Wa -
ON'H OK TIIIO OT.n Af.KNf'Y IU ' 1 1 A TNi JH,
Bi ll I, SKRVICKAHLK.-I'hoto l.y u Staff
Artist.
Gl
It A NT elms oast their shade? in
summer und their bare limbs lit
winter stand watch nnd want
&1
over tho burial place of the Indian
chief. Wa-IVi-I.o, anil the lowm
county In which hp !s Interred perpetuates
Mm name. Fur years the spot has liven the
trystlng place of lovers unci the one of
Inrl li'iilnr Interest In thp vicinity of the
little town of Agency, seven miles east of
Ottuinwn. Up whk hurled there iti 1SI2,
when the In nil waa embraced within the
Indian reservation.
Historically It is a short span from May
1, IK 13. to tho present, hut ineasiired lijr
tho chaiiKcH which tho passing years havo
wrought It In a long period. On the !ato
mentioned the Sac and Fox Indians sur
leiMleted title and possession to that por
tion of southeastern Iowa which lies west
of the east lino of Wapello county anil the
whlto settlers cume In. Today all that re
mains to mark the passing of a race aro
Names given to tivirs, towns and places,
the ime grave on what was once a part
of the, agency farm, and some old log
buildings, of tho men who were connected
with the agency only one, so far us known,
la now living-Thomas Wllcoxsen, who re
sides In tho town built on part of the
agency farm and which still retains tho
tiatne of Agency. Mr. Wllcoxsen was om
Jdoypd on the Indian farm. He Is very
feeble and the years which remain to him
tire in the nature of things not ninny.
The mute relics of the race which has
Itone are scattered over the various por
tions of the section of land which once
comprised the agency farm. The laud Is
as line as any in the entire state of Iowa.
It Is gently rolling prairie, dotted hero
and there with patches of native timber,
and with Its growing crops Is a picture
to d light the eye of the admirers if rural
scenery. Tho mun who selected this site
for the ugency and Indian farm nnide an
Ideal choice, even In a section of country
which abounds in line agricultural lands.
The agency was established at this point
In 1X37 under the treaty signed by the Sao
and Fox Indians at Washington. Previous
to that time the tribe, had been located
near Davenport, rieneral Joseph M. Street
was Bgent ut the time, the Indians then
being under the churge of the War dpp irt
tnent. With the energy which had marked Tils
entire career General Street set about
making the new agency nn Ideal one. It
was located at tho edge of the timber belt
which fringes the lies Moines river nnd
from that timber the logs were cut and
hewed for the erection of the buildings,
several of which stand to this day. the pic
tures of which show how thoroughly tho
Work was done. The logs, wb-ro exposed,
lire welher-boafen. but the structure
stand nppurently as firm as upon the day
they were pronounced finished.
In other ways (Sonera! Street demon
strated that he had the welfare of the In
dian at heirt. but his labors were to bo
cut hhort. In November, is fit. he was t iken
li k ami died In the following soring Th t
w.is sincere mourning In the (rile- when the
general died Practically all of the I mil ns
collected at the agency and. witti O'.ibf
V' IM I n as spokesman. Insist. -.1 that the
White Chief be burled on Indian hind
where they could watch over hU griv.
Tl.e wlsheti of the Indians were c nii led
with, aid thus It was that the start was
made nn this historic litlb- burying ground.
On the death of General Street, his son-in-law.
M-iJiT John Reach, was designated
agent by the War department and rimul lei
In that position even after the agency was
moed to Fort lies Moines, now tho city
Of 0 s Moines.
In passing the writer cannot refrain fr.im
paving a tribute b the memory of Ma'or
Peach. With the possible exception of
Charles P Fallen of Ottumwi, no person
now living knew him better. Ho was grad
uated from Dartmouth college and from
there entered West Itotnt Military academy.
He was a thorough scholar, and not only
Pel - Lo's Grave a Landmark
Vi r"t
i
mm Win vun Hill MWlM
till i TOM WW 'ml ImH
. rift ' v . ' .""3
GKAi,,.1.T'.V-V!:;I'.I'f)-.T,.ll': MOI'S rillKK OF TIIK-SAC AND FOX TKlUi.3.
AT AOUNC Y, lA.-Fhoto by a Staff Artist.
retained what he had learned In these In
stitutions, but added to his store of learn
ing up to the day of his death In the Arly
'Tils. Irascible he was called by nvtny, lut
thore who knew him well knew him for as
kindly u soul as ever lived, l'liiu til Inns to
a degree, he considered his pledged wo:d
us binding as any bond. John l:eacli may
have, been mistaken sometime.', but a will
ful untruth never passed l is lips. Ne'thi r
did a penny of dishonest money ever stick
to his lingers, nr.d the property of the In
dians was guarded as faithfully as though
they had ts'en his own chl'dren. This?
who dealt with them were held to the mcst
strict accountability and sharks found poor
picking around that ug ncy. His mHiee
was ever sought by the Indians, wns never
denied and the implicit truM which they
placed In him was thoroughly deserve I.
That they appreciated this appeared I :t r.
In the spring of 1S42 Wa-IVl-I.o, the head
chief of the Foxes, died, lie started from
the agency In March to pay a visit to the
old home of the tribe near Havpnport i n I
Kock Island. He was taken sick cnr.uite
and died near the forks of the Pk'ink riv;T,
In what Is now Kioi.uk county, and at h;f
own reiiiest was burled beside h's ii-1
friend, (Jencral Strict, on the ugency firm,
and thus was the second tr.ivc milled to
the little cemetery.
loiter In tnls same year a treaty was
negotiated with the government by the In
dians by which they surrendered title to
the lands on which they then resided and
moved further west and the ugency viu
removed to Fort IVs Moines, now t lie
city of lies Moines. They Insisted in mak
ing the treaty upon reserving n section of
land on which the ugency stood, to be
disposed of as the tribe willed, and they
made the following disposition: The quar
ter on which the ngency building stood
was glvi n to the widow of Oenerul Street.
Another quarter was given to Major
GRAVEYARD AT AGENCY CITY. IA., WHERE CHIEF WA-rtL-IX) 13 BCRIED.-rhoto by a Staff Artist,
."it
Heach, n third to Samuel Smart, the In
terpreter, and a fourth to Thomas Wilson,
the agency farmer, till of whom had en
deaf ed tlienisi'lvi s to the Indians by their
kindness and fair d.'alin-jr. Smart dis
puted of his land years ago. The Street
heirs long ago disposed of their portion,
Wilson retaim d his until he died a few
years ago, ami the portion given to Major
Heach was retained during his lifetime
and part of It still retiulns In possession
of Ids heirs. The land all adjoins the
little town of Agency.
The Indians to:ik tlulr departure tarly
in IS!.'!, and in May of that year the coun
try was opened to white settlement. That
"sooners" rre n t a development of the
present day Is evidenced by the events pre
ceding the opening. The writer well re
members, the descriptions given by Major
Heach of the times he was compelled to
take d. lac inn nts of cavalry and eject
white men from the reservation who at
tempted to make settlement before t he
appointtd time.
The widow of ( leneral Street and thp
ilauglit.T. tirst wife of Ma.l u- lii'iich. died
later and were buried in the cemetery ut
the old agency, thus completing the group
of graves. I'nforl uuately. Major lleach
when he died was n il buried here, but
was laid to hl.i final rest in tho b autiful
cemetery which adjoins the town and
whlih is the burial place of many of tho
early settlers from points Ii ft y miles dis
tant. All hut one of the stones which mark
the. graves He parallel with the ground,
supported by stone masonry. That of (Jen
oral Street bears the following Inscription:
In Memory of
General Joseph M. Street.
Son of Anthony and Moliv Street.
Horn October IS, ITS', in Virginia.
I ied ut the Sac and Fox Agency, .
May 5. 1S10.
The tablet which marks the grave of
f , ft
l , i
I1RST OF THK ACJKNCY Hril.PINdS,
WHICH A K I'J STII,I, INIIAHITHD.
I'lioto by a Staff Artist.
Chief Wa-I'el-Io is Inscribed as follows:
In Memory of
Wa-lVI-Lo,
A Principal Chief of the Foxes,
Who Was Horn Near I'rairle du Chlen,
About the Year ITS".
I Mod Near hi Forks of Skunk Uiver,
March 15, 1S4L'.
And Here Hurled at His Own Request.
This Stone is Placed by the
Sac and Fox Nation.
ristingui; hf d from curly manhood no loss
for his wisdom than courage. Towards
Ids own people he was always Just
and lived In strict friendship
for the white man.
In tho early TO's these graves hud become
much neglected und the brick work which
originally supported the tablets hud crum
bled away, About this time the Chicago,
liurllngtoii & (Juincy Railroad company
was building a stone culvert nearby to
l cpiuce a wxouen trtstlo. The late T. J.
Potter, then division superintendent, waa
lnspoe.ing the work. The day being hot
tho friendly shad.- of the elms Invited him,
nnd his attention was thus directed to tho
cMIapidatod condition of the graves. To
sco t-.winething needing attention with him
waa to net. He Immediately wtnl to tho
owner of the lard und s.iught permission
to restore the tomba and it was granted.
The workmen were nt once Instructed to
tear cut what rermln:d of tho crumbling
b:lck and replace them with stone and It is
to this kindly act that tho present con
dition of the little cemetery Is due. The
company has ever since cared for tha
gravcj, having erected the fence which
now surrounc's them. A change In the
track at this point has brought the burial
place within ;he railroad "Ight-of-way,
which was purposely vi' - 'd to uIIjW
them to be taken In that there might
never be any ouostinn of the right of the
company to care for them. In addition to
mulntaluing tho tablets as they now nre,
the company contemplates the erection of a
shaft which i-hull be conspicuously visible
from passing trains.
Only fifty-Line yearn lrive passed since
the Indians left this s-ctlon. an unculti
vated wilderness, and the Idea of a rail
road ever iK-netrating it was not thought
of. Tuday practically every aero of it
Is under cultivation or put to the uses of
civilization and the only relics of
Indian occupancy nro the names they
left behind, three log buildings and a
grave which a railroad company Is carinff
for, opposite which tho passing engineer
pulls the whistle to announce the approach
to a tow n the Indian never f w. Time
and the hand of the white man indeed;
work wonders. C. J. BKdT.
4
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