History of the State of Missouri.

PART I-HISTORICAL AND POLITICAL.

INTRODUCTORY.

When a book is written, it is presumed that the writer had some object in view and some end to achieve by his labor in collecting the material and writing the book; and it is right that he should put himself on good terms with his readers at the outset by making a brief, but frank and honest statement of his object, plan and purpose in the book which he offers to public patronage. The writer of this History of Missouri has aimed to embody in a brief space the greatest amount of solid and reliable information about things which directly hinge and center upon or within the territory of this State-this international commonwealth, which holds by right divine the royal prerogative of a destiny imperial and grand, if she can acquire or develop human brain and muscle adequate to utilize wisely, honorably and energetically her magnificent natural resources, both of commercial position and of agricultural and mineral wealth. The writer's desire and effort has been to present nothing which would not be read with deep interest by every intelligent citizen of Missouri at the present time; and also stand as a permanent body of information, at once useful and reliable for future reference. Discussion of theories, problems or doubtful matters has been avoided; solid facts have been diligently sought after; and the narrative has been made to embody as many facts and events as possible without falling into the dry-bones method of mere statistical tables. In fact, the limit of space allotted him has compelled the writer to condense, epitomize, shorten up-and therefore continually to repress his desire to embellish the narrative with the graces of rhetoric and the glow of an exuberant and fervid enthusiasm. This, however, secures to the reader more facts within the same space.

In preparing this work more than a hundred volumes have been consulted, to collate incidents and authenticate dates and facts, besides much matter gathered from original sources and not before embraced in any

book. It is not presumed that there are no mistakes or errors of statement herein made; but it is believed that there are fewer of such lapses than commonly occur with the same amount of data in similar works. The classification of topics is an attempt to give them a consecutive and consistent relative place and order in the book, for convenience of incidental reference or of selective reading.

PRE-HISTORIC MISSOURI.

THE MOUND-BUILDERS, ETC.

Every State has a pre-historic history—that is, remains and relics are found which show that the land was inhabited by a race or races of men long before its discovery and occupation by a race sufficiently advanced in the arts of civilization to preserve a written record of their own observations and doings. It is now well established that every portion of the United States was inhabited by a race of men grouped under the general name of "Mound-builders," who preceded the modern hunter tribes called "Indians." It further appears, from all the evidence accumulated, that the Mound-builders were a race that made permanent settlements, and built earthworks of considerable extent for defense against enemies, both man and beast; also for sepulture, for religious rites, and for memorial art; it is also evident that they cultivated the soil to some extent, made rude textile fabrics and clay pottery, and wrought implements of domestic use, ornaments, charms, toys, pipes, etc., and weapons of war and of the chase, from flint, porphyry, jasper, hornstone, granite, slate, and other varieties of rocks; also from horn, bone, shells, and other animal products; and from native copper. But they had no knowledge of iron, nor any art of smelting copper; they merely took small pieces of the native ore and hammered it cold with their stone tools until it took some rude shape of utility, and then they scoured and polished it to its utmost brilliancy; and it is altogether probable that these articles were only possessed by the chieftains or ruling families. Plates of mica are also found among their remains, with holes for suspension on cords. around the neck or body; and lumps of galena or lead ore sometimes occur, but these must have been valued merely as trinkets or charms, because of their lustre. Remains of this people are found frequently both on the bluffs and bottom lands of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, and, in many States, far inland, also.

The first mention of such remains in Missouri is made by a U. S.

exploring expedition under Major S. H. Long, in 1819. This expedition went in the first steamboat that ever puffed and paddled its way against the swift, muddy current of the Missouri river; the boat was named "Western Engineer," but it had a double stern-wheel, or two wheels, one of them named in large letters, "James Monroe," and the other "John C. Calhoun," in honor of the then President and Secretary of War. This steamer had to stop at St. Louis for some repairs; and two members of the expedition, Messrs. Thomas Say and T. R. Peale, improved the time by surveying a group of twenty-seven ancient mounds which occupied ground that is now all covered over by the modern city of St. Louis. This occurred in June, 1819; Mr. Say prepared a map of the mounds and a brief account of them, and this appears to be the first authentic record of such ancient works within the territory now constituting the State of Missouri; his notes on these mounds were published in 1823, in the report of Major Long's expedition, but his map of them was never published until 1862, when it appeared on page 387 of the "Smithsonian Report" for the year 1861. In his account Mr. Say says:

"Tumuli and other remains of the labors of nations of Indians (?) that inhabited this region many ages since are remarkably numerous about St. Louis. Those tumuli immediately northward of the town and within a short distance of it, are twenty-seven in number, of various forms and magnitudes, arranged nearly in a line from north to south. The common form is an oblong square, and they all stand on the second bank of the river. * It seems probable these piles of earth were raised as cemeteries, or they may have supported altars for religious cer

emonies."

It was from these mounds that St. Louis derived her pseudonym of the "Mound City"; but this name is now almost entirely obsolete, since the city has risen up to claim the prouder title of "Inter-Metropolis of North America". When the largest one of the mounds was leveled some skeletons were found, and some thick discs with holes through them; they had probably served as beads, and were wrought from shells of a species of fresh water clam or mussel. Numerous specimens of wrought flints were found between St. Louis and Carondelet, in 1860; and in 1861 an ancient flint shovel was dug up while building military earthworks.

In Mississippi county, in the southeastern corner of the State, there is a group of mounds covering ten acres, in section 6, t. 24, r. 17, varying from ten to thirty feet in height. About 1855 these mounds were explored by two gentlemen from Chicago, and they found some pottery, with men represented upon its sides; one figure appeared to be a priest or some official personage, as shown by his head-dress, and the other *Campbell's History of Howard County says: 'May 28th, 1819, the first steamboatthe Independence,' Capt. Nelson, time from St. Louis, including all stops, twelve dayslanded at Franklin on her way up the [Missouri] river." Thus it seems that Major Long's boat was really the second one to go up, although in most histories it is mentioned as the first-and it was the first that went up any great distance.