AD-A255 372 Assessment of the Old Red Rock Indian Line Sycamore Tree, Lake Red Rock, Marion County, Iowa DACW25-92-M-0414 by Leah D. Rogers DTSC Project Historical Archaeologist Fred A. Finney and Stephen C. Lensink Co-Principal Investigators -I(cid:1)"(cid:1)i(cid:1) (cid:127) r I Contract Completion Report 328 92-24748 Office of the State Archaeologist .. ..... The University of Iowa Iowa City 1992 '-. .... ~. ... Table of Contents Page iv Tables iv Figures 1 Introduction 1 Project Area Description 2 Historical Assessment 10 Summary and Recommendations 12 Acknowledgments Refer ences Cited 13 Appendix A - Scope of Work 34 6"tasion For M'IS GRA&I DTIC TAB [ Unnaroo(cid:127)riced [. Justiflcation D1(cid:127)tribul on/ Availability-Codes Avail and/or ISpeoial Dist Tables Table Page 1. Annual ring counts for the Lake Red Rock Sycamore tree. 8 Figures Figure Page 1. Location of project area 15 2. Location of Sycamore tree and former town of Red Rock 16 3. Location of Sycamore tree in relation to old slough, river road, and 17 bridge in 1949 4. Photographs of project area 18 5. Photographs of tree 19 6. Photographs of tree and Red Rock Bluff 20 7. Photographs showing tree boring in progress 21 8. Photographs showing hollow portion of tree 22 9. Map showing location of Red Rock line within treaty cession area of 23 1842 10. Portion of 1844 map showing incorrect placement of Red Rock line at 24 mouth of White Breast Creek 11. Map of Red Rock line as surveyed by George W. Harrison in 1843 25 12. 1912 topographic map showing placement of Red Rock line and location 26 of tree 13. Original 1846-1848 General Land Office survey map of project area 27 14. 1968 photograph of Sycamore tree 28 15. Undated historic photographs of Sycamore tree 29 16. Photographs of tree taken in 1970s and 1992 30 17. 1957 painting of Sycamore tree by Z. M. Prunty of Knoxville, Iowa 31 18. Photographs of Sycamore tree from the 1960s 32 19. Tree ring count from core sample plotted by 5 cm increments 33 This project involved the assessment of the archival and oral historical record concerning the "accuracyo f the tradition that a large, extant sycamore tree located at Lake Red Rock, Iowa, is the "old Red Rock Indian Line Tree". This tree reportedly was a well-known landmark and boundary line markerf or the Red Rock line associatedw ith the 1842 Sauk and Mesquakie treaty cession. The tree is dead and is currently standing in approximately 3.1 m (10 feet) of water impounded by the Lake Red Rock reservoir. The assessment was conducted to provide the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island District, with recommendations concerning the identification, significance, and possible preservation of this tree. The investigation indicated that this tree is very near the Red Rock Indian Line and would have been an old tree in 1842; however, the legal recordsf rom that time make no mention of this tree. On the other hand4 oral history and mid-twentieth century written "accountsi ndicate that this is a tree of some historical significance. Despite this unresolved ambiguity, and the ineligibility of the treef or nomination to the NationalR egister of Historic Places, it is concluded that the tree is of local importance and that it has stood as a symbol of the Red Rock Line for a number of years. It is recommended that the tree be marked in some manner to identify its history and to serve as a visual reminder of the Red Rock Line location. It is also recommended that a cross-section be taken from the tree to better document its age, provide important climatic reference data, and to serve as a tangible artifact of this tree before it is lost entirely to decay. Introduction This report has been prepared by the Office of the State Archaeologist (OSA), The University of Iowa, under the terms of a contract agreement between the OSA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island District (RICOE). The report records the results of an archival, oral historical, and field assessment of the old Red Rock Indian Line Tree located in the extreme north central portion of Section 2, T76N-R20W, Union Township, Marion County, Iowa, within the boundaries of Lake Red Rock (Figures 1-2). The project involved archival research, informal oral history interviews, and the extraction of a dendrochronology sample from the suspected Red Rock Line tree. The purpose of the project was to assess the veracity of the historical record and oral history surrounding this sycamore tree and make recommendations concerning its historical significance and the need for future preservation efforts. The OSA is solely responsible for the interpretations and recommendations contained in this report. All records generated by this project, including the wood sample, are curated at the OSA. Historical research was conducted by the OSA and the RICOE, with the field investigation conducted on May 21, 1992, by Leah D. Rogers, Project Historical Archaeologist, and G. Clark Rogers, Field Archaeologist, with the assistance of Rick Trine, State Wildlife Red Rock Unit Manager, Department of Natural Resources. Fred A. Finney (OSA) served as Project Director. Project Area Description The sycamore tree is located within the floodplain of the Des Moines River south of the old river channel and on the south side of a former slough of that river (Figure 3). The river was impounded by Lake Red Rock dam which was begun in 1960 and completed in March 1969. The dam is located approximately 12.9 km (8 miles) east-southeast of the project area. Until recently the elevation of the normal pool level of the reservoir was at 222.5-223.7 m (730-734 feet) National Geodetic Vertical Datum (NGVD). The pool level was raised to 226.2 m (742 feet) NGVD in April, 1992, with proposed annual fall raises to 226.8 m (744 feet) NGVD. At 2 present, the sycamore tree stands in approximately 3.1 m (10 feet) of water, with at least 3.1 m (10 feet) of the bole extending above the surface of the lake (Figures 4-6). The "Red Rock" bluff, which gave rise to the name of the former town of Red Rock and to the reservoir, is situated north of the tree (see Figure 6b). The tree has been dead for at least 17 years and was finally killed in the early 1970s by the creation of the lake, although the tree had been previously damaged by lightning and fire (Rick Trine, personal communication 1992). Historical Assessment METHODS Ron Deiss, RICOE archaeologist, had conducted some archival research and oral history interviews concerning the sycamore tree prior to the initiation of this project. Contacts were made with Harriet Heusinkveld of Pella, Iowa, and Bill Gilbert of Simpson College, Indianola, Iowa. The materials and information generated by this previous investigation were incorporated into the present study. Additional archival research and oral history interviews were conducted as part of the present investigation. The collections of the following repositories were examined for additional data concerning the Red Rock line and the sycamore tree: the archives, libraries, and manuscript collections of the State Historical Society of Iowa in Iowa City and Des Moines; the collections housed at the Lake Red Rock Visitors Center; the collections of the Knoxville Public Library in Marion County; the legal records and plat maps at the Marion County Recorder's Office in Knoxville; and the library collection of the Office of the State Archaeologist in Iowa City. The archival research included an examination of all available primary and secondary sources. Primary sources consulted included legal records, surveyor's field notes and plat maps, photographs, paintings, and historic plat maps and atlases, while the secondary sources included county and local histories, professional historical studies, manuscripts, and newspaper articles. Additional, informal interviews were conducted with Rev. Arthur Nichols of rural Knoxville, Laura Browne of Cedar Rapids, Don Varrar of the Botany Department of Iowa State University in Ames, Bill Gilbert of the Biology Department of Simpson College in Indianola, Wayne Wendland of the Illinois State Water Survey in Urbana, Illinois, and John Pearson of the Department of Natural Resources in Des Moines. Dr. Gilbert has worked as a summer ranger at Lake Red Rock for a number of years. Rev. Nichols was born in the nearby former town of Dunreath in 1913 and later lived in the town of Red Rock until 1962 when the town was abandoned for the lake construction. He is well versed in the region's history and proided oral history testimony for the 1987-1988 archaeological investigations at Lake Red Rock (McNerney and Stanley 1988:325-344; Rogers et al. 1989). Rev. Nichols currently resides on the south bluff overlooking the lake and very near the sycamore tree location. Law d Browne is a historian living in Cedar Rapids and has conducted years of study on the Mesquakie oral tradition concerning sites in Linn County. She was able to provide names of potential Mesquakie contacts at the Tama Settlement. Adaline Wanatee, an older resident of the Tama Settlement, was contacted by letter concerning possible oral history of the sycamore tree in Mesquakie tradition. The field investigation was conducted on May 21, 1992, and con!,isted of the extraction of a dendrochronology wood core sample from the sycamore tree. Rick Trine of the Department of Natural Resources aided this investigation with the provision of a boat to reach the tree and assistance in the collection of the wood sample. The core was obtained with an increment borer 3 having a bit length of 0.5 m (20 inches) and a core diameter of 5 mm (0.2 inches). The borer was inserted into the bole of the sycamore tree approximately 0.46 m (1.5 feet) above the lake surface which was at an elevation of 226.3 m (742.47 feet) NGVD on May 21, 1992 (Figure 7). At the time of investigation, the tree was waterlogged and in a state of decay. A large portion of the exposed bole on the south-southwest side is hollowed out from decay (Figure 8). The sample was taken from the intact, north-northeast side of the tree; however, because of the saturation and decay only a portion of the bit length could be extracted. The recovered sample was inserted into plastic drinking straws and labeled as to the location and portion removed. The sample was then examined by counting the annual tree rings after the core had been dried and affixed to a stationary surface. A comparative core sample was obtained from a 2.92 ft diameter, 100-year-old sycamore tree along the Skunk River in Ames, Iowa. This tree was cored on July 29, 1992, by project personnel. RESULTS Archival/OralH istoricalR esearch The history of the Red Rock treaty line is not without controversy, and various sources have postulated two different locations for this north-south boundary line. The line itself demarcated a boundary within the 1842 cession area which encompassed a large portion of central and south-central Iowa and was ceded to the United States by the Sauk and Mesquakie through a treaty agreement (Figure 9). According to the terms of this treaty, the internal Red Rock boundary line served as the western boundary of the government land between 1843-1845, with the Native Americans on the west side of the boundary and Euro-American settlers on the east side. The Sauk and the Mesquakie were allowed to remain at their villages along the lower reaches of the Des Moines and Iowa rivers until May 1, 1843, when they were to move west of the Red Rocks line. By midnight on October 11, 1845, they then had to move out of the Iowa territory onto a reservation in Kansas, with the western portion of the 1842 cession area subsequently opened to Euro-American settlement and in full possession of the United States. During the interim period, the United States government established the Raccoon River Indian Agency and Fort Des Moines III to protect the Sauk and Mesquakie from the Sioux and to prevent Euro-American squatters from encroaching on the Indian territory before October 11t h (Gourley 1985:3-4). The original agreement stated that the confederated tribes of Sacs [Sauk] and Foxes [MesquakiesI cede to the United States, forever, all the lands west of the Mississippi River to which they have any title or claim or in which they have any interest whatever; reserving the right to occupy for the term of three years, from the time of signing this treaty, all that part of the land hereby ceded which lies west of a line running due north and south from the painted or red rocks on the White Breast fork of the Des Moines River, which rocks will be found about eight miles, when reduced to a straight line, from the junction of the White Breast and Des Moines (Stiles 1911:4). George W. Harrison was instructed to survey the boundary line beginning on March 17, 1843. He understood this line "to be run north from the Painted or Red Rocks on the White Breast to the southern boundary of the neutral ground and south from the said rocks to the northern boundary of Missouri" (Stiles 1911:7). This would have placed the line at a point where it intersected the confluence of White Breast Creek and the Des Moines River; a 4 location which is depicted on J. Haydn Potter's 1844 map as shown in Figure 10. However, during the process of surveying this line, Harrison found out that the undivided testimony of the Indians is that there is no such point [i.e., painted or red rocks] on the White Breast and that the place designated by them on the Des Moines River is the point intended by the makers of the treaty as the starting point of the line which Red Rocks are about 8 or 10 miles in a direct line above the junction of the White Breast [emphasis added] (Stiles 1911:7). Further, he discovered that there are no other "Red Rocks" between the points designated and the junction of the "White Breast" with the Des Moines River and that the use of the term "White Breast" was intended to designate these rocks from some "Red Rocks" some four or five miles above on the Des Moines River. Concurring with the Indians in their view of the matter and a subsequent examination of a portion of the valley of the White Breast confirming it, I determined to make the "Red Rocks" on the Des Moines River pointed out by them as the starting point of the line, believing that such could only be the intention of the makers of the Treaty... [emphasis added] (Stiles 1911:8). The final Red Rock boundary line, therefore, intersected the Red Rock sandstone bluff upstream from the confluence of White Breast Creek and just above the subsequent location of the town of Red Rock. Figure 11 reportedly is a tracing from Harrison's original survey map showing the Red Rock boundary line north and south of the Red Rocks. In 1927 Knoxville resident, Robert T. Johnson, relocated the Red Rock line on the 1912 USGS topographic map of the Red Rock area following Harrison's survey notes (Figure 12). This figure shows only that portion of the boundary line within four miles north and south of the Red Rocks bluff. The controversy in the location of the Red Rock line was also noted by John Beach who was the United States Indian Agent at the Raccoon River Indian Agency during this period. He noted in a letter to John Chambers, Superintendent of Indian Affairs, dated October 25, 1842, that Chambers had erred in thinking that the Red Rocks, and thus the 1842 treaty boundary, is on White Breast Creek. Beach reports that the correct position of the Red Rocks is on the Des Moines River, approximately 8 miles upriver from the White Breast mouth (Gourley 1985:15). Thus, Beach confirms the location of the Red Rock line as finalized by George W. Harrison and as shown in Figures 11 and 12. The later county history books (Donnel 1872:7; Union Historical Company 1881:297, 703; Wright 1915:56) also all noted the location of the Red Rock line as having intersected the Des Moines River a short distance above the town of Red Rock. The starting point of this line on the Red Rocks bluff was marked by Harrison with an earthen mound with timber crosspieces. The rest of the line north and south was marked by rock cairns at various intervals along the surveyed line (Beecher 1975:3; Scarbrough n.d.; Wright 1915:56). Reportedly, when the treaty agreement expired and the western portion of the treaty cession was opened to Euro-American settlement, all of the markers were ordered destroyed, so this physical evidence of the line was lost (Beecher 1975:3). One final note on the location of the Red Rock Line concerns a map in Heusinkveld (1989a:230) which shows the line intersecting the southwest corner of the plat of the town of Red Rock. This is in error as the original line was over one-quarter mile further to the west as shown on Figure 12. With the question concerning the location of the Red Rock Indian treaty boundary line resolved, the next question is whether or not the extant sycamore tree had any association with this line. Interestingly, there is no mention of the tree in any of the county history books (Donnel 1872; Union Historical Company 1881; Wright 1915) despite numerous references to the Red Rock line and its location in these books. Furthermore, the notes from both 5 Harrison's original survey of the Red Rock line (Stiles 1911) and from the original General Land Office surveys of the township and section lines of this area contain no references to this tree. Specifically, Harrison's notes as transcribed in the 1911 Annals of Iowa (Stiles 1911:9) indicate the following: SOUTH OF THE RED ROCKS Miles Chains south 5.60 To the foot of the Bluff. 6.40 Left or Northern Bank of the Des Moines River. Course S.E. about 5 feet deep and rapid current. 14.58 Right bank of Des Moines River and enter a body of fine timber. 31.30 And Black Walnut 20 inches in diameter. 53.13 A Black Walnut 24 inches in diameter. 73.30 A ledge of Sandstone Rock about 40 feet high and bearing N.W. and S.E. 1 00.00 Set a post and took for references: White Oak 18 S. 44 degrees W. 41 Links/Marked White Oak 20 N. 46 degrees E. 47 Links/I.B.1.M. This mile is rich alluvial River bottom, no indications of being subject to inundations and covered with a heavy growth of Walnut, Ash, and Hickory timber. This is the mile within which the sycamore tree is located and yet the only bearing trees noted were black walnuts and white oaks. The field notes from the General Land Office survey of 1846-1848 (Office of the Secretary of State 1981) indicate the following for T76N-R20W going west along the line between Sections 2 (T76N-R20W) and 35 (T77N-R20W): Chains West 31.50 To a wagon road N.E. and S.W. 40.00 Set a post for corner to ¼ section from which a Black Walnut 20 inches in dia. bears N61' E27 links Black Walnut 18 inches in dia. bears S45' E38 links 40.23 Enter field N and S 43.50 Morgan's log house unoccupied 57.33 Leave field N and S 80.00 Set a post for corner to Sections 2, 3, 34, and 35 from which a cottonwood 16 inches in dia. bears S65' E47 links A cottonwood 12 inches in dia. bears N89' E64 links Timber noted B. Oak, Bur Oak, Elm, Hickory, Hackberry, Buckeye, and .... [the sentence was not completed in the transcribed notes] 6 This line is within close proximity to the location of the sycamore tree and yet there is no mention of this tree in the field notes. The map produced by this survey is presented in Figure 13. Examination of the field notes concerning the survey of other lines in the vicinity of Sections 2 and 35 also failed to produce any reference to the sycamore tree. While oral history maintains that this sycamore tree was commonly known for many years as a prominent bearing or boundary marking tree on the Red Rock line (Arthur Nichols, personal communication 1992), the earliest written accounts of the tree in this role date from the 1950s-1960s when the Lake Red Rock reservoir was proposed and interest in local history was stirred. One of these writers was Maude Thomason Scarbrough, who in her 87th year in the 1960s wrote the following: this giant tree at shoulder height measures 22 ft.-ll in. in circumference, has lived for hundreds of years on the Des Moines river bottom in Marion County near, where the tovn of Red Rock, Iowa, used to be--growing only a few feet from the highway can easily be seer from an automobile by driving three quarters of a mile upstream on the river road at the south end of the bluffs near where the old bridge used to be-The big Sycamore's health is good although it was almost scared to death by a road improvement a few years ago, which threatened its existence until local citizen's committees prevented its destruction. The age of the giant tree is unknown.... but it is certain, however, that it watched the parade of historic Indians, the Sioux, Iowa's Pottawater [sic], Winnebagoes, as well as the Sax [sic] and Foxes, as they passed in war and peace from the Red Rocks on the Des Moines river, from which the old tree springs, are well known in the tales and legends of these people who lived in the town of Red Rock, Iowa...Prior to 1842 John Jordan's trading post, in the shade of this big tree, exchanged gun powder, trinkets, and whiskey, for the Indian's fur catch....It watched the settlers cross the Red Rock line at Midnight October 11th, 1845, when the territory was opened to white settlers...It watched the settlement of Red Rock become a bustling river town where, saloons, murder, robbery, were quite commonplace (Scarbrough n.d.). Scarbrough was a lifelong Red Rock area resident. Her great-grandfather had settled in this area in 1846. She noted that her ancestors had said that this was a beautiful tree until a windstorm broke off the canopy, likely in the late nineteenth or early twentieth century (Scarbrough n.d.). The tree, however, survived this disaster and sprouted new growth. It was reportedly still living when the reservoir was created. Another account by Otto Knauth in 1968 noted that this was the "old Red Rock Indian Line Tree" and had marked the line south of the Des Moines River. It was further noted that the tree's age was estimated as being upwards of 200 years and had a girth of 7.3 m (24 feet) at chest height with the bole standing 7.6 m (25 feet) high. The branches extended upward from the bole another 6.2 m (20-30 feet). At that time, the base was fire scarred and the top had been truncated by a lightning strike. Knauth (1968) also noted the old Indian trail which later became the river road and led past this tree. This road is referred to by Donnell (1872:229) as "among the many roads in [the] county known to [have been] Indian trails." This tree had also reportedly served as a landmark to Native Americans in the area during the early historic period. Heusinkveld (1989b: 19) noted that the sycamore tree "near the banks of the river was a favorite rendezvous" for the Sauk and Mesquakie. A recent article in the Lake Explorer noted that [the sycamore tree stood] so tall (80 feet) that it scrvcd as a landmark. Indian trails met at its base. It had taken on mystical qualities as a meeting ground (Lake Explorer 1991:22). In an earlier account (Donnel 1872:218) did note a Native American "thanksgiving feast" that took place in the fall of 1844 "at a place near Red Rock village, and on the line between 7 the United States and the Indian Territory, as designated by an inscription on a board fastened to a post". However, there is no mention of the tree in association with this ceremony. A letter was written to Adaline Wanatee of the Mesquakie Settlement at Tama asking if there was any Mesquakie oral tradition concerning this tree. No reply was received; however, Robin Youngbear of the Trial Office noted that he had never heard of this tree (Robin Youngbear, personal communication 1992). As noted above, the tree was also reportedly near the site of John Jordan's early trading post (Scarbrough n.d.). Donnel (1872:12) indicated that there were several early trading posts in the Red Rock vicinity. One operated by a man named Shaw "stood on the opposite side of the river from the village [i.e., Red Rock], and another a short distance above it, was kept by John Jordan" (Donnel 1872). A further description of Jordan's post indicated that it was located "on the south side of the river, some distance above the ferry landing" (Donnel 1872:21). This would correspond with the general location of the sycamore tree. After the land was opened to Euro-American settlement, most of the trading posts were abandoned. Jordan left for California and later settled in Missouri, while Shaw ended his days in Red Rock (Donnel 1872:16). There was a log cabin or log house in the vicinity of the tree location when the area was surveyed for the General Land Office (see Figure 13); however, on the plat map and in the field notes, this house is referred to as "Morgan's cabin" and was unoccupied at the time of the survey in 1846-1847. There is no doubt that the legend of the sycamore tree is as large as its size. It is labeled "the Big Iowa Sycamore" in a Trees of America publication (Outdoor World 1973:79) and is listed among the notable trees of size and historical association in the United States. This account describes the tree as follows: the centuries-old big Iowa sycamore trunk spans 23 feet in circumference at shoulder height. It is the second largest sycamore in the country, exceeded only by an Ohio sycamore with a 42-foot, 7-inch trunk circumference. The exact age of the tree is not known, but it is certain that the tree witnessed a procession of Indians, the Sioux, lowas, Potawatomies, Winnebagoes, Sac and Foxes, pass by and, relatively recently, the coming of the white man. The tree was old when the first steamboats came to Des Moines in 1837 and occasioned the development of Red Rock, Iowa, into a bustling, lawless river frontier town in the 1840s (Outdoor World 1973:79). The oral history is so strong concerning the identification of this tree as the Red Rock Indian Line tree that it must be rooted in some fact. It has been suggested by Dr. Bill Gilbert of Simpson College that a possible explanation for the ambiguity that results when comparing the original survey records and early written accounts with the later oral history may be that the walnut, oak, and cottonwood trees, which were used as bearing trees in the original surveys, were logged out at an early date because they would have been prized as building materials. The sycamore tree, on the other hand, was left unscathed because this type of wood is inferior for building purposes. As a result, this tree began to stand out more and more as the surrounding timber was cut down and removed. It became an easy landmark for people to refer to when asked about the location of the old Red Rock Line as it is very near the original line. Therefore, while it was not an original bearing tree along the line, its proximity to this line and its survival as a large, prominent tree resulted in its identification as a symbol of the Red Rock Line (Bill Gilbert, personal communication 1992). The final question concerns whether the sycamore tree trunk that is extant at Lake Red Rock is the sycamore tree that is discussed in the oral history and the historical accounts of the 1950s-1960s. On this question, there is no doubt that this is the sycamore tree of local legend. This was concluded from discussions with Rev. Arthur Nichols (personal communication 1992)