This is part of the chapter. The whole chapter is on the Iowa History Site. STORIES OF IOWA FOR BOYS AND GIRLS CHAPTER XIX JOSEPH M. STREET - INDIAN AGENT While the Indians lived by themselves, they knew how to do things very well. But when the white men came, there were many things the Indians did not understand. They did not know about the white man's goods or his money. They did not know about the white man's laws. Often they did not understand what the white man said. They could not read or write. To help the Indians, the United States government sent out white men to live among the Indians and explain the things they did not understand. These men were called Indian agents. Some of them were not honest and stole from the Indians; but those who were sent to the Indians in Iowa were usually good men. There were many things for the agents to do. They tried to keep the Indians from going to war either against the white people or against other tribes. If the government paid the Indians money for their lands, the agent saw that this was paid to the chief men of each village. But the hardest work was to see that the white traders did not cheat the Indians. Debbie Clough Gerischer Iowa Gen Web, Assistant CC, Scott County _http://www.celticcousins.net/scott/_ (http://www.celticcousins.net/scott/) IAGENWEB: Special History Project: http://iagenweb.org/history/index.htm Gerischer Family Web Site: _http://gerischer.rootsweb.com/_ (http://gerischer.rootsweb.com/)