After coming in the fall of 1828, and making my selection for a farm, I moved from Morgan county, arriving here on the first day of March, 1829. As there was no house to be had the next best chance was a wigwam. We found one of the bluff, near where Henry Case now lives, which we thought we could use until we could build a cabin. This same spring there came Louden Case, Sr., and his three sons - Jonah, Louden and Charles - and settled at the old Case place. Rinnah Wells and his four sons, and Joshua Vandruff and sons settled at Rock river. In January, before, Joel Wells settled near Hampton, and in the spring Joel Wells, Sr., and Levi and Huntington Wells settled at Moline; Joseph Danforth, a son-in-law of Rinnah Wells, a mile above Moline; and Michael C. Bartlett, son-in-law of Joel Wells, Sr., about where the quilt factory now stands. About the last of May came Mr. Goble and his son Benjamin, settling above Joseph Danforth. William T. Brashar settled on the farm bearing his name. We were here but a few days when two Indians came - the first we had seen. One of them commenced talking in a loud voice in the Indian language, of which we could not understand a word. By pointing to the wigwam, saying "Saukie Wigeop," then pointing to the ground, saying "Saukie aukie," and repeating this many times, we understood he claimed the land and the wigwam belonged to the Indians. This man proved to be Black Hawk. We had never heard there was such a chief. He had heard, way out at his winter hunting grounds, that the white man had taken possession of their lands and their wigwams; and he, with the Indian who accompanied him, had walked in all the way, to find the report too true. He first went to his own wigwam, which he found occupied by Judge Pence. This wigwam stood about 100 yards in front of Rinnah Wells' house, at Rock river. Black Hawk seemed to be very much plagued to find his wigwam occupied, and showed Judge Pence where the fire had burned the posts of the wigwam and gave them to understand that if they were to have such great fires they ought to protect the posts. Coming from his own wigwam over to where we lived is not to be wondered at that the old man was somewhat excited. About six weeks after Black Hawk's visit here he, with the rest of the Indians, returned, and by this time Judge Pence was living in his own cabin, in their village. They were very much displeased to find white settlers so near them, and about two hundred of their young men mounted their horses and rode around Judge Pence's house several times. Mrs. Pence and the children, being alone, were very much alarmed, having never seen so many Indians before. She succeeded in sending one of the children to the fort on the island for help. The Antoine LeClaire, who told the Indians they must behave or they would be visited by the soldiers. They soon became quiet, and we got along pretty well during the season, except a little trouble between the Indians and Rinnah Wells. The Indians planted their corn in the same hill for many years. They scraped off the outside with a hoe, then dug up the hill thoroughly, and placed the corn in the hill with the hand. They cultivated it altogether with a hoe, going over it three or four times, making the hills very large. After forty years they are now plainly to be seen in the old fields. They raised a good many beans of a fine quality; also squashes and a few melons. This was their entire crop. This work was done mostly by the squaws. I have seen some old men, and some boys of twelve or fifteen years, working in the field, but only one young one or middle aged man, and he was making a fence. Their cultivated grounds were fenced by sticking stakes in the ground and tying poles to them, making a very weak fence, that would not turn cattle or hogs. One day a party of three or four of us called upon Keokuk, feeling that he was friendly to us, and offered to plow his field. He accepted our proposition and came out frequently and treated us to sweetened water, which was made by putting maple sugar in the water, and was considered by the Indians a very nice drink. In the spring of 1829, when the corn was about knee-high, Keokuk called on all the white settlers and proposed that they should put up their cattle at night, on account of the Indians' poor fences, and said the Indians would watch them in the daytime, and the cattle should not be hurt. All the settlers agreed to this proposition except Mr. Rinnah Wells, who thought it too much trouble. When the corn got in good order for roasting ears Mr. Wells' cattle came out one night to near Mr. Corker's old place and ate up the corn of several Indian families. Mr. Wells had corn on the opposite side of the road - the road running about as it does now. The next night, when the cattle returned for another meal, the Indians turned them into Mr. Wells' own field. After that Mr. Wells took care of his cattle. I became very well acquainted with Black Hawk, living one summer less than a quarter a mile from him. He was a man of medium size, and about sixty years of age - a very quiet, peaceable neighbor. Black Hawk was a strong temperance man. In all my acquaintance with him I never knew him to have but one spree. The first summer I lived here Black Hawk accompanied by a few of his braves, made a visit to a man selling whiskey to Indians. He rolled the barrels out doors and with his tomahawk knocked in the heads and let the whiskey out. For this he was called to account by the Indian agent who told him such conduct would not be allowed, and that it would bring him in conflict with the government. After leaving the council house I heard him tell the interpreter, Mr. LeClaire, that he believed he would not get himself into any more trouble of this kind, as by the effort to keep his young men from drinking he had made himself a great deal of trouble. As for himself he said he would not drink and would wear wampum, but the young men might drink and wear swansdown - meaning he would save his property and they might drink and spend theirs. After he was deposed by the government he never tried to influence the Indians or take any part in their business. Before the war I never knew him to wear any part of a white man's garb, but after it he wore a coat, hat and pants. It was the practice of our Indians to leave here for their fall and winter hunting grounds about the middle of September, and return about the middle of April. They all left on the same day, if not the same hour. In order to move in this way it was arranged that a man with a strong voice, several days before leaving, went through the village telling them on such a day they would leave for their winter hunting grounds. Our Indians consisted of the Sauks and Foxes, these two tribes owning their lands jointly. I noticed that when they traveled they camped separately. The Foxes, while living here, lived on Jonah Case's old place up as far as William Brooks'. The Foxes had mostly left previous to my coming here, except a few who had intermarried with the Sauks and had made villages at Princeton, Bellevue and Dubuque. Our Indians, in starting for their hunting grounds, went down the river with the help of their horses, of which they had five or six hundred, and their canoes, which numbered about two hundred. Before starting it was understood by the two tribes where each should go, so as to avoid confusion. In hunting the Sauks occupied southern and Middle Iowa, the Foxes northern Iowa. Our Indians ascended the Iowa, Skunk, Des Moines and all smaller streams that would admit of a canoe. After the fall hunt they had a rendezvous appointed, where they assembled for winter quarters. This selection was made in a large timbered bottom, on account of their horses and security from the Sioux. They sometimes made temporary forts as a protection against the enemy. After making their maple sugar in the spring they were now ready to start for the old village. As soon as possible they would gather on the Mississippi, those that went to the more northern streams would wait for those who went farther south. They would all gather together about the Iowa river and move up the river, waiting for bad weather, making at best not more than eight or ten miles a day. They had a leader, who permitted no straggling, having it understood in the morning where they would camp at night. So in the greatest order, keeping the canoes and horses as near together as possible, they would arrive here the same hour. They brought home little besides the sugar just made and dried meat, their skins and furs having been disposed of to the Indian traders where they had been. Now they commenced looking for their corn, beans and dried squashes they had cached in the fall. This was done by good hiding. The most common way was to select a dry piece of ground where there was a blue grass sod. They then cut out a circular sod about eighteen inches in circumference, or as large as would admit a person's body. This sod was laid aside and then a large hole dug, enlarging as they went down, to the depth of five or six feet, so as to make it of sufficient size to hold the corn, beans, squashes and sometimes crab apples of one family. These were put in sacks of their own making. They then put in bark on the bottom and sides and inside of this they put these sacks of provisions, for the next spring's use. Then they were covered with bark and filled with dirt, and the sod was carefully replaced, so as to make it look perfectly natural. They then cleaned up all the surplus dirt and hid it away, so there was nothing to indicate that anything had been buried there, or the earth disturbed at all. It depended on the hiding whether there would be any corn in the spring, for as soon as they were gone the Winnebagoes and other Indians came here hunting for their treasure. These Indians, by the aid of their muskrat spears, feeling in the ground, often succeeded in finding, and would take the supplies of several families. One family with whom I was acquainted, buried their supplies in the center of their wigwam, where they had their fire. After burying their treasure they had made a large fire to make it look all right. But the Winnebagoes hunted around and stuck their spears in the ground and finally discovered the place and took it all. The old squaw to whom it belonged wept bitterly. Debbie Clough G-erischer G-erischer Family Web Site http://gerischer.rootsweb.com/ Assistant CC, Iowa Gen Web, Scott County http://www.celticcousins.net/scott/ List Manager for: IASCOTT-L * G-erischer-L * D-encker-L Fitzpatirck-L * V-lerebome-L * Huntington-L * Otis-L * Algar-L EIGS-L * Pickens-L * McNab-L * Patris-L - Rankin-L