The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1919-07-31
The Planting Of the First Orchard In
Iowa at Montrose Was Not the
Work of Indians, by All
Evidence.
LESSON NOT A DEADBEAT
Interesting Analysis Of the Evidence
and Conditions Then Makes a
Strong Case for the Horti.
cultural Frenchman.

n Kahoka paper made the statement
that the Old Apple Orchard at Mont
rose was not planted by the French
man, lesson, at all but by an Indian,
Red Bird. He went on to state that
the Indians usually made a pilgrim
age to St Louis once year and 1t
was while on this trip that white
man friend of his at st. Charles gave
the twenty trees properly wrapped up
to Red Bird who brought them to
Montrose and planted among the for
est trees near his wigwam. Most OF
the story is quoted from D. w. Kill
bourne, an early settler of Keokuk.
John P. Kennedy, of Montrose, dis
putes.
'Now If it can be found in the en-
tire history Of the Indians that they
ever planted any fruit trees any
where, then there might be something
In the contention" said Mr.. Kennedy
today. ANY one who knows the In
dian character knows that he does not
provide that far into the future.
knowledge Of tree growing knows
that had those small apple trees been
planted among forest trees the
Chances are l1ldL uOI OuO VI eAShA
would have lived out the first season.
Planted GeometrieaIly.
"It happens that Montrose has yet
several people living who remember
the remains Of that orchard very well
and inform me that the trees were
planted in rows and In an open plat
between the heavy timber and the
river and that in as early day as
1898, there were no indications Of any
timber ever having been on the or
chard site.
IT clearly remember, that in 1853
there were seven Of these trees still
standing, still showing the rows and
that from the position Of the remain
ing trees that the original orchards
must have contained just about fifty
trees.
Iowa history informs us that Tes-
son bought this plat Of land known
as the Montrose Reservation and that
accompanied by some Indians he
went to St. Charles, Missouri and got
fifty apple trees and planted them In
front of his cabin.
Captain Washington Galland was
on the ground in 1888 when the re
mains of lessons cabin were still
there and observed that the orchard
must have contained about fifty trees
and that they were planted in rows
ON the open plat in front Of lessons
cabin.
lesson Not Deadbeat.
"Kilbourne, who seems to have furn.
ished most of the information for
Jasper Blines, states in the article
that he was in possession OF the prop
erty as a claimant at the time Thomas
F. Reddick bought the lesson title,
and that the courts decided that Red
dicks title through lesson was good
and that Kilbourne had no claim on
the reservation.
From the article Blines would
have us believe that lesson did not
own any land, did not plant any orch
ard, and was general dead'peat Nv
ing largely off the Indians.
"This is the character that Kill
bourne gives to the man whose land
he was trying to hold for himself and
his authority is little tradition
among the Indians who keep no writ
ten history.
Characteristic Of Frenchman.
1.-THE court decided that lesson
owned the land. Citizens of Montrose
still living can testify that the trees
were planted in an open plot and in
rows and that there must have been
about fifty of them.
"This leaves open the question,
who planted the trees?
1.-THE French are the greatest horti-
crlturists in the world. The home
plat, no matter how small, is covered
with trees and vines and flowers. 1t
was just as natural for lesson, the
Frenchman, when he had built his
cabin, to commence to look out for
trees and flowers to plant, as it was
for the Indian to sit on the ground
and smoke and let his squaw do what
ever planting was to be done"