DUBUQUE, Julien

Julien Dubuque

DUBUQUE, Julien. (Trois Rivieres, Canada, Jan. 10, 1762-western shore of the MISSISSIPPI RIVER, Mar. 24, 1810). Miner, fur trader, farmer. Julien Dubuque was the youngest of possibly ten children born to Noel-Augustin and Marie (Mailhot) Dubuque. (1) He was well educated in the parish schools and was fluent in English and French. He was also apparently able to play the fiddle and had an interest in culture and the arts.

He worked as a clerk out of Michilimackinac learning the Indian trade. Dubuque, for whom the city in Iowa is named, traveled toward the site of his future home in 1783 after hearing of rich deposits of LEAD in the region. (2) Following the St. Lawrence River through the Great Lakes, he is believed to have journeyed through the Fox River valley and down the Wisconsin River to join his brother Augustin at Prairie du Chien. Traveling down the Mississippi, Dubuque settled among the MESQUAKIE and gained their trust. Dubuque settled close to the village of Kettle Chief just south of where the JULIEN DUBUQUE MONUMENT now stands. It was here that Dubuque founded the first Euro-American settlement in what is now Iowa. (3) On September 22, 1788 in Prairie du Chien, Dubuque made an agreement with the Meskwaki under the leadership of Aquoqua to work the lead mines on their land. (4) He often used members of the tribe to prospect for new MINING sites and frequently sent halfbreeds or Canadians to do the actual labor. He was not above using trickery to obtain his goals.

          The most popular tradition which has come down to us is that on one 
          occasion when the Indians refused to accede to some demand, he threatened 
          to set Catfish Creek on fire, and leave their village high and dry. 
          They still denied him; so one night his associates emptied a barrel of 
          oil—or turpentine—on the water, above the bend, and when it had floated 
          down to the village, Dubuque set fire to it. In a few moments the entire 
          creek was apparently in a blaze. The terrified Indians made haste to concede 
          all Dubuque had asked—and supposedly by the exercise of his will, the fire 
          went out. (5) 

Feeling less than secure in the legality of his claim, Dubuque petitioned the Spanish governor general, Baron de Cardondolent, in 1796 for a clear title. His claim then stretched approximately twenty-one miles along the river and nine miles inland. (6) The governor granted Dubuque claims to the MINES OF SPAIN with the understanding that no trade could be carried out with the Native Americans of the region without the permission of Andrew Todd, an Irish trader with influence among the Spanish officials. (7) Dubuque was not to be bothered for long by this restriction. Todd died of yellow fever soon after the agreement was signed.

At the Mines of Spain, Dubuque had cabins constructed for his French Canadian helpers, a smelting furnace, trading post, sawmill, and blacksmith shop. (8)

Dubuque enjoyed considerable fame throughout the Mississippi Valley. James G. Soulard, the son of a prominent citizen of St. Louis, has left with us perhaps the best picture obtainable of Dubuque Mr. Soulard describes Julien Dubuque, as he appeared in middle life,

         as “a man below the usual stature, of black hair  and eyes, wiry and 
         well-built, capable of great endurance, and remarkably courteous and 
         polite, with all the suavity and grace of the typical Frenchman. To 
         the ladies he was always the essence of politeness.” Mr. Soulard well 
         remembered that on the occasion of one of Dubuque’s visits, a ball was 
         given in his honor, attended by all the prominent people of the place. 
         At one point of the festivities M. Dubuque took a violin form one of 
         the performers and executed a dance to the strains of his own music, 
         which was considered a great accomplishment and was received with 
         tremendous applause. (9)

Dubuque enjoyed the acquaintance of many of the era's most influential people. Meriwether LEWIS, in writing to William Clark prior to leaving on their epic exploration to the Pacific Ocean, asked Clark to pay his respects to Dubuque. As governor of the Louisiana Territory, Lewis included the name of Dubuque among those the American government could trust in the region. The federal government showed this trust in 1808 when Dubuque was appointed Indian agent at Prairie du Chien. Ill-health, however, forced him to give up this position after two months. While in St. Louis, Dubuque also entered into business dealings with Rene Auguste CHOUTEAU.

Dubuque was also a shrewd businessman. From business records it is known that Dubuque annually sold hundreds of thousands of pounds of lead at five cents per pound. In addition to the estimated $20,000 annual income from lead mining, Dubuque also had income from agriculture and the FUR TRADE. In 1805 Dubuque was visited by the then-ill Zebulon Montgomery PIKE. Told that there were no horses available to ride to the mines, Pike was forced to ask ten questions about Dubuque's production of lead. He received only the most elusive answers. (10)

It was perhaps to strengthen his claim that Dubuque sold Auguste Chouteau half of his claim for $10,848.60. (11) Chouteau was then able to persuade his friend Governor William Henry Harrison to add a clause to a treaty negotiated with the SAUK and Mesquakie. The treaty recognized that the west bank of the Mississippi belonged to these tribes. The clause stated, however, that the treaty did not affect Spanish land grants in the area. The question of the ownership of Dubuque's land was not settled until seven years after his death in a landmark case argued before the United States Supreme Court by Platt SMITH.

Promissory note: May 18, 1798 "good for 100 livres...which I will pay to the order of St. Benois...for value received...for arrears." Source: Kenneth W. Rendell, http://www.historical-autographs.com/explorers.aspx

Despite his business successes, Dubuque was almost constantly in debt from 1803 until his death. A generous man, Dubuque supported many people who worked at his mines. He also lived in an unusually fashionable manner for life on the frontier of those years. Dubuque enjoyed the services of Patrice Roy and Josette Anyette as servants. At the time of his death, an inventory of his possessions included expensive household items and fifty-eight books including eight volumes of political science and the works of Montesquieu.

The question of Dubuque's marital status continues to be unresolved. In personal letters, Dubuque referred to a "Madam Dubuque." He is believed to have married POTOSA, the daughter of Chief PEOSTA. The fact that no mention of a wife was made during the settling of his estate has been used to suggest a wife, if one existed, was a Native American who may have simply gone back to her tribe.

Upon his death, Dubuque was buried by his Native American friends on a bluff high above CATFISH CREEK overlooking the Mississippi River. His grave, marked with a cedar cross, was covered with a wooden shelter complete with a gable roof and open window through which Native Americans believed the soul of the departed could leave. (12) Among those who observed this grave was Stephen Watts KEARNEY.

Years of weathering gradually destroyed the monument above Dubuque's grave. On Sunday, October 31,1897, the remains of Dubuque, laid inside a walnut box made by the DUBUQUE CABINET MAKERS' ASSOCIATION, were buried inside the monument familiar to visitors today.

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Source:

1. Hudson, David; Bergman, Marvin; Horton, Loren. The Biographical Dictionary of Iowa. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 2008, p. 139

2. Ibid.

3. "Julien Dubuque Monument," City of Dubuque Official Website. Julien Dubuque Monument. http://www.cityofdubuque.org/index.aspx?NID=706

4. Hudson, p. 139

5. "Iowa: Its History and Foremost Citizens-Julien Dubuque," Iowa History Project. http://iagenweb.org/history/IHFC/IHFCBk1Pt1Chp1-2Bio.htm

5. Hudson, p. 139

6. "Iowa: Its History and Foremost Citizens-Julien Dubuque," http://iagenweb.org/history/IHFC/IHFCBk1Pt1Chp1-2Bio.htm

7. Hudson, p. 139

8. Hudson, p. 140

9. "Iowa: Its History and Foremost Citizens-Julien Dubuque," http://iagenweb.org/history/IHFC/IHFCBk1Pt1Chp1-2Bio.htm

10. "Major Zebulon Pike Tries to Interview Julien Dubuque, 1805," http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/search.asp?id=906

11. Gue, Benjamin, Biographies and Portraits of the Progressive Men of Iowa, Vol. 1, p. 24

12. Ibid.