Michigan." In July, 1836, the territory embracing the present States of Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin was detached from Michigan, and organized with a separate Territorial government under the name of "Wisconsin Territory."

By virtue of an act of Congress, approved June 12, 1838, on the 3d of July of the same year, the "Territory of Iowa" was constituted. It embraced the present State of Iowa, and the greater portion of what is now the State of Minnesota.

To say nothing of the title to the soil of Iowa that may once have vested in the natives who claimed and occupied it, it is a matter of some interest to glance at the various changes of ownership and jurisdiction through which it has passed within the time of our historical period:

1. It belonged to France, with other territory now belonging to our national domain.

2. In 1763, with other territory, it was ceded to Spain.

3. October 1, 1800, it was ceded with other territory from Spain back to France.

4. April 30, 1803, it was ceded with other territory by France to the United States.

5. October 31, 1803, a temporary government was authorized by Congress for the newly acquired territory.

6. October 1, 1804, it was included in the "District of Louisiana," and placed under the jurisdiction of the Territorial government of Indiana. 7. July 4, 1805, it was included as a part of the "Territory of Louisiana," then organized with a separate Territorial government.

8. June 4, 1812, it was embraced in what was then made the "Territory of Missouri."

9. June 28, 1834, it became part of the "Territory of Michigan."

10. July 3, 1836, it was included as a part of the newly organized "Territory of Wisconsin."

11. June 12, 1838, it was included in, and constituted a part of the newly organized "Territory of Iowa."

12. December 28, 1846, it was admitted into the Union as a State.

The cession by France, April 30, 1803, vested the title in the United States, subject to the claims of the Indians, which it was very justly the policy of the government to recognize. The several changes of territorial jurisdiction after the treaty with France did not affect the title to the soil. Before the government of the United States could vest clear title to the soil in its grantees it was necessary to extinguish the Indian title by purchase. The treaties vesting the Indian title to the lands within the limits of what is now the State of Iowa, were made at different times. The following is a synopsis of the several treaties by which the Indians relinquished to the United States their rights in Iowa:

1. Treaty with the Sacs and Foxes, Aug. 4, 1824.-This treaty between the United States and the Sacs and Foxes, was made at the City of Washington, William Clark being commissioner on the part of the United States. By this treaty the Sacs and Foxes relinquished their title to all lands in Missouri, Iowa then being a part of Missouri. In this treaty the land in the southeast corner of Iowa known as the "Half-Breed Tract," was reserved for the use of the half-breeds of the Sacs and Foxes, they holding the title to the same in the same manner as Indians. This treaty was ratified January 18, 1825.

2. Treaty with various tribes, Aug. 19, 1825.-This treaty was also made at the city of Washington, by William Clark as Commissioner on the part of the United States, with the Chippewas, Sacs and Foxes, Menomonees, Winnebagoes and a portion of the Ottawas and Pottawattamies. This treaty was intended mainly to make peace between certain contending tribes as to the limits of their respective hunting grounds in Iowa. It was agreed that the United States should run a boundary line between the Sioux on the north and the Sacs and Foxes on the south, as follows: Commencing at the mouth of the Upper Iowa river, on the west bank of the Mississippi, and ascending said Iowa river to its west fork; thence up the fork to its source; thence crossing the fork of Red Cedar river in a direct line to the second or upper fork of the Des Moines river; thence in a direct line to the lower fork of the Calumet (Big Sioux) river, and down that to its junction with the Missouri river.

3. Treaty with the Sacs and Foxes, July 15, 1830.-By this treaty the Sacs and Foxes ceded to the United States a strip of country twenty miles in width lying directly south of the line designated in the treaty of Aug. 19, 1825, and extending from the Mississippi to the Des Moines river.

4. Treaty with the Sioux, July 15, 1830.—By this treaty was ceded to the United States a strip twenty miles in width, on the north of the line designated by the treaty of Aug. 19, 1825, and extending from the Mississippi to the Des Moines river. By these treaties made at the same date the United States came into possession of a strip forty miles wide from the Mississippi to the Des Moines river. It was known as the "Neutral Ground," and the tribes on either side of it were allowed to use it in common as a fishing and hunting ground until the government should make other disposition of it.

5. Treaty with various tribes, July 15, 1830.-This was a treaty with the Sacs and Foxes, Sioux, Omahas, Iowas and Missouris, by which they ceded to the United States a tract bounded as follows: Beginning at the upper fork of the Des Moines river, and passing the sources of the Little Sioux and Floyd rivers, to the fork of the first creek that falls into the Big Sioux, or Calumet river, on the east side; thence down said creek and the Calumet river to the Missouri river; thence down said Missouri river to the Missouri State line above the Kansas; thence along said line to the northeast corner of said State; thence to the highlands between the waters falling into the Missouri and Des Moines, passing to said highlands along the dividing ridge between the forks of the Grand river; thence along said highlands or ridge separating the waters of the Missouri from those of the Des Moines, to a point opposite the source of the Boyer river, and thence in a direct line to the upper fork of the Des Moines, the place of beginning. The lands ceded by this treaty were to be assigned, or allotted, under the direction of the President of the United States, to the tribes then living thereon, or to such other tribes as the President might locate thereon for hunting and other purposes. In consideration of the land ceded by this treaty the United States stipulated to make certain payments to the several tribes joining in the treaty. The treaty took effect by proclamation, February 24, 1831.

6. Treaty with the Winnebagoes, Sept. 15, 1832. This treaty was made at Fort Armstrong, by Gen. Winfield Scott, and Gov. John Reynolds, of Illinois. By the treaty the Winnebagoes ceded to the United States all their lands on the east side of the Mississippi, and in part consideration therefor the United States granted to the Winnebagoes as a reservation the lands in Iowa known

as the Neutral Ground. The exchange of the two tracts was to take place on or before June 1, 1833. The United States also stipulated to make payment to the Winnebagoes, beginning in September, 1873, and to continue for twenty-seven successive years, $10,000 annually in specie, and also to establish a school among them, with a farm and garden. There were also other agreements on the part of the government.

7. Treaty with the Sacs and Foxes, Sept. 21, 1832.-This was the treaty known as the "Black Hawk Purchase," which opened the first lands in Iowa for settlement by the whites. In negotiating this treaty Gen. Winfield Scott and Gov. John Reynolds represented the United States. By it the Sacs and Foxes ceded to the United States a tract of land on the eastern border of Iowa fifty miles wide, and extending from the northern boundary of Missouri to the mouth of the Upper Iowa river, containing about six millions of acres. The United States stipulated to pay annually to the Sacs and Foxes $20,000 in specie, and to pay certain indebtedness of the Indians, amounting to about $50,000, due chiefly to Davenport & Farnham, Indian traders, at Rock Island. By the terms of the treaty four hundred square miles on Iowa river, ineluding Keokuk's village, were reserved, for the use and occupancy of the Indians. This treaty was made on the ground where the city of Davenport is now located. The government conveyed in fee simple out of this purchase one section of land opposite Rock Island to Antoine LeClaire, the interpreter, and another at the head of the first rapid above Rock Island, being the first title to land in Iowa granted by the United States to an individual.

8. Treaty with the Sacs and Foxes, 1836.-This treaty was also made on the banks of the Mississippi, near where the city of Davenport now stands. Gen. Henry Dodge, Governor of Wisconsin Territory, represented the United States. By it the Sacs and Foxes ceded to the United States "Keokuk's Reserve," as it was called, for which the government stipulated to pay $30,000, and an annuity of $10,000 for ten successive years, together with certain indebtedness of the Indians.

9. Treaty with the Sacs and Foxes, Oct. 21, 1837.-This treaty was made at Washington; Carey A. Harris, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, representing the United States. By this treaty the Sacs and Foxes relinquished their title to an additional tract in Iowa, described as follows: "A tract of country containing 1,250,000 acres, lying west and adjoining the tract conveyed by them to the United States in the treaty of September 21, 1832. It is understood that the points of termination for the present cession shall be the northern and southern points of said tract as fixed by the survey made under the authority of the United States, and that a line shall be drawn between them so as to intersect a line extended westwardly from the angle of said tract nearly opposite to Rock Island, as laid down in the above survey, so far as may be necessary to include the number of acres hereby ceded, which last mentioned line, it is estimated, will be about twenty-five miles." The tract ceded by this treaty lay directly west of the "Black Hawk Purchase."

10. Treaty with Sacs and Foxes, same date.-At the same date the Sacs and Foxes ceded to the United States all their right and interest in the country south of the boundary line between the Sacs and Foxes and the Sioux, as described in the treaty of August 19, 1825, and between the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, the United States paying for the same $160,000.

The Sacs and Foxes by this treaty also relinquished all claims and interest under the treaties previously made with them.

11. Treaty with the Sacs and Foxes, Oct. 11, 1842.-This treaty was made at the Sac and Fox Agency, by John Chambers, as Commissioner, on behalf of the United States. By it the Sacs and Foxes relinquished to the United States all their lands west of the Mississippi to which they had any claim or title, and agreed to a removal from the country, at the expiration of three years. In accordance with this treaty, a part of them were removed to Kansas in the fall of 1845, and the remainder in the spring of 1846.

The treaty of 1803 with France, and these several treaties with the Indian tribes, vested in the United States, the title to all the lands in the State of Iowa-subject, however, to claims set up under certain Spanish grants, and also, the claim to the "Half-Breed Tract," in Lee county, which claims were afterward adjudicated in the courts or otherwise adjusted. The following is a brief explanation of the nature of these claims:

The Dubuque Claim.-Lead had been discovered at the site of the present city of Dubuque as early as 1780, and in 1788 Julien Dubuque, then residing at Prairie du Chien, obtained permission from the Fox tribe of Indians to engage in mining lead, on the west side of the Mississippi. Dubuque, with a number of other persons, was engaged in mining, and claimed a large tract, embracing as he supposed all the lead bearing region in that vicinity. At that time, it will be remembered, the country was under Spanish jurisdiction, and embraced in the "Province of Louisiana." In 1796 Dubuque petitioned the Spanish Governor of Louisiana, Carondelet, for a grant of the lands embracing the lead mines, describing in his petition a tract containing over twenty thousand acres. The Spanish governor granted the petition, and the grant was confirmed by the Board of Land Commissioners of Louisiana. Dubuque, in 1804, transferred the larger part of his claim to Auguste Choteau, of St. Louis. On the 17th of May, 1805, Dubuque and Choteau filed their joint claims with the Board of Land Commissioners, and the claim was decided by them to be a clear and regular Spanish grant, having been made and completed prior to October 1st, 1800, and while it was yet Spanish territory. Dubuque died March 24, 1810. After the death of Dubuque the Indians resumed occupancy of the mines and engaged themselves in mining to some extent, holding that Dubuque's claim was only a permit during his lifetime, and in this they were sustained by the military authority of the United States, notwithstanding the decision of the Land Commissioners. In the treaty afterward between the United States and the Sacs and Foxes, the Indians made no reservation of this claim, and it was therefore included as a part of the lands ceded by them to the United States. In the meantime Auguste Choteau also died, and his heirs began to look after their interests. They authorized their agent to lease the privilege of working the mines, and under this authority miners commenced operations, but the military authorities compelled them to abandon the work. But little further was done in the matter until after the town of Dubuque was laid out, and lots had been sold and were occupied by purchasers, when Henry Choteau brought an action of ejectment against Patrick Malony, who held land under a patent from the United States, for the recovery of seven undivided eighths of the Dubuque claim, as purchased by Auguste Chotean in 1804. The case was decided in the United States District Court adversely to the plaintiff. It was carried to the Supreme Court of the United States on a writ of error, where the decision of the lower court was affirmed. The

Supreme Court held that Dubuque asked, and the Governor of Louisiana granted, nothing more than peaceable possession of certain lands obtained from the Indians, and that Carondelet had no legal authority to make such a grant as claimed.

The Giard Claim.-The Lieutenant Governor of Upper Louisiana, in 1795, granted to one Basil Giard 5,760 acres in what is now Clayton county. Giard took possession and occupied the land until after the territory passed into the possession of the United States, after which the government of the United States granted a patent to Giard, for the land which has since been known as the "Giard Tract." His heirs subsequently sold the whole tract for $300.

The Honori Claim.-On the 30th day of March, 1799, Zenon Trudeau, Acting Lieutenant Governor of Upper Louisiana, granted to Louis Honori a tract of land on the site of the present town of Montrose, as follows: "It is permitted to Mr. Louis (Fresson) Henori, or Louis Honori Fesson, to establish himself at the head of the rapids of the River Des Moines, and his establishment once formed, notice of it shall be given to the Governor General, in order to obtain for him a commission of a space sufficient to give value to such establishment, and at the same time to render it useful to the commerce of the peltries of this country, to watch the Indians and keep them in the fidelity which they owe to His Majesty." Honori retained possession until 1805, but in 1803 it was sold under an execution obtained by one Joseph Robedoux, who became the purchaser. The tract is described as being "about six leagues above the Des Moines." Auguste Choteau, the executor of Robedoux, in April, 1805, sold the Honori tract to Thomas F. Reddeck. In the grant from the Spanish government it was described as being one league square, but the government of the United States confirmed only one mile square. Attempts were subsequently made to invalidate the title of the Reddeck heirs, but it was finally confirmed by the Supreme Court of the United States, in 1839.

The Half-Breed Tract.-By a treaty made with the Indians, August 4, 1824, the United States acquired possession of a large tract of land in the northern portion of Missouri. In this same treaty 119,000 acres were reserved for the use of the half-breeds of the Sac and Fox nation. This reservation occupied the strip between the Mississippi and Des Moines rivers, and south of a line drawn from a point on the Des Moines river, about one mile below the present town of Farmington, in Van Buren county, east to the Mississippi river at the lower end of Fort Madison, including all the land between the two rivers south of this line. By the terms of the treaty the United States had a reversionary interest in this land, which deprived the Indians of the power to sell. But, in 1835, Congress relinquished to the half-breeds this reversionary interest, vesting in them a fee simple title, and the right to sell and convey. In this law, however, the right to sell was not given to individuals by name, but to the half-breeds as a class, and in this the subsequent litigation in regard to the "Half-Breed Tract" originated. A door was open for innumerable frauds. The result was that speculators rushed in and began to buy the claims of the half-breeds, and, in many instances, a gun, a blanket, a pony or a few quarts of whisky was sufficient for the purchase of large estates. There was a deal of sharp practice on both sides; Indians would often claim ownership of land by virtue of being half-breeds, and had no difficulty in proving their mixed blood by the Indians, and they would then cheat the speculators by selling land to