Evening Republican, Volume 17, Number 75, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 28 March 1913 — GRAVE POST FOUND [ARTICLE]

GRAVE POST FOUND

Marker at Burial Place of Illinois Pioneer Uncovered. One Present at Ceremony Tells of Weird Rites of Fox Indians in Placing Memorial Over Grave of Col. George Davenport. Rock Island, 11l. —An old cedar post placed at the head of the grave of a murdered Illinois pioneer by friendly Fox Indians, who mourned the settler’s death, has been uncovered in a he&p of musty legal papers in the office of an attorney here. Though worm-eaten and partially-decayed at the ends, the unique grave marker still shows weird traces that once were crude sketches symbolical of grief and battlefield achievements. A band of prairie brigands swooped down upon the home of CoL George Davenport, a wealthy settler who owned the Island! In the Mississippi on which thc| government arsenal is now built, and murdered him. The crime, committed July 4, 1845, is recalled by old residents in Rock Island and Davenport, lowa, which town, by the way, is named after the victim. About, the same time that one of the murderers was hanged for the bloody deed some Fox Indians who, through their dealings with Davenport, had come to have a deep friendship for him, fashioned this old cedar grave post and erected it at the head of his grave. For some years the post marked the grave of Colonel Davenport Then his body was remQved to a family lot in Chlppianock cemetery, south of Rock Islafid. and for years the ‘old grave post of the Indians was thought to be lost. Recently it was discovered when the musty contents of an old law office were moved into modern quarters. The founder of the firm had been Davenport’s attorney. The weird rites with which the Indians planted the grave plot are narrated by one who was present at the ceremony and to whdm, according to his statement, the facts stand out in his memory as clearly as ever. "It was on a Friday afternoon, about the middle 4 of the year 1845, that I went to the Island where the Davenport homestead was and where Col. George had been buried. Arrived there, I beheld a band of Fox Indians, with whom he had always been very friendly, lying in a circle about his grave. In the center of the. ring of prostrate Indians, the head of the grave, rose a new white cedar post "The ceremony began when two of the braves arose and drew weird figures upon the post Others did the same in pairs and in turn. A third Indian, carrying a war club, advanced and drank to the health of the decedent, then walked three times around the grave, delivering himself of most earnest exhortations. This was repented Until each Indian had taken part in the ceremony. The -pictures that were drawn upon the’post were to represent the crowning achievements of him who drew them and at the same time were meant to display the grief of the Indians at the loss of their friend. "Following the ceremony of planting the post a huge feast.was set upon the grass. A. health was drunk invoking the Great Spirit to open the doors to admit their friend Colonel Davenport. Then meat of various' kinds w*s brought upon the table. After the dinner several Indian dances were Indulged in. I left the braves as nightfall came, gathered about a camp fire, preparing further to do honor to their murdered friend.” y