Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1907-01-05

upon thousands of dollars, in gold
eagles and double eagles, sent from
st. Louis seVenty-five and 100 years
ago to pay the Sac and Fox Indians
for the lands which they had coded
to the United States, millions upon
millions of acres, and to pay the
| United States troops under command
of Col. Zachary Taylor, subsequently
President of the United States, at
Fort Mckay during the famous Black
Hawk War?
The belief that this golden treasure
lies buried in various parts of the
State of Iowa has led hundreds of
persons to dig industriously for more
than half a century. The discovery
within the last fortnight of $45, 900
in gold in one part of the State and
a map giving the whereabouts of
$4,000 of Black Hawks fortune in
another, says the St. Louis Globe
Democrat, has set hundreds all over
the State to searching the records
and digging the ground. After a
lapse of century the fortune, for
the first time, now seems about to
be discovered.
That gold by the thousands of dol
lars, aggregating far more than
100000 was sent from St. Louis to
the Northern Indians, both before
and after the Black Hawk War in
1892, Is undeniable.
In 1904, as a result Of the treaty
negotiated in st. Louis by William
Henry Harrison with five Sac and
Fox chiefs, an annuity of $1,000 was
granted to the tribe, and was paid
for more than quarter of a century.
In 1880 no less than $4,000 was
sent from st. Louis to Col Zachary
Taylor at Fort Mckay, Iowa, to pay
the regular soldiers whose presence
was necessary in the Territory of
Iowa because of Black Hawk and his
anticipated outbreak. That fortune
in gold was buried by Zachary Tay-
lor's command, and the men who
knew of it's whereabouts were killed
by the Indians.
In 1882, following the Black Hawk
War, treaty was made with Keokuk
and other Sac and Fox chiefs by Win
field Scott and Gov. Reynolds of IL
linols, by which the Indians were
given lump sum of $4,000 and
an annuity of $4,000 for thirty
years. Aside from buying whisky
and rifles, the Indians had no way
to spend the money.
A dozen other instances might be
cited of money sent into Iowa Terri
tory to pay red men and white that
nas mysteriously disappeared. Just
within the last few days have the FIRST
traces been found of it. Iowa has
gold mines which the pillow of the
farmer may turn up any day, bring
ing fortune to the lucky man.
Such lucky man is Frank Blint,
farmer residing near Denmark, in
the famous half-breed tract of Iowa,
just across the Des Moines River,
which separates the northeastern
corner of Missouri from the south
eastern corner OF Iowa. The half |
breed tract was once the home of |
Indians as wealthy as the Osages of |
to-day. The land had been set aside |
for them by the Government because |
they were the children of two races |
white man and Indian. The half |
breeds inherited wealth from their |
Indian forbears, who came to Iowa |
with Julien Dubuque back in 1888 |
and obtained the right to work the |
famous lead mines near the present |
city of Dubuque; of the white for |
bears who went out for Auguste |
Chouteau buying furs of the adven-
turous Coureurs du bois who carried |
on the commerce of the Territory |
and took buxom Indian bellies to wed. |
Frank Blint owns a farm in the |
heart of what half a century or more |
ago was the famous half-breed tract. |
Deciding to deepen a cistern which !
had been on the premises for many |
years he went industriously to work |
with pick and shovel. Hardly had |
he turned up a dozen shovelfuls of |
the long undlsturbed earth when his |
shovel rang on metal. A few min
utes work disclosed an old iron pot. |
Digging it loose and bringing 1t to |
the light, Blint was dazzled by the |
golden stream which poured forth.
Exactly $4,000 in gold eagles and |
double eagles was the fortune he had |
unearthed. 1t could have come from |
no other source than some family of
wealthy half-breeds, unable to spend |
their generous patrimony.
The same week in which this por-
ton of the vast treasure was discov-
cred clues were found to another |
portion undoubtedly buried not fifty |
miles away near where Black Hawk |
and his companions spent their last |
days after the disastrous close of the |
rebellion and their journey down |
the Mississippi to Jefferson barracks |
and then, in charge of Jefferson
Davis, across to Washington and
New York.
Tearing down the old Bonnifield |
log cabin, near Fairfield, one of the |
oldest buildings in the oldest part of |
the State, the workers found an ink
horn and quill case, resembling much |
in appearance razor case, and
musty old pocketbook which con-
tanned a newspaper clipping bearing
the date June %, 1928, and a letter.
The last two were so faded that a
magnifying glass was necessary to
read them, and even then parts of
the letter were beyond deciphering.
The paper is yellow and torn where |
it had been folded and the ink with |
which the letter was written is badly |
faded. AS nearly as 1t can be made
out the letter runs in this manner:
Frisco, June 21.-My Dear Will
liam: wagon, had lots of |
time to think money which |
Is buried near the old Bonnifield |
house. You know what l am, found |
out from Black Hawk
over from Illinois. looked
but never thought until nearly got |
out here. About that there map, 1t |
weren't where the lines cross, but in
tho middle Now don't Won tell any |