Country hilly. Plenty of
wood & water Good encampment. This country is roman-
tic and abounds with many picturesque appearances such
as high hills & deep Vallies with here and there a fine cas-
cade caused by the water of the Prairie tumbling into the
creeks below —
[Thursday, July the Second]
2 Made 20 miles. Broken land. Encampment good
[Friday, July the Third]
3 This day we marched only 10 miles. Land remarkably
broken. I have heard much of the romantic & rude pros-
pects but this country surpasses any thing I ever saw &
imagination had not wrought up my fancy to behold so
49 Flood Creek emptying into Shell Eock Eiver and Eock Creek emptying
into Bed Cedar Eiver.
so On the Bed Cedar Eiver near Osage in Mitchell County. This river is
called the Iowa Eiver on Lieutenant Lea's map.
si O. H. P. Miller.
52 This day 's march takes the Dragoons well into Mower County in Minnesota.
370 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
grand a spectacle in the far famed Alpes. We travelled
miles in a deep vale barely sufficient for a road & on each
side arose a bed of rocks nigh 1000 feet high forming a
most awful appearance showing the work of an Almighty
hand in a remarkable manner Encamped on Snag river 53
a fine stream with a gravel Bottom. We passed root river
yesterday which to appearance is much the same as Snag
river
[Saturday, July the Fourth]
4 This day we came only 10 miles Encamped near the
Mississippi in a good situation.54 Saw a number of wig-
wams lately deserted — some fields or rather Patches of
Corn Pumpions & beans but all had the appearance of hav-
ing been desolate 2 or 3 weeks. There are many fine springs
gushing from the hills in all directions
[Sunday, July the Fifth]
5 Eemained encamped. I ascended one of the highest
peaks, more than 1000 ft above the bed of the stream below.
Far in the Horizon I could discern the broad waters of the
Mississippi & Lake pepin 55 spotted with here and there an
Indian Canoe which from the eminence appeared like dots
upon a mirror. Oar by appearance is plenty particularly
lorn & ocher
[Monday, July the Sixth]
6 Moved only y2 mile for change of pasture
[Tuesday, July the Seventh]
7 After a hard march we made only 11 miles crossing
ss Snag River is evidently the South Fork of the Eoot Biver, while ' ' root
river" seems to be the North Fork of the Eoot Eiver.
5-t On this day and the two following the encampments were in Wabasha
County, Minnesota, on one of the branches of the Zumbro Eiver which flows
eastwardly into the Mississippi.
55 Lake Pepin lies between Pepin County, Wisconsin, and the counties of
Wabasha and Goodhue in Minnesota.
371
deep vallies & high hills. We encamped near a mile from
water upon the summit of a hill
[Wednesday, July the Eighth]
8 Marched 20 miles. Encampment good on a small prarie
a small piece of handsome woodland in our rear and near
to Wabashaws Village 50
[Thursday, July the Ninth]
9 Eemained encamped. The waggon was busy in drawing
rations from the river to our encampment about one mile.
We shall remain here several days.
About 30 Soix were in camp to day.
[Friday, July the Tenth]
10 Remained in camp. Some suttlers goods sold by Sergt
Parrott 57
[Saturday, July the Eleventh]
11 Still encamped at the same place
[Sunday, July the Twelfth]
12 Removed y2 mile for change of pasture
[Monday, July the Thirteenth]
13 Remained encamped. Some horses of Co. B & H
strayed and took the back track & were not found this even-
ing. A command sent in pursuit. Lt Turner 58 in charge
of the party.
[Tuesday, July the Fourteenth]
14 Remained encamped. One of H & 1 of Co. B horses
brought back this evening. We have seen but few of the
soux & those we have seen give us a poor idea of this tribe.
se Wah-ba-shaw was the first chief of the Sioux, a prominent branch of the
Dakota group of Indians. He had been created or recognized as a chief by
the British on a visit. His village was located on the Mississippi somewhere
in the neighborhood of the present city of Winona, Minnesota.
57 See foot-note 10.
ss Henry S. Turner.
372 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
They are mostly a dirty thievng race living in the most
abominable filthy manner. The Sacks on the contrary are
cleanly & decent in their appearance. Were making some
preparations for our homeward march. No signs of oar
except Iron & Ocher The country is broken & mountan-
ious except a narrow strip of level land upon the Missis-
sippi. In all the vallies are fine streams of cold water
filled with fish of all kinds but the most numerous are the
spotted brook trout. Trade is poor with these Indians on
account of their poverty
[Wednesday, July the Fifteenth]
;
15 Eemoved y2 mile for change of pasture
[Thursday, July the Sixteenth]
16 Eemained encamped
[Friday, July the Seventeenth]
17 Removed y2 mile and encamped upon the banks of the
Mississippi by an excellent spring
[Saturday, July the Eighteenth]
18 Many soux in camp. Expect to hold a treaty with them
to-morrow. Steam Boat warriour 59 expected this evening
from St Peters
[Sunday, July the Nineteenth]
19 This day Wabashaw with some of his chief men came
to camp & held a treaty with Col Kearney. The steam boat
came down this morning stopped 1 hour took on board some
sick men of the command among the number Lt Shaum-
burg60 & servant
59 The "Warrior" was a steamboat built for the upper river trade in 1832
and commanded by Captain James Throckmorton. It had taken part in the
battle of Bad Axe in which Black Hawk had been disastrously defeated by
Colonel Dodge.
60 J. W. Shamburg, commissioned as second lieutenant in the First Eegiment
of United States Dragoons on September 19, 1833.
JOURNAL OF MARCHES OF DRAGOONS 373
[Monday, July the Twentieth]
20 Eemoved y2 mile
[Tuesday, July the Twenty-First]
21 Commenced our homeward march — made 25 miles
[Wednesday, July the Twenty-Second]
22 Marched 15 miles. Encampment good at a large spring
on a handsome Prairie
[Thursday, July the Twenty-Third]
23 Made 20 miles. Encamped on the banks of a small
river. Good water grazing &c
[Friday, July the Twenty-Fourth]
24 Marched 15 miles. Encampment good. Pleasant
weather for travelling.
[Saturday, July the Twenty-Fifth]
25 Came only 6 miles. Encampment good —
[Sunday, July the Twenty-Sixth]
26 Made 25 Miles, hard marching over beaver land, from
information I state Beaver lands are Praries which shakes
for miles around & appear to be but a sward upon the top
of water & if the sward once breaks a mire is the necessary
consequence
[Monday, July the Twenty-Seventh]
27 An early start came only 10 miles. Crossed the Iway.61
Spent 7 hours in crossing. Bad travelling & bad encamp-
ment.
[Tuesday, July the Twenty-Eighth]
28 This day we marched 15 Miles. Crossed the south fork
of the Iway62 spent 3 hours in passing. Marching bad
encampment good
ei Evidently the Upper Iowa River.
«2 Now the Eed Cedar Eiver. The place of crossing must have been near
the present city of Austin in Mower County, Minnesota.
374 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
[Wednesday, July the Twenty-Ninth]
29 This morning63 to all appearance we should have a
good days march but had made but 5 or 6 miles when we
perceived before us a lake stretching as far as the eye could
reach from N. to S. & from y2 to 3 miles in width We bore
to the north to try to get around it. But at this time 12 M.
We have come to an outlett. on one side & on the other a
marsh which is impassable. What course we shall now take
is uncertain. The officers are now assembled to concert
measures to get out of this difficulty In the meantime the
men are taking their rest in the shade their horses grazing
beside them. No name is mentioned by Geographers for
this lake. The land about here is good. Grass & herbage
of all kinds in the highest natural state. Grass 8 ft high.
One of our Indians killed a grey Eagle on the lake shore.
Signs of Beaver Muskrat and otter. In the afternoon
passed the outlet marched 7 miles. Saw several handsome
lakes & some of the most beautiful small Prairies I have
seen since I have been in the West. I have seen some
romantick and handsome landscapes but this far surpasses
any country I have ever seen both for beauty & f ertillity
[Thursday, July the Thirtieth]
30 Marched only 10 miles. Came to a party of soux In-
dians. Found we had made a mistake in marching and
gone up to the waters of St. Peters river.64 We are no
nearer home than we were at wabashaws Village 10 day
ago I understand we shall now take a south course instead
of Due west which has been our course
es This day 's march led through the lake region in Freeborn County, Min-
nesota. Lake Albert Lea and the city of Albert Lea in this county get their
names from the Dragoons' march through this region.
64 This day 's camp was in Fairbault County, Minnesota, and evidently upon
one of the forks of the Blue Earth Eiver.
JOURNAL OF MARCHES OF DRAGOONS 375
[Friday, July the Thirty-First}
31. Marched 35 miles. Encamped 65 in the open Prairies
without wood and bad Water & consequently without eat-
ing. We are wandering about like half starved wolves & no
person appears to know in what direction we ought to steer.
Much murmering by the men. Very cold for the season.
[Saturday, August the First]
Aug 1 Made 20 miles. Encampment good.
[Sunday, August the Second]
2 Crossed the North Fork of the Des Moines. Marched
30 miles Good encampment. Spent about 6 hours in Cross-
ing. Passed by means of rafts made by the men. We are
now encamped on the main Branch of the Des Moines
[Monday, August the Third]
3 Made 25 miles. Crossed the Des Moines by a Ford.
Encampment good66
[Tuesday, August the Fourth]
4 Marched 20 miles. Encamped on a branch of Des
Moines 67
[Wednesday, August the Fifth]
5 After a hard march of 35 miles we encamped near the
Des Moines in a good situation
[Thursday, August the Sixth]
6 Marched 25 miles. Encampment good much game —
killed by our men and Indians 68
[Friday, August the Seventh]
7 Came 20 Encampmen[t] good
65 On this day and the next two the Dragoons march through Kossuth
County and probably through the corners of Palo Alto and Pocahontas
counties.
es Evidently near the village of Rutland in Humboldt County.
67 On the North Lizard Creek in Webster County.
68 On Bluff Creek in Boone County.
376 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
[Saturday, August the Eighth]
8 Marched 20 miles & encamped at the Forks of the
Raccoon 69
[Sunday, August the Ninth]
9 This morning 70 Col. Kearney went to examine the forks
for a site suitable for building a Fort. What his opinion
will be is not known. We shall start for Fort Des Moines
as soon as possible as our rations are getting scarce — we
have had no sugar or coffee and but about y2 rations of
flour & meat
[Monday, August the Tenth]
10 Crossed the raccoon & after a hard march of only 15
miles, crossing many streams by difficult fords, we en-
camped in a good situation.71 Our last pork was issued this
evening
[Tuesday, August the Eleventh]
11 Made 15 miles. Land very broken some small bottoms
of very good land but in general of an inferior quality 72
69 In what is now the southern part of West Des Moines.
TO < ' The next morning, a bright Sunday, I got orders to reconnoitre the Des
Moines river, by descending it in a canoe, to ascertain the practicability of
navigation with keel boats, with a view to the establishment of a military post.
A goodly cottonwood was selected, my men set to work with a will, and at
sunrise Tuesday I bade adieu to the camp and aided by a soldier and an
Indian, started on my toilsome task, sounding all shoals, taking courses with
a pocket compass, estimating distances from bend to bend by the time and
rate of motion, sketching every notable thing, occasionally landing to ex-
amine the geology of the rocks, and sleeping in the sand despite the gnats
and mosquitoes. We made the trip without an accident, and leaving our
canoe with Capt. White at the trading house, we footed it to the fort, where
we arrived many days before the main body, who returned leisurely by land,
and arrived in fine order, without the loss of a man, a horse, a tool, or a beef,
which were fatter than at the starting, after a march of eleven hundred miles."
— Quoted from Lieutenant Albert Miller Lea's article on Early Explorations
in Iowa in the Iowa Historical Eecord, Vol. VI, No. 4, pp. 535-553.
71 On the Otter River or Creek in Warren County.
72 The encampment was on the White Breast Creek in the County of Marion.
JOURNAL OF MARCHES OF DRAGOONS 377
[Wednesday, August the Twelfth]
12 Marched 16 miles. The land continues broken water
good
[Thursday, August the Thirteenth]
13 Made 20 miles land improving in quality
[Friday, August the Fourteenth]
14 Marched 20 miles Encampment good.73
[Saturday, August the Fifteenth]
15 This day we came 20 miles passed Opponuse 74 or Iway
town This Village is situated on the right bank of the Des
Moines on a handsome Prairie & for an Indian town is very
handsome & appears to be increasing in wealth and popu-
lation. After marching a few miles byound the village we
encamped in a small bottom. Good land wood & water
plenty
[Sunday, August the Sixteenth]
16 Crossed the Des Moines & encamped near Keokirks
Village75 I have been much pleased with the neatness &
apparent comfort of these Indians & the more I become ac-
quainted with their mode of life the better the opinion I
form of them They are the most decent in their manner
of living of any Indians I have seen. As it respects the
land in this country I will state it is as far as I have seen
of the very first quality & I understand the same kind of
land continues to the mouth of the Des Moines. The land
73 About eight miles west of present city of Ottumwa in Wapello County.
74 Appanoose, the Sac chief, was a man of sedate and quiet disposition and
much beloved by his people. After the removal of the Sacs and Foxes from
Iowa Eiver to the Des Moines he established his village near the site of the
present city of Ottumwa, where his people cultivated a portion of the ground
now within the limits of that city. The grounds occupied by the round-house
and other buildings of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Eailroad were once
a part of the corn-fields of Appanoose and his people. — Fulton 's The Red
Men of Iowa, p. 257.
75 Situated near the present town of Agency. Lea's map designates the
number in Keokuk's village as 450.
VOL. VII — 25
378 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
is fast settling by emigrants from all the states & Europe.
Stone coal is plenty in all the bluffs of the Des Moines &
probably in all the high land in the neighbourhood
[Monday, August the Seventeenth]
17 Marched 16 miles 7G
[Tuesday, August the Eighteenth]
18 Made 15 miles
[Wednesday, August the Nineteenth]
19 Came 20 miles to the Fort. Arrived there about 2 P.
M. having been absent almost 3 months. Sickness and all
Disease has been a stranger to the camp & all have enjoyed
good spirits except that stupidity caused by the want of
food & upon the whole I can say we have had a pleasant
Campaign
i i
76 The return trail of the Dragoons as shown on Lieutenant Lea 's map stops
with this date when they crossed their outward trail.
AMENDMENTS TO THE CONSTITUTION OF THE
UNITED STATES PEOPOSED IN THE STATE
LEGISLATURE OF IOWA 1846-1909
A very elaborate and extensive monograph has been
devoted to the enumeration and discussion of proposed
amendments to the Federal Constitution. Its scope, how-
ever, is limited to propositions which were brought to the
official notice of Congress either by its members, the State
legislatures, or the Presidents, from the time of the adop-
tion of the Constitution by the conventions in the different
States to the end of the Fiftieth Congress, March 4, 1889.
During this period upward of 1300 distinct resolutions,
containing over 1800 proposed amendments, were offered
in Congress. While it is true that these propositions had
some influence in effecting actual changes within the Con-
stitution, their real significance lies in the fact that "they
are indices of the movements to effect a change, and to a
large degree show the waves of popular feeling and reflect
the political theories of the time. ' ' Furthermore, there can
be little doubt that a study of the efforts to amend the Con-
stitution of the United States will contribute to a fuller
and clearer understanding of our State and National his-
tory, both constitutional and political.1
Whether these congressional proposals were offered by
Senators and Eepresentatives on their own initiative, or
whether they were merely introduced in response to the in-
structions and requests of State legislatures are questions
which may possibly be determined by an investigation and
i Annual Eeport of the American Historical Association, 1896, Vol. II, p. 25.
This volume contains a prize essay prepared by Professor Herman V. Ames.
380 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
comparison of congressional records and State legislative
documents. The members of State legislatures have by
no means been deterred from proposing constitutional re-
forms of national concern. To show what activity has been
exerted in this direction in a single State is the purpose of
this paper. It will be necessary, therefore, to recount the
resolutions and memorials introduced by members of the
various General Assemblies of Iowa. Eesolutions are
treated in the following order: first, those concerned with
the last three amendments to the United States Constitu-
tion ; secondly, those on miscellaneous subjects ; thirdly and
fourthly, those dealing with the election of President and
Senators.
THIKTEENTH, FOUBTEENTH, AND FIFTEENTH AMENDMENTS
Since the admission of Iowa into the Union in 1846 only
the last three of the fifteen amendments to the Constitution
of the United States have been adopted. In 1864, contem-
poraneous with the consideration of the proposed thirteenth
amendment by Congress occurred its discussion in the
House of Eepresentatives of the State of Iowa. In a
lengthy preamble it was declared that "there is no attribute
of Almighty God that can take part with American Slav-
ery," an institution which "has alienated the affections of
the American people from each other, precipitated upon the
nation all the calamities of civil war, and has sought to
prostrate forever the grandest and most sublime effort
made by man for his own government and political happi-
ness. ' ' The remainder of this remarkable preamble reads :
1 i The foes of our national existence at home and abroad, in
the South and in the northern sections of our beloved coun-
try, are clutching at the throat of our national existence,
impelled thereto, and instigated to the awful crime, by the
interests and influence of the institutions of Slavery."
AMENDMENTS PROPOSED TO CONSTITUTION 381
In language peculiar to resolutions of the General As-
sembly, the Representatives in Congress from Iowa were
"requested" and the Senators were ''instructed to use ev-
ery influence in their power to abolish slavery within the
entire jurisdiction of the United States." Mr. McNutt
moved its adoption. Mr. Stiles unsuccessfully moved that
the resolution be referred to the standing committee on
Federal Relations. Mr. Davis failed to obtain consent to
his motion that the resolution be made a special order for
Tuesday evening next at 7 :30 o 'clock in Committee of the
Whole; and Mr. Knox's motion to table the whole matter
was lost by a vote of 19 to 67. Mr. Oliver then offered, as
an addition to the resolution, that "the President of the
United States be, and is hereby memorialized to use the
power vested in him as Commander-in-chief of the army
and navy of the United States, in every legitimate manner,
for the same purpose." Upon meeting pursuant to ad-
journment at 2 o'clock, on motion of Mr. Finkbine the
House resolved itself into committee of the whole. The
committee rose, reported progress, and asked leave to sit
again at 7 o'clock, which was granted. At the conclusion
of the evening session it was agreed to postpone the matter
until the following Tuesday. Once more the Committee of
the Whole rose and reported progress, which proved to be
the final consideration of this resolution.2
Within a few days, however, there was introduced into
the State Senate a resolution favoring an alteration of the
Constitution which should confer on Congress the power to
abolish and prohibit slavery in the United States. Slavery
was denounced as incompatible with a republican form of
government, endangering its peace and prosperity and re-
tarding the nation's progress. It was resolved, therefore,
that members of Congress from Iowa should "use their
2 House Journal, 1864, pp. 307-309, 310, 346.
382 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
utmost endeavors to procure the adoption by Congress of
the initiatory measures whereby the Constitution of the
United States might be so amended as to forever prohibit
slavery in the United States or any portion of the same,
and so as to authorize Congress, by appropriate legislation,
to carry into effect the provisions of such amendments."
This memorial or resolution underwent two readings and
after the failure of a motion to lay it on the table was re-
ferred to the Committee on Federal Eelations which report-
ed a substitute resolution for adoption. Subsequently the
Senate accepted the measure by a vote of 34 to 4, and the
House of Representatives concurred by a vote of 63 to 6,
though twenty-two members were absent or not voting.3
Congress did not propose the thirteenth amendment until
February 1, 1865. When in December, 1865, the United
States Secretary of State declared the amendment duly
ratified by three-fourths of the State legislatures, the Gen-
eral Assembly of the State of Iowa had not yet taken defi-
nite action. Not until January 24, 1866, did the resolution
of ratification receive Governor Stone's signature of ap-
proval.4
In regard to the fourteenth and the fifteenth amendments
it is necessary to state not only that both were ratified by
the legislature of Iowa, but also that prior to ratification
abortive attempts had been made to bring certain of their
provisions to an issue. In the State Senate in 1866 a reso-
lution was offered urging members of Congress from Iowa
to support an amendment to make suffrage uniform, "bas-
ing it upon loyalty and intelligence alone. ' ' It provided be-
sides that representation in the lower house should be based
3 Senate Journal, 1864, pp. 352, 527, 570, 580; and House Journal, 1864, p.
649.
* Shambaugh 's Documentary History of Iowa, Vol. I, p. 284. For the dates
of the ratification of amendments, see Iowa Official Register under Constitution
of the United States.
AMENDMENTS PROPOSED TO CONSTITUTION 383
upon the number of persons entitled to the right of suffrage.
The matter was referred after two readings to the Com-
mittee on Federal Eelations which never expressed an opin-
ion one way or the other.5
In the lower house a resolution of similar purpose came
up two days later. Just at that time measures were pend-
ing in Congress whereby the Constitution should be so al-
tered as to place representation upon a broader basis. No
State should be represented for any persons within its bor-
ders who by the Constitution or laws of the State were ex-
cluded from the elective franchise on account of race or
color. This resolution was referred to the Committee on
Federal Eelations which submitted a majority report in
favor of its passage and a very lengthy minority report.
This report, presented by Mr. Wilson of Dubuque County,
is of more than ordinary interest and deserves special at-
tention. It reads as follows :
The undersigned a minority of the Committee on Federal Rela-
tions to whom was referred a preamble and resolution proposing
initiatory measures for a change of the Constitution of the United
States as to the basis of representation, begs leave to make the fol-
lowing report, viz.:
The preamble and resolutions, as understood by the undersigned,
propose to change Section 1, Article 2, of the Constitution of the
United States, as to free persons, and base representation upon
voters instead of free persons. Negro women and children, under
the basis recommended would not be counted, because they would
be excluded by color as well as by sex and age, and therefore the
basis would be upon the elective franchise. This construction is the
one which the undersigned prefers to place upon the resolution,
because it contains the doctrine of the dominant political party of
the country and the policy recommended by the Executive of the
State in his inaugural address to the legislature.
The other construction, viz. :
That none were to be excluded from representation except male
s Senate Journal, 1866, p. 61.
384 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
blacks, excluded from the right of suffrage by reason of race or
color, is a proposition which is so unreasonable and unjust in ex-
cluding negro men, and including negro women and children; one
which would make so slight and inconsiderable a change in the
representation of the South; one favorably entertained by so few,
and so unlikely to be adopted that it need not be considered.
The object in this change to a basis of voters, is to enforce the
extension of the right of suffrage to the black race, under penalty
of partial disfranchisement of the whites by a reduction of their
representation. In some of the States this extension would involve
a surrender of all political power to the negroes; it would make
negro colonies of those States, driving out the white population,
ruining and causing to be unproductive a large portion of country,
without whose products the whole civilized world would suffer.
To this proposed change there are several objections, and the
subject is worthy of the calm, serious and unprejudiced considera-
tion of this House. Some of these objections, in the opinion of the
undersigned, are as follows:
The change cannot be made to operate uniformly, for some States
cannot adopt it without a surrender of all political power to the
blacks, while in others, by reason of the sparseness of this class, its
adoption would affect no change either in the depository of power
or in representation.
No basis of representation is so stable, so certain, and so little
liable to fluctuation, as that of free population. If you make prop-
erty the basis, a door is opened to abuse by doubling the assessment ;
if you make localities, such as cities or counties as the ancient bur-
roughs in England were made, it will become unequal and unjust
by reason of increase or decrease of population; if voting popula-
tion be the basis, one State may increase it solely by extending the
right to women and children, or by allowing foreigners to vote after
they have resided in the country one year, as Wisconsin has done,
while the State of Iowa requires a residence of five, and Massachu-
setts a residence of twenty-one years.
If the white population of some of the States should, in self-
defence, adopt the alternative of reduction of their representation,
then the colored population would present the condition of taxa-
tion without representation; and by this the professed friends of
this people compel the white population to deprive them not only of
the right of suffrage, but of representation.
AMENDMENTS PROPOSED TO CONSTITUTION 385
There is a distinction between these two rights, and the latter
is not necessarily involved in the former. That of representation
is the right of being counted in the taking of the census ; of being
included among those who make up a constituency represented in
the State and National councils; and in this regard the blacks
stand upon an equality with our women and children. It is a
valuable right. Yet, by this proposed amendment, its friends, who
claim to be only friends of the negro, offer to lay this right at the
feet of the Southern white man, and bargain it away if he will con-
sent to a reduction of the present basis. The present rule, founded
upon free population, is more permanent, because all persons are
now counted; whereas, by an adoption of the proposed basis the
rule is liable to continual change. One State, desiring to increase
its representation, may authorize women and minors to vote, while
other States opposed to such a principle, although having the same
population both in numbers and class, would have a smaller repre-
sentation, and thus an inducement is held out to an unwise and
unprecedented extension of the right of suffrage. And further,
might not a State during the year when the census of the United
States is, under the constitution, required to be taken, authorize
women and minors, unnaturalized foreigners and Indians, to vote
at State elections for the purpose of increasing its representation,
and as soon as the apportionment should be made repeal this
authority. But this fraudulent increase of representation could
not be corrected for ten years, and not then, if there should be
another extension for one election of right of suffrage as before.
The universal extension to the negro of the right of political
equality is the first great stepping stone to social equality — a
condition fatal to both races. There should be, in the present situa-
tion of the liberated black, and in the new relation which he bears
to us socially and politically, enough for present experiment, and
the largest philanthropy. Yea, there is in it enough of danger to
awaken our interest and excite the utmost vigilance. Prudence
would dictate that we should leave further experiments to the
future, when his capabilities will be tested and when duty will be
rendered easy by the faithful teachings of past experience.
There is nothing in the idea of an increased Southern representa-
tion to cause apprehension. The increase of representation by the
present rule cannot occur until after the year 1870. According to
386 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
the census of 1860 the increase would be less than one to each of
the rebel States, but since the taking of that census they have lost
by the war over 300,000 of their white, and more than 100,000 of
their black population; therefore, when the new apportionment
under the next census shall be made, our representation in Congress
will comparatively increase, while theirs will decrease, for the rea-
son that during the rebellion our population constantly increased,
and was greater at the close of the war than it was at the begin-
ning; while theirs received no addition to make up any part of
their great losses.
No civilized nation where the common or civil law prevailed ever
adopted any other rule than ours, as a general basis. The State
of Iowa and all the other States, have adopted this rule in their
several State Constitutions. This State has persistently refused
to extend the right of suffrage to blacks and so have all the States
of the Union, with but two or three exceptions, and it would seem
to be a departure from "the golden rule," and look like revenge
or oppression to adopt it now, and attempt to force it upon others,
when its adoption, while leaving us unharmed, would be destructive
to others.
It is time enough for this House to initiate measures to compel
negro suffrage in other States when our people adopt it here. In
view of the example of our adjoining sister States of Illinois, Wis-
consin and Minnesota, and its probable rejection here, is not the
proposed action premature now?
It is not necessary to adopt this proposition to amend, as a bar-
rier to the reestablishment of Southern slavery. It is a sufficient
answer to such a view, that the present test oath prescribed by
Congress has thus far effectually excluded all from the National
Legislature who aided or abetted the Rebellion; that the Govern-
ment is maintaining a standing army in the South, not only for
the purpose of enforcing the Constitution and the laws, but also of
seeing that neither slavery or involuntary servitude shall be es-
tablished there as a domestic relation.
Further, the people of the South openly avow their willingness
to submit to the abolition of slavery, and that they have no desire
to re-establish it. They cannot do so if they would. The people
of this Union will never again tolerate it. It is the dictate of sound
policy to take them at their word, and such is the view of the
Executive branch of the National Government. The President, in
his message to the Senate, dated January 11, 1866, says of the
States lately in rebellion : ' ' From all the information in my pos-
session and from that which I have recently received from the most
reliable authority, I am induced to cherish the belief that personal
animosity is surely and rapidly merging itself into a spirit of
nationality, and that representation connected with a properly
adjusted system of taxation, will result in a harmonious restora-
tion of the relations of the States to the National Union. ' '
It is a libel upon the Democracy of the North, now that slavery
is everywhere within the limits of the Republic abolished by Con-
stitutional law, to say that they do now, or ever will, desire its re-
establishment.
Constitutions should not be amended to carry partisan measures.
That which is the policy of a political party to-day, may be the
opposite next year, and times of high party excitement, when the
passions of many are excited to an unparalleled degree, are unfav-
orable to altering or abolishing any part of that matchless guaranty
of our rights — the source and continuance of our national exist-
ence, the Constitution of the United States. This priceless treas-
ure framed by a body of men whose equals in learning, political
foresight and sagacity, intelligent, self-sacrificing patriotism, never
did before and never will again assemble together upon earth,
framed the section now sought to be repealed, in view of the con-
tingency of slave emancipation, and if so, it follows that its occur-
rence affords no ground for this amendment.
Mr. Jefferson, in his notes upon Virginia, says it was so con-
templated, and the provision of this section whereby free blacks
count more than slaves, even in the slave States, shows that a
bounty was held out to emancipation.
To suppose that the present Constitution does not provide for
the existing emergency is to assume that the authors of it believed
that African slavery would exist forever, is a theory unjust to the
founders of the greatest, the best, and the freest Government in the
world ; an impeachment of their consistency, and the well recorded
history of their declarations at the time. They framed it to last
through all time. The Supreme Court of the United States, in 1
Wheaton 304, in speaking of the Constitution says, "it was not
intended merely to provide for the exigencies of a few years, but
388 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
was to endure through a long lapse of ages; the events of which
were locked up in the inscrutable ways of Providence." Such
has been the understanding ever since its adoption. In urging upon
the South the policy of emancipation and compensated labor, the
Northern friends of this policy asserted that it would be better for
the South, socially, financially and politically.
If the proposed change is desirable ; if the object be to blot out
the right of the State, and to place all power in a great centralized
government, why not alter the basis of representation in the Senate
of the United States, and instead of giving the State of Rhode
Island, which has not as much area as the county of New York,
and not so populous as the city, two Senators, base it upon the
voting population.
Under the present provision the freedmen of the South have the
same rights as the negro in this State and in a very large majority
of the Northern States, and as to the right of suffrage he is in no
worse condition than our wives, our daughters of full age, and
our sons of non-age. In respect to these persons it cannot be as-
serted that by reason of their not exercising this privilege, they
are not protected by legislation, or, are likely to have forced upon
them a system of oppression.
In view of the fact that the question before us was not in issue
in the election of members of this House; and that the people of
this State, judging from their last decision upon the question of
negro suffrage, will in all probability, again reject it, and believing
that it is wise to leave the Constitution in this regard as our fore-
fathers transmitted it to us, the undersigned would respectfully
recommend, that the preamble and resolutions be not adopted.
T. S. WILSON.
Subsequently this resolution was made a special order
and then quickly laid on the table.6 The whole history of
these attempts is sufficient commentary on the fact that the
opinion of Iowa legislators on such difficult problems was
only beginning to crystallize. It shows also that the prin-
e House Journal, 1866, pp. 77, 132-136, 147, 158.
Mr. Wilson was a Judge of the Supreme Court of the Territory and promi-
nent in the history of Iowa. For a brief sketch of his life, see History of
Dubuque, Jones and Clayton Counties, p. 246.
AMENDMENTS PROPOSED TO CONSTITUTION 389
ciples which were within a few years to be embodied in the
second section of the fourteenth amendment and in the
fifteenth amendment were pretty generally discussed be-
forehand.
With regard to the third and the fourth sections of the
fourteenth amendment two different resolutions were intro-
duced in the State House of Eepresentatives in 1866. The
first was of a general nature but includes the principle. It
urged Congressmen from Iowa "to oppose by all lawful
means the admission of members from the States lately in
rebellion to seats in either branch of Congress until suf-
ficient guarantees shall have been provided for securing to
the race lately emancipated in such States the substantial
enjoyment of all the rights of freemen; against any as-
sumption or payment of the rebel war debt; and until
satisfactory evidence shall be afforded of genuine loyalty
to the United States on the part of persons claiming admis-
sion to such seats, and that such admission will be consistent
with the safety of the Union. ' ' The Committee on Federal
Eelations seems never to have reported, but nearly two
months later the resolution was taken up, considered, and
adopted by a vote of 71 to 14, though twelve members were
absent or not voting. The Senate Committee on Federal
Eelations recommended in its report on this resolution that
further legislation on the subject was inexpedient — hence
no further action was taken in that house.7
In the meantime, however, the second resolution had been
offered in the lower house in favor of prohibiting the United
States or any State "from assuming or in any way becom-
ing responsible for the so-called Confederate or rebel debt,
or any other debt or obligation, or any part thereof, con-
tracted to carry on, or for the purpose of aiding or assist-
* House Journal, 1866, pp. 165-166, 756-757; Senate Journal, 1866, pp. 436,
639.
390 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
ing in any manner, to carry on the war against, and
designed to divide and destroy the Union." This matter
too was entrusted to the Committee on Federal Eelations
and was never heard of again.8
COMPENSATION OF MEMBEES OF CONGRESS
To the Fifteenth General Assembly of the State of Iowa
the matter of chief concern in national constitutional affairs
was the need of an amendment to check the power of any
Congress to increase the compensation of its members. A
resolution urging Representatives and Senators from Iowa
to favor the submission of such an amendment for the ratifi-
cation of the several State legislatures was introduced and
adopted in the State Senate. Almost immediately a motion
to reconsider prevailed, but in answer to the favorable re-
port of a special committee the resolution was passed by
the unanimous vote of Senators present. The lower house
at first agreed to pass the resolution on file, later referred
it to the Committee on Federal Eelations, and finally adopt-
ed it in accordance with the committee's recommendation.9
EELIGIOUS EDUCATION AND USE OF SCHOOL FUNDS
It was not until recent years that any amendment has
been suggested in regard to religion. In 1875 President
Grant recommended among other things that some action be
taken on the subject of religious education and the use of
school funds. James G. Elaine accordingly prepared and
introduced a resolution embodying the desired reforms.
The amendment proposed in Congress as Article XVI for-
bade the passage of any State law to establish religion or
prohibit the free exercise of religion. Furthermore it re-
s House Journal, 1866, p. 226.
» Senate Journal, 1874, pp. 21, 22, 24-25; House Journal, 1874, pp. 56, 120,
133, 150; Laws of Iowa, 1874, Joint Resolution No. 7.
AMENDMENTS PROPOSED TO CONSTITUTION 391
quired that no money raised by taxation in any State or
derived from any public fund for the support of public
schools therefor, and no lands devoted thereto should ever
be under the control of any religious sect or denomination.
Nor should any moneys so raised or lands so devoted be
divided among religious sects or denominations.10 A reso-
lution introduced in the State Senate called attention to the
foregoing proposal and urged Congressmen from Iowa to
use all honorable means in their power to secure its accep-
tance by the national legislature. However, it got no farther
than the Committee on Federal Eelations which reported
it back without recommendation.11
NON-RESIDENT ALIEN LAND OWNEES
Probably the longest resolution of its kind on the records
of both houses of the State legislature is the one which be-
gins with a preamble on the evils of permitting aliens to
own lands in the United States. Obviously some danger
lurked in a system of extensive land-holding by foreigners
who never intended to become naturalized citizens. To pre-
vent this a constitutional amendment was deemed advisable.
In 1888 the House of Eepresentatives declared with the Sen-
ate's concurrence that the first duty of governments was
"to adopt such policies as will best promote the growth of
National power and insure prosperity to the Nation and its
citizens", and to secure these results permanently a prime
requisite was that the lands of the Nation should not be
owned and controlled by citizens of foreign nations who
owed no allegiance to our government and used the income
from their lands to swell the aggregate wealth of other na-
tions. Hence arose the fear that a continuation of this evil
10 Annual Eeport of the American Historical Association, 1896, Vol. II, p.
277. This proposed amendment succeeded in the United States House of Eep-
resentatives but failed to obtain a constitutional majority in the Senate.
" Senate Journal, 1876, pp. 11, 360.
392 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
would result in the introduction of foreign systems of land-
lordism, thereby endangering American laboring interests.
The General Assembly did not hesitate to assert that the
ownership of lands within the limits of any State or Terri-
tory by non-resident aliens threatened our national pros-
perity and vitally affected the interests of our citizens,
especially those who sought to secure homes on the public
domain. Congress was asked, therefore, to submit to the
States an amendment which should in the first place pro-
hibit non-resident aliens from owning, possessing or con-
trolling, "either individually or as a member of any
company or corporation," any land or real estate in the
United States. Secondly, the amendment should within six
years after its adoption provide for the equitable extinction
of all titles to land held by non-resident aliens.12
This memorial and joint resolution was presented to the
United States Senate by James F. Wilson of Iowa, was re-
ferred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and ordered to be
printed in the Congressional Record. In the House of Rep-
resentatives it was laid upon the clerk's desk by David B.
Henderson and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Neither committee took pains to make a report, probably
because the nature of the case did not warrant such an
unnecessarily extreme measure as an amendment to the
Constitution.13
POLYGAMY
Most recent of the resolutions on miscellaneous subjects
was that of Mr. Klay of Sioux County. In 1909 a memorial
12 House Journal, 1888, pp. 119, 271-272; Senate Journal, 1888, pp. 258, 778;
and Laws of Iowa, 1888, p. 238.
is Congressional Secord, Vol. XIX, Part 3, pp. 2894, 2918, 2985.
In a comprehensive list, Professor Ames does not include this or any similar
proposition. If the resolution of the State legislature of Iowa i« the first on
the subject prior to 1889, it may claim a unique distinction in the history of
proposed amendments. See note 1 above.
AMENDMENTS PROPOSED TO CONSTITUTION 393
was adopted in the House of Eepresentatives and concurred
in by the Senate, requesting Congress to call a national con-
stitutional convention for the purpose of preparing an
amendment which would prohibit polygamy and polyga-
mous cohabitation. In the preamble of this resolution it
was asserted that the United States Senate had recently
investigated the matter and found polygamy still existing
in certain places in spite of prohibitory statutes. Further
it was declared that public opinion in the United States
condemned the practice and demanded a more effectual pro-
hibition "by placing the subject under federal jurisdiction
and control, at the same time reserving to each State the
right to make and enforce its own laws relating to marriage
and divorce". The resolution, therefore, contained a clause
respectfully requesting all State legislatures in the United
States to join in the application to Congress.14
The proposed amendments which remain to be treated
may be divided into two classes. The first class embraces
all amendments to Article II of the Constitution, which pro-
vides for the Executive ; and the second class consists only
of numerous amendments to the third section of Article I
relative to the election of United States Senators.
ELECTION OF PRESIDENT
Earliest of all propositions of the State legislature of
Iowa was the joint resolution of 1848 requesting a revision
of the Constitution in regard to the election of President.
The exact nature of the reform desired cannot be ascer-
tained, but the resolution never got beyond the Committee
on Elections.15
14 The House and Senate Journals for 1909 were not accessible when this
was written. House Joint Resolution No. 9 petitions Congress to call a Con-
vention to amend the Constitution. For its exact wording the Journals should
be consulted.
is House Journal, 1848-49, pp. 261, 273.
VOL. VII — 26
394 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
The next resolution proposed to make the President ineli-
gible for a second term. OT this memorial of 1864 the pre-
amble is especially worthy of note. For a long series of
years, it declared, there had been a growing conviction of
the importance and necessity of making the President eligi-
ble for one term only. It was believed that such a change
"would go far, very far, to restrain the incumbent in office,
and his political associates and friends from descending to
the arena of the politician, and to the management and the
incidental corruptions of the political heart of the people
of the United States. ' ' Large bodies of citizens and recent
conventions had commended this subject to the considera-
tion of Congress, but the lower house declined to indorse
their action. The resolution was, therefore, tabled at once.16
Two years later a similar resolution was introduced into
the upper house. The executive power should be vested in
a President who should hold office for a term of four years
and be ineligible during the rest of his "natural life." In
case of the President's removal by death, resignation or
inability to discharge his duties, the office should devolve
on the Vice President and be closed to him at the end of his
term. The same rule should apply to any officer whom
Congress might by law designate to fill the office in the
event of the removal of both President and Vice President.
As is well known, a wide difference of opinion existed
at that time between Congress and President Johnson, and
resolutions of the nature just described were not at all in-
frequent. The United States Senate was even then consider-
ing such a proposition. Action on the subject in Iowa was
but an attempt to get the State legislature to give its moral
support. In spite of the Senate committee's favorable
report, the resolution was laid on the table, but not before
a motion had been made to amend by adding the provision
is House Journal, 1864, p. 585.
AMENDMENTS PROPOSED TO CONSTITUTION 395
that "this is only intended to apply to such Presidents as
turn traitors to the platform and party that elect him, and
to such Presidents as the people do not wish re-elected." 17
Two different resolutions introduced in 1872 urged the
Senators and Representatives from Iowa to favor and se-
cure the adoption of proposed amendments then pending in
Congress. One of these provided that no person who had
ever held the office of President should again be eligible.
The other amendment proposed to make foreign born citi-
zens eligible to the offices of President and Vice President.
Both resolutions were indefinitely postponed in accordance
with the recommendation of the committee on Federal Re-
lations.18
The next proposition was a memorial and joint resolu-
tion offered in 1888 in favor of the extension of the presi-
dential term to six years. Although the committee recom-
mended amendments and adoption, the lower house seems
never to have taken final action.19
The last two attacks upon the second article of the Con-
stitution were aimed at the section on the electoral college,
and were delivered in 1892 in the House of Representatives
of the Twenty-fourth General Assembly. One resolution
was disposed of within a few days. It requested Congress
to adopt a national Australian ballot law under the provi-
sions of which all ballots for members of Congress and
electors for President and Vice President should be cast,
and furthermore it asked that the necessary steps be taken
to so amend the Constitution that electors in all States
should be elected by a direct vote of the people and in a
uniform manner.20 By the Constitution each State legisla-
17 Senate Journal, 1866, pp. 262, 273, 382.
is House Journal, 1872, pp. 81, 130, 464.
is House Journal, 1888, p. 405, 505.
20 House Journal, 1892, pp. 265, 291.
396 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
ture was left to direct the manner of appointing or securing
presidential electors so that a variety of methods have ex-
isted throughout the United States. Democracy and party
organization, however, have made the method by popular
vote uniform since about 1892. Constitutional amendment
in this case was unnecessary.
The other resolution provided for the abolition of the
electoral college and substituted for it the election of Presi-
dent and Vice President by a direct vote of a majority of
the people of the several States. This revolutionary pro-
posal was referred to the Committee on Federal Relations
and was reported back without recommendation.21 Since
that time the State legislature has concerned itself only
with the question of the popular election of United States
Senators, a movement the history of which will conclude
these pages.
ELECTION OF UNITED STATES SENATORS
Previous to 1872 the records of the General Assembly
contain no reference to the choice of Senators by popular
vote, but since then and especially during the last twenty
years propositions to that end have been presented with as-
tonishing frequency and regularity. Legislative activity in
this direction in Iowa coincides curiously enough with the
unprecedented interest manifested in the subject by Con-
gress, while the whole movement shows the state of popular
feeling.
Before proceeding with this account it may be well to
recall the principal arguments urged in favor of election of
Senators directly by the people. First, our present method
can not be reconciled with the principle of democracy which
requires implicit faith in the wisdom of the people. Sec-
ondly, it tends to lead to the corruption of legislatures and
21 House Journal, 1892, pp. 349, 437.
AMENDMENTS PROPOSED TO CONSTITUTION 397
to the selection not always of deserving men but often of
very wealthy men with corporation interests at heart.
Thirdly, popular election would prevent altogether the pro-
longed deadlocks which sometimes occur, as in the present
State legislature of Illinois. Fourthly, it would remove one
incentive for legislative gerrymandering of States. Finally
it is claimed that the evils of introducing national affairs
into State politics and the election of State legislators on
national instead of local issues would be diminished. All
these reasons are urged in spite of the fact that "the United
States has the only effective second chamber in the
world."22
In 1872 a resolution was presented in the State Senate
requesting Iowa Senators and Eepresentatives to use their
influence to secure the adoption by Congress of an amend-
ment which proposed to allow the people of the several
States to elect their United States Senators. It provided,
furthermore, that just previous to the expiration of the
term of a Senator his successor should be chosen by the
people at the general election for members of the lower
house in the State. A seat vacant otherwise than by ex-
piration should also be filled in the same way at the first
general election within three months after the vacancy oc-
curred. If this were impossible, the Governor of the State
should temporarily appoint a Senator until the expiration
of one month after the election at which the vacancy should
be permanently filled. The Committee on Federal Eelations
reported favorably on this resolution but the Senate allowed
it to remain on file.23 The resolution of 1874 succeeded,
both houses passing it by decisive votes.24
22 Annual Eeport of the American Historical Association, 1896, Vol. II,
pp. 60-63.
23 Senate Journal, 1872, pp. 58, 393.
24 Senate Journal, 1874, pp. 37, 61, 62, 76, 88, 96, 97, 110; House Journal,
1874, pp. 138, 140, 159, 162; Laws of Iowa, 1874, Joint Eesolution No. 6.
398 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
In the preamble of the resolution of 1876 election of
Senators by the people was characterized as "more in ac-
cordance with the spirit of our institutions. ' ' 25 The Com-
mittee on Constitutional Amendments submitted an unfav-
orable report, and there the matter rested until 1888 when
it was declared that the election of United States Senators
by the State legislature was "often not a fair expression of
the will of the people who choose the legislature." The
resolution proposing an amendment was immediately
adopted upon introduction in the House of Eepresentatives,
but met its death in the Senate.26
Two resolutions urging popular election of Senators
came up in the Senate of the Twenty-third General Assem-
bly. The second of these contained a declaration to the
effect that "our government should be a true republic and
an actual democracy — in the language of President Lin-
coln, a government of the people, for the people, by the
people." It was referred to the Committee on Constitu-
tional Amendments and Suffrage, which recommended in-
definite postponement. The first resolution was presented
to the consideration of the Committee on Federal Eela-
tions and was returned slightly modified. Neither propo-
sition, however, found favor in the Senate.27
The joint resolution fathered by a member of the lower
house in 1892 received friendly consideration at the hands
of the committee, but another resolution covering the same
ground adopted in the Senate proved an acceptable substi-
tute. The vote of members present was almost unanimously
favorable.28
25 House Journal, 1876, pp. 20, 70.
26 House Journal, 1888, p. 78; Senate Journal, 1888, pp. 123, 160, 181, 195,
196.
27 Senate Journal, 1890, pp. 110, 197, 255, 422.
28 House Journal, 1892, pp. 59, 186, 332, 339, 340, 357; Senate Journal,
1892, pp. 46, 184, 293 ; Laws of Iowa, 1892, p. 183.
AMENDMENTS PROPOSED TO CONSTITUTION 399
It is sufficient here simply to mention the unsuccessful
resolution of 1894 29 and pass on to the next proposals to
amend the Federal Constitution.
In 1900 special emphasis was laid upon the constitutional
provision that no State shall without its consent be de-
prived of equal representation in the Senate. Inasmuch as
* * such consent can be given only by the deliberate action of
the electors," and several States had been ''illegally and
arbitrarily deprived of such representation by the failure
or refusal of the legislatures thereof to elect Senators ac-
cording to law," the House of Eepresentatives almost
unanimously resolved that the direct vote for Senators
would best guarantee the right of the people to equal repre-
sentation in the United States Senate. In the upper house
a favorable committee report was rendered but no final
action was taken.30
Of particular importance in the history of amendments
proposed in the State legislature of Iowa is the resolution
introduced by Mr. Hughes of Iowa County and considered
in two successive General Assemblies. It summed up the
situation by calling attention to the fact that numerous
State legislatures had at various times adopted memorials
and resolutions in favor of the election of United States
Senators by popular vote; and that the national House of
Eepresentatives had on four separate occasions within re-
cent years adopted resolutions in favor of the proposed
change and the Senate had as often refused to concur. The
resolution advocated the calling of a national constitutional
convention. In order to secure the applications to Congress
of two-thirds of the State legislatures, provision was made
for sending a copy of the resolution to the Secretary of
State of each State of the Union.
20 House Journal, 1894, pp. 59, 916.
so House Journal, 1900, pp. 166, 251; Senate Journal, 1900, p. 491.
400 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
This resolution succeeded in the House of Representa-
tives of the Twenty-ninth General Assembly, but failed to
arouse enthusiasm in the Senate until two years later when
it passed the Senate first and the lower house afterwards.
The proposal to summon a constitutional convention de-
serves notice because it is the first instance of such a desire
on the part of the State legislature of Iowa.31
Subsequently the Thirty-first and Thirty-second General
Assemblies also expressed strong dissatisfaction with the
refusal of Congress to submit the question of popular elec-
tion of Senators to the electorate of each State. In the
one instance Governor Cummins was " authorized and di-
rected to invite the Governors of the various states to ap-
point and commission five delegates from each of their
respective states to constitute an inter-state convention, to
be held in the city of Des Moines, or elsewhere, to be con-
vened in the year 1906, for the purpose of securing such
action on the part of the several states as will result in the
calling of a constitutional convention". Senator Garst re-
ported a substitute in the shape of a bill for an act to appro-
priate one hundred dollars for the payment of the necessary
expenses in calling the convention, but the Senate rejected
his suggestion and adopted the original resolution.32 In
the resolution of 1907 the legislature returned to the prece-
dents which declared that the only practicable method of
securing the submission of amendments to the States was
through a constitutional convention in the first instance.33
It is probable that since the adoption of a primary elec-
31 House Journal, 1902, pp. 636, 654, 904 ; Senate Journal, 1902, pp. 781,
1030; and House Journal, 1904, pp. 556, 634, 716; Senate Journal, 1904, pp.
198, 301, 480.
32 Senate Journal, 1906, pp. 261, 349, 478-481; House Journal, 1906, pp.
563, 566, 679, 721-723.
33 Senate Journal, 1907, pp. 155, 243, 281-282, 547, 554, 632, 633, 634; House
Journal, 1907, pp. 312, 331, 555, 595-596, 716, 727.
AMENDMENTS PROPOSED TO CONSTITUTION 401
tion law in Iowa and other States the agitation in favor of
the direct election of Senators by the people will cease
entirely. At the regular and extra sessions of the Thirty-
second General Assembly, acts were passed providing for
the holding of party primary elections for an expression of
the choice of party candidates for Senator. It may be said,
therefore, that another "convention" of the Federal Consti-
tution is becoming stereotyped and in the course of time all
States may accept this or the Oregon plan to solve the prob-
lem, and thus render amendment unnecessary.
J. VAN DEB ZEE
THE STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF IOWA
IOWA CITY
A CEITICAL STUDY OF THE DEFINITION AND
ALTEEATION OF COUNTY BOUNDARIES IN
IOWA AND OF THE LAWS BY WHICH
THEY WEEE ESTABLISHED
This paper is based upon two former articles entitled A
History of the Establishment of Counties in Iowa and The
Boundary History of Counties in Iowa which were printed,
respectively, in the July, 1908, and January, 1909, numbers
of THE IOWA JOURNAL or HISTOKY AND POLITICS. By way of
contrast to these two articles which were historical in their
character, the following paper makes an attempt at a crit-
ical study of the definition, alteration, and character of
county boundaries together with an examination and analy-
sis of the laws by which they were established. These two
general subjects are prefaced by a brief discussion of the
number, size, and shape of the counties themselves.
THE NUMBER OF COUNTIES CREATED
Iowa has ninety-nine counties. The period of their
establishment covers twenty-four years, extending from
1834 to 1857 inclusive. Some of the years between these
dates were more prolific in the birth of new counties than
others. In 1838 fourteen new counties were created; in
1846, twelve; in 1851, forty-nine; and in 1857 one was es-
tablished. During several years between 1834 and 1857
no new counties were created at all. The longest inter-
val between the establishment of counties was four years.
There were two such periods — one from 1839 to 1843, and
one from 1853 to 1857.
Of the ninety-nine counties now in existence in Iowa, two
CRITICAL STUDY OF COUNTY BOUNDARIES 403
were originally established during the period of the Terri-
tory of Michigan, nineteen during the period of the Terri-
tory of Wisconsin, twenty-three during the period of the
Territory of Iowa, and fifty-five since the State of Iowa
was established.1
The whole number of counties established in Iowa since
1834 has been one hundred and five. Of this number two
were established during the period of the Territory of
Michigan, twenty during the period of the Territory of
Wisconsin, twenty-three during the period of the Territory
of Iowa, and sixty during the period of the State of Iowa.2
The establishment of counties in Iowa has had a close
connection with the acquisition, by the government of the
United States, of the lands of the Indians situated within
the boundaries of the present State. Every cession of such
lands has been followed closely by the erection of new coun-
ties in the districts thus acquired. Generally such districts
have not been divided up into counties until vacated by the
Indians, but occasionally regions not yet free from Indians
have been erected into counties. Sometimes regions not yet
ceded have been included in newly established counties, as
exemplified by the original counties of Fayette, Buchanan,
Benton, and Keokuk.
As a rule counties were laid out in advance of the arrival
of actual settlers. Sometimes, however, would-be settlers
were on the ground first. Occasionally the organization of
new counties was provided for by the act establishing them ;
but usually actual organization waited several years for the
coming of the settler.
Of the one hundred and five counties created, six (Cook,
1 The counties of Iowa did not all receive their present shapes and sizes dur-
ing the periods in which they were originally established.
2 The mere changing of the name of a county, as for example the changing
of the name of Slaughter County to Washington, has not here been reckoned
as equivalent to the erection of a new county.
404 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
Eisley, Yell, Bancroft, Humbolt, and Crocker) were blotted
out. Their names were not simply changed, but they were
actually destroyed, their territories being given to other
counties. Crocker County occupied the same location as
Bancroft, but since fifteen years elapsed between the blot-
ting out of the latter and the erection of the former, they
can not be regarded as one and the same county. Humbolt
County was succeeded in the same way by Humboldt; but
again an interval of several years requires us to count two
counties instead of one. Crocker County was blotted out
by a decision of the Supreme Court.
In addition to these six counties which were blotted out,
there were seven (Dubuque, Demoine, Fayette, Buchanan,
Benton, Keokuk, and Pottawatamie) which may be called
temporary. In each case reference is made to the county as
first established. These seven counties as first created were
of very large size and were otherwise peculiar in character.
The territory of four of them (Fayette, Buchanan, Benton,
and Keokuk) belonged almost entirely to the Indians. All of
them were merely temporary jurisdictions and were soon
subdivided. In the process of division the county name
was kept and applied to a part of the former county. In
nearly every case the law shows clearly that the second
county is to be considered as the continuation of the former
county of the same name. For this reason these seven coun-
ties have not been counted twice in these totals.
The six counties mentioned above as having been blotted
out were also temporary in a sense, making thirteen tem-
porary counties in all. In other respects the two groups
differ.
In addition to the two groups just discussed, the three
proposed counties of Madison, Belknap, and Grimes may
be mentioned. These were established by the legislature
subject, however, to ratification by the voters of the coun-
CRITICAL STUDY OF COUNTY BOUNDARIES 405
ties concerned. Madison was to be carved from Lee County,
Belknap and Grimes successively from Pottawattamie. In
each case the proposition failed to carry with the voters and
the county was not established — hence the title of " pro-
posed counties".
In one respect Crocker County was similar to these three
" proposed counties". Its establishment was proposed and
even carried out when another branch of the government
(the judiciary) nullified what had been accomplished. The
legislature attempted to establish the county; the judici-
ary defeated the attempt. In this respect it falls in the
same class with the counties of Madison, Belknap, and
Grimes.
When Bancroft County was yet in existence, from 1851
to 1855, and again while Crocker County was on the map in
1870 and 1871, Iowa had one hundred counties. Many have
wished that our State had one hundred counties to-day.
This desire was no doubt at the bottom of the legislative
attempts to create the counties of Belknap and Grimes and,
perhaps, even of Crocker itself. The mistake was made
when Bancroft was blotted out and its territory given to
Kossuth in 1855. If Bancroft had been retained the Con-
stitution of 1857 would have legalized it, as it did others in
the same tier, and the State would to-day have one hundred
counties. If ever another new county is added to those
now in existence, it would naturally be created by a sub-
division of Kossuth, Pottawattamie or Woodbury, since
these three are the only counties in the State large enough
to allow division and still fulfill the requirements of the
Constitution.
SIZE AND SHAPE OF COUNTIES AND CHAKACTEE OF THEIR
BOUNDARIES
In size the counties of Iowa range in area from 396 to
984 square miles. The two smallest counties are Louisa
406 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
with 396 square miles and Des Moines with 400. The four
largest are Plymouth with 820, Woodbury with 864, Kos-
suth with 876, and Pottawattamie with 984 square miles.
The largest county is almost exactly two and one-half times
as large as the smallest.
On the whole the counties of Iowa are of nearly equal
size. Only two have as few as 400 square miles, and only
four above 800 ; many are of the same size. Six contain 720
square miles each; thirteen, 432 square miles; and thirty-
nine, 576 square miles. In other words, fifty-eight counties
contain each, either twelve, sixteen, or twenty congressional
townships. The average area of the ninety-nine counties of
Iowa is a fraction over 565 square miles.
The largest county ever established in connection with
Iowa was the temporary County of Fayette, created in 1837
by act of the legislature of the Territory of Wisconsin. It
covered most of the territory of the two Dakotas and Min-
nesota, together with a fourth part of Iowa.3 Its area has
been estimated at 140,000 square miles,4 nearly three times
as large as the present State of Iowa. All of the other tem-
porary counties, mentioned above, were also of very large
size. The smallest county ever included within the limits
of Iowa was Slaughter (now Washington) as it existed be-
tween the act of January 12, 1839, (by which a part of its
territory was given to Louisa County) and that of January
25, 1839. During this period 5 it contained nine square
townships or 324 square miles.
A tendency to equalize the counties of Iowa in point of
s See M~p IV in the July, 1908, number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OP HISTORY
AND POLITICS. All references to maps in this paper will be to the July, 1908,
number of this journal.
4 Gue 's History of Iowa, Vol. Ill, p. 344.
5 It is barely possible that the act of January 25 went into force before
that of January 12, in which case Slaughter County was never so small as
herein stated.
CRITICAL STUDY OF COUNTY BOUNDARIES 407
size may be traced throughout the history of their estab-
lishment. An act approved on January 24, 1855, may be
cited as an example of this tendency. The effect of this act
was to take from Floyd and Chickasaw counties and add to
Mitchell and Howard enough territory to make the four
counties almost equal in size.6 While this tendency has
usually taken the direction of reducing large counties to
smaller dimensions, examples of increasing the size of the
smaller counties are not lacking.
In their shape the counties of Iowa are very regular.
Seventy- six are bounded entirely by straight lines ; thirty-
nine of these are square. This gives to the county map of
the State a certain regularity — a checker-board appear-
ance which is very different, indeed, from the appearance
presented by the shire map of England or the department
map of France. To a remarkable extent the counties of
Iowa are arranged in tiers running east and west. This
arrangement is least noticeable in the eastern fourth of the
State.
Most of the boundaries of Iowa counties are denned in
terms of the United States land survey. This accounts for
the many straight lines. Two correction lines cross the
State from east to west, causing jogs in the eastern and
western boundaries of two tiers of counties, varying the
regularity to a certain extent. One of these lines crosses
the State between Sioux City and Dubuque and the other
runs east and west through Des Moines. A third correc-
tion line affects the eastern and western boundaries of
Page County and consequently the eastern boundary of
Fremont and the western boundary of Taylor.
Since Iowa has no mountains, the only topographical
features which can serve as county boundary lines are the
rivers and streams. In all, twenty-three counties have par-
e See Map XIII.
408 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
tial river boundaries. On the borders of the State the Mis-
sissippi Eiver forms the partial boundary of ten counties,
the Missouri of six, the Big Sioux of four, and the Des
Moines of one. In the interior of the State four rivers also
help to form county boundaries. The Wapsipinicon helps
to separate Clinton and Scott counties; the Skunk Eiver
forms the boundary between Des Moines and Lee ; the Iowa
Eiver separates Johnson and Washington for some six or
seven miles ; and the Des Moines Eiver serves as a bound-
ary between Polk and Warren for four or five miles. This
latter boundary is not marked on all maps. Thus it is seen
that nineteen border counties and eight interior counties
have partial river boundaries. In most of these cases the
county has only one river boundary. Clinton and Scott
counties, however, each have two river boundaries, while
Lee County has three. Lee County, therefore, is more
nearly surrounded by water boundaries than any other
county in Iowa.
Glancing for a moment at the relative location of the
counties it is seen that eleven are on the northern border of
the State, ten on the eastern border, ten on the southern
border, and nine on the western border. Subtracting the
corner counties, which have been counted twice, it is seen
that of the ninety-nine counties in Iowa thirty-six are on the
borders of the State and sixty-three in the interior. As a
rule each county touches four or five others. Three corner
counties, however, touch only two others in Iowa. Webster
County touches more counties than any other in the State.
To bound it one has to name seven of its neighbors.
The map of Iowa with its straight-line borders on the
north and south and its great river boundaries on the east
and west is the most beautiful of any State in the Union.
Its shape, its proportions, its symmetry, are very pleasing
to the eye.
CRITICAL STUDY OF COUNTY BOUNDARIES 409
HOW THE COUNTIES OF IOWA WEKE ESTABLISHED
No counties in Iowa were ever established by executive
proclamation — a method which had been frequently em-
ployed in the Territories of Michigan and Wisconsin. All
have been erected by legislative enactment. In the work of
creating new counties the legislature has been limited little
by the Constitution of the State. The Constitution of 1846
contained but one provision relative to the establishment
of counties which reads as follows: "No new county shall
be laid off hereafter, nor old county reduced to less contents
than four hundred and thirty- two square miles."7 The
Constitution of 1857 repeated the above provision in sub-
stance 8 and contained one other reference to counties. This
second reference, which appears in connection with the
regulation of general laws, reads: "No law changing the
boundary lines of any county shall have effect until upon
being submitted to the people of the counties affected by
the change, at a general election, it shall be approved by a
majority of the votes in each county, cast for and against
it."9
The division of the State into counties had been prac-
tically completed by the act of January 15, 1851.10 After
that date the legislature would be chiefly concerned with
the alteration and adjustment of boundaries. This may
have been the reason for the insertion of the clause just
quoted in the Constitution of 1857, with the adoption of
which a new principle was introduced into the establish-
ment of Iowa counties, namely, the principle of popular
ratification, or perhaps better, of the referendum. Several
times have the people of different counties acted upon this
7 Constitution of Iowa, 1846, Article XI, section 2.
8 Constitution of Iowa, 1857, Article XI, section 2.
» Constitution of Iowa, 1857, Article III, section 30.
10 See Map XI.
VOL. VII — 27
410 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
principle. In 1874 the electors of Pottawattamie County
voted upon the proposition of establishing the new county of
Belknap. In 1876 they voted upon the proposition of estab-
lishing the county of Grimes. In 1880 the voters of Polk,
Boone, and Story counties balloted upon the proposition of
so altering their boundaries as to include the town of Shel-
dahl entirely within the limits of Story County. In each of
these cases the proposal of the State legislature failed to
carry with the people. The act of March 11, 1858, amending
the act of the previous year creating Humboldt County, was
nullified by the Supreme Court of the State in a decision
handed down on December 4, I860,11 because the question
had not been submitted to the people.
On April 2, 1862, the State legislature passed an act
providing a new method of altering county boundaries.12
This act introduced an entirely new principle, namely, that
of the initiative. Once only has this principle been put into
practice. In 1865 Crawford and Monona counties, taking
advantage of the provisions of this law, voted upon and
carried a proposition to move the boundary between the
two counties one township farther west. No further action
by the legislature was necessary.
By a general act approved on March 28, 1864, a new
method of changing the names of counties was provided.13
Again the initiative was conferred upon the counties them-
selves. Since the passage of this act no county has changed
its name. Whether any attempt to do so has been made and
the proposition has failed to carry, the writer has been un-
able to ascertain.
From this brief discussion of how the counties in Iowa
have been established it will be seen that the chief factor
11 Buncombe vs. Prindle, 12 Iowa 1.
12 Laws of Iowa, 1862, p. 93.
is Laws of Iowa, 1864, p. 109.
CRITICAL STUDY OF COUNTY BOUNDARIES 411
has been the legislature, Territorial and State; that since
1857 alterations in boundary lines have been voted upon
by the electors of the counties concerned; and that since
the passage of the general laws in 1862 and 1864, the coun-
ties have had power to take the initiative in altering their
boundaries or in changing their names.
HOW BOUNDARIES WERE DEFINED
Forty- two laws bearing upon the subject of this paper
were passed by the legislatures of the Territories of Michi-
gan, Wisconsin, Iowa, and by the legislature of the State
of Iowa. Some of these created or proposed new counties ;
some altered or redefined boundary lines. Some dealt with
boundary lines only; others included a mass of additional
detail about the organization of counties, etc. Two, only,
were general laws.14
It is interesting to notice how the boundaries of new
counties were defined in the acts by which they were estab-
lished. From first to last many differences are to be found
in the definition of boundary lines.
In the first act in the series, namely, that of Septem-
ber 6, 1834, the boundaries of the two counties established
were defined in a very simple manner. An arbitrary line
was drawn west from the southern point of Rock Island.
That part of the Black Hawk Purchase north of this line
was to become Dubuque County; that part south of it, De-
moine County.
When Demoine County was subdivided by the act of
December 7, 1836, the county boundaries were defined to a
large extent in terms of natural features. Instead of run-
ning east and west, or north and south, the dividing lines
14 A list of these forty-two laws may be found at the close of this paper.
References have been added showing where each act may be found in the ses-
sion laws. For this reason it has not been deemed necessary to give in the
foot-notes a reference for every legislative act mentioned.
412 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
ran in any direction and with no regularity, because the
government survey of the region had not yet been com-
pleted. From the standpoint of the county boundaries
this is the most unique law in the whole series.15
Dubuque County was subdivided by the act of Decem-
ber 21, 1837. By this time the government survey had been
completed and hence the boundary lines of the new coun-
ties were defined in terms of this survey. Delaware County
may be taken as an example. Its boundaries were defined
as follows: "All the country lying within the following
limits, to wit: beginning at the northwest corner of Du-
buque County; thence west along the line dividing town-
ships ninety and ninety-one north, to the line dividing
ranges six and seven west; thence south along said range
line to the line dividing townships eighty- six and eighty-
seven north ; thence east along said line to the line dividing
ranges two and three west of the principal meridian ; thence
north to the place of beginning — shall be, and the same is
hereby constituted a separate county to be called Dela-
ware." There is little to be commented upon in this defini-
tion. It will be noticed that the starting point is at a corner
of a county already described, also that the boundaries are
defined in the order of north, west, south, and east. These
precedents were followed in most of the later laws. Many
of the counties established by this act bordered either on
the Mississippi River or on the Indian lands, lying to the
north or west and hence their boundary lines had to be
defined in terms altogether different from those used in
the definition of the limits of Delaware County. The bound-
aries of the other interior counties were defined in nearly
the same way as those of Delaware, although some varia-
tions are noticeable.
is This law was quoted practically in full on pp. 384-385 of the July, 1908,.
number of THE IOWA JOURNAL OP HISTOEY AND POLITICS.
CRITICAL STUDY OF COUNTY BOUNDARIES 413
In 1838 the boundaries of the counties, carved in 1836
from the former county of Demoine, were redefined — this
time in terms very similar to those used in the definition
of Delaware County as given above. The introductory sen-
tence is brief, reading thus : * ' The boundaries of the county
of shall be as follows, to wit : " In the place
of the clause which closed the definition of the boundaries
of Delaware County is found one locating the county seat
or attaching the county to some other one for judicial or
other purposes. Considerable extraneous matter is found
in the law.
The act of February 17, 1843, which defined the bound-
aries of eleven counties did so somewhat more concisely
than any preceding law. The boundaries of Black Hawk
County were described as follows: "the following bound-
aries shall constitute a new county, to be called Black
Hawk, to wit: beginning at the northwest corner of Bu-
chanan County, thence west to range fifteen west; thence
south to the corner of townships (86) eighty-six and (87)
eighty-seven, of range (14) fourteen and (15) fifteen west;
thence east to the southwest corner of Buchanan county,
thence north to the place of beginning".
Here again the start is taken from an old county already
established when it would have been better to speak in
terms of townships only. The definition of the northern
boundary is concise, yet full enough. It is, however, in-
definite, in its stopping place. The western boundary, on
the other hand, seems much more difficult to define — at
least many more words are required to accomplish it, yet
the extra words are used mainly in telling where the west-
ern boundary stops, that is, in locating its southern ex-
tremity. Just why the northern boundary should be de-
fined so briefly and the western at such length is hard to
understand. If, in defining the one, we may say " thence
414 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
west to range fifteen west", why may we not in the other
case say "thence south to township eighty-six"? Both the
southern and eastern boundaries are defined very briefly.
The eastern extremity of the southern boundary is located
in terms of an older county when it would have been better
to speak in terms of townships. No fault can be found with
the eastern boundary as defined above when the other
boundaries are correctly described. But in case of errors
in other boundaries it is sometimes impossible to draw the
eastern boundary when described in this way.
Not all the counties named in the act of 1843 had their
boundaries defined in exactly the same terms as given for
Black Hawk County. Thus Keokuk and some other coun-
ties have their northern and western boundaries described
in greater detail than in the case of Black Hawk.
Three years later by the act of January 13, 1846, twelve
counties were established. An examination of the act re-
veals much variety in the definition of the boundaries of
the different counties. On the whole the counties are de-
scribed in terms very similar to those used in the act of
1843. The section dealing with Lucas County reads thus :
"The following shall be the boundaries of a new county,
which shall be called Lucas, to wit : Beginning at the north-
west corner of Kishkekosh county; thence west, to the
north-west corner of township 73, north of range 24 west;
thence south, to the south-west corner of township 71, north
of range 24 west; thence east, to the south-west corner of
Kishkekosh county ; and thence north, to the place of begin-
ning."
This description differs from that of Black Hawk County
in two points only : one of these differences is in the defini-
tion of the northwest corner of the county, the description
in the later law being fuller and more accurate; and the
other difference is in the definition of the southwest corner.
CRITICAL STUDY OF COUNTY BOUNDARIES 415
This time the phraseology of the later law is not quite so
full, but it is more scientific and accurate.
Because of errors in the act of January 13, 1846, a sup-
plemental act was approved on the seventeenth in which the
boundaries of the three counties of Jasper, Polk, and Dallas
were redefined. It seems strange that in this act of the
same session, approved only four days after that which it
seeks to amend, the boundaries of counties should be de-
fined in a very different manner. It is true that a part of
the Polk County boundary is omitted, and that that of Dal-
las County differs slightly from the others ; but overlooking
these points, the method of defining county boundaries em-
ployed in this law is superior.
The same method was employed by the next session of
the legislature, that is, by the First General Assembly of the
State, in the redefinition of the boundaries of Marion and
Polk counties, with an improvement in punctuation. The
description of Marion County as found in the act approved
on January 27, 1847, reads as follows: "Beginning at
the northeast corner of township number seventy-seven
north, of range number eighteen west; thence west to the
northwest corner of township number seventy-seven, of
range number twenty-one west; thence south to the south-
west corner of township number seventy-four north, of
range twenty-one west ; thence east to the southeast corner
of township number seventy-four north, of range eighteen
west; thence north to the place of beginning." The bound-
aries of Polk as described in an act approved on the follow-
ing day are defined in the same manner. This description
is one of the best to be found in any of the forty-two laws
which have to do with Iowa counties. Each boundary and
each corner is defined in terms of the United States land
survey. No reference is made to other counties, the bound-
aries of which may have been themselves in error. The
416 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
corners are definitely located. When this is done no diffi-
culty is found in running the boundaries of each side from
corner to corner. On the whole the above method of de-
scribing a county's boundaries is clear, exact, and as concise
as is consistent with accuracy. Possible errors could have
been avoided by writing each number of a township or
range twice — thus "township number (77) seventy-seven
north", instead of "township number seventy-seven north"
as is done in the laws themselves.
The same session of the legislature which defined the
boundaries of Marion and Polk counties in this excellent
way used a different and more cumbersome method in de-
scribing the limits of the counties of Fayette, Clayton, Alla-
makee, and Winneshiek, and employed a different and more
concise method in defining the boundaries of Binggold, Tay-
lor, Page, and Fremont counties. Though more concise,
this last method is not so accurate. The facts just cited
show how a single session of the legislature defined county
boundary lines in three different ways.
The important act of January 15, 1851, creating forty-
nine new counties is full of inconsistencies. As far as the
definition of boundaries is concerned it may be divided into
two parts, the first thirty counties being defined in one way
and the last twenty 16 in another. To this general division
a few exceptions would have to be made. For example the
sixth and the twenty- seventh counties are not described
like the others in the first division, or the thirty-eighth like
the others in the last division. Overlooking these excep-
tions and a few minor differences the line of division re-
mains clear.
The method employed to describe the counties in the first
division is the longer and more cumbersome of the two and
16 Fifty counties are actually bounded in this act, one of which was not a
new county — hence the apparent discrepancy as to numbers.
CRITICAL STUDY OF COUNTY BOUNDARIES 417
is open to considerable criticism. All numbers of townships
and ranges are given in figures only, instead of in words or,
better yet, in both figures and words. For some unknown
reason the northern boundary is nearly always described in
more detail than the others, although in a few counties the
western boundary receives the same minute definition.
There is no especial objection to this detailed description
of a boundary except that, if used at all, consistency would
require that it be employed in describing all the boundaries
of a county with the possible exception of the last boundary
to be defined. By the time three sides of a county are
bounded all that is required to indicate the fourth boundary
is to connect two points. This can be done very briefly.
Since it was usually the eastern boundary which was
left to the last, we find the phrase " thence north to the
place of beginning" nearly always used in describing that
boundary. Brief though it is, it is sufficient.
The last twenty counties named in the act under discus-
sion are bounded in a manner superior to the first thirty.
The method used is almost the same as that employed in
defining the counties of Marion and Polk in 1847, which
method was commended above. The only difference is
found in the fact that this method is now made a little more
concise. Instead of saying, as the act of 1847 did, "Begin-
ning at the northeast corner of township number seventy-
seven north, of range number eighteen west", the act of
1851 in its last sections would read " Beginning at the
northeast corner of township 77 north, range 18". In this
way Cherokee County was bounded as follows: "Begin-
ning at the north-west corner of township 93 north, range
38; thence west to the north-west corner of township 93
north, range 42; thence south to the south-west corner of
township 90 north, range 42; thence east to the south-west
corner of township 90 north, range 38 ; thence north to the
418 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
place of beginning." As it stands this description would
probably pass as the best used in all the laws describing the
boundaries of Iowa counties. Two small changes, however,
would improve it. If we say "township 93 north" why
should we not say "range 38 west"? The insertion of the
word "west" is as necessary as the word "north". If the
number of the township or range were written out as well as
being given in figures it would have prevented errors.
It is possible to describe the boundaries of a county still
more concisely and at the same time clearly and accurately.
For example the act of January 28, 1857, which established
the present county of Humboldt, defined its boundaries, or
at least located the county, in these words : ' i townships 91,
92, 93 of ranges No. 27, 28, 29, and 30, west of the fifth
principal meridian shall constitute the county of Hum-
boldt." This method would have to be modified when ap-
plied to a county having a river boundary or to one having
fractional townships, as those on the northern border of
Iowa; otherwise it is to the point and perhaps all that is
needed.
In this discussion of the ways in which the boundaries of
Iowa counties have been defined it will be seen that the al-
most invariable custom was to begin at the northeast corner
of a county and to describe the boundaries in the order of
north, west, south, and east. Several different methods
were employed in locating the corners of a county, and in
running a boundary line. The starting point was frequently
made at a certain corner of an older county, or one already
described in the act. Whole boundary lines were often de-
fined in terms of other counties — a practice which pro-
duced many errors. A better plan was to describe the new
county in terms of townships and township lines which,
indeed, was the usual custom.
In many respects the laws under discussion are open to
CRITICAL STUDY OF COUNTY BOUNDARIES 419
criticism. It is very common, indeed, to find in one law a
very detailed description of one or two boundaries with a
very brief description of the others. If one boundary need-
ed a detailed definition, all did. In a law consistent with
itself all boundaries should be described in a similar man-
ner. A possible exception could be made in favor of the
boundary last defined, as already indicated.
Variety is also found in several laws each of which
bounded several counties — one county being described in
one way, another in another. Making an exception in favor
of border counties, there is really no excuse for this. The
law of January 15, 1851, establishing forty-nine new coun-
ties is a notable illustration. Frequently, also, one session
of the legislature passing several laws creating new coun-
ties would employ one method of defining county boundaries
in one act and an entirely different method in another.
Mention has already been made of the First General As-
sembly of the State which in 1847 in four different laws
establishing new counties employed three different methods
of defining their boundaries.
CONTENTS OF LAWS
ThQ laws by which counties were established in Iowa fall
into two general classes from the standpoint of their con-
tents. One of these classes includes those acts which had
for their sole purpose the establishment of new counties.
This group is illustrated by the important act of January
13, 1846, creating twelve counties, and by the still more im-
portant one of January 15, 1851, creating fifty 17 counties.
The other class contains those acts which did more than
merely create new counties. The laws falling into this
17 The question as to whether the Pottawattamie County named in the act
of January 15, 1851, was a new county, or merely an old county of the same
name reduced in size, brings up a distinction too minute to be allowed to af-
fect the classification of the act in this paragraph.
420 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
group often attached the new counties to older ones for
various purposes, established the seat of county govern-
ment, provided for certain elections and for the division or
payment of county debts — in short, frequently provided
for the complete organization of the new counties. This
group may be illustrated by such acts as those of January
21 and 29, 1839, February 20, 1847, and December 22, 1856.
INADEQUATE TITLES
Very frequently laws establishing new counties were
given titles wholly inadequate as far as indicating the con-
tents of the acts is concerned. A few examples may serve
to illustrate the point. The act of January 12, 1839, was en-
titled, "An Act to establish the boundaries of Louisa
county, and to locate the seat of Justice of the said county,
and for other purposes." As a matter of fact this act al-
tered the boundary between Louisa and Slaughter counties.
It would have been better if the latter county had been
named in the title along with the former. An act approved
on January 23, 1839, was entitled, "An act to establish the
boundaries of Lee county." Now the boundaries of Lee
County had been established by an earlier law. The object
of this act was really to alter the boundary line between Lee
and Des Moines counties. How much more appropriate
would the title have been if it had read : ' ' An act to alter
the boundary line between Lee and Des Moines counties."
The other acts (one approved on June 5, 1845, and the
other on January 14, 1853) altered the boundary line be-
tween two counties, yet mentioned only one of them in the
title. An act approved on January 25, 1839, was entitled
"An Act to establish the boundary lines of Washington
county, and for other purposes." The first part of this
statement is not accurate, since the act changed the name of
Slaughter County to "Washington County and then enlarged
CRITICAL STUDY OF COUNTY BOUNDARIES 421
its boundaries. This could have been, and should have been,
indicated in the title.
To cite only one more example: an act approved on
December 22, 1856, was entitled "An Act to create the
County of Hamilton." It should have been entitled: "An
Act to create and organize the County of Hamilton", for
nearly the whole of the act is given up to the organization
of the county. Other illustrations could be given; but the
examples already cited should be sufficient to prove the in-
adequacy of the titles of many of the acts whereby the
counties of Iowa were established.
INADEQUATE BOUNDARY CHANGES
If the titles of the acts under consideration were inade-
quate, in that they did not always make for clearness, the
same may be said of many of the acts themselves, for very
frequently a law in defining or enlarging the boundaries of
a county gave it territory belonging to some other county
without so much as mentioning the name of the county thus
deprived of part of its area. On the principle that a later
law supersedes an earlier one upon the same subject, in so
far as the two conflict, it is legal thus to take territory from
one county and give it to another; but it would make for
clearness and would have a tendency to prevent mistakes
if the act doing this would make mention, at least, of the
county losing the territory. If this had always been done
there could now arise no questions in regard to the inten-
tion of the framers of an act, as to whether the transfer of
territory was really intended or whether an error had been
made in wording the law. Examples of both kinds of acts
could be cited.
TEMPORAEY LAWS
Most of the laws by which counties were erected in Iowa
were meant to be permanent and to establish permanent
422 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
counties. A few, however, established counties which were
expected to be merely temporary,18 and in a sense these may
be called temporary laws. A good example of such a law is
the act of February 24, 1847, which created the original
county of Pottawatamie.19
An example of a temporary law in another sense is the
act of December 7, 1836, by the terms of which Demoine
County was subdivided. The last section of this law read
as follows: "This act to be in force from and after its
passage, and until the end of the next annual session of the
Legislative Assembly and no longer." The next session of
the legislature referred to adjourned on January 20, 1838.
This law, then, was on the statute books only about four-
teen months. It is the only act of its class in the whole
series.
AMENDMENTS
As stated above 20 forty-two legislative acts were passed
which dealt with the establishment of Iowa counties. Con-
siderably over half of these were original acts, the others
being amendments of the former. This counts as amenda-
tory laws all of those acts by which the boundary lines of
counties were altered after they had been once established.
Of all the acts which had the force of amendments only five
were so labeled, but not all of them in the same way. Of
these the act of December 27, 1848, was entitled "An act
to amend", etc. This law redefined the boundaries of Lucas
and Clarke counties and is clearly amendatory to the act
approved on January 13, 1846, by which those counties were
created. Two of the five laws were entitled "An act sup-
is See above p. 403.
is This is the way the county name was spelled in the act. It helps to
distinguish between the temporary county and the permanent one to retain
this spelling for the former.
20 See above p. 410.
CRITICAL STUDY OF COUNTY BOUNDARIES 423
plemental to an act", etc. Supplemental acts may be classed
as amendments. One of these, approved on January 17,
1846, redefined the boundaries of Jasper, Polk, and Dallas
counties because of errors made in the act of January 13.
The other, approved on February 5, 1851, described anew
the boundaries of Guthrie County — possibly because of
errors made in the act of January 15, 1851.
The two remaining acts which were labeled as amend-
ments were called " explanatory acts", but there can be no
doubt of their falling into this class. One of these, ap-
proved on March 11, 1858, dealt with Humboldt County
and sought to correct an alleged error in the act of Decem-
ber 1, 1856, by which the county had been created. The
second explanatory act was approved on March 22, 1858.
It sought to make definite the boundary line between Ben-
ton and Tama counties by interpreting the act of February
17, 1843, which had created the two counties. It also rede-
fined the questionable line after having interpreted the
earlier law.
The majority of acts which were really amendatory of
earlier ones were not so labeled. In this list would fall with-
out question the acts of
January 18, 1838 January 27, 1847
January 12, 1839 January 28, 1847
January 23, 1839 February 3, 1847
February 15, 1844 December 27, 1848
June 5, 1845 January 14, 1853
January 19, 1853
Some few acts were partly amendatory and partly origi-
nal. A couple of examples will make the matter clearer.
The act of January 21, 1839, altered the boundaries of
Henry County and also created an entirely new county, Jef-
ferson. The act of February 17, 1843, created nine new
counties and altered the boundaries of several others.
424 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
KEPEALING CLAUSES
Of all the acts which had the force of amendments only
four contained repealing clauses, i. e. clauses specifically
repealing all acts or parts of acts which conflicted with the
provisions of the amendatory act. Two of those containing
such clauses are among the five acts which were labeled as
amendments, while two were among the group not so
labeled. Confusion and error would have been avoided
several times if all acts conflicting with others already on
the statute books had contained repealing clauses.
THE SPELLING OF COUNTY NAMES
The punctuation and style of the laws by which the coun-
ties of Iowa were established were often notoriously bad.
But while this subject may be passed over, it may be of
interest to discuss briefly the spelling of certain county
names. The County of "Demoine" was created by act of
September 6, 1834. On December 7, 1836, the county was
reduced in size and the spelling changed to Des Moines.
Very similarly the County of "Musquitine" was estab-
lished by act of December 7, 1836. On January 18, 1838, it
was reduced to its present size and the spelling of the
name altered to Muscatine.
In the act of December 21, 1837, the name of "Linn"
County was spelled "Lynn" in the table of contents, but,
as it was spelled correctly in the body of the law, this could
have no serious effect.
Clarke County was created by an act approved on Janu-
ary 13, 1846. Nearly three years later its boundaries were
redefined and shifted eastward.21 In this second act which,
of course, superseded the first one, the name of the county
was spelled "Clark", without the final "e". But, after all,
this was only an error made by the printer of the laws, as
21 By an act approved December 27, 1848.
CRITICAL STUDY OF COUNTY BOUNDARIES 425
reference to the manuscript of the original act proves,22
and, consequently, did not have the effect of changing the
spelling of the county name. In spite of this fact, or, per-
haps, rather in ignorance of it, several maps of the period
spell the name of this county without the final "e".
One of the counties created by the act of February 17,
1843, was named and spelled "Kishkeekosh". The name
of the Indian chief who was honored by this act is correctly
spelled with only one " e " — indeed, it was so spelled in the
table of contents which was prefixed to the printed laws of
1843. But between a table of contents and the law itself
the latter must take precedence. The legal spelling of the
name of the county until the same was changed to Monroe
by the act of January 19, 1846, was, therefore, "Kishkee-
kosh"23 although this was an incorrect spelling of the
name. In the act which changed the name of the county
to Monroe the spelling given was the correct one — "Kish-
kekosh".
By the same act of February 17, 1843, several other coun-
ties were created among which were Wapello, Keokuk, and
Poweshiek. In the manuscript 23 of the original act these
names were spelled "Wappello", "Keokuck", and "Poue-
shiek". The printer corrected the spelling when he came to
print the laws. In the original manuscript 24 of the act of
January 15, 1851, the names of several counties were spelled
as follows: "Pottawatamie", "Wahkow" (now Wood-
bury), "Pochahontas", "Buna Vista", "Cerro Gorda",
"Emmett", and "Audibon". Again the spelling was cor-
22 See volume for 1848-1849 of the original manuscript acts of the legislature
of the State of Iowa in the office of the Secretary of State, Des Moines.
23 See volume for 1842-1843 of the original manuscript acts of the legisla-
ture of the Territory of Iowa in the office of the Secretary of State, Des
Moines.
24 See volume for 1850-1851 of the original manuscript acts of the legislature
of the State of Iowa in the office of the Secretary of State, Des Moines.
VOL. VII — 28
426 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
rected when the laws were printed. If the printer had any
authority to make these corrections, well and good; if not
then the incorrect spelling of these names is still the legal
one.
By the act of January 15, 1851, a county called " Hum-
bolt" was also created. It was blotted out in 1855. The
present County of Humboldt was created by act of Janu-
ary 28, 1857. Both counties were undoubtedly named in
honor of the great German scientist, the framers of the first
law misspelling his name.
The name of Dubuque County, contrary to a popular
notion, was never legally spelled "Du Buque" — not even
when applied to the temporary county created by the Leg-
islative Council of the Territory of Michigan in 1834.
THE PERMANENCE OF COUNTY BOUNDARIES
Of the ninety-nine counties now in existence in Iowa,
sixty-three, or nearly two-thirds, received their present
boundaries at the time when they were established. In
other words, sixty-three have undergone no boundary
changes since they were first created. The names of these
counties are Adair, Adams, Allamakee, Appanoose, Black
Hawk, Boone, Bremer, Buena Vista, Butler, Calhoun, Car-
roll, Cass, Cedar, Cerro Gordo, Cherokee, Clay, Clinton,
Decatur, Delaware, Dickinson, Emmet, Franklin, Fremont,
Greene, Grundy, Hamilton, Hancock, Hardin, Harrison,
Ida, Iowa, Jackson, Jones, Linn, Lyon, Madison, Mahaska,
Marshall, Mills, Monroe, Montgomery, O'Brien, Osceola,
Page, Palo Alto, Plymouth, Pocahontas, Poweshiek, Ring-
gold, Sac, Scott, Shelby, Sioux, Story, Taylor, Union,
Wapello, Wayne, Winnebago, Winneshiek, Woodbury,
Worth and Wright. In the cases of five of these counties
(Wapello, Black Hawk, Cass, Grundy, and Woodbury) the
boundaries originally received were defective and remain
CRITICAL STUDY OF COUNTY BOUNDARIES 427
imperfect today. Since a defective boundary should not be
allowed to remain so, it may be said that fifty-eight counties
received permanent boundaries at the time of their estab-
lishment. The list of sixty-three counties named above in-
cludes five (Dickinson, Emmet, Osceola, Winnebago, and
Worth) which were given illegal boundaries by the act of
January 15, 1851. They have been included in the list be-
cause the Constitution of 1857 which legalized their bound-
aries did not actually change them in location or otherwise.25
Each of the thirty-six counties not named above has had
one or more alterations made in its boundaries since it was
originally established. This does not include the six coun-
ties blotted out later, which might have been, with some
reason, included in the list. Before attaining their present
size and shape, some of the thirty-six counties under dis-
cussion have undergone only one alteration in boundaries,
while others have undergone two, three, or even four.
Some of these changes were made to correct errors; but
a majority were for other reasons. Some were made indi-
rectly, that is, the boundaries of a county would be altered
and the county not be named in the act at all ; but in most
cases the change was a direct one.
Of the thirty-six counties which did not receive their
present boundaries at the time of their establishment,
twenty-one did so after one change only. This list includes
the counties of Audubon, Buchanan, Chickasaw, Clarke,
Clayton, Crawford, Davis, Dubuque, Fayette, Floyd, Guth-
rie, Howard, Jasper, Jefferson, Lucas, Marion, Mitchell,
Monona, Pottawattamie, Tama, and Van Buren. In this list
are included Jefferson, Buchanan and Clarke counties, the
boundaries of which are defective. In the cases of Jeffer-
son and Buchanan the one boundary change here recognized
20 For a discussion of this matter see Dickinson County, pp. 33 and 34, in
the January, 1909, number of THE IOWA JOUBNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS.
428 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
was made indirectly and very inadequately. These counties
might with some reason have been placed in the former list
of counties which have undergone no boundary changes at
all. This is especially true of Jefferson County.
The boundaries of nine counties have been altered twice.
This group comprises Benton, Henry, Humboldt, Johnson,
Keokuk, Lee, Louisa, Warren, and "Washington counties.
Perhaps Humboldt County should have been placed in the
group of counties which have undergone no boundary
changes at all. The facts in the case were briefly these.
The county was created by an act approved on January 28,
1847. This law probably contained an error. The bound-
aries were redefined and enlarged by the act of March 11,
1858. Nearly three years later (December 4, 1860) the
Supreme Court declared this act unconstitutional, and the
boundaries were reduced again. The act of 1858 being ille-
gal, it could be argued technically that the county was never
enlarged in 1858 and hence never reduced in 1860.
The three counties of Des Moines, Muscatine, and Polk
have undergone in each case three alterations of boundary
lines since they were originally established; while the
boundaries of three others (Dallas, Kossuth and Webster)
have been altered four times. These numerous changes
were due to various causes.
WHY CHANGES WERE MADE
Sixty changes have been made in boundary lines since
the first establishment of counties in Iowa,26 although only
thirty-six counties have been thus affected. The total of
sixty is to be accounted for by the fact that some counties
have undergone several changes.
26 In this reckoning every redefinition of a boundary has been counted as one
change even though made merely to correct an error and implying no actual
shifting of boundary lines.
CRITICAL STUDY OF COUNTY BOUNDARIES 429
In possibly ten cases out of sixty the alterations alluded
to were made to correct errors found in former laws. These
will be discussed in their proper places. The remaining
fifty changes, or thereabouts, were made for many differ-
ent reasons. In some cases alterations were made in order
to reduce the size of large counties, or in order to create
smaller permanent jurisdictions out of larger ones which
were never intended to be other than temporary in char-
acter. Thus the temporary counties of Demoine, Dubuque,
Buchanan, Benton, Keokuk, Fayette, and Pottawatamie
were all divided and reduced after an existence varying
from two years in the case of Demoine to ten years in that
of Fayette.
By act of January 18, 1838, the boundaries of seven
counties were redefined in order to adjust them to the lines
of the United States survey which had not been completed
when the counties in question were created in 1836. In
several cases boundary lines once established have been
readjusted in order that rivers might be utilized as bound-
aries. In illustration of this there may be mentioned the
designation of the Skunk Eiver as a boundary between Lee
and Des Moines counties by the act of January 23, 1839,
and of the Iowa Eiver as a boundary between the counties
of Washington and Johnson by the act of June 5, 1845.
In 1855 the boundary lines between Floyd and Mitchell
counties and between Chickasaw and Howard were altered,
merely it would seem, to make the four counties more
nearly equal in size. Other examples could be cited where
changes were made in order to equalize counties in size. It
is probable that other changes have been made chiefly to get
rid of certain county names. Slaughter, Risley, and Yell
counties were even blotted out, it is thought, primarily be-
cause objections were made to the names.
Still other changes were made for political reasons. In
430 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
1847 it is claimed that four townships of Warren County
were loaned to Polk in order to aid the town of Fort Des
Moines to secure the county seat of the latter county. In
1853 these same townships — Fort Des Moines having won
the county- seat — were ceded back by the legislature to
Warren County. A similar case arose in 1865 when, by a
favorable vote of the people of the two counties concerned,
the boundary line between Crawford and Monona counties
was moved one township farther west in order to aid Onawa
in winning the county- seat of the latter county.
INDIRECT CHANGES
To make another comparison, it appears that out of a
total of sixty changes forty- six were made directly, by
which is meant that the counties concerned were named in
the act. On the other hand, in fourteen cases at least altera-
tions were made in county boundaries by which certain
counties lost or gained territory, generally the former, in-
directly— that is by acts in which the counties affected
were not named. A practically complete list of such cases
follows :
Cook County lost territory to Johnson by act of Decem-
ber 21, 1837.
Cook County lost territory to Scott by act of December
21, 1837.
Musquitine County lost territory to Johnson by act of
December 21, 1837.
Musquitine County lost territory to Scott by act of De-
cember 21, 1837.
Slaughter County lost territory to Louisa by act of Janu-
ary 12, 1839.
Johnson County lost territory to Washington by act of
January 25, 1839.
Keokuk County lost territory to Washington by act of
January 25, 1839.
CRITICAL STUDY OF COUNTY BOUNDARIES 431
Buchanan County lost territory to Black Hawk by act of
February 17, 1843.
Warren County lost territory to Polk by act of January
17, 1846.
Dallas County lost territory to Guthrie by act of January
15, 1851.
Audubon County lost territory to Guthrie by act of Feb-
ruary 5, 1851.
Webster County lost territory to Humboldt by act of
January 28, 1857.
Dallas County gained territory from Guthrie by act of
February 5, 1851.
Jefferson County gained territory by act of February 17,
1843.
In most cases where a boundary line between two coun-
ties was altered both counties affected were named in the
law. This is as it should be. Such a practice tends to avoid
confusion and to prevent errors. In the cases just cited in
the table only one county concerned was named in each law.
It is impossible to say at this late day whether each transfer
was intentional or not, and consequently when errors were
made and when not. To cite an example, the act of January
15, 1851, defined the boundaries of the newly created county
of Guthrie in such a way as to overlap those of the older
county of Dallas. It is impossible to say whether this was
intentional or not. Upon the principle that a later law
supersedes any part of an earlier law conflicting therewith,
it may be admitted that the change in the boundaries of Dal-
las County was legal. A repealing clause attached to the
act of January 15, 1851, would have made for clearness, or
a mention of Dallas County in the law would have assured
us that the transfer of four townships to Guthrie County
was intentional. As the matter actually stands an error
was probably made in this case. At any rate by another
432 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
law, approved twenty days later, the boundaries of Guthrie
were shifted westward one township. This prompt action
seems to prove that the legislature had no intention of tak-
ing from Dallas County any of its territory.
The new law of February 5, 1851, was no improvement.
Because it also failed to mention Dallas County a doubt
arose as to whether the townships temporarily transferred
to Guthrie County reverted to Dallas when Guthrie was
shifted westward. To the writer it seems that the town-
ships in question did so revert because of the presence of
a repealing clause in the act of February 5. The State leg-
islature, however, evidently thought differently; for by an
act approved on January 19, 1853, the boundaries of Dallas
were denned anew in such a manner as to include the town-
ships in question. A simple mention of Dallas County in
the act of February 5, 1851, would have obviated the neces-
sity of passing the act of 1853.
But this is not all. The act of February 5, 1851, was de-
fective in another respect. In shifting the boundaries of
Guthrie County westward they were allowed this time to
overlap those of Audubon County as denned by the act of
January 15, 1851. The name of the latter county was not
mentioned in the law, hence we are at a loss to know
whether we have here another error or an intentional trans-
fer of territory from Audubon to Guthrie.
Perhaps the most serious changes of county boundaries
by indirect method were made in the cases of Buchanan and
Jefferson counties by the act of February 17, 1843. This
act denned the boundaries of Black Hawk and Wapello
counties in terms of Buchanan and Jefferson ; but since the
boundaries of the latter two counties were assumed to be
where they were not, those of all four counties remain de-
fective today. A little more care in defining boundaries
would have obviated the present anomalous condition.
CRITICAL STUDY OF COUNTY BOUNDARIES 433
TERRITORIES LEFT OUT
One very interesting result of these numerous adjust-
ments of county boundaries was the occasional omission of
territories formerly included within the limits of estab-
lished counties. From a condition in which such districts
enjoyed county government, they were reduced to a condi-
tion without such control. The first territory to be omitted
in this way was a district south of Cedar County. This dis-
trict had been a part of Dubuque County but was left out
in the cold by the act of December 21, 1837. (See Map III.)
The territory in question was given to Muscatine County by
the act of January 18, 1838. The omission of the strip in
December, 1837, was probably intentional.
The act of January 18, 1838, made two such omissions —
one district lying west of Henry County and one west of
Van Buren. (See Map V.) The exclusion of these strips
was caused by the fact that the act of 1838 was based upon
the United States survey, while the act thus set aside had
not been. These two territories had since December 7,
1836, belonged to Henry and Van Buren counties respec-
tively. The strip west of Henry County became part of
Jefferson County just a year later, while that west of Van
Buren was incorporated into Davis County in 1843.
The act of December 21, 1837, created the temporary
counties of Fayette, Buchanan, Benton, and Keokuk with
very large areas. By act of February 17, 1843, the bound-
aries of Benton and Keokuk were redefined and the coun-
ties reduced to their present size. (See Maps IV and VII.)
Parts of their former territories were included within the
limits of new counties created at this time but the bulk
was excluded without even a word of mention. Most of
these areas waited until 1846 or 1851 to be again incorpor-
ated within the limits of established counties.
Black Hawk County was located by the act of 1843 west
434 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
of Buchanan County, being carved out of the territory of
the latter. Buchanan was, presumably, reduced to its pres-
ent size, the bulk of its territory not being erected into
new counties until 1851. Although this region extended
clear across Iowa to the Missouri River it receives no men-
tion in the act of 1843. (See Maps IV and VII.) Fayette
County was reduced to its present size by the act of Feb-
ruary 3, 1847, which law completely ignored the vast re-
maining territories of the former temporary county. This
region, as far as it was included within the present limits
of Iowa, was incorporated within new counties by the acts
of 1847 and 1851.
It is possible that the four western townships of Dallas
County were omitted in a similar manner by the act
of February 5, 1851. It has already been explained 27
how by the act of January 15, 1851, Guthrie County was
made to overlap Dallas, also how Guthrie was shifted west-
ward by the act of February 5, 1851. In this law nothing
was said about the townships omitted from Guthrie 's new
boundaries reverting to Dallas. It is possible that they are
to be considered as excluded territory until specifically
added to Dallas by an act of the legislature approved on
January 19, 1853.
EREOES IN LAWS
Much has already been said about the errors to be found
in the laws by which the counties of Iowa have been estab-
lished. The reader will have guessed before this that they
were quite numerous. It is not necessary, here, to say much
more about them. Mistakes are always to be regretted.
Those contained in the laws describing county boundaries
have caused much confusion.
Sometimes it is practically impossible to determine
27 See above p. 431.
CRITICAL STUDY OF COUNTY BOUNDARIES 435
whether an apparent error was really an error or not.
What appears to be a possible mistake may, in reality,
have been consciously planned. On the other hand, it is no
doubt impossible to locate, at this late day, all the errors
which were actually made. Certain reasons for a move may
occur to us which were not thought of at the time.
The printed laws contain many errors which when traced
back to the original manuscript acts are not to be found
therein. These printers' errors — as they may be called —
are the simplest of all. On the other hand, the printers
have occasionally corrected errors existing in the original
manuscript, especially have they sought to correct the spell-
ing of proper names.
COUNTIES IMPOSSIBLE TO DRAW
Not all the errors made in the definition of county
boundaries were of equal seriousness. While some were
of little consequence, others are so serious that it is impos-
sible to draw upon a map the outlines of the counties in the
description of the boundaries of which the errors occurred.
Sometimes, indeed, the surrounding counties, in the loca-
tion of which no mistakes were made, would give shape to
a county whose boundaries were in error; but this fact
should not be allowed to detract from the truth of the state-
ment that it is impossible to draw the boundaries of the
county in question upon a map. The list of counties impos-
sible to represent perfectly upon a map because of errors
in the definition of their boundaries, together with the laws
in which the mistakes were made, is as follows :
Davis as described in act approved on February 17, 1843.
Wapello as described in act approved on February 17,
1843.
Tama as described in act approved on February 17, 1843.
Benton as described in act approved on February 17,
1843.
436 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
Black Hawk as described in act approved on February 17,
1843.
Buchanan as affected by act approved on February 17,
1843.
Marion as described in act approved on June 10, 1845.
Warren as described in act approved on January 13, 1846.
Jasper as described in act approved on January 13, 1846.
Polk as described in act approved on January 17, 1846.
Clarke as described in act approved on December 27, 1848.
Cass as described in act approved on January 15, 1851.
Grundy as described in act approved on January 15, 1851.
Wahkaw (now Woodbury) as described in act approved
on January 15, 1851.
This does not purport to be a complete list of errors
made, but only of those serious enough to affect the map.
Of course many of them have been corrected and no longer
exist. In several cases one and the same mistake affected
two counties. For example, the error made in the act of
February 17, 1843, in connection with the boundaries of
Black Hawk County affected Buchanan County also. Ben-
ton and Tama counties were in a like manner affected by
practically the same error. The error in connection with
the boundaries of Jasper County was a printer's mistake.
Jefferson County is not included in the above list on the
ground that the act of February 17, 1843, did not really
alter its boundaries.
Pottawatamie County as defined in 1847 might with some
reason have been included in the above list. It was omitted,
however, because no errors can be said to have been made
in the law, although the boundaries were so indefinite that
it is practically impossible to draw them. The boundaries
of the counties created by the act of December 7, 1836, are
also very difficult to illustrate, indeed, they can hardly be
drawn with any degree of assurance.
CRITICAL STUDY OF COUNTY BOUNDARIES 437
CORRECTION OF ERRORS
Several errors made in the definition of county bound-
aries were discovered and corrected by the legislature —
sometimes by the sessions which committed the errors, but
generally by later sessions. These corrections account for
part of the many alterations made in county boundaries.
The chief corrections made by the legislature affected the
following counties:
Davis County. Error made by act of February 17, 1843 ;
corrected by act of February 15, 1844.
Benton County. Error made by act of February 17,
1843; corrected by act of March 22, 1858.
Tama County. Error made by act of February 17, 1843 ;
corrected by act of March 22, 1858.
Marion County. Error made by act of June 10, 1845;
corrected by act of January 27, 1847.
Jasper County. Error made by act of January 13, 1846 ;
corrected by act of January 17, 1846.
Warren County. Error made by act of January 13, 1846 ;
corrected by act of January 28, 1847.
Polk County. Error made by act of January 17, 1846;
corrected by act of January 28, 1847.
Dallas-Guthrie County. Error made by act of January
15, 1851 ; corrected by act of February 5, 1851.
Dallas County. Error made by act of February 5, 1851 ;
corrected by act of January 19, 1853.
Humboldt County. Error made by act of January 28,
1857 ; corrected by act of March 11, 1858.
In the case affecting both Dallas and Guthrie counties
the error affected chiefly the former, while the correction
affected chiefly the latter. The law making this correction
contained another error, possibly, affecting Dallas County
only. The case of Humboldt County is peculiar in that the
act of March 11, 1858, which sought to correct a mistake
438 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
made in the earlier law of January 28, 1857, was later de-
clared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
This brings up a second method of correcting errors in
county boundaries, namely, by the courts. In the example
of Humboldt County, just referred to, the act of March 11,
1858, sought to interpret the act of January 28, 1857, in
such a way as to enlarge the county. A case at law growing
out of the second act was carried to the Supreme Court
which, in a decision rendered on December 4, 1860, declared
the act of 1858 null and void.28
By an act approved on May 13, 1870, the legislature es-
tablished the County of Crocker in the northern part of the
present County of Kossuth. The new county was given an
area of 408 square miles, although the Constitution of the
State declared that no new counties should be created with
an area of less than 432 square miles. The constitutionality
of the act of 1870 was soon called into question, and upon
December 11, 1871, the Supreme Court declared the law
invalid.29 The county of Crocker passed out of existence.
These two cases are the only ones in which the Supreme
Court has been called upon to interpret a statute relative
to the subject of county boundaries. The law of January
15, 1851, would, undoubtedly, have gotten into the courts
if it had not been for the action of the Constitutional Con-
vention of 1857. As established by this act the counties of
Bancroft, Dickinson, Emmet, Osceola, Winnebago, and
Worth were smaller than the Constitution of 1846 allowed
and, therefore, were clearly illegal. Of this fact the Con-
vention of 1857 was aware. As a result the new Constitu-
tion,30 while again limiting the minimum area for new
counties to 432 square miles each, made an exception in
28 Duncombe vs. Prindle, 12 Iowa 1.
29 Garfield vs. Brayton, 33 Iowa 16.
so Constitution of Iowa, 1857, Article XI, section 2.
CRITICAL STUDY OF COUNTY BOUNDARIES 439
favor of Dickinson, Emmet, Osceola, Winnebago, and
Worth (Bancroft had been blotted out) counties, allowing
their organization with smaller areas.
ERRORS NEVER CORRECTED
It has just been shown that many errors made in the
definition of county boundaries were discovered and cor-
rected either by the legislature or by the courts. It is to be
regretted that all the mistakes made were not discovered.
In at least eight cases errors were made which have never
been righted. In other words, the boundaries of eight coun-
ties are to-day defective. These counties together with the
laws which were at fault follow: 31
Wapello County. Error made by act of February 17,
1843.
Jefferson County. Error made by act of February 17,
1843.
Black Hawk County. Error made by act of February 17,
1843.
Buchanan County. Error made by act of February 17,
1843.
Clarke County. Error made by act of December 27, 1848.
Cass County. Error made by act of January 15, 1851.
Grundy County. Error made by act of January 15, 1851.
Woodbury County. Error made by act of January 15,
1851.
Buchanan County was created by an act approved De-
cember 21, 1837, rather than by that of February 17, 1843.
By the latter law, however, the County of Black Hawk was
carved out of the territory of Buchanan, necessarily cut-
ting it down in size. Certain errors made in the definition
of the boundaries of Black Hawk also affect Buchanan
County because the two are contiguous.
si Through an oversight Clarke County was omitted from this list in the
writer's first paper on Iowa Counties. — See pp. 434-435 in the July, 1908, num-
ber of THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTOBY AND POLITICS.
440 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
Neither was Jefferson County created by the act of Feb-
ruary 17, 1843, but the boundaries of Wapello County which
was established by it, were defined in terms of Jefferson in
such a way as to cast doubt upon the actual boundaries of
the latter since the passage of that law. If the western
boundary of Jefferson County was altered by the act of
1843, it was done in a very cumbersome manner. If it was
not altered, then there is a triangular strip of territory be-
tween Jefferson and Wapello counties which legally be-
longs to neither. The eastern boundary of Wapello was
left in confusion by the act of 1843.
In the case of Clarke County the southern boundary was
extended by the act of 1848 much too far east, making it
impossible to draw the eastern boundary. In the last three
cases an error in the location of a corner of each county
makes two boundaries of each defective. It is to be hoped
that the legislature of the State will correct these errors.
FEANK HABMON GAEVEE
MORNINGSIDE COLLEGE
Sioux CITY, IOWA
CRITICAL STUDY OF COUNTY BOUNDARIES 441
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Created Dubuque and Demoine '
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Dubuque County subdivided
Boundaries of counties created b
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9 new counties created. 2 redu
Boundaries of Davis redefined
Madison County proposed
Washington-Johnson boundary
Marion County created
12 new counties created
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Boundaries of Marion redefined
Boundaries of Polk redefined
Boundaries of Clayton and Fayel
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442 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
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SYNOPSIS OF CONTENTS
Boundaries of Lucas and Clark altered
49 new counties created
Boundaries of Guthrie redefined
Names of Wahkaw, Eisley, and Fox
changed
Boundaries of Warren and Polk altered
Boundaries of Dallas redefined
Yell and Eisley united into Webster
Boundaries of Chiekasaw, Howard, Mitch-
ell, and Floyd altered
Kossuth and Webster enlarged
Bancroft and Humboldt blotted out
Hamilton County carved out of Webster
Humboldt County carved out of Webster
and Kossuth
Boundaries of Humboldt redefined
Benton-Tama boundary redefined
General law relative to changing county
boundaries
Name Buncombe changed to Lyon
General law relative to changing names
of counties
Crocker County carved out of Kossuth
Belknap County proposed
Grimes County proposed
Proposed to alter boundary lines between
Polk, Boone, and Story
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CRITICAL STUDY OF COUNTY BOUNDARIES 443
32 The laws of the Territory of Michigan were adopted by the Territory of
Wisconsin, and later by the Territory of Iowa. In the Territory of Michigan
laws went into force on the thirtieth day next after approval by the Governor.
33 See Statutes of Iowa, 1843, p. 31.
3* The changes provided for in these acts were to be submitted to the people
of the various counties concerned. In every case the propositions were voted
down, hence as far as the rearrangements of boundaries were concerned these
acts never went into effect.
so If these laws are to be classed as "Private or Local Laws" they went
into effect as soon as approved. If they are to be classed as "Public Laws"
then they did not go into effect until the acts of the session by which they
were enacted had been published and circulated over the whole State. This
could not be done until about July 1st. — See Constitution of Iowa, 1846, Ar-
ticle III, Section 27; and Laws of Iowa, 1846-1847, p. 202, Resolution No. 21.
36 These acts took effect twenty days after publication. — See Code of Iowa,
1851, Chapter 3, Section 21.
37 If these acts are ' ' Private or Local Laws ' ' they went into effect on the
thirtieth day after approval. If they are to be classed as "Public Laws" they
went into effect on the first day of July following their approval. — See Code
of Iowa, 1851, Chapter 3, sections 20, 21.
38 Provision was made for the publication of this act in the Iowa Star, but
a diligent search through the files of that paper has failed to reveal the pub-
lished act. If published, it took effect on the twentieth day after publication.
If not published it falls in the same class as the two acts immediately fol-
lowing it.
3» If these acts are ' ' Private or Local ' ' they went into effect on the thir-
tieth day after approval. If they are to be classed as "Public Laws" they
went into effect on the fourth day of July following approval. — See Code of
Iowa, 1851, Chapter 3, section 20. See Constitution of Iowa, 1857, Article
III, section 25.
*o These acts took effect twenty days after publication. — See Code of Iowa,
1860, Chapter 3, section 24.
« Passed at a special session and took effect ninety days after adjournment.
— See Constitution of Iowa, 1857, Article III, section 25.
SOME PUBLICATIONS
Primary Elections: A Study of the History and Tendencies of
Primary Election Legislation, by C. EDWARD MERRIAM. Chi-
cago : The University of Chicago Press. 1909. pp. xi, 308.
A renewed interest in popular government has been awakened
in the United States within the past quarter of a century through
the discussion of and the agitation for primary elections. Democ-
racy, deceived, misguided and misrepresented, is now to come into
its birthright, according to the advocates of primary elections,
through the general adoption of the State-wide compulsory primary.
Professor Merriam is not exactly a pioneer in the field of primary
election legislation, yet he has contributed a valuable service in
collecting in systematic form the data relative to the historical
evolution of our nominating processes.
Beginning with an introductory chapter on Early Legislation
Regarding Primaries, the succeeding chapters are devoted to the
steps of progress toward complete legal regulation by decades since
1880. In each period some definite step in advance has been taken
in some of the States which the author thus summarizes:
"Forty years of primary legislation may be summarized as fol-
lows. Starting with unregulated primaries, the advance was made
to the prohibition of flagrant offenses such as bribery and illegal
voting, or to optional legal regulation and control; then to com-
pulsory regulation ; then on to the abolition of the convention sys-
tem, and the establishment of the direct primary; and finally we
encounter the demand for the preliminary non-partisan primary
as in Iowa, and for the adoption of a system of nomination by
petition only, as in Wisconsin." (p. 136.)
The problems of the primary and its actual workings are well
discussed and a chapter on the Judicial Interpretation of Primary
Elections shows that, in general, the courts have sustained the
constitutionality of the primary legislation thus far enacted.
SOME PUBLICATIONS 445
An appendix of 126 pages gives some of the more typical primary
election laws in full, some only in part. The Summary of Present
Primary Election Lawe (p. 273) makes a valuable up-to-date source
of reference, as most other summaries of this kind have been out
of date for some years.
Professor Merriam believes in the primary, but is fair in his
treatment of those who do not endorse it.
FRANK EDWARD HORACK
THE STATE UNIVERSITY OP IOWA
IOWA CITY
The Proceedings of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin at its
Fifty-sixth Annual Meeting. Madison: Published by the
Society. 1909. pp. 272. Portraits.
To one who is not well acquainted with the extensive and varied
activities of this great Society the present volume of nearly three
hundred pages affords a storehouse of information.
The first pages are devoted to lists of Society officers and mem-
bers of the library staff, and to the minutes, in a condensed form,
of the annual meeting. An appendix contains the executive com-
mittee's report treating of many details of library and adminis-
trative affairs. The present State appropriation to the Society
consists of two separate sums: $20,000 for administrative and
miscellaneous expenses and $5,000 for books, maps, manuscripts,
etc. In addition to this amount must be reckoned the income from
four different funds which aggregate $57,000.
A complete report deals with the various phases of library activ-
ity. The library now possesses 307,674 titles. As regards publi-
cations, the Society reports eight bulletins, volume VI of reprints
and volume XVIII of the Collections, and volume II of the Draper
Manuscript series. Other volumes are in the printer's hands.
Under "Administrative Details" is a summarized allusion to the
Secretary-Superintendent's participation in meetings of an histor-
ical nature. Of much importance to historical societies of the
Middle West is the preliminary report of Mr. W. S. Leland, now
446 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
the representative at Paris of the Bureau of Historical Research of
the Carnegie Institution of Washington. The situation relative to
documentary material concerning the Mississippi Valley in the
archives at the French capital is clearly stated and outlined.
The work of the Wisconsin Library Commission and Wisconsin
Archaeological Society, the Museum, and Doctor Draper's grave
also receive attention. Then follow in detail the treasurer's and
secretary's fiscal reports, and lists of the donors of books and
pamphlets, of miscellaneous map, manuscript and museum acces-
sions, and of periodicals and newspapers currently received at the
library. Full reports are also given of local auxiliary societies.
The volume concludes with a series of excellent historical papers
presented at the annual meeting. Colonel William F. Vilas and
Chief Justice John B. Cassaday, two of the Society's vice-presi-
dents who passed away during the year, are the subjects of papers
by Mr. Burr W. Jones and Judge Stevens respectively. Other in-
teresting sketches are those of Julius T. Clark and Nils Otto Tonk,
two men closely connected with the early history of Wisconsin,
and lastly Mr. Thwaites's study of the world-renowned inventor,
Cyrus Hall McCormick. Subjects of a more general nature are
The British Ministry and the Treaty of Fort Stanwix, and Profes-
sor Frederick J. Turner's monograph on The Old West, "a. pro-
gramme for study .... rather than an exposition".
J. VAN DER ZEE
THE STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF IOWA
IOWA CITY
AMERICANA
GENERAL. AND MISCELLANEOUS
The March Bulletin of the New York Public Library contains an
extensive List of Works Relating to the Mormons.
Curasao, A Losing Colonial Venture, by Herdman F. Cleland,
and The Relation of Geology to Topography, by Lawrence Martin,
are interesting articles in the March Bulletin of the American
Geographical Society.
SOME PUBLICATIONS 447
Bulletin number fourteen of the Copyright Office contains The
Copyright Law of the United States of America in Force July
1, 1909.
Will the Supreme Court Become the Supreme Legislature of the
United States? is the title of an article by Clifford Thorne, which
has been reprinted from the American Law Review.
Imprisonment Without Trial is the title of a pamphlet issued by
the Indian Rights Association which deals with the status of the
Indian as regards the law and legal processes.
The Delusion of Militarism is the subject of an article by Charles
E. Jefferson, reprinted in pamphlet form from the Atlantic Month-
ly by the American Association for International Conciliation.
The Development of the English Law of Conspiracy is the title
of a monograph by James Wallace Bryan, recently published as a
number of the Johns Hopkins University Studies in Historical and
Political Science.
A recently printed booklet gives a description of the McKinley
Memorial in Philadelphia, together with a history of the movement
and an account of the dedication exercises, including the oration
by James M. Beck.
In a pamphlet describing the Exhibits of the Smithsonian Insti-
tution and United States National Museum at the Jamestown Ter-
centennial Exposition will be found many interesting facts con-
cerning the early history of America.
The military career of General Stephen Moylan, Muster-Master
General, Secretary and Aide-de-Camp to Washington, together with
sketches of the lives of other members of the Moylan family, is the
subject to which is devoted the April number of The American
Catholic Historical Researches.
The most recently published number of the West Virginia Uni-
versity Studies in American History consists of a monograph by
James Morton Callahan, entitled, Evolution of Seward's Mexican
Policy. The Maximilian episode is treated in detail, after a discus-
sion of the Mexican affairs which preceded it.
448 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
The Bulletin of the Virginia State Library for the months of
January-April consists of what is called a Finding List of History.
In it are listed all the books, pamphlets and articles in publications
contained in the Virginia State Library which deal with historical
subjects outside of the field of American history.
Volumes thirteen, fourteen and fifteen of the Library of Congress
edition of the Journals of the Continental Congress 1774-1789,
edited by Worthington C. Ford, have been issued from the Govern-
ment Printing Office within the past few months. These three
volumes, which comprise over fifteen hundred pages, cover the
proceedings of the Congress for the year 1779.
Under the heading, Scraps from an Army Woman's Diary, in
the May number of Uncle Sam's Magazine, Mary Rippey Heistand
writes a sketch of Old Frontier Days, which gives an interesting
account of army life in the far west in the early days. How Miles
Saved the Day at Chancellorsville, by J. A. Dapray, and a number
of War Time Episodes, told by veterans, are also of interest.
The Passing of the Solid South, by Enoch Marvin Banks; The
Australian Ballot — Why North Carolina Should Adopt It, by
William H. Glasson ; The Tariff and the Revenue, by D. A. Tomp-
kins; and Municipal Government by Commission, by Charles W.
Eliot, may be mentioned as among the interesting articles which
make up the April number of The South Atlantic Quarterly.
The Twenty-Second Annual Report of the United States Commis-
sioner of Labor is devoted to the Lai) or Laws of the United States.
The first chapter contains digests and summaries of certain laws
affecting labor. The remainder of the volume is given up to a
complete statement of all the labor laws of the various States of
the Union as they existed when the report was made.
Senator Allison's Recollections of Public Men, by Arthur Wal-
lace Dunn, in the May number of The American Review of Reviews,
is a taste of the storehouse of interesting and valuable material
which might have been given the country had the Iowa Senator
lived to write the reminiscences which he had planned. Another
Tear of Defeat for the American Saloon, by Ferninand Cowle
SOME PUBLICATIONS 449
Iglehart, is a brief review of the progress of the temperance move-
ment in this country. How Returning Emigrants are Americaniz-
ing Europe, by Edward A. Steiner, is a suggestive article in the
June number of the Review.
The Progress of California is the title of an address delivered on
Charter Day at The University of California by Ambassador James
Bryce which is printed in the April number of The University of
California Chronicle. Among the other articles are: Stevenson
and California, by Cornelius B. Bradley ; The Child and the Nation,
by Martin V. O'Shea; and Variety and Unity in Education, by
Alexis F. Lange.
The Boston Book Company has issued its Annual Magazine Sub-
ject-Index for 1908, compiled by Frederick Winthrop Faxon.
The scope of the work has been enlarged, and the present volume
includes a subject-index of one hundred and twenty American and
English periodicals and society publications, which are for the
most part passed over in other works of this character. Historical
societies especially will find this index valuable.
The Fifth Annual Report of the Library Board of the Virginia
State Library contains, besides the various reports on the condition
of the library, A Calendar of Legislative Petitions Arranged by
Counties, prepared by the Department of Archives and History.
Petitions from the counties included alphabetically between Ac-
comae and Bedford are here listed. There is also A Trial Bibli-
ography of Colonial Virginia, submitted as a special report of the
Department of Bibliography.
Primary Elections: The Test of Party Affiliation, by Margaret
A. Schaffner; Proportional Representation, by Roy E. Curtis;
Juvenile Courts, by Stanley K. Hornbeck ; Telephones : Interchange
of Service, by Laura Scott; Mortgage Taxation, by Robert Argyll
Campbell ; Municipal Home Rule Charters, by Margaret A. Schaff-
ner ; and Tenement House Legislation State and Local, by Ford H.
MacGregor, are pamphlets published during the past winter by
the Legislative Reference Department of the Wisconsin Free Li-
brary Commission.
450 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
The March number of the Political Science Quarterly opens with
a discussion of The Nature of Political Corruption, by Robert C.
Brooks. Edgar J. Levey writes on Municipal Socialism and Its
Economic Limitations, in which the conditions in New York City
are made the basis of study. Other articles are : Unionism in the
Iron and Steel Industry, by John A. Fitch; A Year of Bench
Labor Law, by David Y. Thomas; The Constitution of Oklahoma,
by Charles A. Beard; and The Political Capacity of the French,
by James Thomson Shotwell.
Labor and Wages is the subject to which the March number of
The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Sci-
ence is devoted. Various phases of the question are discussed in a
number of articles by such well known students of present day
problems as Edward T. Devine, Andrew Carnegie, Charles R. Hen-
derson, Alfred H. Stone, and others. The Child Workers of the
Nation is the subject of discussion in the supplement, in which may
be found numerous articles dealing with the child labor evil in all
its aspects.
Under the heading, The Highlanders at Macclesfield in 1745, in
The Scottish Historical Review for April there are presented a
number of letters, with notes by W. B. Blackie, which relate some
incidents of the march of the Jacobite army to Derby and back to
Carlisle. A New Tear's Gift for the Whigs is the title of of a bal-
lad with a note by C. H. Firth. A Northern Baronial House, by
James Ferguson; Saint Maolrubha, by Archibald B. Scott; and
Chronicle of Lanercost, by Sir Herbert Maxwell, are the remaining
contributions to this number of the Review.
In view of the recent controversy over the power of the Speaker
of the lower house of Congress an article by Asher C. Hinds, in
the May number of The American Political Science Review, on
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, is of timely interest.
Ernest Bruncken's discussion of Defective Methods of Legislation
is also well timed and worthy of consideration in these days of dis-
satisfaction with legislatures. The Separation of the Races in Pub-
lic Conveyances, by Gilbert Thomas Stephenson, is an article which
SOME PUBLICATIONS 451
will be read with the greatest interest in the southern States.
Margaret A. Sehaffner's Notes on Current Legislation; William
Bennett Munro's Notes on Current Municipal Affairs; a review of
the Present Status of Ballot Laws in the United States, by Arthur
Ludington ; an Index to Recent Literature — Books and Period-
icals; and a list of Recent Government Publications of Political
Interest, by P. D. Blair, are all of immense value to the student
and observer of modern political affairs.
In an article on The Proposal for a Central Bank in the United
States: a Critical View, in the May number of The Quarterly Jour-
nal of Economics, O. M. W. Sprague comes to the conclusion that
such a bank is neither required nor well suited to relieve our finan-
cial ills. Warren M. Persons writes on The Variability in the Dis-
tribution of Wealth and Income, and Jonathan Thayer Lincoln
discusses The Sliding Scale of Wages in the Cotton Industry. W. Z.
Ripley's study of Local Discrimination in Transportation will be
found interesting, as will also an article on Socialism and the Class
War, by John Martin.
In The Yale Review for May there are articles on a wide variety
of subjects. Luis Garcia Guijarro writes of Spain Since 1898, in
which he discusses the effects of the war with the United States
and the political condition of the country since that time, both as
regards internal affairs and foreign relations. Clive Day is the
writer of an article on Industrial Leadership. Eugene Meyer, Jr.,
contributes a critical study of The New York Stock Exchange and
the Panic of 1907. Other articles are : The Nature of Commercial
or Economic Geography, by Avard Longley Bishop ; and The Carl-
Zeiss-Stiftung, an Attempt to Socialize Capitalism, by Henry W.
Farnam.
A second installment of The Literature of Colonial Virginia, by
Carl Holliday, is the opening contribution to the March number
of the American Historical Magazine. The Viscount de Fronsac,
in a second chapter on the Rise of the United Empire Loyalists,
deals with the colonial manors. Pennsylvania Pioneer Days is the
title given to the copy of an entry found on the fly-leaves of a book
452 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
which belonged to John Ormsby, a citizen of Pennsylvania in the
years following the American Revolution. Mr. Brigham H. Rob-
erts continues his discussion of The Origin of the Book of Mormon;
and other continuations are: Book of Bruce, by Lyman Horace
Weeks; and Origin and Antiquity of Heraldry, by Henry White-
more.
The family in its relation to the phenomena of society is the
main topic of discussion in the March number of The American
Journal of Sociology. The presidential address on The Family
and Social Change, delivered by William G. Sumner before the
American Sociological Society at Atlantic City, in December, 1908,
is the opening number. Other articles are : How Home Conditions
React upon the Family, by Charlotte Perkins Oilman; The Effect
on Woman of Economic Dependence, by Charles Zueblin ; The Re-
lations of Social Diseases to the Family, by Prince A. Morrow ; The
Influence of Income on Standards of Life, by R. C. Chapin; and
Are Modern Industry and City Life Unfavorable to the Family ?,
by Charles Richmond Henderson.
WESTERN
A Half Century of Minneapolis is the title of a recent volume by
Horace B. Hudson, which relates in popular style the story of the
"Mill City".
History of the Swedes of Illinois is the title of a recent book by
E. W. Olson, which is a worthy addition to the history of that
State.
Volume six number three of The University of Colorado Studies,
published in April, contains a historical sketch of The Fenian
Movement, by Clyde L. King.
True Indian Stories, with Glossary of Indiana Indian Names,
by Jacob Pratt Dunn, is an entertaining addition to the literature
of Indian life and customs.
Among the articles in the March-April number of the Records
of the Past are : The Via Praenestina, by Ralph Van Deman Ma-
goffin; More About the "New Serpent Mound in Ohio", by George
SOME PUBLICATIONS 453
Frederick Wright; The High Artistic Power of Primeval Man, by
D. Gath Whitley ; Traces of a Vanished Race in Kandiyohi County,
Minnesota, by Horatio Gates ; and Another Palaeolithic Implement
and Possibly an Eolith from Northwestern Missouri, by Luella
A. Owen.
Early Detroit: A Sketch of Some of the Interesting Affairs of
the Olden Time, is a very readable and neatly printed little booklet
by Clarence Monroe Burton. As the author points out, Detroit is
one of the most interesting cities in the United States. Hence
every addition to the literature of its history will be welcome.
The fourth publication of the Club for Colonial Reprints of
Providence, Rhode Island, is a western item. It contains a fac-
simile reprint of the Invitation Serieuse aux Habitants des Illinois
by un Habitant des Kaskaskias, edited with introduction and notes
by Clarence Walworth Alvord and Clarence Edwin Carter. The
original edition was published at Philadelphia in 1772.
IOWANA
Monthly Utilities Bulletin is the name of a new Iowa publication
issued by the Association of Local Telephone Companies of Iowa.
The proceedings of the ninth annual conference of the Iowa
Daughters of the American Revolution form a neat pamphlet of
forty pages.
Glimpses of Abraham Lincoln is the title of an address delivered
by Col. Alonzo Abernethy before the Mitchell County Farmers'
Institute, on February 12, 1909.
When the Wildwood Was in Flower, by G. Smith Stanton, is a
book which contains an account of the author's life on the prairies
of Iowa during the sixties and seventies.
The Thirteenth Report of the Bureau of Labor Statistics for
the State of Iowa, which covers the years 1906 and 1907, has been
issued from the office of the State Printer.
In the issue of The Winterset Madisonian for April 15, 1909,
there is an interesting article on Forgotten Town Sites of Madison
454 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
County, by H. A. Mueller. It was written as a paper to be read
before the Madison County Historical Society.
In the May number of the Iowa Medical Journal there is a brief
History of Keokuk Medical College and Evolution in Medical Edu-
cation During that Time, by George F. Jenkins.
Semi-Centennial Souvenir of the United Presbyterian Church of
Fairfax, Iowa, is a neatly printed pamphlet containing material of
value to the student of the church history of Iowa.
La legislation de I'Etat d'lowa sur les Hypotheques immobili-
eres is the title of an article by Charles Noble Gregory, which is
reprinted from the Revue de I'lnstitut de Droit compare.
The Iowa Department of Agriculture is publishing from time to
time during the summer months a bulletin called Greater Iowa,
the purpose of which is to advertise the State Fair.
The Proceedings of the fifty-fourth annual meeting of the Iowa
State Teachers' Association, which was held at Des Moines during
the holidays, forms a volume of nearly two hundred and fifty pages.
The Golden West, edited by Sam Small, a new Iowa periodical
which launched its initial number this spring, has suspended publi-
cation. It was a monthly magazine published at Waterloo, and
while it was to a certain extent devoted to the interests of Waterloo
and vicinity, it also contained much of general interest.
A number of facts concerning the Supreme Court and New fork
Gas Rate are presented in the April number of Midland Municipal-
ities. In the May number are the following articles: Rates for
Water Service, by Dabney H. Maury; Profit Sharing in Public
Utilities, by W. H. Winslow; and Control of Municipal Public
Utilities, by Robert 0. Brennan. Decision in Cedar Rapids Gas
Case, and a brief review of an address by Horace E. Deming, before
the National Municipal League, are items in the June number.
Among the articles in the April number of the Journal of His-
tory published at Lamoni are : Stockbridge Indians, by the editor,
Heman C. Smith, which contains some extracts from the report of
SOME PUBLICATIONS 455
an early missionary in the Iowa country; continuations of the
Autobiography of Charles Derry, and of Brief Glimpses into a Cen-
tury of the Past, by Mrs. M. Walker; Settlement at Mount Pisgah,
Iowa, being a letter from Heman C. Smith to T. P. McGowan ; and
a Biographical Sketch of the Life of Elder Thomas Dobson, by Eli
T. Dobson.
In the June number of The Midwestern there may be found the
fourth installment of Iowa in the Civil War, by L. F. Andrews.
Under the heading, Discussion of the Des Moines Plan, there are
presented two papers, one in favor of the plan, by Henry J. Samp-
son ; and the other opposed to it, by W. W. Wise. Another article
gives an illustrated account of the statue of the Indian Chief Ma-
haska unveiled at Oskaloosa on May 12, 1909. This number of
The Midwestern is especially commendable in that it contains a
good amount of material of interest to people outside of Des Moines,
and in the absence of portraits and illustrations scattered through
articles to which they bear no relation.
SOME RECENT PUBLICATIONS BY IOWA AUTHORS
Abernethy, Alonzo,
Glimpses of Abraham Lincoln. Osage: Published by the
author. 1909.
Butler, Ellis Parker,
Mike Flannery on Duty and Off. New York: Doubleday,
Page & Co. 1909.
Conger, Sarah Pike,
Letters from China. Chicago : A. C. McClurg & Co. 1909.
Craven, Roger Carey,
In the Twilight Zone. Boston: C. M. Clark Publishing Co.
1909.
Devine, Edward Thomas
Misery and its Causes. New York : The Macmillan Co. 1909.
Hutchinson, Woods,
Instinct and Health. New York : Dodd, Mead & Co. 1909.
Kirkpatrick, Edwin Ashbury,
Studies in Development and Learning. (Archives of Psychol-
ogy Series.) New York: Science Press. 1909.
456 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
Genetic Psychology: An Introduction to an Objective and
Genetic View of Intelligence. New York: The Macmillan
Co. 1909.
Long, Joseph Schuyler,
Out of the Silence. Council Bluffs : Published by the author.
1909.
Medbury, Charles S.,
From Eden to the Jordan : Series of Lessons in the Pentateuch.
Cincinnati : Standard Publishing Co. 1909.
Merriam, Charles Edward,
Primary Elections. Chicago: The University of Chicago
Press. 1909.
Otis, William Bradley,
American Verse, 1625-1807: A History. New York: Moffat,
Yard & Co. 1909.
Riggs, James Franklin,
Next Step in School Legislation. Des Moines: Published by
the author. 1909.
Swem, Leota, and Sherwood, Rowena,
A Primer of Nursery Rhymes. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co.
1909.
Weaver, S. M.,
Iowa, Its Constitution and Laws. New York: C. E. Merrill
Co. 1909.
Wilcox, Henry S.,
Joys of Earth. Chicago: Wilcox Books Concern. 1909.
SOME RECENT HISTORICAL ITEMS IN NEWSPAPERS
The Register and Leader
Pioneer Residences of Des Moines. (In each Sunday issue.)
J. W. Ellis Historical Collection at Maquoketa, March 21, 1909.
Kirkwood and the Dodges, by James B. Weaver, March 21, 1909.
Interesting Historical Incidents of the Early Days in Iowa, by L.
F. Andrews, March 21, 1909.
Four Des Moines Citizens of Distinction, March 21, 1909.
The Ashworths, Pioneers in Iowa, by L. F. Andrews, March 28,
1909.
SOME PUBLICATIONS 457
George G. Wright and George W. McCrary, by James B. Weaver,
March 28, 1909.
Captain Albert Head and the Tenth Iowa Volunteers, by L. F. An-
drews, April 4, 1909.
J. J. Richardson — Half Century with One Iowa Newspaper, April
4, 1909.
Evolution of the Cooking Stove in Iowa, by L. F. Andrews, April
11, 1909.
Father Coffin's Great Fight for Kailroad Trainmen, April 18, 1909.
George Otis — Fifty Years an Editor, April 18, 1909.
Early Settlers and First House in Buena Vista County, April 18,
1909.
Early Days in Le Claire, a Typical Pioneer I6wa Village, April 18,
1909.
George T. Carpenter, one of Iowa's Pioneer Educators, by L. F.
Andrews, April 18, 1909.
Sketch of life of John F. Hopkins, Pioneer Lawmaker, April 21,
1909.
Progress in Post-Offices in Des Moines, April 25, 1909.
John Scott, one of Iowa's Sturdy Pioneers, by L. F. Andrews, April
25, 1909.
Burlington, Home of Thriving Industry, April 25, 1909.
Senator Allison's Recollections of Public Men, May 1, 1909.
Horace E. Teachout, of Des Moines, by L. F. Andrews, May 2, 1909.
Naming of Iowa Counties, May 2, 1909.
Jesse P. Farley of Iowa Made Hill's Railroad, May 9, 1909.
Iowa's Part in the Mexican War, May 9, 1909.
Names of Iowa Counties, by L. F. Andrews, May 9, 1909.
Unveiling of Statue to Mahaska at Oskaloosa, May 12, 1909.
Wheeler W. Carpenter — Des Moines Man Who Killed Iowa Buf-
falo, by L. F. Andrews, May 16, 1909.
Sketches of lives of Le Claire Pioneers, May 16, 1909.
Sketch of life of Amos Noyes Currier, May 17, 1909.
Mr. and Mrs. S. V. West, Early Settlers in Polk County, by L. F.
Andrews, May 23, 1909.
VOL. VII — 30
458 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
Samuel Saucerman and the Trimmer Clubs, by L. F. Andrews,
May 30, 1909.
Lenox College — First College to Put in Chair of Agriculture, May
30, 1909.
Oldest Monument to Civil War Veterans in Country is in Iowa,
June 6, 1909.
H. EL Griffiths and Locust Street in 1871, by L. F. Andrews, June
6, 1909.
The Burlington Hawk-Eye
Twenty Years Ago. (In each Sunday issue.)
Appreciation of J. W. Blythe, by A. B. Funk, March 18, 1909.
Pioneer Settlers of Jefferson County, Iowa, March 28, 1909.
Old Time Navigators, April 4, 1909.
Des Moines County in History, April 11, 1909.
The Meek Brothers' Mill and the Bonaparte Dam, April 11, 1909.
The Late Smith Thompson, of Mt. Pleasant, April 11, 1909.
J. J. Richardson — Half a Century with an Iowa Newspaper,
April 11, 1909.
What the 33rd General Assembly Did, April 13, 1909.
A Memory of Musical Burlington, May 2, 1909.
Local Bars Pays Tribute to J. W. Blythe, May 4, 1909.
William Glyndon, Iowa's Monte Christo, May 14, 1909.
Oldest House in Iowa at Fail-field, May 23, 1909.
Sketch of life of Amos Noyes Currier, May 23, 1909.
The Statue of Mahaska at Oskaloosa, May 23, 1909.
The Late George Orm — Conscientious Citizen, May 23, 1909.
Pella — The Plymouth Rock in Iowa, June 6, 1909.
The Sioux City Journal
Twenty Years Ago, and Forty Years Ago. (In each Sunday issue.)
Civil War Anecdotes, related by Iowa Veterans, March 21, 1909.
New Mellary and the Trappist Monks of Dubuque, March 28, 1909.
Bills Passed by the Iowa General Assembly, April 10, 1909.
Mrs. Ann Dickens, of McGregor — Oldest Settler in Iowa, April
11, 1909.
SOME PUBLICATIONS 459
Passing of a Northwestern Iowa Pioneer — William Houston
Woods, April 19, 1909.
Senator Allison's Recollections of Public Men, by Arthur Wallace
Dunn, May 9, 1909.
Sketch of life of Amos Noyes Currier, May 23, 1909.
The Dubuque Telegraph-Herald
Sketch of History of New Mellary Monastery, March 21, 1909.
Alex. Simplot — Oldest Native lowan, April 4, 1909.
Work Accomplished by the 33rd General Assembly of Iowa, April
11, 1909.
Dennis Ricard — An lowan 111 Years of Age, April 25, 1909.
Senator Allison's Recollections of Public Men, by Arthur Wallace
Dunn, May 3, 1909.
W. T. Shaw — Veteran of Two Wars Died at Anamosa, May 4,
1909.
Sketch of life of Father T. J. Vaughan, May 10, 1909.
History of Dubuque and Dunlieth Railway Bridge, May 30, 1909.
The Cedar Rapids Republican
The Buffalo in Iowa, March 18, 1909.
Sketch of life of Samuel Wallace Durham, May 4, 1909.
The Story of an Iowa Farm, May 9, 1909.
Sketch of life of Amos N. Currier, May 18, 1909.
HISTORICAL SOCIETIES
PUBLICATIONS
The Historical Department of Iowa has issued a pamphlet con-
taining a revised list of the oil portraits now in its possession.
The January-March number of The Wisconsin Archeologist
consists of an illustrated monograph on The Bird-Stone Ceremo-
nials of Wisconsin, by Charles E. Brown.
The leading article in the April number of The Medford Histor-
ical Register is one by Eliza M. Gill, entitled The Pump in the
Market Place; and Other Water Supplies of Medford, Old and
Modern.
With the exception of a memoir of the late Joseph Bryan, writ-
ten by W. Gordon McCabe, the April number of The Virginia
Magazine of History and Biography is devoted entirely to con-
tinuation of documentary material relative to colonial and Revolu-
tionary history.
Cyrus Hall McCormick and the Reaper, by Eeuben Gold
Thwaites, is a twenty-five page reprint from the Proceedings of
the State Historical Society of Wisconsin for 1908. Other reprints
from the same publication are : The Old West, by Frederick Jack-
son Turner; and The British Ministry and the Treaty of Stanwix,
by Clarence Walworth Alvord.
Continuations of two serials have formed the sole contents of the
numbers of the German American Annals issued thus far this
year. These two careful studies, which when completed will be of
much value, are : Germans in Texas, by Gilbert G. Benjamin ; and
The Settlement of the German Coast of Louisiana and the Creoles
of German Descent, by J. Hanno Deiler.
The State Historical Society of Wisconsin has within the past
six months issued a number of bulletins of information. One of
them tells of recent acquisitions of labor material, another de-
HISTORICAL SOCIETIES 461
scribes accessions to the museums, while others are devoted to lists
of newspapers and periodicals received by the Society, reports of
auxiliary societies, and lists of members.
Contributions of a general character in the April number of
The New York Genealogical and Biographical Record are: Clues
from English Archives Contributory to American Genealogy, by
J. Henry Lea and J. R. Hutchinson; Lists of Germans from the
Palatinate Who Came to England in 1709; and a list of New
Brunswick Loyalists of the War of the American Revolution, by
D. R. Jack.
In the Proceedings of the Bostonian Society at the Annual Meet-
ing, January 12 1909, may be found a number of addresses and
papers, among which may be mentioned : Historical Museums in a
Dozen Countries, by James F. Hunnewell ; and The Myth of Mary
Chilton, by Samuel Arthur Bent. Under the heading, Reception
of a Portrait of James Otis, there is also presented some interesting
material.
In addition to two continuations the April number of The South
Carolina Historical and Genealogical Magazine contains an article
on The Luxembourg Claims, by D. E. Huger Smith, who gives a
clear statement of the difficulty over the frigate "South Carolina".
Under the heading, American Prisoners in Mill Prison at Plymouth,
in 1782, there is printed a letter from Captain John Green to
Henry Laurens.
Continuations of T. W. Davenport 's Slavery Question in Oregon,
and John Minto's From Youth to Age as an American, occupy the
greater part of The Quarterly of the Oregon Historical Society for
December. Under the heading of Documents may be found the
speech of Senator J. Semple on the abrogation of the treaty of
joint occupation of the Oregon country, together with other ac-
companying papers.
Under the title, A Quaker Pilgrimage, William H. Love contri-
butes the journal of a mission to the Indians in 1804, in the March
number of the Maryland Historical Magazine. Henry P. Goddard
writes brief sketches of Some Distinguished Marylanders I Have
462 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
Known; the document known as Lang ford's Refutation is printed
from the original in the Bodleian Library ; and there is a genealog-
ical sketch of the Smith Family of Calvert County, by Christopher
Johnston.
The first volume of the Publications of the Pennsylvania History
Club contains the constitution of the Club, which was organized in
1905, and which consists of persons who have made some worthy
contribution to Pennsylvania history, either in the way of research
or publication. A brief account is given of the meetings of the
Club since its organization, and the remainder of the sixty page
booklet is devoted to a List of Members with their Historical Bibli-
ographies.
The April number of the Historical Collections of the Essex Insti-
tute opens with an address on Abraham Lincoln, delivered before
the Essex Institute on February 12, 1909, by Robert S. Rantoul.
Among the continuations are: Revolutionary Letters Written to
Colonel Timothy Pickering, by George "Williams; and Records of
the Vice-Admiralty Court at Halifax, Novia Scotia. A. W. Greely
contributes a genealogical sketch of Richard Ingersoll and Some of
his Descendants.
In the April number of the Missouri Historical Review there may
be found an article by James M. Wood, on The Settlement of
Columbia, Mo. — A Type Study, which deals mainly with the
sources of immigration. Harrison A. Trexler writes on Slavery in
Missouri Territory; there is a continuation of W. S. Bryan's sketch
of Daniel Boone, which is devoted to Daniel Boons' s Western
"Palatinate" ; and John L. Thomas contributes two articles en-
titled Historic Landmarks of Jefferson County, and Some Historic
Lines in Missouri.
The Navy of the Republic of Texas is the title of an interesting
and valuable contribution by Alex. Dienst, which is begun in the
January number of The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical
Association. There is a continuation of Charles W. Ramsdell's
Presidential Reconstruction in Texas; and a discussion of the Plan
of Stephen F. Austin for an Institute of Modern Languages at San
HISTORICAL SOCIETIES 463
Felipe de Austin, by Mattie Austin Hatcher, which reveals the
pioneer's interest in the educational welfare of the colonists under
his care.
Colonel Hubley's Journal, 1779, edited by John W. Jordan, and
printed in the April number of The Pennsylvania Magazine of
History and Biography, is a journal of the expedition sent by
Washington to punish the hostile Six Nations in western New York.
Two contributions which are concluded in this number are :
Thomas Sully 's Register of Portraits, 1801-1871, by Charles Henry
Hart; and Selections from the Military Correspondence of Colonel
Henry Bouquet, 1756-1764, by Helen Jordan. The concluding
article is one by John W. Jordan, on the Moravian Immigration to
Pennsylvania, 1734-1765.
The April number of the Ohio Archaeological and Historical
Quarterly contains as an opening contribution a sketch of Me-She-
Kun-Nogh-Quah, or Little Turtle, 1783-1812, by N. B. C. Love.
W. H. Mackoy is the writer of an article on General Benjamin Rush
Cowen. The three articles which follow are connected with the
centennial celebration of the death of David Zeisberger, the ''Mo-
ravian Apostle to the Indians". An account of The Moravian Rec-
ords, by Archer Butler Hulburt, completes this number of the
Quarterly, except for the proceedings of the twenty-fourth annual
meeting of the Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society,
and some editorial notes.
The second volume of the Publications of the Arkansas His-
torical Association is a book of nearly six hundred pages, which
contains a great amount of valuable information relative to the
history of the State. Among the many papers the following may
be mentioned as being of general interest: A Comprehensive His-
torical Policy for Arkansas, by John Hugh Reynolds ; A History of
Taxation in Arkansas, by David Y. Thomas; The Brooks-Baxter
War, by Benjamin S. Johnson ; The Western Boundary of Arkan-
sas, by John Hugh Reynolds; Reconstruction in Arkansas County,
by William Henry Halli Burton ; and a report In Relation to the
Pronunciation of the Name "Arkansas", by U. M. Rose.
464 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
With the April number, which begins volume two, the Journal of
the Illinois State Historical Society comes out in a new and en-
larged form. Not only is the paper of a much better quality, but
the typography as well gives evidence of greater care. A number
of editorial notes in the opening pages contain many items of inter-
est to the historically inclined citizen of Illinois and the middle
west. Then follow an account of The Annual Meeting of the Illi-
nois State Historical Society, May 13-14, 1909, and of the celebra-
tion of The Lincoln Centennial, a number of biographical sketches,
and the second and last installment of J. F. Snyder's Prehistoric
Illinois. Certain Mounds Technically Considered.
A number of papers dealing with various phases of the second
war with England may be found in volume eight of the Proceed-
ings of the New York State Historical Association. George L. Haw-
kins writes on Perry and His Victory; and L. L. Babcock tells of
The Siege of Fort Erie; while other titles are: General Scott at
Lundy's Lane, by George Douglas Emerson; The Military Career
and Character of Major-General Sir Isaac Brock, by Ernest Cruik-
shank; and The Causes and Results of the Failure of the American
Campaigns on the Niagara Frontier in the Second War with Eng-
land, by Irwin W. Near. Besides these discussions of military epi-
sodes there are a number of papers dealing with the local history
of New York State.
Volume twelve of the Collections of the Minnesota Historical
Society is a veritable storehouse of Minnesota history. A few of
the titles of the numerous contributions will indicate only partially
the value of the volume. Some of the more extended papers are:
A History of the Capitol Buildings of Minnesota, with Some Ac-
count of the Struggles for their Location, by William B. Dean;
History of the University of Minnesota, by John B. Gilfilian ; Min-
nesota Journalism from 1858 to 1865, by Daniel S. B. Johnston;
Causes and Results of the Inkpaduta Massacre, by Thomas Hughes ;
The Dakotas or Sioux in Minnesota as They Were in 1834, by Sam-
uel William Pond; Boundaries and Public Land Surveys of Min-
nesota, by Nathan Butler.
HISTORICAL SOCIETIES 465
In view of the recent revival of interest in waterways as a means
of transportation, the twelfth volume of the Buffalo Historical So-
ciety Publications is especially timely and valuable. Henry Way-
land Hill is the author of this monograph of over five hundred
pages which bears the title, An Historical Review of Waterways
and Canal Construction in New York State. The writer begins the
account with the first use of natural waterways in New York by
the Dutch, and carries it down to the close of the canal campaign in
1903. In every respect the volume is to be commended. Scholarship
and painstaking care are stamped upon its pages. The make-up and
typography and the paper leave little to be desired, and a compre-
hensive index makes accessible the storehouse of information con-
tained between the covers.
The April number of The American Historical Review opens with
quite an extended account of the meeting of the American His-
torical Association at Washington and Richmond last winter. Nor-
mandy Under William the Conqueror, by Charles H. Haskins, deals
especially with the feudal system in Normandy just previous to the
Norman conquest of England. Henri Pirenne discusses in an inter-
esting manner The Formation and Constitution of the Burgundian
State. Two other articles of which the opening installments are
here printed are : English Conspiracy and Dissent, 1660-1674, by
Wilbur C. Abbott; and The South Carolina Federalists, by Ulrich
B. Phillips. Father Pierre Gibault and the Submission of Post Vin-
cennes, 1778, is the title of a contribution by Clarence W. Alvord,
given under the head of documents.
The second volume of the Collections of the State Historical
Society of North Dakota is a book with a total of over seven hun-
dred pages, and is divided into two parts. The first part contains
the report of the Secretary and a number of papers dealing with
the general and local history of the State. First come Addresses
and Papers Delivered at Annual Meetings of the State Historical
Society. Eight papers follow under the heading of North Dakota
History. Then comes a History of Riverside Township, Steele
County, by Myrtle Bemis. Biography — Sketches of Deceased
Members is the next heading, and following this there is printed
466 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
C. J. Atkins' Logs of Missouri River Steamboat Trips, 1863-1868.
Accounts of the Expeditions of Captain Jas. L. Fisk to the Gold
Mines of Idaho and Montana, 1864-1866, and a number of articles
on the Indians of North Dakota conclude part one, except for an
appendix which contains a discussion of The Founding of the
Catholic Church in North Dakota, by Rev. John Shanley. Part
two is devoted to an illustrated narrative, largely documentary, of
the history of Fort Abercrombie, 1857-1877, by Orin G. Libby.
The whole volume is a creditable addition to the literature of
North Dakota history.
Historical societies in the middle west are each year making
valuable additions to the materials of the history of the region.
A good example may be found in the fourth volume of the South
Dakota Historical Collections. The first sixty pages are devoted to
reports upon the progress and condition of the State Historical
Society. Besides a number of memoirs and biographical sketches
which follow there may be mentioned the following articles: The
Rescue of Frances Kelly, by Doane Robinson ; Manuel Lisa, by
Kathryn M. French ; Did the Norsemen Visit the Dakota Country ?
by Lars J. Hauge; The Journal of Charles Le Raye, edited by
Doane Robinson; The Capture of Sitting Bull, by E. G. Fechet;
the Autobiography of Louis Dace Letellier, edited by Constant R.
Marks; and French Pioneers of Sioux City and South Dakota, by
Constant R. Marks. The contribution of most general interest
and significance, however, is part two of Charles E. DeLand's
monograph on The Aborigines of South Dakota, which occupies
over four hundred and fifty pages. This part of the monograph
is devoted entirely to the Mandan Indians.
ACTIVITIES
The New York Historical Society now occupies a splendid new
building at 170 Central Park West.
During the six months from November, 1908, to April, 1909, the
Buffalo Historical Society gave to its members and the public
twenty-seven entertainments, mostly lectures, many of which were
illustrated by stereopticon.
HISTORICAL SOCIETIES 467
The legislature of Montana established a legislative reference
bureau in connection with the Montana Historical and Miscella-
neous Library.
The Historical Society of Pennsylvania has recently come into
possession of a number of war maps used by General Knox in the
campaign for the defense of Delaware. Another noteworthy acces-
sion is a collection of documents of the Revolution which include
records of court martials at Valley Forge.
The Ohio Valley Historical Association has been conducting an
investigation of the teaching of local history in the public schools,
with a view to making recommendations on the subject. It has also
been endeavoring to locate manuscripts relative to Ohio Valley his-
tory to be found in the possession of private individuals.
On June 7 the Kentucky State Historical Society held its annual
reception commemorative of the day on which Daniel Boone first
saw Kentucky. The Society hopes to move into its rooms in the
new State capitol during the summer. There is a movement on
foot to have the old capitol building repaired, made fire-proof, and
presented to the Society as a permanent home. Thus far in ad-
vance of the legislature of 1910, however, the outcome can not be
predicted.
The State Historical Society of Wisconsin has recently acquired
a collection of one hundred and fifty works on art from the library
of the late Mrs. Anne R. Sheldon, of Madison. A bundle of the
naval papers of Rear Admiral Wilkes is a valuable accession of
manuscripts. They consist chiefly of papers, 1801-1845, of William
B. Finch (afterwards William C. Bolton) including reports of his
visit to the Hawaiian Islands in 1829. The most noteworthy manu-
script relating to Admiral Wilkes is the draft of his letter to the
Secretary of the Navy reporting the seizure of the steamer Trent,
November 8, 1861. The legislature added twelve hundred dollars
to the annual support fund of the Society.
On June 15, under the auspices of the South Dakota Department
of History, a monument to the "Fool Soldiers", a band of Teton
Sioux Indians, who in 1862 rescued a party of captives carried to
468 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
the Missouri, was dedicated at the point of rescue near Mobridge,
in Walworth County. A monument has also been provided by the
Department to mark the site of "Old Fort Sully", four miles east
of Pierre, built in 1863 by the Sixth Iowa Cavalry, and abandoned
in 1866. This fort must not be confused with the Fort Sully long
an important post near the mouth of the Cheyenne River.
A recent acquisition of the Missouri Historical Society is a sub-
stantial addition to its collection of Valle Papers. The Spanish
regime is the period covered by this latest accession, and since the
Valle family was very prominent in those days these papers pos-
sess a rare value. The Society hopes in the course of a few years
to be able to erect a building for itself. A considerable sum of
money has been raised for this purpose.
The Arkansas Historical Association has come into possession
of the journal of Captain Henry Brockman, who commanded a
company of Arkansas infantry during the Civil War. The journal
gives an account of the movements of the company, and of the
more important conflicts and battles in that State from 1863 to
1865. The most significant work of the Association during the
past few months was to secure the enactment of a law creating an
Arkansas History Commission. The commission consists of the
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the Presidents of the State
TIniversity and the State Normal, and six other members appointed
by the governor, all of whom act without salary. There is a sala-
ried secretary, chosen by the commission, who devotes his entire
time to the work. The duties of the commission are to care for
the archives of the State and other historical collections, to super-
intend the editing of official records and other source materials,
and to encourage historical research in the State.
The Minnesota Historical Society has made distinct progress
along all the lines of its activities during the past year, as is shown
by the fifteenth biennial Report submitted to the legislature in
March. The library now contains nearly ninety-five thousand vol-
umes, including a rich- collection of Minnesota material and of
genealogical literature. The museum has received many interest-
HISTORICAL SOCIETIES 469
ing acquisitions and additions have been made to the collection of
portraits. In the field of research and publication, especially, has
the Society been active. Two volumes of the Collections have been
published recently, making a total of thirteen volumes in this valu-
able series. Other publications in preparation include an archaeo-
logical history of the State, a volume containing brief biographies
of Minnesota men, a book of geographical names, and a detailed
history of the Society itself. During the session of the legislature
this spring the Society made a determined but unsuccessful effort
to secure an appropriation for a historical building.
A NEW HISTORICAL SOCIETY
Sognalaget is the name of an organization of immigrants from
Sogn, Norway, and their descendants in this country. "Sons of
Sogn" counts among its members Governor James Davidson of
Wisconsin, State Auditor Iverson of Minnesota, and other per-
sons prominent in educational work, in the church, in politics, in
business, and in the Norse settlements throughout the northwestern
States. The Sognalaget was permanently organized December 30,
1908, at Albert Lea, Minnesota, with a membership of one hundred
and fifty. On June 8-9", 1909, the Society held its first annual
meeting at Albert Lea, with the very remarkable attendance of
one thousand people. Eight hundred people attended the banquet
on June 8, this number being approximately the present member-
ship in the sixth month of the existence of the Society.
Among the objects of the Society will be the investigation of
the Sogn dialect, the study of the folk literature and folklore of
Sogn, research in Norse- American pioneer history, and the prepa-
ration of a history of Norsemen in America and of their influence
on American life.
Among the speakers at the annual meeting were Rev. M. Falk
Gjetson of Minneapolis, Professor George T. Flom of The State
University of Iowa, Dr. Nannestad of Albert Lea, and Rev. Atle
Lee of Glenwood, Minnesota. Professor Flom upon special request
prepared and presented plans for an extensive investigation into
Norse-American history. This plan contemplates, among other
470 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
things, the division of the field into four geographical districts
each of which will be presided over by a secretary. Professor
Flom was unanimously elected Historian, to have general charge
of the work. The secretary of the Society is Mr. E. R. Happer-
stad of Albert Lea, Minnesota.
The objects of this new Society are most praiseworthy, and it
is to be hoped that the work begun with such enthusiasm will be
carried out earnestly and with thoroughness.
THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION
The second annual meeting was held at St. Louis, Missouri, June
17-19, 1909. With the exception of the first and the fourth ses-
sions all the sessions were held in the rooms of the Missouri His-
torical Society. The following is the program which was prepared,
and which, with the exception of the papers by Professors F. N.
Shipley, Frank H. Hodder, and Roland G. Usher, was given in
full:
JUNE 17, 8:30 P. M.
Address of Welcome — Herbert S. Hadley, Governor of Missouri.
Response — Orin Grant Libby, Ph. D., Professor of History, University of
North Dakota.
Address — The Conservation of the Natural Resources of the Mississippi Val-
ley— Ernest M. Pollard, Former Member of Congress from Nebraska.
JUNE 18, 9:00 A. M.
The Mississippi Valley as an Ethnological Field
(a) Upper Mississippi Region — James Mooney, Bureau of American
Ethnology, Washington, D. C.
(b) Lower Mississippi Region — John R. Swanton, Ph. D., Bureau of
American Ethnology, Washington, D. C.
Physiography as Related to History in the Mississippi Valley — Curtis Fletcher
Marbut, Ph. D., Professor of Geology, University of Missouri.
The Study of the Present as an Aid in Interpreting the Past — Edward Als-
worth Ross, Ph. D., Professor of Sociology, University of Wisconsin.
JUNE 18, 2:30 P. M.
Conference of Historical Societies — Chairman, Edgar R. Harlan, Acting Cura-
tor of the Historical Department of Iowa.
(a) Applied History — Benjamin F. Shambaugh, Ph. D., Superintendent
of State Historical Society of Iowa.
(b) Recent Historical Legislation of Arkansas — John Hugh Reynolds,
A. M., Secretary Arkansas Historical Society, and Historical
Commission.
HISTORICAL SOCIETIES 471
(c) Marking of Historic Spots in Illinois — William A. Meese, Moline,
Illinois.
(d) Plans of the American Archaeological Institute for Work in America
— Professor F. N. Shipley, Washington University.
(e) Relation of State and Historical Libraries — Francis Asbury Samp-
son, LL. B., Secretary and Librarian State Historical Society
of Missouri.
JUNE 18, 6:00 P. M.
Dinner at the Planters Hotel, and reception to members of Mississippi Valley
Historical Association, in Hotel Parlors.
JUNE 19, 9:00 A. M.
Early Banking in Kentucky — Elmer Cummings Griffith, Ph. D., Professor
of History and Political Science, William Jewell College.
Archaeology of the Mississippi Valley — William Henry Holmes, Chief of the
Bureau of American Ethnology, Washington, D. C.
First Election of United States Senators in Iowa — Dan Elbert Clark, Re-
search Assistant, State Historical Society of Iowa.
The Second Missouri Compromise — Frank Heywood Hodder, Ph. D., Profes-
sor of History, University of Kansas.
JUNE 19, 2:30 P. M.
J)id Coronado see the Missouri Biver or Beach the Mississippi? — James N.
Basket, Member Missouri Historical Society, St. Louis.
The Significance of the British Attack on St. Louis in 1780 — James Alton
James, Ph. D., Professor of History, Northwestern University.
Western Sanitary Commission — Roland G. Usher, Ph. D., Professor of His-
tory, Washington University.
Early Travel and Trade in the Lower Mississippi Valley — William O. Scroggs,
A. M., Assistant Professor of History, Louisiana State University.
The attendance was about as large as at the first annual meet-
ing, the sessions were enthusiastic, and the papers and discus-
sions were unusually interesting and suggestive. The interest
which was manifested in the discussion of ethnological and archaeo-
logical topics is evidence of the broad scope of the Association's
projected activities. The feeling was very apparent that the Asso-
ciation must get entirely away from the old stereotyped conception
of history, and include within its field all possible phases of
historical work. The Association has a membership of nearly
three hundred, and with this body as a nucleus it is hoped to
create an interest in the past life of the Mississippi Valley which
will do much for the long neglected history of this region.
The need of marking historic sites was especially emphasized,
and a resolution was adopted urging all historical agencies in the
472 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
Middle West to encourage activity in this direction. Another
resolution recommended that Congress be urged to erect a monu-
ment to La Salle at the mouth of the Mississippi River, and an-
other to Marquette and Joliet at the mouth of the Wisconsin
River. Furthermore, a committee was appointed to do all in its
power to encourage and promote the marking of historic sites
throughout the valley.
Publication is another feature of the work planned by the
Association. The Executive Committee was empowered to appoint
a Publication Committee whose duties should be to endeavor to
raise funds to begin the publication of a series of collections.
The first volume of the transactions of the Association will go
to press in the near future.
An automobile trip around the city, a dinner and reception at
the Planters Hotel, and a visit to Monk's Mound, or Cahokia
Mound as it more commonly called, combined to make the St.
Louis meeting a pleasant one socially.
The following officers were elected for the ensuing year: Presi-
dent, Orin G. Libby; Vice President, Benjamin F. Shambaugh;
Secretary-Treasurer, Clarence S. Paine; two members of Execu-
tive Committee, Dunbar Rowland and Charles E. Brown. Clar-
ence W. Alvord, by virtue of being the retiring President, becomes
a member of the Executive Committee, ex-officio.
Invitations were extended to the Association to hold its next
annual meeting at Lincoln, Nebraska, Des Moines, Iowa, and Iowa
City, Iowa. At this time the Executive Committee has not de-
termined upon the place for holding the next meeting.
THE STATE HISTOEICAL SOCIETY OF IOWA
Mr. John E. Brindley, of the State Agricultural College, is
preparing a History of Taxation in Iowa, which will eventually
be published by the Society.
Mr. Jacob Van der Zee has been elected to the position of Refer-
ence Assistant in the Library of The State University of Iowa for
the year 1909-1910. He will continue, however, to devote some
time to research work for the Society.
HISTORICAL SOCIETIES 473
Dr. Benjamin F. Shambaugh and Mr. Dan E. Clark represented
the Society at the meeting of The Mississippi Valley Historical
Association, at St. Louis, June 17-19.
Mr. Clifford Powell and Miss Ethyl E. Martin, both members
of the Society, were the respective winners of the first and third
prizes offered by the Iowa Society of the Colonial Dames of Ameri-
ca for the best essays in Iowa history.
Mr. Kenneth Colgrove, author of The Delegates to Congress from
the Territory of Iowa, will do research work under the auspices
of the Society during the summer. He has recently been awarded
the Jesup prize offered at the State University of Iowa for the
best essay on some subject relating to citizenship.
Mr. Louis Pelzer, who for two years has been Research Assistant
in The State Historical Society of Iowa, is teaching in the State
Normal School at Winona, Minnesota, during the present summer
session. He has been elected to the position of Professor of History
in the Montana State Normal School for the year 1909-1910.
Mrs. Sarah C. Fellows has donated to the Society a number of
valuable books and pamphlets which belonged to her husband, the
late Stephen N. Fellows. The Society especially appreciates all
such additions to its library because of the association of the books
with the men who have helped to build the Commonwealth of Iowa.
Dr. John C. Parish, who for a year has been in Europe on a
leave of absence from the Society, has returned to Iowa. While
in Europe Dr. Parish spent much time in the archives of France
and Spain, searching for material bearing on Mississippi Valley
history. He will now resume active connection with the work of
the Society.
The following persons have recently been elected to membership
in the Society: Mr. C. R. Benedict, Shelby, Iowa; Mr. Geo. L.
Schoonover, Anamosa, Iowa; Mr. Thomas D. Foster, Ottumwa,
Iowa; Mr. Roger Leavitt, Cedar Falls, Iowa; Miss Merze Marvin,
Des Moines, Iowa; Mr. Byron W. Newberry, Strawberry Point,
Iowa; Professor Paul F. Peck, Grinnell, Iowa; Miss Sara F. Rice,
VOL. VII — 31
474 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
Cedar Falls, Iowa; Hon. B. W. Lacy, Dubuque, Iowa; Miss Sara
M. Riggs, Cedar Falls, Iowa; and Mr. S. G. Frink, Tipton, Iowa.
Pursuant to law a meeting of the members of the Society was
held on the evening of Monday, June 28, 1909, for the purpose
of electing Curators for the ensuing biennial period. The follow-
ing is the list of those elected : M. W. Davis, Peter A. Dey, George
W. Ball, J. W. Rich, Euclid Sanders, Laenas G. Weld, Arthur J.
Cox, James H. Trewin, and Henry G. Walker. A resolution was
adopted instructing the Secretary to send the greetings of the So-
ciety to Dr. Josiah L. Pickard, the only living Ex-President of
the Society.
NOTES AND COMMENT
The Iowa Department of the G. A. R. held its annual encamp-
ment at Fort Dodge, June 8-10, 1909.
A Bureau of Municipal Research, modelled after the one in New
York City, has been established at Cincinnati, Ohio.
The fifteenth annual meeting of the Lake Mohonk Conference
on International Arbitration was held on May 19-21, 1909.
A movement has been inaugurated to commemorate the three-
hundredth anniversary of the landing of the Pilgrims by a World's
Tercentennial Exposition at Boston in 1920.
Professor James A. James, of Northwestern University, has
returned from a several months' sojourn in Europe, where he
gathered material relative to certain phases of western history.
Professor Frederick J. Turner, of Wisconsin University, deliv-
ered the Phi Beta Kappa address during commencement week at
The State University of Iowa on the subject of Pioneer Ideals and
the State University.
The thirty-sixth annual meeting of the National Conference of
Charities and Correction was held at Buffalo, New York, during
the week ending June 19. Miss Jane Addams, of Chicago, was
chosen President of the Conference for 1910.
The workings of tax commissions may be seen in two western
States — Wisconsin and Minnesota. The commission in Wiscon-
sin has recently made its fourth biennial report, while in Min-
nesota the commission is of more recent establishment and made
its first report to the last legislature.
The Thirty-Third General Assembly of Iowa appropriated the
sum of one thousand dollars to defray the expenses of disinterring
the remains of Iowa's first State Governor, Ansel Briggs, and of
removing them to his former home at Andrew, Jackson County,
476 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
Iowa. The disinterment took place on May 21, and the remains of
the old Governor now rest in Iowa soil, beneath a suitable monu-
ment. It was chiefly through the efforts of Mr. J. W. Ellis, of
Maquoketa, that the appropriation was made.
On Friday, June 11, 1909, the thirty-seventh annual reunion of
the Oregon Pioneer Association was held at Portland, Oregon.
This association consists of persons coming to, or born in, the origi-
nal Territory of Oregon prior to the close of the year 1859. Espe-
cial interest attaches to the reunion this year in view of the fact
that it is the year of the semi-centennial of Oregon's statehood.
The Old Settlers' Association of Cedar County held its annual
meeting at Tipton on June 10, 1909. The principal address was
given by Mr. B. L. Wick, of Cedar Rapids. This association num-
bers among its members some of the oldest of the Iowa pioneers.
During the past year death took away a large number, some of
whom came to the Iowa country while it was yet a part of the
Territory of Wisconsin.
The past few months have witnessed the unveiling of a number
of monuments in the Mississippi Valley. The service rendered by
George Rogers Clark in saving the Old Northwest received recog-
nition recently at Quincy, Illinois, in the erection of a monument.
At Chicago on May 16, a tablet in honor of the explorers Mar-
quette and Joliet was unveiled. Among the many Lincoln monu-
ments perhaps the most interesting is the one unveiled at the mar-
tyr President's birthplace in Kentucky, on May 31. These in-
stances have been selected among many because of the influence
which the men in whose honor the monuments were erected had on
the history of the middle west. Within the State of Iowa may also
be mentioned the monument to Governor Briggs at Andrew, one
to Chief Mahaska at Oskaloosa and one to Company H, 31st Iowa
Infantry, at Monticello.
Beginning with the present year the Iowa Society of the Colonial
Dames of America will offer three prizes, instead of one as hitherto,
for the best essay in Iowa history, written by a student in an Iowa
college or university. The first prize is seventy-five dollars, the
NOTES AND COMMENT 477
second fifty dollars, and the third twenty-five dollars. All of the
essays submitted this year were of an unusually high order and
the markings were close. Mr. Clifford Powell, a student at the
State University of Iowa, won the first prize with an essay entitled,
Contributions of Albert M. Lea to the Literature of Iowa History.
Miss Beulah May Garrard, of Cornell College, came second with an
essay on The Development of County Government in Iowa. The
third prize was won by Miss Ethyl E. Martin, of The State Univer-
sity of Iowa, who wrote on A Bribery Episode in the First Elec-
tion of United States Senators in Iowa. The remaining essays
ranked but little below the prize winners, and are worthy of much
praise. The Iowa Society of the Colonial Dames is to be con-
gratulated on its success in arousing an interest in Iowa history,
and in stimulating the production of so many worthy essays as
were submitted this year.
President Roosevelt exhibited a wise foresightedness when he
directed the Committee of Department Methods to appoint an assist-
ant committee to make recommendations concerning documentary
historical publications of the United States Government. This
committee which was composed of some of the most eminent his-
torians in the country has made an extended report covering forty
large pages. By way of introduction there is a review of the course
pursued by the Government hitherto, showing the lack of method
and the extravagance which have prevailed; and a survey of the
field of United States history with special reference to the gaps to
be filled in official publications. Then follow the recommendations,
ending with suggestions for a permanent Commission on National
Historical Publications and a draft of a bill creating such a com-
mission. It is sincerely to be hoped the recommendations of this
report will be adopted.
SAMUEL WALLACE DURHAM
Samuel Wallace Durham was born on March 7, 1817, at Vallonia,
Jackson County, Indiana. He moved to Iowa in 1840; and, with
the exception of three years spent on a farm, he made his home at
Marion, in Linn County. He was a delegate to the Constitutional
478 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
Convention of 1844, of which he was the sole surviving member at
the time of his death. From 1843 to 1855 he occupied the office of
United States Deputy Surveyor. He made the first plat of the
city of Cedar Rapids and laid out the town of Marion, besides sur-
veying a number of the western counties of the State. He held
the office of Sheriff in 1846-1847; and at intervals from 1841 to
1895 occupied the position of County Surveyor. Mr. Durham was
a Democrat in politics, and from 1841 to 1855 took an active part
in political campaigns. He died at his home in Marion on Sunday,
May 2, 1909.
MARY R. WHITCOMB
Miss Mary R. Whitcomb, who for several years has been Assist-
ant Curator of the Historical Department of Iowa, passed away on
April 8, 1909. Miss Whitcomb was born at Grinnell, Iowa, on April
4, 1860. After leaving Iowa College she taught school for many
years until her health failed. In 1894 she was appointed to the
position of assistant in the State Library, where she remained until
1896, when she was offered the position in the Historical Depart-
ment which she held at the time of her death.
Since the death of Curator Charles Aldrich probably no one was
so thoroughly acquainted with all phases of the work of the His-
torical Department as was Miss Whitcomb. She was faithful,
efficient, and enthusiastic in her work. Not only did she have charge
of the library of the Department, but she contributed a number of
articles on subjects of Iowa history. She will be greatly missed,
not only by those who were associated with her in the work, but by
all those who have ever had occasion to experience her kindly
helpfulness.
AMOS NOYES CURRIER
On May 16, 1909, Dean Amos Noyes Currier, who for over forty
years was a member of the faculty of The State University of Iowa,
passed away at his home in Iowa City. In his death the State
loses a patriotic citizen and an educator beloved by all who knew
him.
Dean Currier was born on October 13, 1832, near Canaan, New
NOTES AND COMMENT 479
Hampshire. After preparatory work at Kimball Academy he en-
tered Dartmouth College, from which he graduated at the age of
twenty-four. In 1857 he came west to accept the position of Pro-
fessor of Ancient Languages in Central College at Pella, Iowa.
In 1861 he entered the army and served until the close of the
Civil War. Then after two more years spent at Central College he
began his long career at the State University. He was Dean of the
College of Liberal Arts from 1887 to 1907, when at the completion
of forty years of faithful service in the one institution, he retired
from active work on the faculty. Up to the time of his death,
however, he continued to take a keen interest in all the affairs of
the University.
CONTRIBUTORS
Louis PELZER, Eesearch Assistant in The State Historical
Society of Iowa. (See THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND
POLITICS for January, 1908, p. 159.)
JACOB VAN DEB ZEE, Eesearch Assistant in The State His-
torical Society of Iowa. (See THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY
AND POLITICS for April, 1909, p. 328.)
FRANK HARMON GARVER, Professor of History and Politics
in Morningside College. (See THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY
AND POLITICS for July, 1908, p. 500.)
THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
OCTOBER NINETEEN HUNDRED NINE
VOLUME SEVEN NUMBER FOUR
VOL. VII — 32
A BRIBERY EPISODE IN THE FIRST ELECTION OF
UNITED STATES SENATORS IN IOWA1
[This paper was awarded one of the prizes offered in 1908 by the Iowa
Society of the Colonial Dames of America for the best essays in Iowa history.
— EDITOR.]
One of the most interesting political episodes in the early
history of Iowa is the case of alleged bribery in connection
with the first election of United States Senators. It was in
the midst of that exciting election that Mr. Nelson King, a
Whig from Keokuk County, arose in the House of Repre-
sentatives and made the startling announcement that
several offers of money and other reward had been made to
secure his vote for certain Democratic candidates for the
United States Senate.2 Fascinating in itself, the story of
this attempt to purchase the vote of a member of the Gen-
eral Assembly is also significant in that it throws some light
on the political history of the period.3
In August of the year 1846 the people had adopted a
State Constitution, under which Iowa was admitted into the
Union on the twenty-eighth day of December.4 Officers of
the new State government and members of the General
Assembly were chosen at a general election which was held
on the twenty- sixth day of October.5 It was altogether nat-
1 Another bribery case in the early history of Iowa is that of Alexander
McGregor. — See Parish's The Bribery of Alexander McGregor in THE IOWA
JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS, Vol. Ill, No. 3, pp. 384-398.
2 Journal of the House of "Representatives, 1846-1847, pp. 54-55.
s For a general account of the political history of this period see Pelzer 's
The History and Principles of the Democratic Party of Iowa in THE IOWA
JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS, Vol. VI, No. 2, pp. 163-246.
4 Shambaugh 's History of the Constitutions of Iowa, pp. 317, 324, 327.
5 Pelzer 's The History and Principles of the Democratic Party of Iowa, in
THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS, Vol. VI, No. 2, p. 165.
484 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
ural that in the campaign leading up to this first election of
members of the General Assembly much interest should
center in the question of who would later be chosen to repre-
sent the new State in the United States Senate. Indeed, the
senatorship was the great political prize that attracted the
most ambitious.6
The newspapers of the day warned the voters that the
election of the United States Senators would depend largely
upon the political complexion of the legislature. And so
votes for members of the General Assembly were in many
cases cast indirectly for a favorite candidate for the
United States Senate. The Whigs, being in the minority at
this time, were somewhat indifferent. But the energy with
which the Whig editors appealed to their party is not to be
overlooked. ' ' Let no Whig, who can ride, walk, or be safely
hauled, to the polls, fail to record his vote on the 26th",
pleaded the Whig editor of The Iowa Standard.7
The victory of the Democrats in the October election was
not unexpected ; for since the organization of the Territory
in 1838 the followers of Jackson and Jefferson had usually
enjoyed a working majority at the polls.8 As to the com-
position of the General Assembly the returns showed that
the Democrats would have twelve members in the Senate
and nineteen in the House; while the Whigs would have
seven members in the Senate and twenty in the House.9
Thus in joint convention the Democrats felt assured of
ePelzer's Augustus Caesar Dodge, p. 128.
Two United States Senators were to be chosen by the General Assembly of
Iowa at this time.
7 The Iowa Standard (Iowa City), Vol. I, No. 18, October 14, 1846.
s Pelzer 's The History and Principles of the Democratic Party in the Terri-
tory of Iowa in THE IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS, Vol. VI, No. 1,
pp. 3-54.
9 Clark 's History of the Election of United States Senators from Iowa (un-
published manuscript).
A BRIBERY EPISODE 485
thirty-one votes ; while the Whigs could not count definitely
on more than twenty-seven. The coming election of United
States Senators promised to be simply a contest between
aspiring candidates of the Democratic party.
November 30, 1846, being the day appointed for the meet-
ing of the First General Assembly,10 the last week of No-
vember witnessed a scene of more than usual interest in
Iowa City which was then the seat of government. Every
tavern and boarding-house was filled to overflowing with
interested or curious citizens who had gathered at the capi-
tal. Some came to spend a few days of gayety and pleasure
with friends; others were there "to see the wheels of the
new government set in motion"; but, judging from the
"Senatorial and Judge-like faces" which were to be seen
about the Old Stone Capitol, it was not difficult to conclude
that a large proportion of those who frequented the lobby
were either aspiring to become members of the United
States Senate or judges of the Supreme Court of Iowa,11 or
that they were "influential friends" of such aspirants.12
At the appointed time, and in the midst of an unusual
popular interest, the new State government was organized.
In the Senate Thomas Baker was elected President ;13 while
the choice of Speaker of the House fell to J. B. Browne.14
On the second day of December occurred the first joint
convention of the session. Preceded by their President and
other officers, the members of the Senate marched in a body
to the Hall of the House of Eepresentatives where they
were assigned seats within the bar by order of the Speaker.
10 Journal of the House of Representatives, 1846-1847, p. 3.
11 Three judges of the Supreme Court were to be chosen at this session. —
Constitution of Iowa, Article V, Section 2.
12 From an article which appears in The Iowa Standard (Iowa City), Vol. I,
No. 25, December 2, 1846.
is Journal of the Senate, 1846-1847, p. 5.
i* Journal of the House of Representatives, 1846-1847, p. 5.
486 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
The two houses having resolved themselves into joint con-
vention, the returns of the votes cast for Governor in the
several counties of the State were canvassed.15 Ansel
Briggs, the Democratic candidate, was declared Governor
of Iowa. On the following day the oath of office was admin-
istered to the first Governor of the State by Chief Justice
Mason, in the presence of the members of both houses.16
Interest now shifted from the ceremonies connected with
the inauguration of the State government to the election of
United States Senators.
The confidence evinced by the Democratic party imme
diately after the results of the October election had become
known was somewhat shaken when the General Assembly
had convened and it was discovered that Senator Huner
and Representatives Clifton and Conlee from Lee County
had been elected on an independent ticket which had been
supported by both Whigs and Democrats.17 Lee County
had for many years been the stronghold of the Democratic
party of the State, but there had recently been some trouble
over the title to lands in what was known as the "Half
Breed Tract", and the difficulty had been carried into poli-
tics.18 The settlers believed that, during his service as
Delegate to Congress, Augustus C. Dodge had not favored
their interests ; 19 and so they were not disposed to support
him in his candidacy for the senatorship. Consequently
members of both parties joined on what was called a ' ' Set-
is Journal of the House of Representatives, 1846-1847, pp. 30, 31.
IB Journal of the House of Representatives, 1846-1847, p. 33.
IT For an account of the election of the legislators from I/ee County see
Taylor's The First Territorial Legislature of Iowa in the Iowa Historical
Record, Vol. VI, No. 3, p. 519.
is Annals of Iowa, Vol. IX, No. 4, p. 643.
i» Augustus Caesar Dodge served as Delegate to Congress from the Ter-
ritory of Iowa for six consecutive years. His first election occurred on Oc-
tober 5, 1840. A full account of his service as Delegate is found in Pelzer's
Augustus Caesar Dodge, pp. 73-127.
A BRIBERY EPISODE 487
tiers' Ticket", with the result that the Whigs elected one
Senator and three Representatives, and the Democrats, one
Senator and two Eepresentatives. The uncertainty of these
three Democratic votes furnished additional interest in the
contest. Naturally both parties adroitly marshalled their
forces for the capture of the Lee County votes. The ballot
of one of the doubtful men in joint convention would make
a tie and prevent an election of Senators, and two votes
would elect the Democratic candidates.
About this time it was discovered that there had been
a division among the Democrats of Keokuk County over the
location of the county seat ; 20 and as a result two candi-
dates 21 for the House of Eepresentatives had appeared on
the Democratic ticket. The Whigs nominated Nelson King
who was elected by a plurality.22 Now the fact that Bang
had been elected in a county which was strongly Demo-
cratic, and only by a plurality vote, made him an object of
considerable interest to the Democratic members of the
legislature. The Whigs, on the other hand, were fully
aware of the advantage that King's vote would be to their
opponents. Indeed, it is said that for some time Mr. King
attracted more attention among the members of both par-
ties in the General Assembly than any other man in the
State of Iowa.23
The legislature had been in session only nine days, when
on the afternoon of December 9, 1846, the House having
been called to order, Nelson King, Eepresentative from
Keokuk County, arose in his place and asked permission to
make a statement before the House.24 Astonished at his
20 History of Keokuk County, Iowa, p. 407; and Annals of Iowa, Vol. IX,
No. 4, p. 644.
21 L. B. Hughes and William Webb.
22 King received 160 votes; William Webb, 124; and L. B. Hughes, 95.
23 History of Keokuk County, Iowa, p. 407.
24 Journal of the House of Eepresentatives, 1846-1847, pp. 54, 55.
488 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
conduct, and curious to know its meaning, the House unani-
mously granted his request. Amid suppressed excitement
King stated that since he had taken his seat as a member of
the House he had been approached by several distinct per-
sons in reference to the casting of his vote for United
States Senators, and in each case money or other reward
had been offered him if he would agree to vote for A. C.
Dodge or J. C. Hall.25 Furthermore, in order to secure
him from censure or blame, these persons had promised to
obtain a paper 26 signed by his constituents instructing him
to vote for Democratic candidates. Moreover, a certain
S. T. Marshall,27 on the preceding evening, had given him
two receipts for indebtedness28 and a five-dollar note on
the State Bank of Ohio, promising at the same time that he
should have one hundred dollars or any amount that he
wanted in the future. Marshall also said that the money
belonged to Dodge.
Following Mr. King's statement a committee of five
25 King 's statement appears in the Journal of the House of Bepresentatives,
1846-1847, pp. 54, 55.
26 A statement to the effect that this paper was actually circulated among
the voters of Keokuk County appears in the Annals of Iowa, Vol. IX, No. 4,
p. 645; and also in the History of Keokuk County, Iowa, p. 4. But nothing
further than the promise to procure the document is mentioned in the Journal
of the House.
27 Samuel T. Marshall was a graduate of Oxford College in Ohio, having
finished the classical course in 1840. He later studied law under distinguished
jurists in Cincinnati and in Lafayette, Indiana. In 1842, he came to Iowa
and settled at West Point (then the county seat of Lee County) where he
engaged in the practice of law. In 1846, he became a resident of Keokuk. —
Portrait and Biographical Album of Lee County, Iowa, p. 567.
28 The following are copies of the receipts, which were handed to the Clerk
of the House with the $5.00 bill:
West Point, November 25th, 1846.
Mr. Nelson King — Sir : Please pay S. T. Marshall, or bearer, two dollars
and fifty cents, on my account, and oblige
Yours truly, WILLIAM STOTTS.
[Endorsed,] Eeceived payment,
S. T. MAESHALL.
A BRIBERY EPISODE 489
(which was subsequently increased to seven)29 with full
"power to send for persons and papers" was appointed,
and the Speaker of the House was authorized to issue his
warrant for the arrest of Mr. Marshall. During this pro-
cedure a motion was made to the effect that a vote of thanks
be tendered to Mr. King for "his honest, high-minded and
patriotic conduct" in exposing the attempted bribery to
secure his vote for Democratic Senators.30 The House,
however, was not willing to assent to such a resolution prior
to a thorough investigation of the case. Some of the mem-
bers were desirous of having the statement made by Mr.
King entirely excluded from the Journal of the House, but
in this they were overruled.
The arrest of Mr. Marshall was the occasion of an out-
burst of partisan bitterness. The Whigs were exultant over
the exposure of such ignoble maneuvering on the part of
the Locofocos ; and, on the other hand, the Democrats, who
were already incensed, gave vent to their feelings in most
drastic opposition. The newspapers of the period reveal
the most virulent antagonism on the part of both Whigs and
Democrats.31 Throughout, the treatment of Marshall af-
forded abundant material for partisan satire.
On the day after the appointment of the investigating
committee, Mr. Marshall asked to be allowed to appear
December, A. D. 1846.
I, S. T. Marshall, hereby relinquish all my right, title and claim, or claims,
which I may have against Nelson King, for legal services, done heretofore;
and this shall be his receipt. S. T. MAESHALL.
See Journal of the House of Representatives, 1846-1847, pp. 55, 471, 472.
29 The committee consisted of W. J. Cochran, Andrew Leech, S. Whitmore,
Alfred Hebard, Eobert Smyth, Stewart Goodrell, and John Morton. — See
Journal of the House of Representatives, 1846-1847, pp. 56, 59, 471.
so Journal of the House of Representatives, 1846-1847, p. 56.
si See The Iowa Standard (Iowa City), Vol. I, No. 31, January 20, 1847,
and No. 33, February 3, 1847; also The Bloomington Herald, Vol. I, No. 30,
December 11, 1846, and No. 31, December 18, 1846.
490 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
before the House by his counsel, Frederick D. Mills and
James Grant. This privilege, however, was not granted
since the House could not with propriety hear a case which
had previously been delegated to a committee. Throughout
the investigation the Democrats protested against the trial
of Mr. Marshall by a " secret committee". This, however,
was a false charge since all of the sessions of the investi-
gating committee were held with open doors and any one
who cared to do so could hear all of the proceedings. The
Democrats created considerable disturbance because a cer-
tain paper, "purporting to be a protest against the action
of the House in relation to the bribery case",32 was not en-
tered on the Journal. Commenting on the attitude of the
Democrats, The Iowa Standard for February 3, 1847, con-
tains the following:
The members who protested against the action of the House, in
the case of S. T. Marshall in custody, on a charge of attempting
to bribe Nelson King, the member from Keokiik, greatly miscon-
ceived their privileges, in the heat of party zeal. They seemed to
have confounded the rights of the liberty of speech, and the liberty
of protest. The right of argument, and the right to assign reasons
in a protest are certainly very different things.
The first meeting of the investigating committee was held
in the Supreme Court Boom of the Old Stone Capitol
immediately after the adjournment of the afternoon session
of the House on December 9th.33 W. J. Cochran was ap-
pointed chairman, and James Gr. Edwards (editor of the
Hawkey e) was named as clerk of the committee. Sub-
poenas were issued summoning, as witnesses in the case,
Nelson King, Josiah Clifton, Keuben Conlee, Johnson C.
Chapman, William Stotts, and "William Patterson. Mr.
32 The Iowa Standard (Iowa City), Vol. I, No. 31, January 20, 1847.
ss Appendix to the Journal of the House of Representatives, 1846-1847,.
p. 438.
A BRIBERY EPISODE 491
Marshall appeared with counsel; but owing to the absence
of witnesses, he was placed in charge of the Sergeant-at-
arms and the committee adjourned.34
On the following day two additional members were ap-
pointed by the House to sit with the committee. A com-
prehensive set of rules for the governing of the committee
was drawn up and signed by the members.35 The affidavit
of Nelson King was read. Then the committee began the
taking of evidence. Frederick D. Mills and James Grant
acted as counsel for Marshall; and Henry W. Starr36 ap-
peared in behalf of the State. A. H. Palmer, editor of The
Iowa Capitol Reporter, acted as an additional clerk.
Nelson King was called as the first witness,37 whereupon
the counsel for Marshall made a request for a specification
of charges. To the statement of the charges they objected
on the grounds that the specifications were too general and
that names of persons were not stated definitely. But these
objections were overruled by the committee. Then the
chairman called on Mr. King to state what he knew of the
attempt at bribery.
From Mr. King's testimony38 it appears that he was
indebted to S. T. Marshall for legal services rendered dur-
ing his (King's) former residence in Lee County. As soon
as Mr. Marshall saw King in Iowa City he asked for the
money, but Mr. King replied that it would be almost impos-
sible for him to pay at that time. On two other occasions
s* Appendix to the Journal of the House of Representatives, 1846-1847,
p. 438.
35 This list of rules is given in the Appendix to the Journal of the House of
Representatives, 1846-1847, pp. 470-471.
se Henry W. Starr was a prominent attorney in Burlington at this time. —
See Parish's The Bribery of Alexander W. McGregor in THE IOWA JOURNAL
OF HISTORY AND POLITICS, Vol. Ill, No. 3, p. 393.
37 Appendix to the Journal of the House of Representatives, 1846-1847, p. 439.
38 Mr. King 's testimony appears in full in the Appendix to the Journal of
the House of Representatives, 1846-1847, pp. 439-441.
492 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
Marshall mentioned the debt, and during the second inter-
view he ventured to inquire concerning whom the Whigs
expected to support for United States Senators. Mr. King
replied that he did not know whom they were going to sup-
port. As for himself, he would prefer to vote for two good
Whigs, but he rather expected that a compromise would be
effected whereby one Democrat and one Whig would be
elected.
Mr. Marshall continued to approach King on the subject
of the senatorial election, and in one conversation asked him
if one hundred dollars would be of any service to him. King
claimed to have evaded this question knowing that "there
was something in the wind. ' ' The meetings between the two
men became more and more frequent, and Marshall seems
to have gained more courage.
"Finally, about that time," runs King's testimony, "me
and him was in that path between the House of Representa-
tives and the brick tavern. When I met him there he offered
me a hundred dollars, and gave me to understand if I would
vote for Dodge I should have it. ... He told me we had
plenty of money, and wrote out a pledge rather as I took it.
It read about in this form, 'I do hereby agree to cast my
vote for A. C. Dodge'. He told me if I would sign that he
would give me a hundred dollars, which I refused to do." 39
Mr. King stated that he then consulted with friends who
advised him to accept the money for the purpose of expos-
ing Mr. Marshall. He claims that at first he was afraid to
take this advice lest the people should misunderstand his
motive. But Mr. Marshall urged the case so strongly that
he finally consented to accept the money.
The arguments used by Marshall in his attempts to in-
fluence Mr. King are both interesting and suggestive. He
39 Appendix to the Journal of the House of Bepresentatives, 1846-1847, p.
440.
A BRIBERY EPISODE 493
promised King that he should have money and a good office.
On this The Bloomington Herald comments in most sarcas-
tic terms. "Among other offers made by said Marshall",
runs the editorial, "was one which must have been very
gratifying to the pride of Mr. King, and shows the idea
entertained by Marshall in regard to what constitutes a
gentleman. Marshall said they would make a gentleman of
him (King) if he would just consent to vote for Dodge I
Marshall's idea of gentlemen must be fine clothes and 'lots'
of cash — Dodge cash." 40
When, under cross-examination, King was asked why he
gave Mr. Marshall to understand that he would vote for
Democratic candidates and what his motive was in accept-
ing the money, he stated that it was his "wish to blow all
such corruption out of existence."41
During the cross-examination of Mr. King by the counsel
for Marshall an attempt was made to prove that, during
his former residence in Lee County, Mr. King had been a
man of questionable character. Charges of "assault with
an intent to kill" and of stealing bacon were alluded to.
This afforded material for many insulting and humorous
remarks on the part of the Democratic press.
As a result of these personal charges an exciting affray
took place in the House of Eepresentatives on January 20,
1847,42 between Mr. King and A. H. Palmer, the editor of
the Reporter. The House had just adjourned, and a session
of the investigating committee was to be held immediately
following for the purpose of continuing the cross-examina-
40 The Bloomington Herald, Vol. I, No. 31, December 18, 1846.
41 Appendix to the Journal of the House of Representatives, 1846-1847, p.
442.
42 Accounts of this affray appear in The Iowa Standard (Iowa City), Vol. I,
"No. 33, February 3, 1847; and in The Bloomington Herald, Vol. I, No. 37,
January 29, 1847.
494 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
tion of Mr. King.43 Palmer, having entered the committee
room to confer with the chairman on being excused from
attendance at the meeting, was about to leave the room
when King started after the editor, overtaking him at the
door. Being altogether unprepared for the attack, Palmer
was the victim of some well-aimed blows. Indeed, the
affair might have been serious had it not been for the inter-
vention of a certain Dr. Matson and other spectators, for
King was a typical frontiersman in physique, while Palmer
was in fact a very slight and puny man.
A loaded pistol having been wrested from King, the
Democrats declared that this was evidence of a premedi-
tated plan on the part of the Whigs to assassinate the
Democratic editor.44 The fact that King was armed, that
he had remarked that he had no use for Palmer, and that
the Whigs made no effort to stop the fight were the argu-
ments used in support of their suspicions.
That which brought on the affray with Palmer was the
publication from time to time of abusive personal articles
in the Reporter in which Mr. King was denounced — prob-
ably with injustice and only for political reasons. Mr.
King had borne these insults for some time ; but his patience
was exhausted when the following paragraph appeared
concerning his cross-examination:
Old Hawk intimates that the member from Keokuk is quite
illiterate. He says that he is only deficient in literature. Here
the old fellow is in error ; for his protege is evidently familiar with
Lock and Bacon. At least such is the general impression created
by certain passages in his cross-examination.45
*3 From the fact that the main evidence was concluded on January 30th, it
appears that this was some further examination which does not appear in the
Journal of the House.
44 The Iowa Standard (Iowa City), Vol. I, No. 33, February 3, 1847.
45 Quoted from The Iowa Capitol Eeporter in The Bloomington Herald, Vol.
I, No. 37, January 29, 1847.
A BRIBERY EPISODE 495
After the fight Mr. King remarked that he had intended
to ignore Palmer's personal remarks until this attack was
made on his honesty, when, on the advice of his wife, (in
spite of remonstrance from friends) he decided to give Mr.
Palmer the chastisement he deserved.46 While the affair
probably amounted to nothing more than an ordinary fisti-
cuff fight, it is typical of the bitterness which grew out of
those "violent ebulitions of party", which were so common
during this period of Iowa's political history.47
On the following afternoon Mr. King was arrested on the
charge of having assaulted Palmer "with a deadly weapon
with intent to commit bodily injury, where no considerable
provocation appears".48 Before a large audience Justice
Hawkins conducted the trial in the Old Stone Capitol. Carl-
ton and Mills were the counsel for the prosecution and
Whicher and Clarke appeared for the accused. The trial
was quite tedious, and after several witnesses had been
examined the prosecution withdrew the suit since they were
unable to sustain their charge.49 Thereupon Mr. King was
released from custody.
Following Mr. King's testimony and cross-examination
in the bribery matter several witnesses were examined by
the investigating committee, among whom was Johnson C.
Chapman, the fireman of the House of Eepresentatives.
When asked to state all he knew relative to attempts to
bribe any member or officer of the House, Mr. Chapman
gave a long and detailed account of an attempt made
through him to secure the votes 50 of Eepresentatives Con-
48 The Bloomington Herald, Vol. I, No. 37, January 29, 1847.
47 The Iowa Standard (Iowa City), Vol. I, No. 33, February 3, 1847.
*»The Bloomington Herald, Vol. I, No. 37, January 29, 1847.
49 The Bloomington Herald, Vol. I, No. 37, January 29, 1847.
5° Johnson C. Chapman 'a testimony appears in full in the Appendix to the
Journal of the House of Eepresentatives, 1846-1847, pp. 463-467.
496 IOWA JOUENAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
lee and Clifton. Col. William Patterson,51 the father-in-law
of S. T. Marshall, in conversation with Mr. Chapman ven-
tured to ask him if he knew how Clifton and Conlee were
going to vote. Mr. Chapman replied that he did not know.
In a subsequent conversation, Mr. Chapman mentioned the
fact that his presence in Iowa City as fireman of the House
of Representatives was due to pecuniary need. Some time
later Col. Patterson inquired again concerning the attitude
of Representatives Conlee and Clifton on the senatorial
election ; and at this time he asked if Mr. Clifton could not
be induced to vote for A. C. Dodge. Mr. Chapman was not
certain that he could influence Mr. Clifton but believed that
Clifton would listen to his arguments. Whereupon Col.
Patterson assured him that he firmly believed that he
(Chapman) could get Mr. Clifton to vote for Dodge.
Furthermore, he agreed to relieve Mr. Chapman from his
financial difficulties by a loan of $200 for fifteen, twenty,
twenty-five, or thirty years without interest, if Chapman
would secure Mr. Clifton's vote for Dodge. "This", Col.
Patterson remarked, "would only be right for one friend to
do for another. ' ' At the same time Mr. Haight 52 attempted
to depreciate the value of Mr. Chapman's occupation as fire-
man by saying that he would probably be paid in State
"scrip" worth only about fifty per cent of its face value,
and that if he could effect the plan with Mr. Clifton he
could have the $200 to take home with him. In addition to
the offers of money, Mr. Haight promised that Clifton
should receive a good office. Col. Patterson mentioned the
51 Col. William Patterson was a member of the first legislature of the
Territory of Iowa in 1838. While a member of that body he was influential
in settling the difficulty concerning the Missouri-Iowa boundary. He was
elected to the legislature of Iowa, both upper and lower house, for nine dif-
ferent sessions; he was also a member of the Constitutional Convention
which met in Iowa City in 1857. — History of Lee County, Iowa, p. 708.
62 Mr. Haight was a friend of Col. Patterson.
A BRIBERY EPISODE 497
fact that a number of land offices were to be established
soon and that he believed Mr. Clifton to be a man who
could be recommended for such a position.53
Mr. Chapman agreed to talk with Eepresentative Clifton,
but found him very much opposed to Dodge. Col. Patterson
then agreed that, in order to show Mr. Clifton that an office
would be forthcoming as a reward for his vote, he and his
friends would bind themselves in a bond that would assure
him that he would get the office. During this conversation
Col. Patterson remarked that he had no intention of doing
anything wrong if he knew it, and would not ask Mr. Chap-
man to do so. But, believing that the majority of the people
desired the election of Dodge, it would be right to use all
"honorable efforts" to get him elected.54
It seems that Mr. Chapman's influence amounted to very
little, and so Col. Patterson together with two of his col-
leagues 55 arranged for an interview with Mr. Clifton. Be-
ing convinced that his vote could not be secured for Dodge,
they tried what seemed to them the only alternative, name-
ly, to persuade him to resign his seat in the House. In order
to effect this plan they offered to give him as much money
as his salary would amount to during the remainder of the
session. The promise of $200 to Mr. Chapman was re-
newed for assistance in effecting this plan.56
Before the close of his testimony, Mr. Chapman re-
marked that, when he had mentioned the fact that he
thought Mr. Clifton could have $100 if he would vote for
33 The facts contained in the above paragraph are taken from Mr. Chap-
man's testimony as it appears in the Journal of the House.
s* Appendix to the Journal of the House of Representatives, 1846-1847, p.
465.
55 Mr. Haight and Mr. Stotts.
5« Appendix to the Journal of the House of Representatives, 1846-1847, p.
466.
VOL. vn — 33
498 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
Dodge, Mr. Clifton had replied that he would rather die
any death than accept a bribe to do something which he
believed to be wrong or against the wishes of his constitu-
ents.57
The testimony of Nelson King and that of Johnson C.
Chapman comprise the main evidence secured by the inves-
tigating committee, since the other witnesses merely testi-
fied that their knowledge of the case had been received
from one or the other of these men. The taking of evidence
was concluded, sworn to, and subscribed to on January 30.,
1847,58 but the committee did not report to the House until
the fourth day of February.59 The chairman, Mr. Coch-
ran, made the report which appears as follows in the
Journal of the House:
The Select Committee appointed under a Resolution of the
House of Representatives, on the ninth day of December, 1846,
with instructions to inquire and report in regard to an alleged eon-
tempt of said House by S. T. Marshall and others in offering bribes,
&c. have performed the duty assigned them, and herewith submit
the result of their investigations, a journal of their proceedings,
in which is embodied the testimony of Nelson King, Johnson C.
Chapman, Josiah Clifton, John F. Stanford, Thomas C. Young,
William H. Wallace, Stuart Goodrell, and Robert Shelleday, the
same being all the testimony to which they could conveniently gain
access, they took measures to procure the testimony of several other
witnesses, by procuring subpoenas to be served upon them, but who,
when called were not in attendance, and could not be conveniently
had to testify before your committee ; your committee did not deem
it necessary that said witnesses should be sent for, as they are satis-
fied that nothing could be elicited from them further than is tes-
tified to by the witnesses examined. Having collected all the testi-
er Appendix to the Journal of the House of Representatives, 1846-1847, p.
466.
68 Appendix to the Journal of the House of Representatives, 1846-1847, p.
470.
G* Journal of the House of Representatives, 1846-1847, p. 236.
A BRIBERY EPISODE 499
mony deemed material, and having submitted it to the House, your
committee ask to be discharged from the further consideration of
the matter.60
Following the presentation of the report of the commit-
tee there was a partial reading of the testimony in the
case. The report was considered and concurred in by the
House, and the committee was discharged.61 On Thurs-
day, February llth, the reading of the evidence was re-
sumed but not concluded since it was finally agreed that the
full evidence should be entered on the Journal without
further reading.62
The only action taken by the House against any of the
parties as a result of the investigation was on February
25, 1847, when the following resolution was adopted :
Resolved, That Samuel T. Marshall has been proven guilty of
a contempt of this House in offering a bribe to one of its members
and deserves its severest reprehension.
Resolved: That these resolutions be entered on the Journals of
this House, as a public reprimand for said contempt.63
A motion was made to amend the resolution so as to in-
clude mention of Nelson King as guilty of receiving a bribe.
This, however, was disagreed to ; 64 and here the bribery
episode in the first election of United States Senators
terminated. Nelson King served the remainder of his term
as a Eepresentative from Keokuk County; and the records
show that he attended the extra session of the legislature
which was held during January, 1848.65 Samuel T. Mar-
shall, having been released from custody on a writ of
«o Journal of the House of Representatives, 1846-1847, p. 236.
si Journal of the House of Representatives, 1846-1847, p, 241.
«2 Journal of the House of Representatives, 1846-1847, p. 287.
63 Journal of the House of Representatives, 1846-1847, p. 425.
64 Journal of the House of Representatives, 1846-1847, p. 425.
•5 Journal of the House of Representatives, 1848, (Extra Session), p. 3.
500 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
habeas corpus, returned to his home soon after the inves-
tigation began.66
A more judicious investigation could have been made and
a more definite conclusion reached had the bitter political
antagonism of both parties in the legislature not prevented.
The Whigs naturally blamed the Democrats for the results
declaring that ''Without a single exception, the members
of the locofoco party in the House .... threw every
obstacle in the way of a thorough and searching investiga-
tion. They have acted like men who feared a disclosure of
the truth."
As to the senatorial election, the contest was long drawn
out. Fearing defeat, the Democrats in the Senate refused
for some time to concur with the House in all efforts to
hold a joint convention. The Senate, however, after three
weeks of stubborn resistance, finally yielded, and on De-
cember 18, 1846, the two houses held their first joint con-
vention for the purpose of choosing United States Sena-
tors.67 Silence reigned in the crowded hall of the Old Stone
Capitol as Silas A. Hudson, secretary of the convention,
called the roll and each member of the legislature voted
for his favorite candidate.
When it was found that twenty-nine votes had been cast
for Jonathan McCarty, the Whig candidate, twenty-eight
for Thomas S. Wilson, the Democratic candidate, and one
for Gilbert C. E. Mitchell,68 members and spectators alike
were dumfounded. Investigation showed that while the
three doubtful members from Lee County had voted for
ee The Iowa Standard (Iowa City), Vol. I, No. 28, December 23, 1846.
or Journal of the House of Representatives, 1846-1847, p. 95; Journal of the
Senate, 1846-1847, p. 58.
es Journal of the House of Representatives, 1846-1847, p. 95; Journal of the
Senate, 1846-1847, p. 58.
A BRIBERY EPISODE 501
McCarty, Senator Fullenwider, formerly a loyal Whig, had
cast his vote for Mitchell. Thus, since thirty votes on the
joint ballot were required for a majority, no election oc-
curred. A scene bordering on panic ensued. The Demo-
crats, fearful lest a second ballot would result in their de-
feat, called loudly for an adjournment. Order was finally
restored by an appeal on the part of Mr. Benton for the
retirement of the members of the Senate from the conven-
tion.69 Thereupon the two houses adjourned until January
5, 1847.70
During the short recess of the General Assembly, which
began on the following day, both parties carefully laid their
plans for the election of their respective candidates. In
the meantime Senator Huner decided to enter the contest
as a Democratic candidate against Augustus Caesar
Dodge.71 He unfolded his plan to Mr. Clifton; for, since
Eepresentative Conlee had died during the time of ad-
journment,72 it was evident that Huner and Clifton could
determine the result on the joint ballot. The Democrats,
however, were not inclined to favor Senator Huner 's plan.
On January 5, 1847, the House informed the Senate that
they were ready to receive the members of the upper house
in joint convention for the purpose of electing United States
Senators.73 The appointed hour arrived, but the Senators
did not appear. The Democrats, being in control of the
Senate and realizing the impossibility of electing their own
candidates, had determined to prevent the election of
Whigs by refusing to go into joint convention. And so
«9 Clark 's History of the Election of United States Senators from Iowa
(unpublished manuscript).
70 Journal of the House of Representatives, 1846-1847, p. 58.
71 Clark 's History of the Election of United States Senators from Iowa
(unpublished manuscript).
72 Reuben Conlee died in Iowa City on December 23, 1846.
73 Journal of the House of Representatives, 1846-1847, p. 110.
502 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
throughout the remainder of the session the Senate stub-
bornly refused to concur with the House in efforts to hold
a joint convention.
At the August election in 1847 a Democrat 74 was chosen
to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Eeuben Conlee.
This naturally kindled the hopes of the Democratic party.
Governor Briggs called a special session of the legislature
for the election of United States Senators.75 But the Whig
majority in the House played the role of the Democrats at
the last regular session and refused to go into joint con-
vention with the Senate; and therefore an election was
prevented at this special session. Indeed, it was not until
December 7, 1848, that an election of Senators occurred,
when Augustus C. Dodge and George W. Jones were each
chosen by a vote of 38 to 19.76 Thus, the new State of Iowa
was for two years without representation in the United
States Senate.
ETHYL E. MARTIN
THE STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF IOWA
IOWA CITY
T* D. S. Baker.
TB This session convened on January 3, 1848, by order of Governor Briggs 'a
proclamation of December 3, 1847. — See Shambaugh's Messages and Procla-
mations of the Governors of Iowa, Vol. I, pp. 377, 378.
TO Journal of the House of Representatives, 1848-1849, p. 29; Journal of
the Senate, 1848-1849, pp. 24-25.
THE BATTLE OF SHILOH
[Iowa has special interest in the battle of Shiloh for several reasons. It
had more men in the battle, in proportion to population, than any other State.
The Iowa regiments engaged (all infantry) were: Second, Third, Sixth,
Seventh, Eighth, Eleventh, Twelfth, Thirteenth, Fourteenth, Fifteenth, and
Sixteenth — eleven in all. Besides these, there were three companies from
Iowa (F, I, K) in the Twenty-fifth Missouri, which was the regiment that
furnished the reconnoitering party sent out on Sunday morning, April 6th.
The Sixth Iowa Regiment claims the distinction of being the first regiment
to disembark at Pittsburg Landing, and the Eighth claims the distinction of
being the last regiment to retire from the line in the Hornets' Nest. Five
Iowa regiments were in the Hornets' Nest and three of the number (Eighth,
Twelfth, and Fourteenth) were captured. All of the other Iowa regiments
were in the thick of the fight on Sunday, and each maintained the honor of
the State.
Before the close of the war there were many promotions of both officera
and men from among those engaged at Shiloh, and several attained civil dis-
tinction during and after the war. Major Wm. M. Stone (Third Regiment)
and Lieutenant Buren R. Sherman (Thirteenth Regiment) served the State as
Governors. Sherman served as Auditor of State three terms before becoming
Governor. Major W. W. Belknap (Fifteenth Regiment) became Secretary
of War, and Lieutenant David B. Henderson (Twelfth Regiment), after long
service in the lower house of Congress, became Speaker. Many others en-
gaged in the battle from Iowa served the State in the General Assembly, in
Congress, and in other official stations of responsibility. — EDITOR.]
No apology is offered for the appearance of another
paper on the Battle of Shiloh, for the reason that the last
word to be said on the subject has not been said, and indeed
will not have been said nntil the last serious misrepresenta-
tion, made through ignorance, prejudice, malice, or for any
other reason, has been corrected. It is not in the thought of
the writer that he will be able to contribute additional facts
to the literature of the subject ; but it is hoped that the facts
may be so grouped and illustrated as to leave a clearer pic-
ture of the battle in the mind of the reader.
As far as the writer knows the movements of the battle
on Sunday, April 6, 1862, have not heretofore been illus-
504 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
trated except by means of one general map, showing pro-
gressive movements of the battle lines throughout the day.
Such a map can be little better than a puzzle-picture to the
general reader.
The original map from which the tracings were made to
illustrate the Battle of Shiloh was prepared under direction
of the Shiloh National Military Park Commission, to ac-
company its account of the battle, entitled The Battle of
Shiloh and the Organizations Engaged, compiled from of-
ficial records by Major D. W. Reed, Historian and Secre-
tary of the Commission. To insure accuracy in the original
map, the field was carefully platted by the Commission's
engineer, Mr. Atwell Thompson, and the camps and battle
lines were located by Major D. W. Reed, after an exhaust-
ive study of official documents, aided by the recollections of
scores of officers and men engaged in the battle on the
respective sides. The reader must remember, however, that
the lines were never for a moment stationary, so that it
would be a physical impossibility to represent them cor-
rectly at short intervals of time. The analysis here given
of the general map published by the Commission, it is be-
lieved, will aid materially in understanding the battle.
Though not offering an apology for this paper, the writer
is disposed to justify its appearance somewhat by referring
briefly by way of introduction, to a few illustrative errors
and misrepresentations sought to be corrected, pointing out
some of the so-called histories and memoirs where they are
to be found. Of course it is not to be presumed that these
errors and misrepresentations were intentional: they are
due mainly to two causes — to the "smart" newspaper cor-
respondent, whose main object was sensation; and to the
unreliable historian whose main weakness was indolence in
searching for facts. Prejudice may in a few cases have
contributed to the pollution of the historic stream.
THE BATTLE OF SHILOH 505
Special acknowledgements are due from the writer to
Major D. W. Eeed, Secretary and Historian of the Shiloh
National Military Park Commission, for valuable sugges-
tions in the preparation of this paper. The writer is also
under obligations to Lieutenant Wm. J. Hahn of Omaha,
Nebraska, a member of the Twenty-fifth Missouri, who was
of the Major Powell reconnoitering party, sent out by Colo-
nel Peabody on Sunday morning, April 6th; and also to
T. W. Holman of Eutledge, Missouri, who was a member of
the Twenty-first Missouri Infantry and was with the regi-
ment when it went out to reenforce the reconnoitering party
and the pickets.
INTRODUCTION
One of the worst as it was one of the first of the
sensational stories of the Battle of Shiloh put in historic
form was the account by Horace Greeley in his American
Conflict. The camp at Pittsburg Landing before the bat-
tle is likened to a Methodist campmeeting, and the Union
army on Sunday morning is represented as a "bewildered,
half-dressed, .... helpless, coatless, musketless mob", upon
which the enemy sprang "with the bayonet". This account
has Prentiss 's division * ' routed before it had time to form
a line of battle;" and Sherman's division is "out of the
fight by 8 o'clock".1
J. S. C. Abbott in his story of the Battle of Shiloh as
given in his two-volume History of the Civil War, gathered
his material from the same sensational sources and he used
it in the same sensational way as did Mr. Greeley.
A more pretentious work, which appeared much later, was
Scribners' History of the United States in five volumes.
This work appeared after original sources of information
had become easily accessible; and yet in its account of the
i Greeley 's The American Conflict, Vol. II, pp. 58-61.
506 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
Battle of Shiloh it is the sinner of sinners for untruthful-
ness. It is no exaggeration to say of the Scribners' account
of the battle what General Beauregard is credited with hav-
ing said of General Halleck's report to the Secretary of
War at Washington as to the condition of the Confederate
army after the evacuation of Corinth — "it contains more
lies than lines".
Another of the sensational type, though of pretentious
title, is Headley 's History of the Rebellion. Headley repre-
sents the Union officers as still in bed, when the " inunda-
tion" came, and says that "the troops seizing their muskets
as they could, fled like a herd of sheep". Unfortunately
for the reputation of Mr. Headley as a historian, the facts
are all against him — he allowed himself to be misled by the
fiction-writers.
John Codman Ropes, who enjoys something of a repu-
tation as a critical writer, in his recent Story of the Civil
War, published by the Massachusetts Historical Society,
shows plainly that he followed very closely the account as
given by General Buell, in his Shiloh Reviewed; and he
shows, also, a prejudiced judgment against Grant and in
favor of Buell — whom he evidently admired. Mr. Ropes
makes it appear that none of the divisions near the Landing
were in line until after Sherman and Prentiss had fallen
back from their first lines, about ten a. m. He leaves it to
be inferred also that Buell had an entire division on the
west side of the river and in the fight on Sunday night ; and
he figures that not more than five thousand of Grant's five
divisions, which were engaged in the battle on Sunday, were
in line at the close of the day.
John Fiske is another writer on Civil War subjects, and
in his Mississippi Valley in the Civil War he describes the
Battle of Shiloh, but not without some rather serious errors.
For instance he attributes the "wait-for-Buell" policy to
THE BATTLE OF SHILOH 507
Grant — it was due to his superior, General Halleck. He
says that General McClernand was the ranking officer at
Pittsburg Landing in General Grant's absence, which is not
correct — General Sherman was the ranking officer. He
makes no mention of the reconnoitering party that went out
from Prentiss's division before daylight on Sunday morn-
ing, but says that "when the Confederates attacked in full
force on Sunday morning, the Federals were in camp and
not in line of battle. ' ' On the same page, however, he gives
himself a flat contradiction by telling how Prentiss had
formed line and advanced a quarter of a mile, where he
received "the mighty rush of the Confederates" — and the
time he fixes at about half past five o'clock, which is an
error of fully two hours.
On one page he gives the strength of the Confederate
army as 36,000, exclusive of cavalry, and on another page
his "reckoning" is 30,000 on the same basis. He criticises
General Johnston for giving so much attention to the
divisions of Prentiss and Sherman, at the opening of the
battle, when he should have massed heavily against Stuart,
the extreme left of the Union line, forgetting, if he ever
knew, that Prentiss and Sherman must be forced back be-
fore Stuart could be attacked. The plan suggested by Fiske
would have exposed the Confederate flank to the two divi-
sions of Prentiss and Sherman, which would have been a
Wander. The corps organization of the Confederate army
appears, by inference, to have been well maintained ; where-
as they began to commingle at the beginning of the battle,
and the corps were practically broken up by ten o'clock.
Mr. Fiske is again in error in leaving the inference that
an entire brigade of Nelson's division was in at the close of
the fight on Sunday night. And still another error is the
statement that three Confederate brigades participated in
the last attack near the Landing. He gives the number of
508 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
guns in Grant's last line far below the facts, and then specu-
lates upon what might have been if General Beauregard
could have "put 6000 to 8000 fresh reserves into the fight,
against his weary antagonist", apparently never thinking
of the converse of the speculation. Mr. Fiske appears to-
be particularly unfortunate in the handling of statistics.
He makes it appear that Lew. Wallace brought 7000 men,
to Grant's right, and Nelson about the same number to his
left, on Sunday night — an error of 4000 or more. If Mr.
Fiske had trusted less to Shiloh Reviewed and more to of-
ficial records, he would have made fewer mistakes.
Henry Villard, who was a newspaper correspondent with
Buell's army, has written what he calls " Memoirs", and
"in order to impart greater accuracy and perhaps some
novelty", to his "sketch" of the Battle of Shiloh, he goes
to Confederate reports for his information. His " sketch "*
abounds in errors, even to the misquoting of one of Gen-
eral Grant's dispatches, thus changing a negative to an
affirmative statement.
As recently as 1895 a Brevet Brigadier General, U. S. V.,
Henry M. Cist, in his Army of the Cumberland, quotes ap-
provingly from Comte de Paris 's History of the Civil War
as follows: "At the sight of the enemy's batteries advanc-
ing in good order, the soldiers that have been grouped
together in haste, to give an air of support to Webster's
batteries, became frightened, and scattered. It is about to-
be carried, when a new body of troops deploying in the rear
of the guns .... received the Confederates with a fire that
drives them back in disorder." 2 Mr. Cist quotes also from
Whitelaw Eeid's Ohio in the War as follows : "He [Buell]
came into the action when, without him, all was lost. He
redeemed the fortunes of the field, and justly won the title-
2 Cist'B The Army of the Cumberland, pp. 74, 75.
THE BATTLE OF SHILOH 509
of the "Hero of Pittsburg Landing".3 Of the second quota-
tion it needs only to be said that its author was the news-
paper correspondent who wrote the first sensational and
untruthful account of the Battle of Shiloh. The other
quotation may well pass for an Arabian Nights tale.
General Lew. Wallace, commanding the second division
of Grant's army, having his camp at Crump's Landing six
miles down the river from Pittsburg Landing, has left for
us his Autobiography, which in many respects is an inter-
esting work. But if it is to be judged by its account of the
Battle of Shiloh, in which Wallace participated on the sec-
ond day, the author's reputation as a writer of fiction will
not suffer. General Wallace accepts the first stories as to
the "complete surprise" of the camp and offers argument
to prove the contention. Then he proceeds to upset his own
argument by showing that Prentiss and Sherman had their
divisions in line of battle before six o'clock, or before the
Confederate lines began to move to the attack. He brings
the advance of Buell's army on the field some three hours
before it was actually there ; has General W. H. L. Wallace
mortally wounded about the same length of time before the
incident occurred; has General Johnston killed in front of
the Hornets' Nest. He credits the men in the Hornets'
Nest with holding the position "for two or three hours",
whereas it was "held" from about 9:30 a. m. to about 5:30
p. m. "against the choicest chivalry of the South, led by
General Johnston himself", to quote General Wallace. In
fact, General Johnston led no assault upon the Hornets'
Nest, or upon any other position in the Union line. These
are a few of many fictions in Wallace's Autobiography,
where, of all places, the truth should be found.
Had it been true that the position at the Hornets' Nest
3 Cist's The Army of the Cumberland, p. 77.
510 IOWA JOUENAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
was held "for two or three hours" only, Grant's center
would have been broken while Nelson's division was still
ten miles away, and about the hour when Wallace's divi-
sion started on its fifteen mile march. In that event, the
story of the Battle of Shiloh would have been a different
story. Grant's army would, probably, have been defeated,
and Buell's army then strung out over thirty miles of coun-
try road, might easily have suffered the same fate. For-
tunately, General Wallace was writing fiction.
At the risk of tediousness one more writer on the Battle
of Shiloh will be mentioned. General Buell, who partici-
pated in the battle of the second day, in a carefully pre-
pared paper, entitled Shiloh Reviewed* takes the position
of an advocate before a court and jury, stating what he
expects to prove, then marshalling his facts — or fictions,
as the case may be — to make good his contention. He
opens his case with the following proposition: "At the
moment near the close of the day when the remnant of the
retrograding army was driven to refuge in the midst
of its magazines, with the triumphant enemy at half -gun-
shot distance, the advance division of a reenforcing army
arrived .... and took position under fire at the point of
attack; the attacking force was checked, and the battle
ceased for the day." The reader, not familiar with the
facts, must necessarily draw two inferences from this state-
ment: (1) that an entire division of Buell's army was "at
the point of attack"; (2) that the presence of such a body
of fresh troops decided the fate of the day. Both infer-
ences are erroneous, as the facts will show.
On one point of some importance, General Buell flatly
contradicts himself. In speaking of the attack near the
Landing, Sunday night, he says, in Shiloh Reviewed, that
* The Century Magazine, Vol. XXXI, p. 749.
THE BATTLE OF SHILOH 511
the "fire of the gunboats was harmless". In his official
report written just after the battle, he says that the "gun-
boats contributed very much to the result" — the repulse
of the enemy.
Perhaps a perfectly fair and unprejudiced account of the
Battle of Shiloh ought not to have been expected from the
pen of General Buell. He had, or fancied that he had,,
grievances against both General Grant and General Hal-
leek — and he was human.
THE BATTLE OF SHILOH NOT AN ISOLATED INCIDENT
The Battle of Shiloh was not an isolated incident : it was
one of a series of incidents, more or less closely related, in
which the Army of the Tennessee figured prominently and
effectively, but with divided responsibilities. It is, there-
fore, proper to take into account conditions precedent to
the battle before passing judgment upon the men and the
commanders who happened to be present at the moment,
and upon whom fell the immediate responsibilities, and
who suffered for the shortcomings of others. The Army of
the Tennessee was at Pittsburg Landing under the orders
of an officer superior in rank to the officer in immediate
command; and it was there for a definite purpose. If it
did not accomplish the definite purpose, it may be answered,
in extenuation at least, that it was not permitted to try —
its hands were tied and it was ordered to "wait". It
waited until compelled to fight for its own safety. It saved
itself from defeat and, very probably, saved from destruc-
tion another army of equal strength.
It is of no consequence who first suggested the line of the
Tennessee and Cumberland rivers as the weak point in the
Confederate line between Columbus on the West and Bowl-
ing Green on the East. It would have been a reflection on
military genius, if the suggestion had not come to several
512 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
persons at about the same time — so patent was the evi-
dence. It is of some importance, however, to remember
who made the first move to save the "weak point". Just
seven months before the Battle of Shiloh (September 6,
1861), the first direct step was taken leading to that event.
On September 4, 1861, General Grant took command of
the Cairo district with headquarters at Cairo, General Fre-
mont being then department commander with headquarters
at St. Louis. On the day after taking command of the
district, General Grant learned of an expedition from
Columbus to occupy Paducah at the mouth of the Ten-
nessee. A force was at once prepared to anticipate the
Confederate movement ; a dispatch was then sent to head-
quarters that the force would move at a certain hour unless
orders were received to the contrary. No order came back,
and Paducah was occupied without firing a shot on the
next morning much to the surprise of the inhabitants who
were hourly expecting the Confederates then on the march.
General Grant returned to Cairo on the same day, finding
there the order permitting him to do what was already
done. The same movement that saved the Tennessee saved
also the Cumberland.
Except for this prompt action on the part of General
Grant the mouths of these two rivers would surely have
been strongly fortified; but, instead, the Confederate line
was forced back a hundred miles, in its center, to Fort
Henry on the Tennessee and Fort Donelson on the Cum-
berland (Map I).
Columbus, a few miles below Cairo, strongly fortified and
garrisoned by the Confederates, was so situated that it
might, unless threatened from Cairo and Paducah, throw
troops either west into Missouri or east by rail to Bowling
Green or to points within easy marching distance of Fort
Henry and Fort Donelson as there might be need. As a
THE BATTLE OF SHILOH 513
result of these conditions, there was activity in Grant's
district, during the fall and winter months of 1861. The
battle of Belmont (Nov. 7, 1861) was one of the " diver-
sions" to keep the garrison at Columbus at home. In the
following January, General Halleck having become depart-
ment commander, expeditions were sent out from Cairo
and Paducah to the rear of Columbus and up the west bank
of the Tennessee — General C. F. Smith commanding the
latter expedition. General Smith, having scouted as far
toward Fort Henry as he thought advisable, went on board
the gunboat Lexington "to have a look" at the Fort. The
gunboat went within "about 2y2 miles .... drawing a
single shot from the enemy .... in response to four sev-
eral shots fired at them." In his report (Jan. 22, 1862)
to General Grant, General Smith said: "I think two iron-
clad gunboats would make short work of Fort Henry. ' ' 5
On the same day that General Smith reported on Fort
Henry, General Grant was given "permission to visit head-
quarters" in response to a request made some time before
— but he soon learned that advice and suggestions in re-
gard to affairs in his district were not wanted, and he went
back to his command. He ventured, however (Jan. 28th)
to send the following to his superior: "With permission,
I will take Fort Henry . . . and establish and hold a large
camp there."6 Permission was granted on the 30th, and
Grant was "off up the Tennessee" (February 2nd).
Except for this appeal for "permission" to take Fort
Henry, backed by the advice of Flag-Officer Foote, com-
manding the gunboat flotilla, the expedition would have
been delayed at least two weeks, giving that much more
time for the Confederates to strengthen themselves. On
s War of the Rebellion: Official Records, Series I, Vol. VII, p. 561.
« War of the Rebellion: Official Records, Series I, Vol. VII, p. 121.
VOL. VII — 34
514 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
the day after the surrender of Fort Henry (February 6)
Halleck telegraphed to Buell that he "had no idea of com-
mencing the movement before the 15th or the 20th in-
stant".7 And he was evidently very uneasy about the suc-
cess of the movement, as appears from a dispatch sent to
the General-in-Chief (McClellan), at Washington at the
very moment when Foote's guns were pounding at the little
mud fort. The dispatch was as follows: "If you can
give me .... 10,000 more men, I will take Fort Henry, cut
the enemy's line, and paralyze Columbus. Give me 25,000
and I will threaten Nashville .... so as to force the enemy
to abandon Bowling Green without a battle. ' ' 8 Before that
dispatch was received in Washington the thing was accom-
plished by a gunboat bombardment of an hour and fifteen
minutes at Fort Henry.
Notwithstanding the fact that the expedition against
Fort Henry was undertaken before Halleck was ready for
it and the fact that he had misgivings as to its success, he
yet seems to have been jealous lest Buell might share in
the honors in case of success. When Buell learned of the
movement, which was undertaken without consultation with
him, he telegraphed Halleck to know if "co-operation" on
his part was "essential to .... success," to which Halleck
replied : ' ' Co-operation at present not essential. ' ' 9 Buell
was piqued at Halleck 's reply, and telegraphed to the Gen-
eral-in-Chief: "I protest against such prompt proceed-
ings, as though I had nothing to do but command 'Com-
mence firing' when he starts off."10
This episode is mentioned only for the purpose of show-
ing that there were personal complications between these
7 War of the Rebellion: Official Eecords, Series I, Vol. VII, p. 593.
s War of the Rebellion: Official Records, Series I, Vol. VII, p. 587.
» War of the Rebellion: Official Records, Series I, Vol. VII, pp. 574, 576.
10 War of the Rebellion: Official Records, Series I, Vol. VII, p. 933.
THE BATTLE OF SHILOH 515
three commanders that, possibly, had some bearing on the
Battle of Shiloh. The affairs of the succeeding three
weeks, after Fort Henry, did but complicate the compli-
cations, and upon General Grant fell the unfavorable
results.
No person was more surprised than was General Hal-
leek at the success of the expedition to Fort Henry, but he
continued to appeal to the General-in-Chief for "more
troops" while Grant was preparing to advance upon Fort
Donelson and after the investment of that place: (February
8th) without more troops, "I cannot advance on Nash-
ville"; (February 10th) "Do send me more troops. It is
the crisis of the war in the West" ; (February 14th) " Can't
you spare some troops from the Potomac?" ll
Two days after the last appeal, Fort Donelson surren-
dered, and Clarksville and Nashville waited only to be
"occupied". They were occupied, respectively, on the 21st
and 25th, without opposition. Nashville was occupied by
Nelson's division of Buell's army which was sent to re-
enforce Grant at Donelson; but, arriving too late, it was
sent directly forward to Nashville by order of Grant, the
latter following in person for the purpose of conferring
with Buell — and this last move came near being the un-
doing of General Grant who mortally offended his supe-
rior by pushing the campaign too rapidly, arousing at the
same time the jealousy of Buell by occupying Nashville
just ahead of his [Buell's] army approaching from the
North. General Grant was in "ahead of the hounds", at
Nashville — that was his only offense.
FROM FOET DONELSON TO SHILOH
On the day that Nashville was occupied by the Union
troops (February 25) the Confederates began the evacu-
11 War of the Rebellion: Official Records, Series I, Vol. VII, pp. 594, 599, 612.
516 IOWA JOUENAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
ation of Columbus, the last defense on the original line,
and began at once to establish a new line along the Mobile
and Ohio Railroad from Columbus southward to Corinth
and from Memphis eastward through Corinth to Chatta-
nooga on the Memphis and Charleston Eailroad, with Gen-
eral Beauregard in command, Corinth being the strategical
point at the crossing of the two roads (Map I).
After the evacuation of Nashville the Confederates un-
der General Johnston moved southward as rapidly as pos-
sible, striking the Memphis and Charleston road at Decatur,
thence moving west to Corinth, the advance reaching that
place March 18th. General Johnston reached Corinth on
the 24th, assuming command of the combined Confederate
forces on the 29th.
The commanders of the two Union armies, Halleck and
Buell, after Nashville, did not fully agree as to the best,
plan of following up the advantages already gained. Buell
thought, with the General-in-Chief (McClellan), that Chat-
tanooga was of "next importance" after Nashville12 and
he prepared to follow Johnston south. Halleck thought
that the line of the Tennessee River offered the opportunity
to strike the enemy's center at or near Corinth13 and he
urged Buell to join him in that movement, but without avail.
A few days later, however, General Halleck secured what
he had long desired, the consolidation of the two Depart-
ments with himself in command. Halleck urged his claims
on two grounds: (1) that all of the armies of the West
should be under one command, and (2) that the command
should fall to him in recognition of the successful campaign
against Fort Henry and Fort Donelson in his Department.14
The consolidation took place on March llth, after which.
12 War of the Rebellion: Official Eecords, Series I, Vol. VII, p. 660.
is War of the Rebellion: Official Eecords, Series I, Vol. X, Part II, p. 38.
i* War of the Rebellion: Official Records, Series I, Vol. VII, p. 628.
THE BATTLE OF SHILOH 517
date General Buell was subject to orders from St. Louis,
as General Grant had been from the first. General Buell's
advance southward from Nashville had reached Columbia
on Duck River before the consolidation (March 10), but
his headquarters were still at Nashville.
On the first of March it appears that General Halleck
notified General Grant that his column would move "up
the Tennessee", and that the main object would be "to de-
stroy the railroad bridge over Bear Creek, near Eastport
.... and also the connections at Corinth, Jackson, and
Humboldt." He was instructed to "Avoid any general en-
gagement with strong forces . . . better .... retreat than
risk a general battle".15 Two days later, General Halleck
sent to the General-in-Chief the complaint against General
Grant, which resulted in the latter 's practical suspension
from active command, Halleck suggesting at the same time
that General C. F. Smith command the expedition up the
Tennessee. In response to Halleck 's complaint, he was
authorized to put General Grant under arrest, "if the good
of the service requires it", to which Halleck replied: "I
do not deem it advisable to arrest him at present".16 On
the fourth of March, Halleck dispatched to Grant: "You
will place Maj. Gen. C. F. Smith in command of expedition
and remain yourself at Fort Henry." To this, Grant re-
plied, on the next day: "Troops will be sent, under com-
mand of Major-General Smith, as directed. I had prepared
a different plan, intending General Smith to command the
forces which will go to Paris and Humboldt, while I would
command the expedition upon Eastport, Corinth, and Jack-
son in person." He then assures General Halleck that
instructions will be carried out "to the very best" of his
ability.17
is War of the Rebellion: Official Records, Series I, Vol. VII, p. 674.
10 War of the Eebellion: Official Records, Series I, Vol. VII, pp. 680, 682.
i7 War of the Rebellion: Official Records, Series I, Vol. X, Part II, pp. 3-5.
518 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
Under this order of his superior, General Grant re-
mained at Fort Henry, acting in the capacity of a forward-
ing-officer, until the 17th of the month — the most impor-
tant two weeks between the date of the order to proceed
up the Tennessee and the 6th of April following, when the
camp was attacked at Pittsburg Landing. The expedition
was planned without consultation with General Grant, com-
mander of the district, and it was directed, except in minor
details, from headquarters in St. Louis both before and
after March 17th — the date of General Grant's restora-
tion to active command of the army in the field.
The expedition left Fort Henry on March 9th under
command of General Smith, with full authority from the
Department commander to select the place of landing.18
General Smith established headquarters at Savannah, on
the east bank of the river, But sent one division (General
Lew. Wallace) five miles farther up to Crump's Landing
on the west bank of the river, where his division went into
camp on the 12th. On the 13th Wallace sent an expedition
west about fifteen miles to the Mobile and Ohio Railway
near Bethel station, where about a half-mile of trestle work
was destroyed.19 The damage to the road was slight, how-
ever, as repairs were soon made. (Map I.)
On the 14th General Smith reported that he had "not
been able to get anything like the desired information as
to the strength of the enemy, but it seems to be quoted at
50,000 to 60,000 from Jackson through Corinth and farther
east. ' ' It was this information that induced General Smith
"not to attempt to cut the communication at that place,
[Corinth] as that would inevitably lead to a collision in
numbers" that he was "ordered to avoid".20 Immediately
is War of the Rebellion : Official Records, Series I, Vol. X, Part II, pp. 21-26.
19 War of the Rebellion: Official Records, Series I, Vol. X, Part I, pp. 9, 10.
20 War of the Rebellion: Official Records, Series I, Vol. X, Part I, p. 8.
THE BATTLE OF SHILOH 519
after this report was made, General Sherman was ordered
with his division to a point some distance above Pittsburg
Landing, with instructions to cut the Memphis and Charles-
ton road, if possible, at some point east of Corinth. The
attempt failed on acount of high water and Sherman
dropped back to Pittsburg Landing, where he met Hurl-
but 's division sent up by General Smith as support in case
of need. The two divisions left the boats at Pittsburg
Landing and went into camp. General Sherman sent out a
strong reconnoitering force toward Corinth, and on the
17th he reported to General Smith : "I am satisfied we
cannot reach the Memphis and Charleston Eoad without a
considerable engagement, which is prohibited by General
Halleck's instructions, so that I will be governed by your
orders of yesterday to occupy Pittsburg strongly."21
General Lew. Wallace, whose division was at Crump's
Landing at this time, says in his Autobiography that if Gen-
eral Smith had received the order from Halleck that he
expected, to move directly on Corinth, "there had been no
battle of Shiloh." And again he says that by the
time General Grant was restored to command, the oppor-
tunity of advancing on Corinth was " going, if not already
gone".22
General Grant was restored to active command on March
17th, and going at once to General Smith's headquarters
at Savannah he reported on the 18th the distribution of
troops as he found it — three divisions on the west side
of the Tennessee, Sherman and Hurlbut at Pittsburg Land-
ing, and Lew. Wallace at Crump's Landing; at Savannah,
on the east side of the river was McClernand's division;
and on transports on the river, waiting for orders, were
several regiments which were ordered to Pittsburg Land-
21 War of the Rebellion: Official Records, Series I, Vol. X, Part I, p. 25.
22 Wallace's Autobiography, Vol. I, pp. 446, 451.
520 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
ing. It is important to remember this distribution of the
army as General Grant found it, under the sanction if not
the direct order of the Department commander. That Gen-
eral Halleck still believed it possible to cut the Memphis
and Charleston Bailroad, according to his original plan, is
shown by a dispatch to General Grant (March 18th) based
on a rumor to the effect that the enemy had moved from
Corinth to attack the line of the Tennessee below Savannah,
that is, to attack Grant's communications. "If so," says
General Halleck, " General Smith should immediately de-
stroy railroad connection at Corinth."23 To this General
Grant replied on the 19th: "Immediate preparations will
be made to execute your .... order. I will go in person".24
Again, on the next day in a lengthy dispatch to Halleck 's
Adjutant General, Grant repeated his intention to go "in
person" with the expedition "should no orders received
hereafter prevent it" — adding that he would "take no
risk .... under the instructions" which he already had;
that if a battle seemed to be inevitable, he could "make a
movement upon some other point of the railroad .... and
thus save the demoralizing effect of a retreat".25
General Halleck evidently thought there was special sig-
nificance in Grant's intention to "go in person" with the
expedition toward Corinth — he knew something would be
doing — so, on the 20th Halleck dispatched: "keep your
forces together until you connect with General Buell ....
Don't let the enemy draw you into an engagement now." 26
Before this last dispatch was received, orders were issued
by General Grant to all division commanders to hold them-
selves ready to march at a moment's notice, with three days'
23 War of the Eebellion: Official Becords, Series I, Vol. X, Part II, p. 46.
24 War of the Eebellion: Official Becords, Series I, Vol. X, Part II, p. 49.
25 War of the Eebellion: Official Becords, Series I, Vol. X, Part II, p. 51.
26 War of the Eebellion: Official Eecords, Series I, Vol. X, Part II, pp. 50-51.
THE BATTLE OF SHILOH 521
rations in haversacks and seven days' rations in wagons.
On receiving the "wait" order, Grant dispatched again
(March 21) : "Corinth cannot be taken without meeting a
large force, say 30,000. A general engagement would be
inevitable; therefore I will wait a few days for further
instructions. ' ' 27 Evidently General Grant was restive and
anxious, believing that precious time was going to waste,
as appears from what he wrote to General Smith: "the
sooner we attack the easier will be the task".28
As far as the records show, no orders later than March
20th were received by General Grant; and so the army
within striking distance of the enemy was in a state of sus-
pended animation for nearly three weeks. The army was
expected to cut the Memphis and Charleston road, but it
was not permitted to fight for the purpose; it must do it
without disturbing the enemy.
It is important to remember in this connection that the
territory west of the Tennessee Eiver, from near its mouth
southward to Pittsburg Landing and west to the Missis-
sippi, was the enemy's country both in sentiment and by
strong military occupation, and so the expedition under
General Smith up the Tennessee was moving fully two
hundred miles from its base of supplies, wholly dependent
upon the river. This territory was well supplied with rail-
roads under control of the enemy, by means of which, if so
disposed, he might throw a strong force on short notice
against General Smith's communications. General Grant
evidently had this danger in mind when replying to General
Halleck's order sending the expedition up the river, as al-
ready quoted. But in this as in other things, General
Grant's advice was not sought and his suggestions were
not heeded. The conditions at Pittsburg Landing were
27 War of the 'Rebellion: Official Records, Series I, Vol. X, Part II, p. 55.
28 War of the 'Rebellion : Official Eecords, Series I, Vol. X, Part II, p. 62.
522 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
not of his making — they were accepted as they were found,,
even after three requests to be relieved of command in the
Department, because of the strained relations between hi&
superior and himself.29
GENEBAL BUELI/S MOVEMENTS
In pursuance of his plan after Nashville, to follow the
enemy south, on March 10th, General Buell reported his
advance at Columbia, Tennessee, at the crossing of Duck
Kiver.30 The consolidation of the two Departments oc-
curred on the llth, and on the 13th, General Halleck, as if
in some degree appreciating General Buell 's embarrass-
ment, wrote him as follows: "The new arrangement of
departments will not interfere with your command. You
will continue in command of the same army and district of
country as heretofore, so far as I am concerned. ' ' 31 Defi-
nite orders to General Buell soon followed the consolida-
tion ; March 16th : ' ' Move your forces by land to the Ten-
nessee .... Grant's army is concentrating at Savannah."
Again on March 20th: "important that you communicate
with General Smith as soon as possible." And again on
March 29th: "You will concentrate all your available
troops at Savannah, or Pittsburg, 12 miles above."32
As already stated, General Buell had one division at
Columbia — about forty miles on the road to Savannah -
when the order came to join Grant. The remainder of the
army moved promptly, but was detained at the crossing of
Duck Eiver in building a bridge until the 30th, though one
division (Nelson's) waded the river on the 29th.
28 The several requests to be relieved of command in Halleck 's department
bear date of March 7, 9, and 11. — War of the Rebellion: Official Records, Se-
ries I, Vol. X, Part II, pp. 15, 21, 30.
so War of the Rebellion: Official Records, Series I, Vol. X, Part II, p. 25.
si War of the Rebellion: Official Records, Series I, Vol. X, Part II, p. 33.
32 War of the Rebellion : Official Records, Series I, Vol X, Part II, pp. 42, 51,
77.
THE BATTLE OF SHILOH 523
Naturally General Grant, in front of a rapidly concen-
trating army under General Johnston and General Beaure-
gard, was anxious to know of General Buell's movements,
and so, two days after assuming active command, two cou-
riers were started from Savannah for Buell's camp which
was reached on the 23d with this dispatch from Grant: "I
am massing troops at Pittsburg, Tennessee. There is every
reason to suppose that the rebels have a large force at
Corinth, Miss., and many at other points on the road
toward Decatur."33 Thus General Buell had positive
knowledge both from General Halleck and General Grant
that the latter was "massing troops" at Pittsburg Landing
— and this information was in possession of General Buell
a full week before his army was able to cross Duck Eiver
(about 90 miles away) and two weeks before the battle.
This point is dwelt upon for the reason that certain writers
have erroneously claimed that General Buell had not been
informed of General Grant's position on the west bank of
the Tennessee and hence did not press his march.
After wading Duck River as stated, General Nelson's
division went into camp for the night, and took up the
march next morning (the 30th) reaching Savannah about
noon, April 5th, having marched an average of twelve miles
a day.34 General Buell arrived in Savannah "about sun-
down", on the same day, but he did not make his presence
known, nor was his presence known to General Grant, when
the latter, with his staff, took boat next morning for the
battle field after an "early breakfast" left unfinished.
It need not be matter of surprise that General Buell
33 War of the Rebellion: Official Records, Series I, Vol. X, Part II, p. 47.
s* The following is the itinerary of General Nelson's march from Columbia,
as given by Colonel Ammen, commanding the advance brigade: March 30, 4
miles; March 31, 10 miles; April 1, 14 miles; April 2, 16 miles; April 3, 15
miles; April 4, 10% miles; April 5, 9% miles. — Ammen 's Diary in War of the
Rebellion: Official Records, Series I, Vol. X, Part I, p. 830.
524 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
should be reluctant to join his army of about equal strength
and independent in command with the army on the Ten-
nessee. It was Buell's wish to strike the Tennessee higher
up and conduct a campaign of his own. With this in mind
he suggested to General Halleck that he [Buell] be per-
mitted to halt and go into camp about thirty miles east of
Savannah, at Waynesboro. To this suggestion General
Halleck replied on the 5th: "You are right about concen-
trating at Waynesborough. Future movements must de-
pend upon those of the enemy."35 General Buell issued
orders to " concentrate ", but fortunately his advance had
passed the point designated before the orders were deliv-
ered, and the march continued. Had it been otherwise the
reenforcing army would have been forty miles away, in-
stead of its advance division being within ten miles, when
the battle began.
It may be asked: Why did not General Buell make his
presence in Savannah known to General Grant promptly
on arrival? Perhaps a perfectly just answer cannot be
given in view of the fact that the former was not required
to "report" to the latter as a subordinate to a superior —
the one was to join the other and wait for orders from a
higher source than either. There was but one contingency
under which any part of General Buell's army could come
under General Grant *s orders — an attack upon the latter.
General Halleck 's instructions to General Grant were
(April 5th) : "You will act in concert, but he [Buell] will
exercise his separate command, unless the enemy should
attack you. In that case you are authorized to take the
general command." 36 The contingency arose on the morn-
ing of the 6th.
35 War of the 'Rebellion: Official Records, Series I, Vol. X, Part II, pp. 94, 95.
36 War of the Rebellion: Official Records, Series I, Vol. X, Part II, p. 94.
THE BATTLE OF SHILOH 525
BEFOBE THE BATTLE
From the date of General Halleck's "wait" order to the
date of the battle — that is from March 20th to April 6th —
there were fifteen full days, during which time this positive
order was in force : ' ' My instructions not to advance must
be obeyed. ' ' Nothing, therefore, remained but to watch
the enemy and dodge him in case he offered battle in any
considerable force. There was scarcely a day in that wait-
ing time in which there was not reconnoitering, resulting in
several light encounters. Colonel Buckland, commanding
the fourth brigade of General Sherman's division, has given
a good account of the condition of things at the front dur-
ing the three or four days before the battle in a paper read
before the Society of the Army of the Tennessee in 1881
and published in the Proceedings of the Society.37
On Thursday, April 3d, three days before the battle and
the day on which the Confederates marched from Corinth
and surrounding camps, Colonel Buckland under orders of
the division commander reconnoitered four or five miles
toward Corinth, finding the enemy in such force as to deter
him from attack, in view of the order to "fall back" rather
than risk bringing on a general engagement. The brigade
marched back without an encounter. On the next day the
picket line was attacked in front of Buckland 's brigade,
and a picket post was captured, consisting of a Lieutenant
and seven men. Colonel Buckland went out with a regi-
ment to investigate and had two of his companies sur-
rounded by Confederate cavalry, which was in turn sur-
prised and routed by the reinforcements sent to the relief
of the two companies. Just as the enemy appeared to be
forming for a counter attack on Buckland, the Fifth Ohio
cavalry of Sherman's division came up, attacked and routed
37 Proceedings of the Society of the Army of the Tennessee, Vol. XIV-XVI,
p. 71.
526 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
the enemy, capturing several prisoners. This affair devel-
oped the presence of the enemy in considerable force —
infantry, cavalry, and artillery. When Colonel Buckland
reached the picket line, on his return to camp, he found
General Sherman with several regiments awaiting him and
wanting to know, with a show of displeasure, what he had
been doing out in front. After hearing Colonel Buckland 's
account of the matter, he was ordered back to camp with
his men, General Sherman accompanying the order with
the remark that he might have brought on a general engage-
ment, which is to be understood as a mild reprimand.
So particular was General Sherman to avoid censure
that he required Colonel Buckland to make a written report
of the incident which report was sent to General Grant.
Colonel Buckland further says that he was along the
picket line several times on Saturday, the day before the
battle, and saw the enemy at several points, and that the
pickets reported activity near the lines. Other officers
made similar observations. "It was the belief of all", says
Colonel Buckland, "that the enemy intended to attack usr
either during the night or early in the morning".38 This
feeling was so strong that regimental officers were instruct-
ed to have their commands in readiness for attack — the
picket line was strengthened and a line of sentries was
established from the picket line back to camp.
Similar evidence as to the activity of the enemy on Sat-
urday the 5th is furnished by Captain I. P. Bumsey, a staff
officer of General W. H. L. Wallace, who was riding outside
the lines on that day. On returning to camp Captain Eum-
sey reported to Colonel Dickey, 4th Illinois cavalry, that he
had seen a considerable body of Confederate cavalry. The
two officers going to General Sherman's headquarters, re-
ss Proceedings of the Society of the Army of the Tennessee, Vol. XIV-XVI,
p. 77.
THE BATTLE OF SHILOH 527
ported the facts, to which General Sherman replied: "I
know they are out there, but our hands are tied; we can't
do a thing." Colonel Dickey then asked permission to take
his regiment out to investigate, receiving for reply:
''Dickey, if you were to go out there with your regiment
you would bring on a battle in less than an hour, and we
have positive orders not to be drawn into a battle until
Buell comes."39
Colonel McPherson, Halleck's chief engineer, who was
camping with the second division (W. H. L. Wallace) fully
corroborates the above statements, by saying: "It was
well known the enemy was approaching our lines".40
Apprehension of an early attack upon the camp pre-
vailed among the subordinate officers of General Prentiss's
division, as well as among those of General Sherman's
division, and similar orders were given to companies and
regiments to be prepared for a night or an early morning
attack. And it seems now to be well settled that the recon-
noitering party sent out from Prentiss's division before
daylight on Sunday morning was sent out by Colonel Pea-
body of the 25th Missouri, commanding the first brigade
of the division, and without the knowledge of General
Prentiss.
In the history of the 25th Missouri, edited and compiled
by Dr. W. A. Neal, Assistant Surgeon of the regiment, and
published in 1889, appears a detailed account of the action
of Colonel Peabody on the eve of the battle, as related by
Lieutenant James M. Newhard, at the time Orderly Ser-
geant of Company E, 25th Missouri, one of the companies
in the reconnoitering party. It is related that Colonel Pea-
body urged upon General Prentiss on Saturday the 5th
39 Quoted by Major D. W. Reed in a paper published in the Proceedings of
the Society of the Army of the Tennessee, Vol. XXXVI, p. 216.
40 War of the Rebellion : Official Records, Series I, Vol. X, Part I, p. 181.
528
that an attack was very probable and that preparation
ought to be made accordingly. As nothing was done except
to strengthen pickets and guards Colonel Peabody, under
the influence of a premonition that an attack would be made
early in the morning and that he would not survive the bat-
tle, decided to take upon himself the responsibility of send-
ing out a party to reconnoiter. So Major Powell, an officer
of the Eegular Army and Field Officer of the Day was
ordered to take three companies of the 25th Missouri, start
at about 3 o 'clock in the morning, and march until he found
the enemy. The companies constituting the party were B,
H, and E, of the 25th Missouri. How and where the enemy
was found will be related farther on.
Some persons will have doubts, probably, in regard to
the story of Colonel Peabody 's premonitions of attack, and
death in battle, but there can be no doubt about the attack,
or about the death of Colonel Peabody, within a few min-
utes after the main battle began. Major Powell was also
killed early in the battle, and so the two principal actors
in the first scene of the drama passed quickly off the stage,
but not until after the chief of the two was severely repri-
manded, at the head of his brigade in line and waiting for
orders. The following letter, to a nephew of Colonel Pea-
body, here given by permission, tells the story.
333 Highland Av.
SOMERVILLE, MASS. Feby. 27th 1902
MR. F. E. PEABODY,
Box 7 Boston.
Dear Sir:
Referring to our conversation concerning the Battle of Pitts-
burg Landing, Tennessee, April 6 & 7, 1862, I have to state that:
Everett Peabody, Colonel of the 25th Mo. Vol. Inft., was in com-
mand of the first Brigade 6th Division and I was senior Captain
of the regiment.
At early morn before breakfast the line of Battle was formed,
THE BATTLE OF SHILOH 529
with the right of Brigade resting on the right of our regimental
color line. My company was on the right of Brigade. A few min-
utes after the line was formed, General Prentiss rode up near
Colonel Peabody, who was mounted and in front of my company,
about the center of the first platoon and said to him, "Colonel
Peabody, I hold you responsible for bringing on this fight."
Saluting, Colonel Peabody said: "If I brought on the fight I am
able to lead the van." General Prentiss ordered him to take his
best regiment .... the next words I heard were : ' ' 25th Missouri,
forward. ' '
Signed Yours respectfully,
F. C. NICHOLS,
Captain U. S. Army, Retired;
• formerly Major & Capt. 25th Mo.
Vol. Inf. War of '61 & 5.
This letter by Capt. Nichols makes clear and positive
two important points: (1) that General Prentiss, like Gen-
eral Sherman, was impressed with the idea that, under
General Halleck's orders the enemy was to be avoided
rather than sought out, and he reprimanded his brigade
commander for doing, irregularly, the very thing that saved
the army from the " surprise" about which so many un-
truths have been told; (2) the letter makes it clear that
Prentiss 's division was neither in bed nor at breakfast,
when the attack came — it was in line "before breakfast",
and the enemy was received with a hot fire, as will appear.
Prentiss 's reprimand of Colonel Peabody was, doubtless,
prompted by the same sense of responsibility as was that
administered by General Sherman to Colonel Buckland, al-
ready mentioned. It had been * ' ground into ' ' each division
commander, so to speak, that, "in no case" were they "to
be drawn into an engagement."
There was another incident in the activities immediately
preceding the battle, more important than anything yet
mentioned, which, however, was not revealed, until forty
VOL. vii — 35
530 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
years later — an incident which, had it been known when
and by whom it should have been known, the Battle of
Shiloh would have had a different story to tell. We now
know, though the knowledge is comparatively recent but
entirely reliable, that General Lew. Wallace, commanding
the second division of the army at Crump's Landing, had
positive information of the movement of the Confederate
army to attack Grant on the very day that the movement
began — information brought directly to him by one trust-
ed scout and confirmed by a second. During two full days
and three nights (''for three days and nights," to quote
his language) he "simmers" this all-important information
in his mind, trying to determine how he could best reenforce
the comrades beyond Snake Creek in case of need.
General Wallace tells in his Autobiography how and when
the information came to him of the movement of the Con-
federate army from Corinth as follows :
"About as the sun set, Thursday, the 4th [3d], Bell the
scout came into my tent, evidently the worse for a hard
ride, and said, abruptly, 'I bring you news, sir The
whole rebel army is on the way up from Corinth They
set out this morning early. By this time they are all on
the road .... batteries and all.' This important informa-
tion was confirmed by another scout (Carpenter) : 'John-
ston's cut loose and is making for Pittsburgh "41
General Wallace says that he sent this information by
his orderly, on the same evening to Pittsburg Landing,
with instructions in case Grant was not found to leave the
dispatch with the postmaster, to be delivered next morning.
General Wallace's excuse for not sending a proper officer
with positive orders to find Grant, seems almost too puerile
to be credited — he did not want to appear "officious".
The dispatch never reached its proper destination, and the
41 Wallace 's Autobiography, Vol. I, pp. 454-456.
THE BATTLE OF SHILOH 531
secret was in the keeping of General Wallace until he dis-
closed it in his Autobiography. For his own reputation, it
might better have died with him. A dispatch boat was at
all times at Wallace's headquarters, subject to his orders,
and there should have been no difficulty in the way of find-
ing General Grant within two hours, whether at the Land-
ing above or Savannah below. It is worth remembering in
this connection that the orderly sent with this dispatch
went by the river road and over Snake Creek bridge which
had been repaired on that very day under direction of
Colonel McPherson, Halleck's chief engineer. General
Wallace pleaded ignorance of this road, two days later, in
excusing himself for marching his division over the wrong
road.
THE UNION AKMY AND THE FIELD
To understand and properly appreciate the difficulties
under which the Battle of Shiloh was fought on the Union
side, the composition of the Army and the topography of
the field must both be considered. The Army of the Ten-
nessee as it was camped in the woods above Pittsburg
Landing on Sunday morning, April 6, 1862, was never in a
camp of organization and instruction, as an Army — it
grew by accretion, beginning at Fort Donelson in the mid-
dle of February preceding. Some of the regiments that
stormed the enemy's works at Donelson dropped into line
for the first time under fire, and only a few hours before
the assault was made. In like manner new and untrained
regiments and batteries came, one by one, to swell the
ranks at Shiloh, even after the roar of battle sounded
through the woods, taking their assigned places under fire.
The division (Prentiss's 6th) from which the reconnoitering
party went out before daylight on Sunday morning to ' ' sur-
prise" the enemy was the newest of the new, having but
532 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
two organized brigades — though there was enough ' * raw
material" assigned to the division for a third brigade, not
all on the ground, however, when the battle began. Atten-
tion is called to these facts for the reason that they should
be taken into account in passing judgment upon the Battle
of Shiloh.
Besides the lack of organization and drill of the army
the character of the field upon which the battle was fought
should be considered. It has been said with much truth
that a clear understanding of the Battle of Shiloh cannot be
had without studying the movements on the ground. A
written description can convey only a very general idea of
the plateau upon which the battle was fought ; hence a map
showing the principal streams, roads, open fields, etc., is
added to aid the study of the positions and movements.
(Map II.)
The plateau, rising eighty to one hundred feet above the
Tennessee on the east, was surrounded by almost impassa-
ble barriers on all sides — except an opening to the south-
west, two and a half to three miles in width. The plateau
sheds its waters west, north, and east — west and north-
west into Owl Creek; north into Snake Creek; and east
into the Tennessee. The creeks were effectually guarded
by swampy margins and heavy timber, or by a combination
of the three — timber, under-brush, and swamp. They ad-
mitted of no crossing except by bridges, of which there was
one on each of the streams leading to and from the battle
field. The Tennessee could be crossed only by boat, as the
army had never been supplied with pontoons.
This plateau, bordered as described, was cut into numer-
ous gullies and ravines by small spring-branches, running
to all points of the compass in finding their tortuous ways
to the larger streams. Most of these spring-branches ran
through marshy ground — impassable in the early spring
THE BATTLE OF SHILOH 533
except where bridged. Some of the ravines were deep, miry,
and so densely choked with briers and brambles as to defy
invasion by anything much larger than a rabbit. The hill-
sides and the ridges were covered with timber and under-
brush, except where small farms were under cultivation.
There was not an elevation anywhere on the three miles
square from which a general view could be had. Wide
flanking movements were impossible to either army, and
cavalry was practically useless. The Landing itself was a
mud bank at the foot of a steep bluff, a single road winding
around the bluff and up the hillside to higher ground. At a
distance of about a half-mile from the Landing the road
forked and a little further on struck the Hamburg and
Savannah road, running nearly parallel with the river.
Still further on the Corinth road crossed the Hamburg and
Purdy road and struck the Bark Eoad, one branch three
miles out and the other branch four miles out. Besides
these main roads shown on the map, there were numerous
farm roads winding around on the ridges, and the needs of
the army made many new roads — all were deep in mud
made of the most tenacious clay, so that the unloading of
boats and the hauling to camp was a slow and laborious
process for both man and mule.
Had John Codman Eopes understood the topography and
other conditions of the field of Shiloh, he would hardly
have ventured to criticise General Johnston for making a
front attack upon the commands of Hurlbut, Prentiss, and
Wallace, and for failing to force his way along the Ham-
burg and Savannah road on the Union left at an earlier
hour. General Johnston had no choice but to make a front
attack and he did his best to force his way along the Ham-
burg and Savannah Eoad, toward the Landing at the ear-
liest possible hour. Why and how he failed to accomplish
his main object, before the close of the day, will appear
534 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
later. The ground between the Hamburg and Savannah
Eoad and the river was much broken — so much so that
there were but two or three cultivated fields on that part
of the plateau.
THE CONFEDERATE AEMY AND ITS OBJECTIVE
As already stated, after the surrender of Fort Donelson
and the evacuation of Nashville General Johnston's army
fell back as rapidly as possible southward to the line of the
Memphis and Charleston Railroad with a view to joining
General Beauregard, who commanded the territory west
of the Tennessee River with headquarters at Corinth. By
the last week in March there had been concentrated at Cor-
inth and in the vicinity an army of 40,000 effective men, and
General Johnston took command on the 29th of March with
General Beauregard second in command. The object to be
accomplished by this army was to attack and defeat Grant's
army before the arrival of Buell, then on the march from
Nashville with 37,000 men, following up this anticipated
success with the defeat of Buell, thus opening the way back
to Nashville so recently evacuated. The movement from
Corinth and surrounding camps to attack Grant began in
the early morning of April 3d, with a view to making the
attack early on the 5th. Bad weather and bad roads de-
layed the attack twenty-four hours — to Sunday morning,
April 6th. How the expected "surprise" of Grant's army
was anticipated will now be told.
THE BATTLE
It is not the purpose to describe in detail the movements
of the battle throughout the two days, but only to touch
upon salient features. One of the salient features, and not
the least important, is that of the action of the reconnoiter-
ing party heretofore referred to as having been sent out
THE BATTLE OF SHILOH 535
before daylight on Sunday morning from Prentiss's divi-
sion. General Prentiss in his official report makes no men-
tion of the Powell party, but he says that * * at 3 o 'clock ....
Col. David Moore, Twenty-first Missouri, with five com-
panies of his infantry regiment, proceeded to the front, and
at break of day the advance pickets were driven in".42
Colonel Moore, in his official report, says that he was
ordered out by Colonel Peabody, commanding the First
Brigade, "at about 6 o'clock", to support the picket guard
which "had been attacked and driven in". It appears to
be certain, therefore, that both the reconnoitering party
under Major Powell and the support under Colonel Moore
were ordered out by Colonel Peabody without consulting
the division commander ; hence the reprimand above quoted
— heard and remembered by many others besides Captain
Nichols. Colonel Moore's command was a reenforcing not
a reconnoitering party.
The line of march of the Powell party may be traced on
the map (No. II) along the road passing the camp of the
25th Missouri, past the southeast corner of Bhea Field and
the north side of Seay Field, passing the picket line at the
forks of the road and striking the corner of Fraley Field
a few rods farther on. From this point the videttes of the
Confederate picket, under Major Hardcastle of Hardee's
corps were encountered. The videttes fired upon the ad-
vancing party and retired to the picket line at the south-
west corner of Fraley Field. The fight between the picket
post and Powell's party began at once, though it was still
quite dark — "too dark to see, in the timber and under-
brush", so the firing at first was at random. As there never
was an official report made of the part taken by the Powell
reconnoitering party, as both the officer ordering it out and
42 War of the Rebellion: Official Records, Series I, Vol. X, Part I, p. 278.
536 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
the officer commanding it were killed early in the main bat-
tle, we must rely upon the report of the officer commanding
the Confederate picket at Fraley Field for the incidents of
that encounter. Major Hardcastle says the firing began
" about dawn" (at 4:55 in fact), and he says: "We fought
the enemy an hour or more without giving an inch". "At
about 6:30" he saw the brigade formed behind him and
"fell back". The casualties in Major Hardcastle 's com-
mand were four killed and nineteen wounded.43 The cas-
ualties in the Powell party were never certainly known.
This stubborn picket fight seems to have been something
of a "surprise" to at least one of the Confederate generals.
General Bragg, commanding the second line of attack, says
in his official report that "the enemy did not give us time
to discuss the question of attack, for soon after dawn he
commenced a rapid musketry fire on our pickets." 44 Major
Hardcastle, commanding this picket line, says: "The enemy
opened a heavy fire on us at a distance of about two hundred
yards".45 That the Confederate line was not ready to move
forward at once when the firing began appears from Major
Hardcastle 's official report. He says: "At about 6:30 a.
m. I saw the brigade formed in my rear and fell back."4*
So there was a full hour and a half elapsed between the be-
ginning of the firing and the movement forward. The bat-
tle front, two and a half to three miles in extent with a
curtain of skirmishers, advanced to the attack. Major Pow-
ell's party and the Union pickets that joined him fell slowly
back, carrying their dead and wounded until they met
Colonel Moore with five companies of his regiment (21st
Missouri). Colonel Moore taking command, sent back for
43 War of the Rebellion: Official Records, Series I, Vol. X, Part I, p. 603.
44 War of the Rebellion: Official Records, Series I, Vol. X, Part I, p. 464.
45 War of the Rebellion: Official Records, Series I, Vol. X, Part I, p. 603.
46 War of the Rebellion: Official Records, Series I, Vol. X, Part I, p. 603.
THE BATTLE OF SHILOH 537
the other five companies of his regiment, under Lieutenant
Colonel Woodyard. The force now consisted of the 21st
Missouri, three companies of the 25th Missouri, four com-
panies of the 16th Wisconsin, and two companies of the 12th
Michigan — all infantry. This force formed in Seay Field
and advanced to a point near the northwest corner of the
field, where the Confederate skirmishers were encountered,
the 8th and 9th Arkansas. (Map III.) There was a sharp
fight at this point lasting about thirty minutes, in which
Colonel Moore was severely wounded. Lieutenant Mann
of the same regiment was wounded, and Captain Saxe (16tli
Wisconsin) was killed — the first Union officer killed in
the battle of Shiloh.
As the Confederates advanced, the little Union force-
moved slowly back across Shiloh Branch, forming again at
a point about two hundred yards from the southeast corner
of Ehea Field, where the remainder of Peabody's brigade-
was in line. This position was held from a half hour to an
hour against two brigades (Shaver's and Wood's). While-
falling back in line from this point Major King (21st Mis-
souri) was mortally wounded. Meantime, General Prentiss
had formed the remainder of his division (Miller's brigade)
and had advanced about eighty rods from the front of his
camp to the south side of Spain Field (Map III), where he
was joined by Peabody's brigade, Powell's party, and the
pickets. The division, now consisting of seven regiments
and two batteries, was here attacked by four brigades —
Wood, Shaver, Gladden, and Chalmers — comprising
twenty regiments and three batteries. Against this tre-
mendous odds the position was held for about thirty min-
utes, when the division fell back to the line of the camp
where another stand of about thirty minutes was made, the
division finally retiring at about nine o 'clock — more than
538 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
five hours after the reconnoitering party marched out.
Among the casualties on the Union side in front of Pren-
tiss's division were Colonel Peabody and Major Powell,
killed; and on the Confederate side General Gladden was
mortally wounded.
There is ample testimony in the official reports of Con-
federate officers to show that the resistance met by their
several commands in the slow advance from the picket line
had none of the features of a sham battle. There were
many casualties on both sides — how many was never cer-
tainly known. There was no bayoneting of Union men on
their beds in their tents or elsewhere. Indeed there was
never any foundation for such stories except in the imagina-
tion of sensational newspaper correspondents. And it is
further to be stated that at the time when the lines came in
collision at the front — about 8 o'clock — every regiment
in the camp, three miles in extent, was in line waiting or-
ders or was marching toward the sound of battle.
A word of explanation should here be made in regard
to General Sherman's (5th) division. This division was
the first to go into camp at Pittsburg Landing, and the
necessities of the situation required it to cover three im-
portant approaches from the back country to the Landing;
namely, the main Corinth road; a bridge on the Hamburg
and Purdy road over Owl Creek; and a ford over Lick
Creek near its mouth which accommodated travel from
Hamburg both to Purdy and Savannah. The crossing of
Owl Creek was about three miles west of the Landing, and
the crossing of Lick Creek was about the same distance to
the south of the Landing ; while the Corinth road ran south-
west nearly midway between the two crossings. General
Sherman camped three brigades (1st, 3d, and 4th) to occupy
the Corinth road at Shiloh meeting-house, thus covering
Owl Creek bridge. The other brigade (Stuart's) camping
THE BATTLE OF SHILOH 539
to cover Lick Creek crossing, was separated from the divi-
sion by a little more than one mile, and it remained sepa-
rated throughout the first day's battle, acting independently
of the orders of the division commander. The space be-
tween the two parts of Sherman's division was later occu-
pied by General Prentiss's (6th) division formed of new
regiments as they arrived. When reference is hereafter
made to Sherman's division, in the action of Sunday, it is
to be understood that Stuart's brigade is not included for
the reasons explained.
Still another explanation is needed. When General Sher-
man first went into camp special attention was paid to the
selection of camping sites convenient to good water. By
consulting the map it will be seen that three brigades of
this division were camped somewhat irregularly, the left
brigade being out of line with the other brigades and also
out of line in itself. As a consequence when line of battle
was formed on Sunday morning it was not a prolonged
line, the left of Hildebrand's brigade being well forward
and in an open field where it was peculiarly exposed to tbe
force of the first onset to which it quickly yielded as will
be seen.
At a little after seven o'clock, and after line of battle
had been formed, General Sherman and staff rode to the
left of his division in Ehea Field for a better view to the
front; and while there in front of the 53d Ohio regiment
(Col. Appier) the Confederate skirmishers opened fire from
the brush across Shiloh Branch, killing the general's or-
derly. At about eight o'clock, looking off to the "left
front", there were seen "the glistening bayonets of masses
of infantry", and then, for the first time, General Sherman
was convinced that "the enemy designed a determined
attack. " 47 A few minutes later the Confederate advance
« War of the Eebellion: Official Becords, Series I, Vol. X, Part I, p. 294.
540 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
struck Sherman's left under Colonel Hildebrand, and
Prentiss's right under Colonel Peabody. How Prentiss's-
division met the attack has already been stated. How Sher-
man's division met it will now be shown.
The 53d Ohio, exposed as has been explained, and com-
manded, unfortunately, by an officer whose nerve deserted
him at the critical moment, after firing two volleys, became
demoralized and as an organization disappeared, though
two companies were rallied by their officers, joined other
organizations and staid on the firing line throughout the
day. Colonel Appier disappeared from the field and was.
later cashiered for cowardice.
The attack on Sherman's left and center by Cleburne '»
brigade of Hardee's corps was furious and sustained — to-
be repulsed, however, with heavy loss, by Buckland's brig-
ade and the two remaining regiments of Hildebrand's
brigade. Cleburne, in his official report of this affair, says ::
" Everywhere his musketry and artillery at short range
swept the open spaces .... with an iron storm that,
threatened certain destruction to every living thing that
would dare to cross them Under the terrible fire much
confusion followed, and a quick and bloody repulse was
the consequence."48
One of Cleburne 's regiments (6th Miss.) lost three hun-
dred men, killed and wounded, out of 425, and his brigade
soon went to pieces. A second assault was made by Ander-
son's brigade of Bragg 's corps to meet a similar repulse. A
third assault was made by two brigades of Polk's corps*
(Russell's and Johnson's) joined with the reorganized brig-
ades of Cleburne and Anderson and assisted by Wood on
their right. This assault was successful, forcing Sherman
from his first line at about ten o'clock, and with him one
brigade of McClernand's division that had come to his sup-
48 War of the Rebellion: Official Records, Series I, Vol. X, Part I, p. 581.
THE BATTLE OF SHILOH 541
port on the left. Sherman's right brigade (McDowell's) was
not involved in this engagement for the reason that the line
of attack crossed its front diagonally without bringing it
into action; but a little later Pond's brigade, from the ex-
treme left of Bragg 's corps, appeared in McDowell's front,
overlapping his right and covering Owl Creek bridge. Or-
ders were then given to fall back to the Purdy road, and Mc-
Dowell's camp was abandoned without a fight. By this
time Hildebrand's brigade had gone to pieces and Hilde-
brand himself being without a command, reported to Gen-
eral McClernand for staff duty. In fact this first assault
on Sherman's line fell mainly upon a single brigade (Buck-
land's), and it was on the hillside in his front where, accord-
ing to General Lew. Wallace, there was "a pavement of
dead men", after the fight was over. This must be con-
sidered one of the conspicuous features of Sunday's bat-
tle. Time was of the utmost importance, to enable the
proper formations in distant parts of the camp. The need-
ed time was secured by the stubborn fight made by Sher-
man's division on its first line; and it was probably this
that gained for General Sherman, in the minds of some,
credit for saving the day.
It was in the Confederate plan to push its right east to
the river, turn the Union left, seize the Landing, and force
the army back on Owl Creek where it was expected sur-
render would necessarily follow. The stubbornness of the
resistance to the Confederate left delayed the movement
toward the river somewhat, though two brigades (Chal-
mers's and Jackson's) were in front of the Union left near
the mouth of Lick Creek, very soon after the extreme right
fell back from the first line. To meet these two brigades
of nine regiments and two batteries, Colonel Stuart had a
single brigade of three regiments without artillery — and
one of these regiments (71st Ohio) was led off the field by
542 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
its colonel soon after the fight began to take no further
part in the day's battle. Colonel Mason was later cash-
iered for his conduct at Shiloh.
The two remaining regiments of this brigade gave a
good account of themselves (54th Illinois and 55th Ohio),
making heroic resistance and suffering severely in casual-
ties. There are those who believe that the fighting on the ex-
treme left by this little band of about eight hundred men
without artillery and against three or four times their num-
ber with artillery was not less important than was the
fighting on the extreme right, though less conspicuous. This
movement of the Confederate right was under the personal
direction of General Johnston, and upon its quick success
depended the success of the battle as planned. Before
eleven o'clock the battle was raging from right to left, a
distance of three to four miles.
As has been already stated, by the time that the battle
was fairly on at the front every regiment in the most dis-
tant parts of the camp was in line. McClernand promptly
supported Sherman, and Hurlbut also sent one of his brig-
ades (Veach's) to that part of the field, leading his two
remaining brigades to support Prentiss. Hurlbut, meeting
Prentiss's division falling back in disorder, allowed the men
to drift through his ranks, then formed line at the Peach
Orchard, facing Lauman's brigade west and William's
brigade south, where he met first the attack of Chalmers's
and Jackson's brigades from the direction of Prentiss's
abandoned camp. A little later this position was attacked
by the brigades of Bowen, Statham, Stephens, and Glad-
den — the latter officer, however, having received a mortal
wound in front of Prentiss's first line, as already stated.
C. F. Smith's (2nd) division, now commanded by W. H.
L. Wallace, camped near the Landing and fully three miles
from the point where the battle began, was in line by eight
THE BATTLE OF SHILOH 543
o'clock, and the first brigade of four regiments (Colonel
Tuttle) advanced to Duncan Field and took position in the
"sunken road" — long abandoned as useless, but which ere
nightfall was destined to become famous for desperate fight-
ing against odds. (Map III.) Of the second brigade (Gen-
eral McArthur 's) one regiment was sent to the right; two
were sent to cover Snake Creek bridge, over which General
Lew. Wallace's division was expected at an early hourj
and two marched under General McArthur himself, to the
support of Stuart, on the extreme left. The third brigade
(Sweeny's) moved south on the Corinth road to act as a
reserve, though it was not permitted to wait upon oppor-
tunity. Two regiments of this brigade (7th and 58th Illi-
nois) were sent at once to the right to prolong Tuttle 's.
line to connect with McClernand, going into position at
about nine- thirty o'clock. A third regiment (50th Illinois)
was sent to McArthur on the left; and the remaining regi-
ment of the brigade (8th Iowa), between eleven and twelve
o'clock, took position at Tuttle 's left in the "sunken road"
connecting its left with Prentiss who, having rallied a part
of his division, put them in at the right of Hurlbut. Pren-
tiss was here joined under fire by the 23d Missouri, just
landed from the boats, giving him about one thousand men
in the "Hornets' Nest". Two other regiments (15th and
16th Iowa), assigned to Prentiss 's division, landing too late
to join him at his camp, were sent to McClernand, joining
him at Jones's Field, one and a half miles west of the Land-
ing.
Before noon the contending armies were in continuous
and compact line from flank to flank. Welded in the fur-
nace heat of four hours' battle without a moment's respite,
it might be said with little exaggeration that the men stood
foot to foot, contending for the mastery. The Union lines
had steadily but slowly receded, shortening at the flanks,
544 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
and the Confederates had as steadily advanced, extending
their flanks but recoiling again and again from attacks
made at the center, and with heavy loss.
The Confederate reserve under General Breckenridge,
about 8,500 men, were all in action before noon, the first
brigade (Trabue) going in on their extreme left at about
the time that Sherman fell back from his first line. The
other two brigades (Bo wen and Statham) went into line
on the right south of the Peach Orchard, between eleven
and twelve o 'clock in front of Hurlbut and near where Gen-
eral Johnston had his headquarters in the saddle. Though
General Johnston personally directed the battle on the
Confederate side, in this part of the field, he did not, as
some writers have told the story, personally encourage an
unwilling Tennessee regiment by riding along the line and
tapping the bayonets of the men with a tin cup which he
carried in his hand, then leading the line in a furious
charge. No part of such an incident occurred there or
elsewhere, on the authority of one of General Johnston's
chief Aids, Governor Harris of Tennessee — the only per-
son who was present at the death of General Johnston soon
after and near the spot where the incident is said to have
occurred.
Stuart, McArthur, and Hurlbut having successfully re-
pulsed several attacks, General Johnston was evidently
convinced that the Union left was not to be easily turned;
and so about noon under his personal direction, having put
into his lines two brigades of the reserve under General
Breckenridge, a forward movement was ordered, six brig-
ades participating — Chalmeis's, Jackson's, Bowen's, Stat-
ham's, Stephens 's, and Gladden 's. Threatened on his left
by a cavalry flanking movement, Stuart was the first to
slowly give ground; McArthur, on Stuart's right, neces-
sarily followed, both changing front from south to south-
THE BATTLE OF SHILOH
545
VOL. vii— 36
546 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
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THE BATTLE OF SHILOH
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THE BATTLE OF SHILOH 553
east, falling back and fighting for every foot of ground.
This movement compelled Hurlbut to retire from his first
position to the north side of the Peach Orchard (Map IV).
At about two o 'clock, Colonel Stuart having been wounded,
his two regiments having lost heavily, and having exhausted
their ammunition — even after robbing the cartridge-boxes
of their dead and wounded comrades — retired toward the
Landing. General McArthur followed not long after; and
General Hurlbut, having connected his right with General
Prentiss's left, swung back until their lines were nearly at
right angles. (Map V.) Hurlbut retired toward the Land-
ing at about four or four- thirty o'clock, leaving the line
from left to right in the following order: Prentiss's com-
mand, 8th Iowa of Sweeny's brigade, Tuttle's full brigade,
and the 58th Illinois of Sweeny's brigade.
While this fierce struggle was in progress on the Con-
federate right, at about two-thirty afternoon, General John-
ston received the wound from which he died a few minutes
later. General Bragg then took command of the right, and
General Buggies succeeded Bragg in the center.
While the battle raged on the Union left, as described, it
was not less stubborn and bloody on the right; but Sher-
man and McClernand were forced back to the Hamburg
and Savannah road — a mile from the Landing — about
four-thirty o'clock, the Confederates gradually closing in
from both flanks around the center. (Map VI.) Meantime
General W. H. L. Wallace had sent orders for his command
to retire; but for some reason never explained four of his
six regiments did not receive the order and were captured,
as will be explained. As General Wallace and General Tut-
tle, followed by the 2nd and 7th Iowa Eegiments, were fight-
ing their way through a severe crossfire at short range,
General Wallace was mortally wounded, and was left on the
VOL. vn — 37
554 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
field to be recovered the next day, dying three or four days
later without recovering consciousness.
THE HORNETS' NEST
This appellation owes its origin to the men who felt the
sting of the hornets. William Preston Johnston in his
history of his father (General A. S. Johnston) speaks of
the term as a "mild metaphor", and says that "no figure
of speech would be too strong to express the deadly peril
of an assault upon this natural fortress whose inaccessible
barriers blazed for six hours with sheets of flame, and whose
infernal gates poured forth a murderous storm of shot and
shell and musket-fire which no living thing could quell or
withstand".49
No more graphic description of the fight at the Hornets'
Nest has been written than that of which the language
quoted is a part — written from the view-point of the at-
tacking forces, and, therefore, written with full knowledge
of the results that followed from the "murderous storm of
shot and shell and musket-fire." It is literally true that
Duncan Field and the woods and thickets bordering it
along the "sunken road" were thickly strewn with the dead
and wounded. The same author tells us that "Hind-
man's brilliant brigades .... were shivered into fragments
and paralyzed"; that "Stewart's regiments .... retired
mangled from the field"; that. "Gibson's splendid brigade
.... recoiled and fell back ' ' — four several times, indeed.
Colonel Gibson, in his official report says of his brigade :
"Four times the position was charged and four times the
assault proved unavailing."
The best informed writer, living or dead, on the details
and incidents of the Battle of Shiloh — Major D. W. Eeed,
Secretary and Historian of the Shiloh National Military
4» Johnston's Life of General A. S. Johnston, p. 620.
THE BATTLE OF SHILOH 555
Park Commission and author of Campaigns and Battles
Twelfth Regiment Iowa Veteran Volunteer Infantry, who
was himself in the Nest during the entire day, says there
were ' ' twelve separate and distinct charges ' ' made upon the
line at the Hornets' Nest, with the result that three Confed-
erate brigades were ''entirely disorganized", and that "thir-
teen regiments lost their regimental organizations .... and
were not brought into the fight again .... during the day. ' '50
General Ruggles, who commanded the Confederate lines in
that part of the field after the death of General Johnston,
designates this as "one of the controlling conflicts of that
eventful day." 51 The position was of such conspicuous im-
portance that a brief description of the ground will not be
out of place.
Moving out on the Corinth road from the Landing about
three-fourths of a mile one crosses the Hamburg and
Savannah road. A fourth of a mile further on the road
forks, the left hand branch (Eastern Corinth) bearing south
of southwest; and one-fourth of a mile still further on it
crosses an old abandoned road near the southeast corner of
Duncan Field, and near the center of the Hornets' Nest.
The right-hand road from the fork runs nearly west, cross-
ing the north end of Duncan Field, then bearing south
passes the ' ' Little Log Meeting-house ' '. At the point where
this road, going from the Landing, strikes the east line of
Duncan Field the abandoned road leads off to the south-
east about a half-mile, then bending east to the Hamburg
and Savannah road near Bloody Pond — another signifi-
cant local name. Along this abandoned road, beginning
near the north end of Duncan Field, the line of battle from
right to left, was as follows: 58th Illinois (Sweeny's brig-
60 Reed 'a Campaigns and Battles of the Twelfth Begiment Iowa Veteran Vol-
unteer Infantry, p. 50.
oi War of the Rebellion : Official Records, Series I, Vol. X, Part I, p. 475.
556 IOWA JOUENAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
ade) ; second, seventh, twelfth, and fourteenth Iowa regi-
ments (Tuttle's brigade) ; to the left of this brigade was
the eighth Iowa, of Sweeny's brigade; to the left still was
Prentiss's division, consisting of one entire regiment (23d
Missouri), and parts of several other regiments — the en-
tire line numbering not to exceed 2,500 men. The old road
ran along a slight elevation and was so water-washed in
places as to afford good shelter to men lying down to fire
on an advancing enemy — a sort of natural rifle-pit, though
rather shallow in places. About half of the distance, from
right to left, there was open field extending to the front
about 500 yards to the timber occupied by the Confederates.
The left half of the line was well screened by timber and,,
for the most part, by a heavy growth of underbrush so that
the advancing lines not able to see the men lying in the old
road were received with a crushing fire at short range. In
every instance the repulse was complete and bloody.
General Ruggles, becoming convinced that the position
could not be taken by infantry, from the front, determined
to concentrate his artillery and bombard the strong-hold.
He tells us in his official report 52 that he directed his staff
officers "to bring forward all the field guns they could col-
lect from the left toward the right". General Euggles
evidently believed that this was a crisis in the battle, admit-
ting that "for a brief period the enemy apparently gained".
Nor was he alone in the belief, for one of his artillery of-
ficers (Captain Sandidge) said officially: "I have no doubt
that had they been seasonably reinforced when they checked
our advancing troops, they could certainly have broken our
lines". And he feared that result before the guns could
be planted and infantry supports brought up. General Eug-
gles succeeded in bringing up sixty-two guns from the left,.
62 War of the Eebellion: Official Records, Series I, Vol. X, Part I, p. 472.
THE BATTLE OF SHILOH 557
which were planted on the west side of Duncan Field about
five hundred yards away; and the bombardment began at
about four-thirty afternoon. Of course there could be but
one result. The Union batteries were forced to retire, leav-
ing the way clear for the encircling Confederate lines to
close in. Besides the Buggies aggregation of artillery of
sixty-two guns, there must have been several other batter-
ies playing upon the Hornets' Nest from the right, as none
of the guns from that part of the field were in the Buggies
aggregation. Probably not less than seventy-five guna
were trained on that devoted spot, and fully three-fourths
of the Confederate army was coiling around it. And for
some time before the surrender took place, a few minutes
before six o 'clock, rifle-fire poured in from three directions,
as the beleagured faced about and attempted to fight their
way out. The number to surrender was about 2,000 men.
The importance of this prolonged contest, from a little be-
fore ten forenoon to nearly six afternoon, upon the des-
tinies of the day can hardly be estimated. It secured to
General Grant's army the thing most needed — time to form
the new line; time for Lew. Wallace, for Buell, and for
Night to come. The Hornets' Nest was distinctly an altar
of sacrifice. (Map VI.)
HOW BUELL SAVED THE DAY
By the time the Confederate officers had recovered from
their " surprise" at the smallness of the capture at the
Hornets' Nest, in view of the prolonged and effective resist-
ance encountered, General Grant had formed his new line
on the north side of Dill Branch, running from the mouth
of the Branch on a curve back to the road leading from the
Landing ; thence west to the Hamburg and Savannah road ;
thence north to the swamp bordering Snake Creek. At the
extreme left of the line, the two gunboats lay opposite the
558 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
mouth of the Branch. On the bluffs near the mouth of the
Branch were two batteries, trained up-stream. Two other
batteries were a little farther from the river and back
nearer the road leading from the Landing; and two more
were still farther west, but advanced toward the edge of
the bluffs overlooking the Branch. Back on the road again
and a little west were two more batteries before coming to
the six big siege guns.
A glance at the map for Sunday night's position will
show that the line from the mouth of Dill Branch west to
the siege guns was a semi-circle with the gunboats at the
extreme left, and that there were about fifty guns in the
line east of the Hamburg and Savannah road, exclusive of
the gunboats. Behind this array of artillery was ample
infantry support, except on the extreme left where support
was not needed, because of the nature of the ground in
front. As General Nelson marched the head of his column
up from the Landing at about five-thirty o'clock, he noted
the absence of infantry along that part of the line, and in
his official report he describes what he saw as a " semicircle
of artillery, totally unsupported by infantry", which was
not quite true; and he added another statement which was
not at all true, namely; "the left of the artillery was com-
pletely turned by the enemy and the gunners fled from their
pieces. ' ' 53 General Nelson evidently knew nothing of the
batteries near the mouth of Dill Branch, for he struck the
line at about the middle of the "semicircle" and the single
regiment that he brought into action (36th Indiana) was
sent to support the guns in front of the main line toward
Dill Branch.
Opposed to this array of Union artillery a single Confed-
erate battery took part in the last attack, and that was dis-
abled.
53 War of the Eebellion: Official Records, Series I, Vol. X, Part I, p. 323.
THE BATTLE OF SHILOH 559
Any fair-minded person, having knowledge of the char-
acter of the ground between the lines of the two armies as
the lines were on Sunday night — especially on the left of
the Union lines — must admit that Grant's was a strong
position and that his antagonist had serious obstacles to
overcome before he could strike with effect.
With as little delay as possible after the surrender at
the Hornets' Nest, General Bragg, still commanding the
Confederate right, ordered his division commanders to
"drive the enemy into the river", believing, doubtless, that
the "drive" would be a brief and easy task. Accordingly
the Confederate right uncoiled itself from around the Hor-
nets' Nest and, led by Chalmers's and Jackson's brigades of
Withers 's division, advanced along the road toward the
Landing; then, filing right, formed line on the south side
of Dill Branch and near the margin of the deep ravine.
This ravine, impassable at its mouth by reason of steep
bluffs and back-water, was difficult to pass fully a half-mile
from its mouth. Its steep sides were timbered and ob-
structed by underbrush, and at the bottom it was fairly
choked with undergrowth.
The last attack made upon the Union lines was upon the
extreme left in which only two small brigades and one bat-
tery participated. Chalmers's brigade had nominally five
regiments, but one of the regiments (52nd Tennessee)
"acted badly" in the early part of the day, and three hun-
dred of its four hundred men are not to be counted. Jack-
son's brigade detached one regiment to guard the Hornets'
Nest prisoners, so that it seems to be liberal, allowing for
the losses of the day, to say that there were not to exceed
1800 men engaged in the last assault.
The two brigades made their way down the southern
slope, through the tangled undergrowth at the bottom of
the ravine and, quoting from their official reports, "strug-
560 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
gled" up the other slope, ''which was very steep" encoun-
tering in "attempting to mount the last ridge" the "fire
from a whole line of batteries protected by infantry and
assisted by shells from the gunboats." General Chalmers
says his men "were too much exhausted to storm the bat-
teries".54
General Jackson says his men were without ammunition,
having "only their bayonets to rely on", and that when
they "arrived near the crest of the opposite hill", they
"could not be urged farther without support", the men
"sheltering themselves against the precipitous sides of the
ravine" where "they remained under fire for some time." 55
(The Confederate skirmish line is shown on Map VI, at the
crest of the bluff, north of Dill Branch.)
This was the situation when eight companies of the 36th
Indiana (Colonel Grose), about four hundred men, of Am-
men's brigade, Nelson's division, Army of the Ohio, arrived
on the scene. Colonel Grose was ordered to go to the sup-
port of Stone's battery, which was in position some distance
in advance of Grant's main line and near the brow of the
hill up which the assailants were climbing with great diffi-
culty. There the 36th Indiana exchanged shots with the
skirmishers of Chalmers's brigade, during fifteen to thirty
minutes 56 having one man killed and one man wounded. In
his history of the 36th Indiana, Colonel Grose says that
"after three or four rounds the enemy fell back. It was
then dark." And he says, further, that "no part of Buell's
army, except the Thirty-sixth Indiana, took any part what-
ever in the Sunday evening fight at Shiloh. ' ' And he might
have said with equal truth and without disparagement to
his regiment that the presence of the Thirty-sixth Indiana
s* War of the Bebellion: Official Records, Series I, Vol. X, Part I, pp. 550-551.
55 War of the Bebellion: Official Becords, Series I, Vol. X, Part I, p. 555.
66 War of the Bebellion: Official Becords, Series I, Vol. X, Part I, p. 334.
THE BATTLE OF SHILOH 561
had no effect in determining the issues of the day. Had the
four hundred men not been there the "enemy" would have
retired just the same, for he could never have crossed the
open space from the "last ridge" to the "line of batteries".
The ground to be traversed was but gently rolling with lit-
tle to obstruct the view — no sheltering ridge or friendly
copse to admit of unobserved approach. It must have been
a "rush" of two to four hundred yards, in the face of point-
blank firing, to reach the batteries, behind which, as already
stated, was ample infantry support. The battle of the day
really came to an end at the Hornets' Nest. All that fol-
lowed was mere skirmishing for the purpose of developing
the new conditions.
THE LOST OPPORTUNITY
The "Lost Opportunity" is a phrase of Confederate
origin and it refers to the last moments of Sunday's battle,
briefly described above. Both the idea and the phrase seem
to have been born of an afterthought, and a disposition to
shift blame to the shoulders of General Beauregard, should
blame be imputed, for failure to crush or capture Grant's
army. The claim has been put forward with considerable
persistency that the order of General Beauregard to with-
draw from the contest was responsible for the escape of
Grant's army. This absurd claim has been answered most
effectively by General Thomas Jordan, Adjutant-General
of the Confederate forces engaged at Shiloh.
In Southern Historical Society Papers,57 General Jordan
takes up the subject and refers to the official reports of
several division, brigade, and regimental commanders for
the purpose of showing the demoralized and exhausted con-
dition of the Confederate army. In referring to the report
of General Withers, two brigades of whose division made
57 Southern Historical Society Papers, Vol. XVI, p. 297.
562 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
the last feeble assault, he says: "If there be significance
in words, he makes it clear that such was the absolute late-
ness of the hour, that had the attempt been made to carry
the Federal batteries .... with such troops as were there
assembled, it would have resulted in an awful butchery and
dispersion of all employed in so insensate, so preposterous
an undertaking; and such must be the verdict of any mili-
tary man who may studiously read the reports of the sub-
ordinate officers of Withers 's three brigades, and bear in
mind the formidable line of fifty-odd pieces of artillery
which Webster had improvised".58
Surgeon J. C. Nott of General Bragg 's staff, who rode
by his chief's side nearly all day, is quoted as saying that
the "men .... were too much demoralized and indisposed
to advance in the face of the shells .... bursting over us
in every direction, and my impression was .... that our
troops had done all that they would do, and had better be
withdrawn. ' ' 59
Another officer of General Bragg 's staff, Colonel Urqu-
hart, writing in 1880 is quoted thus: "The plain truth
must be told, that our troops at the front were a thin line
of exhausted men, who were making no further headway.
.... Several years of subsequent service have impressed
me that General Beauregard's order for withdrawing the
troops was most timely".60
The claim that there was a "Lost Opportunity" because
of the order to retire, General Jordan says, "becomes sim-
ply shameful, under the light of the closely contempora-
neous statements of every division commander, except one
(Withers) ; of all the brigade and regimental commanders
of each Confederate corps, including the reserve whose re-
G8 Southern Historical Society Papers, Vol. XVI, pp. 300, 301.
59 Southern Historical Society Papers, Vol. XVI, p. 307.
«o Southern Historical Society Papers, Vol. XVI, p. 316.
THE BATTLE OF SHILOH 563
ports have reached the light ; that is, of nearly all command-
ers present in the battle."61
This ought to be sufficient evidence to settle forever both
propositions in the negative; namely, the claim that Buell
"saved the day", and that there was a "Lost Opportunity".
The condition of Grant's army at the close of Sunday's
battle as to strength has been greatly underrated by certain
writers, and its disorganization has been greatly exagger-
ated by writers who have had an object in so representing it.
It is true that both armies were badly battered as the result
of about fourteen hours ' continuous fighting with scarcely a
moment's cessation. Careful study of the reports of Con-
federate officers shows that there was not a single point of
attack on any part of the field at any hour of the day where
there was not stubborn resistance with serious loss to the
attacking forces. These reports also show that there was
serious defection from their ranks, beginning early and
continuing during the day, and that when night came on
there was such disorganization that some of their command-
ers were entirely separated from their commands and re-
mained so separated to the close of the battle, Monday
night. These reports further show that instead of bivouack-
ing in line of battle as did Grant's army the entire Confed-
erate army, with the exception of a single brigade (Pond's
brigade on the extreme left) withdrew a distance of two to
four miles from the Landing. It is in evidence also from
the same sources of information that General Beauregard
was able to put in line on the morning of the second day
substantially half the number of men that were in line on
the morning of the first day. General Grant was able to
put in line about the same proportion, exclusive of the re-
enforcements that came up during the night.
There are no means of determining the comparative
si Southern Historical Society Papers, Vol. XVI, pp. 316-317.
564 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
casualties in the two armies on the first day, but there is no
reason for doubting that they were substantially equal —
exclusive of the capture at the Hornets' Nest. It is known,
however, that the casualties among field officers, from the
grade of colonel upward, were greater in the Union than in
the Confederate army in Sunday's battle.
Much has been said about the " stragglers" from the
Union lines crowding the Landing and ''cowering" under
the river bluffs — and with about the same degree of exag-
geration as certain writers have indulged in their descrip-
tions of the opening of the battle. There were "stragglers"
from both armies, and there is no reason to doubt that the
numbers were substantially equal. It is true, however, that
the straggling was more in evidence on the Union side, for
the very good reason that it was more concentrated — con-
fined to a limited area about the Landing — while on the
other side there was unlimited room for expansion and
scattering over miles of territory. This remark applies
with equal force to other features of the crowded condition
near the Landing, late in the day. Hundreds of teamsters
with their four-mule and six-mule teams were there because
it was the only place of safety for one of the essential parts
of the army's equipment; the sick from the regimental hos-
pitals and company tents were there — several hundred of
them — because there was no other place to go; and hun-
dreds of wounded were there from the front, together with
a force of hospital attendants. Add these together and you
have several thousand without counting a single ' ' strag-
gler". These things are never considered by critics who
have a cause to support. Every large army requires a
small army to care for it, who are, necessarily, noncom-
batants.
THE BATTLE OF SHILOH 565
BUELL COMES ON THE FIELD
By General Orders of March 31st, General Grant's head-
quarters were transferred from Savannah to Pittsburg
Landing; but a headquarters' office was continued at the
former place for convenience up to the day of the battle,
and General Grant passed between the two places every day,
or nearly every day, on the headquarters' boat, Tigress.
On Sunday morning, at Savannah, an "early breakfast"
had been ordered, as it was General Grant's purpose to
ride out with his staff to meet General Buell, whose arrival
the evening before was not known. While at breakfastr
tiring was heard in the direction of Pittsburg Landing —
"the breakfast was left unfinished" and General Grant
and staff went directly to the boat and steamed rapidly up
the river, stopping at Crump's Landing to order General
Lew. Wallace to hold his division in readiness for marching
orders.
Before leaving Savannah General Grant sent to General
Nelson of Buell 's army, the following order: "An attack
having been made on our forces, you will move your entire
command to the river opposite Pittsburg".62 A similar
order was sent to General Wood, commanding another
division of Buell 's army, not yet arrived at Savannah, to
move "with the utmost dispatch to the river" at Savannah,
where boats would meet him. The following note was left
for General Buell whose presence in Savannah was not
known to General Grant:
SAVANNAH, April 6, 1862
General D. C. BUELL:
Heavy firing is heard up the river, indicating plainly that
an attack has been made on our most advanced positions. I have
been looking for this, but did not believe that the attack could be
made before Monday or Tuesday. This necessitates my joining the
62 War of the Rebellion: Official Eecords, Series I, Vol. X, Part II, p. 95.
566 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
forces up the river instead of meeting you today, as I had contem-
plated. I have directed General Nelson to move to the river with
his division. He can march to opposite Pittsburg.
Respectfully, your obedient servant,
U. S. GRANT
Major-General Commanding.63
This note clearly shows that General Grant, in common
with his division commanders, was expecting an early
attack.
As soon as General Grant, after arriving on the field,
learned the true situation, he sent a staff officer with an-
other order to General Nelson : * ' . . . . you will hurry up
your command as fast as possible. All looks well but it is
necessary for you to push forward as fast as possible".64
Later still, probably about noon though it may have been
later, nothing having been heard either from Buell or Nel-
son, General Grant sent another hurry-up order addressed
to the "Commanding Officer Advance Forces ( Buell 's
Army)". This order was delivered to General Buell on
the boat as he was going to the Landing. He arrived at
the Landing, he tells us in Shiloh Reviewed, about 1 o'clock,
though Villard, who claims to have been on the same boat,
makes the time later, between 5 and 6 o'clock, about the
time that Nelson's advance crossed the river. And there
are certain features of Buell 's official report which, in the
absence of a definite statement on the point, make Villard 's
claim as to the hour at least plausible.
General Grant's first order to General Nelson must have
been received as early at 7 o'clock — probably earlier, for
Nelson had the order when General Buell, after hearing
the firing, went to General Grant's hadquarters for infor-
mation, where he learned that the latter had "just started
for the Landing".65
es War of the Rebellion: Official Records, Vol. LII, Part I, p. 232.
e* War of the Rebellion: Official Records, Vol X, Part II, pp. 95-96.
65 War of the Rebellion: Official Records, Series I, Vol. X, Part I, p. 292.
THE BATTLE OF SHILOH 567
General Nelson in his official report does not state the
hour of receiving the order to march, but says that he ' l left
Savannah, by order of General Grant, reiterated by General
Buell in person, at 1.30 p. m. " 66 The language is a little
ambiguous, but it doubtless means that the order was ''re-
iterated" about noon or later and that the march began at
one-thirty, afternoon.67 (Colonel Ammen says at one,
afternoon.)
Villard, heretofore quoted, says that Nelson received
Grant's order about noon, by which he probably means the
" reiterated" order. In any event it appears that General
Buell "held up" the order to Nelson fully five hours and
then "reiterated" it. Why did General Buell do that?
Why did General Nelson wait to have the order "reiterat-
ed"? Why did he not obey the original order regardless of
any dilatory order from General Buell, since the contin-
gency had arisen under which by General Halleck's instruc-
tions General Grant was "authorized to take the general
command" of both armies; namely, an attack upon his own
army? Had General Nelson marched under the original
order, his division would have been on the field at about
the time that it started on the ten-mile march. What might
have been the effect of throwing 4,500 fresh men in the
scale of battle, then hanging in doubtful poise, is, of course,
conjectural — and it must be left to conjecture, though
there is little room for doubt.
General Nelson's entire division was across the river soon
after dark. Advancing a little to the front on the extreme
left it bivouacked for the night. A little later General Lew.
Wallace came up on the extreme right, his division number-
ing about 5,000 men ; but having to counter-march the divi-
sion in order to bring the regiments in proper position his
ee War of the Rebellion : Official Eecords, Series I, Vol. X, Part I, p. 323.
67 War of the Rebellion: Official Records, Series I, Vol. X, Part I, p. 323.
568 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
formation was not completed until after midnight when it
went into bivouac.
During Sunday night Crittenden's division of Buell's
army (two brigades) came up by boat, and in the morning
two brigades of McCook's division arrived, to be joined
about noon by another brigade. Wood's division, which
was about thirty miles away when the battle began, arrived
on the field at about two afternoon Monday, when the battle
was about over. The total additions to the Union lines up
to noon on Monday was approximately 20,000 men.
During Sunday's battle General Grant passed from point
to point behind the firing line, meeting and consulting with
his division commanders and carefully observing the move-
ments of the contending forces, for, as has already been
stated, there was no point on the field from which general
observations could be made. On Monday he commanded his
own army, giving no orders to General Buell, tEe latter
exercising independent command. Why General Grant did
not assume "general command" of both armies we might
fairly conjecture (if conjecture were necessary) to be due
to the attitude of General Buell toward Grant's order to
Nelson on Sunday morning — treating it as invalid until
"reiterated" by himself. There is no room for conjecture
in the matter, however, for General Buell says in his Shiloh
Reviewed68: "I did not look upon him [Grant] as my
commander". There is evidence also that Buell was dis-
posed to treat the subject of Sunday's battle as something
of a sham — that the resistance to the Confederate attacks
was not particularly strenuous. General Tuttle of Grant's
army, acted on Monday as reserve to General Buell, having
under his command the two Iowa Eegiments that cut their
way out of the Hornets' Nest on Sunday, and one or two
other regiments of Grant's army. General Tuttle relates
«s The Century Magazine, Vol. XXXI, p. 771.
THE BATTLE OF SHILOH 569
that "while passing over the field, April 7th", following up
the advancing lines, "General Buell taunted me with not
having done any fighting that amounted to anything [on
Sunday]." When they came to the "clearing" in front
of the Hornets' Nest and saw the ground strewn with dead,
Buell "was compelled to confess that there must have been
terrible fighting". Had General Buell passed over the
ground at the Peach Orchard and over the slope in front
of Sherman's first line, he would have found similar con-
ditions to those in the "clearing" in front of the Hornets'
Nest. His estimate of the vigor of the Confederate attacks
on Sunday was probably based upon the feeble attack made
by exhausted men which he himself saw near the Landing
on Sunday night.
In Monday's battle General Buell 's army constituted the
left and General Grant's the right, with General Lew. Wal-
lace's fresh division occupying the extreme right of the
line — and it is worth mentioning here that at least two of
Grant's regiments were sent before the battle was over to
the extreme left, and one of them, under command of Gen-
eral Nelson, made a bayonet charge across an open field.
Another of Grant's regiments, under Crittenden and near
the center, charged and captured a battery. In neither
case was it necessary for General Grant to "reiterate"
the requisite orders.
As to the outcome of the contest on Monday there could
be no doubt, with the large accession to the ranks of the
Union army — a force nearly equal to the number of men
that the Confederates were able to put in line. General
Grant had instructed his division commanders on Sunday
night to be ready to attack early in the morning, and Gen-
eral Buell ordered his divisions "to move forward as soon
as it was light". Artillery fire began nearly at the same
time — about five-thirty — on the extreme flanks of the Un-
VOL. vu — 38
570 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
ion army, though the lines were not in contact until about
eight o'clock. It would not be correct to characterize the
movements of the Union lines on Monday as General Beau-
regard characterized the movements of the Confederate
lines on Sunday — the figure of the ''Alpine avalanche"
would not apply to the movements of either day. However,
the Union lines moved forward without serious repulses at
any point, though there were some reverses on the left. The
Confederates held their ground with stubbornness, oc-
cupying the line of the Purdy road until about noon. By two
o'clock the battle was practically over, and an hour later the
Confederates were in full retreat. Map No. VII will give a
good idea of the general movements, on Monday. There was
no general pursuit of the defeated army — just enough to be
sure that it was a retreat in fact. The lack of pusuit was
not, however, because Grant lacked "the energy to order a
pursuit", as John Codman Eopes alleges, but because Hal-
leek's instructions did not permit pursuit;69 hands were
still "tied".
NUMBERS ENGAGED AND LOSSES
There are two methods of estimating the strength of an
army — one method excludes all noncombatants, the other
includes noncombatants as essential parts of the army. On
the inclusive method, the Historian and Secretary of the
Shiloh National Military Park Commission70 gives the
strength of Grant's five divisions on Sunday at 39,830, and
that of Johnston's army at 43,968.71 In a note 72 in which
lie excludes noncombatants, the estimate is 33,000 and 40,000
respectively. The figures last given correspond with the
6» War of the Rebellion: Official Eecords, Series I, Vol. X, Part II, pp. 97,
104.
TO Reed's The Battle of Shiloh, p. 98.
71 Reed's The Battle of Shiloh, p. 110.
72 Reed's The Battle of Shiloh, p. 112.
THE BATTLE OF SHILOH 571
estimates of the two commanders — Grant in his Memoirs,
and Johnston in his dispatch from Corinth, when about to
march. In artillery, Johnston had one hundred and twenty-
eight guns and Grant one hundred and twelve. Had Wal-
lace's division come upon the field early on Sunday the two
armies would have been very evenly matched, both in men
and guns. On the second day, including noncombatants and
''stragglers", the figures given are: Union, 54,592; Con-
federate, 34,000.73 The complete and accurate losses of the
respective armies for the respective days have never been,
and cannot be, stated. The losses of Grant's army by divi-
sions, two days (except 3d division one day) were as fol-
lows:
Killed Wounded Prisoners Total
1st division, McClernand 285 1,372 85 1,742
2nd " W. H. L. Wallace . . .270 1,173 1,306 2,749
3d " Lew. Wallace 41 251 4 296
4th " Hurlbut 317 1,441 111 1,869
5th " Sherman 325 1,277 299 1,901
6th " Prentiss 236 928 1,008 2,172
Unassigned 39 159 17 215
Total Army Tenn 1,513 6,601 2,830 10,944™
Army of the Ohio, Monday — 75
2nd division 88 823 7 918
4th " 93 603 20 716
5th " 60 377 28 465
€th " 44
Total 241 1,807 55 2,103
Grand total 1,754 8,408 2,885 13,047
Army of Miss. (Confederate) ...1,728 8,012 959 10,699™
73 Seed's The Battle of SMoh, p. 110.
7* Keed 's The Battle of Shiloh, p. 98.
™ Reed's The Battle of Shiloh, p. 102.
"Reed's The Battle of Shiloh, p. 110.
572 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
The killed in the two days' battle are almost exactly
equal ; the wounded are in excess by nearly four hundred, in
the Union army ; and there was in the Union army an excess
in prisoners, of 1,926. Eliminating the prisoners taken in
the Hornets' Nest, it appears that more prisoners were
taken in the open field by the Union army than by the Con-
federates. The loss in officers in Grant's army on Sunday
from the grade of colonel up was much heavier than in the
Confederate army — forty-five in the former to thirty in
the latter.77
THE LOST DIVISION
So much has been written and said about the failure of
General Wallace to get his division on the field and into
the fight on the first day of the battle that the subject de-
serves a separate paragraph and a map of the roads over
which his division marched. By reference to the map (No.
VIII) it will be seen that the division occupied three camps
— one brigade at Crump's Landing; one at Stonylonesome,
two to three miles west ; and one at Adamsville, about five
miles out from the Landing toward Purdy. There is no
dispute about the fact that Grant on his way up the river
on Sunday morning stopped at Crump's Landing to notify
Wallace to be in readiness for marching orders, though
Wallace makes no mention of the fact in his official report,
leaving it to be inferred that he had no order from Grant in
the morning. He says that from the "continuous cannon-
ading" he "inferred a general battle" ; that he was in "an-
ticipation of an order"; and that he ordered his first and
third brigades to "concentrate" on the second at Stony-
lonesome.78 In his Autobiography General Wallace says
that he was satisfied before six o'clock, from the firing "up
"Eeed's The Battle of Shiloh, p. 23.
78 War of the Eebellion: Official Records, Series I, Vol. X, Part I, p. 170.
THE BATTLE OF SHILOH 573
the river", that the battle was on; and he says that at about
seven o'clock, his concentration of brigades began. The
official records show that this order was not carried out, for
the third brigade did not move from Adamsville until about
two-thirty afternoon, when it fell in behind the first and
second brigades on the march toward Snake Creek bridge,
and did not join them at Stonylonesome.
About a year after the Battle of Shiloh, General Wallace
had occasion to refer to the movements of his division, on
that Sunday in explaining to the Department Commander
the reasons for the lateness of his arrival on the field ; and
in his explanation he incidentally referred to Grant's call
at Crump's Landing on Sunday morning, fixing the time at
" about nine o'clock".79 General Grant and members of
his staff fixed the time at seven to seven-thirty o'clock.
No special importance is to be attached to this difference
in time, however, for it had no important bearing on subse-
quent events — it is mentioned only because it may justify
a doubt as to the recollection of General Wallace in fixing
the time at which he received final marching orders ; namely,
* * 11 :30 a. m. " It was the belief of General Grant and mem-
bers of his staff that the order must have been received
from a half hour to an hour earlier; though General Wal-
lace's statement is now generally accepted. The form of
order sent to Wallace can never be definitely settled, as it
is nowhere a matter of record, and the original was lost in
the hands of General Wallace, or through the fault of his
Adjutant General.
During the year after the Battle of Shiloh, there was
much criticism of General Wallace, to which he, of course,
made defence. And so General Grant requested his As-
sistant Adjutant General, Colonel Eawlins, Colonel Mc-
Pherson, Halleck's chief engineer, and Captain Rowley of
7» War of the Rebellion: Official Records, Series I, Vol. X, Part I, p. 175.
574 IOWA JOUKNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
his staff, each of whom had knowledge of General Wal-
lace's movements on Sunday, to write out in detail their
recollections, to be submitted to the Department Com-
mander. Each wrote quite fully about one year after the
battle, Colonel Rawlins reproducing from memory the order
dictated by him as he claims, to Captain Baxter, which order
was carried by the latter to Wallace. Following is the
order from memory :
MA JOB- GENERAL WALLACE:
You will move forward your division from Crump's Land-
ing, leaving a sufficient force to protect the public property at that
place, to Pittsburg Landing, on the road nearest to and parallel
with the river, and form in line at right angles with the river,
immediately in rear of the camp of Maj. Gen. C. P. Smith's divi-
sion on our right, and there await further orders.80
Captain Baxter started by boat to deliver the order
"not later than nine o'clock", according to Colonel Eaw-
lins, and reported back to Grant before "12 o'clock m."
In his official report, dated April 12, 1862, General Wal-
lace says: "At 11.30 o'clock the anticipated order arrived,
directing me to come up and take position on the right of
the army and form my line of battle at a right angle with
the river. ' ' 81 Writing a year later to General Halleck, ex-
plaining the reasons for his late arrival on the field, he
said : "At exactly 11 :30 a. m., a quartermaster by the name
of Baxter brought me an order in writing unsigned by any-
body", the bearer of the order explaining that he received
it verbally and put it in writing while on the boat.
In his Autobiography, General Wallace enlarges some-
what on the subject of this order, and says that it was writ-
ten on paper discolored with tobacco stains and bore the
imprint of boot-heels ; and he says that Baxter told him that
so War of the 'Rebellion: Official Records, Series I, Vol. X, Part I, p. 185.
si War of the Rebellion: Official Records, Series I, Vol. X, Part I, p. 170.
THE BATTLE OF SHILOH 575
the paper was picked up from the floor of the ladies' cabin,
on the steamboat. The original order having been lost,
Wallace gives the following from memory:
You will leave a sufficient force at Crump's Landing to guard
the public property there : with the rest of the division march and
form junction with the right of the army. Form line of battle at
right angles with the river, and be governed by circumstances.82
The Eawlins form of order was reproduced from memory
within one year after the event; that of Wallace, many
years after — possibly forty years. Aside from the pre-
cise road mentioned and the precise position on the field
designated in the Eawlins order, the two are strikingly
similar — sufficiently so to suggest that the former, which
had long been in print, may have been consulted to refresh
the memory in preparing the latter.
Referring again to the events of Sunday as related by
Colonel Eawlins, it appears that about an hour after Cap-
tain Baxter started by boat with orders to General Wal-
lace, Grant sent a cavalry officer, familiar with the road,
with a verbal message to Wallace "to hurry forward with
all possible dispatch." This officer reported back to Grant,
between twelve and one o'clock, that Wallace declined to
move without written orders. According to Eawlins, Cap-
tain Baxter reported back about 12 o'clock; that he deliv-
ered the orders to Wallace at about ten o'clock; that Wal-
lace read the memorandum handed him by Captain Baxter
and "appeared delighted".83
Immediately after the report of the cavalry officer that
Wallace declined to move without written orders (Baxter's
written order had not yet been delivered), Captain Eowley
of Grant's staff was ordered to take the cavalry officer and
82 Wallace's Autobiography, Vol. I, p. 463.
ss War of the Rebellion: Official Records, Series I, Vol. X. Part II, pp. IBS-
ISO.
576 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
two orderlies and carry instructions to Wallace, with au
thority to put the instructions in writing and sign them,
if necessary.84
Captain Rowley's account of this incident is more in de-
tail than that of Colonel Rawlins. Rowley corroborates
Rawlins as to the report of the cavalry officer and says that
Grant, after hearing the report, turned to him (Rowley)
and said: " Captain, you will proceed to Crump's Landing
and say to General Wallace that it is my orders that he
bring his division up at once, coming up by the River road,
crossing Snake Creek on the bridge". Captain Rowley says
he was authorized to put the orders in writing and properly
sign the same, should General Wallace require it. He was
instructed to take the cavalry officer and two orderlies with
him with the further instruction: "see that you do not
spare horse flesh. ' ' 85 Captain Rowley gives the time of
his starting on this mission at about twelve-thirty o'clock.
Colonel Rawlins fixes it at "not later than 1 o'clock p. m."
Captain Rowley's party rode directly to Wallace's head-
quarters at Crump's Landing, to find "no signs of a camp
except one baggage wagon that was just leaving." 86 (The
brigade had marched west to Stonylonesome in the morn-
ing.) Getting directions from the driver of the wagon, the
party followed the road taken by Wallace and overtook the
rear of the division some five or six miles out. The divi-
sion was "at a rest, sitting on each side of the road". Rid-
ing forward to the head of the column, Wallace was found
"sitting upon his horse, surrounded by his staff". Although
it is not so stated, it is fair to assume that the division was
at rest while the cavalry was scouting to the front, as Wal-
8* War of the Rebellion : Official Records, Series I, Vol. X, Part II, pp. 185-
186.
SB War of the Rebellion: Official Records, Series I, Vol. X, Part II, p. 179.
so War of the Rebellion: Official Records, Series I, Vol. X, Part II, p. 179.
THE BATTLE OF SHILOH 577
lace believed that he was approaching the crossing of Owl
Creek, near the right of the army as it was in the morning,
.and where he might expect trouble.
Captain Eowley delivered his orders and stated that it
had been reported to Grant that he (Wallace) had de-
'dined to march without written orders, which according to
Eowley, Wallace denounced as a " damned lie!" Wallace
claimed that he had taken the ' * only road he knew anything
about," 87 leading in the direction of the right of the army.
On learning the real situation, Wallace ordered his division
to counter-march for the purpose of reaching the river road
by a short-cut if possible. Captain Eowley remained with
the division, acting as guide.
When Captain Eowley left the field with orders to Wal-
lace, it was supposed that the head of the column would
l)e found only a short distance north of Snake Creek bridge,
and that Wallace would soon be in the precise position
where he was expected to be, and where his presence was
most needed. Two o'clock came, but no information from
Wallace. Grant then sent two of the principal members
of his staff, Colonel Eawlins, Assistant Adjutant General,
and Colonel McPherson, Chief Engineer, to find the lost
division.
These officers rode directly to Crump's Landing, not
knowing whether the division had left its camp. Following
directions given them there, they came upon the division
counter-marching on a cross-road to the river road, at about
three-thirty afternoon. Colonel Eawlins repeated to Wal-
lace the reported refusal to march without written orders,
and Wallace repeated the denial. In regard to the road
taken, Wallace said, according to Eawlins, that his guide
had misled him.
Soon after Eawlins and McPherson came up with the
87 War of the Eebellion: Official Records, Series I, Vol. X, Part I, p. 180.
578 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
head of the column it was halted, as Eawlins states it, "for
a considerable length of time, to enable it to close up and
rest". There was another delay when near Snake Creek
bridge "for full half an hour" while changing the position
of the artillery in the column.88
The three officers, Eawlins, McPherson, and Eowley,.
agree in stating that the march of the column was very
slow, and that no urging of the terms of Grant's order or
the seriousness of the situation seemed to have any effect.
According to Eawlins, the speed was less than ' ' a mile and
a half an hour" after he joined the column, though "the
roads were in fine condition; he was marching light; his;
men were in buoyant spirits, .... and eager to get for-
ward." 89
Whatever the form of the order from General Grant to
General Wallace, and however it may have been interpreted,
Wallace's march began from Stonylonesome at twelve
o'clock, noon, with two brigades, over the Shunpike road
toward Owl Creek bridge, the third brigade falling in the
rear where the road intersects from Adamsville. Captain
Eowley came up to the head of the column ' ' at rest, ' ' north
of and overlooking Clear Creek valley, not Owl Creek as-
Wallace supposed — he was still more than three miles from
Owl Creek, and the rear of the column was still at Adams-
ville. The counter-march began from the north side of
Clear Creek, at a point marked "Smith's" (Map VIII).
It was necessary for the head of the column to march back
about two and a half miles to find a cross-road, then about
the same distance on the cross-road, before the rear could'
move; so it was well along in the afternoon when the last
files of the third brigade left Adamsville. Colonel Eawlins
and Colonel McPherson came up with Wallace on the cross-
ss War of the Rebellion : Official Records, Series I, Vol. X, Part II, p. 187.
89 War of the Eebellion: Official Records, Series I, Vol. X, Part II, p. 18&.
THE BATTLE OF SHILOH 579
road at about three-thirty afternoon, as heretofore stated.
From a glance at the map (VIII) showing the roads north
of Snake Creek and the relation of the roads to the battle
field, it appears that the shortest possible route from Wal-
lace's camps to the right of the army (as it was even on
Sunday morning) was by the river road and Snake Creek
bridge (Wallace bridge on map). Not only was the road
by Owl Creek bridge much longer, but the crossing was
more hazardous in case the enemy succeeded in securing
the crossing and planting a battery, for the approach from
the North was through a swampy valley, heavily timbered
and with dense undergrowth, along a narrow road where
deployment was impossible and where the column would be
exposed to direct artillery fire for a distance of nearly a
mile.
Had General Wallace been familiar with the roads cov-
ering the territory which it was his special province to
guard, no guide could have misled him, and he would not
have said that he was on "the only road he knew anything
about". His position at Crump's Landing was as much
exposed to attack as was the camp at Pittsburg Landing,
and he was as likely to need support as he was to be called
on for support. It was of the utmost importance for the
safety of his own command that he know the shortest and
best road between the two camps.
Forty years after the event General Wallace was forced
to confess that he had all that time been laboring under a
mistake as to the position of the head of his column when
the order was given to counter-march. He had all this
time supposed that he was overlooking Owl Creek at the
right of Sherman's lines when Captain Eowley came up
and found his division "at rest", while his cavalry was
scouting to the front. Instead of overlooking Owl Creek,
he was overlooking the valley of Clear Creek three or four
580 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
miles to the north. Of these facts General Wallace was
convinced, not long before his death, by a personal inspec-
tion of the territory and the roads over which his division
marched, in company with the Secretary and Historian of
the Shiloh National Military Park Commission, several of
his own officers, with citizens living in the locality, and with
a Confederate cavalry officer who was watching his move-
ments on that Sunday.
Strangely, General Wallace allowed this confessed error
to stand in his Autobiography, with only partial correction.
It seems not to be generally known, though it has been
matter of official record since 1863, that General Wallace
in view of General Grant's criticism of his (Wallace's) con-
duct at Shiloh, asked of the Secretary of War a court of
inquiry. The date of the request was July 18th, 1863 ; but
on September 16th following, the Secretary of War was
asked to ''suspend action in the matter", General Wallace
stating that he might be able to "satisfy General Grant
upon the points involved".90 It was on the advice of Gen-
eral Sherman that the request for a court of inquiry was
withdrawn, and the request was never renewed, though
General Grant had found no reason to modify his original
criticism, down to the time of writing the chapter on Shiloh,
for his Memoirs.91 After the writing of that chapter, how-
ever, a letter came into General Grant's hands, written by
General Lew. Wallace to General W. H. L. Wallace, dated
April 5, 1862 (correct date April 4th). In this letter Gen-
eral Grant finds reasons for " materially" modifying the
criticisms upon General Wallace, as they appear in the
chapter itself, appending a foot-note thereto by way of ex-
planation.92
so War of the Eebellion: Official Eecords, Series I, Vol. X, Part I, pp. 188-190.
»i Personal Memoirs of U. 8. Grant, Vol. I, pp. 337-338.
»* Personal Memoirs of U. S. Grant, Vol. I, p. 351.
THE BATTLE OF SHILOH 581
The writer hereof is impressed with the idea that it was
the promptings of General Grant's generous nature, rather
than the contents of the letter that prompted the foot-note.
It is not entirely clear, in view of the admissions made by
General Wallace in his Autobiography, that the letter from
General Lew. Wallace to General W. H. L. Wallace does
not furnish additional ground for censure. At the moment
of writing the letter the author of it must have been ' ' sim-
mering" in his mind the knowledge that the Confederate
army was then on the march to attack Grant ; and yet there
was no mention in the letter of that important fact. The
reader must draw his own conclusions.
J. W. EICH
THE STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF IOWA
IOWA CITY
SOME PUBLICATIONS
The Repeal of the Missouri Compromise: Its Origin and Author-
ship. By P. ORMAN RAY. Cleveland: The Arthur H. Clark
Company. 1909. Pp. 315.
Mr. Ray's book is written for the purpose of presenting a new
explanation of the "circumstances under which the repeal of the
Missouri Compromise was conceived" and of the reasons why the
repeal occurred in 1854, when a period of quiet prevailed in the
national discussion of slavery. His thesis involves the proposition
that Senator David R. Atchison of Missouri and not Stephen A.
Douglas originated the repeal, that it was thrust upon Douglas at a
late hour and unexpectedly to him, and that he became the medium
by which it was presented because of pressure brought to bear upon
him and not upon his own initiation. The author reaches his con-
clusions after turning away from the pages of the Congressional
Globe and making a study of political conditions in the State of
Missouri during the years immediately preceding 1854. Here an
intensely bitter struggle was in progress between factions of the
Democratic party. Thomas H. Benton, displaced from the United
States Senate after thirty years of service, was making desperate
efforts to regain his seat in that body and hold his position of influ-
ence in the Democratic party. His most bitter opponent was David
R. Atchison, United States Senator from the same State. The
struggle resolved itself into a personal struggle in which the politi-
cal future of Benton and Atchison seemed to be at stake.
Benton in his campaign utterances plunged into an enthusiastic
advocacy of a railroad to the Pacific by a central route passing
through Missouri and the unorganized territory to the west, and
with this popular measure he associated as an indispensable aid
the organization of the Territory of Nebraska. Representing
Atchison as opposed to these measures he threw the latter upon a
defensive fight with the odds against him. Atchison came back with
SOME PUBLICATIONS 583
a statement that he favored the organization of Nebraska but that
he would never vote for it unless the restriction upon slavery im-
posed by the Missouri Compromise should be withdrawn from the
Territory to be so organized.
This announcement left both men in favor of Nebraska Territory.
But Benton, with his free-soil tendencies, was advocating it upon the
assumption that, by reason of the Missouri Compromise, freedom
must prevail, while Atchison was sworn to oppose it unless slaves
could be introduced by southern owners.
When Congress convened in 1853 Atchison was in the Senate and
Benton in the House. The agitation for Nebraska had been so ac-
tive that there was no doubt that it would be a prominent subject
for Congressional action. Douglas, who was and had been for
years Chairman of the Committee on Territories, had just returned
from an extended European tour, and a letter written shortly be-
fore the session began gave no indication that he realized the pro-
portions to which the Nebraska question had grown. He had been
strong in his adherence to the Missouri Compromise, was almost at
the beginning of a term in the Senate, and must have known that
the opening of the slavery question by such a measure as the repeal
of the Missouri Compromise, would react strongly against his po-
litical career. He would not in the nature of things (asserts the
author) be anxious therefore to initiate such legislation. For David
B. Atchison, however, the repeal would bring only benefits. It
would make possible his voting for the organization of Nebraska,
and would force Benton to either go back on the measure he had so
strenuously advocated or else vote for the repeal of the Compromise,
and violate his free soil principles.
Such, in a nutshell, was the condition as outlined by Mr. Ray,
up to the time of the preparation of the bill. He goes on to give
evidence showing the method by which Atchison prevailed upon
Douglas to insert in the Kansas-Nebraska bill, as it came from his
committee, a clause definitely repealing the restriction of the Mis-
souri Compromise.
However Mr. Ray's conclusions may be accepted, he is at least to
be thanked for presenting, largely from the original sources, a
phase of the history of the Missouri Compromise that is distinctly
584 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
important. And his closing sentences are worthy of notice. "It
[the narrative of the struggle] establishes the essential importance
of a careful study of State politics in order to arrive at a satisfac-
tory solution of not a few problems in national politics. It is a
concrete illustration of the 'significance of the frontier' in Ameri-
can political history."
JOHN CARL PARISH
THE STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF IOWA
IOWA CITY
Collections of the Illinois State Historical Library. Volume IV.
Edited by EVARTS BOUTELL GREENE and CLARENCE WALWORTH
ALVORD. Springfield: Illinois State Historical Library. 1909.
Pp. xxxiii, 317. Portraits.
Anyone who has had occasion to study the history of Illinois
during the early years of statehood will realize the value of this
volume, which contains The Governors' Letter-Books 1818-1834.
The adaptation of State government to the needs of a frontier com-
munity, and the working out of forms which are characteristic
of the Commonwealths of the middle west, as well as of those which
are peculiar to Illinois, find illustration in these letters of the
early Governors, who played an important part in shaping the
affairs of the State which they guided in its infancy.
Shadrach Bond, the first Governor of the State of Illinois, was a
Marylander by birth who had come to the western land in 1794 and
had taken an active part in the political life of the succeeding
Territorial governments in the Illinois country. He, therefore,
had a thorough knowledge of the new State. His letter-book, cov-
ering the years from 1818 to 1822, occupies only thirty pages, and
while perhaps less interesting than some of the later ones, it re-
veals the "substantial, farmer-like man, of strong, plain, common
sense," which a contemporary described Governor Bond to be.
The letters of Edward Coles, the second Governor, are more
numerous than those of his predecessor, and give evidence of the
wider knowledge of the writer. Large subjects such as the bank-
SOME PUBLICATIONS 585
ing system, internal improvements, and the building up of educa-
tional institutions, are all touched upon in these letters written be-
tween 1822 and 1826.
For the four years following 1826 came Ninian Edwards, who
had already rendered efficient service to the people of the Illinois
country as Territorial Governor from 1809 to 1819, and as one of
the first two United States Senators from the Commonwealth.
Fully half of the letters of Governor Edwards here printed relate
to financial matters, and especially to the affairs of the State Bank.
The removal of the Indians is another subject which receives some
consideration.
John Reynolds, the last Governor whose letters are printed in
this volume, was a man of less enviable record than the three men
who preceded him. Correspondence relative to the Indian troubles
which culminated in the Black Hawk War constitutes the most
interesting part of his letter-book.
The volume ends with a chronological list of letters and an ex-
cellent index, both of which are almost indispensable to the stu-
dent. The editors are to be congratulated upon having made acces-
sible this valuable material illustrative of early Illinois and western
history.
DAN ELBERT CLARK
THE STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OP IOWA
IOWA CITY
A History of Norwegian Immigration to the United States from the
Earliest Beginning Down to the Tear 1848. By GEORGE T.
FLOM. Iowa City : Privately printed. 1909. pp. 407. Map.
Nearly fifteen years ago Rasmus B. Anderson gave to the world
his First Chapter of Norwegian Immigration, 1821-1840. This
bulky volume, copiously supplied with names and portraits, was
no doubt prepared especially for the pleasure and appreciation of
early Norwegian pioneers. Dr. Flom, however, has finished a study
of immigration which, largely based on the account of his prede-
cessor, and on much material in the Norwegian language, appeals
VOL. vii — 39
586 IOWA 'JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
more directly to those who have an interest in studies of emigration
and colonization for their own sake without being impelled or
hindered by strong feelings of national pride and national vanity.
For the ordinary reader who is neither Norse by birth nor parent-
age, Dr. Flom has recorded the story of the causes, course and
progress of emigration from rugged Norway to various parts of
the United States. The author briefly describes the fatherland
and summarizes the names of individuals who are known to have
migrated before 1825. Then follows a narrative of the beginnings
and growth of settlements in New York, Illinois, Wisconsin, and
Iowa. To one who is interested chiefly in the movement as such,
the large number of proper names is of comparatively little im-
portance. To such an one unfortunately the index will prove of
inadequate value. The author has brought much enthusiasm to
bear upon his researches into the subject. It is to be hoped that
he will keep his promise to prepare a companion volume on the
social, economic, and religious phases of a life with which he has
been so intimately associated.
J. VAN DER ZEE
THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF IOWA
IOWA CITY
AMERICANA
GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS
The fourth and concluding volume of the Bibliography of State
Publications by R. R. Bowker, has appeared.
The July Bulletin of the Virginia State Library contains a Find-
ing List of Geography, Anthropology, Hydrography.
Railway Statistics of the United States of America for the Tear
Ending June 30, 1908, have been prepared by Slason Thompson,
and printed by Donnelley & Sons of Chicago.
The Report of the Fifteenth Annual Meeting of the Lake Mo-
honk Conference on International Arbitration is filled with inter-
esting discussions of various phases of the subject.
SOME PUBLICATIONS 587
The Index to Legislation 1908, prepared by Clarence B. Lester,
Legislative Reference Librarian of the New York State Library,
and published by the University of the State of New York, is a
very useful volume.
Legislative and Judicial History of the Fifteenth Amendment is
the title of a monograph by John Mabry Mathews, which com-
prises a recent number of the Johns Hopkins University Studies in
Historical and Political Science.
The Tear Book of the Pennsylvania Society, 1909, contains the
transactions of the Society during the past year, the addresses de-
livered on various occasions, a number of portraits and cuts, and
much general information concerning the Society.
The Education Department of the State of New York has issued
two neat booklets describing the Lake Champlain Tercentenary,
which was celebrated July 4-10, 1909 ; and the Hudson-Fulton Cele-
bration, which extended from September 25 to October 9, 1909.
The third volume of the Anthropological Papers of the American
Museum of Natural History comprises a number of monographs
grouped under the heading, The Indians of Greater New York and
the Lower Hudson. The volume is edited by Clark "Wissler.
The July number of The National Civic Federation Review con-
tains an excellent article on Problems of American Legislation, by
Charles H. McCarthy, of Wisconsin. There is also a discussion of
the Insidious Methods of the Socialist Press Propaganda, by Roland
P. Phillips.
Among the contributions to the June number of the Political
Science Quarterly are : The Growth of Judicial Power, by W. F.
Dodd; Sectionalism in Pennsylvania During the Revolution, by
W. Roy Smith ; and College Women and Race Suicide, by Charles
Franklin Emerick.
In The Survey for August 28 there is an interesting discussion
of Congress and the District of Columbia, by Henry S. Curtis. In
the number for September 18 may be found Russia's Message: A
Hitherto Unpublished Review from the Pen of the Late Samuel
June Barrows.
588 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
A recent bulletin of the United States Bureau of Education is
devoted to Statistics of Public, Society, and School Libraries.
Here may be found information concerning nearly two thousand
three hundred libraries, each of which contained five thousand
volumes or over in 1908.
The Essex Antiquarian for July contains an article by John
Robinson on The Pre-Historic Relics of Essex County; a list of
Ipswich Inscriptions: Linebrook Parish Cemetery; and an article
on Salem and Marblehead in 1700, by Sidney Perley, besides a
number of genealogical contributions.
The Documentary History of American Industrial Society, to be
published in ten volumes, has been announced by The Arthur H.
Clark Company. The editors of this important work are Professors
John R. Commons, Ulrich B. Phillips, Eugene A. Gilmore, Helen
L. Sumner, and John B. Andrews.
Absolute Immunity in Defamation: Judicial Proceedings, by Van
Vechten Veeder ; Individual Liability of Stockholders and the Con-
flict of Laws, by Wesley Neweomb Hohf eld ; and The Commodities
Clause Decision, by an anonymous writer, are the articles in the
June number of the Columbia Law Review.
Following the policy inaugurated last year a bibliographical
volume of Writings on American History 1907 has been issued.
Like its predecessor the volume is compiled by Grace Gardner
Griffin, and the general plan of presentation is the same as that
employed in the volume on the writings for the year 1906.
Two publications of the Litchfield County University Club, of
Connecticut, which have appeared during the past year are: The
County Regiment, by Dudley Landon Vail; and The Clergy of
Litchfield County, by Arthur Goodenough. Like all the publica-
tions of the Club these volumes are handsomely bound and neatly
printed.
Under Uncle Sam's Nose is the title given to two articles by Ed-
win Emerson which may be found in the June and July numbers
of Uncle Sam's Magazine. In these articles Mr. Emerson brings
to light a number of startling facts concerning the treatment of
SOME PUBLICATIONS 589
Americans in Central America. In both issues of the Magazine
there are a number of short sketches by J. Madison Drake, under
the heading of American Deeds of Valor, and a series of War Time
Episodes told by veterans.
In the July number of the Bulletin of the American Geograph-
ical Society there is an article on The Messina Earthquake, by Wil-
liam Herbert Hobbs, in which comparisons are made with former
earthquakes in the same region. There is also printed an address
by Ellen Churchill Semple on The Operation of Geographic Fac-
tors in History.
The July number of The Scottish Historical Review contains a
number of interesting articles, among which may be mentioned:
Scotland in the Eighteenth Century, by P. Hume Brown; A Scot
in France in 1751, by A. Francis Steuart; Ecclesiastical Persecu-
tion in the Seventeenth Century, by Robert Lamond; and a con-
tinuation of the Chronicle of Lanercost, by Herbert Maxwell.
Adolphe Landry is the writer of an article entitled, On the Re-
turns of Productive Agents and on the Productivity of Capital in
Particular, in the August number of The Quarterly Journal of
Economics. Other contributions are: Proportions of Factors —
Advantage and Size, by H. J. Davenport ; The Railway Situation in
Italy, by Filippo Tajani; and The Decline in the Ratio of Bank-
ing Capital to Liabilities, by Wesley C. Mitchell.
John Quincy is the title of an address delivered at Quincy on
Sunday, February 23, 1908, under the auspices of the Quincy His-
torical Society, by Daniel Munro Wilson. This address, which was
prepared in collaboration with Charles Francis Adams, has been
extended and printed in a neat little volume, with numerous illus-
trations. It forms a worthy appreciation of one of Massachusetts'
lesser statesmen during the provincial period.
Readings on American Federal Government, edited by Paul S.
Reinsch, is a source book in political science which supplies a long
felt need. The selections, or readings, are accounts by men who
have engaged in or witnessed the occurrences described. They em-
brace such material as speeches by Representatives and Senators on
590 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
the powers of the Executive, relations of Executive to Congress, the
legislative process, and departmental activities. There are also
addresses by prominent federal judges on the organization and
work of the courts; extracts from messages of the Presidents, re-
ports of departments, and court decisions; and essays by promi-
nent men on different aspects of the operation of government.
The volume will prove valuable to both teachers and students.
Maurice H. Robinson is the writer of an article on Railway
Freight Rates: The Legal, Economic, and Accounting Principles
Involved in their Judicial Determination, in the August number
of The Yale Review. Lester W. Zartman discusses Discrimination
and Cooperation in Fire Insurance Rating; while other articles are:
The Causes of Emigration from Greece, by Henry Pratt Fairchild ;
and The Significance of Advertising, by Frederick Dwight.
The History Teachers' Magazine is the name of a new periodical
devoted to the interests of teachers of History, Civics, and related
subjects. The Magazine is published at Philadelphia and the initial
number appeared in September. One Use of Sources in the Teach-
ing of History, by Fred Morrow Fling; The College Teaching of
History, by George Burton Adams ; and History in the Grades, by
Armand J. Gerson, are among the contributions in the first number.
A number of excellent articles make up the contents of The South
Atlantic Quarterly for July. Working for the Common Good:
Rural and City Improvement in the South, by William H. Glasson ;
Maryland and the West, by Bernard C. Steiner; North Carolina's
Priority in the Demand for Independence, by R. D. W. Connor;
and Proposals for a New Commercial Treaty Between France and
the United States, by George F. Zook, are a few of the subjects
discussed.
The May number of The American Journal of Sociology, like
the March number, is devoted to discussions of various problems
connected with the family. The July number contains articles on
a variety of subjects. Albion W. Small presents The Vindication
of Sociology; John Spargo discusses Christian Socialism in Amer-
ica; while The Immigrant's Bill of Rights, by Alcott W. Stockwell;
Public Opinion, by Walter J. Shepard; "Pap" Singleton, the
SOME PUBLICATIONS 591
Moses of the Colored Exodus, by Walter L. Fleming ; and The Pre-
tensions of Sociology, by Henry Jones Ford, are among the other
contributions.
The following are pamphlets issued by the American Association
for International Conciliation from May to September, inclusive:
Address by the Honorable Elihu Root; a discussion of the relations
between The United States and China, by Wei-Ching W. Yen ; the
Opening Address at the Lake Mohonk Conference on International
Arbitration, by Nicholas Murray Butler; Journalism and Inter-
national Affairs, by Edward Gary; and Influence of Commerce in
the Promotion of International Peace, by John Ball Osborne.
A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the
United States to the Twelfth, 1790-1900, is the title of a valuable
volume recently issued by the Bureau of the Census. The first
fifty pages are devoted for the most part to historical data. Then
follow comparative statistics on a variety of subjects, as for in-
stance white and negro population, sex and age of the white popula-
tion, proportion of children in the white population, interstate mi-
gration, foreign born population, and occupations and wealth. In-
terspersed through the volume are a number of interesting tables
showing enumerations of population in North America prior to
1790, and illustrating the various censuses since that time. There
are also some instructive maps, diagrams and illustrations which
convey in graphic manner much valuable information. The volume
will be a special boon to students who do not have access to the
various censuses of the United States beginning with 1790.
Among the contributions to the May number of the American
Historical Magazine are: the opening installment of A History of
Slavery by Mrs. C. F. McLean; a sketch of George Washington as
a Real Estate Agent, by Griffith Morris; some Indian Legends of
Belle Isle and Eois Blanc, by Elizabeth L. Stocking ; Some Political
Letters of the Reconstruction Days Succeeding the Civil War, con-
tributed by Duane Mowry; and an article on A Moravian Mission
to the Western Indians, by T. J. Chapman. With the July number
the name of the publication is changed to Americana, and in the
future it will be issued monthly instead of bi-monthly. The July
I
592 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
number contains a good variety of articles, among which may be
mentioned How Dolly Madison Outwitted the British, by Helen
Harcourt; and The Need of Science in American Family Rule, by
Florence Hull Winter-burn, the new editor of Americana. In the
August number there are some continuations and several brief ar-
ticles on a variety of subjects.
The Conservation of Natural Resources is the subject to which
the May number of The Annals of the American Academy of Po-
litical and Social Science is devoted. The four parts into which the
discussion is divided deal with the conservation of forest, water,
land, and mineral resources respectively, and there are a number of
articles under each heading by eminent authorities. In the July
number of the Annals the important subject of Race Improvement
in the United States is discussed in its various phases. The supple-
ment contains The Consumer's Control of Production: The Work
of the National Consumer's League.
An interesting discussion of the Historical Significance of the
Term "Cabinet" in England and the United States, by Henry
Barrett Learned, is the opening contribution to the August number
of The American Political Science Review. Robert Bruce Scott is
the writer of an article on The Increased Control of State Activi-
ties by the Federal Courts. Under the heading of The Law of the
Constitution, Edmund M. Parker presents a review of a new and
enlarged edition of Professor Dicey 's well known work, which ap-
peared last year. The New York Direct Primaries Bill of 1909, by
Arthur Ludington, is an article of interest in these days of primary
election agitation. Margaret A. Schaffner's Notes on Current Leg-
islation cover a great variety of subjects and will be found valua-
ble. An Index to Recent Literature — Books and Periodicals, as
usual, is an important feature of the Review.
WESTERN
Among the articles in the May-June number of the Records of
the Past are: The Bushmen as Existing Representatives of the
Palaeolithic Races; part one of Aztec Ruins in Southern Mexico,
by Louis M. N. Forsyth ; and Traces of a Vanished Race in Kandi-
yohi County, Minnesota, by Horatio Gates.
SOME PUBLICATIONS 593
A History of Illinois, by L. E. Robinson and Irving Moore, is a
recent publication of the American Book Company which is of
western interest.
Bulletin number forty-one of the Bureau of American Ethnology
consists of a monograph on Antiquities of the Mesa Verde National
Park: Spruce-Tree House, by Jesse Walter Fewkes.
Comparative Legislation Bulletin number twenty of the Legisla-
tive Reference Department of the Wisconsin Library Commission
is devoted to a discussion of Accident Insurance for Workingmen,
by Reuben McKitrick.
In the March-May number of The American Antiquarian and
Oriental Journal William Gardner contributes a brief article on
Old Races Unearthed in which he tells of some interesting archaeo-
logical discoveries in Nebraska.
Among the articles in the July number of The University of
California Chronicle are: the Commencement Address delivered
on May 12, 1909, by Benjamin Ide Wheeler; and a discussion of
The Irish Inflence in Civilization, by Charles Mills Gayley.
Volume two number three of The University of Missouri Studies
in the Social Science Series contains a short monograph on The
Origin of the Werewolf Superstition, by Caroline Taylor Stewart.
'The fourth number of this volume is a study of The Transitional
Period, 1788-1789, in the Government of the United States, by
Frank Fletcher Stephens.
IOWANA
A series of interesting articles on the History of the Tariff, by
Dwight G. McCarty, appeared during the summer in The Palo Alto
Tribune published at Emmetsburg, Iowa.
Felix H. Pickworth is the writer of an article entitled Our Treat-
ment of Lawbreakers; Is It Reformatory f, which is reprinted in
pamphlet form from the Bulletin of Iowa State Institutions for
July.
The Old Settler of Linn County Iowa is the title of a twenty-
four page pamphlet containing the roster of the officers and mem-
594 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
bers of the Old Settlers' Association of Linn County since the
organization of the Association in 1891. The years in which the
members came to Linn County are indicated, and an amazingly
large number are shown to have settled there before Iowa became a
State.
The number of the Proceedings of the Davenport Academy of
Sciences published in May consists of a monograph by Frederick
Starr, entitled Ethnographic Notes from the Congo Free State: An
African Miscellany.
A number of sketches of Iowa in the Civil War, by L. F. An-
drews, have been appearing in The Midwestern during the summer.
In the August number there is an article on the Society of the
Colonial Wars, by Malcolm MacKinnon.
In an article on Education in the July number of the Journal
of History published at Lamoni, Iowa, Heman C. Smith states the
attitude of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints toward
education. Other articles are : Causes of Trouble in Jackson Coun-
ty, Missouri, in 1833, by Heman C. Smith; a continuation of the-
same writer's discussion of the Stockbridge Indians; and another
installment of the Autobiography of Charles Derry.
In the July number of Midland Municipalities there are printed
some New Municipal Laws passed by the General Assembly of
Iowa at its last session. There is also a statement by Dr. Thomas,
Secretary of the State Board of Health, explaining his position in
the recent controversy with the osteopaths. In the August number
may be found Opinions from the Attorney General's Office; an ar-
ticle on the Purchase of Coal by Heat Units, by E. W. Bemis; and
a discussion of Contributory Negligence, by Howard C. Lake.
Stream Pollution in America is the title of an article in the Septem-
ber number.
SOME RECENT PUBLICATIONS BY IOWA AUTHORS
Archibald, Andrew Webster,
Easter Hope. Boston: S. D. Towne: 1909.
Bashford, Herbert,
At the Shrine of Song. San Francisco: Whitaker & Ray.
1909.
SOME PUBLICATIONS 595
Benton, Guy Potter,
The Real College. Cincinnati: Jennings & Graham. 1909.
Bowman, Melville Leroy, and Crossley, Bruce W.,
Corn: Growing, Judging, Breeding, Feeding, Marketing.
Ames: Published by the authors. 1909.
Brown, Charles Reynolds,
The Young Man's Affairs. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell &
Co. 1909.
Cobbey, Joseph Elliott,
Cobbey's Compiled Statutes. Beatrice, Nebraska: Published
by the author. 1909.
Cooley, Roger W.,
Handbook on the Law of Persons and Domestic Relations. St.
Paul : West Publishing Co. 1909.
Flom, George T.,
A History of Norwegian Immigration to the United States.
Iowa City: Privately printed. 1909.
Franklin, William Suddards,
Light and Sound: A Text-Boox for Colleges and Technical
Schools. New York: The Macmillan Co. 1909.
Dynamos and Motors. New York: The Macmillan Co. 1909.
Fultz, Francis M.,
The Fly-aways and Other Seed Travelers. Bloomington:
Public School Publishing Co, 1909.
Out of Door Studies in Geography. Bloomington: Public
School Publishing Co. 1909.
Gilbert, Barry (Joint author with Floyd R. Mechem),
Cases on Damages, Selected from Decisions of English and
American Courts. St. Paul: West Publishing Co. 1909.
Hinkhouse, J. F.,
The Beloved. Fairfield : Fairfield Ledger. 1909.
Johnston, Howard Agnew,
Victorious Manhood. New York and Chicago: Fleming H.
Revell & Co. 1909.
Knox, George H.,
Leadership. Des Moines : Personal Help Publishing Co. 1909.
596 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
Lillibridge, William Otis,
The Dominant Dollar. Chicago : A. C. McClurg & Co. 1909.
Marston, Anson,
Sewers and Drains. Chicago: American School of Corre-
spondence, 1909.
Norton, Roy,
Toll of the Sea. New York: D. Appleton & Co. 1909.
Pickworth, Felix H.,
Our Treatment of Lawbreakers; Is It Reformatory f Anamosa :
Reformatory Press. 1909.
Rogers, Julia Ellen,
Key to the Nature Library; with Practical Suggestions on the
E very-day Use of the Volumes. New York: Doubleday
Page & Co. 1909.
Sabin, Edwin L.,
Bar B Boys. New York : Thomas Y. Crowell & Co. 1909.
Thorington, James,
Refraction and How to Refract (Fourth edition). Philadel-
phia: P. Blakiston's Sons & Co. 1909.
Wade, Martin J.,
Selection of Cases on Malpractice of Physicians, Surgeons and
Dentists. St. Louis: Medico-Legal Publishing Co. 1909.
Williams, Henry Smith,
Alcohol; How it Affects the Individual, the Community, and
the Race. New York: Century Co. 1909.
Woodman, Hannah Rea,
Tumbleweed. Poughkeepsie : Published by the author. 1909.
SOME RECENT HISTORICAL ITEMS IN NEWSPAPERS
The Register and Leader
When the James Boys Robbed Corydon Bank in 1871, June 13,
1909.
Sketch of Life of General William Duane Wilson, by L. F. An-
drews, June 13, 1909.
Sketch of Life of Col. M. T. V. Bowman, pioneer of Des Moines, by
L. F. Andrews, June 27, 1909.
Ames Semi-Centennial and Fourth Celebration, July 4, 1909.
SOME PUBLICATIONS 597
How Des Moines Won County and State Capitals, by L. F. An-
drews, July 4, 1909.
Old Letter of James Harlan, Echo of Fierce Fray, July 10, 1909.
Sketch of Life of Charles Saylor, Sugar Expert, by L. F. Andrews,
July 11, 1909.
Sketch of Life of Thomas Wilson, July 11, 1909.
H. H. Fairall — Twenty-Seven Years a Methodist Editor, July 11,
1909.
Delhi and Its Scenes of Historic Interest, July 18, 1909.
Colonel Joe McGarraugh — One of Polk County's Earliest Settlers,
by L. F. Andrews, July 18, 1909.
Thomas H. McBride and Samuel Calvin — Two Iowa Scientists
Who Have Achieved Fame, July 18, 1909.
Sketch of Life of Philander Smith, by L. F. Andrews, August 1,
1909.
A Burlington Street in Pioneer Days, August 1, 1909.
Sketch of Life of Thompson McCaughan, August 1, 1909.
When Settlement of Kanesville, Iowa, Was New and Unregenerate,
August 8, 1909.
Wm. Zinsmaster, Pioneer Des Moines Business Man, by L. F. An-
drews, August 8, 1909.
Peter Miles Shot Many Buffalo in Iowa, August 8, 1909.
History of the Eighth Iowa Cavalry, August 15, 1909.
Ankeny Family, Widely Known Pioneers, by L. F. Andrews, Au-
gust 15, 1909.
Mrs. Ann Dickens — Oldest Woman in Iowa, August 15, 1909.
In Days When Horse Thieves Had Way Stations Near Boone, Au-
gust 22, 1909.
Sketch of Life of John Stuart Dean, by L. F. Andrews, September
5, 1909.
Cane Made from Hull of Perry's Flagship, by L. F. Andrews, Sep-
tember 19, 1909.
Sketch of Life of Henry Beecroft of Council Bluffs, September 19,
1909.
Capt. W. L. Clark, Iowa's Very Earliest Settler, September 19,
1909.
598 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
The Burlington Hawk-Eye
Story of William P. Elliott's Experience During the Civil War,
June 27, 1909.
Some Civil War Sketches, by Morris Schaff, July 11, 1909.
lowans' Names in Southern War Records, July 11, 1909.
When Des Moines County was Partly Under a River, July 11, 1909.
Memories of old Barret House in Burlington, July 11, 1909.
Burlington in 1869, July 14, 1909.
The Bison in Iowa, July 18, 1909.
A War Time Bear Story, by William P. Elliott, August 1, 1909.
"Buffalo Bill," a Product of the Hawkeye State, August 8, 1909.
James Cruikshank, Iowa's Oldest Living Native, August 8, 1909.
Romance of a Hundred Years — Sketch of Life of Mrs. Katherine
Lewis, August 22, 1909.
Col. David Palmer Tells of Some Civil War Experiences, August
22, 1909.
William Salter — Eventide of a Long and Useful Ministerial Ca-
reer, August 29, 1909.
How Kirkwood Cowed a Mob, August 29, 1909.
When Tama Jim Resigned to Honor U. S. Grant, September 5,
1909.
The Sioux City Journal
The Story of Pella : The Plymouth Rock of Iowa, June 20, 1909.
Seventy-Six Years in Iowa — Mrs. Ann D. Dickens, the Oldest Set-
tler in the State, June 20, 1909.
Sioux City: A Story of Sixty Wonderful Years, June 30, 1909.
History of Sioux City Corn Palaces, June 30, 1909.
Pioneer Bankers of Sioux City, June 30, 1909.
History of the Bench and Bar of Woodbury County, June 30, 1909.
Sioux City Real Estate Forty Years Ago, June 30, 1909.
First Railroad to Sioux City, June 30, 1909.
Some Newspaper History of Sioux City, June 30, 1909.
Early Days of the City Council of Sioux City, June 30, 1909.
History of the Journal, June 30, 1909.
City Officials for Fifty Years, June 30, 1909.
SOME PUBLICATIONS 599
Jonathan P. Dolliver Tells the Story of his Life, July 25, 1909.
Leaves from the Recollections of an Iowa Pioneer — L. F. An-
drews, August 1, 1909.
Sketch of Life of J. C. C. Hoskins, a Pioneer of Sioux City, Au-
gust 14, 1909.
A Half Century in Iowa — Sketch of Life of Isaac Brandt, Au-
gust 22, 1909.
The Dubuque Telegraph-Herald
Memories of Old Coates' Theater, an Historic Landmark, June 13,
1909.
Early Day Racing on the Mississippi, June 13, 1909.
How Fourth was Celebrated at Dubuque Years Ago, July 4, 1909.
Blood Relative of Julien Dubuque Tells of Canadian Family's His-
tory, July 25, 1909.
Mrs. Larry Jennings — Oldest Living Settler in Iowa, August 1,
1909.
Dubuque in the Pioneer Days, August 18, 1909.
Iowa to Honor Memory of Ansel Briggs, State's First Governor,
September 12, 1909.
HISTORICAL SOCIETIES
PUBLICATIONS
The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography for July con-
tains continuations of documentary material relating to the colonial
history of Virginia.
The July number of The Medford Historical Register is almost
entirely taken up with an entertaining article on A Pioneer Rail-
road and How It Was Built, by Moses W. Mann.
Bulletin number five of the North Carolina Historical Commis-
sion contains an illustrated sketch of The Great Seal of the State
of North Carolina, by J. Bryan Grimes.
The Annual Report of the Connecticut Historical Society, which
was presented in May, 1909, consists of the President's address,
the reports of various officers, and a list of members.
The belated March number of The Quarterly of the Oregon His-
torical Society is entirely taken up with Documents Relative to
Warre and Vavasour's Military Reconnoissance in Oregon, 1845-6,
edited by Joseph Schafer.
The Annual Report of the Essex Institute for the Tear Ending
May 3, 1909, contains the president's address, a list of officers and
members, reports of officers, and lists of additions to the collections
of the Institute.
In the April number of The "Old Northwest" Genealogical
Quarterly the opening contribution is entitled Charles Aldrich — A
Memorial Sketch, by S. C. Derby. A number of genealogical ar-
ticles complete the contents.
The biennial Handbook of the American Historical Association
for 1909 was issued in April. It contains information concerning
the Association and its activities, together with complete lists of
officers, committees, and members.
HISTORICAL SOCIETIES 601
The Wyoming Valley and Union Sentiment in the American
Revolution is the title of an address by Claude Halstead Van Tyne,
which is printed in the Report of the Proceedings of the Wyoming
Commemorative Association for 1909.
In the April-July number of The Wisconsin Archeologist George
A. West presents an interesting discussion of Chipped Flint Per-
forators of Wisconsin; and Edson C. Smith contributes some Sug-
gestions of Mexico in the Mound Relics.
The James McBride Manuscripts: Selections Relating to the
Miami University, arranged and edited by John Ewing Bradford,
occupy the April-June number of the Quarterly Publication of the
Historical and Philosophical Society of Ohio.
J. Hanno Deiler's study of The Settlement of the German Coast
of Louisiana and the Creoles of German Descent is concluded in
the July- August number of the German American Annals. There
is also a continuation of the story of the Germans in Texas, by Gil-
bert G. Benjamin.
Early Mile-Stones Leading from Boston, and Mile-Stones at
Groton; and Slavery at Groton, Massachusetts in Provincial Times,
are the subjects of papers read before the Massachusetts Historical
Society in January and March, 1909, by Samuel Abbott Green.
These papers are now printed in pamphlet form.
John Calvin and the Psalmody of the Reformed Churches, by
Louis F. Benson; Conewago Presbyterian Church, by Jacob Weid-
man; and a pastoral letter printed under the heading, Presbyte-
rians and the Revolution, are among the contributions to the Jour-
nal of the Presbyterian Historical Society for September.
Among the contributions to the July number of The New York
Genealogical and Biographical Record may be mentioned a bio-
graphical sketch of John Harsen Rhoades, by Hopper Striker Mott ;
a continuation of Clues from English Archives Contributory to
American Genealogy, by J. Henry Lea and J. B. Hutchinson; a
brief genealogy of The Dutcher Family, by Walter Kenneth Grif-
fin; and the Church Register of the Walpeck Congregation.
VOL. VII 40
602 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
Besides a biographical sketch of Francis Philip Fleming the
April number of The Florida Historical Society Quarterly con-
tains an article on Pensacola: Its Early History, by Mrs. S. J.
Gonzalez ; the beginning of a biographical sketch of Senator David
Levy Yulee, by C. Wickliffe Yulee; and a number of shorter con-
tributions.
The first part of number twenty-four of the Filson Club Publi-
cations contains an entertaining account of The Life of James
Francis Leonard, the First Practical Sound-Reader of the Morse
Alphabet, by John Wilson Townsend. In the second part there is
a Biographical Sketch of Colonel Joseph Crockett, by Samuel W.
Price.
Among the contributions to the July number of The South Caro-
lina Historical and Genealogical Magazine are a continuation of
Letters from Commodore Alexander Gillon in 1778 and 1779; a
transcript of Records Kept by Colonel Isaac Hayne; and an Ac-
count of the Loss of the Randolph as Given in a Letter from Raw-
lins Lowndes to Henry Laurens.
Samuel Champlain and the Lake Champlain Tercentenary, by
Henry W. Hill; Immigration to Vermont, by John E. Goodrich j
Life, Character and Times of Ira Allen, by Daniel P. Thompson;
and an Address Before the Vermont Historical Society by Daniel
P. Thompson, October 24, 1850, are the papers and addresses
printed in the Proceedings of the Vermont Historical Society for
the Tears 1908-1909.
The Deutsch-Amerikanische Geschichtsbldtter for July opens
with an article on Der deutsche Protestantismus in Amerika by Wil-
helm Muller. Following this there is a sketch of the life of Gott-
lieb Theodor Eellner, by C. F. Huch. Then come a number of ex-
tracts Aus alien Zeitungen; a continuation of Heinrich Bornmann's
Geschichte der Deutschen Quincy's; and a sketch of Deutsche
Familien-Namen in Nord-Carolina.
In the Proceedings of the Bunker Hill Monument Association
for 1909 may be found the address of the President, John Collins
Warren, on The Historical Exhibit in the Monument Lodge; ail
HISTORICAL SOCIETIES 603
address on Early Experiments in Paper Money in America, by
Andrew McFarland Davis; and a communication from Horace N.
Fisher which consists of copies of a number of letters from the
manuscript collection at the Artemas Ward homestead.
The Military Journal Kept in 1777, During the Rhode Island
Expedition, by John Goodwin of Marblehead, Mass., is the opening
contribution to the July number of the Historical Collections of the
Essex Institute. There is a continuation of the Records of the
Vice-Admiralty Court at Halifax, Nova Scotia. An article by Her-
bert E. Valentine on The Amphions; a number of Revolutionary
Letters Written to Colonel Timothy Pickering, and two other con-
tributions of a documentary nature complete the number.
In the January-April number of the Proceedings of the New
Jersey Historical Society there are a number of brief biographical
sketches of New Jersey Chaplains in the Army of the Revolution,
by Eev. F. R. Brace; and Some Unpublished Revolutionary Manu-
scripts taken from the collection of Mr. William Nelson. The lat-
ter contribution is continued in the July number where may also
be found the minutes of The New Providence Academy from 1817
to 1832, and a tribute to the memory of Miss Marie Antoinette
Quinby, by Mrs. Thomas J. Craven.
Number eighteen of the Publications of the American Jewish
Historical Society contains the following excellent articles: The
Early History of the Jews in New York, 1654-1664, by Samuel Op-
penheim; A Burial Place for the Jewish Nation Forever, by Ro-
salie S. Phillips; A Memorial of Jews to Parliament Concerning
Jewish Participation in Colonial Trade, 1696, by Max J. Kohler;
Notes on the History of the Jews in Barbados, by N. Darnell Davis ;
The Jews' Tribute in Jamaica, by George Fortunatus Judah; and
Notes on the History of the Jews in Surinam, by P. A. Hilfman.
The July number of the Missouri Historical Review opens with
a continuation of Some Historic Lines in Missouri, by John L.
Thomas, which is largely devoted to a discussion of the famous Mis-
souri-Iowa boundary dispute. Joab Spencer writes of Missouri's
Aboriginal Inhabitants, and there is a third installment of William
604 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
S. Bryan's sketch of Daniel Boone in Missouri. A Historical
Sketch of the Presbyterian Church in Columbia, Missouri, by Wil-
liam F. Switzler; and A Few of the Colonial and Revolutionary
Ancestors of Mrs. Jessie Benton Fremont, by Emma S. White, are
other contributions.
The Sixteenth Biennial Report of the Board of Directors of the
Kansas State Historical Society reveals commendable activity on
the part of this society during the biennial period ending June 30,
1908. Perhaps the most interesting information contained in the
volume, to the outsider, are the accounts of the marking of the
Santa Fe Trail; a paper on Memorial Monuments and Tablets in
Kansas, by George W. Martin ; and a sketch of The Early History
of the Seventh Kansas Cavalry, by S. M. Fox. The work of the
society in all its phases is fully presented in reports by the various
officers.
Among the contributions to the June number of the Maryland
Historical Magazine are : Early Career of Governor Francis Nich-
olson, by Charles William Sommerville; Action Between American
and British Barges in the Chesapeake Bay, November, 1782, which
consists of documents taken from the Society's collections; Resist-
ance to Stamp Act, prepared by Richard D. Fisher from docu-
ments in the Public Record Office, London; Francis Scott Key as
a Churchman, by Clarence C. Wroth; and Lieut. Gorrell's Journal
of his experience while commander of a post on Lake Michigan in
1761-1763, parts of which have never before been published.
Among the more extended articles in volume five, part two, of
the Historical Records and Studies published by the United States
Catholic Historical Society are: Governor Edward Kavanagh, by
Charles W. Collins; The Capuchins in America, by Otto Jeron;
The Rev. John Kelly, by Henry A. Brann; Old Saint Peter's or
The Beginnings of Catholicity in Baltimore, by J. A. Frederick;
The Catholic Bar of New York from 1808 to 1908, by Edward J.
McGuire; the concluding chapter of Constitutional Freedom of
Religion and the Revivals of Religious Intolerance, by Peter Con-
don; and Personal Letters of Rev. P. J. De Smet, translated by
John E. Cahalan.
HISTORICAL SOCIETIES 605
The July number of The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and
Biography contains some valuable original material of the Revolu-
tionary period. The first contribution is the Orderly Book of Gen.
John Peter Gabriel Muhlenberg, March 26-December 20, 1777.
There is another installment of Colonel Hubley's Journal, 1779,
edited by John W. Jordan, and then come a number of Letters of
William Penn; some Selections From the Letter-Books of Thomas
Wharton, of Philadelphia, 1773-1783; an article by John W. Jor-
dan on William Parsons, Surveyor General, and Founder of Easton,
Pennsylvania; and some extracts from the Correspondence of Gen-
eral Edward Hand, of the Continental Line, 1779-1781.
The July number of the Ohio Archaeological and Historical
Quarterly opens with an account of Explorations of the Seip
Mound, by William C. Mills. Articles which follow are : The Cen-
tennial of Miami University, by A. H. Upham ; Spiegel Grove, the
Home of Rutherford B. Hayes, by Lucy Elliot Keeler ; Auto-Sketch
of Charles Williams, who claimed to have been the first white set-
tler on the site of the present city of Coshocton ; and the address by
Governor Andrew L. Harris at the time of the dedication of the
Grant tablet at Point Pleasant, Ohio, on October 2, 1907. There is
also a very entertaining sketch of Washington's First Battle
Ground, by E. O. Randall, Editor of the Quarterly.
The Christian Church and Slavery in the Middle Ages is the
title of an article by Frederick Pijper in the July number of The
American Historical Review. Wilbur C. Abbott contributes a sec-
ond installment of English Conspiracy and Dissent, 1660-1674,
which completes the study. Chatham, 1708-1908, is the subject dis-
cused by Charles W. Colby. There is a continuation of the paper on
The South Carolina Federalists, by Ulrich B. Phillips; while
Ephraim D. Adams writes an excellent article on English Interest
in the Annexation of California. Under the heading of documents
there may be found Texts of Columbus' s Privileges, edited by Fran-
ces G. Davenport; and South Carolina Federalist Correspondence,
1789-1797, contributed by Ulrich B. Phillips.
A biographical sketch of Judge John F. Dillon, by Edward H.
Stiles, is begun in the April number of the Annals of Iowa. Al-
606 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
bert Newton Harbert is the writer of A Review of Dr. Wilson's
Swastika. The ' ' College Day ' ' address on Laying the Foundations,
delivered at the Iowa State College at Ames by Charles E. Bessey
on October 20, 1908; a continuation of Iowa and the First Nomi-
nation of Abraham Lincoln, by F. I. Herriott; and an editorial
appreciation of Miss Mary R. Whitcomb are the remaining articles
in the April number. The July number opens with an article from
the pen of the late Charles Aldrich on The Building of An Auto-
graph Collection. Under the heading of The Upper Des Moines
Valley — 1848, there is printed an interesting journal of an un-
known writer. Following this there is the conclusion of the sketch
of Judge Dillon. Recollections of War Times, by Col. David Pal-
mer ; and Governor Kirkwood and the Skunk River War, by Frank
W. Eichelberger, conclude the number.
The Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society is proving
more valuable with each succeeding issue. In the July number
there may be found much interesting material relative to the history
of Illinois. Besides a list of the officers and committees of the So-
ciety, an account of the annual meeting held May 13 and 14, 1909,
and other editorial notes, George C. Broadhead contributes some
Interesting Extracts from Old Newspapers; and under the heading,
A Statesman's Letters of the Civil War Period, Duane Mowry con-
tributes a number of letters written by Senator Lyman Trumbull
to Senator James R. Doolittle of Wisconsin. Two Letters from
Gov. Ninian Edwards, contributed by Louise I. Enos ; and Extracts
from the Journal of Captain Harry Gordon, who made a journey
down the Ohio River to the Illinois country in 1766, complete the
contents of a documentary character. In addition there is a de-
scription of the Dedication of George Rogers Clark Monument at
Quincy, Illinois, by H. W. Clendenin ; and the third installment of
J. F. Snyder's Prehistoric Illinois; Certain Indian Mounds Tech-
nically Considered, in which are discussed the temple or domiciliary
mounds.
ACTIVITIES
Professor M. D. Learned is in Germany gathering material rela-
tive to the German emigration to the United States for the Depart-
HISTORICAL SOCIETIES 607
ment of Historical Research in the Carnegie Institution. Mr.
Waldo G. Leland has also returned to Paris to complete the work
begun by him in the archives there.
The Archives Department of the Indiana State Library has been
forced to suspend activities because the last legislature of the State
failed to provide for a continuation of the work.
The Mississippi Valley Historical Association has issued a folder
containing a list of the officers, a description of the organization
and objects of the Association, and an outline of proposed activities
during the coming year and in the future.
The Texas Library and Historical Commission is a new historical
agency created by an act of the last legislature of Texas. This
commission will consist of the head of the school of history in the
University of Texas, the superintendent of public instruction, and
three other members appointed by the governor.
The Lucas County (Iowa) Historical Society held its annual
meeting on June 10. The following officers were elected: Presi-
dent, Warren S. Dungan; Vice President, John H. Darrah; Secre-
tary and Treasurer, Mrs. F. H. Boynton ; Curator, Mrs. E. L. Hick-
man; Board of Directors, Miss Margaret W. Brown, Mrs. E. L.
Hickman, John H. Darrah, and Walter Dewey. The Society has
been making a systematic canvass for funds with which to purchase
cases in which to preserve its manuscripts and other historical
material.
THE STATE HISTORICAL SOCIETY OF IOWA
Mr. Jacob Van der Zee is engaged in gathering material for a
history of the Hollanders in Iowa.
A biography of Thomas Cox, written by Mr. Harvey Reid of
Maquoketa, is now in press and will be distributed in the near
future.
The following persons have recently been elected to membership
in the Society : Mr. John Wilson Townsend, Lexington, Kentucky ;
Mr. Martin J. Wade, Iowa City, Iowa; Professor C. R. Shatto,
608 IOWA JOUENAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
Toledo, Iowa; Mr. H. E. C. Ditzen, Davenport, Iowa; and Mr. El-
mer E. Johnston, Iowa City, Iowa.
Miss Clara Daley, a member of the Society, has been appointed
to an instructorship in history at The State University of Iowa for
the current year.
Mr. 'John Wilson Townsend, of Lexington, Kentucky, a member
of the Society, is the author of The Life of James Francis Leonard,
which appears in a recent number of the Filson Club Publications.
Other works by Mr. Townsend are: Richard Hickman Menefee,
and Kentuckians in History and Literature.
NOTES AND COMMENT
It is expected that The History of the Twenty-Second Iowa, by
S. D. Pryce, will soon be published.
The town of Marengo, Iowa, is making plans for the celebration
of its semi-centennial on October 14, 15, and 16.
It is proposed that a Universal Races Congress be held at London
in October, 1910, for the purpose of promoting friendly relations
between all races and nations.
The National Civic Federation has issued a call for a national
conference to meet at Washington, D. C., early in January, 1910,
for the purpose of considering the subject of uniform state legisla-
tion.
The University of Illinois is performing a valuable service in
the interest of western history by having copies made of documents
relating to the West from 1763 to 1775, which are found in the
Public Eecord Office in London.
Mr. Fred Moerschel, a member of the Board of Trustees of the
Community of True Inspiration at Amana, died on August 19,
1909. He was born at Marienborn, Germany, and came to Amana
in 1859. For a half century he has been a leader in the Community.
Mrs. Ann Dickens, who came to the Iowa country in 1833, died
at her home at North McGregor, Iowa, on September 5, 1909. Mrs.
P4ckens at the time of her death was said to be the oldest lowan
in point of number of years lived within the bounds of the State.
A move in the direction of increasing the efficiency of our diplo-
matic service has recently been made by the Department of State.
A School of Diplomacy has been established at Washington, for
the purpose of giving instruction to new appointees in the service.
This summer has witnessed two notable and elaborate celebra-
tions in the State of New York. In conjunction with the State of
610 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
Vermont the Lake Champlain Tercentenary was observed during-
the week of July 4-10. September 25 and October 9 are the in-
clusive dates of the more extended Hudson-Fulton Celebration.
A monument to Ansel Briggs, first Governor of the State of
Iowa, was dedicated at Andrew in Jackson County on September
22, 1909. It will be remembered that largely through the efforts of
Mr. J. "W. Ellis, of Maquoketa, the last General Assembly of Iowa
made an appropriation to defray the expenses of removing the
remains of the old Governor from Nebraska to Iowa soil.
A number of old settlers' reunions have been held in Iowa dur-
ing the past three months. Among them may be mentioned the old
settlers' picnic at Boone on August 11; the reunion at St. Charles;
on August 12 ; the fourth annual pioneers ' day under the auspices
of the Webster County Historical Society at Fort Dodge on Au-
gust 18 ; and the meeting of the Old Settlers ' Association of Booner
Greene, Guthrie, and Dallas Counties near Dawson on August 18
and 19.
On Saturday, July 3, 1909, the people of Boone and Story
counties united in celebrating the semi-centennial of the location
of the Iowa State College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts at
Ames. It was in 1858 that the General Assembly made an appro-
priation of ten thousand dollars for the purchase of a farm on
which an Agricultural College might be located. In the following
year a farm was purchased in Story County, the people of that
county as well as of Boone County increasing the amount of the
appropriation by personal donation. The College, however, did'
not open its doors to students until 1868, since which time it has
prospered and has become one of the largest and best institutions
of the kind in the country. At the celebration Mr. Daniel Mc-
Carthy, who had charge of the arrangements for a similar celebra-
tion on the same spot fifty years ago, was President of the Day.
Furthermore, John A. Hull, the Orator of the Day, is the son of
the man who delivered the oration in 1859.
CONTEIBUTOES
ETHYL E. MARTIN, Clerk to the Superintendent of The State
Historical Society of Iowa. Born near Decatur, Illinois, Janu-
ary 5, 1887. Graduated from the High School at Winterset,
Iowa, in 1904. Student at The State University of Iowa.
JOSEPH W. KICH, Member of the Board of Curators of The
State Historical Society of Iowa. (See THE IOWA JOURNAL
OF HISTORY AND POLITICS, for January, 1908, p. 159.)
AN INDEX
TO THE
IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
VOLUME SEVEN
1909
INDEX
NOTE — The names of contributors of articles and writers of book-reviews
in The Iowa Journal of History and Politics are printed in SMALL CAPITALS.
The titles of books, articles, and papers referred to are printed in italics.
Abbott, J. S. 0., sensational account of bat-
tle of Shiloh by, 505
Abbott, Lyman, article by, 161
Abbott, Wilbur C., article by, 465, 605
Abernethy, Alonzo, address by, 453, 455
Abolitionism, advocated by Republican par-
ty, 189; strength of, in the North, 227
Accident Insurance for Workingmen, 593
Accomac County (Virginia), 449
Accounting, Uniform Municipal, in Iowa.
304
Adair County, boundary history of, 4, 63,
89, 426
Adams, Charles Francis, reference to, 589
Adams, Ephraim D., article by, 605
Adams, George Burton, address by, 317,
326; article by, 590
Adams, John Q., opposition to, 143 ; refer-
ence to, 240 ; petitions presented by, 244
Adams County, boundary history of, 5, 90,
426
Addams, Jane, 475
Adel (Iowa), 208
Advertising, The Significance of, 590
Agency (Iowa), 366
Agricultural College, State, 169, 205
Agriculture, Department of, Iowa, bulletin
issued by, 454
Aimes, Hubert H. S., article by, 298
Alabama, legislative reference work in, 134,
136, 326; politics of, 194
Alabama Territory of, 233
Alaska, Transfer of, to the United States,
316
Alaskans, The Young, 157
Albert Lea, Minn., 374; meeting at, 469
Alcohol, book on effects of, 596
Aldrich, Charles, article by, 165, 606; edi-
torial comment of, 186, 200; Lowe's
name presented by, 205 ; number of An-
nals of Iowa devoted to memory of, 317;
reference to, 478; memorial sketch of,
600
Aledo Record, 309
Algona, founder of, 159
Aliens, non-resident, danger of land-holding
by, 391
Allamakee County, boundary history of, 5,
36, 39, 126, 416, 426
Allen, Ira, Life, Character and Times of,
602
Allen, William H., article by, 301
Allison, William B., memorial services in
honor of, 155 ; recollections of public men
by, 448, 459 ; estimate of power of, as
Senator, 160; sketch of life of, 174;
tributes to, 307, 308, 309, 310
Alps Mountains, 370
Alton (Illinois), 145
Alumnus, The Iowa, articles in, 155, 303
Alvord, Clarence W., 290, 453, 472; paper
by, 460; article by, 465
Amana, die Gemeinschaft der Wahren In
spiration, 161
Amendments, Proposed Constitutional, in
Iowa — 1836-1857, by J. VAN DER ZEE,
266
Amendments to the Constitution of the Uni-
ted States Proposed in the State Legis-
lature of Iowa, 1846-1909, by J. VAN
DEE ZEE, 379
Amendments, to United States Constitution,
proposed in Congress, 379; proposed in
General Assembly of Iowa, 380-401;
Thirteenth, Fourteenth, and Fifteenth,
discussion of, in General Assembly of
Iowa, 380-390
America, First Letter Written in, 300
American Character, Triumph of, 299
American Commonwealth Series, additions
to, 153
American Deeds of Valor, 589
American Family Rule, The Need of Sci-
ence in, 592
American Folk-Lore Society, Iowa Branch
of, meeting of, 172
American Genealogy, Clues from English
Archives Contributory to, 601
American Geographical Society, Bulletin of
the, articles in, 589
616 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
American Historical Association, Hand-
book of, 600
American Historical Magazine, articles in,
151
American Historical Review, The, articles
in, 605
American History, The Journal of, 152, 299
American History, 1906, Writing* on, by
Grace G. Griffin, by DAN E. CLARK, 290
American History, 1907, Writings on, 588
American Jewish Historical Society, Publi-
cations of the, contents of, 603
American Terse, 16X5-1807: A History,
456
Americana, general and miscellaneous, 149,
295, 446, 586; western, 153, 302, 452,
592
Americans, The Passing of Two Great, 151
Americas, The Approach of the Two, 150
Ames, Herman V., essay by, on amend-
ments to United States Constitution pro-
posed in Congress, 379, 392
Ames, Iowa, semi-centennial celebration at,
596; celebration of anniversary of loca-
tion of Agricultural College at, 610
Ammen, Colonel, at battle of Shilob, 567
Amphions, The, 603
Anderson, Rasmus B., author of First
Chapter of Norwegian Immigration,1821-
1840, 585
Andersons, Ye, of Virginia, 162
Andrew (Iowa), remains of Governor
Briggs removed to, 475
Andrews, Charles M., investigation of En-
glish archives by, 300
Andrews, George F., article by, 298
Andrews, John B., compilation by, 588
Andrews, L. F., book by, 155, 156; article
by, 158, 159, 303, 306, 307, 308, 455,
456, 457, 458, 594, 596, 597; recollec-
tions of, 599
Andros, Dr. Frederick, first physician in
Iowa, 309
Ankeny Family, article on, 597
Annals of Iowa, articles in, 165, 317, 605,
606
Anthropological Papers of the American
Museum of Natural History, articles in,
153, 302, 587
Anthropological Society, Iowa, meeting of,
172
Anti-Imperialistic League: Apologia Pro
Vita Sua, 296
Antiquarian Society, American, Proceeding!
of, 314; librarian of, 325
Antiquarian and Oriental Journal, The
American, articles in, 593
Anza, Colonel, journey of, 300
Appanoose, chief of Sac Indians, 377
Appanoose County, boundary history of, 7,
426
Appanoose, town of, 367
Appier, Colonel, at battle of Shiloh, 540
Applied History, 470
Appomatox Court House, 229
Arapahoe Indians, 349
Arbuckle, Matthew, Colonel of United States
Dragoons, 335
Archaeological Institute, American, Plans
of, for Work in America, 471
Archaeological Institute of America, Iowa
Society of, meeting of, 172
Archaeological Science, The Progress of, in
Wisconsin, 162
Archaeology and Ethnology, American, Uni-
versity of California Publications in,
153, 302
Archibald, Andrew Webster, book written
by, 594
Archives and History, Department of, Ala-
bama, 136
Archives Department of Indiana State Li-
brary, suspension of activities of, 607
Arey, M. F., 321
Arista, President, of Mexico, letters of, 168
Aristotle on Legal Redress, 150
Arkansas, Pike's expedition through, 294;
march of Cherokees to, 336; march of
Dragoons through, 339; articles on his-
tory of, 463; historical legislation in,
470
Arkansas, Territory of, 233, 234; march
of Dragoons to, 335
Arkansas County, Reconstruction in, 463
Arkansas Historical Association, Publica-
tions of, 463 ; activity of, 468
Arkansas History Commission, creation and
organization of, 468
Arkansas River, 341, 347, 360, 361
Army and Navy Life, articles in, 297
Army Woman's Diary, Scraps from, 448
Arnold, Ralph, book by, 304
Arquette, Mose, 309
Ash worths, The, pioneers of Iowa, 456
Atchison, David R., political career of, 181;
originator of repeal of Missouri Com-
promise, 582, 583
Atlantic City, meetings of national societies
at, 297, 326
Atlantic Monthly, article in, 447
Attorney-General, nominations for, 197,
198, 219, 220
Attorney-General' t office, Opinions from the,
594
Attorneys, district, need of additional, in
Territory of Wisconsin, 267, 268
INDEX
617
Auditor of State, nominations for, 197,
198, 219, 220
Audubon County, boundary history of, 7,
45, 63, 90, 427, 431, 432; spelling of
name of, 425
Austin, Stephen F., plan of, 462
Australian ballot law, adoption of, pro-
posed, 395; need of, in North Carolina,
448
Autograph Collection, The Building of an,
606
Aztec Ruins in Southern Mexico, 592
Babbitt, L. W., 198, 208
Babcock, L. L., article by, 464
Bacon-Foster, Corra, article by, 151
Bailey, A. S., member of Mormon band, 159
Bailie, A. D., 324
Baird, Henry S., 285
Baker, D. S., 502
Baker, Hugh Potter, book by, 156
Baker, James H., book by, 154, 292
Baker, N. B., delegate to National Conven-
tion, 216
Baker, Thomas, elected President of State
Senate, 485
Baldwin, Caleb, nomination of, for Su-
preme Court, 206
Baldwin, Charles, nomination of, for Com-
missioner of Des Moines River Improve-
ment, 198
Baldwin, Simeon E., article by, 150
Balkan Crisis, European Sobriety in the
Presence of the, 298
Ball, George W., 474
Ballot Laws, Present Status of, in United
States, 451
Baltimore, convention of seceding Demo-
crats at, 218, 219, 220, 228
Baltimore, The Beginnings of Catholicity
in, 604
Baltimore, Lord, A Fair Warning to, 164
Bancroft County, boundary history of, 64,
65, 107, 108, 109, 111, 115, 116, 120,
121, 404, 405, 438
Bank The Proposal for a Central, in the
United States, 451
Banking Capital, The Decline in the Ratio
of, to Liabilities, 589
Banking Legislation, State, Recent and
Prospective, 296
Bank, system of, favored in Iowa, 180,
199; political discussion of, 184, 185;
Democratic promises concerning, 220;
Democratic opposition to, 278, 279
Banks, Enoch M., article by, 448
Banks, Henry, correspondence of, 320
Bannister, Robt. J., 324
Baptist Church, an Early Texas, The Rec-
ords of, 162
Bar B Boys, 596
Barbecues, frequency of, in State Cam-
paign of 1859, 209
Barnwell, Joseph W., article by, 315
Baronial House, A Northern, 450
Barret House, memories of, 598
Barrett, S. A., monograph by, 302
Barren, Evan M., article by, 296
Barrows, Samuel June, book review by,
587
Barry County (Missouri), 338
Bashford, Herbert, book by, 594
Baskett, James N., paper by, 471
Bates, Edward, presidential candidate, 216,
217
Baxter, Captain, order carried to Wallace
by, 575, 576
Beard, Charles A., article by, 298, 450
Beaton, Cardinal, Letters of, 1B37-1B41,
296
Beauregard, General, 506, 508, 516, 570;
concentration of army under, 523, 534;
lost opportunity of, 562, 563
Beck, James M., oration by, 447
Bedford County (Virginia), 449
Beecher, Henry Ward, 210
Beecroft, Henry, sketch of life of, 597
Beede, Charles Gould, book by, 304
Beeler, Fred, 319
Bek, William G., articles by, 317
Belknap, W. W., 503
Belknap County, proposed creation of, 91,
127-128, 404, 405, 410
Bell, John, Republican candidate for Presi-
dent, 205, 220, 224, 225; vote polled
by, in Iowa, 229
Bellevue (Iowa), founding of Presbyterian
Church at, 310
Belmont, battle of, 513
Belmont, capital of Territory of Wisconsin,
239, 267
Belmont Gazette, 239
Beloved, The, 595
Bemis, E. W., article by, 594
Benjamin, Gilbert G., article by, 315, 460,
601
Benedict, C. R., 473
Bennett, Jedediah, sketch of life of, 160
Bennett, M. V. B., nomination of, for
elector, 220
Bent, Samuel A., article by, 461
Benton, Guy Potter, book by, 595
Benton, Thomas H., struggle between Da-
vid R. Atchison and, 582-583
Benton County (Arkansas), 339, 340
Benton County (Iowa), boundary history
VOL. VII 41
618 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
of, 8, 11, 13, 16, 24, 38, 43, 44, 46, 47,
55, 63, 75, 78, 93, 96, 97, 110, 114,
123, 126, 423, 428, 435, 437; reference
to, 198, 433 ; Indian lands in original,
403 ; division of original, 404, 429
Bentonsport (Iowa), scrip issued by, 189
Berlin, meeting of historians at, 165, 318;
Roosevelt Professor at University of, 325
Bessey, Charles Edwin, 156, 606
Bethel Community (Missouri), history of,
317
Bethel Station, 518
Beyer, S. W., article by, 303
Bibliographical Society of America, annual
meeting of, 172
Bibliography of State Publications, 586
Biddle, Colonel Clement, 318
Biddle, William, sketch of life of, 308
Big Piney River, 336
Big Sioux River, 113, 408
Big Spring (Arkansas), encampment at,
340
Bills, draft of, by experts, 139-140
Bingham, C. W., book by, 156
Bingham, Joseph W., article by 299
Bird Legend and Life, 158
Bird-Stone Ceremonials, The, of Wiscon-
sin, 460
Birdsall, B. P., 324
Birmingham (Alabama), industrial rise of,
801
Bishop, Avord L., article by, 451
Bishop Hill (Illinois), settlement of Swed-
ish Jansonists at, 148
Bison in Iowa, 598
Bissel, F. E., candidate for U. S. Sena-
tor, 186
Black Hawk County, boundary history of,
10, 13, 14, 124, 413, 432, 433, 436, 439
Black Hawk Purchase, 5, 6, 14, 18, 22,
23, 27, 28, 29, 30, 33, 35, 36, 37, 40,
49, 50, 56, 59, 60, 62, 68, 69, 71, 79,
81, 94, 99, 100, 106, 119, 124, 125;
cause of, 285; division of, 411
Black Hawk War, settlement of Illinois af-
fected by, 148; reference to, 239, 585;
result of, 285
Blackfoot Indians, Mythology of the, 153
Blackie, W. B., article by, 450
Blackiston, A. Hooton, article by, 302
Blaine, James G., 174; constitutional
amendment proposed by, 390
Blair, L. D., letter from, 160
Blair, P. D., 451
Bliss, Eugene F., article by, 314
Blizzard of 1864, 309
Bloomington Herald, The, comment of, on
bribery case, 493
Blue Earth River, encampment on fork of,
374
Blythe, James W., sketch of life of, 308
Blythe, Joseph W., sketch of life of, 309;
tributes to, 458
Boards, expert, organization of, for legis-
lation purposes, 132
Bobois River, encampment on, 335
Boe, Lars W., 324
Boggess, Arthur C., Settlement of Illinois
1778-1830, by JOHN C. PARISH, 289
Boggs, Theodore H., article by, 298
Bolton, Herbert E., investigation of Mexi-
can archives by, 300; article by, 312
Bolton, William C., 467
Bond, Shadrach, first Governor of Illi-
nois, letters of, 584
Boone, Daniel, cousin of, oldest lowan,
308; articles on, 317, 462, 604; recep-
tion commemorative of advent of, in Ken-
tucky, 467
Boone, Nathan, Captain in First United
States Dragoons, 331, 343, 346, 361
Boone, Iowa, way stations of horse thieves
near, 597
Boone County, boundary history of, 9, 11,
88, 89, 410, 426; reference to, 334; en-
campment of Dragoons in, 375
Boone River, 333, 367
Boonville (Missouri), 363
Booth, Mary J., article by, 312
Bornmann, Heinrich, historical sketch of,
162; article by, 313, 602
Boscobel (Wisconsin), 176
Bosler, J. W., delegate to National Conven-
tion, 216
Boston, proposed World's Tercentennial
Exposition at, 475
Boston, Early Mile-Stones Leading from,
601
Bostonian Society, Proceedings of, 461
Bostonnais (Americans) advent of, in Wis-
consin, 284
Botany for High Schools and Colleges, 156
Boundary History of the Counties of Iowa,
by FRANK HARMON GARVER, 3
Bouquet, Colonel Henry, Selections from
the Military Correspondence of, 1757-
1764, 318, 463
Bowker, R. R., book by, 297, 586
Bowling Green (Kentucky), 512; Confed-
erate force at, 514
Bowman, Melville Leroy, book by, 595
Bowman, M. T. V., sketch of life of, 596
Boyer, C. W., nomination of, for elector,
224
Boynton, Mrs. F. H., 607
Brace, F. R., article by, 603
INDEX
619
Bradford, John Ewing, article by, 601
Bradley, Cornelius B., article by, 449
Bragg, General, at battle of Shiloh, 536,
541, 553, 559, 562
Brainard, John M., article by, 317
Brandt, Isaac, sketch of life of, 599
Brandt, Lilian, article by, 301
Brann, Henry A., article by, 604
Branson, Gertrude, 171
Brayton, Garfield vs., 120
Brazil, 150
Breckenridge, John C., 217; nomination of,
for President, 220 ; favored by Daven-
port Democrats, 221, 222; campaign for,
in Iowa, 225 ; consideration of claims
of, 226, 227, 228; vote polled by, in
Iowa, 229; at battle of Shiloh, 544
Bremer County, boundary history of, Il-
ia, 39, 426
Brennan, Robert O., article by, 454
Brevard, Caroline Mays, article by, 163
Bribery Episode, A., in the First Election
of United States Senators in Iowa, by
ETHYL E. MAETIN, 483
Briggs, Ansel, remains of, removed to An-
drew, Iowa, 475 ; monument to, 476,
599, 610; first Governor of State of
Iowa, 486; special session of legisla-
ture called by, 502
Brigham, Clarence S., 325
Brigham, Johnson, State Librarian, 140
Brindley, John E., election of, as Research
Assistant, 169; appointment of, as Leg-
islative Reference Assistant, 169 ; sketch
of life of, 176
BRINDLEY, JOHN E., Legislative Reference
Movement, 132 ; History of Taxation in
Iowa, 472
Brinson, Wm., 319
British, regime of, in Wisconsin, 284
British America, -writings on history of,
291
British Museum, American historical
manuscripts in, 300
Broadbent, George C., article by, 606
Brock, Sir Isaac, Major-General, The Mili-
tary Career and Character of, 464
Brockman, Captain Henry, journal of, 468
Brooks, John Graham, article by, 302
Brooks, Robert C., article by, 450
Brooks-Baxter War, The, 463
Brown, Charles E., article by, 314, 460,
472
Brown, Charles Reynolds, book by, 157,
595
Brown, John, capture of Harper's Ferry
by, 209, 214; discussion of, in Iowa,
209-212; sympathy for, 211; causes of
raid of, 213 ; Governor Kirkwood's
sympathy for, 213; execution of, ap-
proved by Democrats, 216
Brown, John, of Ipswich, Descendants of,
161
Brown, John Franklin, book by, 304
Brown, Miss Margaret W., 607
Brown, P. Hume, article by, 150, 589
Brown, W. C., sketch of life of, 159; ref-
erence to, 308
Browne, Jesse B., Captain in First United
States Dragoons, 331, 334, 361, 366;
military and civil career of, 337; Speak-
er of House of Representatives, 485
Brownstown (Arkansas), 339
Bruce, Book of, 452
Bruncken, Ernest, article by, 450
Brussels, Belgium, international congress
at, 172
Bryan, James W., article by, 447
Bryan, Joseph, 320; memoir of, 460
Bryan, William Alanson, book written by,
157
Bryan, William S., article by, 317, 462,
604
Bryce, James, address by, 298, 449
Bugge, Professor Alexander, paper by, 318
Buchanan, James, criticism of administra-
tion of, 144, 179, 180, 181, 187-188,
189, 190, 191, 192, 194, 196, 197, 200,
202, 205; confidence in, 182, 191, 199;
federal patronage from, 183, 195 ; quar-
rel between Douglas and, 188 ; last mes-
sage of, 212; reference to, 217; spirit
of, in Iowa, 222
Buchanan County, boundary history of, 8,
10, 11, 12-14, 15, 16, 19, 36, 38, 41,
44, 46, 55, 63, 85, 93, 111, 114, 116,
124, 126, 413, 427, 431, 432, 436, 439;
Indian lands in original, 403 ; division
of original, 404, 429, 434, 439
Buck, John H., article by, 162
Buckland, Colonel, paper by, on proximity
of Confederate army before battle of Shi-
loh, 525-526; reprimand of, 529, at bat-
tle of Shiloh, 540
Budd, Henry, address of, 161
Buell, General, part of, in Battle of Shiloh,
506, 509, 510, 565-571; protest of,
against General Halleck, 514; jealousy
of, 515; southward march of, 516, 517;
reference to, 520 ; movements of, 522-
525; Grant's dispatch to, 523; arrival
of, at Savannah, 524; map of advance
of army of, from Nashville to Shiloh,
545; troops of, at battle of Shiloh, 560;
Grant's note to, 566; delay of, 567;
reference to, 568, 569
620 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
Buell's Shiloh Reviewed, account of battle
in, 506, 508, 510-511
Buena Vista County, 13, 39; boundary
history of, 14-15, 426; spelling of name
of, 425; early settlers of, 457
Buffalo, route from West to, 240 ; reference
to, 475
Buffalo Bill, sketch of life of, 598
Buffalo Historical Society, Fillmore letters
in possession of, 167; contents of Pub-
lications of, 465
Buffaloes, herds of, encountered on march
of United States Dragoons, 347, 348,
359, 360, 368; use of, among Indians,
359
Bulletins on State Legislation, publication
of, 135
Buncombe County, 72, 186
Bunker Hill Monument Association, Pro-
ceedings of the, 602
Bureau of Corporations, United States, 133
Bureau of Municipal Research, New York
City, 133
Bureau County (Illinois), settlement of
followers of Fourier in, 148
Bureaus, organization of, for legislation
purposes, 132
Burgess, John W., article by, 151
Burgundian State, The Formation and Con-
stitution of the, 465
Burlington, 31, 184, 204, 206, 243, 251;
pioneers of, 160 ; scrip issued by, 189 ;
convention at, 242 ; Lincoln's visit to,
307; chief events in history of, in 1908,
308; thriving industry at, 457; music
at, 458 ; a street in, in pioneer days,
597; sketch of, in 1869, 598; Barrett
House in, 598
Burlington Hawkeye, The, historical items
in, 160, 308, 458, 598
Burr age, Henry S., report of, relative to
historical activity in Maine, 319
Burrell, Howard A., article by, 309, 810
Burtlett, S. M., corporal in United States
Dragoons, 337
Burton, Clarence M., book by, 453
Burton, William H. H., article by, 463
Bushmen, article on, 592
Butler, Ellis Parker, book by, 157, 455
Butler, Nathan, article by, 464
Butler, Nicholas Murray, address by, 591
Butler County, 13, 39; boundary history
of, 15, 426
Byington, LeGrand, nomination of, for
elector, 220; in campaign of 1860, 225
Byington, O. A., article by, 155 ; refer-
ence to, 171
Byrd's, Judge, Journals, 162
Cabet, M. Etienne, learian colony founded
by, in Illinois, 148
"Cabinet", Historical Significance of the
Term, in England and the United States,
592
Cadle, Henry, 324
Cahalan, John E., article by, 604
Cahokia Mound (Illinois), 166; visit to,
472
Cahokia Records, 290
Cairo (Illinois), army headquarters at,
512, 513
Calhoun, John C., organization of Terri-
tory of Iowa opposed by, 241; refer-
ence to, 260
Calhoun County, 9, 13 ; boundary history
of, 15-16, 426
California, English Interest in the Annexa-
tion of, 605
California, legislative reference work in,
134; historical articles concerning, 154,
170, 449; journey to, 300; governor of,
340
California, University of, Chronicle, arti-
cles in, 302, 449, 593
Call, Ambrose A., sketch of life of, 159
Call, Richard Keith, sketch of, 164
Callahan, James M., article by, 447
Calvert, Benedict Leonard, historical ar-
ticles on, 164, 312
Calvin, John, and the Psalmody of the Re-
formed Churches, 601
Calvin, Samuel, article on, 597
Cambridge (England), American historical
manuscripts in libraries of, 300
Cambridge Historical Society Publications,
contents of, 311
Cameron, Mr., presidential candidate, 216
Camp, C., requisition for Coppoc served
by, 214
Campaign, political, of 1857, questions of,
182-185; of 1858, watchwords of, 199;
of 1859, character of, 208-209; of 1860,
speakers and events of, 225-229
Campaigns, State and National, part played
by Stephen A. Douglas in, 142, 144, 145
Campbell, Duncan, article by, 309
Campbell, Robert A., article by, 449
Camps, location of, on route of First Unit-
ed States Dragoons, 336, 337, 338, 340
Canaan (New Hampshire), 478
Canada, boundary of, 39; escape of Cop-
poc to, 214
Canada, The Tercentenary History of, 305
Canada, The United States and, 150
Canadian River, encampment on, 342
Canals, construction of, favored by Whigs,
279
INDEX
621
Canfield, George F., article by, 299
Capital Reporter, 107
Capuchins in America, The, 604
Careri, voyage around world by, 152
Carl Zeiss-Stiftung, The, an Attempt to So-
cialize Capitalism, 451
Carnegie, Andrew, article by, 450
Carnegie Institution of Washington, 291;
Annual Report of the Director of De-
partment of Historical Research of, 300;
preparation of index for depar'tment of
economics and sociology of, 326; work
of Bureau of Historical Research of, 446
Carpenter, George T., 457
Carpenter, Wheeler W., buffalo killed in
Iowa by, 457
Carr, Colonel Clark E., address by, 320
Carroll County, 9; boundary history of,
16, 90, 426
Carson, Hampton L., article by, 318
Carter, Anna, marriage of Wm. B. Alli-
son to, 174
Carter, Blanche C., book by, 157
Carter, 0. E., paper by, 327, 453
Gary, Edward, article by, 591
Cass, Lewis, letters of, 168; Secretary of
War, 341
Cass County, boundary history of, 16-18,
63, 90, 426, 436, 439; reference to, 198
Cassaday, John B., sketch of life of, 446
Catholic Bar of New York, The, 604
Catholic Church, The Founding of, in
North Dakota, 466
Catholic Historical Researches, The Ameri-
can, articles in, 300, 447
Catholic Historical Society, United States,
publication of, 604
Cattell, Jonathan W., sketch of life of,
158; nomination of, for Auditor of
State, 197, 219
Cavanagh, Catherine F., article by, 297
Cedar County, boundary history of, 18, 36,
426, 433; reference to, 197, 219; meet-
ing of Old Settlers' Association of, 476
Cedar Democrat, The, presidential prefer-
ence of, 216, 217
Cedar Falls (Iowa), 306; historical agency
organized at, 320
Cedar Rapids, commission government in,
156; tax-payers of, 160; meeting of Li-
brary Association at, 172; Douglas at,
226, 310; civic improvement in, 303;
first plat of, 478
Cedar Rapids Republican, The, historical
items in, 160, 310, 459
Cedar River, 23, 41; journey on, 160; en-
campment on west fork of, 368; pas-
sage of, 369
Census, Bureau of, volume issued by, 591
Census Methods of American Republics,
Uniformity and Cooperation in, 298
Central America, foreign policy of Stephen
A. Douglas toward, 143
Central College, Pella, 479
Century of the Past, Brief Glimpses into
a, 155, 304, 455
Cerro Gordo County, boundary history of,
18-19, 39, 426; reference to, 197; spell-
ing of name of, 425
Cessford, William, 310
Chalmers, General, at battle of Shiloh, 537,
542, 544, 559, 560
Chamberlain, Lowell, book dedicated to,
156; reference to, 171
Champlain, Samuel, and the Lake Cham-
plain Tercentenary, 602
Chanca, Diego Alvarez, letter written by,
300
Chancellorsville, How Miles Saved the Day
at, 448
Channing, Professor Edward, History of
the United States by, 150
Chapin, R. C., article by, 452
Chapline, Jos. A., nomination of, for elec-
tor at large, 219
Chapman, Johnson C., witness in bribery
case, 491, 495-498
Chapman, T. J., article by, 591
Chapman, Dr. William J., paper by, 295
Chapman, William W., candidate for Con-
gress from Territory of Iowa, 242, 243 ;
election of, 243 ; activity of, in Con-
gress, 244-247, 252 ; instructions to,
276-277
Charities and Corrections, State Confer-
ence of, annual session of, 325 ; National
conference of, meeting of, 475
Charleston, Democratic Convention at, 216,
217, 218, 220
Chase, Salmon P., Republican candidate
for President, 205, 215
Chatham, 1708-1908, 605
Chattanooga, Confederate force at, 516
Chautauqua platforms, 140
Chenery, William Ludlow, article by, 151
Cherokee (Iowa), early history of, 307
Cherokee County, 13, 39; boundary his-
tory of, 19, 417, 426
Cherokee Indians, expedition against, in
1776, 316; march of, from Georgia, 336;
reference to, 339, 341
Cheyenne River, Fort Sully near mouth
of, 468
Cheyne, W. C., Auditor of Pottawattamie
County, 128
Chicago, Indian treaty signed at, 89; set-
622 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
tlement of, 147; Republican Convention
at, 215, 218, 219; reference to, 476
Chicago, University of, 172, 324
Chicago Historical Society, Diary of James
K. Polk in possession of, 167, 320; re-
cent acquisitions and activities of, 320;
Collections of, 320
Chicago Press, The, extract from, 194-195
Chickasaw County, boundary history of,
19-20, 39, 427, 429; attempt to reduce
size of, 407
Child, The, and the Nation, 449
Child Workers, The, of the Nation, 450
Childs, Ebenezer, 285
Chilton, Mary, The Myth of, 461
China, Letters from, 455
China, The United States and, 591
Christian, Colonel, 316
Church, Jeremiah, sketch of life of, 307
Civil "War, controversial epoch before, 142,
146 ; part played by Minnesota in, 154,
287; reference to, 173, 308, 337, 468;
raising of troops during, 174 ; part of
Iowa in, 303; Lincoln's role in, 307;
anecdotes of, by Iowa veterans, 458 ;
service of Amos N. Currier in, 479
Cincinnati, 191; bureau of municipal re-
search at, 475
Circuit Court, appeal from, 120
Cist's Army of the Cumberland, criticism
of account of Battle of Shiloh in, 508-
509
Cities, American, government in, 299; in-
corporation of, in Michigan, 326
City Government by Commission, Six
Months of, 156
Civic Federation, National, call issued by,
609
Civic Federation Review, The National,
articles in, 587
Claggett, T. W., delegate to National Con-
vention, 216
Clark, C. F., 171
Clark, Dan E., paper by, 471; reference
to, 473
CLARK, DAN E., Writings on American
History, 1906, by Grace G. Griffin, 290;
Collections of the Illinois State Histori-
cal Library, 584
Clark, George Rogers, service of, 476
monument to, at Quincy, 606
Clark, Israel, An Ohio Pioneer, 162
Clark, John H., career of, 806
Clark, Julius T., sketch of life of, 446
Clark, Lincoln, defense of Dred Scott De-
cision by, 195 ; nomination of, for elec-
tor, 220; in campaign of 1860, 225
Clark, R. L. B., 197
Clark, W. L., sketch of life of, 597
Clark, William, the Indian Agent, 327
Clark's "The Beginnings of Texas", Notes
on, 312
Clark County, (see Clarke County)
Clarke, George W., sketch of life of, 155 ;
reference to, 171
Clarke, James, appointment of, as Gover-
nor of Territory of Iowa, 253
Clarke, James S., sketch of life of, 307
Clarke, Win. Penn, convention called to
order by, 179; suggested for Governor,
205; delegate to National Convention,
215; reference to, 495
Clarke County, boundary history of, 20,
72, 422, 427, 436, 439
Clarkson, "Ret", article by, 306
Clarkson, "Uncle Dick", 306
Clarksville, occupation of, 515
Clay, Henry, letters of, 168; adherents of,
in Iowa, 223; reference to, 239, 260
Clay County, boundary history of, 20-21,
426
Clay County (Kansas), English colony, 295
Clayton, John M., 237
Clayton County, 6, 38, 39, 112, 126;
boundary history of, 21-23, 36, 427;
pioneers of, 306
Cleland, Charles S., article by, 162
Cleland, Herdman F., article by, 446
Clerks of district courts, popular election
of, desired, 274, 275-276
Clermont (Iowa), statue of Lincoln at, 307
Clendenin, H. W., article by, 606
Cleveland, Grover, appreciation of, 151,
161; biography of, 325
Clifton, Josiah, attitude of, in first elec-
tion of United States Senators, 486,
501; witness in bribery case, 490, 496;
part of, in bribery case, 496, 497, 498
Climatic Changes, 165
Clinton County, boundary history of, 23,
36, 426; reference to, 408
Coal, Purchase of, by Heat Units, 594
Codlinga Oil District, Fresno and King9
Counties, California, Preliminary Report
on, 304
Coartacion: A Spanish Institution for the
Advancement of Slaves into Freedmen,
298
Coates' Theater, memories of, 599
Cobbey, Joseph Elliott, book by, 595
Cobbey's Compiled Statutes, 595
Cochran, W. J., 489, 490, 498
Coffin, Father, fight of, for railroad train-
men, 457
Coffin, Lorenzo S., incidents in life of, 159
Colby, Charles W., article by, 605
INDEX
623
Cole, C. C.t nomination of, for Supreme
Court, 208 ; in political campaigns, 209,
225; defeat of, 229
Cole, Gilbert L., article by, 152
Coles, Edward, second Governor of Illi-
nois, letters of, 584
Colfax, 367
Colgrove, Kenneth, 171 ; sketch of life of,
328; prize won by, 473
COLGROVE, KENNETH W., The Delegates
to Congress from the Territory of Iowa,
473
College, The Real, 595
Collins, Charles W., article by, 604
Collins, Richard — Historian, 3 12
Colonial Dames, winners of prizes given
by, 473; prizes offered by, 476, 483
Colonial Documents, Miscellaneous, 316
Colonial problems, American, papers on
subject of, 327
Colonial Wars, Society of the, 594
Colorado, The State Historical and Nat-
ural History Society of, Biennial Re-
port of, 311
Colorado, The University of, Studies, con-
tents of, 452
Colorado Desert, 300
Columbia, Mo., The Settlement of, 462
Columbia (Tennessee), Buell's advance at,
522
Columbia Law Review, articles in, 150,
299, 588
Columbia University, 298
Columbus, second voyage of, 300
Columbus's Privileges, Texts of, 605
Columbus (Tennessee), 511, 512; Con-
federate garrison at, 513, 514; evacua-
tion of, 516
Comanche Indians, march from Fort Gib-
son to village of, 332-360; character
and description of, 348-349, 350-351;
reference to, 358
Commerce and Labor, Department of,
United States, 133
Commercial or Economic Geography, The
Nature of, 451
Commission, Six Months of City Govern-
ment by, 156
Commissions, organization of, for legisla-
tion purposes, 132, 133
Commodities Clause Decision, The, 588
Commons, John B., compilation by, 588
Communism, history of, in Illinois, 148
Communistic Society, A. German, in Mis-
souri, 317
Condit, Ira S., 321
Condon, Peter, article by, 604
Confederate States, war debt of, resolu-
tion relative to, 389
Confederates, strength of, in battle of Shi-
loh, 507, 508; position of, at Shiloh,
512; garrisons of, at Forts Henry and
Donelson, 512; report on strength of.
518; concentration of, 523, 525, 539;
approach of, to Union lines, 526; ob-
jective of army of, 534-535; movements
of, in battle of Shiloh, 535-571; map
showing positions of, 547-551; numbers
engaged and losses of, 571-572
Confederation, The Federal Constitution
and the Defects of the, 152
Conger, Sarah P., book by, 455
Congo Free State, Ethnographic Notes from
the, 594
Congress, act of, creating Territory of
Iowa, 33; act of, attaching certain ter-
ritory to Territory of Michigan, 35;
career of Stephen A. Douglas in, 142-
144, 145-146; flag made under direc-
tion of, 151; Delegate to, from Iowa,
170, 486; career of Wm. B. Allison in,
174; slavery question in, 181, 227; in-
sistence upon obedience to laws of, 182 ;
members of, from Iowa, 182 ; instruc-
tions to Iowa members of, 192 ; Iowa
Democrats not represented in, 194, 201;
praise of Iowa delegation in, 197; bit-
ter contests in, 212 ; non-intervention
by, favored by Democrats, 220, 222, 227;
committees of, 234, 235, 252; Territo-
rial petitions to, 235, 244; treatment of
Territory of Iowa in, 237-265; amend-
ments to Organic Law of Territories pro-
posed in, 266, 272; establishment of
Territory of Wisconsin by, 267; memo-
rial to, for alteration of Organic Law,
267, 269, 270, 271, 273, 274; treatment
of affairs of Territories by, 269 ; Organic
Law of Territory of Iowa amended by,
272, 273; instructions to Territorial
Delegate in, 276-277; regulation of rail-
road business by, 299; Allison eulogies
in, 310; military organization created
by, 331; amendments to United States
Constitution proposed in, 379, 380, 382,
383, 390, 392, 394, 395, 396, 399; reso-
lutions of General Assembly of Iowa in-
structing members of, 381, 382, 389,
390, 391, 392, 395, 397; discussion of
Fourteenth Amendment in, 383 ; test
oath prescribed by, 386; resolution rela-
tive to admission of Southern members
of, 389; resolution relative to power of,
to increase compensation of members,
390 ; relations of President Johnson
and, 394; popular election of Senators
proposed in, 396, 399; discussion of
Missouri Compromise in, 583
624 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
Congress, The Delegates to, from the Ter-
ritory of Iowa, by KENNETH W. COL-
GROVE, 230
Congress, Library of, book issued by, 295;
reference to, 318; Journals of the Con-
tinental Congress 1774-1789, edited by,
448
Congress and the District of Columbia, 587
Congress of Confederation, letters of dele-
gates to, 301
Conlee, Reuben, attitude of, in first elec-
tion of United States Senators, 486;
witness in bribery case, 490, 495 ; part
of, in bribery case, 496-497; death of,
501, 502
Connecticut, legislative reference -work in,
134; men of, in Revolution, 311
Connecticut Historical Society, Collections
of, 311; Annual Report of, 600
Conner, J. E., article by, 155
Connor, R. D. "W., article by, 590
Conspiracy, The Development of the En-
glish Law of, 447
Constitution of 1844, adoption of, 254;
popular rejection of, 257, 277
Constitution of 1846, provision of, rela-
tive to establishment of counties, 33, 82,
111, 115, 116, 409; adoption of, 263,
483 ; Democratic principles embodied in,
277
Constitution of 1857, provision of, relative
to establishment of counties, 34, 37, 38,
53, 65, 82, 91, 110, 115, 120, 405, 409,
427; discussion of, 179, 183; adoption
of, 180; proposed amendment to, 182;
support of, 183 ; opposition to, 185, 194,
199; failure to submit, to popular vote,
204; revision of, promised by Democrats,
220; Whig principles embodied in, 277;
proposed amendments of, 278-282; in-
ternal improvements impossible under,
279, 280
Constitution, United States, 145, 228; com-
promises of, 193 ; Dred Scott Decision
contrary to spirit of, 197; support of,
by Union party, 224; amendments to,
proposed in Congress, 379, 380, 383,
390, 392, 394, 395, 396, 399; discus-
sion of amendments to, in General As-
sembly of Iowa, 380-390; eulogy of, 387-
388 ; resolution proposing Convention to
amend, 393, 400; proposed amendment
to, on election of President, 393-396
Constitution and the Defects of the Con-
federation, The Federal, 152
Constitution for the United Nations of the
World, First Draft of a, 152
Constitutional Amendments, Proposed, in
Iowa — 1836-1857, by J. VAN DEE ZEE,
266
Constitutional Amendments in the Com-
monwealth of Iowa, by DB. F. E. HOB-
ACK, 266
Constitutional Convention, attempts to get
question of, before people, 278-282; act
to submit question of, to people vetoed,
281, 282; popular vote in favor of, 282
Constitutional Convention of 1844, death
of sole survivor of, 478
Constitutional Conventions, 1776-1783, The
First State, 152
Constitutional Conventions of 1844 and
1846, Democratic control of, 277
Constitutional Union Party, candidates of,
220; character of, 223
Consumer's League, National, The Work
of the, 592
Continental Congress, letters of delegates
to, 301
Continental Congress, 1774-1789, Journals
of, issue of, 448
Contributory Negligence, 594
Convention, Constitutional, of 1844, 254,
277; of 1846, 261, 277
Conway, William B., Secretary of Iowa
Territory, 253
Cook, Ebenezer, president of Union State
Convention, 224
Cook County, establishment of, 61, 62, 80,
81, 82, 94, 104, 106; boundary history
of, 117-120, 403, 430
Coolbaugh, W. F., charge against, 185, 220
Cooley, D. M., 197
Cooley, Edwin, rise of, 310
Cooley, E. E., attack of, on Dred Scott
Decision, 195
Cooley, Roger W., book by, 595
Cooper, Albert T., 324
Cooper, John C., article by, 313
Cooper County (Missouri), 363
Coppoc, Barclay, attempt to arrest, pre-
vented by Governor Kirkwood, 214
Copyright Law, United States, 447
Corbin, Austin, 222
Corinth (Mississippi), Confederate posi-
tion at, 516, 517, 519, 520, 523, 534;
Grant's plan to march on, 521; Confed-
erate march from, 525, 530
Corn, book on growing of, 595
Corning, sketches of lives of pioneers of,
307
Coronado, question concerning travels of,
471
Corporations, opposed by Democrats, 278,
281, 282
Corporations, Bureau of, 133
INDEX
625
Correction lines in Iowa, 407
Corruption, charges of, by Democrats, 200
Corruption, Political, The Nature of, 450
Corse, John M., nomination of, for Sec-
retary of State, 220; defeat of, 229
Corydon Bank, story of robbery of, 596
Cotton factories, 301
Council, Legislative, constitutional amend-
ments proposed by, 267, 268, 269, 275,
276; election of members of, 269-270
Council Bluffs, meeting of County Histor-
ical Society at, 167; strength of Na-
tional Democrats at, 222 ; Lincoln's visit
to, 307, 308, 310
Counties, formation of, 3 ; organization of,
4; boundary history of existing, 4-116;
boundary history of, blotted out, 116-
123; boundary history of temporary,
123-127; boundary history of proposed,
127-129; constitutional provision rela-
tive to the establishment of boundaries
of, 33, 34, 37, 38, 53, 65, 82, 91,
110; map illustrative of temporary, 131;
delegates from, to party conventions,
179, 181, 206, 224; size of, in Terri-
tory of Wisconsin, 268; critical study
of definition and alteration of bound-
aries of, 402-443 ; number of, created
in Iowa, 402-405; size and shape of,
and character of boundaries of, 405-
408; manner of establishment of, 409-
411; power of people to change bound-
aries and names of, 410, 411; manner
of definition of boundaries of, 411-419;
contents of laws establishing, 419-420,
421; inadequate titles of laws establish-
ing, 420-421; temporary establishment
of, 421-422; acts altering boundaries of,
422-424; spelling of names of, 424-426;
permanence of boundaries of, 426-428;
causes of alteration of boundaries of,
428-430; indirect changes of boundaries
of, 430-432; errors in laws concerning,
434-435 ; errors in definition of bound-
aries of, 435-440; laws relative to, 441-
443 ; names of, in Iowa, 457
Counties in Iowa, History of the Estab-
lishment of, by FRANK HARMON GAR-
VER, 3
Counties of Iowa, Boundary History of
the, by FRANK HARMON GARVER, 3
County commissioners court, identity of,
unknown, 269
County Government in Iowa, The Devel-
opment of, 477
County Names in Florida, Origin of the,
164
County Regiment, The, 588
Courts, jurisdiction of, in Territory of Wis-
consin, 268 ; county commissioners, 269 ;
jurisdiction of, in Territory of Iowa,
271
Covington, Camp, 360
Cowen, General Benjamin Rush, 463
Cox, Arthur J., 474
Cox, Thomas, biography of, 607
Craig, Austin, Life and Letters of, 305
Craig, James, 22
Craig, Walter F., 319
Craven, Roger C., book by, 455
Craven, Mrs. Thomas J., article by, 603
Crawford, James M., sketch of life of, 308
Crawford County, 9, 90; boundary history
of, 23-24, 77, 410, 427, 430
Crawford's Last Expedition, Captain, 149
Crisis, financial, of 1857, effects of, 188
Crisis and Panic of 1907, The, 152
Crittenden, J. J., Republican candidate
for President, 205
Crocker County, establishment of, 65, 117,
438; boundary history of, 120, 127, 404,
405
Crockett, Colonel Joseph, Biographical
Sketch of, 602
Crossley, Bruce W., book by, 595
Crosthwait, Geo. D., 223
Cruikshank, Ernest, article by, 464
Cruikshank, James, sketch of life of, 598
Crummey House, Iowa City, reception in
honor of Stephen A. Douglas held at,
227
Crump's Landing, 509, 530, 565, 573;
Wallace's expedition to, 518, 519;
Grant's order to Wallace at, 573, 574,
576, 577, 580
Cuba, acquisition of, favored by Iowa
Democrats, 208
Cumberland River, 512
Cumberland Road, 240
Cummins, A. B., 171; coming of, 308;
life-story of, 309; authority given to, to
call inter-state convention, 400
Curasao, A Losing Colonial Venture, 446
Current Legislation, Notes on, 299, 451
Currier, Amos N., sketch of life of, 457,
478-479
Curtis, Jr., George, address by, 296
Curtis, Henry S., article by, 587
Curtis, I. 0., defense of Dred Scott De-
cision by, 195
Curtis, Roy E., article by, 449
Curtis, Samuel R., election of, to Congress,
201; speech by, 207; candidate for Con-
gress, 224; in campaign of 1860, 225;
election of, 229
Curtis, Walter, 223
626 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
Curtis's Collection of Indian photographs,
exhibition of, 169
Curtiss, C., 217
Curtiss, W. O., sketch of life of, 158
Daily, James J., a real pioneer, 158
Dakotas, the, 39, 125, 406
Dakotas or Sioux, The, in Minnesota at
They Were in 1834, 464
Daley, Clara, 608
Dallas County, boundary history of, 24-26,
44, 45, 57, 63, 86, 87, 428, 431, 432;
definition of boundaries of, 415, 423, 434
Daly, H. W., article by, 149
Damages, Cases on, 595
Dapray, J. A., article by, 448
Darrah, John H., 607
Dartmouth College, 479
Davenport, Frances G., investigation of
archives by, 300, 301; contribution by,
605
Davenport, George, murder of, 307
Davenport, H. J., article by, 589
Davenport, T. W., article by, 164, 461
Davenport (Iowa), sympathy for John
Brown at, 211; protest of German Re-
publicans of, 217; Breckenridge-Lane
movement favored at, 221; convention
of National Democracy at, 222 ; Union
delegates from, 224
Davenport, the Eastern Gateway of Iowa,
156
Davenport Academy of Sciences, Proceed-
ings of the, 594
Davenport Gas and Coke Company, scrip
of, 189
Davenport Weekly Gazette, 205, 215, 217
David Swing: Preacher-Poet, 158
Davidson, James, Governor of Wisconsin,
member of "Sons of Sogn", 469
Davis, Andrew McFarland, article by, 603
Davis, Cushman Kellogg, life of, 293
Davis, Jefferson, Lieutenant in First Unit-
ed States Dragoons, 331
Davis, M. W., 474
Davis, Mr., motion of, 381
Davis, N. Darnell, article by, 603
Davis, Timothy, chairman of Republican
State Convention, 206
Davis County, boundary history of, 27,
30, 100, 427, 433, 435, 437; reference
to, 180
Dawley, Frank F., 824
Dawson, A. P., 171
Day, Olive, article by, 451
De Fronsac, Viscount, article by, 161,
296, 451
DeLands, Charles £., monograph by, 466
De Lorimier, William K., sketch of life
of, 160
De Paris's History of the Civil War, 508
De Smet, Rev. P. J., Personal Letters of,
604
Deacon, Chas. J., 171
Dean, Henry Clay, objection of, to Le-
compton Constitution, 191; lamentations
of, on ills of Democratic party, 194;
Douglas supported by, 202-203 ; recom-
mended for Governor, 206; nomination
of, for elector, 220; in campaign of
1860, 225
Dean, John Stuart, sketch of life of, 597
Dean, William B., article by, 464
Decatur County, boundary history of, 27-
28, 426
Deemer, Judge Horace E., address by, 167
Defamation, Absolute Immunity in, 588
Deiler, J. Hanno, article by, 460, 601
Delaware, 244
Delaware County, boundary history of, 12,
28, 36, 37, 124, 426; definition of
boundaries of, 412, 413
Delaware Indians, 341
Delaware Town (Missouri), 338
Delegate to Congress, provision for, in Or-
dinance of 1787, 230; elections of, 233,
243, 248; recommendation of appoint-
ments by, 253 ; relation of, to Congress
and to Territories, 264-265; usefulness
of, 265
Delegates to Congress from the Territory
of Iowa, The, by KENNETH W. COL-
GROVE, 230
Delhi, historic sites at, 597
Deming, Horace E., address by, 454
Democracy, American, pronounced move-
ments of, 132; principles of, 273
Democracy, Education and Citizenship in
a, 151
Democratic party, attack upon, 181, 204,
207; receding fortunes of, 183, 194,
212; discord in, 186, 199, 200, 203,
218, 220; lamentation on ills of, 194;
platform of, 198, 208, 216, 220, 227;
resolution of Buchanan wing of, 199,
221; desertions from, 200, 203; indict-
ment of, in connection with Harper's
Ferry, 210; defeat of, at election, 185,
201, 229 ; attitude of, toward Lecomp-
ton Constitution, 188, 191, 194, 196,
204; division of, 189, 212; principle
of self-government advocated by, 191;
interest of, in Lincoln-Douglas contest,
201, 202; ridicule of, 205, 207; pro-
hibition of slavery in Territories by, 206;
Governor Kirkwood attacked by, 213-
INDEX
627
214; Douglas supported by, in Iowa,
216, 218; presidential candidates of,
219, 220, 221; principles of, embodied
in the Constitutions of 1844 and 1846,
277
Democratic State Convention, of 1857, 181-
182; of 1858, 198; of 1859, 207-208;
of 1860, 216, 219-220; of National
Democrats, 222-223
Democrats, strength of, in Iowa, 180, 181,
182; attack upon, 181, 184; racial
equality opposed by, 183 ; attitude of,
toward banks, 184, 185, 199; slavery
favored by, 184; Constitution opposed
by, 185, 199, 204; convention of, 251;
rivalry between Whigs and, 278 ; prin-
ciples of, 278; opposition of, to revi-
sion of Constitution of 1846, 279-282;
defeat of, in 1857, 282; victory of, in
general election of 1846, 484; strength
of, in General Assembly, 484, 487, 501;
attitude of, in connection with bribery
episode, 489, 490, 494, 500
Demokrat, Der (Davenport), book-review
in, 161; reference to, 211
Demoine County, original boundaries of,
4-5, 27, 48, 80, 124-125; establishment
of, 28, 35, 36, 424; subdivision of, 30,
48, 50, 60, 62, 66, 69, 70, 71, 79, 82,
94, 98, 100, 104, 105, 106, 117, 119,
120; representation of, 270; division of,
404, 411, 413, 422, 429 (see Des
Moines County)
Denominational schools, use of public
lands and money for, 391
Derby, S. C., article by, 600
Derry, Charles, Autobiography of, 155,
304, 455, 594
Des Moines, 102, 154, 192, 209, 214, 307,
407, 457, 472; articles on men of, 158,
307, 456; party conventions at, 206,
207, 215, 216, 219, 220, 224, 400;
historic homes in, 306, 456; location of
capital at, 597
Des Moines County, boundary history of,
28-33, 49, 50, 51, 68, 70-71, 125, 420,
424, 428; reference to, 121, 180, 208,
236, 270, 809, 408, 458; pioneers of,
308; size of, 406; incident in early
history of, 598
Des Moines Plan, Discussion of the, 455
Des Moines Poems, Some, 157
Des Moines River, 55, 66, 86, 88, 99, 102,
104; bridges and ferries of, 307; march
of First United States Dragoons to, 333,
361-364; passage of north fork of, 375;
Lieutenant Lea's exploration of, 376;
county bounded by, 408
Des Moines River Improvement, nomina-
tions for Commissioner of, 197, 198
Des Moines Valley, The Upper, 1848, 606
Desert and Lava, Camp Fires on, 157
Detroit, Early : A Sketch of Some of the
Interesting affairs of the Olden Time,
453
Detwiler, John Y., article by, 164
Deutsch-Amerikanische Oeschichtsblatter,
articles in, 161, 313, 602
Deutsche Protestantismus in Amerika, Der,
602
Devine, Edward T., book by, 304, 455;
article by, 450
Dewey, Melvil, legislative reference work
begun by, in New York, 135
Dewey, Walter, 607
Dey, Peter A., 474
Dickens, Mrs. Ann, 458
Dickey, Colonel, 527
Dickinson, William, 285
Dickinson County, boundary history of, 33-
34, 37, 39, 111, 115, 426, 427, 438,
439; small area of, 33-34
Dickor6, Marie P., article by, 315
Dienst, Alex., article by, 462
Dixon, Clarissa, book by, 304
Dobson, Elder Thomas, sketch of life of,
455
Dobson, Eli T., article by, 455
Dodd, W. F., article by, 152, 587
Dodge, A. C., letters of, 165 ; suggested for
Governor, 206; return of, from Spain,
207; nomination of, for Governor, 208;
defeat of, 209; delegate to National Con-
vention, 216; reference to, 220, 229;
Douglas's speech heard by, 227; election
of, as Delegate to Congress, 248, 252,
257; activity of, in Congress, 249-252,
253-263; eulogy of father by, 260; atti-
tude of settlers toward candidacy of, for
Senate, 486; connection of, with bribery
episode in 1846, 488, 492, 493, 496;
election of, to United States Senate, 502
Dodge, Augustus Caesar, by Louis Pelzer,
158, 324; publication of, 170
Dodge, Grenville M., article by, 306, 307
Dodge, Henry, letters of, 165 ; Governor of
Wisconsin Territory, 238, 268; Delegate
to Congress, 248 ; opinion of, on tariff,
249; eulogy of, 260; pioneer of lead re-
gion, 285 ; Colonel of First United States
Dragoons, 331, 335, 337, 341, 342, 344;
letter of, on march of Dragoons, 360
Dolliver, J. P., tribute of, to Wm. B. Alli-
son, 307; story of life of, 599
Dominant Dottar, The, 596
Donnelly, Ignatius, 293
628 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
Doolittle, James R., letters to, 606
Doty, James D., 285
Douglas, Samuel, nomination of, for Sec-
retary of State, 198; defeat of, at elec-
tion, 201
Douglas, Stephen A., doctrine of popular
sovereignty advocated by, 179, 202 ; in-
terest of, in Kansas struggle, 187; revolt
of, from Buchanan's administration,
187, 188, 189, 192, 200; Lecompton
Convention opposed by, 188; course of,
commended, 191; reelection to Senate
sought by, 201-203 ; candidate for Presi-
dent, 216, 217; failure of National Con-
vention to effect nomination of, 218;
nomination of, for President, 219; op-
position to, in Iowa, 221; speakers for,
in Iowa, 225; consideration of claims of,
226; speeches of, at Cedar Rapids and
Iowa City, 226-228, 310; vote polled
by, in Iowa, 229 ; settlement of Oregon
question championed by, 258; Iowa
boundaries reported by, 261-262; ad-
mission of Iowa pushed by, 263 ; de-
feat of, 308 ; part played by, in repeal
of Missouri Compromise, 582, 583
Douglas, Stephen A., 164
Douglas, Stephen A., A Study in Ameri-
can Politics, by Allen Johnson, by LOUIS
PELZEB, 142
Douglas, Mrs. Stephen A., aid given to Mr.
Douglas by, in campaign of 1858, 145
Dow, George F., article by, 313
Downey, E. H., fellow at University of
Chicago, 324
DOWNEY, E. H., Minnesota: The North
Star State, by W. W. Folwell, 286
Downingsville (Arkansas), encampment at,
339
Dragoons, First United States, A Journal
of Marches by, 1834-1835, by Louis
PELZEB, 331; doubt as to authorship of,
333; original manuscript of, 334
Drains, Sewers and, 596
Drake, J. Madison, article by, 589
Drake, William C., nomination of, for
Commissioner of Des Moines River Im-
provement, 197
Draper manuscripts, 169, 445
Dream Child, The, 305
Dred Scott Decision, 179; attitude of Iowa
Republicans toward, 180, 197; Gover-
nor Grimes's opinion of, 190 ; attitude
of General Assembly on doctrine of, 195,
196; discussion of, by rival candidates
for Governor in Iowa, 208; eulogy of,
222
Du Buque County (see Dubuque County)
Dubuque, Julien, anniversary of, 310;
grave of, 324; relatives of, 599
Dubuque, pioneer of, 160 ; death of Wm.
B. Allison at, 174; Democratic discord
at, 185; reference to, 196, 243, 251,
261; Democratic delegates from, to Il-
linois, 202 ; strength of National Demo-
crats at, 222; Seward's speech at, 226;
petition from citizens of, 236; mines at,
254; passing of State of, 309; old
prints of views of, 324; correction line
between Sioux City and, 407; Trappist
monastery at, 458, 459; pioneer days
in, 599
Dubuque County, boundary history of
original, 6, 8, 14, 18, 21, 22, 23, 28,
36, 40, 56, 62, 69, 80, 81, 82, 94, 118,
125, 404, 412, 429; establishment of,
28, 29, 31, 34, 427; reference to, 117,
118, 197, 206, 208, 215, 383, 433;
strength of Democratic party in, 181;
representation in, 270; King Bacchus
in, 310
Dubuque and Dunlieth Railway Bridge,
history of, 459
Dubuque Daily Times, The, 186
Dubuque Express and Herald, 191 ; op-
position of, to Lecompton Constitution,
196, 204
Dubuque Telegraph-Herald, The, historical
items in, 160, 310, 459, 599
Duck River (Tennessee), 517, 522; cross-
ing of, 523
Dudgeon, M. S., 139
Duffield, George C., biographical sketch of,
173
Dunbar (Iowa), Norwegian settlement at,
303
Duncan, Alexander, 255, 257
Duncombe, J. F., nomination of, for elec-
tor, 222
Dungan, Warren S., 607
Dunn, Arthur W., article by, 448, 459
Dunn, Jacob P., book by, 452
Dunton, Levi B., biographical sketch of,
159
Du Puy, Herbert, donation of, 320
Durham, Samuel W., sketch of life of, 459,
477
Durley, Ella Hamilton, book by, 157
Durlin, A. P., 223
Dutch and Swedish Settlements on the
Delaware, 318
Dutcher Family, The, 601
Duvall, D. C., article of, 153
Dwight, Frederick, article by, 590
Dwight, Thomas, article by, 300
Dynamos and Motors, 595
INDEX
629
Eads, James D., defalcation of, 200
Eagel, T. D., 221
Easter Hope, 594
Eastman, Charles R., article by, 303
Eastman, Corporal in United States Dra-
goons, 337
Eastman, Enoch "W., convention called to
order by, 181; votes received by, for
Governor, 182 ; renunciation of Democ-
racy by, 203
Eastport (Tennessee), 517
Ecclesiastical Persecution in the Seven-
teenth Century, 589
Economic Association, American, meeting
of, 326
Economics, The Quarterly Journal of, ar-
ticles in, 296, 451, 589
Edmundson, J. D., sketch of life of, 309
Edmundson, William, Diary Kept by, 165
Education, religious, resolution relative to
use of school funds for, 390-391; refer-
ence to articles on, 297, 449
Education and Citizenship in a Democracy,
151
Educational Department Bulletin, 297
Edwards, A. G., Lieutenant in United
States Dragoons, 337
Edwards, James G., 490
Edwards, Ninian, third Governor of Illi-
nois, letters of, 585
Edwards, Oov. Ninian, Two Letters from,
606
Eichelberger, Frank W., article by, 606
Eldredge, Zoeth S., article by, 300
Election, presidential, of 1856, bearing of
doctrine of popular sovereignty on, 144;
State, of 1857, returns of, 185 ; refer-
ence to, 186; of 1858, returns of, 201;
of 1859, returns of, 209; of 1860, re-
turns of, 229; general, of 1848, defeat
of Whigs at, 279-280; idea of amend-
ing Constitution not sustained at, of
1849, 280, 281; vote on county bound-
aries at, 409-410; first, in State of
Iowa, 483
Elections, alteration of county boundaries
proposed at, 24, 77, 89, 91, 92, 96,
127, 128, 129; proposed constitutional
amendment relative to, 269-270; com-
mittee on, in General Assembly, 278,
393 ; primary, for choice of party can-
didates for Senator, 401
Elections, Primary : A Study of the His-
tory and Tendencies of Primary Elec-
tion Legislation, by C. E. Merriam, by
P. E. HOEACK, 444
Electoral College, popular election of, 395-
396; abolition of, 396
Electors, presidential, nomination of, 219,
220, 222
Electricity and Magnetism, Elements of,
157
Eliot, Charles W., article by, 448
Elliott, T. C., article by, 316
Elliott, William P., Civil War experiences
of, 598
Ellis, Katherine Ruth, book by, 157
Ellis, John W., nomination of, for State
Treasurer, 220; reference to, 456, 476,
610
Elwood, James M., nomination of, for At-
torney-General, 198
Ely, John S., 324
Emancipation of slaves, effect of, in South,
387, 388
Emerson, George D., article by, 464
Emerick, Charles Franklin, article by, 587
Emerson, Edwin, article by, 588
Emmet County, boundary history of, 34,
37-38, 39, 65, 107, 111, 115, 116, 426,
438, 439; spelling of name of, 425
England, aid of French clergy in war
against, 300 ; borough representation
in, 384; shire map of, 407
England, The Government of, review of,
297
England and Scotland, Ballads Illustrat-
ing the Relations of, 296
English Conspiracy and Dissent,1660-1674,
465, 605
Enos, Louise I., article by, 606
Eschbach, E. R., article by, 162
Espy, T. S., chairman of State Conven-
tion, 222 ; nomination of, for elector,
222
Essex Antiquarian, The, articles in, 161,
312, 588
Essex County, The Pre-Historic Relics of,
588
Essex Institute, Historical Collections of
the, contents of, 162, 313, 462, 603;
Annual Report of, 600
Europe, foreign policy of Stephen A.
Douglas toward, 143 ; guides to ar-
chives of, 300; Americanization of, 449
Evans, N. W., article by, 162
Evans, Judge W. D., biographical sketch
of, 155
Everett, Edward, letters of, 168; candi-
date for Vice President, 220, 224, 225
Ewing, David Rittenhouse, pioneer and
philanthropist, 159
Ewing, Thomas, character of pioneers
criticised by, 260
Export Trade to Germany, Suggestions for
the Development of, 305
630 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
Fairall, H, H., sketch of life of, 597
Faribault County (Minnesota), 374
Fair child, Fred Rogers, article by, 297
Fairchild, Henry Pratt, article by, 590
Fairfax, Iowa, Semi-Centennial Souvenir
of the United Presbyterian Church of,
454
Fairfield (Iowa), meeting of Fremont vot-
ers at, 160; encampment near, 366;
oldest house at, 458
Fairleigh, David W., article by, 299
Family, How Home Condition* React upon
the, 452
Family, The, and Social Change, 452
Farley, Jesse P., 457
Farnam, Henry W., article by, 451
Farner, W. H., editorial comments of, 183,
184
Farrand, Max, article by, 152
Faville, Oran, nomination of, for Lieuten-
ant Governor, 179; election of, 185
Faxon, Frederick W., index compiled by,
449
Fayette County, original boundaries of,
6, 15, 125-126; boundary history of,
8, 12, 13, 18, 19, 20, 21, 34, 36, 38-40,
41, 47, 51, 54, 63, 66, 72, 76, 82, 83,
84, 85, 95, 112, 115, 116, 126, 416,
427; Indian lands included in original,
403; division of original, 404, 429,
434; temporary, largest in history of
Iowa, 406; reference to, 433
Fechet, E. G., article by, 466
Federal Courts, The Increased Control of
State Activities by the, 592
Federal Government, American, Readings
on, 589
Federal Relations, committee of, in Gen-
eral Assembly, 381, 382, 383, 389, 390,
391, 395, 396, 397, 398
Feely, Guy A., sketch of life of, 303
Fell, Jesse, discovery of value of anthra-
cite coal by, 314
Fellows, Mrs. Sarah C., donation of books
by, 473
Fellows, Stephen N., 473
Fenian Movement, The, 452
Ferguson, James, article by, 450
Ferguson, James Duncan: 1837-1906, 162
Few, William P., article by, 151
Fewkes, Jesse Walter, monograph by, 593
Fielding, Selections from, 156
Fifteenth Amendment, Legislative and Ju-
dicial History of the, 587
84-40 or Fight, 305
Fillmore, Millard, extensive correspondence
of, 167-168; adherents of, in Iowa, 223
Fillmore, Millard Powers, 167
Filson Club Publications, contents of, 602
Finch, D. O., 198, 216
Finch, William B., papers of, 1801-1845,
467
Findley, D., Surgeon in United States
Dragoons, 351
Finkbine, Mr., 381
Finley, President, College of City of New
York, 325
Fire Insurance Rating, Discrimination and
cooperation in, 590
Fire-eaters, condemnation of, 182
Firth, C. H., article by, 296; reference to,
450
Fish, Carl Russell, investigation of ar-
chives at Rome by, 301
Fish, Herbert C., article by, 162
Fish and Game Protective Association,
Iowa State, organization of, 325
Fisher, Horace N., communication from,
603
Fisher, Maturin L., recommendation of,
for Governor, 206
Fisher, Richard D., article by, 312, 604
Fisher, Ronald E., article by, 150
FisTc, Captain Jos. L., Expeditions of, to
the Gold Mines of Idaho and Montana,
1864-1866, 466
Fiske's Mississippi Valley in the Civil War,
criticism of account of Battle of Shiloh
in, 507-508
Fitch, John A., article by, 450
Fitzgerald, Colonel John, Aid-de-camp and
Secretary to Washington, 300
Flag, The True Story of the American, 151
Flagg, Charles A., article by, 161
Flandrau, C. E., 293
Fleming, Francis Philip, death of, 325;
sketch of, 602
Fleming, Walter L., article by, 591
Fling, Fred Morrow, article by, 590
Flint Creek, 31
Flom, George T., 469; Historian of Sog-
nalaget, 470; A History of Norwegian
Immigration, by J. VAN DEB ZEE, 585;
book by, 595
Florida, Territory of, admission of, to Un-
ion, 145, 248; Delegate to Congress
from, 233, 234, 240, 248
Florida Historical Society, Quarterly of,
contents of, 163, 313, 602; death of
president of, 325
Floyd, Sergeant Charles, Story of, 169,
327
Floyd County, 89; boundary history of,
40, 41, 76, 427, 429; attempt to reduce
size of, 407
Fly-aways and Other Seed Travelers, 595
INDEX
631
Fogel, Edwin M., article by, 163
Foley, Jas. A., 365
Folwell, W. W., book by, 153, 286
Foote, Flag-Officer, commander of gunboat
flotilla in capture of Fort Henry, 514
Forbes, Gen. John, Letters of, 1758, 318
Ford, Harry P., article by, 313
Ford, Henry Jones, article by, 591
Ford, Worthington C., 318, 448
Forest Taxation, The Economic Problem
of, 298
Forsyth, Louis M. N., article by, 592
Fort Abercrombie, 1857-1877, 466
Fort Ancient (Ohio), 154, 166
Forts Armstrong and Des Moines, Report
upon the Propriety of Abandoning, 165
Fort Canadian, return of Dragoons to,
359, 360
Fort Colvitte, 1859 to 1869, 316
Fort Dearborn — Its Place in History, 320
Fort Des Moines, 57; importance of, in
location of Polk County boundaries, 58,
87, 103 ; march from Fort Gibson to,
332, 361-364; march from, and return
to, 333, 364-378; county seat of Des
Moines County, 430
Forts Des Moines and Armstrong, Pro-
priety of Abandoning, 165
Fort Dodge, strength of National Demo-
crats at, 222 ; G. A. R. encampment at,
475
Fort Donelson, meeting of veterans of,
307; Confederate force at, 512, 513;
Grant's advance on, 515; surrender of,
515, 517, 534; reference to, 531
Fort Duquense, expedition directed against,
318
Fort Erie, The Siege of, 464
Fort Gibson, march from Jefferson Bar-
racks to, 331, 332, 335-341; march to
Indian villages on Red River from, 332,
341-360: march to Fort Des Moines
from, 332, 361-364
Fort Henry, Confederate force at, 513 ;
capture of, 514, 515, 517; Grant at,
518
Fort Madison, oldest town in Iowa, 160 ;
life at old, 160; political clique at, 185;
petition from citizens of, 236; reference
to, 337
Fort Madison Patriot, 243
Fort Sandoski, Old, of 1745, and the San-
dusky Country, 315
Fort Snellmg, establishment of, 154
Fort Stanwix, Treaty of, The British Min-
istry and, 446
Foster, Thomas D., 473
Foundations, Laying the, 606
Fourier, settlement of followers of, in Illi-
nois, 148
Fow, John H., The True Story of the
American Flag, by 151
Fox, S. M., article by, 604
Fox County, name of, changed to Cal-
houn, 15; reference to, 107
Fox Indian wars, result of, in Wisconsin,
284
Fox River, settlement of valley of, 147
France, policy of, relative to Morocco,
298; aid given to American Colonies by
clergy of, 300; department map of, 407;
archives of, 473
France and the United States, Proposals
for a New Commercial Treaty Between,
590
France in 1751, A Scot in, 589
Frankfort (Kentucky), 167
Franklin, Doctor, An Original Portrait of,
163
Franklin, William Suddards, book by, 157,
595
Franklin County, 13, 39; boundary his-
tory of, 41, 426
Franklin County, History of, 312
Franklin County (Missouri), 335
Frederick, J. A., article by, 604
Frederick, Maryland, The Centenary of
the Town Steeple of, 162
Frederick, Wyo., Indian Sites Near, 154
Free Library Commission, Wisconsin, 138
Freeborn County (Minnesota), description
of lake region in, 374
Fremont, Mrs. Jessie Benton, Ancestors
of, 604
Fremont, John C., Republican candidate
for President, 160, 205
Fremont County, boundary history of,
42-43, 84, 90, 92, 93, 97, 416, 426;
reference to, 407
French, settlement of Wisconsin by, 284
French, The Political Capacity of the, 450
French, Kathryn M., article by, 466
French and Indian War, A List of Addi-
tional Manuscripts of the, 314
Frink, S. G., 474
Frontiers, significance of, in American
political history, 584
Fullenwider, Senator, vote of, for United
States Senator, 501
Fulton, Charles J., 324
Fultz, Francis M., book by, 157, 595
Funk, A. B., article by, 458
Galena, settlement of lead region near, 147;
reference to, 238, 285; emigration to,
365
632 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
Galveston (Texas), municipal government
of, 301
Gardner, P. A., article by, 161
Gardner, William, article by, 593
Garfield, James, 174
Garfield vs. Brayton, 120
Garland, Hamlin, book by, 157
Garrard, Beulah M., prize won by, 477
Garst, Governor, 170 ; Senator, sugges-
tion of, 400
Garver, Frank Harmon, paper by, 169,
327; reference to, 176
GARVER, FRANK HARMON, Boundary His-
tory of the Counties of Iowa, 3 ; A
Critical Study of the Definition and Al-
teration of County Boundaries in Iowa
and of the Laws by Which They Were
Established, 402
Gasconade River, encampment on, 336
Gaston, Chas. W., Journal of Marches in
possession of, 334; camp named after,
367
Gaston, J. J., 319
Gates, Horatio, article by, 592
Bay Guani of Gingalee, The, 305
Gayley, Charles Mills, article by, 593
Gaylord, D. F., 198
Geiser, Karl F., Professor of Political
Science at Oberlin College, 172
Genealogy, American, Clues from English
Archives Contributory to, 461
General Assembly, boundaries of counties
fixed by, 10, 15, 18, 20, 22, 23, 39, 40,
41, 42, 48, 55, 64, 72, 78, 82, 83, 84,
85, 89, ^1, 94, 96, 112, 121, 122;
memorial services in honor of Senator
Allison held during session of, 154;
election of Senator Grimes by, 191;
gathering of political storm in, 192;
joint resolutions of, 192, 195, 196;
opposition of, to Lecompton Constitu-
tion, 195 ; debate in, on Dred Scott De-
cision, 195, 196 ; Republican majorities
in, 201, 209; partisan feeling in, 213;
Governor Kirkwood's inaugural address
condemned by Democratic minority in,
213; discussion of John Brown episode
in, 215; constitutional amendments pro-
posed in, 277-283 ; sensations of First,
306; amendments to United States Con-
stitution proposed in, 380-401; work of
Thirty-third, 458, 459; political com-
plexion of First, 484; organization of,
485 ; election of United States Sena-
tors by, 486, 500-502' position of Lee
County members in, 486, 487, 500; at-
tempted bribery of member of, 488
Genetic Psychology, 456
Geographic Factors in History, The Opera-
tion of, 589
Geographical Society, American, Bulletin
of, articles in, 446
Geography, Out of Door Studies in, 595
Geological Society of America, Bulletin of
the, 153
Geology, The Relation of, to Topography,
446
Georgia, legislative reference movement in,
134; politics of, 194; prohibition in,
301; march of Cherokees from, 336
German American Annals, contents of,
163, 315, 460, 601
German American Researches, 163
Germans in Texas, 460, 601
Germantown (Pennsylvania), celebration
of Founder's Week at, 315
Geronimo Campaign, The, 149
Gerson, Armand J., article by, 590
Gesner, Anthon F., article by, 154
Gettysburg, Lincoln's speech at, 307
Gibault, Father Pierre, and the Submis-
sion of Post Tincennes, 1778, 465
Gilbert, Barry, book by, 595
Gilder, Robert F., article by, 153, 302
Gilfilian, John B., article by, 464
Gill, Eliza M., article by, 460
Gillaspie, 220
Gillaspy, George, nomination of, for Lieu-
tenant Governor, 182 ; defeat of, 185
Gillin, J. L., 171
Gillon, Commodore Alexander, Letters
from, 315, 602
Gilman, Charlotte P., article by, 452
Gilman, Daniel Coit, tributes to memory
of, 302
Gilmore, Eugene A., compilation by, 588
Gjetson, Rev. M. Falk, 469
Gladden, General, at battle of Shiloh, 538,
542
Glaspell, Susan, book by, 804
Glasson, William H., article by, 151, 448,
590
Glick, George W., election of, as Presi-
dent of Kansas State Historical Society,
168
Glory of the Conquered, The, 304
Glyndon, William, Iowa's Monte Christo,
458
Goddard, Henry P., article by, 461
Golden West, The, 454
Gonzalez, Mrs. S. J., article by, 602
Good, James W., 324
Goodenough, Arthur, book by, 588
Goodhue County (Minnesota), 370
Goodrell, Stewart, 489, 498
Goodrich, John E., article by, 602
INDEX
633
Goodwin, John, Military Journal Kept by,
603
Gordon, Captain Harry, Extracts from the
Journal of, 606
Gorrell's, Lieut., Journal, 604
Government, American, instruction in, 327
Government Publications, Recent, of Po-
litical Interest, 299, 451
Governor, election of, desired by people of
Iowa Territory, 273-274, 276; appoint-
ive power of, 273, 274; first, of State
of Iowa, removal of remains of, 307,
310; appointive power of, in case of
vacancy in Senate, 397
Governors, biography of, of Minnesota,
292-294
Governors' Messages, Digest of, 297
Grand River, 335, 362; passage of, 361
Grant, James, votes received by, for Gov-
ernor, 182 ; counsel in bribery case,
490, 491
Grant, Ludovick, Indian Trader, Histo-
rical Relation of Facts Delivered by, 315
Grant, Ulysses S., at Appomatox Court
House, 229; divisions of, in battle of
Shiloh, 507, 510; policy of, at Shiloh,
506, 510, 511; in command of Cairo
district, 512, 513; capture of Fort Hen-
ry by, 514; advance of, on Fort Don-
elson, 515; policy of, after capture of
forts, 516; suspension of, 517, 518; res-
toration of, 519, 520; report of, on dis-
tribution of troops, 520; intention of,
to lead expedition to Corinth, 520, 521;
Halleck's dispatch to, 520, 521; anxiety
of, 521, 522; concentration of troops
of, at Savannah, 523 ; dispatch of, to
Buell, 523 ; departure of, for battle-
field, 524 ; Halleck's instructions to,
525; report of incident to, 526; failure
of Wallace's orderly to find, 531; map
of campa/gn of, 545 ; position of army
of, at Shiloh, 558, 563; order of, to
Nelson, 565, 569; order of, to Wallace,
573-581; recommendation of, as Presi-
dent, 390
Grant, General "Ulysses S., and the Jews,
312
Grasham, George E., sketch of life of, 309
Grasshoppers, plague of, in Iowa, 306
Graves-Cilley duel, 242
Great Britain, trouble with, over Oregon,
256, 258
Great Britain and the Dutch Question in
1787-1788, 318
Great Lakes, opening of steam navigation
on, 146 ; route of travel, 147, 148
Greater Iowa, 454
Greece, The Causes of Emigration from,
590
Greeley, Horace, presidential preference
of, 217; opinion of, on Republican plat-
form, 218; sensational account of bat-
tle of Shiloh by, 505
Greely, A. W., article by, 462
Green, Captain John, 461
Green, Samuel Abbott, papers by, 601
Green Bay Historical Society, tablets
erected by, 320
Greene County, boundary history of, 9, 43,
426
Greenwood, Crocker County, 120
Grefe, Sr., Albert, sketch of life of, 159
Gregory, Charles Noble, article by, 454
Griffin, Appleton P. C., book compiled by,
295
Griffin, E. H., 321
Griffin, Grace G., Writings on American
History, 1906, by DAN E. CLARK, 290;
book by, 588
Griffin, Martin I. J., article by, 300
Griffin, Walter Kenneth, article by, 601
Griffith, Elmer C., /paper by, 471
Griffith, Helen Sherman, book by, 157
Griffiths, H. H., 458
Grimes, J. Bryan, article by, 600
Grimes, James W., letters of, 165; admin-
istration of, indorsed, 180; candidate
for U. S. Senator, 186; message of, to
legislature, 189, 190; election of, to U.
S. Senate, 191; opposition of, to Dred
Scott Decision, 195 ; leader of Republic-
an party, 212; in campaign of 1860,
225 ; reference to, 229 ; question of con-
stitutional convention approved by, 282
Grimes County, proposed creation of, 91,
128, 404, 405, 410
Grimm, John M., 324
Grinnell, J. B., attack of, on Dred Scott
Decision, 195
Grinnell, Iowa College at, 154; reference
to, 478
Groat, G. G., article by, 152
Grose, Colonel, at battle of Shiloh, 560
Groton, Slavery at, 601
Grow, Galusha A., Republican candidate
for President, 205
Grundy County, 9, 13; boundary history
of, 43-44, 426, 436, 439
Gue, Benjamin F., motion of, 215
Guijarro, Luis G., article by, 451
Guild, Edward P., article by, 161
Guthe, Karl Eugen, book by, 157
Guthrie County, act redefining boundaries
of, 7, 25-26, 423 ; boundary history of,
44-46, 63, 90, 427, 431, 432, 434, 437
VOL. VII 42
634 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
Hadley, Herbert S., address by, 470
Hague, The, meeting of historians at, 165
Haight, Mr., 496, 497
Hale, John P., Republican candidate for
President, 205
Half-breed Tract, 68, 73, 129, 365; trou-
ble of title to lands in, 486
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Records of Vice-
Admiralty Court of, 313, 462
Hall, Augustus, eulogy of public services
of, 182
Hall, B. J., objection of, to Lecompton
Constitution, 191; reference to, 220
Hall, J. C., connection of, with bribery epi-
sode of 1846, 488
Halleck, General, 506 ; policy of, in battle
of Shiloh, 507, 511; dispatch of, to
Washington, 514, 515; armies of the
"West under command of, 517; treatment
of Grant by, 517, 518, 522; dispatch
of, to Grant, 520, 521, 525; orders of,
to Buell, 522, 523, 524; orders of, to
avoid enemy, 529; instructions of, 570
Hamilton, J. G. de Roulhac, article by, 301
Hamilton, rivalry between Prouty and, 159
Hamilton, W. W., President of State Con-
vention, 215
Hamilton County, 9, 13, 107, 109, 367;
boundary history of, 46-47, 121, 421,
426
Hamilton Freeman, 205
Hamlin, Hannibal, nomination of, for Vice
President, 219; speakers for, in Iowa,
225
Hammond, G. M., a Des Moines booster,
158
Hanchett, A. P., article by, 304
Hancock County, 39, 64; boundary his-
tory of, 47, 426
Hancock County (Illinois), history of Mor-
mons in, 148
Hand, General Edward, Correspondent)*
of, 605
Happerstad, E. R., Secretary of Sognala-
get, 470
Harbert, Albert Newton, article by, 606
Harbors, improvement of, 146
Harcourt, Helen, article by, 592
Hardcastle, Major, report of, on begin-
nings of battle of Shiloh, 536, 537
Hardin County, 9, 13, 197; boundary his-
tory of, 47-48, 426
Harding, W. L., 171
Harlan, Edgar R., 470
Harlan, James, death of, 174; Senator
from Iowa, 186 ; opinion of, on Kansas
affairs, 192 ; attack of, on Democratic
policy, 207; leader of Republican party,
212; reelection of, as Senator, 225; let-
ter of, 597
Harper, William, sketch of life of, 308
Harper's Ferry, capture of, 209, 214;
cause of seizure of, 2 10 ; newspaper com-
ment on, 211; abhorrence of attack on,
216
Harris, Amos, chairman of State Conven-
tion, 220
Harris, Governor Andrew L., at battle of
Shiloh, 544; address by, 605
Harris, Joel Chandler, appreciation of, 151
Harris, Joseph, donation by, 320
Harrison, William Henry, Delegate to Con-
gress from Northwest Territory, 231;
committee work of, 232; precedents set
by, 233; presidential campaign of, 247
Harrison County, boundary history of, 48,
63, 90, 114, 127, 426
Harsh, J. B., 321
Hart, Charles Henry, article by, 163, 463
Hart, W. O., pamphlet by, 170
Hartwell, Edward M., article by, 298
Harwood, W. H., 321
Harwood, William S., book by, 305
Haskell, Willis G., 324
Haskins, Charles H., article by, 165, 465
Hasse, Adelaide R., preparation of index
by, 326
Hatcher, Mattie Austin, article by, 463
Hauge, Lars J., article by, 466
Haverhill Inscriptions: Walnut Cemetery,
161
Hawaiian Islands, 298 ; visit to, 467
Hawkeye Mills, demolition of, 309
Hawkins, George H., article by, 464
Hawkins, Justice, 495
Hayes, Rutherford B., Spiegel Grove, the
House of, 605
Hayes, Samuel, book by, 305
Hayne, Colonel Isaac, Records Kept by,
602
Head, Captain Albert, and the Tenth Iowa
Volunteers, 457
Headley's History of the Rebellion, sensa-
tional account of the battle of Shiloh in,
506
Health, Good, Gospel of, 157
Health, State Board of, The Relation of
Mayors and Township Clerks to, 304
Healy, Thomas J., tributes to memory of,
310
Heath, H. H., address to National Democ-
racy of Iowa by, 221
Heath : A Historic Hill Town, 161
Hebard, Alfred, 489
Heistand, Mary Rippey, article by, 448
Helbig, Richard E., article by, 163
INDEX
635
Help Wanted: A. Comedy in Two Acts, 157
Hempstead, Stephen, ex-Governor, 181,
220; act to submit question of constitu-
tional convention vetoed by, 281, 282
Henderson, Charles R., article by, 450, 452
Henderson, David B., memorial presented
in House of Representatives by, 392 ;
reference to, 503
Henderson, D. W., 223
Henderson, W. H., 223 ; nomination of,
for elector, 224
Hen dry, Capt. P. A., article by, 313
Henn, Bernhart, name of, suggested for
Governor, 206
Henry, J. F., nomination of, for Governor,
180
Henry, J. G., 170
Henry, Martin D., 306
Henry County, 30, 32, 33, 100, 197, 433;
boundary history of, 48-51, 58, 59, 68,
70, 71, 104, 106, 423, 428
Hepburn, Col. William P., some recollec-
tions of, 160; motion of, 206
Herriott, Frank I., article by, 606
Hermann, Richard, article by, 154
Hickman, Mrs. E. L., 607
High School, The American, 304
Hildebrand, Colonel, at battle of Shiloh,
539, 540, 541
Hildreth, James, Dragoon Campaigns to
the Rocky Mountains, 332, 340
Hilfman, P. A., article by, 603
Hill, David J., address by, 165
Hill, Henry W., monograph by, 465 ; ar-
ticle by, 602
Hill, James J., 293
Himmelsbrief, The, 163
Hinds, Asher C., article by, 450
Hinkhouse, J. F., book by, 595
Historian, The Ethical Function of the,
165
Historic Highways of America, by Archer
B. Hulbert, 287
Historical Association, American, annual
meeting of, 172, 298, 317, 326
Historical Building, Des Moines, 317
Historical Department of Iowa, 165 ; legis-
lative reference work of, 169 ; list of oil
portraits of, 460; death of Assistant
Curator of, 478
Historical Magazine, American, contents
of, 296, 451, 591
Historical Museums of a Dozen Countries,
461
Historical research, value of, in legislative
reference work, 138
Historical Review, The American, articles
in, 165, 317, 465
Historical Sciences, International Congress
of, at Berlin, 318
Historical Societies, publications of, 161,
311, 460, 600; activities of, 167, 318,
466, 606
Historical Societies, State, correlation of
Legislative Reference Department with,
133, 136, 138; legislative reference work
of, 136, 137
Historical and Philosophical Society of
Ohio, Quarterly Publications of the, con-
tents of, 601
History, American, Writings on, 291
History, Journal of, articles in, 454, 594
History, Literature and, 150
History, Magazine of, 164
History, Proper and Improper Use of, 304
History, The College Teaching of, 590
History and the Philosophy of History,
317, 326
History in the Grades, 590
History of Political Parties in Iowa from
1857 to 1860, The, by Louis PELZEE,
179
History of the Establishment of Counties
in Iowa, by FRANK HARMON GARVER, 3
History Teachers' Magazine, The, articles
in, 590
Hobbs, William Herbert, article by, 589
Hobson, Richmond P., article by, 297
Hodder, Frank H., paper by, 470, 471
Hohfeld, Wesley Newcomb, article by, 588
Hohn, Lieutenant Wm. J., 505
Holcombe, Return I., book by, 154
Holliday, Carl, paper by, 296, 451
Holman, T. W., 505
Holmes, Frank R., book by, 154
Homestead Bills, 205, 206, 208
Hooper, John H., article by, 161
Hopkins, John F., sketch of life of, 457
Horack, Frank E., Primary Elections: A
Study of the History and Tendencies of
Primary Election Legislation, by C. E.
MERRIAM, 444
Hornaday, William Temple, book by, 157
Hornbeck, Stanley K., article by, 449
Hornet's Nest, Iowa troops at, 503 ; fight-
ing at, 509, 543, 554-558, 561; map
illustrative of fighting at, 550; impor-
tance of engagement at, 557
Horses, wild, herds of, 348
Hosford, R. F., sketch of life of, 160
Hoskins, J. C. C., sketch of life of, 599
Hough, Emerson, book by, 157, 305
House of Commons Procedure Since 1881,
Amendments in, 153
House of Representatives, Territorial, con-
stitutional amendments proposed by, 267,
636 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
268; election of members of, 269-270;
Constitutional Convention proposed in
State, 278, 280, 281, 282
House of Representatives, United States,
career of Wm. B. Allison in, 174; Alli-
son day in, 309
Howard County, 39; boundary history of,
51, 427, 429; attempt to enlarge, 407
Hoxie, Herbert M., sketch of life of, 159;
reference to, 197
Hrbek, Jeffrey D., book by, 158
Hubbard, Lucius F., book by, 154
Hubley's, Colonel, Journal, 1779, 463, 805
Huch, C. F., article by, 602
Huch, F. E., article by, 313
Hudson, Horace B., book by, 452
Hudson, Silas A., 500
Hudson Bay Company, history of, 153
Hudson-Fulton Celebration, pamphlet de-
scribing, 587; reference to, 610
Hughes, Governor: A. New Type of Execu-
tive, 151
Hughes, John, resolution of, on popular
election of Senators, 399
Hughes, L. B., 487
Hughes, Thomas, article by, 464
Hughes County (Oklahoma), 342
Hiihner, Leon, article by, 312
Hulbert, Archer B., 315; article by, 463
Hull, John A., 610
Hull House, Chicago, 151
Humboldt (Tennessee), 517
Humboldt County, 39, 64, 65, 120, 404;
boundary history of, 51-55, 109-110, 121,
410, 418, 423, 428, 431, 437, 438; en-
campment of First United States Dra-
goons in, 375; spelling of name of, 426
Humbolt County, 52, 107, 108, 109; blot-
ted out, 65, 108, 109, 117, 404, 426;
boundary history of, 120-121
Huner, Senator, attitude of, in first elec-
tion of United States Senators, 486, 501
Hunnewell, James F., article by, 461
Hunter, Captain, attempt of, to treat with
Indians, 346
Hunter, Robert, 171
Hunting in Iowa, 159
Huntington, Ida M., book by, 158
Huntley, Florence, books by, 305
Hurlbut's division at battle of Shiloh, 519,
520, 533, 543, 547, 571
Hutchins, Stilson, 199
Hutchinson, J. R., article by, 461, 601
Hutchinson, Woods, book by, 455
Icarians, colony of, in Illinois, 148
Icelandic Saga, The Origin and Credibility
of the, 317
Ida County, 9, 13 ; boundary history of,
55, 426
Iglehart, Ferdinand C., article by, 449
Illinois, career of Stephen A. Douglas in,
142, 144 ; commercial ambition of, 143 ;
political complexion of, 144; campaign
of 1858 in, 145; Cahokia Mound in,
166; Lincoln-Douglas debates in, 201-
202; presidential candidate of, 217; im-
portance of provincial history of, 289;
settlement and development of, 289-290;
military tract in, 308 ; early railroad his-
tory of, 308; rapid settlement of, 365;
exclusion of negroes from franchise in,
386; deadlock in State legislature of,
397; Governors' letter-books illustrative
of history of, 584; Norwegian settlement
in, 586
Illinois, A. History of, 593
Illinois, Der Krieg der Flachkopfe und der
Regulatoren im Sudlichen, 161
Illinois, History of the Swedes of, 452
Illinois, Invitation Serieuse aux Habitants
des, by un Habitant des Kaskaskias, 453
Illinois, Marking of Historic Spots in, 471
Illinois, Prehistoric, 313, 464, 606
Illinois, Settlement of, 1778-1880, by A. C.
Boggess, by JOHN C. PARISH, 289
Illinois, Territory of, delegate to Congress
from, 233, 265
Illinois, Trade Conditions in 1785-1798,
327
Illinois, University of, records copied for,
609
Illinois from 1830 to 18SO, The Settlement
of, by William Vipond Pooley, by JOHN
C. PARISH, 146
Illinois Central Railroad, interest of Steph-
en A. Douglas in, 143, 145
Illinois River, improvement of, 142 ; set-
tlement of valley of, 147
Illinois River (Arkansas), 340
Illinois State Historical Library, Collec-
tions of, contents of, 316, 584
Illinois State Historical Society, contents
of Journal of, 312, 464, 606; annual
meeting of, 464
Immigrant's Bill of Rights, The, 590
Immigration, Norwegian, history of, 585-
586
Impending Crisis, Helper's, effect of, in
Iowa, 212
Imprisonment Without Trial, 447
Inaugurations of the Past, 297
Income, The Influence of, on Standards of
Life, 452
Income Tax Activity in American States,
The Present Period of, 296
INDEX
637
Index to Recent Literature — Books and
Periodicals, 299, 451
India, England's Problem in, 298
Indian affairs, discussion of, 298
Indian Boundary, 49, 58, 59, 60, 70, 79,
99, 117
Indian land cessions, relation of, to bound-
ary history of counties, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8,
10, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23,
24, 26, 27, 28, 29, 34, 36, 38, 40, 41,
42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 48, 51, 54, 55, 56,
58, 60, 62, 66, 68, 69, 71, 72, 73, 75,
78, 82, 83, 84, 85, 89, 93, 95, 96, 97,
98, 104, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115; maps
illustrative of, 130 ; relation of establish-
ment of counties in Iowa and, 403
Indian Legends of Belle Isle and Bois
Blanc, 591
Indian Rights Association, pamphlet is-
sued by, 447
Indian Sites Near Frederick, Wyo., 154
Indian Stories, True, with Glossary of In-
diana Indian Names, 452
Indian Wars, in Wisconsin, 284, 285
Indiana, legislative reference work in, 134,
136, 326; emigration from, to Illinois,
147; reference to, 244, 488
Indiana, Territory of, delegate to Con-
gress from, 233, 265
Indians, Kansas, accounts of, 294; North
American, Curtis's photographs of, 169
Indians of Greater New York and the
Lower Hudson, The, 587
Industrial Education, articles on, 297
Industrial Leadership, 451
Industrial Society, American, The Docu-
mentary History of, 588
Ingersoll, Richard, and Some of his De-
scendants, 462
Ingham, S. R., sketch of life of, 307
Initiative and referendum, 132, 301; prin-
ciple of. in regard to change of county
boundaries, 410
Injunction, The Proper Use of the Writ
of — from the Standpoint of Legal His-
tory, 150
Injunction in Labor Disputes, The Courts'
View of, 152
Inkpaduta Massacre, Causes and Results
of, 464
International Affairs, Journalism and, 591
International Arbitration, promotion of,
150 ; list of references on, 295
International Conciliation, American Branch
of the Association for, pamphlets by,
150, 591; reference to, 298, 447
International Historical Congress, The, at
Berlin, 165
International law, 327
International Peace, Influence of Com-
merce in the Promotion of, 591
Interstate Commerce Commission, United
States, 133
Iowa, period of Statehood of, 3 ; different
jurisdictions in, 3 ; Indian land cessions
in, 5 ; need of legislative reference work
in, 134, 135, 140, 141; appropriation
for legislative reference work in, 141;
admission of, 145, 263, 483 ; hunting
in, 159; oldest town in, 160; sketch of
liquor legislation in, 160; first Senator
from, 170 ; proposed investigation of
management of farms in, 172-173 ; adop-
tion of Constitution by people of, 180,
183 ; negro question in, 182, 183, 194,
196; political campaigns in, 182-185,
199-201, 208-209, 224-229; need of
banking system in, 184; importance of
home affairs in, 184 ; political unrest
in, 186 ; attitude of freemen of, toward
Kansas affairs, 187, 189, 190, 194;
need of financial legislation in, 189 ; ef-
fect of negro question on politics of,
194, 208, 209; interest of people of, in
Lincoln-Douglas contest, 201-203; taxa-
tion and expenditures in, 208, 220; ef-
fect of capture of Harper's Ferry in,
209-212; political activity in, in 1860,
212-213, 225; presidential preferences of
Republicans of, 217; discord among
Democrats of, 220-222 ; boundaries of,
considered in Congress, 254-256, 258-
263; Democratic regime in, 277; rivalry
between Democrats and Whigs of, 278;
development of resources of, favored by
Whigs, 278, 279, 280; triumph of Whig
principles in, 282 ; writings on history
of, 291, 292; early evangelical work in,
306; politics and men of, 306; Lincoln
election in, 307; early railroad history
of, 308; Southern, ante-bellum life in,
309; pioneer life in, 309, 310; Lincoln
in, 309; some first things in, 310; ad-
vent of Methodism in, 310; marches of
First United States Dragoons in, 333 ;
early settlement of, 378; elective fran-
chise in, 384; exclusion of negroes from
franchise in, 386; primary election law
of, 401; critical study of county bound-
aries in, 402-443 ; number of counties
created in, 402-405; size and shape of
counties in, 405-408; manner of estab-
lishing counties in, 409,411; critical
study of laws defining county boundariei
in, 411-419; contents of laws establish-
ing counties in, 419-420, 421; inade-
638 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
quate titles of laws establishing counties
in, 420-421; temporary establishment of
counties in, 421-422; acts altering coun-
ty boundaries in, 422, 424; spelling of
county names in, 424-426; permanence
of county boundaries in, 426-428; causes
of alteration of county boundaries in,
428-430; indirect changes of county
boundaries in, 430-432; territory with-
out county government in, 433-434; er-
rors in definition of county boundaries
in, 435-440; laws relative to counties of,
441-443; non-partisan primaries in, 444;
life on prairies of, 453 ; church history
of, 454; legislation on subject of real
property in, 454; early days in, 456;
part of, in Mexican War, 457; monu-
ment to Civil War veterans in, 458;
buffalo in, 459 ; strength of Democratic
party in, 484; inauguration of first
Governor of, 486 ; violence of party
politics in, 495 ; troops of, engaged in
battle of Shiloh, 503 ; Norwegian set-
tlement in, 586
Iowa, A Bribery Episode in the First
Election of United States Senators in, by
ETHYL E. MABTIN, 483
Iowa, Boundary History of the Counties
of, by FRANK HARMON GARVER, 3
Iowa, Devonian Fishes of, 303
Iowa, 1836-1857, Constitutional Amend-
ments in, by J. VAN DBH ZEE, 266
Iowa, First Election of United States
Senators in, 471
Iowa, First Election of United States Sena-
tors in, A Bribery Episode in, prize
won by essay on, by ETHYL E. MARTIN,
477
Iowa, History of Taxation in, preparation
of, 472
Iowa, History of the Establishment of
Counties in, by FRANK HARMON GAR-
VER, 3
Iowa, Its Constitution and Laws, 456
Iowa — Its Origin and Participancy in the
Civil War, 303
Iowa, Mineral Production in, in 1907, 303
Iowa, Some Spring Days in, 158
Iowa, State Legislature of, Amendments to
the Constitution of the United States
Proposed in, 1846-1909, by J. VAN DER
ZEE, 379
Iowa, Territory of, period of, 3, 22; coun-
ty boundaries fixed by legislature of, 10,
13, 20, 27, 50, 55, 56, 58, 59, 61, 63,
64, 68, 71, 72, 73, 75, 78, 92, 95, 96,
100, 106, 123, 129, 403, 411, 413;
creation of, 33, 50, 241; Delegate to
Congress from, 170, 486; contest for
Delegate to Congress in, 242, 243, 257;
appropriations for, 249, 250; campaign
for statehood in, 253-255 ; rapid settle-
ment of, 254, 264; establishment of,
270; proposed amendments of Organic
Law of, 271-277; jurisdiction of Jus-
tices of the Peace in, 271-273; election
of Governor and Secretary desired by
people of, 273-274; rivalry between
Whigs and Democrats in, 277-278
Iowa, Territory of, Digest of Decisions
from the Organization of, 305
Iowa, The Development of County Govern-
ment in, 477
Iowa, The History of Political Parties in,
from 18S7 to 1860, by Louis PELZER,
179
Iowa, The Justice Practice of, Civil and
Criminal, 305
Iowa and the First Nomination of Abra-
ham Lincoln, 606
Iowa authors, recent publications by, 156,
304, 455, 594
Iowa Band, "big stick" of, 159, 308
Iowa Bar, Beginning Fifty Tears of Prac-
tice at the, 165
Iowa Biographical Series, books in, 170
Iowa Capitol Reporter, The, 491; abusive
articles in, 494
Iowa Cavalry, Sixth, fort built by, 468;
Eighth, history of, 597
Iowa Central Railroad, 309
Iowa Citizen, The, 203, 204, 211
Iowa City, meetings held at, 172; Re-
publican State Convention at, 173 ; par-
ty conventions at, 179, 180, 181, 196,
198, 219, 224; reference to, 208, 223,
251, 254, 472; Douglas's speech at,
226-228; scrip issued by, 189; consti-
tutional convention of 1857 at, 282;
death of Amos N. Currier at, 478 ; in-
cidents in connection with organization
of State government at, 485, 491, 496
Iowa City Reporter, Lecomptonism feared
by, 204
Iowa College, Grinnell, history of, 154
Iowa County, boundary history of, 55-56,
63, 426
Iowa County, Wisconsin Territory, 238,
239
Iowa Daughters of the American Revolu-
tion, proceedings of annual conference
of, 453
Iowa District, 35
Iowa Education and History, The Associa-
tion of Contributors to, organization
and constitution of, 320-322
INDEX
639
Iowa Federation of Women's Clubs, Year
Book of, 155
Iowa Geological Survey, articles in, 303
Iowa in the Civil War, 455, 594
Iowa Indians, lands ceded by, 15, 55, 78,
84, 93, 95, 97, 114
Iowa Library Association, annual meet-
ing of, 172
Iowa Medical Journal, article in, 454
Iowa Republican, 107
Iowa River, 31, 70, 71, 106; county
boundary line, 61, 62, 106, 408, 429
Iowa Soldiers in the War of the Rebel-
lion, Roster and Record of, 155, 303
Iowa Standard, The, appeal of, to Whigs,
484; comment of, on proceedings in
bribery case, 490
Iowa Star, 108, 122
Iowa State College of Agriculture and
Mechanic Arts, location of, at Ames,
610
Iowa State Gazette, Daily, politics of, 181;
comment of, 186, 201, 202, 204
Iowa State Journal, The, 184, 188, 200
Iowa State Normal School, 172
Iowa State Reporter, Weekly, 217
Iowa State Teachers' Association, Pro-
ceedings of, 454
Iowa Weekly Citizen, The, extracts from,
183, 190
Iowa Weekly Republican, comment of, on
John Brown's trial, 211-212
Iowa Wesleyan College, brief history of,
158
lowana, 154, 303, 453, 593
Ipswich, Descendants of John Brown of,
161
Ipswich Inscriptions, 312, 588
Ireland, Archbishop John, 293
Irish Influence in Civilization, The, 593
Isabella II, Augustus Caesar Dodge at
Court of, 207
Italy, The Railway Situation in, 589
Iverson, State Auditor of Minnesota, mem-
ber of "Sons of Sogn," 469
Iway town, 367
Jack, D. R., article by, 461
Jackson, Andrew, fine imposed on, 142 ;
territorial appointments of, 253 ; refer-
ence to, 484
Jackson, General, at battle of Shiloh, 542,
544, 559, 560
Jackson, Lieutenant Rhees, article by, 150
Jackson, T. W., attack of, on Dred Scott
Decision, 195
Jackson (Arkansas), encampment at, 339
Jackson (Tennessee), 517, 518
Jackson County, 36, 475; boundary his-
tory of, 56, 426
Jackson County (Indiana), 477
Jackson County, Missouri, Causes of Trou-
ble in, in 1833, 594
Jacksonville (Illinois), .law practice of
Stephen A Douglas at, 142
Jacksonville, Fifty-three Tears Ago, 313
James, Galen, 161
James, James Alton, paper read by, 471;
historical material gathered in Europe
by, 475
James Boys, episode in life of, 596
Jameson, Dr. J. Franklin, Director of De-
partment of Historical Research of Car-
negie Institution, 301
Jamestown Tercentennial Exposition, ex-
hibits of Smithsonian Institution and
National Museum at, 447
Janet and her Dear Phebe, 304
Jansonists, Swedish, settlement of, in Il-
linois, 148
Japan, policy of, in Far East, 298
Jarnagin, J. W., 321
Jasper County, boundary history of, 25,
56-58, 63, 86, 87, 427, 436, 437; ref-
erence to, 367; definition of boundaries
of, 415, 423
Jay, Pierre, paper by, 296
Jayne, John W., sketch of life of, 173
Jefferson, Charles E., article by, 447
Jefferson, Thomas, social life during ad-
ministration of, 151; notes of, on Vir-
ginia, 387; reference to, 484
Jefferson Barracks, First United States
Dragoons drilled at, 331; march to
Fort Gibson from, 331, 335-341
Jefferson County, 30, 49, 50, 100, 101, 198,
366; boundary history of, 50, 58-60,
423, 427, 428, 431, 432, 433, 436, 440;
pioneers of, 458
Jefferson County (Missouri), Historic
Landmarks of, 462
Jefferson County Historical Association,
information concerning activities of,
323
Jefferson County Old Settlers' Society, ac-
tivity of, 323
Jenkins, George F., article by, 454
Jenkins, W. H., 227
Jennings, Mrs. Larry, sketch of life of,
599
Jerome, G. H., 197, 206; disgust of, over
Harper's Ferry Raid, 211
Jeron, Otto, article by, 604
Jesup prize, winner of, 473
Jew, The First, to Hold the Office of Gov-
ernor of One of the United States, 312
640 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
Jewish Historical Society, Publications of
the American, contents of, 312
Jewish Nation, A Burial Place for the,
603
Jews, A Memorial of, to Parliament, 603
Jews, General Ulysses S. Grant and, 312
Jews, Lincoln and, 312
Jews in Barbados, Notes on the History
of the, 603
Jews in New York, Early History of the,
603
Jews in Surinam, Notes on the History
of the, 603
Jews' Tribute in Jamaica, The, 603
Job, Book of, Strange Ways of God:
Study in the, 157
Johns, John, State Convention called to
order by, 222
Johns Hopkins University Studies in His-
torical and Political Science, contents of,
296, 447, 587
Johnson, Allen, Stephen A. Douglas: A.
Study in American Politics, by LOUIS
PELZEE, 142; book review by, 297
Johnson, Andrew, nominee for Vice Presi-
dent, 219; message of, to Senate, 387;
relations of Congress and, 394
Johnson, Benjamin S., article by, 463
Johnson, Emmons, 321
Johnson, John Albert, life of, 293
Johnson, Joseph F., article by, 152
Johnson, L. F., article by, 312
Johnson, Maro, 324
Johnson, Thomas Cary, 291
Johnson County, 30, 36, 63, 126, 173,
179, 180, 197, 198, 206; boundary his-
tory of, 60-62, 80, 81, 106, 118, 119,
428, 430
Johnston, Christopher, article by, 462
Johnston, Daniel S. B., article by, 464
Johnston, Elmer E., 608
Johnston, General, at battle of Shiloh,
507, 534, 542, 544; death of, 509, 553;
march of, to Corinth, 516 ; concentration
of army under, 523, 534; biography of,
554
Johnston, Howard Agnew, book by, 595
Johnston, William Preston, father's life
written by, 554
Johnstone, Edward, charge against, 185
Joliet, monument to, 472, 476
Jones, Burr W., paper by, 446
Jones, George W., eulogy of public serv-
ices of, 182, 199, 200; Republican op-
position to, 182 ; leader of Democratic
faction, 186; choice of successor of,
190, 191; attitude of, on Kansas af-
fairs, 192-193, 195; reference to, 196,
229 ; charges against, 202 ; delegate to
Congress from Western Michigan, 234;
petitions presented by, 236 ; efficient
committee work of, 237; election of, as
delegate to Congress, 238, 239; early
life of, 239; success of, in Congress,
240, 241; influence of, in establishment
of Territory of Iowa, 241 ; nominations
recommended by, 253 ; letter of Col.
Henry Dodge to, 360; election of, to
United States Senate, 502
Jones, Jessamine, tragic incidents in life
of, 159
Jones, John W., nomination of, for Treas-
urer of State, 197, 219
Jones County, 36; boundary history of,
62, 426
Jordan, General, paper by, on battle of
Shiloh, 562, 563
Jordan, Helen, article by, 318, 463
Jordan, John W., article by, 463, 605
Journal of History, articles in, 155, 303,
594
Journal of the United States Cavalry As-
sociation, articles in, 150
Journalism, half century of, in Iowa, 308
Judah, George Fortunatus, article by, 603
Judges of district courts, appointive power
of, 275
Judges of probate, popular election of, 274
Judicial Power, The Growth of, 587
Judiciary, committee on, 267, 269, 271,
276
Justices of the Peace, appeal from, 120,
proposed constitutional amendments rela-
tive to jurisdiction of, 267-269, 271-
273, 276; congressional opinion of, 272;
popular election of, 274
Justice Practice, The, of Iowa, Civil and
Criminal, 305
Juvenile Courts, 449
Eandiyohi County, Minnesota, Traces of
a Vanished Race in, 453, 592
Kanesville (Iowa), settlement of, 597
Kansas, legislative reference movement in,
134, 135 ; slavery agitation in, 144, 179,
181, 187; troubles between Missouri
and, 168; legislation for, 181; criticism
of conduct of administration in, 182,
188, 189, 190, 194; anarchy in, 182;
discussion of affairs in, 183, 184; effect
of Lecompton Constitution of, 187-188,
213; wishes of people of, 190, 192;
self-government in, favored by Iowa
Democrats, 191, 202 ; question of ad-
mission of, 192; papers on history oi,
294, 295
INDEX
641
Kansas, Memorial Monuments and Tab-
lets in, 604
Kansas, The White Man's Foot in, by
John B. Dunbar, 294
Kansas-Nebraska Act, Stephen A. Douglas
and, 143, 144; attempt to preserve let-
ter and spirit of, 187; principles of,
188; laudation of, 193; effect of, 218
Kansas Aid Society, John Brown helped
by, 210
Kansas Cavalry, Seventh, The Early His-
tory of the, 604
Kansas or Kaw Indians, accounts of, 294
Kansas State Historical Society, manu-
script memoirs acquired by, 168 ; meet-
ing of, 168; legislative support of, 318;
prosperous condition of, 319; Report of
Board of Directors of, 604
Kansas State Historical Society, 1907-1908,
Transactions of, by Louis PELZEB, 294
Kasson, John A., 197; ratification meet-
ing presided over by, 206, 219; leader
of Republican party, 212; State Con-
vention called by, 215; delegate to Na-
tional Convention, 215, 218
Kavanagh, Governor Edward, 604
Kearney, Stephen W., Lieutenant Colonel
of First United States Dragoons, 331,
332, 333; sketch of life of, 340; refer-
ence to, 344, 367; letter of, from Camp
Des Moines, 364; Adjutant General's
order to, 364; examination of Raccoon
forks by, 376
Keeler, Lucy E., article by, 315, 605
Keene, Otis L., article by, 313
Keffer, Simon B., sketch of life of, 159
Keith, Theodora, article by, 150
Keitt, Lawrence M., political career of,
181
Kellner, Gottlieb Theodor, 602
Kelly, Frances, The Rescue of, 466
Kelly, The Rev. John, 604
Kennedy, James B., paper by, 296
Kentucky, legislative reference movement
in, 134 ; emigration to Illinois from,
147; monument to Lincoln in, 476
Kentucky, Early Banking in, 471
Kentucky State Historical Society, activi-
ties of, 167, 467; contents of Register
of, 311
Keokuk, Chief of Sac Indians, 30; village
of, 366, 377
Keokuk, 185, 337, 488; meeting of Demo-
crats at, 191; strength of National
Democrats at, 222
Keokuk County, original borders of, 4, 7,
126; boundary history of, 8, 13, 26,
38, 45, 58, 63-64, 73, 75, 89, 91, 92,
95, 104, 414, 425, 428, 430; Indian
lands in original, 403 ; division of ori-
ginal, 404, 429; reference to, 433, 483;
political conditions in, in 1846, 487, 488
Keokuk Medical College, History of, and
Evolution in Medical Education During
that Time, 454
Keokuk's Reserve, 30, 31, 33, 36, 50, 62,
69, 70, 71, 79, 81, 106, 117, 120, 124
Keosauqua (Iowa), death of George C.
Duffield at, 173; strength of National
Democrats at, 222
Key, Francis Scott, as a Churchman, 604
Kimball, Clem F., article by, 304
King, Clyde L., article by, 452
King, Major, at battle of Shiloh, 537
King, Nelson, bribery of, 483, 488 ; inter-
est of politicians in vote of, 487; vote
of thanks to, 489 ; evidence of bribery
produced by, 490, 491-492, 498; at-
tacks on, 493, 494; assault on editor
by, 494; arrest and release of, 495
Kinsman, Delos O., paper by, 296
Kioway Indians, engagement of Osage In-
dians with, 343 ; reference to, 349
Kirk, A. M., article by, 307
Kirkpatrick, Edwin A., books by, 455
Kirkwood, Samuel J., sketch of life of, 159 ;
letters of, 165 ; reference to, 174, 179,
229, 456; attack of, on Dred Scott De-
cision, 195 ; State Convention called to
order by, 196 ; nomination of, for Gov-
ernor, 206; joint discussions by A. C.
Dodge and, 208; election of, 209; lead-
er of Republican party, 212; attack of
General Assembly on inaugural address
of, 213; surrender of Coppoc declined
by, 214; correspondence between Gov-
ernor Letcher and, 214; in campaign
of 1860, 225; incident in life of, 598
Kirkwood, Governor, and the Skunk River
War, 606
Kishkekosh County, 78, 414, 425
Klay, Gerrit, constitutional amendment
proposed by, 392
Know-Nothing State Convention, of 1857,
180
Know-Nothings, vote polled by, in 1857,
185; editorial comment on, 200-201;
spirit of, in Iowa, 223 ; convention of,
224
Knox, Mr., motion of, 381
Knox, General, war maps used by, 467
Knox, George H., book by, 595
Kohler, Max J., article by, 603
Korab, Paul A., 170
Kossuth, Louis, letters of, 168
Kossutb. County, 39, 52, 107, 109, 333;
642 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
boundary history of, 52, 64-66, 116,
117, 120, 121, 122, 405, 428, 438;
march of United States Dragoons
through, 375; size of, 406
Kuehnle, Carl F., sketch of life of, 303
La Salle, erection of monument to, recom-
mended, 472
Labashure, Frank, interpreter with First
United States Dragoons, 366
Labor and Wages, 450
Labor Disputes, The Courts' View of In-
junction in, 152
Labor Law, Bench, A. fear of, 450
Labor Laws of the United States, 448
Labor Legislation, The American Associa-
tion for, meeting of, 326
Labor Statistics, report of Bureau of, for
Iowa, 453
Lacey, Major John F., patriotic Republi-
can, 160
Laclede County (Missouri), 336
Lacy, B. W., 474
Lake, Howard C., article by, 594
Lake Albert Lea, Minnesota, description
of, 374
Lake Champlain Tercentenary, pamphlet
describing, 587; reference to, 610
Lake Michigan, route of travel, 147
Lake Mohonk Conference, Report of Four-
teenth Annual Meeting of, 150, 586;
Proceedings of, 298 ; meeting of, 475
Lake Pepin, appearance of, 370
Lamond, Robert, article by, 589
Lamoni, 454
Landry, Adolphe, article by, 589
Lanercost, Chronicle of, 450, 589
Land Office, State, nominations for Reg-
ister of, 197, 198, 219, 220
Land Office, United States, 142
Lane, Joseph, nomination of, for Vice
President, 220; favored by Davenport
Democrats, 221
Lang, Andrew, article by, 296
Lange, Alexis F., article by, 449
Langford's Refutation, 462
Larrabee, Frederic, 171
Larrabee, William, article by, 306, 310
Latin America, writings on history of, 291
Latter Day Saints, Reorganized Church of
Jesus Christ of, Journal of History pub-
lished by, 155 ; publication of, 303
Laurens, Henry, 461; letter to, 602
Laut, Agnes C., book by, 153
Law Libraries, State, legislative reference
work of, 137
Law of Persons and Domestic Relations,
Handbook on the, 595
Law of the Constitution, The, 592
Law Review, American, articles in, 447
Lawbreakers, Our Treatment of, 593, 596
Lazell, Frederick J., book by, 158, 160
Lea, Albert M., Lieutenant in First United
States Dragoons, 331, 334; Notes on.
Wisconsin Territory by, 333 ; sketch of
life of, 365-366
Lea, Albert M., Contributions of, to the
Literature of Iowa History, prize essay
on, by Clifford Powell, 477
Lea, J. Henry, article written by, 162, 461,
601
Lead mines, protection of, desired, 249,
250
Lead-mining, development of, in Wiscon-
sin, 284-285
Leadership, 595
Lear, Tobias, 318
Lear, William H., sketch of life of, 159
Learned, Henry Barrett, article by, 592
Learned, M. D., work of, in Germany,
606, 607
Leavenworth, General, 342, 344
Leavitt, Roger, 321, 473
Lebowich, Joseph, article by, 312
Le Claire, strength of National Democrats
at, 222; early days in, 457; pioneers
of, 457
Le Claire Register, presidential preference
of, 216
Le Raye, Charles, The Journal of, 466
Lecompton Constitution, defeat of, 144;
effect of, 187, 209; opposed by political
parties of Iowa, 187, 188, 192, 193,
194, 196, 197, 204; Governor Grimes's
opposition to, 190 ; President Buchanan
blamed for, 192, 200; favored by Sena-
tor Jones, 193; fraud of, 193, 196;
opposed by Senator Douglas, 201; dis-
cussion of, by candidates for Governor
in Iowa, 208
Lee, Rev. Atle, 469
Lee, The Honor of a, 306
Lee, Richard Henry, letters and papers
of, 320
Lee County, 30, 31, 49, 50, 51, 99, 179,
186, 222, 365, 408, 491, 500; boundary
history of, 33, 66-69, 73, 129, 420, 428;
proposed division of, 405 ; result of first
State election in, 486, 487
Lee, Robert E., Once More, 151
Leech, Andrew, 489
Leffingwell, William E., defeat of, for Con-
gress, 201 ; recommendation of, for Gov-
ernor, 206
Leffier, Shepherd, votes received by, for
Governor, 182
INDEX
643
Legal Cause at Common Law, Some Sug-
gestions Concerning, 299
Legal Ethics, The New American Code of,
150
Legislation, Defective Methods of, 450
Legislation, Notes on Current, 153, 592
Legislation, Problems of American, 587
Legislation, State, Bulletins of, 135
Legislation 1908, Index to, 587
Legislation Bulletin, Comparative, 593
Legislative Assembly, arrearages of ex-
penses of, 249 ; constitutional amend-
ments proposed in, 266-277; representa-
tion of Iowa and Wisconsin districts
in, 270; per diem allowance of members
of, 276; deadlock in, 276
Legislative Petitions, A Calendar of, Ar-
ranged by Counties (Virginia), 449
Legislative Reference Assistant, appoint-
ment of, 169
Legislative Reference Bureau, Montana,
467
Legislative Reference Departments, State,
scope of work of, 133-134; establish-
ment and organization of, 134-135; ori-
gin of, 135; criticism of work of, 137-
138; establishment and enlargement of,
326
Legislative Reference Expert, proposed
functions of, 138-140; qualifications of,
140; need of provision for, in Iowa, 141
Legislative Reference Movement, by JOHN
E. BRINDLEY, 132
Legislatures, State, amendments to United
States Constitution proposed in, 379,
380; attention of, called to polygamy,
393; power of, in matter of securing
presidential electors, 396; failure of, to
elect Senators, 397, 399
Leland, Waldo G., investigation of French
archives by, 300, 607; report of, on
French archives, 445
Lenox College, chair of agriculture at, 458
Leonard, James Francis, The Life of, 602
Lester, Clarence B., Legislative Reference
Librarian in New York, 297; compila-
tion by, 587
Leteher, John, Governor of Virginia, requi-
sition for Coppoc served by, 214
Lettellier, Louis Dace, Autobiography of,
466
Letters, Old, 165
Levey, Edgar J., article by, 450
Levy, David, Delegate from Florida, 240,
248; introduction of bills by, 252; oppo-
sition of, to admission of Florida, 255
Lewis, Colonel, 316
Lewis, Mrs. Katherine, sketch of, 598
Lewis, W. H., 319
Lexington, gunboat, 513
Libby, Orin G., article by, 466; address
by, 470; election of, as President of
Mississippi Valley Historical Associa-
tion, 472
Libraries, State, correlation of Legislative
Reference Department with, 133, 136,
138; legislative reference work of, 136,
137
Libraries, State and Historical, Relation
of, 471
Libraries, Statistics of, 588
Library, State, of Iowa, reference mate-
rials in, 140, 141; appropriation for
legislative reference and general assist-
ant in, 141; need of correlation of, with
allied institutions, 141
Library, State, of New York, legislative
reference work of, 135, 138
Lieutenant Governor, nominations for of-
fice of, 179, 180, 182, 206, 208; elec-
tion of, 185
Light and Sound, 595
Lillibridge, William Otis, book by, 158,
596; obituary notice of, 303
Limpus, E. B., 170
Lincoln, Abraham, debates between Stephen
A. Douglas and, 144-145, 146; call of,
for volunteers, 145 ; nomination of, 174,
309 ; reference to, 175, 462 ; candidate
for United States Senate, 201-203;
speech of, on disunion, 212; candidate
for President, 216, 228; nomination of,
endorsed by Iowa Republicans, 219;
speakers for, in Iowa, 225 ; Seward's
speech on behalf of, 226; vote polled
by, in Iowa, 229; portraits of, 299; cen-
tennial celebration of, 300; visit of, in
Iowa, 306, 308, 309, 310; visits of, to
Burlington and Council Bluffs, 307;
reminiscences of, 307; unpublished let-
ters of, 309; monument of, in Iowa,
310, 476; description of government by,
398
Lincoln, Abraham, Glimpses of, 453, 455
Lincoln, Abraham, Iowa and the First
Nomination of, 606
Lincoln, Abraham, Partial Bibliography of
Poems Relating to, 312
Lincoln, Abraham, the Typical American,
312
Lincoln, Charles H., article by, 314
Lincoln, Jonathan Thayer, article by, 451
Lincoln, Manuscript of the Autobiography
of, 299
Lincoln, President, and the Navy, 318
Lincoln, Robert T., 320
644 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
Lincoln, S. A., article by,. 309
Lincoln (Nebraska), 472
Lincoln-Douglas debates, how received in
Iowa, 189
Lincoln-Douglas Debates of 1858, 316
Lincoln and the Jews, 312
Lincoln Centennial, The, celebration of,
312, 464
Lincolniana, new chapter in, contributed
by Iowa, 307; Iowa man's collection
of, 310
Linden Blossoms, 158
Lindley, Harlow, paper by, 327
Lindley, J. J., nomination of, for electors,
224
Linn, Lewis F., Senator from Missouri,
interest of, in legislation for Wisconsin,
241 ; opinion of, on boundary question,
245
Linn County, boundary history of, 8, 9,
36, 69, 123, 424, 426; reference to, 198,
216, 477; petition from citizens of, 282;
early letters of, 310
Linn County, Iowa, The Old Settler of, 593
Liquor Legislation in Iowa, sketch of his-
tory of, 160
Liquor Traffic, Regulation of the, 150
Lisa, Manuel, 466
Lister, 0. B., 139
Litchfield County, The Clergy of, 588
Litchfleld County University Club, publi-
cations of, 588
Literature, Recent, Index to — Books and
Periodicals, 299
Literature and History, 150
Lobingier, Charles S., article by, 301
"Loess Man", Nebraska, paper on, 153
London Archives, guide to American histor-
ical materials in, 300
Lone Tree, death of John W. Jayne at, 173
Long, Joseph S., book by, 456
Looby, General John H., an Iowa veteran,
159
Lorah, Samuel H., nomination of, for
Treasurer of State, 198
Los Angeles, California, annual Iowa pic-
nic at, 326
Lost Creek, 66
Loughridge, William, attack of, on Dred
Scott Decision, 195
Louisa County, 30, 32, 33, 50, 51, 69-71,
79, 80, 104, 105, 106, 420, 428, 430;
pioneer of, 309; size of, 405, 406
Louisiana, 202; Spanish manuscripts and
documents relative to, 315
Louisiana, State University of, 170
Louisiana, The Settlement of the German
Coast of, 460, 601
Louisiana Historical Society, Publications
of, contents of, 315
Louisiana Jurisprudence, Fragments of, 170
Love, N. B. C., article by, 463
Love, William H., article by, 461
Lowantica Valley, Morris County, New
Jersey, Washington's Army in, 151
Lowe, Ralph P., nomination of, for Gov-
ernor, 179; election of, 185; attitude oi',
toward Kansas affairs, 190; joint reso-
lution approved by, 192 ; censure of ad-
ministration of, 198, 199, 200; refusal
of, to be candidate for Governor, 206 ;
nomination of, for Judge of Supreme
Court, 206
Lowell, A. Lawrence, book by, 297; Presi-
dent of American Political Science As-
sociation, 327
Lowie, Robert H., article by, 302
Lowndes, Rawlins, letter from, to Henry
Laurens, 602
Lucas, C. L., interest of, in Journal of
Marches by First United States Dra-
goons, 334
Lucas, Robert, action of, in matter of
boundary dispute, 245, 246 ; action of,
in regard to statehood, 253 ; quarrel be-
tween legislature and, 273
Lucas County, boundary history of, 72 ;
definition of boundaries of, 414, 422,
427
Lucas County (Iowa) Historical Society,
officers of, 607
Ludington, Arthur, article by, 451, 592
Luiseno Indians, The Culture of the, 153
Luxembourg Claims, The, 461
Lynn County, 69, 424
Lyon County, 39; boundary history of,
72, 426
McArthur, General, at battle of Shiloh,
543, 553
McBride, James B., 309
McBride, James, Manuscripts, The, 601
McBride, Thomas H., article on, 597
McCabe, W. Gordon, President of Vir-
ginia Historical Society, 320; article
by, 460
McCarthy, Charles H., article by, 587
McCarthy, Dr. Charles, legislative refer-
ence work of, in Wisconsin, 135
McCarthy, Daniel, 610
McCarty, Dwight G., article by, 593
McCarty, Jonathan, candidate for United
States Senate, 500
McCaughan, Thompson, sketch of life of,
597
McClain, Emlin, book by, 305
INDEX
645
McClellan, General-in-Chief of Union Army,
514, 515, 516
McClernand, General, 507; division of, at
battle of Shiloh, 519, 541, 543, 547,
553, 571
McClintock, William, nomination of, for
Attorney General, 220
McConnell, J. J., 321
McCook, Henry C., article by, 313
McCormick, Cyrus Hall, sketch of life of,
446
McCormick, Cyrus Hall, and the Reaper,
460
McCrory, George W., 457
McCulloch, Delia, article by, 151
McCulloch, M. E., investigation of Iowa
farms by, 172
McDougal, H. C., article by, 317
McDowell, William Osborne, article by, 152
McDuffie, I. J., 321
McGarraugh, Joe, sketch of life of, 597
McGowan, T. P., 455
McGregor, Alexander, bribery of, 483
Mac Gregor, Ford H., article by, 449
McGuire, Edward J., article by, 604
McHenry, H. D., nomination of, for elec-
tor, 224
McKay, Charles, article by, 164
McKinley Memorial, at Philadelphia, 447
MacKinnon, Malcolm, article by, 594
McKitrich, Reuben, book by, 593
McLaughlin, Andrew C., editor of Writings
on American History, 1903, 291
McLean, Mrs. C. F., article by, 591
McLean, John, Republican candidate for
President, 205, 215
McLoughlin, Dr. John, and his Guests, 316
McMahan, Edward, article by, 164
McMullin, Thomas, sketch of life of, 307
McNutt, Mr., motion of, 381
McPherson, Colonel, 527, 531; at battle
of Shiloh, 573, 578
McPherson, Logan G., article by, 152
McPherson, M. L., nomination of, for elec-
tor at large, 219
Macaulay, Thomas B., 183
Macclesfield, The Highlanders at, in 1745,
450
Mackoy, W. H., article by, 463
Macy, Jesse, courses conducted by, at
Stanford University, 325
Macy, N. W., 324
Madison, Dolly, Outwitted the British,
How, 592
Madison (Wisconsin), 67
Madison County, 63 ; proposed establish-
ment of, 68, 73, 129, 404, 405; bound-
ary history of, 73, 426
Madison County, Forgotten Town Site* of,
453
Madison County Historical Society, annual
meeting of, 319; reference to, 454
Madrid, Spain, manuscripts relative to
Louisiana in National Historical Ar-
chives in, 315
Madrid (Iowa), Historical Society, 334
Madrid Register-News, Journal of Marches
partly published in, 334
Magazine Subject-Index, Annual, for 1908,
issue of, 449
Magnetism, Elements of Electricity and,
157
Magnolia (Iowa), 208
Magoffin, Ralph V., article by, 452
Mahaska, statue of, 159, 455, 457, 458,
476
Mahaska County, 63, 74, 126, 197; bound-
ary history of, 73, 426
Mahin, John, Union men reprimanded by,
223
Mahoney, D. A., defense of Dred Scott
Decision by, 195, 220
Makemie, Francis, first moderator of Pres-
byterian Church in United States, 313;
articles concerning, 313
Maine, legislative reference movement in,
134; Report of State Historian of, 319
Maine State Historical Society, 319
Malpractice of Physicians, Surgeons, and
Dentists, Selection of Cases on, 596
Man Mound, Wisconsin, Preservation of
the, 154, 314
Manchester (Missouri), on route of march,
335
Mandan Indians, sketch of, 466
Mandan Village Site, A, 162
Mandelbaum, rise of House of, 159
Manley, John, The Naval Career of, of
Marblehead, 313
Mann, Charles W., 167, 320
Mann, Lieutenant, 537
Mann, Moses W., article by, 311, 600
Manufactures, encouragement of, by Whigs,
278, 280
Maquoketa, 476
Maquoketa Sentinel, extract from, 185
Marbut, Curtis F., paper by, 470
Marengo (Iowa), semi-centennial celebra-
tion at, 609
Marion (Iowa), 477; laying out of town
of, 478
Marion County, 63, 102 ; boundary history
of, 73-75, 427, 436, 437; encampment
on White Breast Creek in, 376; defini-
tion of boundaries of, 415, 416
Markens, Isaac, article by, 312
646 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
Marks, Constant R., article by, 466
Marquette, Father, arrival of, in Wiscon-
sin, 284
Marquette and Joliet, erection of monu-
ment to, recommended, 472, 476
Marshall, S. T., connection of, with bribery
episode of 1846, 488, 489, 491-498;
sketch of life of, 488; arrest of, 489,
490; counsel of, 491; declared guilty of
contempt, 499
Marshall County, 9; boundary history of,
75, 426
Marston, Anson, book by, 596
Martin, Ethyl E., prize won by, 473, 477;
reference to, 611
MARTIN, ETHYL E., A. Bribery Episode in
the First Election of United States Sena-
tors in Iowa, 483
Martin, George W., 294; article by, 604
Martin, John, article by, 451
Martin, Judge, murder of, by Pawnee In-
dians, 347, 857
Martin, Lawrence, article by, 446
Martin, Morgan L., 285
Martin, Sergeant, 365
Martin, Wesley, 171
Marvin, Merze, 473
Maryland, 244; exercise of religion in, 300
Maryland, Babylon's Fall in, A. Fair
Warning to Lord Baltimore, 164
Maryland, Province of, Benedict Leonard
Calvert, Esq., Governor of the, 164
Maryland, The Self -Reconstruction of, 296
Maryland and the West, 590
Maryland Historical Magazine, articles in,
164, 312, 461, 604
Marylanders, Some Distinguished, I Have
Known, 461
Mason, Charles, votes received by, for Gov-
ernor, 206; nominated for Governor,
206; nominated for Supreme Court, 208;
oath administered to first Governor by,
486
Mason, Colonel, cashiered for conduct at
battle of Shiloh, 542
Masonic Bulletin, 154
Massachusetts, legislative reference work in,
134, 136, 137; reference to, 262; pre-
servation of public records of, 296-297;
elective franchise in, 384
Massachusetts, Fifty Tears of Probation
Work in, 161
Massachusetts, Legal Qualifications of Vot-
ers in, 161
Massachusetts, The Cost of Municipal Gov-
ernment of, 298
Massachusetts Historical Society, activi-
ties of, 818, 506
Massachusetts Historical Writers, Some,
161
Massachusetts Magazine, The, 161
Matthews, Matthew C., 324
Matson, Dr., 494
Matthews, John Mabry, monograph by, 587
Maury, Dabney H., article by, 454
Maxey, Edwin, article by, 301
Maxfield, George W., nomination of, for
Auditor, 220
Maxwell, David Elwell, In Memoriam:, 313
Maxwell, Herbert, article by, 589
May, George, speech by, 207
Mayes County (Oklahoma), 361
Me-She-Kun-Nogh-Quah, or Little Turtle,
1783-1812, 463
Mechem, Floyd R., book by, 595
Medary, Samuel, life of, 292
Medbury, Charles S., book by, 456
Medewakanton Sioux Indians, lands ceded
by, 18, 41, 47, 55, 66, 76, 84, 93, 97,
112, 114, 115
Medford, First Methodist Episcopal Church
of, 311
Medford, Old and Modern, The Pump in
the Market Place; and Other Water
Supplies of, 460
Medford Historical Register, The, articles
in, 161, 811, 460, 600
Meek Brothers' Mill and Bonaparte Dam,
458
Meeker, Moses, candidate for delegate to
Congress, defeat of, 238, 239
Meese, William A., paper by, 471
Memphis and Charleston Railroad, Confed-
erate position on, 516, 534; reference
to, 519; Halleck's plan to cut, 520, 521
Menefee, Richard Hickman, 608
Merriam, C. E., Primary Elections: A.
Study of the History and Tendencies of
Primary Election Legislation, by F. E.
HORACK, 444
Merriam, C. E., book by, 456
Merrick, George B., Old Times on the Up-
per Mississippi, by J. VAN DEE ZEE, 287
Mervine, William M., article by, 318
Mesa Verde National Park, Antiquities of
the, 593
Messina Earthquake, The, 589
Methodism, advent of, in Iowa, 310
Mexican War, Iowa's part in, 457
Mexican War, Investigation into the Jus-
tice of the, 152
Mexico, war with, 143 ; reference to, 168,
258; Maximilian in, 447
Meyer, Jr., Eugene, article by, 451
Meyerholz, Chas. H., 321
Miami Indians, 294
INDEX
647
Miami University, documents relative to,
601
Miami University, The, Centennial of, 605
Michigan, Lake, route of travel, 147
Michigan, legislative reference work in,
134, 326; reference to, 152; revised
constitution of, 325 ; general law for
incorporation of cities in, 326
Michigan, Territory of, jurisdiction of, 3,
409 ; act of legislature of, establishing
counties, 28-31, 35, 36, 124, 125; Dele-
gate to Congress from, 233, 234, 265;
admission of, 234; Organic law of, 266;
county courts of, 269; Iowa counties
established during period of, 365, 403,
426, 443 ; laws of legislature of, defin-
ing county boundaries, 411
Michigan, Massachusetts Pioneers in, 161
Midland Municipalities, articles in, 156,
304, 454, 594
Midwestern, The, articles in, 303, 455, 594
Mike Flannery on Duty and Off, 455
Miles, Peter, buffaloes shot by, 597
Militarism, The Delusion of, 447
Military Tract, in Illinois, settlement of,
147
Militia, proposed constitutional amendment
concerning election of officers of, 274-275
Miller, A. B., nomination of, for Register
of State Land Office, 197, 219
Miller, A. C., article by, 165
Miller, Francis T., article by, 299
Miller, O. H. P., 369
Mills, Frederick D., counsel in bribery
case, 490, 491, 495
Mills, William C., article by, 605
Mills County, boundary history of, 75-76,
90, 426
Milton, John, exercises commemorative of
birth of, 318
Milwaukee, meeting of scientific societies
at, 162; route from Buffalo to, 240
Milwaukee County, petition from, 236, 270
Minis, Edwin, article by, 151
Minneapolis, A. Half Century of, 452
Mineral Point, nomination of officers at,
239
Minnesota, 39, 125, 243, 265; legislative
reference movement in, 134, 135; book
on, 153 ; settlement and development of,
286; education and government of, 286;
Sioux outbreak in, 287; march of First
United States Dragoons in, 369-374;
exclusion of negroes from franchise fa,
386; part of territory of, in Fayette
County, 406; history of capitol build-
ings of, 464; report of Tax Commission
of, 475
Minnesota, Boundaries and Public Land
Surveys of, 464
Minnesota, Relics of the Past in, 154
Minnesota: The North Star State, by W.
W. Folwell, by E. H. DOWNEY, 286
Minnesota Historical Society, publications
of, 167, 469; Collections of, 292, 464;
activities of, 468
Minnesota In Three Centuries, 154
Minnesota Journalism from 1858 to 1865,
464
Minnesota, University of, History of, 464
Minto, John, article by, 461
Misery and Its Causes, 455
Mississippi, politics of, 194 ; reference to,
261; early day racing on, 599
Mississippi, Old Times on the Upper, by
George B. Merrick, by J. VAN DEE ZEE,
287
Mississippi Association of History Teach-
ers, Proceedings of, 311
Mississippi Historical Society, Publications
of, 167, 311
Mississippi Valley Historical Association,
meeting of, 169, 172, 327; program of
second annual meeting of, 470-471 ; pro-
jected activities of, 471; interest of, in
marking of historic sites, 472; publica-
tions of, 472 ; officers of, 472 ; reference
to, 473
Mississippi Region, Upper, The Making of
the Surface and the Soils of the, 157
Mississippi River, 21, 31, 35, 38, 66, 67,
70, 71, 79, 80, 117, 118, 129, 228, 233,
254, 285, 370, 521; route of travel, 147,
287; improvement of navigation of, 250;
commerce on, 288, 364; old time pilots
on, 308 ; encampment on, 372 ; county
boundary, 408, 412
Mississippi Valley, Upper, States of, 134;
settlement of, 147, 149; history of States
of, 153; mounds in, 166; resemblance
in history of States of, 286; exploita-
tion of, 287-288; history of, 314; French
documents on, 315, 446; operations of
First United States Dragoons in, 331;
conservation of natural resources of,
470; ethnological field of, 470; physi-
ography as related to history in, 470;
archaeology of, 471; early travel and
trade in lower, 471; marking of his-
toric sites in, 471-472; material on his-
tory of, in European archives, 473;
monuments unveiled in, 476
Mississippi Valley Historical Association,
folder issued by, 607
Missouri, 35, 68, 92, 99, 129, 181; me-
moirs concerning, 168; March of First
648 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
United States Dragoons across, 331-
339; trade in, 361; troops of, at battle
of Shiloh, 503, 504, 505; political strug-
gle in, between Benton and Atchison,
582-583
Missouri, Territory of, election of Delegate
to Congress from, 233
Missouri, Daniel Boone in, 604
Missouri, Some Historic Lines in, 603
Missouri, The University of, Studies, con-
tents of, 593
Missouri Territory, Slavery in, 462
Missouri-Iowa Boundary, question of, 245,
246, 250, 251, 253, 263, 496, 603
Missouri Cavalry, First, Muster Roll of
Company B, 317
Missouri Compromise, 144; origin and
authorship of, 582, 583
Missouri Compromise, The Second, 471
Missouri Compromise, The Repeal of the:
Its Origin and Authorship, by P. Orman
Bay, by JOHN C. PARISH, 582
Missouri Historical Review, contents of,
317, 462, 603, 604
Missouri Historical Society, Vall6 Papers
acquired by, 468 ; reference to, 470
Missouri Historical and Philosophical So-
ciety, 317
Missouri Indians, lands ceded by, 15, 55,
78, 84, 93, 95, 97, 114
Missouri Politics, A. Decade of, — 1860 to
1870, 317
Missouri River, western boundary of Ter-
ritory of Wisconsin, 8, 12, 14, 39, 63;
reference to, 27, 29, 30, 35, 36, 75, 89,
113, 123, 124, 126, 254, 255, 336, 434;
passage of, 363 ; county boundary, 408
Missouri River Steamboat Trips, 1863-
1868, C. J. Atkins' Logs of, 466
Missouri's Aboriginal Inhabitants, 603
Mitchell, Gilbert C. R., recommendation of,
for Governor, 206 ; nomination of, for
elector, 222; vote polled by, 500, 501
Mitchell, Wesley C., article by, 589
Mitchell County, 39, 179, 369, 453; bound-
ary history of, 76-77, 427, 429; at-
tempt to enlarge, 407
Mobile and Ohio Railroad, Confederate
position along, 516; Wallace's expedi-
tion to, 518
Mobridge (South Dakota), monument
erected near, 468
Modern Brotherhood of America, conven-
tion of, 156
Modern Turnout Formulas, 158
Moerschel, Fred, death of, 609
Monk's Mound, visit to, 472
Monmouth (Illinois), 202
Monmouth County, The Presbyterian
Church of, 162
Monnette, Orra Eugene, article by, 162
Monona County, 9 ; alteration of boundary
of, 24, 410 ; boundary history of, 77-78,
427, 430
Monroe County, boundary history of, 78,
425, 426
Montana High School Debating League,
168
Montana Historical and Miscellaneous Li-
brary, excellent work of, 168; legislative
reference bureau of, 467
Montana State Normal School, 473
Montelius, Professor Oscar, address by, 172
Montgomery County, boundary history of,
78, 90, 426
Monticello (Iowa), statue at, 476
Mooney, James, paper by, 470
Moore, Col. David, reenforcing party led
by, 535, 537
Moore, Ely, paper by, 294
Moore, Irving, book by, 593
Moorehead, Warren K., article by, 162,
294
Moravian Mission to the Western Indians,
591
Moravian Records, The, 463
Morgan, General, charge against, 185
Morgan, James M., mission of, to Wash-
ington, 246
Morgan's Raid, 315
Mormon, The Origin of the Book of, 151,
452
Mormons, history of, in Illinois, 148 ; pio-
neer band of, 159; list of works relat-
ing to, 446
Morningside College, 169
Morocco, French policy relative to, 298
Morris, Eastin, nomination of, for Lieuten-
ant Governor, 180; defeat of, 185; ref-
erence to, 223
Morris, Griffith, article by, 591
Morrow, Prince A., article by, 452
Morse, Anson E., 291
Mortgage Taxation, 449
Morton, Jennie C., article by, 312
Morton, John, 489
Moscrip, F. A., article by, 310
Motors, Dynamos and, 595
Mott, Hopper Striker, article by, 601
Mound, new serpent, in Ohio, 452
Mound Builders, mystery of life history of,
166
Mound Builders, The, of Cincinnati, ar-
ticle on, 315
Mound-Building, A Probable Origin of the
Custom of, 154
INDEX
649
Mound Relics, Suggestions of Mexico in
the, 601
Mount Pisgah, (Iowa) Settlement at, 455
Mount Pleasant (Iowa), meeting of Demo-
crats at, 191
Mt. Pleasant Journal, Democrats ridiculed
by, 207
Mountains, crossing of, by First United
States Dragoons, 351-352
Mower County, (Minnesota), 869
Mowry, Duane, paper by, 296, 591, 606
Moylan, General Stephen, Muster-Master
General, Secretary and Aid-de-Camp to
Washington, 447
Mueller, H. A., 319; article by, 454
Muhlenberg, Friedrich August Conrad, 313
Muhlenberg, Gen. John Peter Gabriel, Or-
derly Book of, 605
Miiller, Wilhelm, article by, 602
Municipal administration, agencies in bet-
terment of, 327
Municipal Affairs, Current, Notes on, 451
Municipal Government by Commission, 448
Municipal Government in Massachusetts,
The Cost of, 298
Municipal Home Rule Charters. 449
Municipal Laws, New, 594
Municipal Public Utilities, Control of, 454
Municipal Research, Bureau of, 133
Municipal Review, 1907-1908, 299
Municipalities, League of Iowa, minutes
of meeting of, 156
Munro, William B., article by, 451
Murphy, Edgar G., article by, 301
Murray, William P., 154
Muscatine, mass-meeting of Union men at,
223
Muscatine County, 30, 36, 121, 173, 180,
197, 198; boundary history of, 79-82,
119, 424, 428, 433
Muskogee County (Oklahoma), site of old
Fort Gibson in, 335
Musquitine County, establishment of, 61,
79, 424; reference to, 71, 81, 94, 104,
106, 117, 118, 121, 430 (See Musca-
tine County)
Myers, William Starr, paper by, 296
Nabuco, Ambassador Joaquin, pamphlet
by, 150
Nannestad, Dr., 469
Nantes, the Revocation of the Edict of,
Some Economic Factors in, 165
Napier, Lord, A Letter of, 296
Nashville, (Tennessee), 514, 515, 522; oc-
cupation of, 515, 516, 517, 534
Nations of the World, First Draft of a
Constitution for the United, 152
Natural Resources, The Conservation of,
592
Nature Library, Key to, 596
Nauvoo, (Illinois), Icarian colony at, 148
Navigators, old time, 458
Neal, Jarius E., defense of Dred Scott
Decision by, 195
Neal, Dr. W. A., history of 25th Missouri
by, 527
Neally, Mary, marriage of Wm. B. Alli-
son to, 174
Near, Irwin W., article by, 464
Nebraska, legislative reference work in,
134, 135, 136, 326; Douglas's interest
in, 143, 144 ; reference to, 152 ; legis-
lation for, 181
Nebraska, The Influence of Iowa Men in
the Organization of, 167
Nebraska, Territory of, need of organiza-
tion of, 582 ; restriction of slavery op-
posed in, 583
Nebraska "Loess Man", paper on, 153
Negro Problem: A Bibliography, 305
Negro question, significance of, in South,
301
Negro suffrage, popular disapproval of, in
Iowa, 282
Negroes, rights of, advocated and opposed,
182, 183 ; effect of question of, on po-
litical conditions in Iowa, 194, 208 ; ex-
clusion of, from elective franchise and
basis of representation, 383, 384; dan-
ger of extension of right of suffrage to,
384-388; danger of extension of political
equality to, 385
Nelson, General, division of, at battle of
Shiloh, 508, 510, 551, 560, 562; Nash-
ville occupied by, 515 ; reference to, 523,
march of, to Savannah, 523 ; 'Grant's
order to, 565
Nelson, Knute, life of, 293
Nelson, William, manuscripts from collec-
tion of, 603
Neosho River, 335
Neutral Ground, 6, 12, 15, 18, 19, 20, 21,
22, 23, 40, 41, 46, 48, 51, 54, 66, 76,
86, 111, 113, 116
New Brunswick Loyalists of the War of
the American Revolution, 461
New France, decline of, in Wisconsin, 284
New Jersey Chaplains in the Army of the
Revolution, 603
New Jersey Historical Society, Proceed-
ings of the, contents of, 603
New Mellary, Trappist monastery at, 458,
459
New Mexico, Pike's expedition through, 294
New Orleans, 170, 260
VOL. vii — 43
650 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
New Providence Academy, The, minutes of,
603
New Smyrna, Florida, Antiquities at and
near, 164
New York, Public Utility Commissions of,
133; legislative reference work in, 134,
135, 137, 138; expert framers of bills
in, 139; reference to, 262; local history
of, 464; Norwegian settlement in, 586;
celebration in, 609, 610
New York, Lords of Manor of, 161
New York, Report on the Desirability of
Establishing an Employment Bureau in
the City of, 304
New York, The Palatines in, 163
New York, University of State of, publi-
cation of, 297
New York City, Bureau of Municipal Re-
search of, 133, 475; route to the West-
ern country from, 240 ; municipal social-
ism in, 450
New York County, 388
New York Genealogical and Biographical
Record, The, articles in, 161, 461, 601
New York Historical Society, new home of,
466
New York Public Library, German Ameri-
can collection of, 163; reference to, 326;
Bulletin of, 446
New York Public Service Commissions,
The, 304
New York State, An Historical Review of
Waterways and Canal Construction in,
465
New York State Historical Association,
Proceedings of, contents of, 464
New York Stock Exchange and the Panic
of 1907, 451
Newberry, Byron W., 473
Newburyport, The Early Church Plate of,
162
Newhard, Lieut. James M., account of Col.
Peabody's action by, 528
Newspapers, some recent historical articles
in, 158, 306, 456, 596
Newton, Augustus, pioneer business man,
159
Newton, Joseph F., book by, 158
Newton (Iowa), 208, 308
Next Step in School Legislation, 456
Nichols, Capt. F. C., letter of, concerning
battle of Pittsburg Landing, 529
Nicholson, Governor Francis, Early Career
of, 604
Nicollet, Jean, arrival of, in Wisconsin,
284
Noble, Reuben, delegate to National Con-
vention, 215
Nord-Carolina, Deutsche Familien Namen
in, 602
Normal School, State, headquarters and
depository of Association of Contribu-
tors to Iowa Education and History, 322
Normandy Under William the Conqueror,
465
Norse-American history, research into, 469
Norsemen, visit of, to the Dakota Country,
466
North African Question, The, and its Re-
lation to European Politics, 298
North, S. N. D., article by, 298
North Carolina, emigration from, to Illi-
nois, 147
North Carolina, The Freedman's Bureau
in, 301
North Carolina, The Great Seal of the
State of, 600
North Carolina Historical Commission, bul-
letin of, 600
North Carolina's Priority in the Demand
for Independence, 590
North Carolina Session, The, of 1784 in its
Federal Aspects, 327
North Dakota, 39, 125, 243, 265; legisla-
tive reference work in, 134, 326 ; his-
tory of, 465 ; Indians of, 466
North Dakota State Historical Society,
Collections of, contents of, 465 ; ad-
dresses and papers of annual meetings
of, 465; sketches of deceased members
of, 465
North lowan, 199
Northern States, growth of population of,
during Civil War, 386; rights of f reed-
men in, 388
Northrop, L. B., Lieutenant in United
States Dragoons, 345 ; Indian captured
by, 353
Northwest, The Conquest of the Great, 153
Northwest Territory, Ordinance of 1787
for government of, 230; delegate to Con-
gress from, 231, 232
Norton, Roy, book by, 596
Norway, organization of immigrants from,
469
Norwegian Immigration to the United
States, A History of, by George T. Flom,
by J. VAN DEE ZEE, 585 ; reference to,
595
Notes and Comment, 172, 325, 475, 609
Nott, Surgeon J. 0., 562
Nourse, C. C., story of, 160; article by,
165; speech by, 207; nomination of,
for Attorney-General, 219; in campaign
of 1860, 225
Noyes, Alexander D., paper by, 296
INDEX
651
Noyes, Capt. John, Letters Written During
the Revolution by, 313
Noyes, John, Journal of, of Newbury in
the Expedition Against Ticonderoga,
1758, 313
O'Brien County, 39; boundary history of,
82, 426
Oberlin College, 172
O'Connor, Henry, 179, 215
Ohio, legislative reference movement in,
134; migration to Illinois from, 147;
reference to, 173, 174 ; State Bank of,
488
Ohio, A New Serpent Mound in, and Its
Significance, 154
Ohio, Fort Ancient in, 154
Ohio Archaeological and Historical Quar-
terly, articles in, 315, 463, 605
Ohio Archaeological and Historical Society,
publication of, 166
Ohio Mound Builders, The Masterpieces of,
166
Ohio River, route of travel, 147, 287
Ohio Valley Historical Association, activity
of, 467
Oklahoma, The Constitution of, 450
Oklahoma Historical Society, Custodian's
Report of, 311
Old Frontier Days, 448
Old Northwest Genealogical Quarterly, The
articles in, 162, 600
Old Races Unearthed, 593
Old Settlers' Reunion, 610
Old Times on the Upper Mississippi — The
Recollections of a Steamboat Pilot from
1854 to 1863, by George B. Merrick,
by J. VAN DEE ZEE, 287
Oliver, Mr., 381
Olson, E. W., book by, 452
Omaha, Nebraska, 505
Omaha Indians, lands ceded by, 15, 55,
78, 84, 93, 95, 97, 114
Oppenheim, Samuel, article by, 603
Ordinance of 1787, provision for Dele-
gate to Congress in, 230, 231; Illinois
under, 290
Oregon, legislative reference movement in,
134; retention of, advocated, 143; con-
flict over, 256, 258; discussion of, in
Congress, 258-259; reference to, 265;
election of Senators in, 401
Oregon, Discovery and Exploration of, 302
Oregon, Slavery Question in, 461
Oregon, University of, 176; contents of
Bulletin of, 302
Oregon's First Monopoly — The O. S. N.
Co., 164
Oregon Historical Society, Quarterly of
the, articles in, 164, 461, 600
Oregon Pioneer Association, annual reun-
ion of, 476
Oregon Territory, the agitation of slavery
in, 164
Oregon Territory, The Acquisition of, 302
Organic Law, Constitution of Territory of
Iowa, 28, 35 ; of Territory of Michigan,
266; proposed amendments of, of Ter-
ritory of Wisconsin, 267-270; proposed
amendments of, of Territory of Iowa,
271-277
Orleans, District of, 233
Orm, George, 458
Ormsby, John, 452
O'Shea, Martin V., article by, 449
Osage Indians, 341; description of, 343;
character of, 361
Osage Mission, on Grand River, 361
Osage River, 362
Osborn, B. F., 321
Osborne, John Ball, article by, 591
Osborne, Thomas M., article by, 304
Osceola County, boundary history of, 34,
39, 82-83, 111, 115, 426, 427, 438, 439
Oskaloosa, 208 ; anecdotes of Lincoln from,
307; statue of Mahaska at, 455, 476
Otis, George, 457
Otis, James, Reception of a Portrait of,
461
Otis, William B., book by, 456
Otoe Indians, lands ceded by, 15, 55, 78,
84, 93, 95, 97, 114
Ottawa (Illinois), 145
Ottumwa, 156, 367; encampment near,
377
Owen, Charles H., article by, 152
Owen, Luella A., article by, 453
Oxford, England, American historical
manuscripts in libraries of, 300
Pacific, First Overland Route to the, 300
Pacific, The Balance in the, 297
Pacific Islands, writings on history of, 291
Pacific Scientific Institution, 157
Paducah (Kentucky), occupation of, 512,
513
Page County, 42, 90, 92, 93, 97, 407;
boundary history of, 83-84, 416, 426
Paine, Clarence S., election of, as Secre-
tary-Treasurer of Mississippi Valley His-
torical Association, 472
Palaeolithic Implement, Another, and Pos-
sibly an Eolith from Northwestern Mis-
souri, 453
Palatinate, Lists of Germans from the,
Who Came to England in 1709, 461
652 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
Palatines, The, in New York and Pennsyl-
vania, 163
Palmer, A. H., 491; assault on, 494, 495
Palmer, David, Civil War experience of,
598, 606
Palo Alto County, 39, 64; boundary his-
tory of, 84-85, 426 ; march of United
States Dragoons through, 375
Panic of 1907, article on, 152, 296
Paper Money in America, Early Experi-
ments in, 603
Paris, documentary material in archives
at, 446
Paris (Tennessee), 517
Parish, John C., absence of, in Europe,
473 ; return of, to The State Historical
Society of Iowa, 473
PARISH, JOHN C., The Settlement of
Illinois from 1830 to 1850, by William
Vipond Pooley, 146; Settlement of Illi-
nois, 1778-1830, by A. C. Boggess, 289;
The Repeal of the Missouri Compromise :
Its Origin and Authorship, by P. Orman
Ray, 582
Parish, L. W., 321
Parishes, Towns, and Counties, (Massa-
chusetts) Twenty- first Report on Cus-
tody and Condition of Public Records
of, 296
Parker, Edmund M., article by, 592
Parliament (British), 164
Parrott, J. C., sergeant in United States
Dragoons, 337, 341, 371; military ca-
reer of, 337
Parsons, William, sketch of life of, 605
Partridge, Edward, 155
Parvin, Theodore S., nomination of, for
Auditor of State, 198; The Life and
Letters of, by Joseph E. Morcombe, 291
Patterson, William, witness in bribery
case, 490 ; part of, in bribery case, 496-
497
Paul, George, 198
Paullin, Charles O., article by, 318
Pawnee Indians, march from Fort Gib-
son to village of, 332, 341-360; engage-
ment of Osage Indians with, 343 ; char-
acter of, 347, 357; reference to, 349;
description of, 353-355, 358, 359; hab-
its of, 354; number of, 355; council
held with, 355-357
Peabody, Colonel, 505; party sent out by,
528; battle of Shiloh begun by, 528-
529, 537; death of, 538
Peabody, F. E., letter of Captain Nichols
to, 529
Peabody, Robert E., article by, 313
Peck, Paul F., 473
Pella — the Plymouth Rock in Iowa, 458;
story of, 598
Pelzer, Louis, book by, 158, 170; article
by, 306 ; preparation of biography of
Henry Dodge by, 324; professor of his-
tory in Montana State Normal School,
473
PELZER, Louis, Stephen A. Douglas: A
Study in American Politics, by Allen
Johnson, 142 ; The History of Political
Parties in Iowa from 1857 to 1860,
179; Wisconsin: The Americanization
of a French Settlement, 284; Transac-
tions of the Kansas State Historical So-
ciety, 1907-1908, 294; A Journal of
Marches by the First United States
Dragoons, 1834-1835, 331
Pendleton, John S., attack of, on pioneers,
259
Penn, William, Letters of, 318, 605
Pennsylvania, legislative reference move-
ment in, 134; reference to, 173, 174;
presidential candidates from, 205 ; re-
ligion in, 300
Pennsylvania, Moravian Immigration to,
1734-1765, 463
Pennsylvania, Sectionalism in, During the
Revolution, 587
Pennsylvania, The Palatines in, 163
Pennsylvania Historical Society, recent
accessions of, 467
Pennsylvania History Club, Publications
of, first volume of, 462
Pennsylvania Magazine of History and
Biography, The, articles in, 163, 318,
463, 605
Pennsylvania Pioneer Days, 451
Pennsylvania Society, The Tear Boole of
the, 587
Pennypacker, Samuel W., address made
by, 163
Pensacola (Florida), early history of, 602
Pepin County (Minnesota), 370
Perkins, George, 321
Perkins, Geo. D., address by, 303
Perley, Sidney, article by, 161, 588
Perry and His Victory, 464
Perry's Flagship, cane made from hull of,
597
Persons, Warren M., article by, 451
Peter Pumpkin in Wonderland, 158
Petitions, territorial, 235, 236, 244
Philadelphia, 324
Philadelphia, Deutsche, Seitungen in, wah-
rend der ersten Hdlfte des neunzehnt.en
Jahrhunderts, 313
Philippine Islands, opposition to acquisi-
tion of, 296; reference to, 298
INDEX
Philippines, Right of Trial of Soldiers in
the, 149
Philippines, The Problem of the Chinese
in the, 299
Philippines to America, Journal of the
"Great Voyage" from, 152
Phillips, Roland P., article by, 587
Phillips, Rosalie S., article by, 603
Phillips, Ulrich B., article by, 465, 605;
compilation by, 588
Physician's Record, An Old, 161
Physics, Text-book of, 157
Pickard, Josiah L., greetings of The State
Historical Society of Iowa sent to, 474
Pickering, Colonel Timothy, Revolutionary
Letters Written to, 163, 462, 603
Pickworth, Felix H., pamphlet by, 593, 596
Pierce, Franklin, effect of administration
of, 213
Pierre (South Dakota), Old Fort Sully
near, 468
Pierson, George W., biographical sketch of,
309
Pijper, Frederich, article by, 605
Pike, Zebulon M., centennial of visit of,
294
Pilgrims, commemoration of landing of,
475
Pine Ridge Agency (South Dakota), 294
Pioneer Child's Education, The, 312
Pioneer Ideals and the State University,
475
Pioneer legislation, subject of, 159
Pioneer Traits, 303
Pioneers, life of, in Illinois, 147, 148;
vindication of character of, 259; opin-
ion of Easterners concerning, 259-260;
territorial, of Wisconsin, 285; two noted
Iowa, 308; sketches of, 309
Pioneers of Polk County, Iowa, and Remin-
iscences of Early Days, 155, 156
Pirates and Privateers in the Delaware
Bay and River, 318
Pirenne, Henri, article by, 465
Pittsburg (Pennsylvania), 253, 320
Pittsburg Landing, Iowa regiment at, 503;
camp at, 505; ranking officer at, 507;
fighting near, 508, 509, 511; Army of
the Tennessee at, 511, 522; attack on,
518; General Sherman at, 519; refer-
ence to, 521; concentration of troops at,
523, 531; beginning of battle of, 529;
map of plateau above, 546; Grant's
headquarters at, 565
Pittsylvania County, Virginia. Revolution-
ary Pension Declaration from, 163
Place, James D., sketch of life of, 307
Plainsman, Memoirs of an American, 152
Plantations Before 1707, Scottish Trade
with the, 150
Planters Hotel, St. Louis, dinner and re-
ception at, 471, 472
Platt, Franklin C., 324
Pleading, The Theory of a, 150
Plymouth, American Prisoners in Mill Pris-
on at, in 1782, 461
Plymouth County, 13, 39; boundary his-
tory of, 85; size of, 406, 426
Pocahontas County, 13, 39, 65, 109;
boundary history of, 85-86, 426; march
of United States Dragoons through, 375;
spelling of name of, 425
Point Pleasant, Heroes of the Battle of,
151
Political and Social Science, Annals of the
American Academy of, articles in, 150,
297, 450, 592
Political Parties in Iowa from 1857 to
1860, The History of, by Louis PELZEB,
179
Political Science, The Relations of, to His-
tory and Practice, 298
Political Science Association, American,
annual meeting of, 172, 298, 326, 327
Political Science Quarterly, articles in, 151,
301, 450, 587
Political Science Review, The American,
articles in, 152, 298, 450, 592
Politics, The Chief Questions of Present
American, 151
Polk, James K., defended by Stephen A.
Douglas, 143 ; proposed publication of
diary of, 167, 320; appointments made
by, 252
Polk, Mrs. James K., letters of, 168
Polk County, 11, 63, 158, 197, 198, 208,
408; boundary history of, 25, 57, 58,
86-89, 95, 103-104, 410, 428, 430, 431,
436, 437; definition of boundaries of,
415, 416, 423; early settlers of, 457
PoZfc County, Iowa, Pioneers of, and Remi-
niscences of Early Days, 155, 156
Pollard, Ernest M., address by, 470
Polygamy, proposed constitutional amend-
ment to prohibit, 392-393
Pomeroy, Charles, nomination of, for elec-
tor at large, 219
Porno Indian Basketry, 302
Pond, General, at battle of Shiloh, 541,
563
Pond, Samuel W., article by, 464
Pooley, William Vipond, The Settlement
of Illinois from 1830 to 1850, by JOHN
C. PARISH, 146
Poppleton, Irene Lincoln, article written
by, 164
654 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
Popular sovereignty, 142, 144; doctrine
of, favored by Democrats, 220
Population Growth, A Century of, 591
Porritt, Edward, article by, 153
Porter, Sarah Harvey, book by, 295
Porter, William, political prophecies of,
180, 181; indictment of Republican par-
ty by, 210
Portland, Oregon, 476
Portland Township, Cerro Gordo County,
368
Porto Rico, recommendations of Governor
of, 297
Potomac River, need of troops from, for
war in the West, 515
Pottawattamie County, counties carved
from original, 4, 5, 7, 16, 18, 24, 45,
75, 78, 93, 95, 404, 405; temporary
existence of, 42, 43, 48, 84, 127, 422,
429; reference to, 63, 89, 92, 97, 98,
114, 198, 208, 408, 419; boundary his-
tory of, 89-92, 127-128; size of, 406,
410, 427, 436; spelling of name of, 425
Pottawattamie County Historical Society,
meeting of, 167
Pottawattamie Indians, lands ceded by, 5,
8, 16, 17, 24, 42, 43, 46, 48, 76, 78, 83,
89, 93, 94, 97, 98, 127
Poverty, The Causes of, 301
Powell, Clifford, 171; prize won by, 473,
477
Powell, Major, reconnoitering party of,
505, 528, 535; death of, 528, 536, 538
Poweshiek County, 56, 63, 126; boundary
history of, 92, 425, 426
Prairie dogs, village of, 352-353
Preemption law, passage of, for Wisconsin
Territory, 241
Prehistoric Man in California, The Latest
Concerning, 154
Prentiss, General, division of, in battle
of Shiloh, 505, 507, 509, 527, 529, 531,
533, 535, 538, 539, 543, 547, 553, 556,
571; order of, to Col. Peabody, 529
Presbyterian Church, founding of, at Belle-
vue, 310; first Moderator of, in United
States, 313
Presbyterian Church in Columbia, Missouri,
A Historical Sketch of, 604
Presbyterians and the Revolution, 601
Presbyterian Historical Society, The, Jour-
nal of, articles in, 162, 313, 601
Prescott's, Colonel William, Regiment, 161
Prescott (Wisconsin), 288
Presidency, Succession in the, 303
President, United States, Republican can-
didates for, 205, 215, 216, 219, 224;
Convention for nomination of, 215;
Democratic candidates for, 219, 220;
Territorial officers commissioned by, 274;
resolution relative to power of, to abol-
ish slavery, 381; election of, resolutions
relative to, 393-396; ineligibility of, for
second term, 394, 395; extension of
term of, 395; popular election of elec-
tors for, 395-396; popular election of,
396
Preston, I. N., 198, 216
Price, B. F., sergeant in United States
Dragoons, 337, 341
Price, Hiram, 179
Price, Samuel W., article by, 602
Primaries, early legislation concerning,
444; gradual advance in legislation rela-
tive to, 444 ; constitutionality of legisla-
tion on, 444
Primaries Bill of 1909, The New York
Direct, 592
Primary, direct, nominations by, 132 ; ex-
pression of choice for Senator by, 401
Primary Elections, 456
Primary Elections: The Test of Party Af-
filiation, 449
Primer of Nursery Rhymes, A, 456
Primeval Man, The High Artistic Power
of, 453
Primeval Man, The High Intellectual Char-
acter of, 302
Princeton (New Jersey), 291
Printer, State, pamphlet issued by, 155
Private Monopoly and Good Citizenship,
The Conflict Between, 302
Professional Women's League, Des Moines,
325
Proportions of Factors, 589
Proposed Constitutional Amendments in
Iowa — 1836-1857, by J. VAN DEE ZEE,
266
Prosch, Thomas W., article by, 164
Prouty, rivalry between Hamilton and, 159
Providence (Rhode Island), Club for Colon-
ial Reprints of, 453
Provincialism, historical value in, 289
Pryce, S. D., book by, 609
Public buildings, mural paintings in, 299
Public Business, Instruction in, 301
Public Opinion, 590
Public Utilities, Profit Sharing in, 454
Public Utility Commissions, State, 133
Puget Sound, Seattle and the Indians of,
164
Pusey, W. H. M., defense of Dred Scott
Decision by, 195
Putnam, Edward K., book by, 305
Quaker Pilgrimage, A, 461
Quarantine Laws, Federal, 301
INDEX
655
Quest Eternal, 158
Quinby, Miss Marie Antoinette, 603
Quincy, John, 589
Quincy (Illinois), 476
Quincy's (Illinois), Geschichte der Deut-
schen, 162, 313, 602
Quigley, P., platform of National Demo-
crats reported by, 222
Raccoon Fork, Des Moines, River, 367;
encampment at, 376
Race Improvement in the United States,
592
Race Suicide, College Women and, 587
Races, The Separation of, in Public Con-
veyances, 450
Rafting days, picturesque, passing of, 159
Railroad, transcontinental, favored by
Democrats in Iowa, 208
Railroad, A. Pioneer, 600
Railroad Bill, Illinois Central, interest of
Stephen A. Douglas in, 143
Railroad commissions, State, efficiency of,
133
Railroad Survey Funds, Subscription List
for, 164
Railroad Taxation, 304
Railroads, land grants for, 146; opening
of, across prairies, 146, 148; construc-
tion of, favored by Whigs, 279; effect
of, on river trade, 288; regulation of
business of, 299 ; early history of, in
Iowa and Illinois, 308, 309
Railroads, The Needs of the, 152
Railway Freight Rates, 590
Railway Statistics, 586
Rail, J. F., 324
Ramsdell, Chas. W., article by, 462
Ramsey, Alexander, life of, 292, 293
Randall, E. O., book by, 166; article by,
315, 605
Randolph, Account of the Loss of the, 802
Randolph Manuscript, The, 163
Rankin, John W., attack of, on Dred
Scott Decision, 195
Ransier, Chas. E., 324
Rantoul, Robert S., biographical sketch
by, 163 ; address by, 462
Rawlins, Colonel, at battle of Shiloh, 574,
575, 577, 578
Ray, P. Orman, The Repeal of the Mis-
souri Compromise : Its Origin and
Authorship, by JOHN C. PARISH, 582
Raymond, William Gait, book by, 158
Rebellion, War of the, Roster and Record
of Iowa Soldiers in the, 155
Reconstruction Days, Some Political Let-
ters of the, C91
Records of the Past, articles in, 153, 302,
452, 592
Red Cedar River, 12, 76; encampment on,
369; passage of, 373
Red Cloud, career of, 294
Red River, march to Indian villages on,
332, 341, 349, 354; camp on, 353
Reed, Major D. W., 504, 505; statement
of, on battle of Shiloh, 554-555
Reeder, George, president of Union meet-
ing, 223
Reese, Dr. Alexander William, manuscript
memoirs of, 168
Reeves, Rollin J., article by, 164
Referendum, initiative and, 132 ; applica-
tion of principle of, in case of county
boundaries, 409, 410
Refraction and How to Refract, 596
Register and Leader, The, historical items
in, 158, 159, 306, 456, 596, 597
Reid, Harvey, biography by, 607
Reid, James M., nomination of, for Reg-
ister of State Land Office, 198
Reid's Ohio in the War, account of battle
of Shiloh in, 508
Reincarnation: A Romance of the Soul,
304
Reinchke's Journal of a Visit Among the
Swedes of West Jersey, 1745, 318
Reinsch, Paul S., book by, 589
Religion, establishment and exercise of, in
States, 390
Religion, Constitutional Freedom of, 604
Remley, Milton, 324
Representation, resolution relative to basis
of, 382, 383 ; committee report relative
to basis of, 383-388; different bases of,
384
Representation, Proportional, 449
Republic, Ideals of the, by James Schouler,
295
Republican National Convention, 1860,
delegates to, 215
Republican party, Democratic prophecies
concerning, 180, 181; agitation by jour-
nals of, 181, 188; senatorial aspirants
of, 186, 190 ; abolitionism advocated by,
189, 227; birth and growth of, 189,
190 ; United States senatorships cap-
tured by, 191; presidential candidates
of, 205, 215; platform of, 206, 218;
indictment of, in connection with Har-
per's Ferry, 210; treatment of John
Brown episode by press of, 212; lead-
ers of, in Iowa, 212; triumph of, in
election of 1860, 229; principles of, em-
bodied in Constitution of 1857, 282
Republican State Convention, of 1856,
656 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
173; of 1857, 179-180; .of 1858, 196-
198; of 1859, 174, 206-207; of I860,
215-216, 219
Republican Viewpoint, From a, 317
Republicans, attitude of, toward slavery,
180, 184, 187; banking system favored
by, 180, 184, 199 ; Democratic utter-
ances attacked by, 181; condemnation
of Black, 182, 184, 199; racial equality
favored by, 183 ; vote polled by, in 1857,
185; Democratic view of, 191, 192,
198, 200 ; opposition of, to Lecompton
Constitution, 194, 200; vote polled by,
in 1858, 201; united front of, 201;
presidential preferences of, 217; Demo-
cratic attacks on, 225
Review of Reviews, The American, con-
tents of, 448
Revolutionary Army Orders for the Main
Army under Washington, 1778-1779,
316
Revolutionary Manuscripts, Some Unpub-
lished, 603
Revolutionary War, 289
Reynolds, John, Governor of Illinois, 312;
letters of, 585
Reynolds, John H., article by, 463 ; paper
by, 470
Rhoades, John Harsen, 601
Rhode Island, legislative reference work
in, 134, 326; size and population of, 388
Rhode Island Historical Society, 325
Rhodes, Milton, escape of, from prison, 308
Ricard, Dennis, 459
Rice, Corporal, in United States Dragoons,
337
Rice, S. A., nomination of, for Attorney-
General, 197
Rice, Sara F., 473
Rich, Alfred, candidacy of, for Congress,
248
Rich, J. W., 474, 611
RICH, J. W., The Battle of Shiloh, 503
Richardson, Ernest 0., 291
Richardson, J. J., 457, 458
Richman, Irving B., address by, 170
Richmond (Virginia), 169, 172; meet-
ings at, 317, 327
Riggs, John F., 321; book by, 456
Riggs, Sarah M., 321, 474
Ringgold County, 42, 84, 90, 97; bound-
ary history of, 92, 416, 426
Ripley, W. Z., article by, 451
Risley County, reference to, 46, 47, 107,
108, 109; boundary history of, 121-122,
123, 429
Ritter, Samuel, old prints of Dubuque
presented by, 324
Rivers, improvement of, 146
Road, National, popularity of, 287
Robb, Patrick, nomination of, for Regis-
ter of State Land office, 220
Robbins, C. B., 170
Roberts, Brigham H., article by, 151, 452
Roberts, O. M., article by, 312
Roberts River, encampment of troops on,
336
Robinson, Charles M., report of, 303
Robinson, Doane, article by, 466
Robinson, John, article by, 588
Robinson, L. E., book by, 593
Robinson, Maurice H., article by, 590
Robinson, Mrs. Sara T. D., paper by, 295
Robinson, Ralph, sketch of life of, 308
Rochester (New York), speech of Seward
at, 212
Rock Creek, 369
Rock Island, 29, 35, 80, 81, 94, 118, 124,
125, 411
Rock River, settlement of valley of, 147
Rocky Mountains, history of dragoon cam-
paigns to, 332, 340
Rogers, C. J., 198 /
Rogers, Julia Ellen, book by, 596
Rome, meeting of historians at, 165
Roosevelt, Theodore, 175 ; recommendation
of, 477
Root, Honorable Elihu, Address by the,
591
Root River (Minnesota), 370
Ropes's Story of the Civil War, account of
battle of Shiloh in, 506-507, 533
Rose, J. Holland, article by, 318
Rose, TJ. M., article by, 463
Ross, Betsey, tradition of, and the flag, 151
Ross, Edward A., book by, 158; paper
by, 470
Rosser, Jeremiah, seventy years an lowan,
306
Rousseau, General Lovell H., U. S. Com-
missioner, report of, 316
Rowland, Dunbar, 472
Rowley, Captain, at battle of Shiloh, 575,
576, 577, 578, 579
Rowley, Co. York, England, Transcripts
of the Lost Registers of, 162
Royal, Anne, The Life and Times of, by
Sarah H. Porter, 295
Royal Society, London, 163
Ruggles, General, at battle of Shiloh, 555,
556, 557
Rumsey, Captain I. P., report of, on ac-
tivity of enemy, 526
Runkle, T. Will, 170
Rupert, Prince, 293
Rusch, N. J., 197, 206
INDEX
657
Russell, General, part taken by, at battle
of Shiloh, 540
Russia's Message, 587
Hut land, Humboldt County, 375
Rutland — "The Cradle of Ohio," 315
Sabin, Edwin L., book by, 596
Sac and Fox Indians, lands ceded by, 5,
6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19,
20, 22, 23, 26, 27, 28, 35, 36, 40, 41,
43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 50, 54, 55, 56,
58, 60, 62, 63, 68, 69, 71, 72, 73, 75,
78, 80, 84, 86, 89, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96,
97, 98, 100, 101, 104, 106, 111, 113,
114, 115; tract reserved for half-breeds
of, 68, 129
Sac County, 9, 73; boundary history of,
93, 426
Sac Indians, character of, 372, 377; vil-
lage of, passed by United States Dra-
goons, 377
Saigon, United States Consul at, 155
Sainsbury, W. N., article by, 316
St. Augustine, Old, 163
St. Louis, route to Wheeling, Virginia,
from, 240 ; Jefferson Barracks near,
331; reference to, 335, 470, 517; Un-
ion army headquarters at, 518
St. Louis, British Attack on, in 1780, The
Significance of the, 471
St. Louis County (Missouri), 335
St. Luke's M. E. Society, celebration of,
310
Saint Maolrubha, 450
St. Peter's (Minnesota), 372
St. Peters River, 254, 374
St. Vincent de Paul Society, brief history
of, 160
Ste. Genevieve, 260
Salem and Marblehead in 1700, 588
Salem Court Records and Files, 312
Salem in 1700, 161, 312
Saliua (Oklahoma), camp near, 361
Saloon, American, Another Tear of Defeat
for the, 448
Salter, William, sketch of life of, 159,
598 ; article by, 160, 165
Samson, G. W., 321
Sampson, Francis A., paper by, 471
Sampson, Henry J., article by, 455
Samuels, Ben M., nomination of, for Gov-
ernor, 182; defeat of, 185, 191; nomi-
nation of, for Senator, 193 ; Democratic
platform reported by, 198 ; recommenda-
tion of, for Governor, 206; delegate to
National Convention, 216; candidate for
Congress, 224; in campaign of 1860,
225; defeat of, 229
San Galgano: A Cistercian Abbey of the
Middle Ages, 165
San Juan Island, History of, 164
Sanborn, John B., article by, 301
Sanders, Alfred, address by, 179
Sanders, Euclid, 474
Sandidge, Captain, at Hornet's Nest, 556
Sangainon County, Illinois, settlement of
followers of Fourier in, 148
Sanitary Commission, Western, 471
Santa Fe, traders from, intercepted by
Indians, 347
Santa Fe Trail, marking of, 604
Santee Sioux Indians, lands ceded by, 15,
34, 41, 47, 51, 54, 55, 66, 72, 76, 77,
78, 82, 83, 85, 86, 93, 95, 97, 112, 113,
114, 115
Saucerman, Samuel, 458
Saugrain's, Dr., Note-Books, 1788, 314
Saunders, C. G., 171
Savage, A. C., 171
Savannah (Tennessee), 518, 520; Smith's
headquarters at, 519; concentration of
troops at, 523, 524; reference to, 531,
567
Saxe, Mrs. Abby D., article by, 311
Saxe, Captain, death of, at battle of Shi-
loh, 537
Saylor, Charles, sketch of life of, 597
Scarlet and Black, 154
Schafer, Joseph, article by, 166, 302, 600
Schaff, Morris, war time sketches by, 598
Schaffner, Margaret A., Notes on Current
Legislation, 153, 299, 451, 592; ar-
ticles by, 449
Schevill, Ferdinand, article by, 165
Schmidt, Dr. O. L., 320
School of Diplomacy, establishment of, 609
Schools, admission of negroes to, in Iowa,
208; grant of land for, in Iowa, 247;
early, and teachers, 310; resolution rela-
tive to use of funds and lands for, 391
Schoonover, George L., 473
Schouler, James, book by, 295
Schroeder, Theodore, article in reply to,
151
Seip Mound, Explorations of the, 605
Scotland and England, Ballads, Illustrating
the Relations of, 296
Scotland in the Eighteenth Century, 589
Scott, Archibald B., article by, 450
Scott, E. M., 324
Scott, General, at Lundy's Lane, 464
Scott, John, 239, 457
Scott, Laura, article by, 449
Scott, Robert Bruce, article by, 592
Scott, Winfield, Republican candidate for
President, 205
658 IOWA JOUENAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
Scott County, 36, 80, 81, 197, 198, 408;
boundary history of, 93-94, 118, 119,
426, 430
Scott's Purchase, 35
Scottish Historical Review, The, articles in,
150, 296, 450, 589
Scottish Trade with the Plantations Before
1707, 150
Scribner's History of the United States,
untruthful account of battle of Shiloh
in, 505
Scroggs, "William O., paper by, 471
Seal, State, sketch of history of, 308
Seattle and the Indiana of Puget Sound,
164
Secession, denunciation of, by Stephen A.
Douglas, 145
Secretary, territorial, popular election of,
desired, 273, 276
Secretary of State, Illinois, office of, held
by Stephen A. Douglas, 142
Secretary of State, 20, 57, 87, 102, 107,
108, 201; nominations for, 197, 198,
219, 220; election of, 229
Secretary of State, United States, ratifica-
tion of amendments declared by, 382
Sectarian schools, use of public lands and
money for, 391
Seeley, Thomas, 197
Seeliger, Gerhard, article by, 317
Seerley, H. H., 321
Seidensticker, Oswald, article by, 313
Sells, Elijah, nomination of, for Secretary
of State, 197, 219; election of, 201, 229
Seinple, Ellen Churchill, address by, 589
Semple, J., speech of, 461
Senate, State, constitutional convention
favored by, 280, 281, 282
Senate, United States, ratification of In-
dian cession by, 6, 112; Douglas elected
to, 143; career of Allison in, 174;
struggle for seat in, in Illinois, 201-203 ;
report of committee of, on Justice of
the Peace jurisdiction, 272-273 ; Alli-
son day in, 308; President's message
to, 387; basis of representation in, 388;
result of investigation by, on subject of
polygamy, 393
Senator, United States, election of, in
Iowa, 184, 191; aspirants for, 186,
190
Senator, Unrecognized, The Experiences
of an, 312
Senators. State, of Wisconsin, legislative
reference work favored by, 135 ; United
States, history of resolutions of General
Assembly on popular election of, 396-
401; arguments in favor of popular elec-
tion of, 396-397; effect of primary elec-
tion law on election of, 401
Senators, United States, in Iowa, A Brib-
ery Episode in First Election of, by
ETHYL E. MAETIN, 483
Seneca Indians, 341
Seneca Town, 362
Serpent Mound, A. New, in Ohio and Its
Significance, 154, 315
Settlement of Illinois from 1880 to 1850,
The, by William Vipond Pooley, by
JOHN C. PARISH, 146
Seward, William H., presidential candi-
date, 205, 215, 217; speech of, on free
and slave labor, 210, 212; speech of, at
Dubuque, 226; instructions of, concern-
ing transfer of Alaska, 316
Seward's Mexican Policy, Evolution of, 447
Sewers and Drains, 596
Shadow World, The, 157
Shambaugh, Benjamin F., researches di-
rected by, 141; manuscript of Journal
of Marches by First United States Dra-
goons obtained by, 334 ; paper by, 470 ;
election of, as Vice President of Missis-
sippi Valley Historical Association, 472;
reference to, 473
Shambaugh, Mrs. B. M. H., book by, 162
Shamburg, Lieutenant in First United
States Dragoons, 372
Shanley, Rev. John, article by, 466
Shatto, C. R., 607
Shaver, General, brigade of, at battle of
Shiloh, 537
Shaw, W. T., war veteran, 459
Shelby County, 63, 90, 127; boundary
history of, 94-95, 426
Sheldahl, Boone County, part played by
town of, in boundary history, 11, 88,
95; reference to, 410
Sheldon, Mrs. Anne R., works on art
from library of, 467
Shell Rock River, 369
Shelleday, Robert, 498
Shelton, Charles E., President of Simpson
College, 170
Shepard, Walter J., article by, 590
Sheriffs, popular election of, 274
Sherman, Andrew M., article by, 151
Sherman, Buren R., 503
Sherman, Charles A., sketch of life of,
306
Sherman, General, division of, in battle
of Shiloh, 506, 507, 509, 538, 539-542,
547, 571; ranking officer at Shiloh, 507;
maneuvres of, near Pittsburg Landing,
519, 525, 526; reference to, 529
Sherman Anti-Trust Act, 299
INDEX
659
Sherwood, Bowena, book by, 456
Sheward, David, sketch of life of, 308
Shiloh, Battle of, Iowa regiments engaged
in, 503 ; errors in literature on subject
of, 503, 504; maps of, 504; criticism
of various accounts of, 505-511; Hal-
leek's instructions before, 525, 529 ; con-
dition of Union army and topography
of field before, 531-534; salient features
of Battle of, 535-571; maps illustra-
tive of, 545-552 ; numbers engaged and
losses at, 571-572
Shiloh, The Battle of, by J. W. RICH, 503
Shiloh National Military Park Commission,
maps prepared by, 504, 505
Shimek, Bohumil, paper by, 153 ; reference
to, 170
Shinn, Frank, 324
Shipley, P. N., paper by, 470, 471
Shipp, Lieutenant W. E., article by, 149
Shoshone, The Northern, 302
Shotwell, James T., article by, 450
Shrine of Song, At the, 594
Sibley, Henry Hastings, life of, 293
Sieg, Vera, book by, 305
Sierras Madres, Recently Discovered Cliff-
Dwellings of the, 302
Simplot, Alexander, oldest resident in
Iowa, 310, 459
Simpson, Sir George, Letters of, 166
Sin and Society, 158
Singleton, "Pap", the Moses of the Colored
Exodus, 590
Sioussat, St. George L., article by, 166, 327
Sioux, Habitations of the, in Minnesota,
314
Sioux City, 303 ; Lincoln's birthday exer-
cises at, 309; correction line between
Dubuqque and, 407; historical items con-
cerning, 598
Sioux City and South Dakota, French Pio-
neers of, 466
Sioux City Journal, The, historical items
in, 160, 309, 458, 598, 599
Sioux County, 39, 392; boundary history
of, 95, 426
Sioux Indians, land ceded by, 6, 15, 18,
19, 22, 34, 38, 41, 47, 51, 54, 55, 66,
76, 85, 86, 93, 95, 97, 112, 113, 114;
outbreak of, in Minnesota, 287; refer-
ence to, 294, 374, 467; description of
deserted fort of, 368; Wahbashaw's
village of, in Minnesota, 371; character
of, 371-372; treaty held with, 372
Sisseton Sioux Indians, lands ceded by,
18, 41, 47, 55, 66, 76, 84, 93, 97, 112,
114, 115
Sitting Bull, The Capture of, 466
Six Nations, expedition to, 463
Skunk River, 32, 33, 66, 67, 68, 333,
408, 429
Slaughter County, 50, 61, 63, 71, 81, 429;
establishment of, 119; change of name
of, 403 ; size of, 406 ; change of bound-
ary of, 420, 430
Slavery, views of Douglas and Lincoln on,
144, 145 ; attitude of Republicans \ to-
ward, 180, 182, 183, 206, 226, 227;
struggle over, in Kansas, 187 ; opposi-
tion to, in Iowa, 196, 197; attitude of
Democrats toward, in Territories, 208,
222, 223 ; discussion of, in Iowa, 208 ;
reference to, 214; denunciation of, in
General Assembly, 380, 381, 382; no
danger of reestablishment of, 386; peo-
ple of South opposed to, 387; restriction
of, by Missouri Compromise, 583
Slavery, A History of, 591
Slavery in the Middle Ages, The Christian
Church and, 605
Slavery Question in Oregon, 164
Sleeper, Frank B., article by, 161
Small, Albion W., article by, 590
Small, Sam, 454
Smiley, Albert K., 150
Smith, Charles F., article by, 151
Smith, General 0. F., expedition of, 513,
517, 518, 522; report of, relative to
number of enemy, 518; reference to,
520; Grant's letter to, 521; at battle
of Shiloh, 542, 574
Smith, Charles W., article by, 316
Smith, D. E. Huger, article by, 461
Smith, Edson 0., article by, 601
Smith, Heman C., letter of, 304; article
by, 454, 594; reference to, 455
Smith, Henry A. M., article by, 314
Smith, H. H., article by, 155, 304
Smith, Harlan I., article by, 162
Smith, John G., article by, 159
Smith, Lucy Mack, Character Sketch of,
155
Smith, Philander, biographical sketch of,
597
Smith, Vida E., article by, 155
Smith, W. Roy, article by, 587
Smith Family of Calvert County, 462
Smyth, Robert, 489
Snowden, Rev. J. E., sketch of life of, 306
Snyder, J. F., article by, 313, 464, 606
Social Diseases, The Relations of, to the
Family, 452
Socialism, Christian, in America, 590
Socialism, Municipal, and Its Economic
Limitations, 450
Socialism and the Class War, 451
660 IOWA JOUENAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
Socialistic Press Propaganda, Insidious
Methods of the, 587
Sociological Society, American, 326;
meeting of, 452
Sociology, The American Journal of, ar-
ticles in, 299, 452, 590
Sociology, The Pretensions of, 591
Sociology, The Vindication of, 590
Sogn, Norway, Historical society organized
by immigrants from, 469
Sognalaget, organization of, 469; objects
of, 469; speakers at annual meeting of,
469; officers of, 470
Soldiers in the Philippines, Right of Trial
of, 149
Somerville (Massachusetts), 528
Sommerville, Charles William, article by,
604
Sound, Light and, 595
South, Rural and City Improvement in the,
590
South, Solid, The Passing of the, 448
South American Newspapers, Early, 314
South Atlantic Quarterly, The, articles in,
151, 301, 448, 590
South Carolina, emigration from, to Illi-
nois, 147; slavery agitation in, 181;
politics of, 194 ; reference to, 244
"South Carolina," United States frigate,
461
South Carolina Federalist Correspondence,
605
South Carolina Federalists, The, 465, 605
South Carolina Historical and Genealogi-
cal Magazine, The, contents of, 314, 461,
602
South Dakota, 11, 12, 39, 124, 125, 243,
South Dakota Historical Collections, con-
tents of, 466
South Dakota Historical Society, report on
progress and condition of, 466
South Dakota, The Aborigines of, 46C
South Dakota Department of History,
monuments erected under auspices of,
467
South Dakota Historical Collections, coi .-
tents of, 466
South Dakota Historical Society, report on
progress and condition of, 466
Southern States, danger of negro suffrage
in, 384, 385, 386; decrease of popula-
tion of, during Civil War, 386; main-
tenance of standing army in, 386; peo-
ple of, opposed to restoration of slavery,
386-387; right of freedmen in, 388;
test oath put to Congressmen from, 389
Southerners, early settlement of, in Illinois,
148
Southwest Territory, Delegate to Congress
from, 231
Soutter, Henry B., 324
Spain, United States Minister to, 170, 207;
archives of, 473
Spain Since 1898, 451
Spanish-American War, 296
Spargo, John, article by, 590
Sparkman, Philip Stedman, article by, 153
Sparks, Edwin E., 316
Sparks, S. P., Recollections of, 162
Sparks, Stephen J., oldest citizen of Iowa,
309
Spaulding Company, donation of, 320
Speaker, The, of the House of Representa-
tives, 450
Speer, John, sketch of life of, 295
Spelling Reform and Authority in Lan-
guage, 305
Spencer, Joab, article by, 603
Spencer, John, sketch of life of, 308
Spiegel Grove, the Home of Rutherford B.
Hayes, 605
Sprague, O. M. W., article by, 451
Springdale, escape of Barclay Coppoc from,
214
Springer, John, 171
Springfield (Missouri), United States
Dragoons at, 337
Squatter Sovereign, pro-slavery organ, 181
Squatter sovereignty, 143, 144; deception
of doctrine of, 193
Stamp Act, Resistance to, 604
Stanford, John F., 498
Stanton, Gerritt Smith, book by, 305, 453
Stanwix, Treaty of, The British Ministry
and, 460
Stapp, Emilie Blackmore, book by, 158
Starr, Frederick, monograph by, 594
Starr, H. W., charge against, 185; State's
attorney in bribery case, 491
State, The, and Seignorial Authority in
Early German History, 317
State Activities, The Increased Control of,
by the Federal Courts, 592
State Historical Societies (see Historical
Societies)
State Historical Society of Iowa, The, pub-
lication of researches by, 141; need of
correlation of, with allied institutions,
141; items concerning, 169, 324, 472,
607; election of Curators of, 474
State Historical Society of Wisconsin,
county map in library of, 67, 118; ac-
tivities of, 169, 319
State Libraries (see Libraries)
State Library, Iowa, 478
State Publications, list of, 297
INDEX
661
State University of Iowa, The, connection
of Amos N. Currier with, 479
Statistical Association, American, Quarter-
ly Publication of, articles in, 298;
meeting of, 326
Steamboat Warrior, on Upper Mississippi
River, 372
Steam-boating on Upper Mississippi, de-
scription and history of, 1854-1863,
287-288
Steele County (North Dakota), Riverside
Township, History of, 465
Steen, James, 162
Steiner, Bernard C., article by, 164, 312,
590
Steiner, Edward A., book by, 305; article
by, 449
Stephens, Prank P., monograph by, 593
Stephenson, Gilbert T., article by, 450
Stephenson, Martha, article by, 312
Stevens, Frederick \V., article by, 150
Stevens, Judge, paper by, 446
Stevenson and California, 449
Stewart, A. Francis, article by, 589
Stewart, Caroline Taylor, monograph by,
593
Stewart, J. O., biographical sketch of, 160
Stiles, Edward H., article by, 605
Stiles, Mr., motion of, 381
Stockbridge Indians, 454, 59"i
Stockholders, Individual Liability of, and
the Conflict of Laws, 588
Stockholm, Sweden, Royal Museum of An-
tiquities in, 172
Stocking, Elizabeth L., article by, 591
Stockton, L. D., nomination of, for Su-
preme Court, 206
Stockwell, Alcott W., article by, 590
Stone, Alfred H., article by, 450
Stone, Edna, 171
Stone, William M., ratification of thir-
teenth amendment approved by, 382 ;
reference to, 503
Storms, A. B., President of State Agri-
cultural College, 170
Story, Russell M., article by, 299
Story County, 9 ; boundary history of, 11,
88, 89, 95-96, 410, 426
Stotts, William, 488, 497; witness in
bribery case, 490
Stream Pollution in America, 594
Stringfellow, B. P. and J. H., pro-slavery
leaders in Kansas, 181
Stuart, leader of division of, at battle of
Shiloh, 507, 539, 541, 543, 547, 553
Studies in Development and Learning, 455
Styles, L. A., sergeant in United States
Dragoons, 337
Suffrage, proposed constitutional amend-
ment relative to, 269-270; extension of
right of, denied to negroes, 282; reso-
lution relative to basis of, 382 ; dan-
gers of extension of right of, to negroes,
384-388
Suffrage Association, Iowa Equal, banquet
of, 325
Sugar Creek, encampment on, 365
Sumner, Edwin V., Captain in First
United States Dragoons, 331, 340, 361
Sumner, Helen L., compilation by, 588
Sumner, William G., address by, 452
Sunderland, N. P., biographical sketch of,
308
Superintendent of Public Instruction, de-
falcation of, 200
Supervisors, Boards of, petitions to, for
change of county boundaries, 24, 77
Supreme Court, State, decision of, in case
of county boundaries, 53, 54, 65, 110,
120, 127 ; nomination of Judges of, 206 ;
salary of Reporter of, 276, 277; election
of Judges of, in 1846, 485; Crocker
County blotted out by decision of, 404,
405, 438; decision of, relative to Hum-
boldt County, 438
Supreme Court, Illinois, Stephen A. Doug-
las member of, 142
Supreme Court, United States, decision of,
relative to Lecompton Constitution, 144;
insistence upon obedience to decisions
of, 182; doctrines of, disavowed by
Democrats, 208 ; reference to, 229 ;
opinion of, on Constitution, 387
Supreme Court, Will it Become Supreme
Legislature of the United States, 447
Supreme Court and New York Gas Bate,
454
Survey, The, article in, 587
Survey, United States, of Iowa, 50, 67,
71, 81, 99, 119
Surveyors, county, popular election of, 274
Swan, Caleb, Unpublished Manuscripts of,
161
Swanton, John R., paper by, 470
Swastika, Dr. Wilson's, A Review of, 606
Swedish Jansonists, settlement of, in Illi-
nois, 148
Swem, Leota, book by, 456
Switzler, William P., article by, 604
Sylvester, R. H., 198 ; presidential prefer-
ence of, 217
Tajani, Pilippo, article by, 589
Tallahassee Before the War, 313
Taina County, 9; boundary history of, 10,
44, 96-97, 124, 423, 427, 435, 436, 437
662 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
Taney, Chief Justice Roger B., doctrine of,
condemned, 195 ; reference to, 229
Tank, Nils Otto, sketch of life of, 446
Tarbell, Frank B., address by, 172
Tariff, discussion of, in Congress in 1841,
249
Tariff, History of the, 593
Tariff, The, and the Revenue, 448
Tariff commission, advocacy of, 133
Taylor County, 42, 84, 90, 92, 407;
boundary history of, 97-98, 416, 426
Tax commissions, State, 132, 133
Tax Reforms versus Local Self -Government,
296
Taxation, reform in, favored by Demo-
crats, 208 ; discussion of, 208 ; reduc-
tion of, promised by Democrats, 220
Taxation in Iowa, History of, preparation
of, 472
Teachers, early, 310
Teaching of History, One Use of Sources
in the, 590
Teachout, Horace E., 457
Teesdale, J., 179; editorial comment of,
193, 204, 205, 211, 221, 222
Telephone Companies of Iowa, Local, As-
sociation of, 453
Telephones: Interchange of Service, 449
Temple, George D., 198
Tenement House Legislation, State and
Local, 449
Tennessee, emigration from, to Illinois,
147; reference to, 231
Tennessee Politics in the Jackson Period,
Some Phases of, 166
Tennessee River, 512, 532; expeditions of
Union Army up, 514, 517, 522; Con-
federate forces on, 516; divisions on
west side of, 519, 521; Union troops
on, 523, 524
Terre Haute (Indiana), 240
Terrill, Corporal, in United States Dra-
goons, 337
Territorial Affairs, committee on, 267, 273,
276
Territories, Senate Committee on, Stephen
A. Douglas Chairman of, 145
Territories, slavery in, 208, 222, 226;
petitions from, 235, 236, 244; affairs
of, represented in Congress by Dele-
gate, 264-265
Test, J. D., nomination of, for elector, 222
Texas, annexation of, 143, 256; admis-
sion of, 145; affairs in, 258; oil fields
in, 301
Texas, Germans in, 315, 601
Texas, The Navy of the Republic of, 462
Texas, University of, 168
Texas Library and Historical Commission,
creation of, 607
Texas State Historical Association, arti-
cles in Quarterly of, 162, 312, 462;
inadequate support and good work of,
168
Thayer, E. H., delegate to National Con-
vention, 216
Thomas, David Y., article by, 450, 463
Thomas, James B., chairman of Demo-
cratic State Convention, 182
Thomas, John L., article by, 462, 603
Thome, Clifford, article by, 447
Thompson, Atwell, field of Shiloh platted
by, 504
Thompson, Daniel P., article by, 602
Thompson, James W., article by, 165
Thompson, L. A., sergeant in United
States Dragoons, 337, 341
Thompson, Robert John, book by, 305
Thompson, Slason, book by, 586
Thompson, Smith. 458
Thorington, James, candidate for United
States Senator, 186
Thorington, James, book by, 596
Thrift, Win. H., publication of Roster of
Iowa Soldiers by, 155
Thwaites, Reuben Gold, book by, 153 ;
Wisconsin : The Americanization of a>
French Settlement, by Louis PELZEE,
284; reference to, 314; paper by, 446,
460
Timber, Native and Planted, in Iowa, 156
Tolstoy, the Man and his Message, 305
Tompkins, D. A., article by, 448
Torch Press, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, 295
Toronto, Canada, 150
Towner, Horace M., 170
Towns, early, in Iowa, 309
Townsend, John Wilson, biography by,
602 ; books by, 608
Tracy, Frank B., book by, 305
Trade Unions, American, Beneficiary Fea-
tures of, 296
Traders, Santa Fee, intercepted by In-
dians, 347; strength of, 348
Trail of the Go-Hawks, The, 158
Transitional Period, 1788-1789, in the
Government of the United States, The,
593
Transportation, overland and waterway,
147, 148
Transportation, Local Discrimination in,
451
Transylvania University, 239
Travers, Libbie M., book by, 306
Treasurer of State, nominations for, 197,
198, 219, 220
INDEX
663
Treaties, Indian, terms of, 5, 6, 8, 11, 12,
15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 41,
44, 46, 47, 48, 51, 54, 56, 58, 62, 63, 66,
68, 69, 72, 73, 75, 76, 77, 80, 82, 83,
85, 86, 92, 93, 94, 95, 97, 98, 100, 104,
106, 111, 112, 113, 115
Treichler, W. N., 324
Trewin, James H., 474
Trexler, Harrison A., article by, 462
Trimble, Henry H., defense of Dred Scott
Decision by, 195 ; election of, to Con-
gress, 201
Trimmer Clubs, 458
Troxel, Joseph P., 223
Trumbull, Lyman, letters from, 606
Tumbleweed, 596
Turner, Frederick J., article by, 446 ; pa-
per by, 460 ; address by, 475
Turner, Henry S., 371
Tuscarora Expedition, The Second, 315
Tuttle, Colonel, at battle of Shiloh, 543,
553, 556, 568
Twenty-Second Iowa, The History of the,
609
Tyler, Alice Sarah, book by, 306
Tyler, John W., 1808-1888: Memorial of
the One Hundredth Anniversary of his
Birth, 306
Uncle Sam's Magazine, articles in, 448,
588, 589
Uncle Sam's Nose, Under, 588
Union County, 90 ; boundary history of,
98, 426
Union League of America, organization
of, 167
Union Mission, 362
Union State Convention, of 1860, call for,
223 ; proceedings of, 224
Unionism in the Iron and Steel Industry,
450.
Uniontown (Missouri), on route of march,
335
United Empire Loyalists, Rise of, 296, 451
United States, cession of lands to, by In-
dians, 5, 8, 11, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21,
23, 24, 28, 30, 36, 38, 41, 42, 44, 46,
48, 51, 54, 55, 63, 66, 68, 69, 73, 76,
77, 78, 81, 82, 83, 85, 89, 92, 94, 95,
106, 111, 112, 113, 114, 115; survey of
Indian lands by, 6, 112; movements in
evolution of Democracy in, 132; legisla-
tive reference movement in, 132, 133,
134, 137-138; interest of Stephen A.
Douglas in welfare of, 145, 146; foreign
and internal policies of, 152 ; defense of
course of, in Mexican War, 152; con-
tributions to political history of, 166;
contribution to diplomatic history of,
170; avenues of travel in, 287; routes
to Western part of, 287; writings on
history of, 291; industrial education
in, 297; recommendations of Governors
throughout, 297; progress in municipal
government in, 299; guide to historical
material of, 300; increase of federal
influence and power in, 327; danger of
land-holding by non-resident aliens in,
391-392; relation of Indian land ces-
sions to, and establishment of counties
in Iowa, 403 ; documentary historical
publications of Government of, report
relative to, 477; Norwegian immigration
to, history of, 585-586
United States, History of the, 150
United States, Labor Laws of the, 448
United States, Popular Legislation in, 301
United States and Canada, The, 150
United States and Japan in the Far East,
The Policy of, 298
United States Deputy Surveyor, 478
United States land survey, county bound-
aries in Iowa defined in terms of, 407,
412, 415, 433
Universal Races Congress, proposal for,
609
University of Iowa, State, 153
Upham, A. H., article by, 605
Upham, "Warren, book by, 154
Upper Iowa River, passage of, 373
Urquhart, Colonel, at battle of Shiloh, 562
Usher, Roland G., paper by, 470, 471
Utilities Bulletin, Monthly, new Iowa pub-
lication, 453
Utley, Geo. B., article by, 164
Vail, Dudley Landon, book by, 588
Valentine, Herbert E., article by, 603
Valle1 Papers, importance of, 468
Valley Forge, 163, 467
Vallonia (Indiana), 477
Van Antwerp, Ver Planck, chairman of
State Convention, 198; chairman of
meeting of Buchanan Democrats, 199 ;
suggested for Governor, 206
Van Buren County, original boundaries
of, 27; reference to, 30, 49, 50, 173,
433; boundary history of, 49, 98-100,
427
Van der Zee, Jacob, sketch of life of, 328 ;
reference to, 472, 607
VAN DEB ZEE, J., Proposed Constitutional
Amendments in Iowa, 1836-1857, 266;
Old Times on the Upper Mississippi —
The Recollections of a Steamboat Pilot
from 1854 to 1863, by George B. Mer-
664 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
rick, 287; Collections of the Minnesota
Historical Society, 292 ; Amendments to
the Constitution of the United States
Proposed in the State Legislature of
Iowa, 1846-1909, 879; Proceedings of
the State Historical Society of Wiscon-
sin, 445 ; A. History of Norwegian Im-
migration to the United State* from the
Earliest Beginning Down to the Year
1848, by George T. Flom, 585
Vandever, William, Republican nominee
for Congress, 198, 224; election of, 201,
229
Van Tyne, Claude Halstead, address by,
601
Vaughan, T. J., sketch of life of, 459
Vavasour's Military Reconnaissance in Ore-
gon, 1845-6, Documents Relative to
Warre and, 600
Veeder, Van Vechten, article by, 588
Vermont, 244
Vermont, Immigration to, 602
Vermont Historical Society, Proceedings
of the, contents of, 602
Via Praenestina, The, 452
Vice- Admiralty Court at Halifax, Nova
Scotia, Records of the, 603
Vice President, United States, convention
for nomination of, 215, 220; candidates
for, 219, 220, 224; reference to, 272,
274; eligibility of, 394, 395; popular
election of, proposed, 396
Victorious Manhood, 595
Viele, L. S., 224
Vilas, Colonel William F., sketch of life
of, 446
Vincennes (Indiana), 239
Villard, Henry, criticism of sketch of bat-
tle of Shiloh by, 508, 567
Vinogradoff, Paul, article by, 150
Vinton, Samuel F., argument of, for small
States, 256, 257; Iowa boundaries op-
posed by, 262; payment of militia op-
posed by, 263
Vinton Eagle, 203, 205
Virginia, legislative reference work in,
134; emigration from, to Illinois, 147;
treatment of John Brown in, 211; es-
cape of Barclay Coppoc from, 214; con-
nection of Illinois history with, 289;
Jefferson's notes on, 387
Virginia, Colonial; A Trial Bibliography
of, 449
Virginia, Colonial, The Literature of, 296,
451
Virginia, Journals of the Council of, in
Executive Sessions, 163
Virginia, Ye Andersons of, 162
Virginia Historical Society, annual meet-
ing and manuscript collection of, 320
Virginia in 1641-49, 316
Virginia Legislative Papers, 316
Virginia Magazine of History and Biogra-
phy, The, contents of, 163, 316, 460, 600
Virginia State Library, Bulletin of, 448,
586; report of board of, 449
Voters, representation based on number
of, 383, 384
Wabasha County (Minnesota), encamp-
ment in, 370
Wabashaw's village, march from Fort Des
Moines to, 333, 364-371; location of,
371
Wade, Martin J., book by, 596; reference
to, 607
Wages, The Sliding Scale of, in the Cot-
ton Industry, 451
Wahbashaw, chief of Sioux Indians, 371,
372; treaty with, 372
Wahkaw County, establishment of, 113-
114, 425, 436
Wahpekuta Sioux Indians, lands ceded by,
41, 47, 55, 66, 76, 84, 93, 97, 112, 114,
115
Wahpeton Sioux Indians, lands ceded by,
18, 41, 47, 55, 66, 76, 84, 93, 97, 112,
114, 115
Wakarusa War, The, 295
Wakefield Colony, The, 295
Walker, Henry G., 474
Walker, M., article by, 155
Walker, Margaret Coulson, book by, 158
Walker, Marion M., 821
Walker, Mrs. M., article by, 455
Walker, Robert J., Governor of Kansas,
defense of, 188, 191
Wallace, J. H., 224
Wallace, General Lew., at battle of Shiloh,
508, 509, 530, 531, 541, 547, 565, 569,
571; account of battle in Autobiogra-
phy of, 509-510, 519, 573-581; expe-
dition of, 518, 520; Confederate move-
ments before battle known to, 530-531;
map showing advance of, 552
Wallace, William Henry, article by, 152
Wallace, William Henson, 498
Wallace, General W. H. L., 509, 527, 581;
at battle of Shiloh, 542, 543, 553, 571
Walpeck Congregation, Church Register
of the, 601
Walters, G. W., 321
Walworth County (South Dakota), 468
Wapello County, boundary history of, 59-
60, 100-101, 425, 426, 432, 435, 439,
440; reference to, 182, 198, 366, 367;
665
encampment of First United States
Dragoons in, 377
Wapsipinicon River, county boundary, 408
War of 1812, causes and results of fail-
ure of American campaigns in, 464
War of Independence, A New View of, 296
War Records, Southern, lowan's names in,
598
War Time Episode*, 448, 589
Ward, Frederick Townsend, sketch of, 163
Warre and Vavasour's Military Reconnais-
sance in Oregon, 1845-6, 600
Warren County, 57, 63, 87, 197, 408;
boundary history of, 88, 102-104, 428,
430, 431, 436, 437; encampment of
First United States Dragoons in, 376
Warren, Fitz Henry, chairman of State
Convention, 197; reference to, 219
Warren, John Collins, address by, 602
Warrensburg (Missouri), 168
Washington, George, As a Real Estate
Agent, 591
Washington, President, in New fork,
1789, 318
Washington, D. C., 172, 187, 268, 298,
travel to, 240; meetings at, 326, 327
Washington, Guide to the Archives of the
Government in, 300
Washington-Idaho Boundary, Marking the,
164
Washington County, 30, 49, 63, 64, 70,
71, 80, 81, 126, 180, 403, 406, 408; act
to establish, 61, 420; boundary history
of, 104-106, 428, 430
Washington Historical Quarterly, The, ar-
ticles in, 164, 316
Washington Society, Social Amenities in
Early, 151
Washington's, General, Order Book in the
American Revolution, 300
Washington's Army in Lowantica Valley,
Mor*is County, New Jersey, 151
Washington's First Battle Ground, 605
Washington's Relation to Masonry, 300
Washington's "Tour to the Ohio" and Ar-
ticles of "The Mississippi Company", 315
Washita, camp at, 342, 344
Washita River, 342, 349; passage of, 344
Water Rates, Uniform Features of, for
Cities and Towns of Iowa, 304
Water Service, Rates for, 454
Waterloo, suspension of magazine at, 454
Wayne, General Anthony, 231
Wayne, Anthony, address on, 163
Wayne County, boundary history of, 106,
426; reference to, 197
Wayne County (Ohio), birth of Wm. B.
Allison in, 174
Waynesboro (Tennessee), Buell's forces
at, 524
Ways and Means, committee on, 280
Wealth and Income, The Variability in the
Distribution of, 451
Weare, George, sketch of life of, 160
Weaver, James B., articles by, 308, 310,
456, 457
Weaver, S. M., book by, 456
Webb, De Witt, article by, 163
Webb, William, 487
Weber, Jessie Palmer, article by, 312
Weber, L. J., article by, 315
Webster, Daniel, letters of, 167
Webster (Missouri), encampment at, 338
Webster County, 9, 13, 52, 121; boundary
history of, 46, 47, 52, 53, 107-111, 123,
428, 431; act to establish, 107, 108,
122 ; encampment of First United States
Dragoons in, 375; counties on bound-
aries of, 408
Webster County (Missouri), 336
Webster Township, Hamilton County, 367
Wegerslev, C. H., 324
Weidman, Jacob, article by, 601
Welch, Willard J., 170
Weld, Laenas G., 474
Weldy, Morton E., 321
Werewolf Superstition, Origin of the, 593
Wesleyan College, Iowa, history of, 158
West, George A., article by, 601
West, Mr. and Mrs. S. V., 457
West, local self-government in, 143; ex-
pansion of, 145; internal improvements
of, 146 ; causes of migration to, 147,
149; routes of travel to, 147; conquest
of, 287
West, The Old, 446, 460
West Point (Iowa), 488
West Union, barbecue at, 209
West Virginia University Studies in Ameri-
can History, contents of, 447
Western Reserve College, 174
Wharton, Thomas, Selections from the Let-
ter-Books of, 605
Wheeler, Benjamin Ide, Roosevelt Profes-
sor at University of Berlin, 325 ; ad-
dress by, 593
Wheeling (Virginia), 240
Wheelock, T. B., Lieutenant in First Unit-
ed States Dragoons, 332, 341, 342, 344,
351
When the Wildwood was in Flower, 305,
453
Whicher, Stephen, 495
Whigs, spirit of, in Iowa, 223; Territorial
convention of, 248 ; denunciation of
Dodge by, 257; rivalry between Demo-
666 IOWA JOURNAL OF HISTORY AND POLITICS
crats and, 277, 278; principles of, 278,
280; revision of Constitution of 1846
favored by, 278, 279; triumph of, in
Iowa, 282; strength of, in first General
Assembly, 484, 485, 487, 501, 502;
attitude of, in connection with bribery
episode, 489, 500
Whig party, ideas of, embodied in Consti-
tution of 1857, 277
Whigs, A New Year's Gift for the, 450
Whitcomb, Mary R., sketch of life of, 478
Whitcomb, Miss Mary R., 606
White, Emma S., article by, 604
White, James, Delegate to Congress from
Southwest Territory, 231
White, J. A., 171
White, John B., article by, 155
White Earth River, western boundary of
Territory of Wisconsin, 8, 12, 39, 63
White River, encampment on, 338
Whitemore, Henry, article by, 452
Whitley, D. Gath, article by, 302, 453
Whitney, Newel K., 304
Whitman, Marcus, A Contribution Toward
a Bibliography, 316
Whitmore, S., 489
Whittier, Clarke Butler, article by, 150
Wick, B. L., address by, 303, 476
Wilcox, Henry S., book by, 456
Wild, Helen T., biographical sketch by, 161
Wild-cat banking, opposition to, 184
Wilderness, campaign of, 327
Wilkes, Rear Admiral, naval papers of, in
Wisconsin State Historical Society, 467
Wilkesbarre (Pennsylvania), 319
Wilkinson, W. S., 319
Williams, Charles, Auto-Sketch of, 605
Williams, General Thomas, Letters of, 1862,
318
Williams, George, article by, 163, 462
Williams, Henry Smith, book by, 596
Williams, Judge George H., The "Free-
State" Letter of, 164
Williamson, J. A., 198 ; call for Democrat-
ic State Convention issued by, 207
Willison, J. S., pamphlet by, 150
Wilmot Proviso, application of, 143
Wilson, Daniel Munro, address by, 589
Wilson, James, resignation of, to honor
Grant, 598
Wilson, James F., attack of, on Dred
Scott Decision, 195; delegate to Nation-
al Convention, 215; memorial presented
in Senate by, 392
Wilson, Thomas, sketch of life of, 597
Wilson, Thomas S., leader of Democratic
faction, 186 ; nominee for Supreme
Court, 208 ; minority report of, rela-
tive to basis of representation in Con-
gress, 382-388; candidate for United
States Senate, 500
Wilson, William Duane, sketch of, 596
Willtown or New London, 314
Winans, W. P., article by, 316
Winchell, Newton H., article by, 314
Winn, Thomas, 214
Winnebago County, boundary history of,
34, 39, 65, 107, 111-112, 115, 116,
426, 427, 438, 439
Winnebago Indians, lands ceded by, 6, 12,
20, 23, 40, 41, 51, 113; war with, 285
Winneshiek County, 39, 126; boundary
history of, 112-113, 416, 426
Winona (Minnesota), Wahbashaw's village
near present site of, 371; State Nor-
mal School at, 473
Winship, George P., article by, 314
Winslow, Erving, pamphlet by, 296
Winslow, W. H., article by, 454
Winter of 1856-7, in Iowa, 310
Winterburn, Florence Hull, article by, 592
Winterset, 208, 319
Winterset Madisonian, The, article in, 453
Wisconsin, Public Utility Commission of,
133, 139 ; importance of legislative ref-
erence work in, 134, 135, 139; manage-
ment of legislative reference work in,
135, 136; admission of, 145; economic
influences in, 285; part played by, in
Civil War, 285; notable contests in,
285; religion, education and govern-
ment in, 285-286; reference to, .288;
French and British regime in, 314;
elective franchise in, 384; exclusion of
negroes from suffrage in, 386; nomina-
tions by petition in, 444; report of Tax
Commission for, 475 ; Norwegian set-
tlement in, 586
Wisconsin, book on, 153
Wisconsin, Chipped Flint Perforators of,
601
Wisconsin, History of, 1634-1909, study
outlines of, 302
Wisconsin, Preservation of the Man Mound,
154
Wisconsin, State Historical Society of, im-
provements in building of, 169 ; activi-
ties of, 169, 320; Collections and Pro-
ceedings of, 302; folders issued by, 311;
probable increase of support fund of,
319; contents of Collections of, 314;
facts concerning, 445-446; reprints from
Proceedings of, 460; bulletins of infor-
mation of, 460; new accessions of art
works and naval papers of, 467; in-
crease of support fund of, 467
INDEX
667
Wisconsin, State Historical Society of,
Proceedings of, by J. VAN DEE ZEE, 445
Wisconsin, Territory of, jurisdiction of, 3,
409 ; act of legislature of, subdividing
Dubuque County, 8, 21, 23, 28, 31, 56;
western boundary of, 8, 12, 38, 39, 63;
act of legislature of, establishing county
boundaries, 12, 18, 31, 32, 36, 38, 48,
50, 60, 62, 63, 66, 67, 69, 79, 80, 81,
94, 98, 99, 104, 117, 118, 119, 123,
125, 411; Delegate to Congress from,
233, 243; Organic Act of, 237, 238,
242 ; Congressional appropriations for,
237-238; routes to Washington, D. C.,
from, 240 ; division of, 241 ; first Gov-
ernor of, 260; proposed amendments of
Organic law of, 267-270; emigration to,
269; establishment of, 285; Iowa coun-
ties established during period of, 403,
406, 442 ; work of legislative reference
department, 449
Wisconsin : The Americanization of a
French Settlement, by Reuben Gold
Thwaites, by Louis PELZEE, 284
Wisconsin Archaeologist, The, articles in,
162, 314, 460, 601
Wisconsin Archaeological Society, work of,
446
Wisconsin Free Library Commission, pub-
lications of, 302, 446, 449
Wisconsin Municipal League, 296
Wisconsin Museums Movement, The, 314
Wisconsin Spirit Stones, 314
Wisconsin Tax Commission, 296
Wisconsin Territory, Notes on,- by Albeit
M. Lea, 333
Wise, Governor, 212
Wise, W. W., article by, 455
Wissler, Clark, article by, 153; volume
edited by, 587
Withers, General, at battle of Shiloh, 562
Witmer, W., 307
Woman, The Effect of, on Economic De-
pendence, 452
Women's Clubs, Iowa Federation of, 155
Wood, General, brigade of, at battle of
Shiloh, 537; Grant's order to, 565
Wood, James M., article by, 462
Woodbury County, 9, 13, 405, 436; bound-
ary history of, 113-114, 426; size of,
406; spelling of name of, 425
Woodin, George D., 179
Woodman, Hannah Rea, book by, 596
Woodruff, Clinton Rogers, article by, 299
Woods, Henry E., report of, 296
Woods, William H., death of, 459
Woodyard, Lieutenant Colonel, at battle
of Shiloh, 537
Wooster Academy, 174
Worth County, boundary history of, 34,
39, 83, 111, 114-115, 426, 427, 438,
439
Wright, B. F., sketch of life of, 160
Wright, D. S., 321
Wright, Ed., chairman of State Conven-
tion, 219; sketch of life of, 306
Wright, George Frederick, articles by, 154,
315, 453
Wright, George G., 457
Wright, Joseph, Portrait of Doctor Frank-
lin, Painted by, 163
Wright County, 13, 39, 65, 107, 109, 121;
boundary history of, 115-116, 426
Wroth, Clarence C., article by, 604
Wyoming, Archaeological Work in, 162
Wyoming, Massacre of, Some Contrasts
Suggested by the, 161
Wyoming, The "Spanish Diggings," 302
Wyoming Commemorative Association, Pro-
ceedings of, 161, 601
Wyoming Historical and Geological So-
ciety, Proceedings and Collections of,
contents of, 314; endowment fund of,
319
Wyoming Valley and Union Sentiment in
the American Revolution, The, 601
Yale Review, The, articles in, 297, 451,
590
Yankees, settlement of, in Illinois, 148
Yell County, 47, 107, 108, 109, 122, 429;
boundary history of, 122-123, 404
Yen, Wei-Ching W., article by, 591
Young, Thomas C., 498
Young Man's Affairs, The, 595
Yulee, C. Wickliffe, article by, 602
Yulee, Senator David Levy, 602
Zartman, Lester W., article by, 590
Zeisberger, David, death of, 463
Zeller, E. R., 319
Zimbleman, Mrs. Kate, Journal of Marches
in possession of, 334
Zinsmaster, William, sketch of life of, 597
Zook, George F., article by, 590
Zueblin, Charles, article by, 452
Zumbro River (Minnesota), 370
F
616
175
v.7
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