Page:History of Iowa From the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century Volume 1.djvu/208



but made no resistance. The island had long been a favorite resort for the Indians, where they camped among its beautiful groves and paddled their canoes along the rocky shores. It was one of the most beautiful places in the Mississippi Valley and they were reluctant to see it occupied by a military force of the whites.

General Smith at once began the erection of a fortress on a rocky elevation at the lower end of the island. When completed the interior of the fort was four hundred feet square. The lower half of the walls was of stone and the upper half was constructed of heavy timber. At the northwest, southwest and southeast block houses were built which were provided with cannon. On one side of the square barracks were erected of hewn timber with roofs sloping inward to protect them from the fire of the Indians and also that they might not furnish a safe lodging place for the enemy in case of attack. The northwest corner of the fort stood about two hundred feet from the bridge which now connects the island with the Iowa shore. The west end of the island was at that time covered with a dense forest of oak, black walnut and elm.

Colonel George Davenport, who came to Rock Island with the first troops, was the contractor's agent who furnished the supplies for the army. He made his permanent home on the island, where he was murdered on the 4th of July, 1845. Fort Armstrong was completed in 1817, and continued to be occupied by troops under various commanders until May 4, 1836, when it was evacuated. The last commander was Lieutenant-Colonel William Davenport, of the First United States Infantry.

After the evacuation of the fort, attempts were made by various parties to preëmpt and enter land on the island and to secure possession and title. Congress, by special acts, permitted George Davenport and David B. Sears to enter the tracts of land upon which they had made valuable improvements, but held the island as a Government reservation. Long litigation followed, but in the end the