Page:History of Iowa From the Earliest Times to the Beginning of the Twentieth Century Volume 1.djvu/485

CHAPTER XXVII N early days, before Iowa Territory was organized, Bellevue, in Jackson County, became infested with men of disreputable character, who were guilty of many crimes and gave that locality a bad reputation.

In 1857 a party of immigrants landed in Bellevue, claiming to have come from Michigan. They had considerable property, consisting of good teams, wagons, household furniture and money. The land had not yet been surveyed and the only titles were claims held by the occupants. But as these were respected by all reputable persons and protected by rigid claim laws, towns were laid out on these claims, lots and blocks staked off and recorded, which were bought and sold with as much confidence in the claim titles as ever existed in later years after titles had been secured from Government sales and patents.

The leader of this Michigan colony was W. W. Brown, a man of intelligence and engaging manners. He built a hotel and was elected a magistrate. He was liberal and charitable, always ready to assist the unfortunate and soon became one of the leading citizens of the new town.

He employed a number of men in various enterprises and it was soon discovered that a large amount of counterfeit money was in circulation. Upon investigation it was in almost all cases traced to some employee of Mr. Brown. Citizens on both sides of the river began to lose horses, and it was discovered that some of them were found sheltered in the vicinity of Bellevue. Many horses were brought into the town by strangers and exchanged for other horses which were brought by other strangers, who claimed to have come from Wisconsin and northern Illinois.