Page 18 - DesMoinesRiver
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AN ONEOTA VILLAGE – 13VB311 THE HONEY WAR
Site 13VB311 is situated on the big bend of the Des Moines near Keo- The Iowa Territory Irregulars Face Off Against the
sauqua. Archaeologists have made several collections from the site and Missouri Militia (based on the Iowa History pages of the IAGenWeb project)
believe that it represents a substantial Oneota occupation such as a
village (Collins 1997:13). The site appears to have been located along When the Iowa Territory was carved out in 1838, the southern bound-
a trail that connected the southeastern Iowa Oneota villages along the ary was described as a line extending westward from the “Des Moines
Mississippi and the Oneota villages in central Missouri (Collins 1989). It Rapids” to the Missouri River. But, where were the “Des Moines Rapids”?
would not be surprising for an encampment or village to be established Iowans claimed that the boundary began at a place on the Mississippi River
at the point where a major route for travel and trade crossed the Des near Montrose known as the “Des Moines Rapids”. Missouri pointed to
Moines. The shallow water and hard rock riverbed would undoubtedly the ripples on the Des Moines River near Keosauqua and claimed that this
have made this a good place at which to safely ford the river. A village was where the line was drawn. On this basis Missouri claimed a strip of
at this location would be able to control the flow of travelers and trade land nearly 13 miles into Iowa territory.
along the trail.
In 1839, Missouri Governor Lilburn Boggs sent agents into the disputed
OVERLAND TRAVEL ROUTES – FOLLOWING THE TRAIL OF THE area to collect taxes. They were met with fury and driven away with
ONEOTA pitchforks and clubs. Humiliated and angry, the tax agents cut down
several valuable bee trees and extracted the honey, claiming it as partial
Archaeological and ethnographic evidence suggests that when moving payment for the taxes owed.
overland, Late Prehistoric and historic Native people traveled along the
high ground which divides river drainages, rather than following along In retaliation, Iowans assembled a posse and the sheriff of Van Buren
the winding, circuitous paths of the rivers. This would have allowed County “arrested” (some would say kidnapped) the sheriff of Clark Coun-
them to travel straighter, more direct routes, and to avoid the rugged ty, Missouri. An angry Governor Boggs called out the Missouri militia.
terrain, dense vegetation, and frequent flooding of the river valleys Although Iowa Territory had no militia, a group of 1,200 irregulars headed
(Henning 1970:29–30; Collins 1997:13). out to meet them.
Several of the early roads of Iowa’s territorial period followed a route Fortunately, calmer heads prevailed. Iowa Territorial Governor Robert
along the ridge between the Des Moines and Skunk River drainages Lucas sent a U.S. Marshall into Van Buren County to calm the militias. Ev-
known as “The Divide Road” (Donham 1985:20–22). The Federal eryone agreed that no one would attempt to collect taxes until the Federal
Military road that extended from Fort Madison to the Missouri border government settled the dispute.
followed this route to Utica and then turned southward to Keosauqua,
where it crossed the river. The Divide Road joined another overland In 1849 the Supreme Court officially decided on the boundary. A line was
road that ran from Prairie du Chien to the mouth of the Chariton drawn from the northwest corner of Missouri due east to the Des Moines
River. This route also links regions where large numbers of Oneota River. It then followed the Des Moines to its confluence with the Missis-
sites are concentrated and it has been suggested that these military sippi at Keokuk. Wooden stakes were driven along the boundary every
roads followed the original trails used by Native people for centuries mile and every tenth marker was iron. The Missourian who cut down the
(Collins 1997:13–14). bee trees was sued, found guilty, and fined $1.50 in damages (Anderson
2004:23).
18 A River of Unrivaled Advantages—Life Along the Lower Des Moines River
