Biography of Samuel Howell (1796 - 1882)
History of the Pioneer Families of Missouri, by Wm. S. Bryan and Robert
Rose (St. Louis: Bryan, Brand & Co., 1876) pp. 114-116.
Mr. Samuel HOWELL settled in Lincoln
county in June, 1827, having emigrated from Franklin county, Ga. Soon after he came to the
county, he and a small party went down to the Mississippi for a week's hunt. During the
afternoon of the first day, a fine buck was killed not far from the camp. The next
morning, after the others had been gone some time, Mr. HOWELL took his rifle and walked
down the river about half a mile. Approaching the bank, and happening to look toward the
opposite side, he saw an Indian shove his canoe into the water and step into it. At that
distance he appeared to be a very large and powerful man, and Mr. HOWELL watched his
movements with a considerable degree of interest, for the Indians in the upper country,
under the celebrated chief Black Hawk, had begun to be troublesome, and it was not known
at what time they might make a raid upon the white settlements. For several minutes the
warrior remained motionless, as if listening, and then seated himself he began to ply his
paddle, and the canoe sped swiftly up the stream, hugging close to the shore as if to
screen itself under the overhanging bushes. Reaching a point opposite the hunters' camp,
it turned and made directly across the stream. Mr. HOWELL, suspecting mischief, returned
as quickly as he could to the camp, which he reached a few minutes in advance of the
Indian. The latter was unarmed, but advanced directly toward the camp, without showing by
a sign or an expression of his countenance whether he meant friendship or enmity. Stepping
up to Mr. HOWELL, he grasped his hand and grunted out the usual Indian salutation of
"How do?" which was probably all the English he knew. The next instant he
snatched the rifle out of Mr. HOWELL's hand, with the same show of rough cordiality, and
with a complacent smile proceeded to carefully examine every portion of the weapon from
the muzzle to the breech. Mr. HOWELL was not sure but that the smile meant mischief, and
blamed himself severely for allowing the gun to be taken from him; but the movement was so
unexpected and sudden that he had not the power to resist it. He deemed it prudent,
however, not to betray any signs of uneasiness, but to await further developments. Having
finished the examination with many evidences of satisfaction, the Indian made signs, by
taking aim, imitating the noise of the discharge of the piece, going through the motions
of a wounded deer, and then pointing to the skin and the spot where the deer had been
killed, to show that he had been a witness on that occasion. He then handed the rifle
back, and with many smiles and nods of pleasure and approbation, proceeded to examine the
other equipments of the camp. No harm came of this adventure, but Mr. HOWELL never ceased
to regret his carelessness in allowing the Indian to snatch his gun.
Shortly afterward, Mr. HOWELL went with another hunting party to near
the mouth of Cuivre river, and while riding out one day, they came upon an Indian tent, in
the door of which sat a venerable-looking old warrior. On the inside was an old squaw,
engaged in cooking, while a young and very pretty one sat a little distance from her, on a
mat of deer skins. The hunters thought she was the most handsome woman they had ever seen,
and cast many admiring glances toward her, which greatly annoyed her. The fire of anger
gleamed from her beautiful eyes, but this manifestation of her displeasure producing no
effect, she covered her face with a deer skin, and remained covered while the interview
lasted. The old squaw gave each of the visitors a piece of jerked venison, and poured a
little salt into the palm of each one's hand. The venison had been dried in the sun, was
very hard, and did not have the appearance of being extra clean; but politeness demanded
that they should eat it. The longer they chewed it, the larger it seemed to get, and they
were compelled either to gulp it down or spit it out, and most of them finally chose the
latter alternative. The old warrior related, in broken English, and by signs, how the
Indians often caught great numbers of deer by driving them into the overflowed bottoms and
drowning them; and the hunters were inclined to believe, from the taste and smell of the
venison they were trying to eat, that the red men were not always in a hurry about
dressing their meat after it had been secured.
The Sioux Indians were allowed to hunt in Lincoln county for several
years after the Black Hawk war, but they had learned discretion from past experience, and
gave the white people but little trouble.
File submitted to HERITAGE PAGES of LINCOLN COUNTY, MISSOURI by Tom Howell, 8 Apr 2001. Link change or
update: 27 May 2001
NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free genealogical information on the
Internet, data may be freely used for personal research and by non-commercial entities, as
long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages may NOT be
reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organization or persons.
Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for profit or any form of
presentation, must obtain the written consent of the file submitter, or their legal
representative, and contact the listed county coordinator with proof of this consent.
Return to Lincoln County, Missouri
Biography Index | Heritage
Page | Home Page