Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1911-09-23

inal intention to settle at Fort Ed
wards, as the site Of the present town
of Warsaw was then known There
the Clarks did stop. and Captain Ben
jamin Clark bought an interest in a
herd of cattle which was pastured in
the bottoms opposite Quincy. George
Davenport, the Indian trader. who was
at that time already located at Rock
Island, learned OF the elder Clark and
engaged him to come up the river and
cut some wild hay. The family was
brought along on the trip, and remain
ed here from that time on. Captain
Clark remembers distinctly when his
father carried him from the gang
plank of the small river steamer, on
which the trip was made, and placed
him down on the shore in the midst
of a crowd of leo Indians, who had
gathered to see the boat land
When the Clark family lived on what
is now Sylvan water, in the vicinity Of
the Cable residence, the Sacs and
Foxes in the fail. before starting out
on their hunting expeditions, would
take their canoes around from Rock
river, and, filling them with stones,
sink them In the slough near the
cabin. This was done TO hide them
so the Winnebagoes, whom the cap
tain describes as a thieving tribe,
could not find them and take them
away. The canoes were usually made
Of walnut logs followed out with fire.
Occasionally a birch bark canoe from
the north was found among them.
WERE THRIFTY TRIBE.
The Sacs and Foxes were Industrious,
for Indians, and usually provident.
From the Clark cabin to the mouth Of
Rock river was a cultivated field in
which the squaws raised "sQuaw" corn,
beans, etc. Until a few years ago, in
the unbroken pastures. Captain Clark
stated he could find the hills in which
the corn was planted, the ground be-
ing ridged up in working it. When
the tribe went away on a hunt, the
greatest precautions were taken to
prevent the Winnebagoes from getting
the corn and beans that had been har-
vested. To save this precious supply,
it was placed in sacks woven from the
bark of the linn or Eastwood tree
Then holes four or five deep deep were
dug in the ground, leaves were placed
in the bottom, and the sacks were put
in This was then covered with more
leaves, brush and grass to keep the
water from reaching the grain. then
a thin layer of earth was placed on it
and more leaves were scattered, the
natural appearance of the surface be-
ing artificially produced with such
nj no he Of ~ "a
nebagoes were deceived.
sPEARING FOR CORN.
81 have seen the Winnebagoes, arm
ed with muskrat spears, long, sharp
instruments of their own make, that
they used to prod in muskrat houses
and kill the animals, going about polk
ing into the ground where they thought
they might find buried grain" said the
captain in telling of it. Sometimes
they would find what they were look
ing for, and then when the Sacs and
Foxes came back, they found all their
trouble had been for nothing. The
methods that the Indians used in keep
ing track of the location of their own
stores were not considered remarka- |
bic in the woOdcraft of those days"
Probably the narrowest escape that |
Captain Clark had in all his dealings
with the Indians was purely an acct |
day. a dent in his head. He and some
Indian boys were competing in jump |
ing. Moses Keokuk was among them, |
and he had heavy "squaw" hoe used |
in cultivating crops. Just as young |
Clark jumped Keokuk was bringing !
down the hoe to mark the place where |
he expected the white boy would land. |
The back of the hoe came down on |
the top of the latter's head, and a !
slight fracture of the skull resulted.
KNEW BLACK HAWK.
Captain Clark contributed some In |
teresting recollections of Black Hawk |
Sau-ke-nuk, Black Hawks town, was |
nearly four miles south of Rock Island !
City, and one mile west of the Milan |
bridge, on the north side of Rock |
river. The Clark family had lived at !
Rock island several years before the |
Black Hawk war left the chief a pris- |
oner in the hands of the whites. and |
Captain Clark knew him as the alert |
and vigorous young brave that led his |
tribe later in the forlorn effort they |
made to stay the westward march of |
the whites.
The 500 apple trees that were brought /
to Buffalo at the request of Captain |
Benjamin Clark by a party returning |
with their families from Ohio, were |
distributed and grew into the first .
orchards in this vicinity They were
of hardy stock and for many years |
bore great crops, having few of the |
enemies that the fruit nowadays has |
to contend with.
Asked concerning the buffalo, or /
bison, Captain Clark laughed. Il have !
seen a great many travellers in the
early days" said he, who got all .
ready as soon as they had crossed the /
Mississippi river to go out and kill /
al If fbaro of