I L I B RARY OF THE U N IVERSITY or ILLINOIS 917.344 VG4cv v-l i I ininois Historical Surwj A 7 LIBHahY OF THE UNIVERSITV Of ILMNOI'.- QUINCY AND ADAMS COUNTY History and Representative Men DAVID F. WILCOX Supervising Editor JUDGE LYMAN McCARL Chairman of Advisory Board Assisted by the Following Board of Advisory Editors JOS. J. FREIBURG THOMAS S. ELLIOTT GEORGE W. CYRUS HEXRY RORXMAXX ILLUSTRATED VOLUME I THE LEWIS PUBLISHING COMPANY CHICAGO AND NEW YORK 1919 7 / /• J>1^ V-"- / PREFACE The geogi'aphical position of Adams Couuty gave it historical promiiieiiee from the time of its first settlement ; so forcibly was this evident that in not a few of the events and movements which have been of national import, Adams County and its stanch citizenship have wielded decisive influence. Quincy, its beautiful county seat, occupying a coiinuanding site on tiie banks of the Mississippi, on the western confines of Central Illinois, which here juts into the border territory of the South, was early recognized as a community where disputants over Slavery, States Rights and Mormonism would be accorded justice and even uutramded discussion. Althougii its lead- ers have never lacked positiveness and forceful expression of their opinions, Adams County earned a name for liberality and charity in its very infancy and has always maintained it. That statement ap- plies to both its men and women, one of the pioneer organizations in the United States for "the emancipation of the weaker sex" having originated in Quincy and there developed, with the progress of the times, as a representative body of American womanhood. In politics, in social matters, in educational influence, in patriotic works and in industrial and counuercial expansion, Quincy and Adams County have constituted a credit to the state and the nation. The Soldiers' Home, the Chamber of Commerce, churches, farmers and their splendidly conserved iiiterests, the factories and stores, and all the fine men and women, comprise subjects of interest and pride for the writers and compilers of this history. They do not pretend to liavc (lone any of such subjects full justice, but have been honest in their endeavor. In bringing these wonders to i)ass, no class or iiationality has been pre-eminent. Xo section of Illinois or tlie nation has been more truly American than Adams County; and especially has this been made manifest in the acid and fiery test of these days of fearful stress and war. A considerable portion of this history, however, luis been de- voted to the influence of the German element upon the developmnt of Quincy and the territory tributary to it, and the .supervising editor, with his advisory as.sociates, takes jileasurc in spreading the record over many pages charged with intere.st and instruction. No citizen of Quincy could have been better prepared to undertake and complete this exposition than Henry Bornmann. Those who know him well, and tlie man.v personalities who have been woven into his narrative, need be told that Adams County does owe a great debt to the pioneer Ger- mans, who migrated to free America, from tlie country which l)0und iii 979073 iv PREFACE them with shackles and whose intelligent and patriotic descendants, reaping the fruits of their racial industry and thrift amid the very conditions and institutions which their fathers sought, have long since forgotten that they have any blood in them but American. The supervising editor, David P. Wilcox, also wishes to extend his thanks to the members of the Advisory Board, Lyman McCarl, chair- man. Judge of the County Court, and Joseph J, Freiburg, of Quincy : to George W. Cyrus, of Camp Point, and Thomas S. Elliott, of Payson. for their invaluable assistance, both in the collating of the necessary data for the history and in the revision of the manuscripts after they had been prepared. The newspaper men and women of the county, the eitj- and county officials, the clergymen of the city and coiinty, its prominent and charitable women, and the managements of the Chamber of Commerce, the Soldiers and Sailors Home and other in- stitutions, have also been helpful in every way. Believing that the history of Adams County, and of its beautiful county seat, should be pi'eserved, and feeling that all available mater- ial has been used to that end, the publishers submit these volumes to the public with the hope that they may be of interest to the present generation and of great value to the generations which are to follow. The preparation of these volumes was a task carried on while the nation was engaged in war. The generation that receives them need not be told of the conditions which restricted and made difSciilt the printing and publishing business. The war imposed, without option, certain variations from accepted standards of matei'ial. The publisliers believe that no essential quality has been lost in the present books on that account, but offer this explanation for any lack of uni- formity that may be attributed to war-time requirements. CONTENTS CHAPTER I IN A STATE OF NATURE Area, Drainage and Springs — Uplands, Prairies and Bottom Lands — Surface Geology Related to Natural Wealth — Alluvial Deposits — The Loess — The Real Drift — Formation and Dis- tribution OF THE Drift — Glacial Mo\'ements and Ice Sueets — Origin of the Prairies — Swamp Lands Transformed into Prairie — The Coal ]Measures — The Commercial Clays — Soils and Their Natural Products — Healthful Climate — Bird Life IX Adams County — Friends of the Farmer 1 CHAPTER II WEALTH BASED ON THE SOIL The Rich Corn Belt — Early Attempts at Fruit Raising — Hog Raising and Pork Packing — Adams County Agricultural So- ciety — County Farmers' Institute Organized — The County's Farm AD\^sER — Work of the County Farm Improvement Asso- ciation — Present and Future ok Agriculture 17 CHAPTER III PREDECESSORS OF THE WHITES Prehistoric Mounds in the "American Bottom" — Archaeological Remains in Adams County — The Illinois Indian Confederacy — "Poor Old Ivickai-(m) Me" 31 CHAPTER IV COUNTY IILSTORY L\ THE MAKLXO Under French Dominion — Joliet and Marquette on Tu^inois Soil — Legendary Monsters of the Mississippi Valley — The "Piasa" Bird — Marqueite and Joliet Get Desired Information — Return vi CONTENTS Via the Illinois River — Last Days op Marquette — La Salle Consolidates French Empire in America— Brave and Faithful ToNTi — Commercial Venture into Illinois Country — Afloat on the Kankakee — La Salle Meets the Kaskaskia Indians — Builds Fort Crevecoeur Below Peoria— Sends Father Henne- pin to Upper Mississippi — The Disasters at Starved Rock AND Fort Crevecoeur— La Salle's Second Voyage— At the Mouth of the Mississippi — Messenger Sent to France — Deaths OP La Salle and Tonti — Permanent Pioneer Settlements of Illinois— Fort Chartres, Center op Illinois District— First Land Grant nsr District — Life at the Pioneer French Illinois Settlements — Under the Crown and the Jesuits — Kaskaskia, Illinois Jesuit Center — Fortunate and Progressive Illinois — The English Invade the Ohio Valley — French Rebuild Fort Chartres — Illinois Triumphs Over Virginia — New Fort Chartres in British Hands— First English Court op Law in Illinois Country— Pontiac Buried at St. Louis— Last op Fort Chartres— "Long Knives" Capture Kaskaskia — Did Not War on "Women and Children" — Bloodless Capture op Cahokia and Vincennes — Clark's Little Army Reorganized — Combined Military and Civil Jurisdiction — County of Illinois, West op THE Ohio River— Col. John Todd, County Lieutenant- American Civil Government Northwest of the Ohio — Illinois as a Territory — Bond Law Protects Home Seekers — State j\Ia- CHiNERY Set in Motion — Illinois Counties in 1818 — Wild Cat Banking — Slavery Question Again— The Famous Sangamon Country — Duncan and the Free School Law — Illinois Inter- nal Improvements — Capital Moved to Springfield — Remains of Internal Improvement System — Constitution op 1848 — Legis- lative Lessons Through Experience — Real Wi* Cat Banks — National Banks Force Out Free Banks — The Constitution of 1870 38 CHAPTER V SOME YEARS PRECEDING COUNTY ORGANIZATION Illinois Bounty Land Tract and :Madison County— Old Pike County— Wood and Keyes "Meet Up"— The Tillsons Speak op Quincy's FouNDERSr— The First Man and the First Woman —Agreeable All 'Round — The Old Wood Place— Mrs. Jere- miah Rose, First Quincy White Woman — Keyes and Droulard Settle— The County's First Physician— Gov. John Wood — WiLLARD Keyes— Jeremiah Rose — Asa Tyrer— Old Pike County Votes "No Convention" — Thomas Carlin — County* op Adams Created — Ix)cating the Seat of Justice — John Quincy Adams Compi-etely Immortalized ^^ CONTENTS vii CHAPTER VI COUNTY GOVERNMENT AND INSTITUTIONS The County's Creative Act — First Court and Its Seal. — County Se.\t Site Entered — Quincy Ordered Platted — First Sale op QuiNCY Lots — First Log Courthouse — Burial Ground Re- served — First Te.\cher and First Preacher — Providing for Judge Snow's Expansion — Woodland CiaJETERY — A. F. Hub- bard's Claim to Fame— The Ghost Walks Again — Courthouse OP 1838-75 — Dangers op Chronic Office Holding — A Jail Thought Expedient ;\nd Necessary — Original Election Pre- cincts — Columbus Fights for the County Seat — JIarquette AND Highland Counties — Judiclvl Reform and Slavery — Town- ship Organization Ad — Lindsay Church Home — The Blessing Hos- pital — The Anna Brown Home — Old People's Home (Das Al- tenheim) — Detention Home 510 CONTENTS xi CHAPTER XIV CHURCHES AND SOCIETIES FiBST Union Congregation^vl Church — Vermont Street Metho- dist Episcopal — Central Baptist Church — St. Boniface and St. Peter's Cuurciie.s — St. John's Parish and Cathedral — Ev.vngelical Lutheran Church of St. John — Fir.st Presby- terian- Church — Second Congregational Unitarian Church — Kentucky Street JIethodist Episcopal Church — The Salem Evangelical Church — The Christian Churches — St. Jacobi Evangelical Lutheran Church — Congregation K. K. Bnai Sholem — St. Francis Solanus Parish — St. Francis Solanus College — Father Anselm — The Colored Churches — St. Peter's Evangelical Lutheran — St. JIary's Ro.man Cath- olic Church — Bethel Germ.vn Methodist Episcopal Church — St. Paul's Evangelical Church — St. John's Roman Catholic Church — United Brethren Church — First Church of Christ Scientist — Luther ^Memorial Church — St. Rose of Lima Chitrch — Grace Methodist Episcop.vl Church — Church Fed- eration — Social, Industrial, Secrf.t and Benevolent Societies — The Masons of Quincy — Scottish Rite ]\I.\sonry in Quincy — Building op the Temple — Other High Masonic Bodies — The Independent Order of Odd Fellows — The Knights of Pythias — The ROY.VL Arcanum Council — Knights of Columbus — The Eagles and Other Societies — The Western Catholic Union — Quincy Turn Verein — Quincy Country Club 540 CHAPTER XV INDUSTRIAL AND FINANCIAL Oldest Existing Industries — Classification of Today — The Quincy Chamber of Commerce — The Quincy Freight Bureau — The Banks of Quincy — Branch of the State Bank — Flagg & Savage Open a Bank — Several Failures — Old Bank op Quincy — Quincy Savings Bank — John Wood and H. F. J. RiCKER — L. & C. II. Bull Enter the Banking Field — E. J. Parker's Bank — Order of Seniority — Consolidation of the Bull and Parker Interests — State Savings, Loan and Trust Company' — Robert W. Gard.ner and Edward J. Parker — Death op Lorenzo Bull — The Ricker National Bank and its Founder — Quincy N.vtional Bank — Illinois St.vte Bank — Other Banks 579 xii CONTENTS CHAPTER XVI CAMP POINT Early Settlements ix Township — Peter B. Garrett and Thomas Bailey — Pioneer Churches — Rise op Garrett's Mill — Camp Point Platted — Influence op Thomas B.uley — Bailey Park AND THE Opera House — The Maplewood High School — Other Residence Essentials — The Camp Point Journal — The Two Banks — The Churches — Fraternity Temple and Societies — The Independent Order op Odd Fellows Lodges — Women's Organizations 590 CHAPTER XVII CLAYTON AND GOLDEN Early Settlers op Clayton Township — The McCoys Found the Village — Moving the Old Town to the Country — The Village OP Today — Banks — Churches and Societies — Northeast Town- ship — Founding of Keokuk Junction — The Junction Platted — The Golden of Today — School and Newspaper — The Churches op Golden 601 CHAPTER XVIII mendon and LORAINE Pioneers of Mendon Township — Mendon Village Platted — Early Political Center — Churches and Lodges — ]\Iendon Incor- porated AS A Village — The Local Newspaper — The Banks — Keiene Township Settled — The Steiner Family — Loraixe Village 612 CHAPTER XIX PAYSON AND PLAINVILLE Pioneer Horticulturists — Founding of Payson Village — Noted Early Schools — Other Village Institutions — Village of Plainville 621 CONTENTS xiii CHAPTER XX OTHER TOWNSHiry AND VILLAGES iNDlSTRinS AND PrODICTS OP HONEY CREEK TOWNSHIP FrOCGY Prairie — Coatsburg, Qiincy's Rival — Paloma and the Good- INGS — Fall Creek Township — .Marblehead and F^vll Creek — Lima Township and Village — Liberty — Gilmer Township and Fowler — The Old Thompson Settlement — Old and New Ursa — Mercelline — Columbus — Burton Township and Its Villages — Houston Township — Beveri.y Township and Its Villages — Ellington Township and Bloomfield — ;McKee Township and Kkli-ekvii.i.e — Richfield Village 6.]0 CHAPTER XXI CENTENNIAL CELEBRATIONS AND HISTORIES Why Adams County Could Appropriately Celebr.\te — County Centennial Commission Formed — Celebrations in the County — Liberty Township Centennial Picnic — Ellington, Burton, JIendon, Richfield, Golden. Camp Point, Payson, Houston, Columbus, Gilmer, Honey Creek, Concord, Melrose and Fall Creek Townships — Centennial History of Liberty Township (By W. a. Robinson, Historian) — History of Burton Town- ship (Contributed) — History op Richfield Township (Con- tributed) — Honey Creek Township (By W. S. Gray) 640 CHAPTER XXII OTHER HISTORIC CELEBRATIONS The Masque of Illinois — A Brief Synopsis of the Pageant — At QuiNCY — Outside op Quincy — Centennial Celebration at the County Seat — "Hiawatha" in Quincy — Military Day — Rei^vtives of World War Soldiers — Patriotic Demonstration — PEitsHiNo's Beauties, a Feature — Sergeant Weyman's Elo- Qi^ENT War Speech — The Historical Displ.\y — Dedication of . THE Gold Star Flag 680 xiv CONTENTS CHAPTER XXIII ADAMS COUNTY WORLD WAR PERSONNEL Those Who Gave Their Lives — How the Mex Were Raised and Distributed — Many Joined Old Guard Units — History of the Dr.\et Boards — Recruiting Offices Kept Busy — Names Not All Completed — Quincy Men Inducted by Exemption Board — How Most of the Men Were Distributed — Some Quincy Men Who Volunteered — Roster of National Guardsmen Who Left Quincy — Some County Men Who Enlisted in the Army — Naval Volunteers Going from Quincy — Latest Figures on the County 's Contribution op Men 689 History of Ouincy and Adams County CHAPTER I IN A STATE OF NATURE Akea, Drainage and Springs — Uplands, Prairies and Bottom Lands — Surface Geology Related to Natural Wealth — Alluvial Deposits — The Loess — The Real Drift — Formation and Dis- tribution OP the Drift — Glacial Movements and Ice Sheets — Origin of the Pr.uries — Swamp Lands Transformed into Prairie — The Coal Measures — The Commercial Clays — Soils AND Their Natural Products — Healthful Climate— Bird Life IN Adams County — Friends of the Farmer. Adams is one of the Mississippi River ooiiiities. west of the center of the State, and lies a trifle away from the great routes of discovery and exploration into the interior of the countrj- which were marked out by the great French adventurers and Catholic priests. As it is not far north of the historic valley of the Illinois, the region soon came within the scope of these activities, especially when the lower reaches of the Mississippi, which were supjMJsed to lead toward the South or Oriental Seas, had been carelessly explored, and the upper waters of the great river beckoned to the revealers of the New World. What is now Adams County was then passed and repassed by gi'eat men, but they did not linger on its soil, as it was watered and fertilized by no large or attractive stream ; that is, as all the majestic, bewildering and my.sterious rivers of America were subject to their choice, there was no waterway in what is now Adams County which could attract them overpoweringly to its soil. Area, Drainage and Springs The county embraces an area of about 830 sfpiare miles, divided into twenty-two political towniships, sixteen of wliich are of the regu- lation thirty-six sections each ; which accounts for 576 square miles of the total area. The irregular townships Imrder on the Mississippi River, one onlj- (Mendon) being in the second tier to tlic east. The Vol. I— 1 2 2 QUINCY AND ADAMS COUNTY tributaries to the great river which forms its western boundary are Bear, Ursa and Crooked creeks, which drain the northern portions of the county ; Rock and McGee creeks, which water the central and east- ern townships, and Mill, Fall, McCraney's and Hadley's creeks, which meander through the southern sections. These streams furnished, in early times, a small amount of water power for mills and machinery and an abundant supply of water for live stock. Fine springs are abundant in some portions of the county, more especially in the south- ern and western townships where the Burlington or Quincy limestone is the prevailing rock. That formation is somewhat cavernous and admits the free passage of subterranean waters through it, until they finally find an outlet at the surface in the form of living springs of clear filtered water. Uplands, Prairies and Bottom Lands The uplands in this county are nearly equally divided into timber and prairie, the timber portions being mainly restricted to the broken lands in the vicinity of the streams. The prairies are generally quite rolling, except in the northeastern part of the county where they are comparatively level. The general elevation of the prairie region above the level of the Mississippi at low water is from 200 to 280 feet. Along the w^estern border of the county there is a belt of alluvial bottom lands from 1 to 5 miles in width extending the whole length of the county from north to south, except for about two miles in the vicinity of Quincy, where the bluffs approach near to the river bank. A portion of these alluvial lands is quite dry, being only overflowed by the highest floods in the river. They have a very rich and productive soil, which is partly prairie, especially the higher portions adjacent to the river bluffs. The low bottom lands are partly covered with timber. Those north of Quincy toward the Hancock County line were, in the early times, intersected with numerous bayous, and in the northwestern corner of Adams County one of them widened into what was known as Lima Lake. Systematic drainage has since almost obliterated that body of water, and brought under cultivation large tracts of lands which were considered worthless. Surface Geology Related to Natural Wealth The geological formations exposed in Adams County comprise the lower carboniferous limestone about 300 feet in thickness, 100 feet of the lower part of the coal series and deposits of a more recent age. Outside the field of science — in other words, to the average person — the last named are of more interest and importance than the more aged strata which lie deeper and are more solid. Surface geology, which deals with the soils and subsoils from which man draws his physical life and wealth, explains the origin and properties of nature's raw material from which are evolved through her mysterious processes QUINCY AND ADAMS COIXTY 3 guided by the cunning mind and hand of man, those many forms of vegetation whit-h are at the basis of human existence. These invaluable eoiitributioiis by nature include the surface soil and the subsoil of the uplands, in Adams County ; the alluvial deposits of the river valleys; the Loess along the Mississippi bluffs; the drift proper, including all the thick beds of unstratified clay and gravel and inclosing boulders of large size, and the subordinate clays, usually stratified, which rest immediately on the stratified rocks. Allitvi^vl Deposits The alluvial deposits of the Mississippi Valley consist of partially stratified sands, alternating with dark bluish-gray, or chocolate-brown clays, deposited by the annual floods of the river. In the vicinity of the bluffs these deposits are annually increased by the wash from the adjacent hills and the sediments that are carried down by the small streams during their overflows. The Valley of the Mississippi has been excavated in solid limestone strata to the depth of from 150 to 300 feet and from 5 to 10 miles in width; and as we frequently find some portions of the valley still occupied by the l)eds of unaltered drift material, like that which covers the adjacent highlands, we have evidence that it was not formed by the river, which now, in part, occupies it, but is due to some agency much older and more widespread. It is evident, that the surface of the strati- fied rocks in this portion of the state has been subjected to the pow- erful denuding forces of periods long antedating the deposit of super- ficial materials and .soils, as in many localities the rocks have been cut into deep valleys which form the permanent river courses, or have been filled with drift. The Loess The next older division of this system is the Loess, a term originally applied to a similar formation which caps the bluffs of the Rhine in Germany. In Adams County, it is a deposit of marly sand and clay, ranging in thickness from ten to forty feet. It attains its greatest development where it caps the river bluffs, thinning rapidly toward the adjacent highlands. The Loess is usually of a light buff brown, or ashen gray color, frequently showing distinct lines of stratification and always overlies the drift clays when both are present in the same section. It is usually quite sandy on the upper surfaces of the cliffs but as the beds get thinner it becomes calcareous. The Loess is well expo.sed in the bluffs at Quincy, where it is forty feet in thickness and overlies .some beds of plastic clay and i>and. Immediately above the limestone at this locality is a few feet of what is called "local drift," consisting of angidar fragments of chert embedded in a brown clay. This is overlaid by a few feet of blue plastic clay and stratified sands on which the Loess is deposited. 4 QUINCY AND ADAMS COUNTY The Real Drift The real Drift in Adams County is composed of yellowish-brown or bluish clays, with sand, gi'avel and large boulders of watei'-worn I'oek, the whole mass usually showing little or no trace of stratification, and ranging in thickness from thirty to eighty feet. It is a mass of water-worn fragments of all the stratified rocks that are known to occur for several hundred miles to the northward, and embedded in brown or blue clays, and most of the boulders are of sandstone, granite and various igneous rock found on the borders of the Great Lakes. Associated with the latter are also smaller and rounded boulders de- rived from the stratified rocks of Illinois and adjacent states. Inter- mingled with these masses are fragments of native copper, lead, coal and iron, which does not indicate that such minerals were ever mined in any near section of the country, for they have often been transported hither from far-distant localities by the same powerful agencies to which the Drift itself owes its origin. The old coal shaft at Coatsburg penetrated the thickest bed of drift whicli has ever been imcovered in Adams County. The sections were of the following thickness: Soil and yellowish clay, 6 feet; bluish- colored clay and gravel, 45 feet; clay, with large boulders, 40 feet; black soil, 2i/2 feet; clay (stratified), 6 feet; very tough blue clay, 20 feet. The bed thus analyzed contains therefore eighty-five feet of what may be considered true Drift, consisting of unstratified clays intermixed with gravel and boulders. The upper six feet of the forma- tion probably represents the age of the Loess, and its origin is ex- plained by Professor Lesquereaux in his chapter on the formation of the prairies, which will be hereafter noted. FORM.VTION AND DISTRIBUTION OF THE DrIFT A pause is here taken in the simple descriptive narrative to dwell somewhat at length on the probable origin of those variegated deposits grouped as Drift, which form the solid basis of the aljuvial and surface soils from which spring the germs and finished products of the vegetable world. The greatest agents in the formation and distribution of the Drift and the general modification of the surface of the earth, have been glaciers and ice sheets ; and this statement applies with partic- ular significance to Illinois. When it is remembered that these ice sheets were hundreds and possibly thousands of feet thick, and were hundreds of miles in width and length, some adequate idea may be formed of their power to plow up and completely change the surface stnicture of the earth. The debris which they brought from the Laurentian ilountains of Canada was distributed over Illinois generally, greatly to the enrichment of its soils. This material, which eventually liecame the wonderfully productive soil in all the glacial areas, was transported in several ways. Much of it was pushed along mechanically in front of the advancing l^riNCY AND ADAMS COUNTY 5 ife-slii-et, so that wIk-m tho forward iiiovtMueiit lifjraii to be retardccl, this material was left scattered along the edges of the advaneing body. -Miicii material was carried along under the iee-sheet and was grounded and distributed over the glacial area. Other material, again, was carried to the surface of the ice-sheet, and often deeply inbedded in it. ^Yhen the movement was finally checked, the superimposed ma- terial becoming heated by the sun, worked its way through the ice and rested on the ground, the whole body of ice eventually melting. Vast quantities of material were also carried by the streams which continually flowed from tiie melting ice. iluch of the detritus was left on the broad, llat prairies, but much was carried into the streams which overflowed their banks and deposited as alluvium. The material which these glaciers brought into the State of Illinois, as the basis of her vast material wealth, goes under the general name of Drift. Its composition varies, but its main constituents are clay, sand and boulders. This drift is sometimes found stratified, but more generally is without definite layer formation. Gl.\CI.\L ilOVEME.VTS AND ICK SUEETS Without going into details as to authorities, it may be stated that, in North America, there seems to have been three great centers of glacial movement — one known as the Labrador ice sheet; a second called the Kewatin ice sheet, and the third, the Cordilloran ice sheet. The first sheet had its center of movement near the central point of the peninsula of Labrador; the second, near the western shore of Hudson Bay, and the third moved from the Canadian Rockies. The ice sheet, the center of which rested on the Labrador peninsula, moved northeast, northwest, south and southwest, the movement in the direction last named starting a large section of the vast body toward what is now the State of Illinois. The Labradorean sheet reached its extreme southern limit in Southern Illinois, some 1,600 miles from the point of departure. Th-? advancing front in Illinois took the form of a gigantic crescent, and its extreme southern reach, according to the most recent geological surveys, may be traced from Randolph County southeast, through the southern side of Jackson eastward through Southern Williamson, east and northeast through Southeast- ern Saline, northeastward to the Waba.sh through the northwest corner of Gallatin and Southeastern White. That line also marks the southern limit of the prairie areas, and is coincident with the northern foot- hills of the Ozark Mountains, which trend east and west across the state through Union, Johnson. Pope and Hardin. According to the more recent investigations, Illinois was sub.ject to at least four ice-sheet invasions. In the order of time, these were (a) the Illinois sheet, which covered nearly the entire state: (10 the lowan sheet, moving over the area bounded by the Rock River on the west, Wisconsin on the north. Lake Michigan on the east, and on the 6 QUINCY AND ADAMS COUNTY south by a parallel extended from the southerly bend of that body of water; (c) the Earlier Wisconsin, covering the northeastern fourth of Illinois, and (d) the Later Wisconsin, plowing out the western borders of Lake iliehigan and extending some fifty or sixty miles west- ward. The Illinois ice-sheef is the one, obviously, which included Adams County in its operations. Origin of the Prairies Nothing in the New World was more interesting to the European than the broad prairies between the Mississippi and the Ohio. In 1817 Gov. Edward Coles, then a young man returning from a diplo- matic mission to Russia, stopped in France and England. He was a Virginian, but had traveled through the West and had himself been greatly charmed by the rich grandeur of the prairie lands. The French and the English never tired of liis graphic descriptions of them, and among his charmed auditors was Morris Birkbeck, a prosperous tenant farmer of England, who was thereby induced to come to America and settle in Edwards County, Southeastern Illinois. In later years Dickens went into raptures over his first sight of a "western" prairie, revealing his sentiments in his "Notes on America." When the first French explorers reached the Mississippi Valley, they Avere amazed at the great sweep of timberless areas, although they originally applied their word, "prairie," to describe the fiat bottom lands of the river valleys. Nor is the application of the word to such tracts inappropriate, as it has been shown by geologists that the forma- tion of the prairies of Illinois is identical in character with the formation of the bottom lauds along the Mississippi, the Ohio, and other .smaller rivers. When the first settlers came to Illinois country they are said to have found about one-fourth of it timbered and the remainder timber- less, or prairie lands. They designated the largest timberless area the Grand Prairie, and it was virtually limited by the great watershed which divides the basins of the Mississippi and the Ohio. It extends from the northwestern part of Jackson County through Perry, part of Williamson, Washington, Jefferson, Marion, Fayette, Effingham, Coles, Champaign and Iroquois, crosses the Kankakee River and extends to the southern end of Lake Michigan. Adams County was therefore just west of the Grand Prairie, in the broad Mississippi Valley ; and therefore of rather a composite nature. The origin of the prairies has been a debatable question for many decades. Three general theories have been advanced to account for their existence at the time of the coming of the earliest settlers into the limits of Illinois. One explanation is that the great prairie fires which annually swept over the Grand Prairie effectually kept the trees from making any headway. But there are two scientific explanations which seem to go more to the. bedrock of the matter. QriXCY AND ADAMS COUXTV 7 Swamp Lands Transformed into Prairie Says a later writer on this subject, "Professor Whitney holds to tiie theory that the treeless prairies have had their origin in the char- acter of the original deposits, or soil formation. He does not deny, in fact admits, the submersion of all prairie lands formerly as lakes or swamps, but he holds that while the lands were so submerged there was deposited a vcrj- fine soil, which he attributes, in part, to the underlying rocks, and in part to the accumulation in the bottom of immense lakes, of a sediment of almost impalpable fineness. This soil in its physical, and probably in its chemical composition, prevents the trees from natin-ally getting a foothold in the prairies. "Professor Lesquereux holds to the theory simply stated that all areas properly called prairies were formed by the redemption of what was once lake regions and later swamp territory. He points out that trees grow abundantly in moving water, but that when water is dammed the trees always d:e. His theory is that standing water kills trees bj' preventing the oxygen of the air from reaching their roots. He further shows that the nature of the soil in redeemed lake regions is such that without the help of man trees will not grow in it. But he further shows that by proper i^lantiug the entire prairie area may be covered with forest trees. "As rich as was the soil of our prairies, the first emigrants seldom settled far out on these treeless tracts, ilost of the early comers were from the timber regions of the older states and felt they could not make a living very far from the woods. Coal had not come into use aiul wood was the univei-sal fuel. There was a wealth of mast in the timber upon which hogs could live a large part of the year. Again, our forefathers had been used to the springs of New England, Ken- tucky, Teunes.see and Virginia, and they did not think they could live where they could not have access to springs. The early comer, back in the '30s, therefore, rode over the prairies of Central Hlinois, and tiien entered 160 in the timber, where he cleared his land and opened his farm." In line with the Lesquereux theory Adams County, with the gradual disappearance of its swamp lands, is gradually becoming a prairie tract. After a careful investigation of the subject, some of the most eminent geologists of Illinois have arrived at the conclusion that the extensive prairies of the West, with their peculiar soil, have been formed in the past pretty much as prairies on a smaller scale are being formed at the present day. The black, friable mold, of which the prairie soil is composed is due to the growth and deca\- of successive crops of coarse swamp grasses, submerged in spring, and growing luxuriantly in summer, only to be submerged again, and returned, in a rotten condition, to the annual accumulations before made. It is not difficult to believe that in a few hundred years, more or less, as the great sheet of water that once covered the entire valley of the Missis- sippi and tributaries, gradually receded to tiie present water courses. 8 QUINCY AND ADAMS COUNTY and left the prairies in the condition of alternate wet and dry swails, that a black, mucky soil was produced to the depth now found upon the prairies. In process of time, by more complete recession of the waters, the surface of the prairies became dry, and adapted to the wants of animals and men. The fact of there being no trees on the prairies is accounted for on the ground that such a condition of the soil as is here described is not favorable to their growth, as may be often noticed in the marshy spots of timbered regions. The Coal Measures Although geology recognizes "coal measures" in Adams County, no carboniferous deposits have been commercially developed. Upper seams, or outcroppings, have been stripped in a small way from such localities as the south fork of Bear Creek, Little Missouri Creek and other small streams near Clayton, in the neighborhoods of Columbus and Camp Point and along Mill Creek, as well as near the Pike County line. It is estimated that about one-half the area of Adams County is underlaid with coal measures, its central and eastern sec- tions being considered the most promising from an economic or com- mercial standpoint. The Limestones op the County The coal measures rest on three main strata of limestone — the St. Louis, Keokuk and the Burlington. The first named is a light or brownish gray variety, and contains many beautiful fossil corals and marine shells. Noteworthy outcrops of the St. Louis limestone have been found along McGee Creek near Columbus, at Coatsburg and in the vicinity of Mendon. The Keokuk group is usually bluish-gray or grayish-brown, and presents remarkable specimens of crystallized min- erals. It comes to the surface at Coatsburg, along the creeks men- tioned, and a few miles northeast of Quiney. That variety has been quarried considerably, furnishing the foundation for Governor Wood's historic mansion. From Quiney to the north line of the comity it out- crops at various points along the bluffs, and is well exposed on Bear Creek, near the Lima and Quiney Road, where it forms a mural cliff from 40 to 50 feet in height. It is also found along all the small streams in the western part of the county as far south as Mill Creek, on the forks of that stream. The regularly bedded lime- stones of the Keokuk group are mainly composed of organic matter; the calcareous portions of the molluscs, crinoids, corals and other small forms of marine animals which' swarmed in the ocean depths. The Burlington limestone, which underlies the lower stratum of the Keokuk group, differs but little from the latter. It is usually of a lighter gray color, variegated with beds of buff or brown stone, and devoid of the bands of .shale which separate the strata of the Keokuk series. The Burlington variety outcrops at Mill Creek, a few miles southeast of QriXCY AN'O ADAMS COUNTY 9 Quincy, and from that point to the south line of the county it comes to the surface quite continuously. Conunercially, the Burlin^on limestone is usually considered the most valuable of the three varieties. It has been rather extensively quarried at and near Quincy, and as the afrgregate thickness of the group averages 100 feet, nearly all of which may be used as building stone, the Burlington is considered virtually inexhaustible. It cuts easily when free from chert, and is considered an excellent stone for dry walls, as well as for caps and sills. The buff and brown layers contain a small percent of iron and magnesia, and the surface be- comes more or less stained by exposure to the atmosphere, but the light gray beds are nearly pure carbonate of lime and generally retain their original color. The brown magnesian limestone of the St. Louis group is an evenly stratified rock, well adapted for use in foundation walls, bridge abutments and culverts, where a rock is re(iuire(l to witii- stand the combined actions of frost and moisture. Most of the stone used in the manufacture of quick lime is obtained from the Burlington limestone, near Quincy, although the l)luish-gi-ay strata of the Keokuk group and the upper beds of the St. Louis series have been utilized considerably. Thk Commercial Clays The clays of the county have been developed economically to some extent, although some of the potteries in which they have been used are outside of its limits. The best deposits of fire and potter's clays are found in the shape of light blue shale between the coal seams. On exposure it becomes a fine plastic clay, or good material for the man- ufacture of fire brick. The subsoils intermingled with the fine sand of the Loess form an excellent material for the manufacture of com- mon brick. The combination may be found almost anywhere in the western part of the county, and there are few localities in the state which have produced a better variety of Iniilding brick than that man- ufactured in the neighborhood of Quincy. In the eastern part of the county, where the Loess is wanting, the sand may be obtained in tiie alluvial valleys of most of the small streams. S01L.S AND Their Xatkral Products But when all has been said, a return is made to the original state- ment — that the great contribution made by natur(> to the comfort and happiness of man is in her virtual guarantee that he shall not suffer if he depends primarily upon her returns to his labor and skill. Con- fining the survey of such natural advantages to Adams County, it may be said that its western portions include a belt of country from .5 to 10 miles in width adjacent to the bluffs of the Mis.sissippi, and extend- ing throughout its entire length from north to south, which is under- lain with marl}' sands and days of Loess. It possesses a soil of 10 QUIXCY AND ADAMS COUNTY remarkable fertility, with au undulating surface which furnishes a free drainage, so that with a rather porous subsoil it is less subject to the deleterious influences of remarkably dry or wet seasons than the other upland soils of the county. The natural growth of timber on this variety of soil consists principally of red, white and black oak, I^ignut and shell-bark hickory, elm, black and white walnut, sugar maple, linden, wild cherry and honey locust. These lands are also well adapted to the growth of fruit. On the banks of McGee's Creek and its tributaries the surface of the country is considerably broken, and the soil, which is mainly de- rived from the drift clays, is a stiff c4ay loam, better adapted to the growth of wheat and gi-ass than almost any crop usually grown in this latitude. The growth of timber on this kind of soil consists of two or three varieties of oak and hickory, which are characteristic of the so-£alled "oak ridges" which are so frequently seen along the small streams in Adams County and other section of Illinois. In the northeastern portion of the county is a considerable area of com- parativelj' level prairie, covered with a deep black soil rich with the annual decay of the surface shrubs and grasses. This black prairie soil is underlaid with a fine silicious brown clay, which does not permit the surface water to pass freely through it and, until drained, the lands are so flooded during the wet season as to be very difficult of cultivation. When the season is favorable, or after they have been well drained, there are no lands in the county which grow better crops of cereals, both as to quantity and quality. The alluvial bot- tom lands bordering the Mississippi are generally similar in their char- acter to those in Pike County and are heavilv timbered with the same varieties. Where these bottom lands are elevated above the annual overflow of the river, or pi'operly drained, they, also, are exceedingly productive. Healthful Climate There is another blessing for which the people of Adams County are indebted to mother nature ; that is their climate, which is, on the whole, equable and pleasant. Healthful, cool breezes usually circu- late through the Mississippi Valley, which keep it comparatively free of fogs and miasmatic mists. The rainfall is generally season- able and abundant, averaging about thirty-eight inches, and droughts of severity are rare. There are exceptions to these rules, of course; but as the years come and go this section of the state is conducive to good health, good crops and all-around blessings. Bird Life in Adams County The Mississippi Valley is the great natural highway of travel for the United States. Not only the Mound Builders have scattered evi- dences of their migrations along its mighty courses, and the Indian QUIXCY AND ADAMS COUNTY 11 tribes of history floated ou its waters or wandered and warred along its shores, but the very birds of the air have made it their great trunk line iu their search for tilting habitations in which to live and rear their families. All the Mississippi River counties, especially if they possess such a variety of topography and lands as Adams, are therefore rich iu bird life. "With the progress of natural history and scientific farming, the feathered kind have been found to be not only fascinating studies, but agents of valuable protection to the cereals, fruits and vegetables. Of course, the}' have keen appetites and eat some things of value, but all-in-all the farmers are commencing to fully realize that they much more than "pay for their keep." C. L. Kraber, whose father was one of the pioneers of Quincy — a carpenter who built the courthouse and other well known structures of an early date — lived on the old homestead farm just northeast of the county seat for some sixty years. Very observant and especially fond of birds, Mr. Kraber has written considerably regarding those who have frequented Adams County during his long period of resi- dence within its borders. He has noted at least one hundred varieties, among the chief of which he lists the paroquets, wild Muscovy ducks, the green head mallard, the blue coot, the pineated woodpecker, red- headed woodpecker, blackbirds, red-eyed wild pigeon, sand hill cranes, plovers, the Canadian wild goose, the brant, wild turkey, grossbeck, English sparrow, turtle dove, cardinal, bluebird, the brown thrush, French robin (cuckoo), whippoorwill, will-o-the-wisp, red-winged blackbird, meadow larks, cow-blackbirds, black crow, i-ohin red breast, cat bird, quails, oriole, wren, pheasants, swallow, turkey buzzard, blue heron, humming bird, crossbills, bald eagle, owl, scarlet lanager, wild white swan, butcher bird, the pewee, kingfisher, hawk, ground sparrow and an army of other small birds. Some of these are now rare, or nearly extinct. In the early days, the Mississippi bottoms near Quincy contained numerous paraquets, or green parrots ; but they appear to have departed with the Indians. The wild Muscovy duck is now very rare, but the mallard is the game duck of the open season. The following is a well-put paragraph from Mr. Kraber 's pen : "The old reliable red headed woodpecker is an active worker, and stops the career of thousands of insects in the embryo state from fur- ther developing into pests of the soil, and from adding to the dis- comfort of mankind. Flying from one tree to another with its red head and white marked wings, it is easily seen. It is not a wild bird, and can be studied at pleasure. His near relative, the yellow hammer, or flicker of the 'high roller' of E. P. Roe, is another bird to study with reference to habits, etc., since they have many traits worthy of emulation by the human family. The flicker and its mate will edge up to each other on the limb of a tree and go through more fantastic motions than any quixotic people. It would bo hard to describe them, as the.v sit there swinging back and forth in unison, their heads up and moving from side to side, and all the while chat- tering to each other something verv interesting to themselves. At 12 QUINCY AND ADAMS COUNTY such time it does not take a veiy close observer to see that it is bird sentiment being expressed in its most amorous and innocent way. The}' mean every word they say, and lay it off so positively to one another that one can hardly help looking on and listening, and under- standing just what they are talking about. It is interesting to have it made so plain that they are one in sentiment, and agree so well in their out-of-door domestic life."' Up to the '60s, the red-eyed wild pigeons appeared in Adan: County during their migrations southward as to break the forest trees and darken the sun, taking the cour.se of the river bluffs in the spring and fall. They are now extinct in this part of the world. Flocks of plovers, often taken for wild pigeons, still occasionally fiy across country from southwest to northeast. Even the honk of the Canadian wild geese, which once bred in such numbers in the north- western part of the county, in the region of Lima Lake, is seldom heard. "Their habit," says Mr. Kraber, "was to leave the lakes and rivers by the hundreds before sunrise, and settle down into the wheat and com iields upon the bluffs and further inland until about ten o'clock in the morning. Then all would return to the river and lakes until about 4 o'clock in the afternoon, when they would again enter the fields and feed until after dark; then go back to the water for the night with much noise. They were very regular about it until late in the fall, and sometimes all winter if the weather was mild. They domesticated very readily, and became quite tame, but when so are only waiting to try their wings for a final good-bye. They are des- tined to early extinction." The wild turkey has quite disappeared fi-om the locality. The Mississippi River is the home of the gulls. They spend much time on the wing over the water, never flying very high. They are both scavengers and eaters of fi-esli fish. Friends of the Farmer But it is the land birds in which we take the practical interest; the destroyers of insect pests destructive to vegetation ; the real friends of the agriculturist. What these insects are and the special varieties of birds which seem created to assist in their extermination was thus told not long ago to a State Farmers' Institute by 0. 'Si. Schantz, president of the Illinois Audubon Society : ' ' The State of Illinois is 378 miles long in its greatest length and 210 miles wide. Owing to its length and its peculiar position, it has almost as great a range of climatic influences, geographical influences, and so on, as any state in the union. Therefore, its flora and fauna, its animal and vegetable life are extremely varied. The northern part is entirely different in its geogi-aphy and its animal life from the southern part. By its location, part of it touching Lake Michigan and the rest of it being tributary to the great Mississippi Valley, ex- cept for the water fowl of the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, more migra- QLIXL'V AND ADAMS COLXTV 13 tory birds pass tIiroup:li the Mississippi Valley than through any other part of the United States. "In the consideration of a question of so great importance to the Illinois farmer as the relation of birds to farm eeonomj', it is very necessary to make clear in the most direct manner possible just how and why the farmer is to be benefited. "The projicr time to j)laiit, seasonable weather during the grow- ing season and also for the harvesting of crops, are, naturally the most evident factors in successful farming. "The old-fashioned, iinprogressive farmer gave little thought to other and less noticeable handicaps, such as plant diseases and the myriads of insects that were the natural enemies of both his fruit and cereal crops. With the rai)id increase in the value of farm lands, the competition for markets, and so forth, it has become ab.solutely neces- sary for a farmer to know every factor that may enter farm economy, or he fails to win out. "The lax use of powers of observation is rapidly disappearing, and today our farmers are growing more and more alive to the fact that a knowledge of scientific farming is the only way to make 150 to 250 acres yield a profit. "The agricultural colleges of many states, and the Federal De- partment of Agriculture, have for many years past conducted most exhaustive research a.s to the los.ses due to noxious insects, and the most effective means of curtailing these losses. "We have, by cultivation and removal of forests, disturbed the nat- ural balance of nature. We have made conditions extremely favorable for the rapid increase of certain noxious insects. Insect life increases at such an incredible rate that with no check of any kind everything green would soon disa]ipear, and in a sliort time the land would be uninhabitable. "On the other hand, it is a well known fact that certain of our most useful birds incrca.se as a result of the settlement of land. "Many birds are very tolerant of man, if reasonably protected and allowed to rear their young undisturbed. "In the earlier years of the settlement of the country, there did not exist the same need for watchfulness that is necessary today. "The problem of adef|uate food supply for the world is a part of the problem of the United States. One hundred years ago, very few men devoted even a small portion of their time to the studj' of insects in their relation to the food supply, or to the careful study of birds as the most effective check on the spreading of injurious insects. Today thousands of men and women are preparing earnestly for these very important studies, and the biological departments of our colleges and universities are of the most importance and popular in all parts of the United States. "The Illinois Audubon Society was organized less than twenty years ago by a few very earnest bird lovers in Chicago. Their pri- mary object was no doubt a humane desire to protect from dcstruc- \ 14 QUIXCY AND ADAMS COUNTY tiou the many beautiful birds that came in such great numbers to the woodlands and parks in and around Chicago. The time has come when a much greater field is open for it and similar societies, for in- telligent work for the protection of birds, not only for their beauty and wonderful songs, but as a vital factor in the economics of the country's food supply. ' ' The problem of the city bird lover is largely different from that of the farmer and the people of the smaller cities and villages. "The larger cities, particularly Chicago, are flooded with thou- sands of immigrants, to whom the United States means all sorts of liberty. License to kill birds, we understand, is in some parts of Southern Europe held out as a great inducement to prospective emi- grants in connection with cheaper living. Cheap firearms are sold everywhere, and Sundays and holidays during the summer mouths see each day a veritable 'armed host' scouring the prairies and woodlands ready to kill anything that flies. "Where transportation is cheap, these irresponsible shooters reach the farms, and not only trespass on the fields of growing grain, but shoot thousands of the farmers' best friends, the birds, or if no birds can be found, his domestic chickens, ducks or turkeys. "The problems of Illinois are those of Iowa and the other adjoin- ing prairie states. "No crop raised by the farmer is immune from insect foes. Many of these insects are so minute that they ordinarily escape the notice of the casual observer, yet the damage annually done on a single farm by these inconspicuous insects may run into large sums of money. ' ' The diif erent aphides or plant lice, whose life cycle is only a few days, increase with such astounding rapidity that the figures startle. "These soft small insects, of M-hich thousands could be held in one's hand, frequently cover the stems of their host plants completely. "The greatest enemy of the different aphides is the warbler fam- ily, which numbers among the twenty-five or thirty varieties that visit us many of our smallest birds. The number of insects that a pair of these little birds will consume for a single meal is almost beyond comprehension. "To better understand the ability of birds to check insects, it is necessary to know something of their marvelous powers of digestion. Birds fill themselves to running over with either weed seeds or insects so that frequently they are replete up to the bill. The process of diges- tion is so powerful and rapid that they can eat almost without stopping, many birds consuming an amount of food each day equal to about one-third of their own weight. "The temperature of birds and their circulation is much greater than that of other animals, consequently it is largely a matter of fuel enough to keep the machinery going properly. "Much painstaking work has been done recently in the State of Massachusetts in order to ascertain the effect that wild birds have on QUIXCY AXn ADAMS COUNTY 15 the awful insect pests wliieh have become so serious a piobicui in that state. "While the conditions in Illinois are vastly different from those in Massachusetts, the residts of the investigation should be of great interest to Illinois farmers. "It has been proven that almost without exception all birds have a good balance to their credit over and above the damage they do ; that even such conspicuously aggressive birds as the bluejay, grackle and crow have a large credit in assisting to destroj' both larvae and adults of the gypsy and brown-tailed moths. Such birds as feed on fruits — robins, catbirds, cedar birds and others — also devour enough insect pests to have the balance in their favor. "Many birds are peculiarly adapted to attend certain insects, and the birds have been very happily alluded to by one writer as the police of the orchard and garden. "The seed-eating birds, which include the sparrows and finches, destroy weeds by the million. Three morning doves' stomachs con- tained by actual count a total of 23,100 weed seeds, consumed at one meal. "All of the thrush family, of which the robin and bluebird are the best known members, are valuable insect destroyers. The fly- catchers, headed by tlic kingbird and phoebe, and containing about eighty nearly related species, the .swallows, martins, night hawk and chimneyswifts, are policemen of the air. "The towhee and many sparrows forage on the ground; the nut- hatches, woodpeckers and brown creepers take care of the trunk and branches; and the warblers and vireos examine the leaves and buds. The entire tree or shrub is thoroughly guarded. Out in the open, the meadow lark, bobolink, bobwhite, prairie chicken and many others keep tab on grasshoppers, crickets and myriads of other insects. No insect family escapes; it has an ardent, relentless foe in some bird. "Now, what is your duty to your bird friends? Make your prem- ises attractive. Furnish bird boxes or nests, feed the birds in winter; exterminate .stray cats; plant vines and shrubbery bearing fruits agreeable to birds; help to legislate against shooting; train the small boy to respect and love the birds and not to collect birds' eggs; teach him also to shoot with a field or opera glass. If a bird helps itself to a little of your fruit, before destroying the bird look up its record and see what insects he preys upon. "Observe closely the birds at nesting time and note the tireless energy with which the young birds eat, and then do a little calculat- ing by multiplying the number of times fed by the insects fed at a meal. "Read literature on the subject of bird conservation. Result: Sure and lasting conversion to the side of the birds. "Scientific men look with alarm'at the rapidly decreasing bird pop- ulation. The rapid increase of population, encroaching more and more 16 QUIXCY AND ADAMS COUNTY on the nesting places, lessens the available woodland and prairie where the birds may nest and not be disturbed. "Intelligent planting of shrubbery and vines along roadsides, as is contemplated by the Lincoln Highway movement, will in part over- come this condition. "Concerted efforts by states and at Washington for better bird protection, the education of all classes as to the beneficial part the bird has in our daily life, vigorous prosecution for violation of our present game laws, the taxing of cats, the encouragement of organiza- tions for bird study — all these are'necessai-y and important features of the gi'owing intelligent effort for bird conservation. "See that some one attends to the purchasing of good bird books for your public library ; offer prizes to your children for best observa- tions or well wi'itten papei's about birds, their habits and usefulness — these papers, or the best of them, to be published iu your local paper. "There is no reason why, iu this tremendous state, a powerful and concerted effort should not be made for bird conservation and pro- tection which would place the State of Illinois in the first rank in the Union for such work. "Nowhere in the entire United States is there a greater and more interesting bird migration, both spring and fall, than in this state. The state's length gives it a wonderfully interesting plant life and variety of climate. This, in part, explains its variety of bird life. "A very small sum as an individual contribution, if given by enough people, would maintain a paid expert whose duty might be that of state ornithologist. "There is a man in Massachusetts who gives his entire life and energy to this very important work, and whose book, 'Useful Birds and Their Protection,' is the last word in bird conservation." CHAPTER II WEALTH BASED OX THE SOIL The Kich Corx Belt — Eauly Attempts at Fruit Raising — Hog Raising and Pork Packing — Adams County Agricultural So- ciety — County Farmers' Institute Organized — The County's Farm Adviser — Work of the County Farm Improvement Asso- ciation — Present and Future of Agriculture. Numerous ageucies have been involved in the development of the industries of Adams County, based on the natural riehes of its soil, its good drainage and climatic advantages. In the earlier times, be- cause of the sparsely settled population and comparative poverty of the pioneers, all the efforts made toward the improvement of agri- cultural methods and the betterment of farming conditions were put forth by individuals — each man for himself. As the population and general prosperity increased, agricultural and horticultural societies were organized, the live stock men met and conferred as to the most approved ways of raising their hogs, cattle and sheep ; fairs were lield in different parts of the county, attended by the farmei-s and their families ; under Congressional laws the swamp lands in the American bottom commenced to come into the market and be systematically drained, while the county took up the matter, in behalf of the farms, in that and other tracts naturally subject to overflow, and lands formerly considered worthless were transformed into valuable farms; the farmers' institutes were founded ami ex- panded rapidly as educational forces in matters connected both with farming and the domestic life of rural communities; the good roads movement was born and developed in Adams County, first, tlirough rather dissipated efforts of neighborhoods and county legislation, and finally under the superintendent of highways; telephones and auto- mobiles became familiar objei-ts to hundreds of hou.sehokls, so that every member of a rural family was brought close to his neighbors and at the same fiine was in constant healthful contact with Nature, and finally Ijicle Sam himself, as he has a hearty way of doing, offered his warm hand and his efficient .services in the widespread co- operative measures which hail been gathering force during a period of eighty years and donated the county farm advi.ser, with the Farm Improvement Association and the Home Improvement As.sociation, as a vital factor in the great work of extracting every advantage and blessing pnssil)le from the fanner's effurts and the farmer's life. Vol. 1—2 1 - 18 QUINCY AND ADAMS COUNTY The Rich Corn Belt Adams County is in the geographical center of the great corn belt which extends across Northern and Central Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska. The soil is especially rich in nitrogen, that of the bottom lands containing nearly 8,000 pounds per acre. The bluff and prairie lands also carry about three-fourths as much nitrogen ; so that the county is one of the banner com sections of the state. It has been found that by such a rotation of crops as corn, oats, wheat, clover, and then "repeat," the soil may be kept live and fertile without applying commercial fertilizers to any marked extent. The average acreage of pasture lands is more than 50,000. Early Attempts at Fruit Raising Fruits were cultivated in Adams County about as early as corn and as soon as the first settlers commenced to raise hogs; but they Exhibit of Adams County Corn never flourished in any marked degi'ee as a leading and standard industry based on the soil. In the spring of 1820 John Wood made a journey on foot to a St. Louis orchard and brought home a pint of apple seed for which he paid a good dollar. He planted the lot and three of them took root. Afterwards he gathered seed from an orchard owned by a Frenchman on the other side of the river; or rather he extracted it from the apple pulp of a cider mill. Mr. Wood also obtained another lot from a poor family in the neighborhood to whom he had given a large quantity of maple sugar. From such sources he started the first orchard in the county on land at Quincy which he owned, between what are now Twelfth and Fourteenth and State and Kentucky streets. About the same time he planted some yriNCY AND ADA.MS (UU-NTV 19 peach stones, which were set out in his orchard in 1824, ami three years afterward was gathering fruit from both varieties of trees. Before the year 1832 Major Rose, Willard Keyes, James Dunn, Silas Beehe and others of the early settlers, including several in the eastern part of the county, had planted apple orchards. These trees were all seedlings, except about a dozen in Mr. Wood's orchard, and many of them were obtained from him. George Johnson, of Coluin- • bus. Deacon A. Scarborough and Clark Chatten, of Fall Creek, were among the pioneer fruit raisers. Mr. Scarborough introduced the Concord grape. Mr. Chatten was for thirty years the leading horti- culturist in the county, and in 1867 had the largest orchard in the state. At that time he had 240 acres devoted to apple trees and 187 acres, to peaches. The largest nursery was owned and conducted by "William Stewart, of Paj'son, who dealt in apple and peaeli trees, ornamental shrubs, flower seeds, etc. In 1852 he started a branch at Quincy. Although not large in quantity, Adams County fruit took pre- miums in exhibits made at the State Fair and before the American Pomologieal Society. In the early '60s Clark Chatten took the first J premium offered by the Illinois Agricultural Society for "the best cultivated orchard," and Henry Claj' Cupp, also of Fall Creek, shared the honors with him as the leading orehardist in the county. The horticulturists of Adams County, however, were few as com- pared with the fanners and raisers of live stock. Although several made a marked financial success at fruit raising, it was always con- sidered safer to follow it as a side line than as a regular avocation. A horticultural society was formed in 1867, but it languished, and later Jlr. Cupp formed the Mississippi Apple Growers Association at Quincy. Hog Raising and Pork Packing But from the earliest times, corn and hogs were considered "stand- bys." That combination made Quincy and the county quite famous as trade and commercial centers for many years. The most prom- inent figure in that field for several years was Capt. Nathaniel Pease, who came from Cleveland in 1833, although his family lived in Boston. He was an energetic, enterprising and popular Yankee, and his trip to Cleveland and Quincy gave him his first western experience. The captain purchased 300 hogs at Quincy, for which he paid about $15,000. He then had them slaughtered and packed, and sold the pork in the ea.stern markets at a handsome profit. This was the first exportation of pork from Adams County. In the fall of 1834 Captain Pease returned to Quincy with his family and settled permanently. During the packing season he put up 2,500 hogs, for which he paid from one to two cents a pound. His death occurred in 1836, and it was sincerely mourned by the home people with whom he had gained general respect and friendship. The next regular pork packer was 20 QUIXCY AND ADAMS COUNTY Joel Eice, and Artemus Ward succeeded him. A hog averaged about 200 pounds in those days, but gradually increased in weight. In the fall of 1836-37 prices also advanced, and fanners were no longer satisfied with Bi/o cents per pound for their pork. But other places were destined to far outstrip Quincy as a packing center, and in the very heyday of her fame the figures were not star- tling. The number of hogs packed during the fifteen years, 1833-48, was as follows : 1833-34, 400 ; 1834-35, 3,500 ; 1835-36, 3,000 ; 1836-37, 5,000; 1837-38, 7,000; 1838-39, 6,000; 1839-40, 10,000; 1840-41, 10,000; 1841-42, 11,000; 1842-43, 12,000; 1843-44, 18,000; 1844-45, 10,000; 1845-46, 15,000; 1846-47, 12,000; 1847-48, 20,000. Adams County Ageicultur.vl Society The first organized movement among the farmers and citizens of Adams County to consolidate their sentiment regarding the ad- vancement of their affairs was in January, 1838. On the sixth of that month a meeting was organized at Columbus for the purpose of forming an agricultural society, at which Maj. J. H. Holton was appointed president and Richard W. Starr, secretary. Hon J. H. Ralston explained the object of the meeting and, with Dunbar Aldrich, Daniel Harrison, Lytle Griffing, Colman Talbot, Stephen Bootlie and James ^lurphy, was named to formulate a constitution. It was pre- sented and adopted at the same meeting, and the following officers were elected: Maj. J. H. Holton, president; J. H. Ralston, Daniel Harrison and Stephen Boothe, vice presidents ; R. W. Starr and Dun- bar Aldrich, secretaries; Col. M. Shuey, treasurer. It would appear that the society was largely of a social organization, and that little effort was at first made to prepare exhibits, as object lessons of progress made and suggestions of future improvements, and it was not until 1854 that the first regular fair was held under its auspices. On October 18th and 19th of that year a vacant tract between Sixth and Eighth, just north of Broadway, inclosed with a pile of fallen trees and brushwood, and closeh- guarded against the invasion of the village boys, was opened to the public. The exhibits and attendance were fully up to expectations, and for a number of years fairs were held by the society at various points in the county. But as time progressed sectional jealousies sapped the strength of the society, and the preponderance of the Quincy element brought about the or- ganization of the Quincy Fair Association. The latter, which pur- chased its own grounds many years ago, vii'tually crowded out the county organization. County Farmers' Institute Organized Tlie second striking advance in agricultural education was made in 1881 at the suggestion of the State Board of Agriculture, when "the Adams Count v Farmers' Institute was organized, bv the election QUIXCY AND ADAMS COUNTY 21 of George W. Dean as president, C. S. Hooth, secretary, and A. K. Wallace, treasurer. Mr. Dean himself writes a.s follows: "We had no way to support it except by the encouragement of such men as P. S. Judy (known as "Uncle Phil"), A. K. Wallace, W. A. Booth. S. N. Black and a number of others. With this support it became popular, and instructive meetings were held in October and ilay of each year. We used mostly home talent, securing an expert when we could do so. Our success encouraged other counties to organize and thus an interest was created throughout the state. But being satisfied that it would be impossible to get the best results from a farmei-s' institute at individual expense, a number of interested farm- ers met at the Leland Hotel, Springfield. Illinois, during the Thirty- Tk.\ctor .\t Work ox Adams County F\k.m ninth General Assembly and formulated the bill which chartered the. Illinois Farmers' Institute by an act of the General Assembly. This bill was placed in the hands of Col. Charles F. Mills to look after its passage. Colonel Mills placed the bill in charge of Hon. George W. Dean, then a member of the General As.sembly, with instructions to use all honorable means in his power to have it become a law. The bill was passed. It provided for a Farmers' Institute to be held in each county, not less than two days in each year. The next General As.sembly appropriated $50 to every county in the state that held an institute and holds one or more institutes each year. In every state in the Union the farmers' institute is protected by law. "The farmers employ the best available talent at their institutes, which makes it expensive, costing from $30 to $2")0 each. Considering this, the P"'orty-sceond General Assembly increase.:. ■■^ » <•• i^i^^^^ '•"'" HjUPfeliii - ^mm^ mm> ^msf^ j^p;. • ► ^^ Jtf' ilHi^ in^ 1^ ista^^ Arrow Heads from the Mississippi Valley commands a sweeping view of the city from the south, with the ^lis- sissippi River in the background. As to these structures of the days and ages long gone, illustrated by local remains, the late Gen. John Tillson, of Quincy, has written as follows, his paper being called forth by an editorial in the Quincy Commercial Review commenting on certain statements made by Doctor Rice before the Wisconsin Historical Society: "Editor Re- view — In your issue of February 16th reference is made to a report of Doctor Rice, of Wisconsin, in regard to the origin and use of the so-ealled mounds scattered throughout the Mississippi Valley, in which he asserts that the.y are the remains of huts — residences — and that their use as places of sepulture was by a later race than that which erected them. It is also said that this is a new theory. There is therefore a good deal that is probable and considerable that is in- correct. First, as to the novelty of the theory; it is not new. It has been the belief of the earlier examiners of these remains, long prior QUINCY AND ADA3IS COUNTY 33- to the birth of Doctor Rice of the Wisconsin Historical Society, that the great mass of the mouuds found in the "West (with an exception to be noted hereafter) were built for and used as residences — places for living — with occasionally a larger one for public use, such as a fort, place of worship or council. "The material of their construction may have been wood — now completely decayed — but much more probably was of earth, as, near most of the mounds, can be observed an excavation like that near a brick-kiln or a railroad embankment, from which the soil appears to have been removed. Jlost of these mounds have a depression in the center, just such as would appear where tlie walls of a building bad crumbled down and the roofs, of lighter material and less bulk, had dropped when less supported. If this theory is to be considered, the walls were of great thickness, for the reason that they were both the Jiouses and defenses of the frail, scattered fragments of an almost exterminated race — the race which research has almost conclusively proven of higher civilization than their successors — swept from ex- istence by the Indian. "The exception to which I allude above is this: That the iso- lated, conical mounds on high points of the bluffs were undoul)tedIy for burial purposes only. They were the monumental resting places of honored and eminent men ; and Doctor Rice is no doubt correct in his statement that the moldercd huts of these long-gone builders were used by a succeeding race as places of burial. This is an Indian cus- tom almost to the present day. But as to the other mounds, those not on the bluff peaks, their outline, so far as can be ascertained, is usually rectangular, with. the depression in the center above named. Their location, like those found near Bear Creek, Jlill Creek and in the Redmond field south of Quincy on land just above overflow, was ac- cessible from the river and yet concealed therefrom. The utensils found therein, and all the surroundings, point to the plausibility of their having been domestic abodes. "Another feature, sometimes noticeable, is that the tree growth from these mounds is often of a character unlike that found in the adjacent country ; the evident product of some nuts, seeds or vege- table l)rought from afar and left in the hut, sprouting and growing clusters of trees not natural to the soil around. "The examination of these vestiges of a long-gone race made half a century or more ago was more exhaustive and better based than any that can be made now. It was made by skilful, learned and curious men who saw them in far lietter preservation than they are at pres- ent, before civilization had aided time in their destruction and when, as is not the ease now, all the Indian traditional historj* was at hand to throw its wavering light upon the subject. The best-based theory heretofore generally accepted as to the past occupation of this con- tinent is that races existed here advanced in civilization beyond any that have succeeded them, until its discover^' by Europeans; races contemporan- in improvement with Greece and Rome, but f;ir oaMier 34 QUINCY AND ADAMS COUNTY in point of time; and that they were swept from supremacy by a vandalism such as burst upon Europe centuries ago; that, just as theirs was inferior to European civilization, so more effectually have their memorials been extinguished and, unlike European civilization, no sufScient vitality remained to conquer their conquerors. "The mound builders were the probable successors of a more highly cultivated stock, the remains of whose existence are found throughout Southern North America. In time, they were swept from the land by the modern Indian, whose centuries of existence, even before the withering presence of the white man premonished his extermination, have been marked by no solitary evidence of ad- vancement (Not applicable to the present statue of the educated Indian of Oklahoma and other sections of the United States — Ed- itor). That the Indian built none of these mounds except those on the heights before mentioned is almost sure; that they have made use of those built by their predecessors is equally certain; and that most of these mounds were houses or forts is more than probable. ' ' It is recorded that Marquette and Joliet met many Indian tribes in their journeys of discovery in the Mississippi Valley, whose vil- lages were scattered along its high eastern bluffs, and it is certain that about July, 1673, the pious and intrepid priest at least passed the site of the present city of Quincy. Whether he actually landed in tliat locality is not known. The Indians found in Illinois by Marquette and Joliet belonged to the Algonquin family ; and there was undying hatred between the Iroquois of the East and Algonquius of the Northwest. The Illixois Indian Confederacy The Illinois Indians formed a loose confederacy of about half a dozen tribes, the chief of which were the Metchigamis, the Kaskas- kias, the Peorias, the Cahokias and the Taraaroas. In addition, there were the Piankashaws, the Weas, the Kickapoos, the Shawnees and probably other tribes, or remnants, who occupied Illinois soil for longer or shorter periods. The first iive tribes are probably all who should be included in the Illinois Confederacy. The Metchigamies were found along the Mis.sissippi River. Their principal settlement was near Fort Chartres. They also lived in the vicinity of Lake Michigan, to which they gave their name. They were allies of Pontiac in the war of 1764, and perished with other members of the Illinois Confederacy on Starved Rock, in 1769. The Kaskaskias were originally found along the upper courses of the Illinois River, and it was among the members of this tribe that Marquette planted the first mission in Illinois. They moved from the upper Illinois to the mouth of the Kaskaskia River in 1700, and founded there the old City of Kaskaskia, which eventually became the center of French life in the interior of the continent. During the following century the Kaskaskias occupied the region at and Illinois Indians at Beginning of the Nineteenth Century 36 QUINCY AND ADAMS COUNTY about their city, but in 1802 were almost exterminated by the Shaw- nees at the battle near the Big Muddy, Saline County. The Kaskas- kias afterward moved to a reservation on the lower Big Muddy, and eventually to the Indian Territory. The Cahokia and Tamaroa ti-ibes were merged with the Kaskaskias under one chief. The Peorias made their home in the region of Lake Peoria and were always quiet and peaceable. The Piaukashaws, a small tribe of the iliami confederation, first resided in Southeastern Wisconsin, and after the misadventure at Starved Rock moved to the Wabash River, and eventually to a Kansas reservation and to the Indian Territory. They were alwaj's very friendly to the white settlers. Although the Miamis and the Pottawatomies were familiar to the early settlers of Western Illinois and Adams County, they were not settled representatives of the red men in those sections of the state, but rather made their appearance as warriors or hunters. The Kickapoos seemed to have been intimatelj- associated with the Miamis and Pottawatomies in the Indian campaigns against St. Clair, Wayne and Taylor. They were bold marauders and warriors, and were in special force at the batttle of Tippecanoe. They were scattered throughout the Illinois country, but for fifty years before the Edwardsville treaty of 1819 held strong sway over the eastern part of what is now the state, and in the late '20s, when the bulk of the first permanent white settlers were arriving in the present Adams County, still occupied the soil of that region with undis- puted title to its possession among the people of their own race. They were also located at some localities along the Mississippi. The Kickapoos, as a tribe, first acknowledged the authority of the United States at the treaty mentioned, which was signed July 30, 1819. A month later, the Government concluded a treatj^ at Vin- eennes with a smaller division of the Kickapoos, known as the tribes of the Vermilion River, who chiefly claimed territoi'y embracing the county by that name. Thus relinquishing all title to their lands in Illinois, the Kickapoos honorably observed their contracts and moved as a body to their western lands, although weak remnants of the tribe lingered until the early '30s on several favorite camping grounds. A few' of them were also found wandering along the shores of the Mis- sissippi. The location of the mounds in the neighborhood of the Quiney bluffs points to the facts that its commanding site gave it favor as a residence and center of primitive people. When the first settlers commenced to locate in the early '20s the Indians were quite nu- merous in the neighborhood, and some time before they had quite a village there. It had been often sighted by the lumbermen as they floated past on their rafts as well as by half-breed boatmen and their Indian crews. The latter were usually composed of Sacs and Kicka- poos. It is probable that the Indian village on the site of Quiney consisted largely of Kickapoos, Ql'IXCY AND ADAMS COUNTY ' 37 "Poor One Kickapoo Me" A story is told by one of the early river men who frequeuted the locality before Quiiicy was placed on the map that upon one occasion in coming up the Mississippi River, about opposite the present site of the place, the Sac boatmen (and they were all of that tribe, ex- cept one Kickapoo) heard that one of their people had been killed by the Kickapoos. It was solemnly decided by the Saukces that the solitary Kickapoo among them must be killed in retaliation. So they informed the trembling Indian that be must die. He was allowed to go into the woods (the boat then being tied up at the shore) and sing his death song, his captors watching him closely to be sure that he did not escape. The white man, who was the owner of the cargo of goods and who told the story, said that he never heard such doleful strains as came from the poor Kickapoo, who supposed he was sing- ing his death song. The words, in broken English, were mainly these: "O-o-o. poor one Kickapoo mc; whole heap of Saukcel O-o-o, poor one Kickapoo me, whole, whole heap of Saukee ! O-o-o, poor one Kickapoo me, whole, whole, whole heap of Saukee!" The nar- rator did not at first realize the bloody intentions of the Sacs, but, when he did, managed to effect the escape of "poor one Kickapoo me." Commenting on this story, a writer sympathetically adds: "I have never, since hearing tliis story, seen a crowd set upon one man without any justification, but what I have thought of that one poor Kickapoo surrounded by a whole heap of Saukees." CHAPTER IV COUNTY HISTORY IX THE MAKING Under French Dominion — Joleet and I\Iarquette on Illinois Soil — ^Legendary I\Ionsters of the Mississippi Valley — The "Piasa" Bird — Marquette and Joliet Get Desired Information — Return Via the Illinois River — Last Days op RLvrquette — La S^ille Consolidates French Empire in America — Brave and F^uthful ToNTi — Commercial Venture into Illinois Country — Afloat on THE Kankakee — La Salle Meets the ILvskaskia Indians — Builds Fort Crevecoeur Below Peoria— Sends Father Henne- pin to Upper IMississippi — The Disasters at Starved Rock and Fort Crevecoeur — La Salle's Second Voyage — At the Mouth of the Mississippi — Messenger Sent to France — Deaths of La Salle and Tonti — Permanent Pioneer Settlements of Illinois — Fort Chartres, Center of Illinois District — First Land Grant in District — Life at the Pioneer French Illinois Settlements — Under the Crown and the Jesuits — Kaskaskia, Illinois Jesuit Center — Fortunate and Progressive Illinois — The English Invade the Ohio V.u^ley — French Rebuild Fort Chartres — Illinois Triumphs Over Virginl\ — New Fort Chartres in British Hands — First English Court of Law in Illinois Country — Pontiac Buried at St. Louis — L.vst of Fort Chartres — "Long Knives" Capture Kaskaskia — Did Not War on "Women ^ustd Children" — Bloodless Capture op Cahokia AND VlNCENNES — ClARk's LiTTLE ArMY REORGANIZED COMBINED Military and Civil Jurisdiction — County of Illinois, West of the Ohio River — Col. John Todd, County Lieutenant- American Civil Government Northwest of the Ohio — Illinois as a Territory — Bond Law Protect^ Home Seekers — State Ma- chinery Set in IMotion — Illinois Counties in 1818 — Wild Cat Banking — Slavery Question Again — The Famous Sangamon Country — Duncan and the Free School Law — Illinois Inter- nal Improvements — Capital Moved to Springfield — Remains of Internal Improvement System — Constitution of 1848 — Legis- lative Lessons Through Experience — Real Wild Cat Banks — National Banks Force Out Free Banks — The Constitution of 1870. As tlie greater includes the less, the past enlightens the present and, with the enveloping background kept in mind, the present is prophetic of the future, the study even of somewhat restricted history has gath- 38 QUIXCY AXU ADAilS COUNTY 39 ercd both dignity and charm. Therefore it is that to fully uiuicrstaiid the storj' of Adams County development, the writer of today feels called upon to preface it by creating a background of general history dealing with the explorations and discoveries of the Mississippi Valley, and the evolution therein of French, English and American phases of civilization. Thus the Illinois Country, Illinois County, Illinois Ter- ritorj', Illinois State and Adams County gradually evolve, and the reader is prepared to consider the details of that section of the com- monwealth with broad understanding and a deeper interest than if he had been suddenly cast into the minutise of the subject. Under French Dominion What was the old Northwest Territory, between the Ohio and the Mississippi rivers, and what are now the State of Illinois and Adams County remained under French dominion for nearly a century — from the historic voyages of ^larquette and Joliet, in 1672-73, to the sur- render of Fort Chartres to the English in 1765. These pioneers of French discovery revealed to the world two great waterways from their northern domain to the portentous Father of Watei-s, which was discovered to cleave a new continent in twain, instead of being either diverted to the South Seas or the Atlantic Ocean. Their as- cent of the Illinois, on their return voyage, as a shorter and easier route between the Great Lakes and the Great River, was significant of the commencement of an era which marked the trend of the most wonderful development in North America of everj- material and in- tellectual force which advances the civilization of the white man of the "Western Hemisphere. The grand march of French exploration and discover}' up the valley of the St. Lawrence, through Cartier and Cliamplain; around the fringes of the upper Great Lakes and gradually into the out- lying country by the same far-seeing, brave and patriotic Chaini)laiii ; the wonderful combination of church and state, which penetrated the wilderness, subdued its savages both by the mysteries of Catholi- cism, gentle and brotherly offices and the pageantry of a gorgeous government — all these successive steps leading to the voyages of Mar- quette and Joliet which drove the wedge into the very center of the American continent and commenced to let in the light of the world, have been so often told that they comprise the common knowledge of the reading universe. Joliet .\nd ^I.vrquette on Illinois Soil A landing on Illinois soil wa.s effected on their trip down the Mississippi, in June, 1673. On the 17th of that month their canoes, containing Joliet, Marquette, five French l)oatmen, or voyagours, and two Indian guides, shot from the mouth of th<' Wiseonsin into the broad Mississippi. The voyagers were filled with a joy unspeakable. ^Iarquettk in the Illinois (.uuntky QUIXCY AND ADA^klS COUNTY 41 The jouruey now begau down the stream without any ceremony. Marquette made accurate observations of the lay of the land, the vegetation and the animals. Among the animals he mentions are deer, moose, and all sorts of tisli, turkeys, wild cattle, and small game. Somewhere, probably below Rock Island, the voyagers discovered footprints and they knew that the Illinois were not far away. Mar- quette and Joliet left their boats in the keeping of the live French- men and after prayers they departed into the interior, following the tracks of the Indians. They soon came to an Indian village. The chiefs received the two whites with very great ceremony. The peace pipe was smoked and Joliet, who was trained in all the Indian lan- guages, told them of the purpose of their visit to this Illinois country. A chief responded and after giving the two whites some presents, among which were a calumet and an Indian slave boy, the chief warned them not to go further down the river, for great dan- gers awaited them. ^larquette replied that they did not fear death and nothing would please them more than to lose their lives in God's sers'ice. After promising the Indians they would come again, they retired to their boats, accompanied by 600 warriors from the village. They departed from these Indians about the last of June and were soon on their journey down the river. Legendary Monsters op the Mississippi V.vlley As they moved southward the bluffs became quite a marked feature of the general landscape. After passing the mouth of the Illinois River, they came to unusually high bluffs on the Illinois side of the Mississippi. At a point about six miles above the present City of Alton, they discovered on the high smooth-faced bluffs a very strange object, which Marquette describes as follows: "As we coasted along the rocks, frightful for their height and length, we saw two monsters painted on these rocks, which startled us at tirst, and on which the boldest Indian dare not gaze long. They are as large as a calf, with horns on the head like a deer, a frightful look, red eyes, bearded like a tiger, the face somewhat like a man's, the body covered with scales and the tail so long that it twice makes the turn of the body, passing over the head and down between the legs, and ending at last in a fish's tail. Green, red, and a kind of black are the colors employed. On the whole, these two monsters are so well painted that we could not believe any Indian to have been the designer, as good painters in France would find il hard to do as well ; besides this, they are so high upon the rock that it is hard to get conveniently at them to paint them." The "Pias.v" Bird In an early day in Illinois, the description of these monsters was quite current in the western i)art "f the state. So also was a tra- 42 QUINCY AND ADAMS COUNTY dition that these monsters actually inhabited a great cave near. It described, however, but a single monster and but a single picture. The tradition said that this monster was a hideous creature with wings, and great claws, and great teeth. It was accustomed to devour every living thing which came within its reach; men, women, and children, and animals of all kinds. The Indians had suffered great loss of their people from its i-avages, and a council of war was held to devise some means by which its career might be ended. Among other schemes for its extermination was a proposition by a certain young warrior to the effect that upon the departure of the beast on one of its long flights for food he would volunteer to be securely tied to stakes on the ledge in front of the mouth of the cave, and that a sufficient number of other warriors of the tribe should be sta- tioned near with their poisoned arrows so that when the bird should return from its flight they might slay it. The Piasa Bird This proposition was accepted and on a certain day the bird took its accustomed flight. The young warrior who offered to sacrifice his life was securely bound to strong stakes in front of the mouth of the cave. The warriors who were to slay the beast were all safely hidden in the rocks and debris near. In the afternoon the monster was seen returning, from its long journey. Upon lighting near its cave, it discovered the young warrior and immediately attacked him, fastening its claws and teeth in his body. The thongs held him securely and the more it strove to escape with its prey the more its claws became entangled in the thongs. At a concerted moment the warriors all about opened upon the monster with their poisoned arrows, and before the beast could extri- cate itself, its life blood was ebbing away. Its death had been com- passed. The warriors took the body and, stretching it out as to get a good picture of it, marked the form and painted it as it was seen by Marquette. Because the tribes of Indians had suffered such QIIXCV AND ADA.MS COUNTY 43 destruction of life by tiiis monster, an edict went forth that every warrior who went by this bluff should discharge at least one arrow at the painting. This the Indians continued religiously to do. In later yeai-s when guns displaced the arrows among the Indians, they continued to shoot at the painting as they passed and thus it is said the face of the painting was greatly marred. Judge Joseph Gillespie, of Kdwardsville, Illinois, a proliHe writer and a man of unimpeachable character wrote in 1883 as follows: "I saw what was called the picture sixty years since, long before it was marred by quarrymen or the tooth of time, and I never saw any- thing which would have impressed my mind t