Iroquois prosperous settlements in the 19th century, supporting themselves via farming and the sale of sleds, snowshoes, boats, and baskets. In 1884, about 100 Canadian Iroquois were hired by the British government to serve as river pilots and boatmen for the relief expedition for the besieged General Charles Gordon in Khartoum in the Sudan, taking the force commanded by Field Marshal Wolsely up the Nile from Cairo to Khartoum. On their way back to Canada, the Canadian Iroquois river pilots and boatmen stopped in London, where they were personally thanked by Queen Victoria for their services to Queen and Country. In
Loda, Illinois About 8.5% of families and 16.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 27.8% of those under age 18 and 11.3% of those age 65 or over. Loda, Illinois Loda is a village in Loda Township, Iroquois County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2010 census its population was 407. A post office called Loda has been in operation since 1880. The village derives its name from "Cath-Loda", a poem by Ossian. Loda is located in southwestern Iroquois County at (40.516400, -88.073975). U.S. Route 45 passes through the center of the village, leading north to Buckley and south