The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1882-10-23
A HALF CENTURY AGO.
Appearance Of Rock island and Vicinity at
Very Early OATS.

4
pointed General Mcneil, of the United
/ States army, Col. Pierre Menard, Of St.
Louis, and Hon Caleb Atwater, of Column
bus Ohio, commissioners to come to Fort
I Armstrong on Rock Island and fulfill terms
| of agreement made with the Sac and Fox
| Indians at Green Bay the previous year by
| Gen. Cass aud Col Menard with view to
purchase the mineral country of Iowa from
the Indians The Indians were to be paid
$50, 900 in goods at the Fort for the tres
passes already committed By the miners.
In 1888 Mr.. Atwater published an account
of his trip in book of 408 pages entitled
The Writings of Caleb Atwater" The
book is in the possession of the Rev. ar
thur Judy, pastor of the Unitarian church
in Davenport. and some interesting ex-
tracts are herewith made from it.
The commissioners met at St. Louis June
12, 1929, perfected their arrangements for
their journey and let that city for this
point on the 30th of that month
It seems that the Indians had I cen scat
tered, so that the commissioners were
obliged to select Fort Crawford, at Prairie
du CHEN, as the place Of conference, in
stead of Fort Armstrong, Mr. Atwater
had met some Saul" and Fox Indians
at St. Louis, who knew all the Indians he
was going to treat with; they told him that
some were near Rock Island. others at
Dubuque's mine, not far from Galena;;" that
'Blaclzhawk AMI his band of sauks had
gone to Drummoud's island 10 receive an
annuity from the Brjtish government; that
a principal Sank had gone 10 The mouth Of
Eel river. on the Wabash, 5ehjtder he had
BEEN 5neeted By an officer Of tie Indian de-
partmsnti7
However, thu commissioners determined
to proceed, and acted as above stated.
They had purchased goods as presents
selected with a view to be useful to the
Indians, rather than snowy; they were the
cheapest goods ever purchased in the ST.
Louis market, calicoes costing. the Indians
but Is cents delivered, and tobacco but
four cents a pound. Every other article
was equally cheap and Of the best quality.
When placed on board the vessel they
weighed forty tons at least"
The party arrived at Keoluk on the
Fourth Of July, and were seven days in
getting the public property over this rapid
(Keol1uk rapids,) and then took another
steamer, the Red Rover; the steamer moved
forward slowly, being often detained, by
low water and sand-bars," and they were
three days in making the distance from the
head of the rapids to Rock Island. Steam
boats were bothered more by low water in
the Mississippi fifty years ago than they are
to-day Here is NLr. Atwaters description
Of this locality in 1929:
About thirty i've miles below Rock Isl
and, the beautiful county on the west side
Of the river opened to view, and from the
first moment we saw it, all eyes were
turned towards it. At every turn Of the
river as we moved along, new bursts OF
wonder and admiration were poured out Of
ali the passengers The ladies were en-
raptured at the numerous and beautiful
situations for dwelling houses where they
wished one day to live ia rural bliss.
There were q great number OF passengers, !
male and female bound either to Gaiena
OF TO Prairie du Chen.
Sometimes the east side Of the river Of
fered as beautiful situations as thes west,
though, as n whole, the west was prefera-
bic.
Nature had done altman nothing-and
not human being was seen on either
shore, moi a human habitation. That such
a beautiful country was intended by its
Author to be forever in the possession Of
and occupancy Of seTpents, wild beasts and
savages, who derive little benefit from it,
no reasonable man can for a moment be-
lieve, who sees it. The river here may
well be compared with tie Connecticut at
Northampton, IN Massachusetts, aud take
away the buildings and the fences from
the lovely eastern country, aid you have
the country below and above Rock Island,
with this exception-the bottom lands
of the Mississippi are wider, they rise
more regularly from the river, and the hills
are not so high nor irregular as these at
Northampton. They are fertile as the bot
toms, and as well covered with grasses as
those on the Connecticut without one
weed intermixed, until you reach the very
SUBMITS. where the woods, thick, lofty,
green and delightful begin and extend
back west of the hills, to q considerable
distance from the river. Adjoining the
river is grass, on the western slope of the
hills are thick weeds
the bottoms, covered with tall grasses,
begin on the very brink of the river, above
high water mark, aud they gradually as
eand from one IN three miles hack inter