The strained relations between the whites and the Indians
resulted in unfortunate incidents which served to intensify the
bad feeling already engendered. Of these, two may be noted as
especially significant in the frontier history of northwestern
Iowa. Thus, in 1854 and 1855, the so-called "Grindstone War"
caused the whites to abandon the frontier for a time and spread
alarm far and near. This incident might properly be said to have
had its origin in intertribal hatred.For some time a group of
Winnebago families had been accustomed to camp near Clear Lake.
In this they had been encouraged by an old Indian trader by the
name of Hewett. At the same time there also encamped among these
Winnebagoes some Sac and Fox Indians who for years, in the Iowa
country, had been the greatest enemies of the Sioux. When the
latter became aware of the presence of these Sacs and Foxes
among the Winnebagoes they swooped down upon them and by mistake
scalped a Winnebago. Greatly alarmed, Hewett and his Indian
friends fled down the valley, telling their story, which appears
to have suffered somewhat from repetition as they proceeded.
Within a brief time about one hundred armed settlers collected
at Masonic Grove. According to some reports, about four hundred
Sioux warriors fortified themselves some twelve miles distant.
Thus matters remained during 1854 with no action from either
party.
As time passed the Sioux became bolder, until matters reached a
climax in an incident which occurred near Lime Creek. A settler,
James Dickerson by name, possessed an unusually fine rooster
which was craved by a begging band of Indians. In chasing the
rooster, a young brave upset and demolished a grindstone, and
then made off with the largest piece in continued pursuit of the
fowl. Dickerson pursued the Indian and, seizing a piece of the
grindstone, knocked him to the ground, where he lay for a time
insensible. The Indians, enraged at Dickerson's act, demanded a
settlement for the injury to the brave, making it plain that
only Dickerson's best horse or one hundred dollars in money
would satisfy them. After no little parleying, in which Mrs.
Dickerson acted as mediator, the Indians were pacified when Mrs.
Dickerson had given them about six dollars in money, a number of
quilts, and many other articles of household use.
This "grindstone incident" caused the settlers to become greatly
alarmed: men from Clear Lake, the Mason City settlement, and
vicinity organized and undertook to drive the Indians out of the
country. After a chase of some miles, the band of over twenty‐
five white men came in sight of the rapidly fleeing Indians,
who, realizing that they would soon be surrounded and punished,
signified a desire to settle matters. Following an interchange
of protests, the peace pipe was smoked, after which the Indians
resumed their way westward. This understanding, however, did not
allay the fears of the settlers who fled panic‐stricken to Nora
Springs, abandoning for a time their claims in the vicinity of
Lime Creek and Clear Lake."
However ready the Indians may have seemed to make peace, the
settlers feared for the future; and so along the line of
settlements they spread the alarm that the Indians were on the
warpath. Many appeals were made to Governor Hempstead for aid.
But when he sent Major William Williams from Fort Dodge to
investigate the charges, the Major reported that no danger from
further attacks seemed to exist. Unable to secure State
protection, the settlers armed themselves. Doubtless the
"grindstone incident" soon ceased to impress the settlers with
any permanent sense of impending danger, for it was not long
before they began to return to their deserted claims.
But not far from the scene of this near tragedy there occurred
another incident which displays the temper not alone of the
Indian but also of the white borderer of the more troublesome
type. It appears that this tragic event grew to undue
proportions mainly through the vengeful hate of a frontiersman
by the name of Lott. The incident, somewhat trivial in itself,
has been given so much prominence as a reputed chief cause of
the massacre at Okohoji that it is deemed worthy of somewhat
extended notice in this place. Its connection with later events
may well be a matter of conjecture, owing to the character of
the Indians concerned.
For nearly a decade after the whites had begun to settle in
northwestern Iowa the inhabitants of that region had been
obliged to endure constant molestation from a roving band of
Sisseton Sioux Indians. Though at first composed of only about
five lodges‐mainly, it is said, of desperadoes and murderers‐
the band had grown by the gathering of like characters, fleeing
from their avenging fellow tribesmen, until it numbered at times
nearly five hundred. The band as a whole only assembled from
time to time for the purpose of united warfare against
others‐particularly against isolated bands of the Sac and Fox
Indians. It was known and feared from the Des Moines westward to
the Vermillion and northward to the Minnesota River on account
of its peculiarly ferocious and quarrelsome character. It was,
in short, a band of Indian outlaws. As such, it was hated and
feared by red men and white men alike. In its forays it spared
neither friend nor foe, but preyed upon both without
discrimination. It claimed no home, but roamed at will wherever
its fancy might lead.
Leadership of this band had been early acquired by one
Sidominadota or "Two Fingers". He had succeeded to the
leadership of this loosely consolidated band upon the death of
Wamdisapa, an Indian of somewhat milder disposition than his
successor. Sidominadota well maintained the savage character of
the band and may be credited with the inspiration of many
vengeful and frightful deeds committed during his brief
leadership. He was only nominally the head of the united group,
while really the leader of a small band seldom numbering more
than fifteen and frequently less. By all who had to deal with
him, red or white, he was looked upon with distrust. His fellow
leaders associated with him only in time of dire necessity, for
they well knew that Sidominadota would go any lengths to
accomplish an end. While he continued to make his refuge and
headquarters along the Vermillion, as did his predecessors, his
favorite haunts were the headwaters of the Des Moines and Little
Sioux Rivers and the region of the Iowa lakes.
About 1847 Sidominadota began to frequent that portion of the
Des Moines Valley where Fort Dodge now stands. It was his band
that in 1849 attacked a party of surveyors in charge of a man by
the name of Marsh about three miles from the present site of
Fort Dodge. Marsh and his party had been sent from Dubuque to
run a correction line across the State. After crossing to the
west side of the Des Moines River, they were notified by
Sidominadota not to proceed with their work as this territory
was Indian land. "With the departure of the Indians, the
surveyors continued to run their line. In a short time the
Indians returned, destroyed the instruments and landmarks of the
surveyors, stole their horses, and drove the men back across the
Des Moines. About a year later some settlers, more adventurous
than their fellows, located near the month of the Boone River.
Sidominadota, becoming aware of the arrival of these settlers,
paid them a visit and ended by destroying their cabins and
driving the people out of the country. This sort of behavior was
continued toward every white man who ventured into that
territory until the founding of Fort Dodge in 1850.
"Among others who had received indignities from this band was
one Henry Lott .... who in 1846 settled near the mouth of Boone
River in Webster County. Lott's past had been a varied one and
much of it was obscure. He boasted of New England origin, while
his wife claimed to be a daughter of an early Governor of Ohio
or Pennsylvania. If, however, we are to accept the judgment of
their contemporaries the family had degenerated. Lott is almost
always described as being notorious "lawless, a horse thief, a
vender of bad whiskey, a criminal, half-civilized, a desperado,
an outlaw, and a murderer." Up to the time he appeared in the
valley of the Des Moines his whole life had been one of
adventure.
His first appearance in Iowa, so far as known, was at Red Rock,
Marion County, in 1845, where he essayed the role of Indian
trader while dealing out bad whiskey to the Indians and
surreptitiously stealing their ponies. It is said that his Red
Rock neighbors in 1846 requested him to leave the neighborhood‐
which he did by moving on to Pea's Point.
Here his stay seems to have been brief, for during the same year
he is found located on the Des Moines River near the mouth of
the Boone, where he erected a cabin and resumed his
whiskey‐selling and horsestealing. Lott's horse‐stealing
activities caused the Indians to grow suspicious ; and finally
they traced the loss of five ponies directly to him and his
fellow marauders. This led to an Indian council which decided
that Lott should be driven out of the country. Accordingly he
was waited upon by Sidominadota and warned "that he was an
intruder; that he had settled on the Sioux hunting grounds"; and
that he was expected to get off at once. Lott contended that he
was not an intruder and refused to go. The Indians then began
the destruction of his property: his horses and cattle were
shot, his bee‐hives rifled, and his family threatened. Lott
seems to have been something of a coward, for when the Indians
began taking summary action he fled. While the Indians were
destroying or stealing his property and abusing the helpless
members of his family he, according to his own story, crossed
the river and secreted himself in the brush. Later he and his
stepson, leaving his wife and young children to the mercy of the
Indians, fled down the Des Moines River to Pea's Point, a short
distance south of the present site of Boone.
Here Lott related his story to John Pea and others of the
settlement. Aroused by his tale, the settlers organized a relief
party to return to his cabin and if possible to punish the
Indians. An appeal for more help was sent to Elk Rapids, sixteen
miles away. At this point lived Ghemeuse or "Johnny Green", a
half-breed Pottawattamie and Mns(]uakie xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx chief,
with many of his people who traditionally hated the Sioux. The
chief with twenty-six of his men and seven settlers from Pea's
Point went to Lott's assistance. It was past the middle of
December, and the weather was intensely cold. After Lott's
flight from his cabin, his twelve-year-old son, Milton, had
started in search of his father, but when about twenty miles
from his home and three miles from Boonesboro had frozen to
death. The relief party, on December 18, 1846, found the dead
body of the boy a short distance below the village of
Centerville. After burying the body on the spot where it was
found, the party continued on its way to Lott's cabin. When they
arrived they found that the Indians had gone. The family was
safe, though suffering and destitute as they had been robbed of
everything. The wife, however, had been so mistreated and had
suffered so extremely from exposure that she died a short time
thereafter.
Vowing vengeance, Lott moved south to the settlements and built
a second cabin. Here and at other points in the vicinity he
remained a few years, according to all accounts, and bided his
time in true frontier style. In the autumn of 1853 he and his
stepson passed through Fort Dodge on their way to settle at a
new location. In early November he selected a site for his cabin
about thirty miles north of Fort Dodge, in Humboldt County, at a
point where a small creek joins the Des Moines River. This creek
has since been named Lott's Creek in honor of the first white
settler in that vicinity." With three barrels of bad whiskey, he
re‐opened trade with the Indians. And the trade was good; for at
this time there was only one cabin, other than his own, north of
Fort Dodge‐the cabin of William Miller which was located six
miles from Fort Dodge.
In January following Lott's new settling, Sidominadota and his
family‐which was composed of his squaw, mother, four children,
and two orphan children‐came up the Des Moines and encamped on
"Bloody Run", a short distance below the mouth of Lott's Creek.
Aware of the coming of the old chief, Lott plotted his
destruction. Going to the lodge of Sidominadota, where he
perceived that he was not recognized, Lott reported the presence
of a large drove of elk feeding on the Des Moines bottom at a
point since known as the "Big Bend"." The chief's family being
in sore need of food, the Indian was easily trapped by the ruse.
Sidominadota, having been liberally treated to whiskey, mounted
his pony and set out for the hunt; while Lott and his stepson
followed. When a safe distance away from the Indian camp and
beyond earshot, Lott and his stepson fired upon the Indian,
killing him outright. Secreting themselves during the day, the
murderers, at the coming of darkness, disguised themselves as
Indians, returned to the lodge of the murdered Indian, raised a
terrific war cry for purposes of deception, and then surprised
and killed all the members of the family except a boy of twelve
and a girl of ten years who escaped under cover of darkness.'
Completing the work of destruction, Lott returned to his own
cabin, burned it to make the whole affair appear the work of
Indians, and in the company of his stepson fled down the Des
Moines Valley. Some years later a report came back to Iowa that
he had made his way to California and had there been lynched by
a vigilance committee."
Something more than a week after the murder of Sidominadota and
his family a band of Indians from a camp on the Lizard Creek,
while hunting in the vicinity of the mouth of "Bloody Run",
discovered what had taken place. They reported the fact not only
to Fort Ridgely but also to Major Williams at Fort Dodge,
demanding an investigation and the righting of the wrong as far
as possible. Major Williams at once raised a company of whites
and Indians and set out in an attempt to locate the murderers,
but to no avail. The Indians were firm in their conviction that
Lott had committed the deed. A coroner's jury under the
direction of Coroner John Johns met at Homer, the county seat of
Webster County, and placed the guilt upon Lott and his stepson.
But no very great effort was or could be made by the authorities
to secure the offenders, owing to the start of ten days which
they had secured.
Later they were indicted by a grand jury sitting in Des Moines,
which ended the attempt to find and punish them. The Indians
were highly incensed not only at the murder itself, but at the
apparent inaction of the authorities in apprehending and
punishing the murderers. Many reports became current as to the
final disposition of the dead chief's body after it had been
taken to Homer for the inquest. These reports only added to the
embitterment of the Indians, who had expected much from the
inquest, having been told that this would settle matters. That
the inquest took somewhat the form of a farce was due to the
attitude of the prosecuting attorney of Hamilton County,
Granville Berkley, who humorously conducted the affair.
Fearing later unpleasant results, the whites attempted to pacify
the Indians with many promises. But the Indians grew sullen and
suspicious and behaved in such a manner as to create the
impression that they might retaliate. It soon became evident
that the authorities had no intention of keeping their promises.
The Indians after some threatening seem to have disappeared. One
can understand how such incidents, coupled with past grievances,
"real or only imaginary", might in the end lead to desperate
deeds.
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