Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1906-04-12
some indian HISTORY
Omahas, Pawnees and siouxs
Were Formerly Numerous
In Western Iowa
HARRISON COUNTY ANNALS
La Ponteur, a Frenchman and Indian
Trader, Laid Out the Town of Foun-
tainbIeau and Had Considerable
Trouble With the Reds-some of the
Well Known Indians.
[By Angus NJ. Berry.1
Special to Times Republican.

rison county, in the state of Iowa, is
closely allied with the history of the
Indians who inhabited that tract OF
territory Immediately prior to the time
of white settlement. The Omahas, the
Pawnees and the Siouxs were the prin-
land after their reservation had been
located at Nebraska, directly across
the Missouri river. Many of these In
dams spent large portion of their
| time in hunting and begging trips in
western Iowa and they are today seen
on similar trips at wider intervals
They are friendly, peaceful people
! and when reference is made to any
| affray in which these Indians are in
volved it is certain to be found that
the Indians We're sinned against and
that they alone bore the injury.
The earliest mention to be found OF
Indian people in Harrison county his
tory is in 1850 when Charles LaPonteur,
IL Frenchman and by occupation an In
| dian trader, located at what Is now
the site of the town of Little Sioux
on the Missouri river some thirty miles
above Omaha. LaPonteur being pleas
ed with the promising prospect pro-
| ceeded to lay out town called ron
! tainbleau. and In due course of time
was welded to two comely Omaha
souaws and settled down to live nap
PLY ever after.
Rut trouble frowned on Fontaln-
bleau. for the SiouXs and the omahas
began to make war on each other, ana
one day when LaPonteur's wives were
planting corn In clearing not far IRON
the Frenchman's home, party OF ABOUT
twenty Souxs approached the spot VIII
/ hostile intent One of the women was
accompanied by her daughter girl
who was then about fourteen years
old and when she became aware of the
imnending danger her maternal instinct
/ heran planning for the child's escape
"When they shoot" she directed, you
must fall Instantly to the ground While
l shall run toward the river. lhes
, will follow me and you, my daughter
may escape. ,o,,
Th,s ruse was carried out, and when
| the Sious fired upon their delehselesa
victims the girl fell to the earth uh-
harmed, tho feigning death. The noun
err ran toward the river, and was soon
oyertaken, killed and scalped, put IN
| tho meantime the Indian girl had MADE
good her escape.
In the winter of 1864 another Indian
was murdered, this time by a white boy
of IS named, William Brown. Inc
deed was done in utter wantoness. the
author of the crime being depraVed
and brutal youth who, having pefusea
MANY sensational and far from realis-
tic novels, conceived the idea that by
shooting an INDIAN he might achieve
undying fame. Accordingly he OBJ
| tanned a. rifle and stealthily approach
! ing a party of Indians who were cut
ting timber in the woods, he deliber-
ately shot one of them, young man
of about 23 years of age, a man for
whom the young criminal had no cause
for ill-feeling against, and whom he had
probably never seen before. Nothing was
ever done about this outrageous breach
of law and order, the criminal going
! scot free. The reader can imagine how
different the result would have been
had the case been reversed and the
Indian shot the white boy.
Probably the Indian best known to
Harrison county people was Yellow
Smoke, a great chief among the Oma-
has, who, 1t will be remembered, signed
| the treaty which conveyed the land now
occupied by the city of Omaha to it's
present owners. He was particularly
addicted to journeying about thru Har-
| rison county levying tribute from all he
met. Sometimes he went, alone, but
often was he accompanied by thirty or
forty braves and squaws, who lived
from hand to mouth upon anything
they could beg, borrow or steal. These
montebanks of the prairie were not at
all particular as to the food they ate,
and dead cattle, hogs Or fowls in about
any stage of decay, regardless of the
cause of their demise, were always re-
garded by the Indians as special deli
cacies.
At one time Yellow Smoke made a
triumphal entry into the sleepy little
town of Magnolia, and in making the
rounds of the back alleys and refuse
piles he came upon a portion of dead
hog, and this unlookedfor prize he i'm
mediately possessed himself of, plac-
ing 1t in fold Of his striped blanket
A man named Depue, however, wit
messed the depreciation, and picking up
a club he ran toward the thief, who
Immediately turned and fled. In the
course of his fight yellow Smoke
passed Depue's harness shop, where
the pursuer abated from the chase long
|enough to dash In and catch up a dill
apidated musket which had seen better
days and could not possibly have done
any harm to man or beast Up to this
time Yellow Smoke had been fleeing
like the wind, but, strange as it may
seem, when he saw this weapep his
mood changed, and turning. he drops
ped his burden of decaying dainties and
assumed the offensive. 1t required
prompt assistance to rescue the white
man, who learned then and there chat
while it was safe to chase an Indian
with six-foot club, it meant deadly
peril to do so with a gun.
Like many white men, Chief Yellow
Smoke contracted the habit of visiting
the district schools. Very vivid are
the recollections of some Harrison
county people when they look back ane
| think of the time when the Indian
chief stalked majestically into the
quiet school room and demanded to be
fed. At such times the teacher would
hastily donate his lunch to appease the
mighty chief Yellow Smoke, but nc
| full dinner pail ever existed even in the