Full text of "History of Grundy County, Illinois : containing a history from the earliest settlement to the present time ... , biographical sketches, portraits of some of the early settlers, prominent men, etc"

"'W?^'"';1^Xv?r!^?^ vff-

-4^?^^

y^?watea

GRUNDY COUNTl^

"^n^

HISTOET

GRUNDY COUNTY

IIaLaIKOIB.

Containing a History from the earliest settlement to the present time, embracing its topographical,

geological, physical and climatic features ; its agricultural, railroad interests, etc. ; giving

an account of its aboriginal inhabitants, early settlement by the whites, pioneer

incidents, its growth, its improvements, organization of the County,

the judicial history, the business and industries, churches,

schools, etc. ; Biographical Sketches ; Portraits of

some of the Early Settlers, Prominent Men, etc.

ILaLaUSTRATRD.

CHICAGO:

O. L. BASKIN & CO., HISTORICAL PUBLISHERS,

Lakeside Building.
1882.

PREFACE

TN this volume the publishers present the results of their efforts to secure a creditable com-
-*- pilation of the Historj- of Grundy County. In recounting the " short and simple annals " of
a community founded in the " piping times of peace," and more in the midst than on the front-
ier of new settlements, there is little material for a thrilling narrative or a record of interesting
exploits, but the authors of this enterprise believe that the essential facts of the early history
are here set forth with substantial accurac}'. No effort has been made to draw upon the imagina-
tion to embellish the story, but as it has been found, it has been given, in a plain, unvarnished
tale. The historical matter has been revised by L. W. Claypool, Esq., whose thorough knowl-
edge of the history and wide acquaintance with the people of the county assures its accuracy, and
has largely contributed to its completeness, and the publishers take this occasion to acknowledge
their indebtedness to him for his valuable assistance in the prosecution of this enterprise. The
chapters on Morris were contributed by the Hon. P. A. Armstrong, with whom the undertaking
was largely a labor of love, and to his cordial indorsement of the work and interesting contri-
butions to its pages is due much of its success. The chapters on Gardner were contributed by
Dr. C. M. Easton, to whom the publishers and patrons are greatly indebted for the intelligent
and persevering zeal with which he has discharged the duty imposed upon him. The publishers
also desire to thank the people ever3'where in the county for the uniform courtesj' and assistance
tendered our corps of writers, and trust the general accuracy of the work will in some part re-
pay the favors they have shown.

0. L. BASKIN & CO.

Pvhliskers.

CHICAGO:

CULVEE, PAGE, HOYXE S CO.. PRIXTER3,

lis AKD I'iO MoerB'JB Strbbt.

THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.

INCLUDING A BKIEP

HISTORY OF ILLINOIS

GEOGEAPHICAL POSITION.

"TTTTIEN the Northwestern Territory
VV was ceded to the United States bj
Viru-inia in ITS-i, it embraced only the terri-
tory lying between the Oliio and tlie Missis-
sippi "Rivers, and north to the nortlicrn lim-
its of the United States. It coincided witli
the area now embraced in the States ot'Oliio,
Indiana, Micliis^an, Illinois, Wisconsin, and
that portion of Minnesota lying on the east
side of the Misdssippi River. The United
States itself at that period extended no
fartlier west than the Mississippi liiver;
but by the purchase of Louisiana in 1803,
the western boundary of the United States
was extended to the Rock}' Mountains and
the Northern Pacific Ocean. The new
territory thus added to the National do-
main, and subsequently opened to settle-
ment, has been called the "New North-
west," in contradistinction from the old
" Northwestern Territory."

In comparison with the old Northwest
this is a territory of vast mignitude. It
includes an area of 1,887,850 square miles;
being greater in extent than the united
areas of all the Middle and Southern States,
including Texas. Out of this magnilicent

territory liavebeen erected eleven sovereign
States and eight Territories, with an aggre-
gate population, at the present time, of
13,000,000 inhabitants, or ncarlj' one-third
of the entire population of the United
States.

Its lakes are fresh-water seas, and the
larger rivers of the continent flow for a
thousand miles through its rich alluvial val-
leys and far-stretching prairies, more acres
of which are arable and productive of the
highest percentage of the cereals than of
any other area of like extent on the globe.

For the last twenty years the increase of
population in the Northwest has been about
as three to one in any other portion of the
United States.

EAELT EXPLORATIONS.

In the year loil, De Soto first saw the
Great West in the New Woi-ld. He, how-
ever, penetrated no fai-ther n(jrth than the
35th parallel of latitude. The expedition
resulted in his death and that of more than
half his army, tlie remainder of whom
found their wa}' to Cuba, thence to Spain,
in a famished and demoralized condition.
De Soto founded no settlements, produced
no results, and left no traces, unless it were

THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.

that he awakened the liostility-of the red
man against tlie wliite man, and disheart-
ened such as might desire to follow up the
career of discovery for better purposes.
The French nation were eager and ready to
seize upon any news from this extensive
domain, and were the iirst to profit by De
Soto's defeat. Yet it was more tlian a
century before any adventurer took advan-
tasre of tliese discoveries.

In 1616, four years before the pilgrims
" moored their bark on the wild New Eng-
land shore," Le Caron, a French Franciscan,
liad penetrated through the Iroquois and
and AVyandots (Ilurons) to the streams
which run into Lake Huron; and in 1634,
two Jesuit missionaries founded the first
mission among the lake tribes. It was just
one hundred j'ears from the discovery of
the Mississippi by De Soto (15-tl) until the
Canadian envoys met the savage nations of
the Northwest at the Falls of St. Mary, be-
low the outlet of Lake Superior. This
visit led to no permanent result, j'et it was
not until 1659 that any of the adventurous
fur traders attempted to spend a winter in
the frozen wilds about tlie great lakes, nor
was it until 1660 that a station was estab-
lished upon their borders by Mesnard, who
perished in the woods a few months after.
In 1665, Claude Allouez built the earliest
lasting habitation of the white man among
the Indiairs of the Northwest. In 1668,
Claude Dablon and James Marquette
founded the mission of Sault Ste. Marie at
the Falls of St. Mary, and two years after-
ward, Nicholas Perrot, as agent for M.
Talon, Governor General of Canada, ex-
plored Lake Illinois (Michigan) as far
south as the present City of Chicago, and
invited the Indian nations to meet him at

a grand council at Sault Ste. Marie the
following spring, where they were taken
under the protection of the king, and formal
possession was taken of the Northwest.
This same year Marquette established a
mission at Point St. Ignatius, where was
founded tlie old town of town of Michilli-
mackinac.

During M. Talon's explorations and Mar-
quette's residence at St. Ignatius, they
learned of a great river away to the west,
and fancied — as all others did then — that
upon its fertile banks whole tribes of God's
children resided, to whom the sound of the
Gospel had never come. Filled with a
wish to go and preach to them, and in com-
pliance with a request of M. Talon, who
earnestly desired to extend the domain of
his king, and to ascertain whetiier the
river flowed into the Gulf of Mexico or the
Pacific Ocean. Marquette with Joliet, as
commander of the expedition, prepared for
the undertaking.

On the 13th of May, 1673, the exjilorers,
accompanied by five assistant French Can-
adians, set out from Mackinaw on their
daring voyage of discovery. The Indians,
who gathered to witness their departure,
were astonished at the boldness of the
undertaking, and endeavored to dissuade
them I'rom their purpose by representing
the tribes on the Mississippi as exceedingly
savage and cruel, and the river itself as
full of all sorts of frightful monsters ready
to swallow them and their canoes together.
But, nothing daunted by these terrific de-
scriptions, Marquette told them he was
willing not only to encounter all the per-
ils of tlie unknown region they were about
to explore, but to lay down his life in a
cause in wli'ch the -alvation of souls was

THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.

iiivol\'ed; and liaviii;^ prayed togetlier they
separated. Coasting along the northern
shore of Like Micliig;in, tlie adventurers
entered Green Bay, and passed thence up
the Fox River and Like Winnebago to a
village of the Mianiis and Kickajioos.
Here Marquette was delighted to find a
beautiful cross planted in the middle of the
town, ornamented with white skins, red gir-
dles and bows and arrows, which these
good ))eople had offered to the great Man-
itou, or God, to thank him for the pity he
had bestowed on them during the winter in
giving them an abundant "chase." This
was tlie fai thest outpost to which D.iblon and
Allouez had extended their missionary la-
. bors the year previous. Hero Marquette
drank mineral waters and was instructed in
the secret of a root which cures t'le bite of
the venomous rattlesnake. He assembled
the chiefs and old men of the village, and,
pointing to Joliet, said: " My friend is an
envoy of France, to discover new coun-
tries, and lam an ambassador from God to
enlighten them with the truths of the Gos-
pel." Two Miami guides were here fur-
nished to conduct them to the Wisconsin
River, and they set out from the Indian
village on the 10th of June, amidst a great
crowd of natives who had assembled to
witness their departure into a region where
no white man had ever yet ventured. The
guides, having condu'jted them across the
portage, returned. The explorers launched
their canoes upon the Wisconsin which
they descended to the Mississippi and pro-
ceeded down its unknown waters. What
emotions must have swelled their breasts
as they struck out into the broadening cur-
rent and became conscious that they were
now upon the bosom of the Father of Wa-

ters. The mystery was about to be lifted
from the long-sought river. The scenery
in that locality is beautiful, and on that
delightful seventeenth of June must have
been clad in all its primeval loveliness as it
hid been adorned by the hand of Nature.
Drifting rapidly, it is said that the bold
blutfs on either hand " reminded them of
the castled shores of their own beautiful
rivers of France." By-and-by, as they
diifteil along, great herds of buffalo ap-
peared on the banks. On going to the
heads of the valley they could see a coun-
try of the greatest beauty and fertility, ap-
parently destitute of inhabitants yet pre-
senting the appearance of extensive man-
ors, under the fastidious cultivation of
lordly proprietors.

On June 25th, they went ashore and found
some fresh traces of men upon the sand,
and a path which led to the prairie. The
men remained in the boat, and Marquette
and Joliet followed the path till they dis-
covered a village on the banks of a river,
and two other villages on a hill, within a
half league of the first, inhabited by Indians.
They were received most hospitably by
these natives, who had never before seen a
white person. After remaining a few days
they re-embarked and descended the river
to about latitude 33°, where they found a
village of the Arkansas,, and being satisfied
that the river flowed into the Gulf of
Mexico, turned their course up the river,
and ascending the stream to the mouth of
the Illinois, rowed up that stream to its
source, and procured guides from that
point to the lakes. " No where on this
journey," says Marquette, " did we see such
grounds, meadows, woods, stags, buffaloes,
deer, wildcats, bustards, swans, ducks, par-

THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.

roquets, and even beavers, as on the Illinois
Itiver." The party, witliout loss or injury,
reached Green Bay in September, and re-
ported their discover}' — -one of the most
important of the age, but of which no
record was preserved save Marquette's,
Joliet losing his by the upsetting of his
canoe on his way to Quebec. Afterward
Marquette returned to the Illinois Indians
by their request, and ministered to them
until 1675. On the 18th of May, in that
year, as he was passing the mouth of a
stream — going with his boatmen up Lake
Michigan — he asked to land at its mouth
and celebrate mass. Leaving his men with
the canoe, he retired a shore distance and
began his devotions. As much time passed
and he did not return, his men went in
search of him, and found him upon his
knees, dead. He had peacefully passed
away while at prayer. He was buried at
tiiis spot. Charlevoi.K, who visited the
place fifty j'ears after, found the waters had
retreated from the grave, leaving the be-
loved missionary to repose in peace. The
river has since been called i\[arqnette.

While Marquette and his companions
were pursuing their labors in tiie West,
two men, diflering widely from him and
each other, were preparing to follow in his
footsteps and perfect the discoveries so well
begun ijy him. Tliese were Robert de La
Salle and Louis Hennepin.

After La Salle's return from the discovery
of the Ohio River (see the narrative else-
where), he established himself again among
the French trading posts in Canada. Here
he mused long upon the pet project of
those ages — a short way to China and the
East, and was busily planning an expedi-
tion up the great lakes, and so across

the continent to the Pacific, when Mar-
(juette returned Irom the Mississippi. At
once the vigorous mind of La Salle received
from his and his companions' stories the
idea that by following the Great River
northward, or by turning up some of the
numerous western tributaries, the object
could easily be gained. He applied to
Fronten:ic, Governor General of Canada,
and laid before him the plan, dim but
gigantic. Fnuitenac entered warmly into
his phxns, and saw that La Salle"s idea to
connect the great lakes by a chain of forts
witli the (riilf of Mexico would bind the
country so wonderfully together, give un-
measui-ed power to France, and glory ti)
himself, under whose administration he
earnestly hoped all would be realized.

La Salle now rejiaired to France, laid his
plans before the King, who warmly ap-
proved of them, and made him a Chevalier.
He also received from all the noblemen the
warmest wisiies for his success. The Chev-
alier returned to (^anada, and busily en-
tered ui)on his work. He at once rebuilt
Fort I-'ronteuHC and constructed the first
ship to sail on tliese fresh-water seas. On
the Ttli of August, 1679, having been joined
by Hennepin, he began his voyage in the
Gritlin up Lake Erie. He passed over
this lake, through the straits beyond, up
Lake St. Clair and into Huron. In this
lake they encountered heavy storms. Tliej'
were some tiineatMichillimackinae, where
La Salle founded a fort, and passed on to
Green Bay, the " Baie des Ptians " of the
Frencli, where he found a large quantity of
furs collected for him. He loaded tiie
Griffin witli these, and placing her under
the care of a pilot and fourteen sailors,
started her on her return vova2e. The ves-

THE NORTHWEST TERRITOnY.

8cl wiis never afterward licard of. He re-
mained about these parts until early in the
winter, when, hearing nothing from the
Griffin, he collected all his men— thirty
working men and three monk? — and
started again upon his great undertaking.

By a short portage they passed to the Il-
linois or Kankakee, called by the Indiana,
" Theakeke,'' wolf, because of the tribes of
Indians called by that name, commonly
known as the Mahingans, dwelling there.
The French pronounced it Kiakil-i, which
became corrupted to Kankakee. " Falling
down the said river by easy journeys, the
better to observe the country," about the
last of December they reached a village of
the Illinois Indians, containing some five
hundred cabins, but at that moment no in-
hcibitants. The Seur de La Salle being in
want of some breadstufFs, took advantage
of the absence of the Indians to help him-
self to a sufficiency of maize, large quanti-
ties of which he found concealed in holes
under the wigwams. This village was sit-
uated near the present village of Utica in
La Salle County, Illinois. The corn being
securely stored, the voyagers again betook
themselves to the stream, and toward even-
ing on the 4th day of January, 16S0, they
came into a lake, which must have been
the lake of Peoria. Tiiis was called by the
Indians Pim-i-fe-wi, that is a place whei'e
there are mamj fat beasts. Here the na-
tives were met with in large numbers, but
they were gentle and kind, and having
spent some time with them, La Salle deter-
mined to erect another fort in that phice,
for he had heard rumors that some of the
adjiiining tribes were trying to disturb the
good feeling which existed, and some of
his men were disposed to complain, owing

to the hardships and perils of the travel.
He called this fort " 6'/'6'?;(7effM/'" (broken-
heart), a name expressive of the very nat-
ural sorrow and anxiety which the pretty
certain loss of his ship, Griffin, and his con-
sequent impoverishment, the danger of
hostility on the part of the Indians, and of
mutiny among his own men, might well
cause him. His fears were not entirely
groundless. At one time poison was placed
in his food, but fortunately was discovered.

While building this fort, the winter
wore away, the prairies began to look
green, and La Salle, despairing of any rein-
forcements, concluded to return to Canada,
raise new means and new men, and embark
anew in the enterprise. For this purpose
he made Hennepin the leader of a party to
explore the head waters of the Mississippi,
and he set out on his journey. This jour-
ney was accomplished with the aid of a
few pei'sons, and was successfully made,
though over an almostunknown route, and
in a bad season of the year. He safely
reached Canada, and set out again for the
object of his seai'ch.

Hennepin and his party left Fort Creve-
coeur on the last of February, 16S0. "When
La Salle reached this place on his return ex-
pedition, he found the fort entirely desert-
ed, and he was obliged to return again to
Canada. He embarked the third time,
and succeeded. Seven days after leaving
the fort, Hennepin reached the ilississippi,
and ]iaddling up the icy stream as best he
could, reached no higher tiian tlie Wis-
consin River by the 11th of April. Here
he and his followers were taken prisoners
by a band of Northern Indians, who treat-
ed them with great kindness. Hennepin's
comrades were Anthony Auguel and Mi-

THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.

cliael Ako. On tliis voyage thcj f'onml sev-
eral beaHtit'ul lakes, and " saw some cliarin-
iiiii; prairies." Their captors were the
Isante or Sauteurs, Chippewas, a tribe of
the Sioux nation, who took them up the
river until about the tirstof May, wiien
they reached some falls, which Hen-
nepin christened Falls of St. Antliony
in honor of his ])atron saint. Here they
took the land, and traveling nearly two
hundred miles to the northwest, brought
them to their villages. Here they were
kept about tliree months, were treated kind-
ly' by their captors, and at the end of that
time, were met by a baud of Frenchmen,
headed by one Seur de Luth, who, in ]>iir-
s\iit of trade and game, had penetrated thus
far by the i-outeof Lake Superior; and
with these fellow-countrymen Hennepin and
liis companions were allowed to return to
the borders of civilized life in Xovomber,
16S0, just after La Salle liad returned
to the wilderness on his second trip. Hen-
nepin soon after went to France, wliere
lie published an account of Lis adven-
tures.

The Mississippi was first discovered by
De Soto in April, lo-il, in his vain endeav-
or to find gold and precious gems. In the
following spring, De Soto, weary with hope
long deferred, and worn out with his wan-
derings, fell a victim to disease, and on
the 21st of May, died. His followers, re-
duced by fatigue and disease to less than
three hundred men, wandered about the
country nearly a year, in the vain endeavor
to rescue themselves by land, and finallv
constructed seven small vessels, called brio--
antines, in which they embarked, and de-
scending the river, supposing it would
lead them to the sea, in July they came to

tlie sea (Gulf of Mexico), and by Septem-
ber reached the Island of Cnba.

They were the first to see the great out-
letof the Mississippi; but, being so weary
and discouraged, made no attempt to claim
the country, and hardly had an intelligent
idea of what they had passed through.

To LaS die, the intrepid explorer, belongs
the honor of giving the first account of
the mouths of the river. His great desire
was to possess this entire country for his
king, and in January, 1GS2, he and his
band of explorers left the shores of Lake
Michigan on their third attempt, crossed
the portage, passed down tiie Illinois Riv-
er, and on the (Jth of February, reached the
banks of the Mississippi.

On the 13th they commenced their down-
ward course, which they pursued with but
one interruption, until upon the Cth of
March they discovered the three great pas-
sages by which the river discharices its
waters into the gulf. LaSade thus narrates
the event:

" We landed on the bank of the most
western channel, about three leagues (nine
miles) from its mouth. On the seventh,
M. de La Salle went to reconuoiter the shores
of the nei:^hboring sea, and M. do Tonti
meanwhile examined the great middle chan-
nel. They found the main outlets beau-
tiful, large and deep. On the Sth we reas-
cended the rivei, a little above its conflu-
ence with the sea, to find a dry place be-
yond the reach of inundations. The el-
evation of the North Pole was here about
twenty- seven degrees. Here we prepared
a column and a cross, and to the column
were affixed the arms of France with this
inscription:

Louis LeGrand, Roi De France et de Navarre,
regne; Le neuvieme Avril 1682.

THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.

The whole party, uiuler arms, chanted
the Te Deum, and then, atte;- a salute and
cries of-' Vive le Boi," the column was
ei'ected by .M. de La Salle, who, standing
near it, jiroclalmed in a loud voice the au-
thority of the King of France. La Salle
returned and laid the foundations of the
Mississippi settlements in Illinois, thence
he proceeded to France, where another ex-
pedition was fitted out, of which he was
commander, and in two succeeding voy-
ages failed to find the outlet of the river
by sailing along the shore of the gulf. On
his third voyage he was killed, through
the treachery of his followers, and the ob-
ject of his expeditions was not accom-
plished until 1609, when 1)' Iberville, un-
der the authority of the crowji, discovered,
on the second of March, by way of the sea,
the mouth of the " Hidden River." This
majestic stream was called by the natives
^^ Malltouc/ua," and by the Spaniards, "■!((
Palissade, " from the great number of
trees about its mouth. After traversing the
several outlets, and satisfying himself as to
its certainty, he erected a fort near its
western outlet and returned to France.

An avenue of trade was now opened out,
which was fully improved. In 1718, New
Orleans was laid out and settled by some
European colonists. In 176-, the colony
was made orer to Spain, to be regained by
France under the consulate of Napoleon.
In 1803, it was purchased by the United
States for the sum of fifteen million dollars,
and the territory of Louisiana and com-
merce of the Mississippi lliver came under
the charge of the United States. Although
La Salle's labors ended in defeat and death,
he had not worked and suffered in vain,
lie had thrown open to France and the

world an immense and most valuable coun-
try; had established several ports, and laid
the foundations of more than one settle-
ment there. " Peoria, Kaskaskia and Ca-
hokia, are to this day monuments of La
Salle's labors; for, though he had founded
neither of them (unless Peoria, which was
built nearly upon the site of Fort Creve-
coeur,) it was by those whom he led into the
West that these places were peopled and
civilized. He was, if not the discoverer,
the first settler of the Mississippi Valley,
and as such deserves to be known and
honored."

The French early improved the opening
made for them. Before the year IGliS, the
Rev, Father Gravier began a mission among
the Illinois, and founded Kaskaskia. For
some time this was merely a missionary
station, where none but natives resided, it
being one of three such villages, the other
two being Cahokia and Peoria. What is
known of these missions is learned from a
letter written by Father Gabriel Marest,
dated "Aux Cascaskias, autrement dit de
I'Immaculate Conception de la Sainte
Yierge, le 9 Novembre, 1712." Soon after
the founding of Kaskaskia, the missionary,
Pinet, gathered a flock at Cahokia, while
Peoria arose near the ruins of Fort Creve-
coeur. This must have been about a year
1700. The post at Vincennes on the
Oubache river, (jironounced Wa-ba, mean-
ing summer cloud moving swifthj) was es-
tablished in 170U, according to the best
authorities.* It is altogether probable that

* There is considerable dispute about this date,
some asserting it was found 'd as late as 1742. When
thi' new court house at Vincennes was erected, all
authorities on the suVy'ect were carefully examined,
and 1702 fixed upon as the cotxeot date. It was ac-
cordingly engraved on the comer-etone of the court
house-

THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.

on Lii Salle'd last trip he established the
stations at Kaskaskia and Cahokia. In
July, 1701, the foundations of Fort Pon-
cluirtrain were laid by De la Motte Cadillac
on the Detroit liiver. These stations, with
those established further north, were the
earliest attempts to occupy the Nortliwest
Territory. At the same time eftbrts were
being made to occupy the Southwest, which
finally culminated in the settlement and
fuundin<)^ of tlie City of New Orleans by a
colony from England in 1718. This was
mainly accomplished throngh the efforts of
the famous ]\Iississip]n Companj-, estab-
lislied by the notorious John Law, who so
quickly arose into pi-ominence in France,
and who with his scheme so quickly and so
ignominiously passed away.

From the time of the founding of these
stations for lilty years the French nation
were engrossed with the settlement of the
lower Mississi]>pi, and the war with the
Chicasaws, who had, in revenge for repeated
injuries, cut off the entire colony at Natchez.
Although the company did little for Louis-
iana, as the entire West was then called,
yet it opened the trade through the Missis-
sippi River, and started the raising of
grains indigenous to that climate. L"^ntil
the year 1750, but little is known of the
settlements in the Northwest, as it was not
until this time that tlie attention of the
English was called to the occupation of
this portion of the N ew World, which thej'
then supposed they owned. Yivier, a mis-
sionary among the Illinois, writing from
"Aux Illinois," six leagues from Fort
Chartres, June 8, 1750, says: "We have
here whites, negroes and Indians, to say
nothing of cross-breeds. There are five
French villages, and three villages of the

natives, within a space of twenty-one
leagues situated between the Mississippi
and another river called the Karkadaid
(Kaskaskias). In the iive French villages
are, perhaps, eleven hundred whites, three
hundred blacks and some sixty red slaves
or savages. The three Illinois towns do
not contain more than eight hundred souls
all told. Most of the French till the soil ;
they raise wheat, cattle, pigs and horses,
and live like princes. Three times as much
is produced as can be consumed ; and great
quantities of grain and flour are sent to
New Orleans." This city was now the
seaport town of the Northwest, and save
in the extreme northern part, where only
furs and copper ore were found, almost all
the products of the country found their
way to France by the mouth of the Father
of Waters. In another letter, dated No-
vember 7, 1750, tliis same priest says:
"For fifteen leagues above the mouth of
the Mississippi one sees no dwellings, the
ground being too low to be habitable.
Thence to New Orleans, the lands are oidy
partially occupied. New Orleans contains
black, white and red, not more, I think,
than twelve hundred persons. To this
point come all lumber, bricks, salt-beef,
tallow, tar, skins and bear's grease ; and
above all, pork and flour from the Illinois.
These things create some commerce, as
forty vessels and more have come hither
this year. Above New Orleans, plantations
are again met with ; the most considerable
is a colony of Germans, some ten leagues
up the river. At Point Coupee, thirty-five
leagues above the German settlement, is a
fort. Along here, within five or six leagues
are not less than sixty habitations. Fifty
leagues farther up is the Natchez post,

THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.

where we liiive a garrison, wlio are kept
prisoners tlirougli fear oF tlie Ciiicasaws.
Here ami at point Conpee, they raise excel-
lent tubaceo. Another hundred leajrues
brinies u> U> tlie Arkansas, where we have
also a fort and a irarrison for tlie benellt of
the river traders. * * * From the Ar-
kansas to the Illinois, nearl)^ five hundred
leagues, there is not a settlement. Tliere
should be. however, a fort at the Onbache
(Ohio), the only path by which the English
can reach the Mississippi. In the Illinois
country are numberless mines, but no one
to work thorn as they deserve." Father
Marest, writing from the post at Vincennes,
in 1812, makes the same observation. Vi-
vien also saj's: " Some individuals dig
lead near the surface and supply tlie Ind-
ians and Canada. Two Spaniards now here,
who claim to be ade])ts, say that our mines
are like those of Mexico, and that if wo
would dig deeper, we should find silver un-
der the lead ; and at any rate the lead is
excellent. There is also in this country,
beyond doubt, copper ore, as irom time to
time iarije jiieces are found in the streams."
At the close of the year 1750, the French
occupied, in adilition to the lower Missis-
sippi posts and those in Illinois, one at
Du Quesne, otie at the Maumee in the
country of the Jliamis, and one at Sandus-
kj", in what mav be termed the Ohio Val-
ley. In the nijtliern part of the North-
west tliey had stations at St. Joseph's on
the St. Joseph's of Lake Michigan, at Fort
Ponchartrain (Detroit), at Michillimack-
anac or ila^sillimacanac. Fox Iliver of
Green Bay, and at Sanlt Ste. Marie. The
fondest dreams of La Salle were now fully
realized. Tlie French alone were possess-
ors of this vast realm, basing their claim

on discovery and settlement. Another na-
tion, however, was now turning its atten-
tion to this extensive country, and hearing
of its wealth, began to lay plans for oc-
cujiying it and for securing the great
pi'otits arising therelrom.

The French, Jiowever, iiad another claim
to this country, namely, the

DISCOVERY or THE OUIO.

This "Beautiful" river was discovered
by Robert Cavalier de La Salle in 1(369, four
years before the discovery of the Missis-
sippi by Joliet and Marquette.

While La Salle was at his trading post
on the St. Lawrence, he found leisure to
study nine Indian dialects, the chief of
which was the Iroquois. lie not only de-
sired to facilitate his intercourse in trade,
but he longed to travel and exi)lore the un-
known regions of the AVest. An incident
soon occurred which decided him to fit out
an exploring expedition.

"While conversing witii some Senecas, he
learned of a river called tlie Oiiio, which
rose in their country and flowed to the sea,
but at such a distance that it required
eight montiis to reach its month. In this
statemetit the Mississippi and its tributa-
ries were considered as one stream. La
Salle, believing, as most of the French at
that period did, that the great rivers flow-
ing west emptied into the Sea of Califor-
nia, was anxious to embark in the enter-
prise of discovering a route across the con-
tinent to the commerce of China and
Japan.

He repaired at once to Quebec to obtain
the approval of the Governor. His elo-
quent appeal prevailed. The Governor
and the Intendant, Talon, issued letters

THE NORTHWEST TERKITORY.

patent authorizing the enterprise, but made
uo provision to defray the expenses. At
this juncture the seminary of St. Sulpice
decided to send out missionaries in connec-
tion with the expedition, and La Salle offer-
ing to sell his improvements at LaCiiine to
raise money, the offer was accepted by the
Superior, and two thousand eight hundred
dollars were raised, with which La Salle
purchased four canoes and the necessary
6up])Iies for the outfit.

On the 6th of July, 1669, the party, num-
bering twenty-four persons, embarked in
seven canoes on the St. Lawrence; two ad-
ditional canoes carried the Indian guides.
In three days they were gliding over the
bosom of Lake Ontario. Their guides con-
ducted them directly to the Seneca village
on the bank of the Genesee, in the vicinity
of the present City of Ilochester, New
York. Here they expected to procure
guides to conduct them to the Ohio, but in
this they were disappointed.

The Indians seemed unfriendly to the
enterprise. La Salle suspected that the
Jesuits had prejudiced tlieir minds
against his plans. After waiting a month
in the hope of gaining their object, thev
met an Indian from the Iroquois colony at
the head of Lake Ontai'io, who assured
them that they could there find guides, and
offei'ed to conduct them tlieiice.

On tlicir way the}' passed the moutli of
the Niagara River, wlienthey heard for the
first time the distant thunder of the cata-
ract. Arriving among the Iroquois, tiiey
met with a friendly reception, and learned
from a Shawauee prisoner that they conkl
reaeii tl;e Ohio in six weeks. Delighted
with the unexpected good fortune, they
made ready to resume their journey; but

just as they were about to start they heard
of the arrival of two Frenchmen in a neigh-
boring village. One of them proved to be
Louis Joliet, afterward famous as an ex-
plorer in the West. He had been sent by
tiie Canadian Government to explore the
copper mines on Lake Superior, but had
failed, and was on his way back to Quebec.
lie gave the missionaries a map of the
country he had explored in the lake region,
togetlier with an account of the condition
of the Indians in that quarter. This in-
duced the priests to determine on leaving
the expedition and iroing to Lake Superioi'.
La Salle warned them that the Jesuits were
probably occupyins that field, and that
they would meet with a cold reception.
Nevertheless they persisted in their pur-
pose, and after worship on the lake shore
parted from La Salle. On arriving at Lake
Superior, they found, as La Salle had pre-
dicted, the Jesuit Fathers, Marquette and
Dablon, occupying the field.

These zealous disciples of Loyola in-
formed them that they wanted no assistance
from St. Sulpice, nor from those who made
him their patron saint; and thus repulsed,
they returned to Montreal the following
June without having made a single discov-
ery or converted a single Indian.

Alter parting with the priests, La Salle
went to the chief Iroquois village at Onon-
daga, where he obtained guides, and passing
thence to a tributary of the Ohio south of
Lake Erie, he descended the latter as far as
the falls at Louisville. Thus was the Ohio
discovered by La Salle, the persevering and
successful French explorer of the West, in
1069.

The account of the latter part of his
journey is found in an anonymous paper,

THE NOKTHWEST TERRITORY.

wliii'li ])iir]i(ii-ts toliavc been taken from tlie
lips of La Salle liimself during a subsequent
visit to Paris. In a letter written to Count
Frontenac in lfi67, shortly after the discov-
er}', he himself says that he discovered the
Ohio and descended it to the falls. This
was regarded as an indisputable fact by the
French authorities, who claimed the Ohio
Valley upon another ground. When "Wash-
ington was sent by the colony of Virginia
in 1753, to demand of Gordeur de St. Pierre
why the French had built a fort on the Mo-
nongahela, the haughty commandant at
Quebec replied: " We claim the country on
the Ohio by virtue of the discoveries of
La Salle, and will not give it up to the Eng-
lish. Our orders are to make prisoners of
ever}' Englishman found trading in the
Ohio Valley."

ENGLISH EXPLORATIONS AND SETTLEMENTS.

When the new year of 1750 broke in up-
on the Father of AVaters and the Great
Northwest, all was still wild save at the
French posts already described. In 1749,
when the English first began to think seri-
ously about sending men into the West,
the greater portion of tlje States of Indi-
ana, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin,
and Minnesota were yet under the domin-
ion of the red men. The English knew,
however, pretty conclusively of the nature
of the wealth of these wilds. As early as
]710, Governor Spotswood, of Virginia,
had commenced movements to secure the
country west of the Alleghanies to the
English crown. In Pennsylvania, Gover-
nor Keith and James Logan, secretary of
the province, from 1719 to 1731, represent-
ed to the powers of England the necessity
of securing the Western lauds. Nothing

was done, however, by that power save to
take some diplomatic steps to secure the
claims of Britain to this unexplored wilder-
ness.

England had from the outset claimed
from the Atlantic to the Paciiic, on the
ground that the discovery of the seacoast
and its possession was a discovery and pos-
session of the country, and, as is well known,
her grants to the colonies extended "from
sea to sea." This was not all her claim.
She had purchased from the Indian tribes
large tracts of land. This latter was also a
stiong argument. As early as 1GS4, Lord
Howard, Governor of Virginia, held a trea-
ty with the six nations. These were the
great Northern Confederacy, and comprised
at first the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagaa,
Cayugas, and Senecas. Afterward the Tus-
caroras were taken into the confederacy,
and it became known as the Six Nations.
They came under the pirotection of the
mother country, and again in 1701, they
repiented the agreement, and in September,
1726, a formal deed was drawn up and
signed by the chiefs. The validity of this
claim has often been disputed, but never
successtnlly. In 1744, a purchase was made
at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, of certain lands
within the "Colony of Virginia," for which
the Indians received £200 in gold and a
like sum in goods, with a promise that, as
settlements increased, more shuuld be paid.
The Commissioners from Virginia were
Colonel Thomas Lee and Colonel AVilliam
Beverley. As settlements extended, the
]iromise of more pay was called to mind,
and Mr. Conrad Weiser was sent across the
mountains with presents to appease the
savages. Col. Lee, and some Viririnians
accompanied him with the intention of

THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.

souridiiio; the Indians upon their feelings
regarding the English. They were not
satisfied with their treatment, and plainly
told the Comniissioners why. The English
did not desire the cultivation of the country,
but the monopoly of the Indian trade. In
1748, the Ohio Company was formed, and
petitioned the king for a grant of land
beyond the Alleghenies. This was granted,
and the government of Virginia was or-
dered to grant to them a half million acres,
twi. hundred thousand of which were to be
located at once. Upon the 12th of June,
17-1!>, S00,000 acres from the line of Canada
north and west was made to the Loyal
Comi)any, and on the 29th of October,

1751, 100.000 acres were given to the
Greenhriar Company. All this time the
French were not idle. They saw that,
should the British gain a footiiold in the
West, especially upon the Ohio, they
might not only prevent the French set-
tling upon it, but in time would come to
the lower posts and so gain jiossession of
the whole country. Upon tlie lOtii of May,
1774-, Vaudreuil, Governor of Canada and
the French possessions, well knowing the
consequences that must arise from allow-
ing the English to build trading posts in
tlie Northwest, seized some of their frontier
posts, and to further secure the claim of the
Fi-ench to the West, he, in 1749, sent Louis
Celeron with a party of soldiers to plant
ailing the Ohio River, jn the mounds and
at the mouths of its ])rincipal tributaries,
plates of lead, on which-were inscribed the
claims of France. These were heard of in

1752, and within the memory of residevits
now living along the "Oyo," as the beauti-
ful river w;is called by the French. One
ot tliese plates was found with the inscrip-

tion partly defaced. It bears date August
16, 1749, and a copyot the inscription with
particular account of the discovery of the
plate, was sent by DeWitt Clinton to the
American Antiquarian Society, among
whose journals it may now be found.*
These measures did not, however, deter the
English from going on with their explora-
tions, and though neither part}' resorted to
arms, yet the conflict was gathering, and it
was only a question of time when the storm
would burst upon the frontier settlements.
Ill 1750, Christopher Gist was sent by the
Ohio Company to examine its lands. He
went to a village of the Twigtwees, on the
Miami, about one hundi'ed and fifty miles
above its mouth. He afterwani spoke of it
as very populous. From there he went
down the Ohio lliver nearly to the falls at
the present City of Louisville, and in
November he commenced a survey of the
Company's lands. During the winter.
General Andrew Lewis performed a similar
work for the Greenbriar Company. Mean-
while the French were busy in preparing
their firts for defense, and in opening
roads, and also sent a small party of soldiers
to keep the Ohio clear. This party, having
heard of the English post on the Miami

* The following is a translation of the insciiption on
the plat": "In the year 1749, reign of Ijoiiis XV.,
King of France, we, Celeron, commandant of a de-
tachment by Mo sieur the Marquis of GalIi.soniere,
commander-in-chief of New France, to establish tran-
quility in certain Indian villages o*. these cantons,
have buried this plate at the confluence of the
Toradakoin, this twenty-ninth of .July, near the river
Ohio, otiierwise Beautiful River, as a monument of
renewal of possession which we have taken of the
said river, and all its tributaries; inasmuch as the
preceding Kings of France have enjoyed it, and
maintained it by their arms and treaties; esp cially
by thoBe of Eyswick, Utrecht, and Aix La Chapelle."

THE iNORTHWEST TEREITORY.

Kivor, early in 1652, assisted by the
Ottawas and Cliippevvas, attacked it, and,
after a severe battle, in which fourteen of
the natives were killed and others wounded,
captured the garrison. (They were prob-
ably garrisoned in a block house). The
traders were carried away to Canada, and
one account says sereral were burned. This
fort or post M-as called by the English
Pic-kawillany. A memorial of the king's
ministers refers to it as " Pickawillanes, in
the center of the territory between the Ohio
and the Wabash. The name is probably
some variation of Pickaway or Picqna, in
1773, written by Ilev. David Jones, Pick-
aweke."

This was the first blood shed between the
French and English, and occurred near the
present City of Piqna, Ohio, or at least at
a point about forty-seven miles north of
Dayton. Eaeli nation became now more
interested in the progress of events in the
jS'ortiiwest. The English determined to
purchase from the Indians a title to the
lands they wished to occupy, and Messrs.
Fry (afterward C'ommander-in-chief over
Washington at the coinmencemjnt of the
French War of 1775-1763), Loniax and
Patton were sent in the spring of 1752 to
bold a conference with the natives at Logs-
town to learn what they objected to in the
treaty of Lancaster already noticed and to
settle all difficulties. On the 9th of June,
these Commissioners mei the red men at
Logstown, a little village on the north
bank of the Ohio, about seventeen miles
below the site of Pittsburgh. Here had
been a trading point for many years, but it
was abandoned by the Indians in 1750. xVt
first the Indians declined to recognize the
treaty of Lancaster, but, the Cuuimission-

ers taking aside Montour, the interpreter,
who was a son of the famous Catharine Mon-
tour, and a chief among the Six Nations,
induced him to use his infiuenco in their
favor. This lie did, and upon the i;>tli of
June they all united in signing a deed, con-
firming the Lancaster treaty in its full ex-
tent, consenting to asettlement of the soul h-
east of the Ohio, and guaranteeing that it
should not be disturbed by them. These
were the means used to obtain the first
treaty with the Indians in the Ohio Valley.

Meanwhile the powers beyond the sea
were trying to ont-maneuver each other,
and were professing to be at peace. The
English generally outwitted the Indians,
and failed in many instances to fulfill their
contracts. They thereby gained the ill-
will of the red men, and further increased
the feeling by failing to provide them with
arms and ammunition. Said an old chief,
at Easton, in 175S: "The Indians on the
Ohio left you because of your own fault.
When we heard the French were comini;,
we asked you for help and arms, but we ilid
not get them. The French came, they
treated us kindly, and gained our affections.
The Governor of Virginia settled on our
lands for his own benefit, and, when we
wanted help, forsook us."

At the beginning of 1653, the English
thought they had secured by title the lands
in the West, but the French had quietly
gathered cannon and military stores to be
in readiness for the expected blow. The
English made other attempts to ratify these
existing treaties, but not until the s nnmer
could the Indians be gathered together to
discuss the plans of the French. They had
sent messages to the French, warning them
away; but they replied that they intended

THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.

to complete tlie chain of forts already be-
gun, and would not abandon the field.

Soon after this, no satisfaction bein;^ ob-
tained froin the Ohio regardinif the posi-
tions and purposes of the French, Governor
Dinwiddie of Virginia determined to send
to tlieni another messenger and learn from
them, if possible, their intentions. For
this purpose he selected a young man, a
surveyor, who, at the early age of nineteen,
had received the rank of major, and who
was thoroughly posted regarding frontier
life. This personage was no other than the
illustrious George Washington, who then
held considerable interest in AVestern lands.
He was at this time just twenty-two years
of age. Taking Gist as his guide, the two,
accompanied by four servitors, set out on
their perilous march. They left Will's
Creek on the 10th of November, 1753, and
on the "2'2d reached the Monongahela, about
ten miles above the fork. From there they
went to Logstown, where Washington had
a long conference with the chiefs of the Six
Nations. From them he learned the con-
dition of the French, and also heard of
their determination not to come down the
river till the following spring. The Indi-
ans were non-committal, as they were afraid
to turn either way, and, as fur as they
could, desired to remain neutral. Wash-
ington, finding nothing could be done
with them, went on to Venango, an old
Indian town at the mouth of French Creek.
Here the French had a fort, called Fort
Machault. Through the rum and flattery
of the French, he nearly lost all his Indian
followers. Finding nothing of importance
here, lie pursued his way amid great priva-
tions, and on the 11th of December reached
the fort at the head of French Creek. Here

he delivered Governor Dinwiddie's letter,
received his answer, took his observations,
and on the Ifith set out upon his return
journey with no one but Gist, his guide,
and a few Indians who still remained true
to him, notwithstanding the endeavors of
the French to retain them. Their home-
ward journey was one of great peril and
Ruft'ering from the cold, yet they reached
home in safety on the 6th of January,
1754.

From the letter of St. Pierre, commander
of the French fort, sent by Washington to
G.ivernor Dinwiddie, it was learned that
tlie French wonld not give up without a
struggle. Active preparations "were at
once made in all the English colonies for
tlie coming conflict, while the French fin-
ished the fort at Venango aud strengthened
their lines of fortifications, and gathered
their forces to be in readiness.

The Old Dominion was all alive. Vir-
ginia was the center of great activities; vo,-
unteers were called for, and from all the
neighboring colonies men rallied to the
conflict, and everywhere along the Potomac
men were enlisting under the governor's
proclamation — which promised two hun-
dred thousand acres on the Ohio. Along
this river they were gathering as far as
Will's Creek, and far beyond this point,
whither Trent had come for assistance for
his little band of forty-one men, who were
working away in hunger and want, to for-
tify that point at the fork of the Ohio, to
which both parties were looking with deep
interest.

"The first birds of spring filled the air
with their song; the swift river rolled by
the Allegheny hillsides, swollen by the
melting snows of spring and the April

THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.

sliowers. Tlie leaves were appearing: a
tbw Indian scouts were seen, but no eueinj
seemed near at hand; and all was so (juiet,
that Frazier, an old Indian scout and trader,
who liad been left by Trent in coniniand,
ventured to his home at the mouth of
Turtle Creek, ten miles up the Monongahela.
But, though all was so quiet in that wilder-
ness, keen eyei had seen the low intrench-
n;e it rising at the fork, and swift feet had
borne the news of it up the river; and upon
the morning of the 17th of April, Ensign
Ward, wlio then had charge of it, saw upon
the Allegheny a sight that niade his heart
sink — sixty batteaux and three hundred
canoes filled with men, and laden deep with
cannon and stores. * * * That evening
lie su])ped with his captor, Oontrecoeur, and
the next day he was bowed oft" by the
Frenchman, and with his men and tools,
marched up the Monongaliela."

The French and Indian war had begun.
The treaty of Aix la Chapelle, in I74S, had
left the boundaries between the French and
English possessions unsettled, and the
events alread}^ narrated show the French
were determined to hold the country wa-
tered by the Mississippi and its tributaries;
while the English laid claims to the country
by virtue of the discoveries of the Cabots,
and claimed all the country from New-
foundland to Florida, extending ironi the
Atlantic to the Pacific. The first decisive
blow had now been struck, and the first
attempt of the English, through the Ohio
Com]iany, to occupy these lands, had re-
sulted disastrously to them. The French
and Indians immediately completed the
fortifications begun at the Fork, which they
bad so easily captured, and when completed
gave to the fort the name of Du Quesne.

Washington was at Will's Creek when the
news of the cajitureof the fort arrived. lie
at once departed to recapture it. On his
way he entrenched liimself at a place called
the " Jleadows," where he erected a f irt
called bv him Fort Necessity. From thci-e
he surprised and captured a force of French
and Indians marching against him, but was
soon after attacked in his fort by a ranch
superior force, and was obliged to yield on
the morningof July 4th. He was allowed
to return to Virginia.

The English Government immediately
jilanned four campaigns; one against Fort
L)u Quesne; one against Nova Scotia; one
against Fort Niagara, and one against
Crown Point. These occurred during
1755-6, and were not successful in driving
the French from their possessions. The
expedition against Fort Dii Quesne was led
by the famous General Braddock, who, re-
fusing to listen to the advice of Washington
and those acquainted with Indian warfare,
suffered such an inglorious defeat. This
occurred on the morning of July 9th, and
is generally known as the battle of Monon-
gahela, or " Braddock's Defeat." The war
continued with various vicissitudes through
the years 175G-7; when, at the conimence-
of 1758 in accordance with the plans of
William Pitt, then Secretary of State,
afterward Lord Chatham, active prepara-
tions were made to carry on the war.
Three expeditions were ]ilanncd for this
year: one, under General Amherst, against
Louisburg; another, under Abercrombie,
against Fort Ticonderoga; and a third, un-
der General Forbes, against Fort Du
Quesne. On the 26th of July, Louisburg
surrendered after a desperate resistance of
more than forty days, and the eastern part

THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.

of the Canadian possessions tell into the
hands of the British. Abercrombie cap-
tured Fort Froiitenac, and when the ex-
pedition against Fort Du Quesne, of which
Washington had the active command, ar-
rived there, it was found in flames and de-
serted. The English at once took posses-
sion, rebuilt the fort, and in honor of their
illustrious statesman, changed the name to
Fort Pitt.

The great object of the campaign of
1759, was the reduction of Canada. Gen-
eral Wolfe was to lay siege to Quebec; Ara-
lierst was to reduce Ticonderoga and Crown
Point, and General Prideaux was to cap-
ture Niagara. This latter place was taken
in Jul}', but the gallant Prideaux lost his
life in the atteinjit. Amherst captured
Ticonderoga and Crown Point without a
blow; and Wolfe, after making the men:or-
able ascent to the plains of Abraham, on
September 13th, defeated Montcalm, and
on the ISth, the city capitulated. In this
engagement Montcalm and "Wolfe both
lost their lives. De Levi, Montcalm's suc-
cessor, marched to Sillery, three miles
above the city, with tlie purpose of defeat-
ing the English, and there, on the 2Sth of
the following April, was fought one of the
bloodiest battles of the French and Indian
war. It resulted in the defeat of the
French, and the fall of the city of Montreal.
The Governor signed a capitulation, by
which the whole of Canada was surrendered
to the English. Tiiis practically conclu-
ded the war, but it was not until 1763 that
the treaties of peace between France and
England were signed. This was done on
the 10th of February of that year, and un-
der its provisions all the country east of
the Mississippi and north of the Iberville

river, in Louisiana, were ceded to England.
At the same time Spain ceded Florida to
Great Britain.

On the 13th of September, 17G0, Major
Robert Rogers was scivti fr6m Montreal to
take charge of l*)t!troit, the only remaining
French post in the territcvj-y. He arrived
thereon the 19th of November, and sum-
moned the place to surrender. At tirst the
commander of the post,- Beletre, refused,
but on the 29th, hearing of the continued
defeat of the French arms, surrendered.
Rogers renminqd -there until December 23d,
under the personal protection of the cele-
brated chief, Pontiac, to whom, no doubt,
he owed his safety. Pontiac had come here
to inquire the purposes of the English in
taking possession of the country. lie was
assured that tiiey came simply to trade
with the natives, and did'not desire their
country. This answer conciliated the sav-
a<res, and did much to insure the safety of
Rogers and his party during their stay,
and while on their journey home.

Rogers set out for Fort Pitt on Decem-
ber 23d, and was just one month on the
wav. His route was from Detroit to Mau-
mee, thence across the present State of
Ohio directly to the fort. This -was the
common trail of the Indians in their jour-
neys from Sandusky to the Fork of the
Ohio. It went from Fort Sandusky, where
Sandusky city now is, crossed the Huron
river, then called Bald Eagle Creek, to "Mo-
hickon John's Town" Creek, on Moliikon
Creek, the northern branch of "White
AVoman's river, And then crossed to Bea-
ver's town, a Delaware town on what is
now Sandy Creek. At Beaver's town were
probably one hundred and tifty warriors,
and not less than three thousand acres of

THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.

cleared land. From there the track went
up Sandy Creek to and across Bi;^ Beaver,
and up the Ohio toLogstown, thence on to
the fork.

The Northwest Territory was now en-
tirely under the Enj^lish rule. New settle-
ments began to be rapidly made, and the
promise of a large trade was speedily mani-
fested. Ilad the British carried out their
2)romises with the natives, none of those
savage butcheries would have been perpe-
trated, and the country would have been
spared their recital.

The renowned chief, Pontiac, was one of
the leading spirits in these atrocities. We
will now ]iause in our narrative, and notice
the leading events in his life.. The earliest
authentic information regarding this noted
IndiaTi chief, is learned from an account of
an Indian trader named Alexander Henry,
who, in the spring of 1761, penetrated his
domains as far as Missiilimacnac. Ponti-
ac was then a great triend of the French,
but a bitter foe of the Euglish, whom he
considered as encroaching on his hunting
grounds. Henry was obliged to disguise
himself as a Canadian to insure safety, but
was discovered by Pontiac, who bitterly
reproached him, and the English for their
attempted subjugation of the West. He
declared that no ti-eat}' had been made
with them; no presents sent them, and
that he would resent any possession of the
West by that nation. He was at the time
about tifty years of age, tall and dignified,
and was civil and military ruler of the Ot-
tawas, Ojibwas and Pottawa|§mies.

Tiie Indians, from Lake Michigan to the
borders of North Carolina, were united in
this feeling, and at the time of tlie treaty
of Paris, ratified February 10, 1763, a gen-

eral cons])ii-acy was formed to fall suddenly'
upon the I'rontier British posts, and witli
one blow strike every man dead. Pontiac
was the marked leader in all this, and was
the commander of the Chipjiewas, Otta
was, Wyandots, Miamis, Sliavvanese, Dela-
wares and Mingoes, who had, for the time,
laid aside their local quarrels to unite in
this enterprise.

The blow came, as near as can be ascer-
tained, on May 7, 1703. Nine British
posts fell, and the Indians drank, "scooped
up in the hollow of joined hands," the
blood of many a Briton.

Pontiac's immediate tield of action, was
the garrison at Detroit. Here, however,
the plans were frustrated by an Indian
woman disclosinic the plot the evening pre-
vious to his arrival. Everything was car-
ried out, however, according to Pontiac's
plans until the moment of action, when
Major Gladwyn, the commander of tiie
post, stepping to one of the Indian chiefs,
suddenly drew aside his blanket and dis-
closed the concealed musket. Pontiac
though a brave man, turned pale and
trembled. He saw his plan was known
and that the garrison were prepared. He
endeavored to exculpate himself from any
such intentions; but the guilt was evident,
and he and his followers were dismissed
with a severe reprimand, and warned never
to again enter the walls of the post.

Pontiac at once laid siege to the fort,
and until the treaty of peace between the
British and the Western Indians, conclud-
ed in August, 1764, continued to harass
and besiege the fortress. He organized a
regular commissariat department, issued
bills of credit written out on bark, which to
his credit, it may be stated, were punctu-

THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.

of the Canadian possessions tell into the
hands of the British. Abercrombie cap-
tured Fort Frmitenac, and wiien the ex-
pedition against Fort Du Quesne, of which
AVashington had the active command, ar-
rived tliere, it was iound in flames and de-
serted. The English at once took posses-
sion, rebuilt the fort, and in lionor of tiieir
illustrious statesman, changed the name to
Fort Pitt.

Tlie great object of the campaign of
1759, was the reduction of Canada. Gen-
eral Wolfe was to lay siege to Quebec; Am-
lierst was to reduce Ticonderoga and Crown
Point, and General Prideaux was to cap-
ture Niagara. This latter place was taken
in July, but the gallant Prideaux lost his
life in t'le attempt. Amherst captured
Ticonderoga and Crown Point without a
blow; and Wolfe, after making the memor-
able ascent to the plains of Abraham, on
September 13th, defeated Montcalm, and
on the 18th, the city capitulated. In this
engauement Montcalm and Wolfe both
lost their live.-^. De Levi, Montcalm's suc-
cessor, marched to Siller^', three miles
above the city, with the purpose of defeat-
ing the English, and there, on the 2Sth of
the following April, was fought one of the
bloodiest battles of the French and Indian
war. It resulted in the defeat of the
■Frencli, and the fall of the city of Montreal.
The Governor signed a capitulation, by
which the whole of Canada was surrendered
to the English. This practically conclu-
ded the war, but it was not until 1763 that
the treaties of peace between France and
England were signed. This was done on
the 10th of February of that year, and un-
der its provisions all the country east of
the Mississippi and north of the Iberville

river, in Louisiana, were ceded to England.
At the sftme time Spain ceded Florida to
Great Britain.

On the 13th of September, 17G0, Major
Robert Rogers was seivt fr6m Montreal to
take charge of t)6troit, the only remaining
French post in the territoj'y. He arrived
thereon the 19th of November, and sum- '
moned the place to surrender. At first the
commander of the post,- Beletre, refused, -
but on the 29th, hearing of the continued
defeat of the French arms, surrendered.
Rogers remained -there until December 23d,
under the personal protection of the cele-
brated chief, Pontiae, to whom, no doubt,
he owed his safety. Pontiae had come here
to incpiire the purposes of the English in
taking possession of the countrji He was
assured that they came simply to trade
with the natives, and did'not desire their
country. This answer conciliated the sav-
ages, and did much to insure the safety of
Rogers and his party during their stay,
and while on their journey home.

Rogers set out for Fort Pitt on Decem-
ber 23d, and was just one mouth on the
wav. His route was from Detroit to Mau-
inee, thence across the present State of
Ohio directly to the fort. This was the
common trail of the Indians in their jour-
neys from Sandusky to the Fork of the
Ohio. It went from Fort Sandusky, where
Sandusky city now is, crossed the Huron
river, tlien called Bald Eagle Creek, to "Mo-
hickon John's Town" Creek, on Mohikon
Creek, tlie northern branch of White
Woman's river, juid then crossed to Bea-
ver's town, a Delaware town on what is
now Sandy Creek. At Beaver's town were
probably one hundred and iifty warriors,
and not less than three thousand acres of

THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.

cleared land. From there the track weut
up Sandy Creek to and across Big Beaver,
and up the Ohio toLogstown, thence on to
the fork.

The Northwest Territory was now en-
tirely under the English rule. New settle-
ments began to be rapidly made, and the
promise of a large trade was speedily mani-
fested. Had the British cai-ried out their
promises with the natives, none of those
savage bntclieries would havi' been perpe-
trated, and the country would have been
spared their recital.

The renowned chief, Pontiac, was one of
the leading spirits in these atrocities. We
will now pause in our narrative, and notice
the leading events in his life.. The earliest
authentic information regarding this noted
Indian chief, is learned from an account of
an Indian trader named Alexander Henry,
who, in the spring of 1761, penetrated his
domains as far as Missillimacnac. Ponti-
ac was then a great friend of the French,
but a bitter foe of the English, whom he
considered as encroaching on his hunting
grounds. Henry was obliged to disguise
himself as a Canadian to insure safety, but
was discovered by Pontiac, who bitterly
reproached him, and the English for their
attempted subjugation of the West. He
declared that no treaty had been made
with them; no presents sent them, and
that he would resent any possession of the
West by that nation. He was at the time
about fifty years of age, tall and dignified,
and was civil and military ruler of the Ot-
tawas, Ojibwas and Pottawa^gmies.

The Indians, from Lake ilicliigan to the
borders of North Carolina, were united in
this feeling, and at the time of the treaty
of Paris, ratified February 10, 1763, a gen-

eral conspiracy was formed to fall suddenly
U|ion the frontier British posts, and witii
one blow strike every man dead. Pontiac
was the marked leaJiir in all this, and was
the commander of the Chippewas, Otta
was, Wyandots, Miamis, Shawanese, Dela-
wares and Mingoes, who had, for the time,
laid aside their local quarrels to unite in
this enterjirise.

The blow came, as near as can be ascer-
tained, on May 7, 1763. Nine British
posts fell, and the Indians drank, "scooped
up in the hollow of joined hands," the
blood of many a Briton.

Pontiac's immediate field of action, was
the garrison at Detroit. Here, however,
the plans were frustrated by an Indian
woman disclosins: the plot the evening pre-
vious to his arrival. Everything was car-
ried out, however, according to Pontiac's
plans until the moment of action, when
Major Gladwj'n, the commander of the
post, stepping to one of the Indian chiefs,
suddenly drew aside his blanket and dis-
closed the concealed musket. Pontiac
though a brave man, turned pale and
trembled. He saw his }ilan was known
and that the garrison were prepared. He
endeavored to exculpate himself from any
sucli intentions; but the guilt was evident,
and he and his followers were dismissed
with a severe reprimand, and warned never
to again enter the walls of the post.

Pontiac at once laid siege to the fort,
and until the treaty of peace between the
British and the Western Indians, conclud-
ed in August, 1764:, continued to harass
au'l besieo-e the fortress. He or<ranized a
regular commissariat department, issued
bills of credit written outon bark, which to
his credit, it may be stated, were pnnctu-

THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.

ally redeemed. At the conclusion of the
treaty, in which it seems he took no part,
ho went farther south, living many years
among the Illinois.

He iiad given up all hope of saving his
country and race. After a time he endeav-
ored to unite the Illinois tribe and those
about St. Louis in a war with the whites.
Ilis efforts were fruitless, and only ended
in a quarrel between himself and some
Ivaskaskia Indians, one of whom soon after-
ward killed him. Ilis death was, however,
avenged by the northern Indians, who
nearly extermiiiated the Illinois in the
wars which followed.

Had it not been for the treachery of a
few of his followers, his plan for the ex-
termination of the whites, a masterly
one, would undoubtedly have been carried

out.

It was in the spring of the year follow-

ino- Rogers' visit that Alexander Henry
went to Missillimacnac, and everywhere
found the strongest feelings against the
English who had not carried out their
promises, and were doing nothing to con-
ciliate the natives. Here he met the chief,
Pontiac, who after conveying to him in a
sijeech the idea that their French father
would awake soon and utterly destroy his
enemies, said: "Englishman, although
you havk:; conquered the French, you have
not yet concpicred us ! We are not your
slaves! These lakes, these woods, these
mountains, were left us by our ancestors.
They are our inheritance, and we will part
with them to none. Your nation supposes
that we, like the white people, can not live
without bread and pork and beef But you
ought to know that He, the Great Spirit and
Master of Life, has provided food for us

upon these broad lakes and in these moun-
tains."

He then s])oke of the fact that no
treaty had been made with them, no
presents sent them, and that he and his
people were yet for war. Such were
the feelings of the Northwestern Indians
immediately after the English took posses-
sion of their country. These feelings were
no doubt encouraged by the Canadians and
French, who hoped that yet the French
arms might prevail. The treaty of Paris,
however, gave to the English the right to
this vast domain, and active preparations
were going on to occupy it and enjoy its
trade and emoluments.

In 17C>-2, France, by a secret treaty, ceded
Louisiana to Spain, to prevent it falling
into the hands of the English, who were
becoming masters of the entire West. The
next year the treaty of Paris, signed at
Fontainbleau, gave to the English the do-
main of the country in question. Twenty
years after, by the treaty of peace between
the United States and England, that part
of Canada lying south and west of the
Great Lakes, comin-ehending a large terri-
tory which is the subject of these sketches,
was acknowledged to be a portion of the
United States; and twenty years still later,
in 1S03, Louisiana was ceded by Spain
back to France, and by France sold to the
United States.

In the half century, from the building
of the Fort of Crevecoeur by Lx Salle, in
1680, up to the erection of Fort Chatres,
many Fi-ench settlements had been made in
that quarter. These have already been
noticed, being those at St. Vincent (Yin-
cennes). Koliokia or Gahokia, Kaskaskia
and Prairie du Rojher, on the American

THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.

Bottom, a large tract of ricli alluvial soil
in Illinois, on the Mississippi, opposite the
site of St. Louis.

By tlic treaty of Paris, the regions cast
of tiie Mississippi, including all these and
other towns of the Northwest, were given
over to England, but they do not appear to
have been taken possession of until 17(3.5,
when Captain Stirling, in the name of tlie
]\[ajest3' of England, establislied himself at
Fort Chartres bearing with him the procla-
mation of General Gaire, datecl December
oO, 17G4, which promised religious freedom
to all Catholics who worshipped here, and
a right to leave the country with their
eifects if they wished, or to remain with
the privileges of Englishmen. It was
shortly after the occupancy of the West by
the British that the war with Pontiac
opened. It is already noticed in the sketch
of tiiat chieftain. By it many a Briton lost
his life, and many a frontier settlement in
its infancy' ceased to exist. This was not
ended until the year 1704, when, failing to
capture Detroit, Niagara and Fort Pitt,
his confederacy became disheartened, and,
receiving no aid from the French, Pontiac
abandoned the enterprise and departed to
the Illinois, among whom he afterward
lost his life.

As soon as these difficulties were defi-
nitely settled, settlers began rapidly to sur-
vey the country, and prejiare for occupa-
tion. During the year 1770, a number of
persons from Virginia and other British
provinces explored and marked out nearly
all tlie valuable lands on the Monongihela
and ahing the banks of the Ohio, as far as
the Little Kanawha. This was followed by
another exploring expedition, in which
George Washington was a party. The

latter, accompanied by Dr. Craik, Capt.
Crawford and others, on the 20th of Octo-
ber, 1770, descended the Ohio from Pitts-
burgh to the mouth of the Kanawlui ; as-
cended that stream about fourteen miles,
marked out several large tracts of land,
shot several bufl'alo, which were then abun-
dant in the Ohio valley, and returned to
the fort.

Pittsbnrgli was at tliis time a trading
post, abiut which was clustered a village
of some twenty houses, inhabited by In-
dian traders. This same year, Capt. Pitt-
man visited Kaskaskia and its neighbor-
ing villages. He found there about sixt}--
five resident families, and at Cahokia only
fortv-five dwellings. At Fort Chartres was
another small settlement, and at Detroit
the garrison were quite prosperous and
strong. For a year or two settlers con-
tinued to locate near some of these posts,
generally Fort Pitt or Detroit, owing to
the fears of the Indians, who still main-
tained some feelings of hatred to the Eng-
lish. The trade from the posts was quite
good, and from those in Illinois large quan-
tities of pork and flour found their way to
the New Orleans market. At this time
the policy of the Britisli Government was
strongly opposed to the extension of the
colonies west. In 1763, the King of Eng-
land forbade, by royal proclamation, his
colonial subjects fi\)in making a settle-
ment beyond the sources of the rivers
which fall into the Atlantic Ocean. At the
instance of the Board of Trailo, measures
were taken to prevent the^settlement with-
out the limits prescribeil, and to retain the
commerce within easy reach of Great
Britain.

The commander-in-chief of the king's

THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.

forces wrote in 17(31} : " In the course of a
few 3'ears necessity will compel the colo-
nists, should they extend their settlements
west, to provide mannfacturesof some kind
for themselves, and when all connection
upheld by commerce with the mother coun-
try ceases, an independency in their ^gov-
ernment will soon tollow."

In accordance with this policy. Gov.
Ga;i;e issued a jiroclamatiou in 1772, com-
manding the inhuliitants of A^incennes to
abandon their settlements and join some
of the Eastern English colonies. To this
they strenuously objected, giving good
reasons therefor, and were allovved to re-
main. The strong opposition to this pol-
icy of Great Britain led to its change, and
to such a course as to gain the attachment
of the French population. In December,
1773, influential citizens of Quebec peti-
tioned the king for an extension of the
boundary lines of that province, which was
granted, and Parliament passed an act on
June 2, 1774-, extending the boundary so
as to include the territory lying within the
present states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois
and Michigan.

In consequence of the liberal policy pur-
sued by the British Government toward
the French settlers in the "West, they were
disposed to favor that nation in the war
which soon followed with the colonies; but
the early alliance between France and
America soon brought them to the side of
the war for independence.

In 1774, Gov. Dunmore, of Virginia,
began to encourage emigration to the
Western lands. He appointed magistrates
at Fort Pitt, under the pretense that the
fort was under the government of that
commonwealth. One of these justices,

John Connelly, who possessed a tract of
land in the Ohio Valley, gathered a force
of men and garrisoned the fort, callin" it
Fort Dunmore. This antl other parties
were formed to select sites for settlements,
and often came in conflict with the Indians,
who yet claimed portions of the valley, and
several battles followed. These ended in
the famous battle of Kanawha, in July,
where the Indians were defeated anil driv-
en across the Ohio.

During the years 1775 and 177G, by the
operations of land companies and the par-
severance of individuals, several settle-
ments were rirmly established between the
AUeghenies and the Ohio Kiver, and west-
ern land speculators were busy in Illinois
and on the Wabasli. At a council held in
Kaskaskia, on July 5, 1773, an association
of English traders, calling themselves the
"Illinois Land Companj'," obtained from
ten chiefs of the Kaskaskia, Cahokia and
Peoria tribes two large tracts of land lying
on the east side of the Mississippi River
south of the Illinois. In 1775, a merchant
from the Illinois country, named Viviat,
came to Post Vincenues as the agent of the
association called the "Wabash Laud Com-
pany." On the 8th of October he ol)tained
froni eleven Piankeshaw chiefs, a deed tor
37,407,000 acres of land. This deed was
signed Ity the grantora^fctested by a num-
ber of the inhabitants oT Vincenues, and
afterward rccoi-ded in the oftice of a notary
public at Kaskaskia. This and other land
ccim]ianies had extensive schemes for the
colonization of the West; but all were frus-
trated by the breaking out ot the Kevolu-
tion. On the 20th of April, 17S0, the two
companies named consolidated under the
name of the " L'nited Illinois and Wabash

TlIK NORTHWEST TERRITORY.

Land ("oinpany." Tlie^- afterward made
stremioiis eiforts to have tliese grants sanc-
tioned b}' Congress, but all signally failed.

When the War of the llevolution corn-
ipenced, Kentucky was an unorganized
country', though there were several settle-
ments within her borders.

In Ilutchins' To])ography of Virginia,
it is stated that at that time "Kaskaskia
contained 80 houses, and nearly 1,000
white and black inhabitants — the whites
being a little the more numerons. Caho-
kia contains 50 houses and 300 white in-
habitants and SO negroes. There were
east of the Mississippi River, about the
year 1771 " — when these observations were
made — "300 white men capable of bearing
arras, and 230 negroes."

From 1775 until the expedition of Clark,
nothing is recorded and nothing known of
these settlements, save what is contained
in a report made by a committee to Con-
gress in June, 1778. From it the follow-
ing extract is made:

"Kear the mouth of the River Kaskas-
kia, there is a village which appears to
have contained nearly eight}' families from
the beginning of the late revolution.
There are twelve families in a small villaije
at la Prairie du Rocliers, and near fifty
families at the Kahokia Village. There
are also four or five families at Fort Char-
tres and St. Phillips, which is five miles
farther up the river."

St. Louis had been settled in Febi'uary,
1764., and at this time contained, including
its .neighboring towns, over six hundred
whites and one hundred and fifty negroes.
It must be remembered that all the coun-
trj' west of the Mississippi was now under
French rule, and remained so until ceded

again to Spain, its original owner, who
afterwards sold it and the country includ-
ing New Orleans to the United States.
At Detroit there were, according to Capt.
Carver, who was in the northwest from
17CG to 1768, more than one hundred houses
and the river was settled for more than
twenty miles, although poorly cultivated —
the people being engaged in the Indian
trade. This old town has a history, which
we will here relate.

It is the oldest town in the Northwest,
having been founded by Antoine Lade-
motte Cadillac, in 1701. It was laid out
in the form of an oblong square, of two
acres in length and an acre and a half in
width. As described by A. D. Frazer, who
first visited it and became a permanent
resident of the place, in 1778, it comprised
within its limits that space between Mr.
Palmer's store (Conant Block) and Capt.
Perkins' house (near the Arsenal building),
and extended back as far as the public
barn, and was bordered in front by the
Detroit River. It was surrounded by oak
and cedar pickets, about fifteen feet long, set
in the ground, and liad four gates-east, west,
north and south. Over the first three of
these gates were block houses provided with
four guns apiece, each a six pounder. Two
six-gun batteries were planted fronting the
river, and in a parallel direction with the
block houses. There were four streets
running east and west, the main street be-
ing twenty feet wide and the rest fifteen
feet, while the four streets crossing these at
right angles were from ten to fifteen feet
in width.

At the date spoken of by Mr. Frazer,
there was no fort within the enclosure, but
a citadel on the ground corresponding to

THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.

the present northwest corner of Jefferson
Avenue and Wayne Street. Tlie citadel
was inclosed by pickets, and within it were
erected barracks of wood, two stories high,
siitiicient to contain ten officers, and also
barracks sufficient to contain four liundred
men, and a provision store built of brick.
Tlie citadel also contained a liospital and
a gnard-honse. The old town of Detroit,
in 1778, contained about sixty houses,
most of them one story, with a few a story
and a half in lieiijht. They were all of
logs. Some hewn and some round. There
was one building of splendid appearance,
c.iiled the '* King's Palace," two stories
high, which stood near the east gate. It
was built for Governor Hamilton, the first
governor commissioned by the British.
There were two guard-houses, one near tlie
west gate and the other near the Govern-
ment House. Each of the guards con-
sisted of twenty-four men and a subaltern,
wlio mounted regularly every morning be-
tween nine and ten o'clock. Each fur-
nished four sentinels, who were relieved
every two hours. There was also an offi-
cer of the day, who performed strict duty.
Each of the gates was shut regularly at
sunset ; even wicket gates were shut at
nine o'clock, and all the keys were deliv-
ered into the hands of the commanding
officer. Tliey were opened in the morning
at sunrise. No Indian or squaw was per-
mitted to enter town with any weapon,
such as a tomahawk or a knife. It was a
standing order that the Indians should de-
liver their arms and instruments of everv
kind before they were permitted to pass
the sentinel, and they were restored to
them on their return. No more than
twenty-five Indians were allowed to enter

the town at any one time, and they were
admitted only at the east and west gates.
At sundown the drums beat, and all the
Indians were required to leave town in-
stantly. There was a council bouse near
the water side for the purpose of holding
council with the Indiai\s. The population
of the town was about sixty families, in all
about two hundred males and one hundred
females. This town was destroyed by fire,
all except one dwelling, in 1805. After
which the preseut " new " town was laid
out.

On the breaking out of the Revolution,
the British held every post of importance
in the West. Kentucky was formed as a
component part of Virginia, and the sturdy
pioneers of the West, alive to their inter-
ests, and recognizing the great benefits of
obtaining the control of the trade in this
part of the New World, held steadily to
their pnri)oses, and those within the com-
monwealth of Kentucky proceeded to ex-
ercise their civil privileges, by electing
John Todd and Richard Calloway, burgess-
es to represent them in the Assembly of
the parent state. Early in September of
that year (1777) the first court was held in
Harrodsburg, and Col. Bowman, afterward
major, who had arrived in August, was
made the commander of a militia organiza-
tion which had been coiumenecd the March
previous. Thus the tree of loyalty was
growing. The chief spirit in this far-ont
colony, who had represented her the year
previous east of the mountains, was now
meditating a move unequaled in its bold-
ness. He had been watcliing the move-
ments of the British throughout the North-
west, and understood their whole plan.
He saw it was through their posoesoioa of

THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.

the posts at Detroit, Vincennes, Kaskaskia,
and other places, which would give them
constant and easy access to the various In-
dian tribes in the Xorthwest, that the Brit-
ish intended to penetrate the country from
the north and south, and annihilate the
frontier fortresses. This moving, energetic
man was Colonel, afterward General,
George Tlogers Clark. lie knew the In-
dians were iiot unanimously in accord with
the English, and he was convinced that,
could the British be defeate I and expelled
from the Xorthwest, the natives might be
easily awed into neutrality ; and by spies
sent for the purpose, he satisfied himself
that the enterprise against the Illinois set-
tlements might easily succeed. Having
convinced himself of the certainty of the
project, he repaired to tlie Capital of Vir-
ginia, which place he reached on Xovember
5th. While he was on his way, fortunately,
on October 17th, Burgoyne had been de-
feated, and the spirits of the colonists
greatly encouraged thereby. Patrick Henry
was Governor of Virginia, and at once
entered heartily into Clark's plans. The
same plan had before been agitated in the
Colonial Assemblies, but there was no one
until Clark came who was sufficiently
acquiiinted with the condition of affairs at
the scene of action to be able to guide them.
Clark, having satisfied the Virginia lead-
ers of the feasibility of his plan, received,
on the 2d of January, two sets of instruc-
tions — one secret, tlie other open — the lat-
ter authorized him to proceed to enlist
seven com]ianies to go to Kentucky, sub-
ject to his orders, and to serve three months
from their arrival in the West. The secret
order authorized him to arm these troops,
to procure his powder and lead of General

Hand at Pittsburgh, and to proceed at
once to subjugate the country.

Witli these instructions Clark repaired
to Pittsburgh, choosing rather to raise his
men west of the mountains, as he well
knew all were needed in the colonies in
the conflict there. He sent Col. W. B.
Smith to Holston for the same purpose,
but neither succeeded in raising the re-
quired number of men. The settlers in
these parts were afraid to leave their own
firesides exposed to a vigilant foe, and but
few could be induced to join the proposed
expedition. With three companies and
several private volunteers, Clark at length
commenced his descent of the Ohio, which
he navigated as far as the Falls, where he
took possession of and fortified Corn Isl-
and, a small island between the present
cities of Louisville, Kentucky, and Xew
Albany, Indiana. Remains of this forti-
fication may yet be found. At this place
he appointed Col. Bowman to meet him
with such recruits as had reached Ken-
tuck}^ by the southern route, and as many
as could be spared from the station. Here
he announced to the men their real desti-
nation. Having completed his arrange-
ments, and chosen his party, he left a small
garrison upou the island, and on the 24rtli
of June, during a total eclipse of the sun,
which to them augured no good, and which
fixes beyond dispute the date of starting,
he with his chosen band, fell down the
river. His plan was to go bj' water as far
as Fort Massac or Massacre, and thence
march direct to Kaskaskia. Here he in-
tended to surprise the garrison, and after
its capture go to Cahokia, then to Vincen-
nes, and histly to Detroit. Should he fail,
he intended to march directly to the Miss-

THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.

issip]ji Eiver and cross it into the Spanish
country. Before his start he received two
ijood items of infoririation ; one that the
alliance had been formed between Fi-ance
and the United States ; and the other that
the Indians tlirou;^hont the Illinois country
and the inhabitants, at the various frontier
posts, liad been led to believe by tlie Brit-
ish that the "Long Knives" or Virginians,
were the most fierce, bloodthirsty and cruel
savages that eversca]])ed a foe. With this
imprecsion on their minds, Clark saw that
proper management would cause them to
submit at once fri.im fear, if surprised, and
then from gratitude would become friendly
if treated with unexpected leniency.

The march to Kaskaskia was accon)plish-
ed through a hot July sun, and the town
reached on the evening of July 4. He cap-
tured the fort near the village, and soon
after the village itself by surprise, and with-
out the loss of a single man or by killing
any of the enemy. After sufficiently work-
ing upon the fears of the natives, Clark
toid them they were at perfect liberty to
worship as they pleased, and to take which-
ever side of the great conflict they would,
also, he would protect them from any bar-
barity from British or Indian foe. This
had the desired effect, and the inhal)itants,
so unexpectedly and so gratefully surprised
by the unlooked-for turn of affairs, at once
swore allegiance to the American arms, and
when Clark desired to go to Cahokia on
the 6th of July, they accompanied him,
and through their influence the inhabitants
of the place surrendered, and gladly placed
themselves under his protection. Thus
the two important posts in Illinois passed
from the hands of the English into the pos-
session of Yiririnia.

In the person of the priest at Kaskaskia,
II. Gibanlt, Clark found a powerful ally
and generous friend. Clark saw that, to
retain possession of the Northwest and
treat successfully with the Indians within
its boundaries, he must establish a govern-
ment for the colonies he had taken. St.
Yincent, the next important post to De-
troit, remained yet to be taken before the
Mississippi Valley was conquered. M. Gib-
anlt told him that he would alone, by per-
suasion, lead Vinccnnes to throw oft' its
connection with England. Clark gladly
accepted his ofler, and on the 14th of July,
in company with a fellow-towiismm, M.
Gibault started on his mission of peace
and on the 1st of August returned wita the
cheerful intelligence that the post on the
"Oubache" had taken the oath of allegi-
ance to the Old Dominion. During this
interval, Clark established his courts, placed
garrisons at Kaskaskia and Cahokia, suc-
cessfully re-enlisted his men, sent word to
have a fort, which proved tiiegerra of Louis-
ville, erected at the Falls of the Ohio, and
dispatched M. Rocheblave, who had been
commander at Kaskaskia, as a prisoner of
war to Richmond. In October the County
of Illinois was established by the Leiris-
lature of Virginia, John Todd appointed
Lieutenant Colonel and Civil Governor,
and in November General Clark aul his
men received the thanks of the O.d Dj-
minion through their Legislature.

In a speech a few days afterward, Clark
made known fully to the natives his platis,
and at its close all came forward and swore
allegiance to the Long Knives. While he
was doing this Governor Hamilton, having
made liis various arrangements, had left
Detroit and moved down the Wabash to

THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.

Yincennes iuteiuliii;^ to 0])er<ite from that
])i)iiitiii rediiciiii^ the Illinois posts, and
then proceed on down to Kentucky and
drive the rebels from the West. Gen.
Clark had, on the return of M. Gibault,
dispatched Captain Helm, of Faurpiier
County, Viri^inia, with an attendant named
Henry, across the Illinois prairies to com-
mand the fort. Hamilton knew nothing
of the cajiitulation of the post, and was
greatly surprisdl on his arrival to be con-
fronted by Capt. Helm, who, standing at
the entrance of the fort by a loaded cannon
ready to lire upon his assailants, demanded
upon what terms Hamilton demanded pos-
session of the fort. Being granted the
rights of a prisoner of war, he surrendered
to the British General, who could scarcely
believe his eyes when he saw the force in
the garrison.

Hamilton, not realizing the character of
the nan with whom he was contending,
gave up his intended campaign for the
winter, sent his four hundred Indian war-
riors to prevent troops from coming down
the Ohio, and to annoy the Americans in
all ways, and sat quietly down to pass the
winter. Information of all these proceed-
ings having reached Clark, he saw that
immediate and decisive action was neces-
sary, and that unless he captured Hamil-
ton, Hamilton would capture him. Clark
received the news on the 29th of January,
1779, and on February 4th, having suffi-
ciently garrisoned Kaskaskia and Cahokia,
he sent down the Mississippi a " battoe,"
as Major Bowman writes it, in order to as-
cend the Ohio and Wabash, and operate
with the land forces gathering for the
fray.

On the next day, Clark, with his little

force of one hundred and twenty men, set
out for the post, and after incredible hard
marching through much mud, the irround
being thawed by the incessant spring rains,
on the 22nd reached the fort, and being
joined by his "battoe," at once commenced
the attack on the post. The aim of the
American backwoodsmen was unerring,
and on tlie 2-lth the garrison surrendered
to tlie intrepid boldness of Clark. The
French were treated with great kindness,
and gladly renewed their allegiance to Vir-
ginia. Hamilton was sent as a prisoner to
Virginia, where he was kept in close con-
finement. During his command of the
British frontier posts, he had offered prizes
to the Indians for all the scalps of Ameri-
cans they would bring to him, and had
earned in consequence thereof, the title
"Hair-buyer General," by which he was
ever afterward known.

Detroit was now without doubt within
easy reach of tlie enterprising Virginian,
could he but raise the necessary force.
Governor Henry being apprised of this,
promised him the needed reinforcement,
and Clark concluded to wait until he could
capture and sufficiently garrison the posts.
Had Clark failed in this bold undertaking,
and Hamilton succeeded in uniting the
western Indians for the next spring's cam-
paign, the West would indeed have been
swept from the Mississippi to the Allegheny
Mountains, and the great blow struck,
which had been contemplated from the
commencement, by the British.

" But for this small army of dripping,
but fearless Virginians, the union of all
tlie tribes from Georgia to Maine against
the colonies might have been effected, and
the whole current of our history changed."

THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.

At tliis time some fears were entertained
by the Colonial Governments that the In-
dians in the Xorth and Northwest were in-
clining to the British, and under the in-
strnctions of Washini,'ton, now Commander-
in-Chief of tlie Colonial army, and so
bravely fighting for American independ-
ence, armed forces were sent against the
Six Nations, and upon the Ohio frontier,
Col. Bowman, acting under the same gen-
eral's orders, marched against Indians
within the present limits of that State.
These expeditions were in the main suc-
cessful, and the Indians were compelled to
sue for peace.

During the same year (1779) the famous
'Land Laws "of Virginia were passed.
The passage of these laws was of more con-
sequence to the pioneers of Kentucky and
the Northwest than the gaining of a few
Indian conflicts. These laws confirmed in
main all grants made, and guaranteed to all
actual settlers their rights and privileges.
After providing for the settlers, the laws
provided for selling the balance of the pub-
lic lands at forty cents per acre. To carry
the Land Laws into effect, the Legislature
sent four Virginians westward to attend to
the various claims, over many of wliich
great confusion prevailed concerning their
validity. These gentlemen opened their
court on October 13, 1779, at St. Asaphs,
and continued until April 26, 17S0, when
they adjourned, haviriL' decided three thou-
sand claims. They were succeeded by the
surveyor, who came in the person of Mr.
George May, and assumed his duties on
the loth day of the month whose nattie he
bore. With the openinj; of the next year
(1780) the troubles concerning the naviga-
tion of the Mississippi commenced. The

Spanish Government exacted such measures
in relation to its trade as to cause the over-
tures made to the United States to be re-
jected. The American Government con-
sidered they had a right to navigate its
channel. To enforce their claims, a fort
was erected below the mouth of the Ohio
on the Kentucky side of the river. The
settlements in Kentucky were being rapidly
filled by emigrants. It was during this
year that the first seminary of learning was
established in tiie West in this young and
enterprising Commonwealth.

The settlers here did not look upon the
building of this fort in a friendly manner,
as it aroused the hostility of the Indians.
Spain had been friendly to the Colonies
during their strugijle for independence,
and though for a while this friendship ap-
peared in danger from the refusal of the
free navigation of the river, j-et it was
finally settled to the satisfaction of both
nations.

The winter of 1779-80 was one of the
m ist unusuall}- severe ones ever experienced
in the West. The Indians always referred
to it as the '■ Great Cold." Numbers of wild
animals perished, and not a few pioneers
lost their lives. The following summer a
party of Canadians and Indians attacked
St. Louis, and attempted to take possession
of it in consequence of the friendly dispo-
sition of Spain to the revolting Colonies.
They met with such a determined resist-
ance on the part of the inhabitants, even
the women taking part in the battle, that
they were compelled to abandon the con-
test. They also made an attack on the
settlements in Kentucky, but, becoming
alarmed in some unaccountable manner,
they fled the country in great haste.

THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.

About tins time arose tlie question iu
tlie Colonial Congress concerning the west-
ern lands claimed by Virginia, New York,
Massachusetts and Connecticut. The agi-
tation concerning this subject finally led
New York, on the I9th of February, 1780,
to pass a law giving to the delegates of
that State in Congress the power to cede
her western lands for the benefit of the
United States. This law was laid before
Congress during the next month, but no
stejis were taken concerning it until Sep-
tember 6th, when a resolution passed that
body calling upon the States claiming west-
ern lands to release their claims in favor of
the whole body. This basis formed the
union, and was the first after all of those
legislative measures which resulted in the
creation of the States of Ohio, Indiana,
Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and Minne-
sota. In December of the same year, the
plan of conquering Detroit again arose.
The conquest might have easily been
eifected by Clark had the necessary aid
been furnished him. Nothing decisive was
done, yet the heads of the Govei-nment
knew that the safety of the Northwest from
British invasion lay in the capture and
retention of that important post, the only
unconquered one in the territory.

Before the close of the year, Kentucky
was divided into the Counties of Lincoln,
Fayette and Jefferson, and the act estab-
lishing the Town of Louisville was passed.
This same year is also noted in the annals
of American history as the year in which
occurred Arnold's treason to the United
States.

Virginia, in accordance with the resolu-
tion of Congress, on the 2d day of January,
ITol, agreed to yield her western lauds to

the United States upon certain conditions,
which Congress would not accede to, and
the act of Cession, on the part of the Old
Dominion, failed, nor was anj'thing fur-
ther done until 1783. During all that
time the Colonies were busily engaged in
the struggle with the mother country, and
in consequence thereof but little heed was
given to the western settlements. Upon
the 16th of April, 1781, the first birth
north of the Ohio River of American par-
entage occurred, being that of ]\[ary Heck-
ewelder, daughter of the widely known
Moravian missionary, whose band of Chris-
tian Indians suffered in after years a hor-
rible massacre by the hands of the frontier
settlers, who had been exasperated by the
murder of several of their neighbors, and
in their rage committed, without regard to
humanity, a deed which forever afterward
cast a shade of shame upon their lives.
For this and kindred outrages on the part
of the whites, the Indians committed many
deeds of cruelty wliich darken the years of
1771 and 1772 in the history of the North-
west.

During the year 1782 a number of bat-
tles among the Indians and frontiersmen
occurred, and between the Moravian Indi-
ans and the Wyandots. In these, horrible
acts of cruelty were practiced on the cap-
tives, many of such dark deeds transpiring
under the leadership of the notorious front-
ier outlaw, Simon Girty, whose name, as
well as those of his brothers, was a terror
to women and children. These occurred
chiefly in the Ohio valleys. Contompo-
rarv with them were several engagements
in Kentucky, in which the famous Daniel
Boone engaged, and who often, bf his
skill and knowledge of Indian warfare,

THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.

saved the outposts from cruel destruction.
By tlie close of the year victory h;id
perched upon the American banner, and
on the 30th of November, provisional arti-
cles of peace had been arranged between
the Commissioners of Enojland, and her
unconquerable Colonies. Cornwallis had
been defeated on tlie 19th of October pre-
cedino^, and the liberty of America was as-
sured. On the 19th of April following,
the anniversary of the battle of Lexington,
peace was proclaimed to the army of the
United States, and on the 3d of the next
September, the definite treaty which ended
our revolutionary struggle, was concluded.
By the terms of that treaty, the bounda-
ries of the West were as follows: On the
north the line was to extend along the cen-
ter of the Great Lakes; from the western
])()int of Lake Superior to Long Lake;
thence to tiie Lake of the Woods; thence
to the head of the Mississippi River, down
its center to the 31st parallel of latitude,
then on that line east to the head of the
Appalachicola River; down its center to
its junction with the Flint; thence straight
to the hcMd of St. Mary's River, and thence
down along its center to the Atlantic
Ocean.

Following the cessation of hostilities
with Englanil, several posts were still occu-
pied by the British in the North and West.
Among these was Detroit, still in the hands
of the enemy. Nnmerons engagements
with the Indians tlirougliout Ohio and In-
diana occurred, upon whose lands adventur-
ous whites would settle ere the title had
been aci^uired by the ]iroper treaty.

To remedy this latter evil, Congress ap-
pointed commissioners to treat with the
uatives and purchase their lands, and pro-

hibited the settlement of the territory until
this could be done. Before the close of the
year another attempt was made to capture
Detroit, which was, however, not pushed,
and Virginia, no longer feeling the interest
in the Northwest she had formerly done,
withdrew her troops, having on the 20th of
December preceding authorized the whole
of her possessions to be deeded to the
United States. This was done on the 1st
of ifareh following, and the Northwest
Territory passed from the control of the
Old Dominion. To Gen. Clark and his
soldiers, however, she gave a tract of one
hundred and fifty thousand acres of land,
to be situated anywhere north of the Ohio
wherever they chose to locate them. They
selected the region opposite the falls of
the Ohio, where is now the dilapidated
village of Clarksville, about midway be-
tween the Cities of New Albany and Jeffer-
sonville, Indiana.

While the frontier remained thus, and
Gen. Haldimand at Detroit refused to
evacuate, alleging that he had no orders
from his King to do so, settlers were rap-
idly crathering about the inland forts. In
the spring of 1784, Pittsburgh was regu-
larlv laid out, and from the journal of Ar-
thur Lee, who passed through the town
soon after on his way to the Indian council
at Fort Mcintosh, we suppose it was not
very prepossessing in appearance. He
says:

" Pittsburgh is inhabited almost entirely
by Scots and Irish, who live in paltry log
houses, and are as dirty as if in the north
of Ireland or even Scotland. There is a
great deal of trade carried on, the goods
being brought at the vast expense of forty-
five shillings per pound from Philadelphia

THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.

and Baltimore. They take in the shops
Hour, wlieat, skins and money. Tliere are
in tlie town fonr attorneys, two doctors,
and not a priest of any pcrsuusion, nor
church nor chapel."

Kentucky at tliis time contained tliirty
tlionsand inliahitants, and was heii'lnninf; to
discuss measures for a separation from
Virginia. A hand office was opened at
Louisville, and measures were adoi)ted to
take defensive precaution against the In-
dians who were yet, in some instances, in-
cited to deeds of violence by the British.
Buforo the close of this year, 178i, the
military claimants of land began to
occupy them, although no entries were
recorded until 17S7.

The Indian title to the Northwest was
not yet extinguished. They held large
tracts of lands, and in order to prevent
bloodshed Congress ado])ted means for
treaties with the original owners and ])ro-
vided for the surveys of the lands gained
thereby, as well as for those north of the
Ohio, now in its possession. On January
31, 1TS6, a treaty was made with the Wa-
bash Indians. The treaty of Fort Stanwix
had been made in 1784. That at Fi)rt Mc-
intosh in 1785, and through these mucli
land was gained. The Wabash Indians,
however, afterward refused to comply with
the provisions of the treat}' made with
tliem, and in order to compel their adhe-
rence to its provisions, force was used.
During the yeav 17S6, the free navigation
of the Mississippi came up in Congress,
and caused various discussions, wliich re-
suited in no definite action, only serving to
excite speculation in regard to the western
lands. Congress had promised bounties
of land to the soldiers of the Revolution,

but owing to the unsettled condition of
affairs along the Mississippi resi)ecting its
navigation, and the trade of the Northwest,
that body had, in 1783, declared its inabil-
ity to fulfill these promises until a treaty
could be concluded between the two Gov-
ernments. J'efore the close of the yenr
17Sn, however, it was able, through tlu
ti'eaties with the Indians, to allow some
grants and the settlement thereon, and on
the llth of September, Connecticut ceded
to the General Government the tract of
land known as the "Connecticut Heserve,"
and before the close of the following year
a large tract of land north of the Ohio was
sold to a con.pany, who at once took meas-
ures to settle it. By the provisions of this
grant, the company were to pay the United
States one dollar per acre, subject to a de-
duction of one- third for bad lands and other
contingencies. They received 750,000 acres,
bounded on the south by the Ohio, on the
east by the seventh range of townships, on
the west by the sixteenth range, and on the
north by a line so drawn as to make the
grant complete without the reservations.
In addition to this. Congress afterward
granted 100,000 acres to actual settlers, and
214-,2S5 acres as army bounties under the
resolutions of 1789 and 1790.

While Dr. Cutler, one of the agents of
the company, was pressing its claims before
Congress, that body was bringing into form
an ordinance for the political and social or-
<ranization of this Territory. When the
cession was made by Virginia, in 17S4. a
plan was offered, but rejected. A motion
had been made to strike from the proposed
plan the prohibition of slavery, which pre-
vailed. The plan was then discussed and
altered, and finally passed unanimously,

THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.

with the excepdoii of South Carolina. By
this jiroposition, tlie Territory was to liave
been divided into states by parallels and
meridian lines. This, it was thought, would
make ten states, which were to have been
named as follows — bei^inning at the north-
west corner and going southwardly: Savly-
nia, Michigan ia, Chersonesus, Assenisijiia,
Metropotamia, Illenoia, Saratoga, Wash-
inston, Polj'potamia and Pelisipia.

There was a more serious objection to
this plan than its category of names, — the
boundaries. Tlie root of the difHculty was
in the resolution of (Congress })assed in
October, 1780, whicli fixed the boundaries
of tiie ceded lands to be from one hundred
to one hundred and fifty miles square.
These resolutions being presented to the
Legislatures of Virginia and Massachusetts,
they desired a change, and in Jul}', 1786,
the subject was taken up in Congress, and
changed to favor a division into not more
than five states, and not less than three.
This was a])j)riived by the State Legislature
of Virginia. The subject of the Govern-
ment was again taken up by Congress in
1786, and discussed throughout that year
and until July, 1787, when the famous
"Compact of 1787" was ])assed, and the
foundation of the government of the North-
west laid. This compact is fully discussed
and explained in the history of Illinois in
this book, and to it the reader is referred.

The passage of this act and the grant to
the New England Coinpany was soon fol-
lowed by an application to the Government
by John Cleves Symmes, of New Jersey,
for a grant of the land between the Miamis.
This gentleman had visited these lands
soon after the treaty of 1786, and, being
greatly pleased with them offered similar

terms to those given to the New EnL,Hand
Company. The petition was referred to the
Ti'oasury Board with power to act, and a
contract was concluded the following yeai'.
During the autumn the directors of tlie
New England Company were preparing to
occupy their grant the following spring,
and upon the 23d of November made ar-
rangements for a party of forty-seven men,
under the superintendency of Gen. Rnfns
Putnam, to set forward. Six boat-builders
were to leave at once, and on the first of
January the surveyors and their assistants,
twenty-six in number, were to meet at Hart-
ford and proceed on their journey westward;
the i-emainder to follow as soon as possible.
Congress, in the mean time, upon the 3J of
October, had ordered seven lumdred troops
for defense of the western settlers, and to
prevent unauthorized intrusions; and two
days later appointed Arthur St. Clair Gov-
ernor of the Territory of the Northwest.

AMERICAN SETTLEMENTS.

The civil organization of the Northwest
Territory was now complete, and notwith-
standing the uncertainty of Lidian affairs,
settlers from the East began to come into
the country rapid Ij'. The New England
Coin]ian3' sent their men during the winter
of 1787-8 pressing on over the AUeghenies
by the old Indian path which had been
opened into Braddock's road and which has
since been made a national turnpike from
Cumberland westward. Through the weary
winter days they toiled on, and by April
were all gathered on the Yohiogany, where
boats had been built, and at once started
for the Muskingum. Here they arrived on
the 7th of that month, and unless the Mo-
ravian missionaries be regarded as the pio-

THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.

iieers of Oliio, this little band can justly
fhiiin that lionor.

General St. Clair, the appointed Gover-
nor of the Xorthwest, not having yet ar-
rived, a set of laws were passed, written out,
and ]3ublislied by beinij nailed to a tree in
the embryo town, and Jonathan Meigs
appointed to administer them.

AVashington in writing of this, the first
American settlement in the Northwest,
said: "No colony in America was ever
settled under such tavorable ausjuces as
that which has just commenced at iluskin-
gu:n. Information, property and strength
will be its characteristics. I know many
of its settlers personally, and there never
were men better calculated to promote the
welfare of such a community."

On the 2d of July a meeting of tlie di-
rectors and agents was held on the banks
of the Muskingum, "for the purpose of
naming the new-born city and its squares."
As yet the settlement was known as the
"Muskingum," but that was now changed
to the name Marietta, in honor of Marie
Antoinette. Tlie square upon which the
block-houses stood was called '■'■Campus
Martinsf square number 19, '■'■Caplto-
lium;" square number 61, ^'•Cecilia f and
the great rousrh road through the covert
way, '■'■Sacra Via.'''' Two days after, an
oration was delivered by James M. Var-
num, who with S. li. Parsons and John
Armstrong had been appointed to the
judicial bench of the Territory on the IGth
of October, 1787. On July 9, Gov. St.
Clair arrived, and the Colony began to as-
sume form. The act of 1787 provided two
distinct grades of government for tlie
Northwest, under the first of which the
whole power was invested in the hands of

a governor and three district judges. This
was immediately formed upon tlie gover-
nor's arrival, and the first laws of the Colony
passed on the 25th of July. These provid-
ed for the organization of the militia, and
on the next da)' a])])eared the Governor's
proclamation, erecting all that country tliat
had been ceded by the Indians east of the
Scioto River into the County of Washing-
ton. From that time forward, notwith-
standing the doubts yet existing as to the
Indians, all Marietta prospered, and on
the 2d of September the first court of the
Territory was held with imposing cere-
monies.

The emigration westward at this tiirie
was very great. The commander at Fort
llarinar, at the mouth of the Muskingum,
reported four thousand five hundred per-
sons as having passed that post between
February and June, 1788 — many of whom
would have purchased of the "Associates,"
as the New England Company was called,
had they been ready to receive thera.

On the 26th of November, 1787, Symmes
issued a pamphlet stating the terms of his
contract and the plan of sale he intended to
adopt. In January, 1788, Matthias Den-
man, of New Jersey, took an active inter-
est in Syinmes' purchase, and located
among other tracts the sections upon which
Cincinnati has been built. Retaining one-
third of this locality, he sold the other
two-thirds to Robert Patterson and John
Filson, and the three, about August, com-
menced to lay out a town on the spot,
which was designated as being opposite
Licking River, to the mouth of which they
proposed to have a road cut from Lexing-
ton. The naming of the town is thus nar-
rated in the "Western Annals": "Mr.

THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.

Filson, who had been a schoohn aster, was
appointed to name the town, and in respect
to its situation, and as if with a prophetic
perce])tion of tlie mixed races that were to
inhabit it in after daj's, he named it Lo-
eantiville, wliich being interpreted, means:
ville, the town; anti, aj^ainst or opposite
to; OS, the mouth; Z. of Liclcing."

Meanwliiie, in July, Symmes got thirty
persons and eight four-horse teams under
way for the "West. These reached Lime-
stone (now Maysville) in Septembei-, wliere
were several persons froiu Redstone. Here
Mr. Symmes tried to found a settlement,
but the great freshet of 1789 caused the
"Point," as it was and is yet called, to be
fifteen feet under water, and the settlement
to be abandoned. The little band of settlers
removed to the month of the Miami.
Before Svmmes and his colony left the
"Point," two settlements had been made
on his purchase. The first was by Mr.
Stiltes, the original projector of the whole
plan, who, with a colony of Redstone peo-
ple, had located at the mouth of tlie
Miami, whither S^'mmes went with liis
Maysville colony. Here a clearing iiad
been made by the Indians owing to the
great fertility of the soil. Mr. Stiltes with
his colon}' came to this place on the IStli
of Ifovember, 17SS, with twenty-sis per-
sons, and, building a blockhouse, prepared
to remain through the winter. They
named the settlement Columbia. Here
they were kindly treated by tlie Indians,
but suffered greatly from the flood of 1789.

On the 4th of March, 1789, the Consti-
tution of the United States went into op-
eration, and on April 30th, George Wash-
ington was inaugurated President of the
American people, and during the next

summer, an Indian war was commenced
by tlie tribes north of the Ohio. The
President at first used pacific means; but
these failing, he sent General Ilarmar
against the hostile tribes. He destroyed
several villages, but was defeated in two
battles, near the present City of Fort
Wayne, Indiana. From this time til\ the
close of 1795, the principal events were
the wars with the various Indian tribes.
In 1790, General St. Clair was appointed
in cominanil, and marched against the In-
dians; but while he was encamped on a
stream, tlie St. Mary, a branch of the
Maumee, he was attacked and defeated
with the loss of six hundred men.

General Wayne was now sent against the
savages. In August, 1794, he met them
near the rapids of the Maumee, and gained
a complete victory. This success, followed
by vigorous measures, compelled the Indi-
ans to sue for peace, and on the 30th of
July, the following year, the treaty of
Greenville was signed by the principal
chiefs, by which a large tract of country
was ceded to the United States.

Before proceeding in our narrative, we
will pause to notice Fort Washington,
erected in ths early part of this war on
the site of Cincinnati. Nearly all of the
great cities of the Northwest, and indeed
of the whole country, have had their nuclei
in those rude pioneer structures, known as
forts or stockades. Thus Forts Dearborn,
Washington, Ponchartrain, mark the orig-
inal sites of the now proud cities of Chi-
cago, Cincinnati and Detroit. So of most
of the flourishing cities east and west of
the Mississippi. Fort Washington erected
by Doughty in 1790, was a rude but highly
interesting structure. It was composed of

;:i

%--r-.

-•■<??•

"^^^/^S^

£'-»x^

THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.

a lui'.nlier of stronijly-built liewed log cab-
ins. Those designed for soUlier.-;' barracks
were a story and a half liigli, while those
composing the o'iicers' quarters were more
imposing and mnre conveniently arranged
and furiiislie i. The whole were so placed
as to form a hollow t-qnare, enclosing about
an acre of ground, with a block house at
each of the tour angles.

The logs for the construdion of this
fort were cut from the ground upon which
it was erected. It stood between Tliird
and Fourtli Streets of the present city
(Cincinnati) extending east of Eastern
Row, now Broadway, widch was then a
narrow alley, and the eastern boundary of
the town as it was originally laid out. On
the bank of the river, immediately in front
of the fort, was an appendage of the fort,
called the Artiticer's Yard. It contained
about two acres of ground, enclosed by
small contiguous buildings, occupied by
workshojis and quarters of laborers.
Within this enclosure there was a large
two-story frame house, familiarly called
the "Yellow House," built for the accom-
modation of the Quartermaster General.
For many 3'ears this was the best finished
and most commodious edifice in the Q:ieen
City. Fort Washington was for some time
the head(|u:irtors of both the civil and mil-
itary governments of the Northwestern
Territory.

Following the consummation of the
treaty, various gigantic land speculations
were entered into by different persons, who
ho])ed to obtain from the Indians in Mich-
igan and northern Indiana, large tracts of
lands. These were generally discovered
in time to prevent the outrageous schemes
Irom b.'ing carried out, and from involving

the settlers in war. On October 27, 1795,
the treaty between the United States and
Spain was signed, whereby the free navi-
gation of the Mississippi was secnreil.

No sooner had the treaty of 1795 been
ratified, than settlements began to pour
rapidly into the West. The great event
of the year 179(3 was tlie occupation of
that part of the Northwest including
Michigan, which was this year, under the
provisions of the treaty, evacuated by the
British forces. The United States, owing
to certain conditions, did not feel justified
in addressing the authorities in Canada
in relation to Detroit and other Irontier
posts. When at last the British author-
ities were called to give them up, they
at once complied, and General Wayne,
who had done so much to preserve the
frontier settlements, and who, before
the year's close, sickened and died near
Erie, transferred his headcjuarters to the
neighborhood of the lakes, where a coun-
ty nam3d after him was formed, which
included the northwest of Ohio, all of
Michigan, and the northeast of Indiana.
During this same year settlements were
formed at the present City of Chillicothe,
along the Miami from Midiiletown to Piqua,
while in the more distant West, settlers
and speculators began to appear in great
numbers. In September, the City of
Cleveland was laid out, and during the
summer and autumn, Samuel Jackson
and Jonathan Sharpless erected the first
manufactory of paper — the " Redstone
Paper Mill " — in the West. St. Louis con-
tained some seventy houses, and Detroit
over three hundred, and along the river,
contiguous to it, were more than three
thousand inhabitants, mostly French Ca:i-

THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.

adiaus, Indians and lialf-breeds, scarcely
any Americans venturing yet into that
part of the Northwest.

The election of representatives for the
Territory had taken place, and on the 4th
of February, 1799, they convened at Lo-
santiville — now known as Cincinnati, hav-
ing been named so by Gov. St. Clair, and
considered the capital of the Territory — to
nominate persons from whom the mem-
bers of the legislature were to be chosen
in accordance with a previous ordinance.
These nominations being made, the Assem-
bly adjourned until the 16th of the follow-
ing September. From those named, the
President selected as members of the
council, Henry Vandenburg, of Viucennes,
Kobert Oliver, of Marietta, James Findlay
and Jacob Burnett, of Cincinnati, and
David Vance, of Vanceville. On the 16th
of September the Territorial Legislature
met, and on the 24th the two houses were
duly organized, Henry Vandenburg being
elected President of tlie Council.

The message of Gov. St. Clair was ad-
dressed to the Legislature Ssptember 20h,
and on October loth that body elected as
a delegate to Congress, Gen. "Wra. Henry
Harrison, who received eleven of the votes
cast, being a majority of one over his op-
ponent, Arthur St. Clair, son of Gen. St.
Clair.

The whole number of acts passed at this
session, and approved by the Governor,
were thirty-seven — eleven others were
passed, but received his veto. The most
important of those passed, related to the
militia, to the administration, and to taxa-
tion. On the 19th of December, this pro-
tracted session of the first Legislature in
the West was closed, and on the 30th

of December, the President nominated
Charles Willing Bryd to the office of Sec-
retary of the Territory vice Wm. Henry
Harrison, elected to Congress. The Sen-
ate confirmed his nomination the next day,

DIVISION OF THE NORTHWEST TEEEITOET.

The increased emigration to the North-
west, the extent of the domain, and the in-
convenient modes of travel, made it very
difficult to conduct the ordinary operations
of government, and rendered the efficient
action of courts almost impossible. To
remedy this, it was deemed advisable to
divide the territory for civil purposes.
Congress, in 1800, appointed a committee
to examine the question and report some
means for its solution. This committee,
on the 3 J of March, reported that:

" In the three western countries, there
has been but one court having cognizance
of crimes, in five years, and the immunity
which offenders experience attracts, as to
an asylum, tlie most vile and abandoned
criminals, and at the same tiins defers
useful citizens from making settlements in
such society. The extreme necessity of
judiciary attention and assistance is ex-
perienced in civil as well as in criminal
cases. * * * * To minister a remedy
to these and other evils, it occurs to this
committee that it is expedient that a divis-
ion of said territory into two distinct and
separate governments should be made: and
that such division be made by a line be-
ginning at tlis mouth of the Great Miami
River, running directly north until it in-
tersects tlie boundary between the United
States and Canada."

The report was accepted by Congress,
and, in accordance with its suggestions,
that body pas fa J an act extinguishing the

THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.

Nortliwest Territoiy, wliicli act was ap-
proved May 7th. Among its provisions
were these:

"ThattVoin and after July -itli next, all
that part of the territory of the United
States, northwest of the Ohio River, which
lies to the westward of a line benjinnino: at
a ] oint on the Ohio, opposite to the mouth
of the Kentucky River, and running thetice
to Fort Recovery, and tiience north until
it shall intersect the territorial line be-
tween the United States and Canada, shall,
for the purpose of temporary government,
constitute a separate territory, and be called
the Indiana Territory."

After providing for the' exercise' of the
civil and criminal powers of the Territories,
and other provisions, the act farther pro-
vides:

" That until it shall otherwise be ordered
by the Legislatures of the said Territories,
respectively, Chillicothe on the Scioto
River shall be the seat of government of
the Territory of the United States north-
west of the Ohio River; and that St. Vin-
cennes on the Wabash River shall be the
seat of government for the Indiana Terri-
tory."

Gen. Wm. Henry Harrison was appoint-
ed Governor of the Indiana Territory, and
entered upon his duties about a year later.
Connecticut also about this time released
her claims to the reserve, and in March a
law was passed accepting this cession.
Settlements had been made upon thirty-
five of the townships in the reserve, mills
had been built, and seven hundred miles of
road cut in various directions. On the 3d
of November, the General Assembly met
at Chillicothe. Near the close of the year,
the first missionary of the Connecticut

Reserve came, who found no township con-
taining more than eleven families. It was
u]ion the first of October that the secret
treaty had been made between Napoleon
and the King of Spain, whereby the latter
agreed to cede to France the province of
Louisiana.

In January, 1S02, the assembh- of the
Northwestern Territory ciiartered the
college at Athens. From the earliest
dawn of the western colonies, education
was promptly provided for, and as early as
1787, newspa])ers were issued from Pitts-
burgh and Kentucky, and largely read
throughout the frontier settlements. Be-
fore the close of this year, the Congress of
the United States granted to the citizens
of the Northwestern Territory, the forma-
tion of a State government. One of the'
provisions of the " compact of 1787" pro-
vided that whenever the number of inhab-
itants within prescribed limits exceeded
45,000, they should be entitled to a sepa-
rate government. The prescribed limits
of Ohio contained, from a census taken to
ascertain the legality of the act, more than
that number, and on the 30tii of April,
1802, Congress passed the act defining its
limits, and on the 20th of November the
Constitution of the new State of Ohio, so
named from the beautiful river forming
its southern boundary, came into existence.
The exact limits of Lake Michigan were
not then known, but the territory now
included within the State of Michigan was
wholly within the territory of Indiana.

General Harrison, while residing at
Vincennes, made several treaties with the
Indians, thereby gaining large tracts of
lands. The next year is memorable in the
histoi-y of the West for the purchase of

THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.

Louisiana from France by tlie United
States for $15,000,000. Tims by a peace-
ful mode, tlie domain of the United States
was extended over a Jar^e tract of country
west of the Mississippi, and was for a time
under tlie jurisdiction of the Northwest
government, and as has been mentioned
in the early part of this narrative, was
called the "New Northwest." The limits
of this history will not allow a description
of its territory. The same year large
grants of land were obtained from the
Indians, and the House of Representatives
of the new State of Ohio signed a bill
respecting the college township in the
district of Cincinnati.

Before the close of the year. General
Harrison obtained additional grants of
lands from the various Indian nations in
Indiana and the present limits of Illinois,
and on the ISth of August, ISO-t, a treaty
at St. Louis, whereby over 51,000,000 acres
of lands were obtained from the aboriirines.
Measures were also taken to learn the con-
dition of affairs in and about Detroit.

C. Jouette, the Indian agent in iliclii-
gan, still a part of Indiana Territory, re-
ported as follows upon the condition of
matters at that post:

"The Town of Detroit.— The charter,
which is for fifteen miles square, was
granted in the time of Louis XIY of
France, and is now, from the best infor-
mation I have been able to get, at Quebec.
Of those two hundred and twenty-five
acres, only four are occupied by the town
and Fort Lenault. The remainder is a
common, except twenty-four acres, which
were added twenty 3'ears ago to a farm
belon^ino' to Wm. Macomb. * * * »
A stockade encloses the town, fort and cit-

adel. The pickets, as well as the public
houses, are in a state of gradual decay.
The streets arc narrow, straight and regu-
lar, and intersect each other at right angles.
The houses are for the most part low and
inelegant."

During this year Congress granted a
township of land for the support of a col-
lege, and began to offer inducements for
settlers in these wilds, and the country
now comprising the State of Michigan
began to fill rapidly with settlers along its
southern borders. This same year, also, a
law was passed organizing the Southwest
Territory, dividing it into two portions,
the Territory of New Orleans, which city
was made the seat of government, and the
District of Louisiana, whifth was annexed
to the domain of Gen. Harrison.

On the 11 th of January, 1805. the Terri-
tory of Michigan was formed. Wm. Hull
was appointed governor with ]iead<|uarters
at Detroit, tlie change to take ettect on
June -SOth. On tlie 11th of tliat month, a
fire occurred at Detroit, which destroyed
almost ever}' luiilding in the place. When
the officers of the new Territory i-eached the
post, they found it in ruins, aiul the iidiab-
itants scattered throughout the country.
Tlebuilding, however, soon commenced, and
ere long the town contained more houses
tlian before the fire, and many of tliem
much better luiilt.

While this was being done, Indiana had
passed to the second grade of government,
and through her General Assembly had
obtained large tracts of land from the
Indian tribes. To all this the celebrated
Indian. Tecumthe or Tecumseli, vigorously
protested, and it was- the main cause of his
attempts to unite the various Indian tribes

THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.

in a conflict with the settlers. To obtain a
full account of these attempts, the workings
of the Britisli, and tlie signal fiihire, culmi-
nating in the death of Tecumsch at the
battle of the Thames, and tlie close of the
warof 1S12 in the Northwest, we will step
aside in our story, and relate tlie princi])al
events of )i is life, and his connection with
this conflict.

TECUMSEU, AND THE WAR (>F 1S12.

This famous Indian chief was horn about
tlie year ITtiS, not far from the site of the
present City of Piqua, Ohio. ILis father,
Piickeshinwa. was a member of the Kisopok
tribe of the Shawanoese nation, and his moth-
er, Methontaske, was a member of the Tur-
tle tribe of the same people. They removed
from Florida about the middle of the last
century to the birthplace of Tecumseh. In
1774, his father, who had risen to be chief,
Avas slain at the battle of Point Pleasant,
and not long after, Tecumseh, by his brav-
ery, became tlie leadei- of his tribe. In
170.5 he was declared chief, and then lived
at Deer Creek, near the site of the present
City of Urhana. He remained here about
one year, when he returned to Piqua, and
in 1798, he went to White Rivei-, Indiana.
In 1805, he and his brother, Laulewasikan
-(Open Door), who had announced himself
as a propliet, went to a tract of land on the
Wabash River, given them by the Potta-
watomies and Kickapoos. From this date
the chief comes into prominence. He was
now about thirty-seven years of age, was
five feet and ten inches in height, was stout-
ly built, and possessed of enormous powers
of endurance. His countenance was natu-
rally pleasing, and he was, in general, de-
void of those savage attributes possessed

by most Indians. It is stated he could
read and write, and had a confidential sec-
retary and adviser, named Pilly Caldwell,
a half-breed, who afterward became chief
of the Pottawatomies. He occupied the
first house built on the site of Chicago. At
this time, Tecumseh entered upon the great
work of his life. He had long objected to
the grants of land made by the Indians to
the whites, and deternained to nnite all the
Indiati tribes into a league, in order that no
treaties or grants of land could be made
save by the consent of this confederation.

He traveled constantly, going from north
to south; from the south to the north,
everywhere urging the Indians to this step.
He was a matchless orator, and his burning
words had their effect.

Gen. Harrison, then Governor of Indiana,
by watching the movement of the Indians,
became convinced that a grand conspiracy
was forming, and made preparation's to de-
fend the settlements. Tecumseh's plan was
similar to Pontiac's, elsewhere described,
and to the cunning artifice of that chieftain
was added his own sagacit3^

During the year 1809, Tecumseh and the
prophet were actively prejjaring for the
work. In that year. Gen. Harrison entered
into a treaty with the Delawares, Kickapoos,
Pottawatomies, Miamis, Eel Piver Indians
and Weas, in which these tribes eeifed to
the whites certain lands upon the Wabash,
to all of which Tecumseh entered a bitter
protest, averring as one principal reason that
he did not want the Indians to give up any
lands north and west of tlie Ohio River.

Tecumseh, in August, 1810. visited the
General at Vincennes and held a council
relating to the grievances of the Indians.
Becoming unduly angry at this conference

IIBRARY

UNIVERSITY OF IHINOtl.

THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.

he was dismissed from the villaijce, und
soon after depirteil to incite tlie Soatlieru
Iinlian tribes to the conflict.

Gen. Harrison determine 1 to move upon
tlie chief's headquarters at Tippecanoe, and
for this purpose went about sixty-five miles
np the Wabash, where he built Fort Harri-
son. From this place he went to the
]>r()phet''s town, where he informed the
Indiun he had no hostile intentions,
provided they were true to the existing
treaties. He encamped near the village
early in October, and on the morning of
November 7tii, lie was attacked b}' a large
force of the Indians, and the famous battle
of Tippecanoe occurred. The Indians were
routed and their town broken np. Tecuin-
seli returning not long after, was greatly
exasi)erated at his brother, the prophet,
even threatening to kill liim for rashly
precipitating the war, and foiling his
(Tecnmseh's) plans.

Tecumseh sent word to General Harri-
son that he was now returned from the
South, and was ready to visit the President,
as had at one time previously been proposed.
Gen. Harrison informed him lie could not
go as a chief, which method Tecumseh
desired, and the visit was never made.

In June of the following year, he visited
the Indian agent at Fort Wayne. Here he
disavowed any intention to make a war
against the United States, and reproached
Gen. Harrison for marchino' against his
people. The agent replied to this ; Tecum-
seh listened with a cold indifference, and
after making a few general remarks, with
a haughty air drew his blanket about liim,
left the council house, and departed for
Fort Maiden, in upper Canada, where he
I'oined the British standard.

He remained under this Government,
doing effective work for the Crown while
engaged in the war of 1S12 which now
o])ened. He was, howevei', always humane
in his treatment of the prisoners, never
allowing his warriors to ruthlessly mutilate
the bodies of those slain, or wantonly
murder the ca]itive.

In the summer of 1S13, Perry's victory
on Lake Erie occurred, and shortly after
active preparations were made to capture
Maiden. On the 27th of September, the
American army, under Gen. Harrison, set
sail for the shores of Canada, and in a few
houi-s stood around the ruins of Ma'den,
from which the British army, under Proc-
tor, had retreated to Sandwich, intending
to make its way to the heart of Canada by
the Valley of the Thames. On the 29th
Gen. Harrison was at Sandwich, and Gen.
McArthur took possession of Detroit and
the Territory of Michigan.

On the 2d of October, the ximericans
began their pursuit of Proctor, whom they
overtook on the 5th, and the battle of the
Thames followed. Early in the engage-
ment, Tecumseh who wa-i at the head of the
column of Indians was slain, and they, no
longer hearing the voice of their chieftain,
fled. The victory was decisive, and jirac-
ticallv closed the war in the Northwest.

Just who kdled the great chief has been
a matter of much dispute ; but the weiglit
of opinion awards the act to Col. Richard
M. Johnson, who fired at him with a pistol,
the shot proving fatal.

In 1S05 occurred Burr's Insurrection.
He took possession of a beautiful island in
the Ohio, after the killing of Hamilton,
and is charged by many with attemjitiiig
to set up an independent government. His

THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.

plans were frustrated by the general gov-
ernment, his property confiscated and he
was compelled to flee the country for safety.

In January, ISO", Governor Hull, of
Michigan Teri-itory, made a treaty with
the Indians, whereby all that peninsula
was ceded to the United States. Before
the close of the year, a stockade was built
about Detroit. It was also during this year
that Indiana and Illinois eadeavcjred to
obtain the repeal of that section of the
compact of ITS 7, whereby slaverj^ was ex-
cluded from the Northwest Territory.
These attempts, however, all signally failed.

lu 1809 it was deemed advisable to di-
vide the Indiana Territory. This was done,
and the Territory of Illinois was formed
from the western pai-t, the seat of govern-
ment being fixed at Kiskasia. The next
year, the intentions of Tecumseh mani-
fested themselves in open hostilities, and
then began the events already narrated.

AVhile this war was in progress, emigra-
tion to the West went on with surprising
rapidity. In 1811, under Mr. Roosevelt of
New York, the first steamboat trip was
made on the Ohio, much to the astonish-
ment of the natives, many of whom fled in
terror at the appearance of the " monster."
It arrived at Louisville on the tenth day of
October. At the close of the first week of
J:i!iuary, 1812, it arrived at Natchez, after
being nearly overwhelmed in the great
earthquake which occurred, while on its
downward trip.

The battle uf the Thames was fought on
October Cth, 181.3. It eg"ectually closed hos-
tilities in the Northwest, althou^di peace
was not fully restored untilJuly 22d, 1814,
when a treaty was formed at Greenville,
under the direction of General Harrison,

between the United States and the Indian
tribes, in which it was stipulated that the
Indians should cease liostilities against the
Americans if the war were continued.
Such, hai)pily, was not the case, and on the
24th of December, the treaty of Ghent was
signed by the representatives of England,
and the United States. This treaty was
followed the next year by treaties with va-
rious Indian tribes throughout the West
and Northwest, and quiet was again re-
stored in this part of the new world.

On the ISth of March, ISlfi, Pittsburgh
was incoi'porated as a city. It then had a
]jopulation of 8,000 people, and was already'
noted for its manufacturing interests. On
April 19th, Indiana Territory was allowed to
form a State government. At that time
there were thirteen counties organized, con-
taining about sixty-three thousand inhabi-
tants. The first election of State offlcers
was held in August, when Jonathan Jenn-
ings was chosen Governor. The officers were
sworn in on November 7th, and on Decem-
ber 11th, the State was formally admitted
into the Union. For some time the seat of
government was at Corydon, l)ut a more
central location being desirable, the present
capital, Indianapolis (City of Indiana), was
laid out January 1, 1825.

On the 2Sth of December, the Bank of
Illinois, at Shawneetown, was chartered,
with a capital of $.300,000. At this period
all banks were xiuder the control of the
States, and were allowed to establish
branches at different convenient points.

Until this time Chillicothe and Cincin-
nati had in turn enjoyed the privileges of
being the capital of Ohio. But the rapid
settlement of the northern and eastern por-
tions of the State demanded, as in Indiana,

THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.

a more central location, and before the close
oftlieyear, the site of Columbus was se-
lected and surveyed as tlie future capital of
the State. Bankini; had bej^un in Oliio as
early as 1808, when the lirst bank was
ciiartered at Marietta, but liereas elsewiiere
it did'uot bring to tiie State the hoped-for
assistance. It and otiier banks were subse-
qently unable to redeem their currency,
and were obliged to suspend.

In 181S, Illinois was made a State, and all
tlie territory north of her northern limits
was erected into a separate territory and
joined to Micliigan for judicial pui-poses.
By the following year, navigation of the
lakes was increasing with great rapidity
and affording an immense source of revenue
to tlie dwellers in the Northwest, but it was
not nntil 182G, that the trade was extended
to Lake Michigan, or that steamships began
to navigate the bosom of that inland sea.

Until tlie year 1S32, the commencement
of the Black Hawk War, but few hostilities
were experienced with the Indians. Koads
were opened, canals were dug, cities were
built, common schools were established,
universities were founded, many of wiiich,
especially the Michigan University, liave
achieved a world-wide reputation. The
people were becoming wealthy. Tlie do-
mains of the United States had been ex-
tended, and had the sons of the forest been
treated with honesty and justice, the record
of many years would have been that of
peace and continuous prosperity.

BLACK HAWK AND THE BLACK HAWK WAR.

Tliis conflict, though confined to Illinois,
is an important epoch in the Northwestern
history, being the last war witii the
Indians in tliis part of the United States.

Ma-ka-tai-me-she-kia-kiah, or Black
Hawk, was born in the principal Sac vil-
lage, about tliree miles from tiie junction
of Rock River with the Mississippi, in the
year 1767. His fatiier's name was Pj'-c-sa
or Paliaes; iiis grandfather's, Na-na-ma-
kee, or the Thunderer. Blac'< Hawk early
distinguished himself as a warrior, ;ind at
the age of fifteen was permitted to paint,
and was ranked among the braves. About
tiie year 178-3, he went on an expedition
against the enemies of his nation, the
Osages, one of whom ho killed and scalped,
and for this deed of Indian bi-avery he was
permitted to join in tiie scalp dance.
Three or four years after, he, at the head of
two hundred braves, went on ar.otlier expe-
dition against the Osages, to avenge the
murder of some women and children
belonging to his own tribe. Meeting an
equal number of Osage warriors, a fierce
battle ensued, in which the latter tribe lost
one-half tlieir number. The Sacs lost only
about nineteen warriors. He next attacked
the Cherokees for a similar cause. In a
severe battle with them, near the present
City of St. Louis, his father was slain, and
Black Hawk, taking posses-ion of the
" Medicine Bag," at t)nce announced him-
self chief of the Sac nation. He had now
conquered the Cherokees, and about the
year 1800, at the liead of five hundred Sacs
and Foxes, and a hundred lowas, lie waged
war against the Osage nation and subdued
it. For two years he battled successtully
with other Indian tribes, all of whom he
conquered.

Black Hawk does not at any time seem
to have been friendly to the Americans.
When on a visit to St. Louis to see his
" Spanish Father," he declined to see auj

THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.

of the Americans, alleging as a reason, he
did not want two fathers.

Tlie treaty at St. Lonis was consnniTnatcd
in 18i)4. Tlie next year tiie United States
Government erected a fort near the head of
tlie Des Moines Ilapid>, called Fort Ed-
wards. This seemed to enrage Ijlaclc Hawk,
who at once determined to capture Fort
Madison, standing on the west side of the
]\Iississi])iii above the nioutli of the Des
Moines liiver. The fort was garrisoned by
abont fifty men. Here he was defeated.
The difficulties with the British Goverii-
inent arose about this time, and the War
of 1S12 followed. That government, ex-
tending aid to the AYestern Indians, by
giving them arms and ammunition, in-
duced them to remain hostile to the Amer-
icans. In August, 1S12, Black Hawk, at
the head of about five liundred braves,
started to join the British forces at Detroit,
passing on his way the site of Chicago,
where the famous Fort Dearborn Massacre
had a few days before occurred. Of his con-
nection with the Britisli Government but
little is known. In 1813, he with bis little
band descended the Mississijipi, and attack-
ing some United States troops at Fort
Howard, was defeated.

In the early part of 1815. tlie Indian
tribes west of the Mississipjii wei'e notified
that peace bad been declared between the
United States and England, and nearly all
hostilities had ceased. Black ILiwk did
not sign any treaty, however, until May of
the following year. He then recognized
the validity of the treaty at St. Louis in
1804. From the time of siicning this treaty
in 181t>, until the tireaking out of the war
in 1S32, he and his band passed their time
in the common pursuits of Indian life.

Ten years before the commencement of
this war, the Sac and Fox Indians were
urged to ji)in the lowas on the west bank
of the Father of Waters. All were agreed,
save the band known as the British Band,
of which Black Iluvvk was leader. He
strenuously objected to the removal, and
was induced to comply only after being
threatened with the power of the Govern-
ment. This and various actions on the
part of the white settlers provolied Black
Hawk and his band to attempt the cap-
ture of his native village now occupied by
the whites. Tiie war followed. He and
his actions were undoubtedly misunder-
stood, and had his wishes been acquiesced
in at the beginning of the struggle, much
bloodshed would have been prevented.

Black Hawk was chief now of the Sac
and Fox nations, and a noted warrior. He
and bis tribe inhabited a village on Rock
River, nearly three miles above its conflu-
ence with the Mississippi, where the tribe
had lived many generations. AVhen that
portion of Illinois was reserved to them,
the}' remained in peaceable possession of
their reservation, spending their time in the
enioyment of Indian life. The fine situa-
tion of their village and the quality of their
lands incited the more lawless white set-
tlers, who from time to time began to
encroach ujion tlie red men's domain.
From one pretext to another, and from one
step to another, the crafty white men
gained a foothold, until through whisky
and ar.ifice they obtained deeds from many
of the Indians for their possessions. The
Indians were finally induced to cross over
the Father of Waters and locate among
the lowas. Black Hawk was strenuously
opposed to all this, but as the authorities

THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.

of Illinois and the United States tlioUirlit
this the best move, he was forced to C(>in]>ly.
Jloreuver other tribes joined the whites
and nriicd the removal. Black Hawk
would not agree to the terms of the treaty
made with his nation for their lands, and
as soon as the military, called to enforce
his removal, had retired, he returned to
the Illinois side of the river. A large force
was at once raised and marched against
him. On the evening of May 14, 1832,
the lirst engagement occurred between a
baud from this army and Black Hawk's
band, in which the former were defeated.

This attack and its result aroused the
whites. A large force of men was raised,
and Gen. Scott hastened from the seaboard,
by way of the lakes, witli United States
troops and artillery to aid in the subjuga-
tion of the Indians. On the 2ith of June,
Black Hawk, with 200 warriors, was re-
pulsed by Major Dement between Eock
ITiver and Galena. The American army
continued to move up Rock Iliver toward
the main body of the Indians, and on the
21st of July came upon Black Hawk and
his band, and defeated them near the Blue
Mounds.

Before this action, Gen. Henry, in com-
mand, sent word to the main army by
whom he was immediately rejoined, and
the whole crossed the Wisconsin in pursuit
of Black Hawk and his band who were
fleeing to the Mississippi. They were
overtaken on the 2d of August, and in the
battle which followed the power of the
Indian chief was completely broken. He
fled, but was seized by the Winuebagoes
and delivered to the whites.

On the 21st of September, 1S32, Gen.
Scott and Gov. Reynolds coacluded a treaty

with the Winnebagoes, Sacs and Foxes, by
which they ceded to the United States a
vast tract of country', and agreed to remain
peaceable with the whites. For the faith-
ful performance of the provisions of this
treaty on the part of the Indians, it was
stipulated tliat Black Hawk, his two sons,
the prophet Wabokieshiek, and six other
chiefs of the hostile bands should be re-
tained as hostages during the pleasure of
the President. They were confined at Fort
Barracks and put in irons.

The next spring, by order of the Secre-
tary of War, they were t^ken to Washing-
ton. From there they were removed to
Fortress Monroe, " there to remain until
the conduct of their nation was siicli as to
justify their being set at liberty." They
were retained here until the -Ith of Juno,
when the authorities directed them to be
taken to the principal cities ao that tliey
might see the folly of contending against
the white people. Everywhere they were
observed by thousands, the name of the
old chief being extensively known. By the
middle of August they reached Fort Arm-
strong on Rock Island, where Black Hawk
was sjon after released to go to his country-
men. As he passed the site of his birth-
])l.iC3, now the home of the white man, he
was deeply nuveJ. His village where he
was born, wiiere he luiJ so happily lived,
and where he had hoped to die, was now
another's dwelling place, and he was a
wanderer.

On the next day after his release, he
went at once to his tribe and his lodge.
His wife was yet living, and with her he
passed the remainder of his days. To his
credit it ma}' be said that Black Plawk
always remained true to his wife, and

THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.

served her witli a devotion uncommoti
aiiu)ii<^ the Iiuliaiis, living witli lier upward
of forty years.

Blac!< Hawk now pissed liis time bnnt-
ing and fisiiing. A deep melanclioly had
settled over him from which he could not
be freed. At all times when he visited the
wliites he was received with marked atten-
tion. He was an honored guest at the old
settlers' reunion in Lee Cuunty, Illinois, at
some of their meetings, and received many
tokens of esteem. Li September, 183S,
while on his way to Ivi:;k Island to recaive
liis annuity from the Government, ha con-
tracted a severe cold which resulted in a
fatal attack of bilious fever whicli termina-
ted his life on October 3d. His faithful
wife, who was devotedly attached to him,
mourned deeply during his sickness.
After his death he was dressed in the uni-
form presented to him by the President
wiule in Washington. He was buried in
a grave six feet in depth, situated upon a
beautiful eminence. "The body was placed
in the middle of the grave, in a sitting
posture, upon a seat constructed for the
purpose. On liis left side, the cane, given
him by Henry Clay, was placed npright,
with his right hand resting u]>on it. Many
of the old warrior's trophies were placed in
the grave, and some Indian garments, to
gether with his favorite weapons.

No soorer was the Black Hawk war con-
cluded than settlers bej;an rapidly to
pour into the northern parts of Illinois, and
into Wisconsin, now free from Indian
depredations. Chicago, from a trading
post, had grown to a commercial center,
and was rapidly coming into prominence.
In 1835, the formation of a State Govorn-
iiieut in Micnii^au was discussed, but did

not take active form until two years later,
when the State became a part of the Federal
Union.

The main attraction to that portion of
the Northwest lying west of Lake Michi-
gan, now included in the State of Wiscon-
sin, was its alluvial wealth. Copper ore
was found about Lake Superior. For some
time this region was attached to Michigan
for judiciary ]nirposes, but in 1836 was
made a Territory, then including Minnesota
and Iowa. The latter State was detashed
two years later. In 18-18, Wisconsin was
admitted as a State, Madison being made
the capital. We have now traced tlie vari-
ous divisions of the Northwest Territorv
(save a little i.i Minnesota) from the time
it was a unit comprising this vast territory,
until circumstances compelled its j)resent
division.

OTHER IXDIAN TROfliLES.

Before leaving this part of the narrative,
we will narrate briefly the Indian troubles
in Minnesota and elsewhere by the Sioux
Indians.

Li August, 1862, the Sioux Indians liv-
ing on the western borders of Minnesota
fell upon the unsuspecting settlers, and in
a few hours massacred ten or twelve hun-
dred persons. A distressful panic was
the immediate result, fully thirty thou-
sand persons fleeing from their h :>mes to
districts sujijiosed to be better jn-utected.
The military authorities at once took active
measures to punish the savages, and a large
number were killed and captnred. About
a year after. Little Crow, the chief, was
killed by a Mr. Lampson near Scattered
Lake. Ot those cajitured thirty were hung
at Mankato, and the remainder, through

THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.

fears of mob violence, were removed to
Camp McClellaii, on the outskirts of the
City of Davenport. It was here that Big
Eai^le came into ]iroininence and secured
liis release by the following order:

" Special Order, No. 430. " War Department,
"Adjutant General's Office,

" WAsniNOTON, Dec. 3, 1864.
"Big Eagle, an Indian now in confinement at
Davenport, Iowa, will, upon the receipt of this order,
be immediately released from confinement and set at
liberty.

" By order of the President of the United States.
" Official: " E. D. TowNsEND,

Ass't Sdj't Gen.
"Capt. James Vandervexter,

Com')/ Sub. Vols.
" Through Com'g Gen'l, Washington, D. C."

Anotlier Indian who figures morepromi-
nentl}' than Big Eagle, and who was more
cowardly in his nature, with his band of
Modoe Indians, is noted in the annals of
the New Northwest: we refer to Captain
Jack. This distinguished Indian, noted for
his cowardly murder of Gen. Canby, was a
chief of a Modoc tribe of Indians inhabiting
the border lands between California and
Oregon. This region of country comprises
what is known as the " Lava Beds," a tract
of land described as utterly impenetrable,
save by those savages who had made it
their home.

The Modocs are known as an exceedingly
fierce and treacherous race. They had, ac-
cording to their own traditions, resided
here for many generations, and at one time
were exceedingly numerous and powerful.
A famine carried off nearly half their num-
bers, and disease, indolence and the vices
of the white man have reduced them to a
poor, weak and insignificant tribe.

Sonn after the settlement of California
and Oregon, complaints began to be heard

of massacres of emigrant trains passing
through the Modoc countr3\ In 1817, an
emigrant train, comprising eighteen souls,
was entirely destroyed at a place since
known as " Bloody Point." These occur-
rences caused the United States Govern-
ment to a]ipoint a peace commission, who,
after repeated attempts, in ISOi, made a
treaty with the Modocs, Snakes and Kla-
maths, in which it was agreed on their part
to remove to a reservation set apart for
them in the southern part of Oregon.

With the exception of Captain Jack and
a band of his followers, who. remained at
Clear Lake, about six miles from Klamath,
all the Indians complied. The Modocs
who wont to the reservation were under
chief Sehonchin. Captain Jack remained
at the lake w-ithout distui-bance until 1S69,
wlicn he was also induced to remove to the
reservation. The Modocs and the Klamaths
soon became involved in a quarrel, and
Ca]jtain Jack and his band returned to the
Lava Beds.

Several attempts were made by the In-
dian Commissioners to induce them to re-
turn to the reservation, and finally becom-
ing involved in a difficulty with the com-
missioner and his military escort, a fight
ensued, in which the chief and his band
were routed. They were greatly enraged
and on their retreat, before the day closed,
killed eleven inoffensive whites.

The nation was aroused and immediate
action demanded. A commission was at
once ap]iointed by the Government to see
what could be done. It comprised the fol-
lowing persons: Gen. E. R. S. Canby,
Rev. Dr. E. Thomas, a leading Methodist
divine of California; Mr. A. B. Meacham,
J udge Rosborough, of California, and a Mr.

THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.

Dyer, of OreifOti. After several interviews,
ill wliicii tiie Siivao;e3 were always a_'gres-
sive, often apjiearinu; with scalps in their
belts, Bojjns Charley came to the commis-
sion on the evening of April 10, 1873, and
informed them that Capt. Jack and his
band won id have a *' talk " to-morrow at a
place near Clear Lake, abont three miles
distant. Here the Commissioners, accom-
jiaiiied b}- Charley, Riddle, the iiitei']jreter,
and Boston Charley, repaired. After the
usual n^reetinij the ci.nneil proceedings com-
menced. On behalf of the Indians there
were present; Capt. Jack, Black Jim, Scliac
Nasty Jim, Ellen's Man, and Hooker Jim.
They had no guns, but carried pistols.
After short speeches by Mr. Meacliam, Gen.
Canby and Dr. Thomas, Chief Schonchin
arose to speak. He had scarcely proceeded
when, as if by a preconcerted arrangement,
Capt. Jack drew his pistol and shot Gen.
Canby dead. In less than a minute a dozen
shots were fired by the savages, and the
massacre completed. Mr. Meacham was
shot by Schonchin, and Dr. Thomas by
Boston Charley. Mr. Dyer barely escaped,
being fired at twice. Riddle, the interpre-
ter, and liis squaw escaped. The troops
rushed to the spot where they found Gen.
Canby and Dr. Thomas dead, and Mr.
Meacham badly wounded. The savages
had esca])ed to their impenetrable fastnesses
and could not be pursued.

The whole country was aroused by this
brutal massacre; Ijut it was not until the
following May that the murderers were
brought to justice. At that time Boston
Charley gave himself up, and offered to
guide the troops to Capt. Jack's stronghold.
This led to the ca])ture of his entire gang,
a number of whom were murdered by Ore-

gon Volunteers while on their way to trial.
The remaining Indians were held as pris-
oners until July, when their tria! occurred,
which led to the conviction of Capt. Jack,
Schonchin, Boston Charley, Hooker Jim,
Broncho, alias One- Eyed Jim, and Slotuck,
who were sentenced to be hanged. These
sentences were approved b}' the President,
save in the case of Slotuck and Broncho
whose sentences were commuted to impris-
onin lit for life. The others were executed
at Fore Klamath, October :3, 1ST3.

These closed the Indian troubles for a
time in the Northwest, and for several 3'ears
the borders of civilization remained in pence.
They were again involved in a conflict with
the savages aliout the country of the B!ack
Hills, in which war the gallant Gen. Custer
lost his life. Just now the borders of Ore-
gon and California are again in fear of hos-
tilities; but as the Government has le;irned
how to deal with the Indians, they will be
of short duration. The red man is fast
passing away before the march of the white
man, and a few more generations will read
of the Indians as one of the nations of the
past.

The Northwest abounds in memorable
places. AVe have generally noticed them
in the narrative, but our space forbids
their description in detail, save of the most
important places. Djtroit, Cincinnati,
Yincennes, Kaskaskia ami their kindred
towns have all been described. But ere
we leave the narrative we will present our
readers with an account of the Kinzie
house, the old landnnirk of Chicago, and
the discovery of the source of the Missis-
sippi River, each of which mav well find a
place in the annals of the Northwest.

Mr. John Kinzie, of the Kinzie house,

THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.

establislied a tr:ulitig house at Fort Dear-
born in 1804. The stockade had been
erected tlie year previous, and named Fort
Dearborn in honor of tlie Secretary of War.
It liad a block house at each of the two
auf^les, on the southern side a sallyport, a
covered way on the north side, that led
down to the river, for the double purpose
of providing means of escape, and of pro-
curina: water in the event of a siejje.

Fort Dearborn stood on the soutli bank
of the Cliicai^o River, about iuilf a mile
fi'oui its mouth. When Major Whistler
built it, his soldiers hauled all the timber,
for he had no oxen, anil so economically
did he wiu-k that the fort cost the Govern-
ment only fifty dollars. For a while the
garrison could sret nt) grain, and Whistler
and his men subsisted on acorns. Now
Chicago is the greatest grain center in the
world.

Mr. Kinzie bought the hnt of the first
settler, Jean Baptiste Point au Sable, on
the site of which he erected his mansion.
Within an inclosure in front he plaute 1
some Loinbardy pojihirs, and in the rear he
soon had a tine garden and nfrowinjr orchard.

In 1S12 the Kinzie house and its sur-
roundings became the theater of stirring
events. The garrison of P'ort Dearborn
consisted of fifty-four men, under the
charge of Caijt. Nathan Heald, assisted by
Lieutenant Lenai T. Helm (son-in-law to
Mrs. Kinzie), and ensign Ronan. Tiie .sur-
geon was Dr. Voorhees. The only resi-
dents at the post at that time were the
wives of Capt. Heald and Lieutenant Helm
and a few of the soldiers, Mr. Kinzie and
his family, and a few Canadian voyaceurs
with their wives and children. The sol-
diers and Mr. Kinzie were on the mo.st

friendly terms with the Fottawatomies and
the Winuebagoes, the principal .tribes
around them, but they could not win them
from their attachment to the British.

After the battle of Tippecanoe it was
observed that some of the leading chiefs
became sullen, for some of their people
had perished iu that conflict with Ameri-
can troops.

One evening in April 1813, Mr. Kinzie
sat playing his violin and his children
were dancing to the music, when Mrs.
Kinzie came rushing into the house pale
with terror, e.xclaiming, ''The Lidians! the
Indians!" "What?' AVhere?" eagerly
inquired Ml'. Kinzie. "Up at Lee's, kill-
ing and scalping," answered the frightened
mother, who, when the alarm was given,
was attending Mrs. Burns, a newly-made
mother, living not far off. Mr. Kinzie
and his family crossed the river in bouts,
and took refuge in the fort, to which place
Mrs. Burns and her infant, not a day old,
were conveyed in safety to the shelter of
the guns of Fort Dearborn, and the rest of
the white inhabitants fled. The Indians were
a scalping party of Winuebagoes, who hov-
ered around the fort some days, when they
disapjieared, and for several weeks the in-
hale tan ts were not disturbed by alarms.

Chicngo was then so deep in the wilder-
ness, that the news of the declaration of
war against Great Britain, made on the
19th of June, 1812, did not i-each the com-
mander of the garrison at Fort Dearborn
till the 7th of August. Now the fast mail
train will carry a man from New York to
Chicago in twentj'-seven hours, and such a
declaration might be sent, every word, by
the telegraph iu less than the same number
of minutes.

THE iCUKTHWEST TERRITORY.

PRESENT CONDITION OF THE NOltTHWEST.

Pivcediiig chapters li:ive broui^lit us to
tlie close of the Uhick Ilawk war, iuul we
now turn to the contemplation ot'tiie ijrowtli
and pr(js[)erity of the nortlnvest under the
smile of pea e and tlie blessings of our
civilization. The pioneers of tiiis region
date events back to the deep snow of 1831,
no one arriving here since that date taking
first honors. Tlie inciting cause of the
immigration wiiicli overflowed the prairies
early in the '30s was tiie reports of the
marvelous beauty and fertility of the re-
gion distributed through tiie East by those
who had {>articipated in the Black Hawk
campaign with Gen. Scott. Chicago and
Milwaukee then had a few hundred inhab-
itants, and Gurdon S. Hubbard's trail from
tiie former city to Kaskaskia led almost
through a wilderness. Vegetables and
clothiiiLj were largely distributed through
the regions adjoining the hxkes by steam-
ers from the Ohio towns. There are men
now living in Illinois who came to the
State when barely an acre was in cultiva-
tion, and a man now prominent in tlie bus-
iness circles of Cliicago looked over the
swampy, cheerless site of that metropolis in
ISIS and went southward into civilization.
Emigrants from Pennsylvania in 1830
left Ijehind them but one small railway in
tlie coal regions thirty miles in len^^th,
and made their way to the Northwest
mostly with ox team^, linding in Xorthern
Illinois petty settlements scores of miles
apart, alth(jugh the southern portion of
the state wa.5 fairly dotted with farm's. The
water courses of the lakos and rivers fur-
nished transportation to the second great
army of immigrants, and about 1S50 rail-
roads were pushed to that extent that the

crisis of 1837 was precipitated upon us, from
the effects of which the Western country
had not fully recovered at the outbreak of
the war. Hostilities found the c:^lonists
of the prairies fully alive to the damiinds
of the occasion, and the lionor of recruit-
ing the vast armies of the Union fell largely
to Gov. Yates, of Illinois, and Gov. Mor-
ton, of Indiana. To recount the share of
the glories of the campaign won by our
Western troops is a needless task, except
to mention the fact that Illinois gave to
the nation the President who saved it, and
sent out at the head of one of its regiments
the general who led its armies to the final
victory at A]5pomattox. The struggle, o:i
the whole, had a marked effjct for the bet-
ter on the new Northwest, giving it an im-
petus which twenty years of i>eace would
not have proiluced. In a large degree this
prosperity was an inflated one, and with
the rest of the Union we have since been
compelled to atone therefor. A.gricalture,
still the leading feature in our industries,
has been quite prosperous through all these
years, and the farmers have c!e:ired away
many incumbrances resting over them from
the period of fictitious values. The pop-
ulation has steadily increased, the arts and
sciences are gain in ic a stronger foothold,
the trade area of the region is becoming
daily more extemled, and wj have been
largely exempt fro:u the financial calam-
ities.

At the present period there are no grjat
schemes broached for the Northwest, no
l^ropositions for government subsidies or
national works of improvement, but the
cipital of the world is attracied hither for
the purchase of our products or the expan-
sion of our capacity for serving the nation

THE KORTHWEST TERRITORY.

at large. A new era is dnwriiiig as to
transportation, and we bid fair to deal al-
most exclusively with the increasing and
expanding lines of steel rail running
through every few miles of territory on the
prairies. Tiie lake marine will no doubt
continue to be useful in the wanner season,
and to serve as a regulator of freight rates;
but experienced navigators forecast the
decay of the system in moving to the sea-
board the enormous crops of the West.
Within the past few years it has become
quite common to see direct shipments to
Europe and the West Indies going through
from the second class towns along the
Mississippi and Missouri.

As to popular education, the standard
has of late risen very greatly, and our
schools would be creditable to any section
of the Union.

More and more as the events of the war
pass into obscurity will the fate of the
Northwest be linked with that of the
Southwest.

Our public men continue to wield the
full share of influence pertaining to their
rank in the national autonomy, and seem
not to forget that for the past sixteen years
they and their constituents have dictated
the principles which should govern the
country.

In a work like this, destined to lie on
the shelves of the library for generations,
and not doomed to daily destruction like a
newspaper, one can not indulge in the
same glowing predictions, the sanguine
statements of actualities that fill the col-
umns of ephemeral publications. Time
may bring grief to the pet projects of a
writer, and explode castles erected on a
pedestal of facts. Yet there are unmistaka-

ble indications before us of the same railicid
change in our great Northwest which char-
acterizes its history for the past thirty
years. Our domain has a sort of natural
geographical border, save where it melts
away to the southward in the cattle raising
districts of the Southwest.

Our prime interest will for some years
doubtless be the growtli of the food of the
world, in which branch it has already out-
stripped all competitors, and our great rival
in this duty will naturally be the fertile
])lains of Kansas, Nebraska aniT Colorado,
to say nothing of the new empire so rapid-
ly growing up in Texas. Over these regions
there is a continued progress in agriculture
and in railway building, and we must look
to our laurels. Intelligent observers of
events are fully aware of the strides
made in the way of shipments of fresh
meats to Europe, many of those ocean car-
goes being actnall}' slaughtered in the West
and transported on ice to the whai'ves of the
seaboard cities. Tliat this new enter[)rise
will continue there is no reason to doubt.
There are in Chicago several factories for
the canning of prepared meats for European
consumption, and the orders for this class
of goods are already immense. English
capital is becoming daily more and more
and more dissatisfied w^ith railway loans
and investments, and is gradually seeking
mammoth outlays in lands and live stock.
The stock yards in Chicago, Indianapolis
and East St. Louis are yearly increasing
their facilities, and their plant steadily
grows more valuable. Importations of
blooded animals from the progressive coun-
tries of Europe are destined to greatly im-
prove the quality of our beef and mutton.
Nowhere is there to be seen a more enticing

THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.

display in this line than at onr state and
county fairs, and the interest in the matter
is on the increase.

To attempt to give statistics of onr grain
production would be useless, so far have we
surpassed ourselves in t!ie quantity and
quality of our product. We are too liable
to forget that we are giving the world its
first article of necessity — its food supply.
An opportunity to learn this fact so it nev-
er can be forgotten was afforded at Chicago
at the outbreak of the great panic of 1873,
when Canadian purchasers, fearing the pros-
tration of business might bring about an
anarchical condition of affairs, went to that
city with coin in bulk and foreign drafts to
secure their supplies in their own currency
at first hands. It may be justly claimed by
the agricultural community that their com-
bined efiorts gave the nation its first impe-
tus toward a restoration of its crippled
industries, and their labor brought the gold
premium to a lower depth than the govern-
ment was able to reach by its most intense
efforts of legislation and compulsion. The
hundreds of millions about to be disbursed
for farm products have already, by the an-
ticipation common to all commercial nations,
set the wheels in motion, and will relieve
us from the perils so long siiadowing our
efiorts to return to a healthy tone.

Manufacturing has attained in tiie chief
cities a foothold which bids fair to render
the Northwest independent of the outside
world. Nearly our whole region has a dis-
tribution of coal measures which will in
time support the manufactures necessary to
our comfort and prosperity. As to trans-
portation, the chief factor in the production
of all articles except food, no section is so
magnificently endowed, and our facilities

are yearly increasing beyond those of any
other region.

The ])eriod from a central point of the
war to the outbreak of the panic was
marked by a tremendous growth in our
railway lines, but the depression of the
times caused almost a total suspension of
operations. Now that prosperity is return-
ing to our stricken country we witness its
anticipation by the railroad interest in a
series of projects, extensions, and leases .
which bid fair to largely increase our
transportation facilities. The process of
foreclosure and sale of incumbered lines is
another matter to be considered. In the
case of the Illinois Central road, which
formerly transferred to other lines at Cairo
the vast burden of freight destined for the
Gulf region, we now see the incorporation
of the tracts connecting through to New
Orleans, every mile co-operating in turning
toward the northwestern metropolis the
weight of the interstate commerce of a
thousand miles or more of fertile planta-
tions. Three competing routes to Texas
have established in Chicago their general
freight and passenger agencies. Four or
five lines compete for all Pacific freights
to a ])oint as far as the interior of Nebraska.
Half a dozen or more splendid bridge
structures have been thrown across the
Missouri and Mississippi Rivers by the
railways. The Chicago and Northwestern
line has become an aggregation of over
two thousand miles of rail, and the Chicago,
Milwaukee and St. Paul is its close rival in
extent and importance. The three lines
running to Cairo via Vincennes form a
through route for all traffic with the States
to the southward. The trunk lines being
mainly in operation, the progress made in

THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.

the way of shortening tracks, making air-
line branches, and running extensions does
not show to the advantage it deserves, as
this process is constantly adding new facili-
ties to the established order of things. The
panic reduced the price of steel to a point
where the railways could hardly aiford to
use iron rails, and all our northwestern
lines report large relays of Bessemer track.
The immense crops now being moved have
given a great rise to the value of railway
stocks, and their transportation must result
in lieavy pecuniary advantages.

Few are aware of the importance of the
wliolesale and jobbing trade of Chicago.
In boots and shoes and in clothing, twenty
or more great firms from the East liave
placed here their distributing agents or
their factories ; and in groceries Chicago
supplies the entire Northwest at rates

presenting advantages over New York.

Chicago has stejiped in between Nevvf
York and the rural bunks as a finar.cial
center, and scarcely a banking institution
in the grain or cattle regions but keeps its
reserve funds in the vaults of our com-
mercial institutions. Accumulating here
throughout the S])ring and summer months,
they are summoned home at pleasure to
move the products of the prairies. This
process greatl\' strengthens the northwest
in its financial operations, leaving home
capital to supplement local operations on
behalf of home interests.

It is impossible to forecast the destiny
of this grand and growing section of the
Union, figures and predictions made at
this date might seem ten years hence so
ludicrously small as to excite only derision.

EARLY HISTORY OF ILLINOIS.

Tlie name of this l)cantifnl Prairie State
is (IfrivL'il trmu lU/'/u', a Delaware word
sii^iiityiiii; Superior Men. It lias a French
termination, and is a symbol of how the
two races — the French and the Indians —
were intermixed during the early history
of the country.

The ap])ellation was no doubt well ap-
plied to the primitive inhabitants of the
soil whose prowess in savage warfare long
withstood the combined attacks of the
fierce Iroquois on tlie one side, and the no
less savage and relentless Sacs and Foxes
on the other. The Illinois were once a
powerful confederacy, occupying the most
beautiful and fertile region in the great
Yallej of the Mississippi, which their en-
emies coveted, and struggled long and
hard to wrest from them. Ey the tortnnes
of war, they were diminished in numbers,
and finally destroyed. " Starved Euck,"
on the Illinois Itiver, according to tradi-
tion, comuiemorates their last tnigedy,
where, it is said, the entire tribe starved
rather than surrender.

EARLY niSCOVERIES.

The fii'St European discoveries in Illi-
nois date back over two hundred years.
They are a part of that mcivement which,
Ironi the beginning to the middle of the
seventeenth century, brought the French

Canadian missionaries and fur traders into
the Valley of the Missis-ippi, and which
at a later ])eriod established the civil and
ecclesiastical authority of France, from the
Gulf of St. Lawrence to the Gulf of Mexi-
co, and from the foot-hills of the AUeghe-
nies to the Rocky Mountains.

The great river of tiie West liad been
discovered by Da Soto, the Spanish con-
queror of Florida, three quarters of a cent-
ury before the French founded Quebec in
ItjOS, but the Spanisli left the country a
wilderness, without further exploration or
settlement witiiin its borders, in which con-
dition it remained until the Mississippi
was discovered by the agents of the French
Canadian government, Joliet and Mar-
quette, in 1678. These renowned explor-
ers were not the first white visitors to Illi-
nois In 1(371 — two years in advance of
them — came Nicholas Perrot to Chicago.
He had been sent by Talon as an agent of
the Canadian f.'Overnment to call a great
peace convention of Western Indians at
Green Bay, preparatory to the movement
for the discovery of the Mississippi. It
was deemed a good stroke of policy to se-
cure, as far as possible, the tViendship and
co-operation of the Indians, far and near,
before venturing npon an enterprise which
their hostility might render disastrous, and
which their friendship and assistance would

EARLY HISTORY OF ILLINOIS.

do SO much to make successful; and to this
end Perrot was sent to call together in
council, the tribes throughout the North-
west, and to promise them the commerce
and protection of the French government,
lie accordingly arrived at Green Bay in
1671, and procuring an escort of Pottawat-
omies, proceeded in a bark canoe upon a
visit to the Miamis, at Chicago. Perrot
was therefore the first European to set foot
upon the soil of Illinois.

Still there were others before Marquette.
In 1672, the Jesuit missionaries, Fathers
Claude Allouez and Claude Dablon, bore
the standard of the Cross from their mis-
sion at Green Baj' through western Wis-
consin and northern Illinois, visiting the
Foxes on Fox Piver, and the Masquotines
and Kickapoos at the mouth of the Mil-
waukee. These missionaries penetrated on
the route afterwards followed .by Marquette
as far as the Kickapoo village at the head
of Lake Winnebago, where Marquette, in
his journey, secured guides aorcss the
portage to tlie Wisconsin.

Tiie oft repeated story of Marquette and
Joliet is well known. They were tiie
agents employed by the Canadian govern-
ment to discover the Mississippi. Mar-
quette was a native of France, born in
1637, a Jesuit priest by education, and a
man of simple faith and of great zeal and
devotion in extending the Roman Catholic
religion among the Indians. Arriving in
Canada in 1666, he was sent as a mission-
ary to the far Northwest, and, in 1668,
founded a mission at Sault Ste. Marie. The
following year he moved to La Pointe, in
Lake Superior, where he instructed a branch
of the Ilurons till 1670, when he removed
south and founded the mission at St. Ignace,

on the Straits of Mackinaw. Here he re-
mained, devoting a portion of his time to
the study of the Illinois language under a
native teacher who had accompanied him
to the mission from La Pointe, till he was
joined by Joliet in the spring of 1673.
By the way of Green Bay and the Fox and
Wisconsin Pivers, they entered the Mis-
sissippi, which they explored to the mouth
of the Arkansas, and returned by the way
of the Illinois and Chicago Pivers to Lake
Michigan.

On his way up the Illinois, Marquette
visited the great village of the Ivaskaskias,
near what is now Utica, in the county of
La Salle. The following year he returned
and established among them the mission
of the Immaculate Virgin Mary, which
was the first Jesuit mission founded in
Illinois and in the Mississippi Valley. The
intervening winter he luid spent in a hut
which his companions erected on the Chi-
cago River, a few leagues from its mouth.
The founding of this mission was the last
act of Marquette's life. He died in Mich-
igan, on his way back to Green Bay, May
18, 1675.

FIRST FRENCH OCCUPATION.

Tlie first French occupation of the terri-
tory now embraced in Illinois was eflected
by La Salle in 1680, seven years after the
time of Marquette and Joliet. La Salle,
having constructed a vessel, tlie "Griffin,"
above the falls of Niagara, which he sailed
to Green Bay, and having passed thence in
canoes to the mouth of the St. Joseph
River, by which and the Kankakee he
reached the Illinois, in January, 1680,
erected Fort Cnvecaur, at the lower end
of Peoria Lake, where the city of Peoria

EARLY HISTORY OF ILLINOIS.

is now situated. The place where this an-
cii'iit fort stood may still be seen just below
tiie outlet of Peoria Lake. It was destined,
howes'er, to a teijiporary existence. From
this poinfii La Salle determined to descend
the Mississippi to its mouth, but did not
accomplish this purpose till two years later
— in 16S2. Returninir to Fort Frontenac
for the purpose of getting materials with
which to rig his vessel, he left the fort in
charge of Tonti, his lieutenant, who during
his absence was driven off by the Iroquois
Indians. Tliese savages had made a raid up-
on the settlement of the Illinois, and had left
nothing in their track but ruin and desola-
tion. Mr. Davidson, in his History of
Illinois, gives the following graphic account
of the picture that met the eyes of La Salle
and his companions on their return:

"At the great town of the Illinois they
were appalled at the scene which opened to
their view. No hunter appeared to break
its death-like silence with a salutatory
whoop of welcome. The plain on which
tlie town had stood was now strewed with
charred fragments of lodges, which had so
recently swarmed with savage life and hi-
larity. To render more hideous the picture
of desolation, large numbers of skulls had
been placed on the upper extremities of
lodge-poles which had escaped the devour-
ing flames. In the midst of these horrors
was the rude fort of the spoilers, rendered
frightful by the same ghastly relics. A
near approach showed that the graves had
been robbed of their bodies, and swarms of
buzzards were discovered glutting their
loathsome stomachs on the reeking corrup-
tion. To complete the work of destruction,
the growing corn of the village had been
cut down and burned, while the pits con-

taining the products of previous years, had
been rifled and their contents scattered with
wanton waste. It was evident the suspected
blow of the Iroquois had fallen with relent-
less fury."

Tonti had escaped. La Salle knew not
whither. Passing down the lake in search
of him and his men, La Salle discovered
that the fort had been destroyed, but the
vessel which he had partly constructed was
still on the stocks, and but slightly in-
jured. After further fruitless search, failing
to find Tonti, he fastened to a tree a painting
representing himself and party sitting in a
canoe and bearing a pipe of peace, and to
the painting attached a letter addressed to
Tonti.

Tonti had escaped, and after untold pri-
vations, taken shelter among the Potta-
wattomies near Green Bay. These were
friendly to the French. One of their old
chiefs used to say, "There were but three
great captains in the world, himself, Tonti
and La Salle."

GENIUS OF LA SALLE.

We must now return to La Salle, whose
exploits stand out in such bold relief. He
was born in Rouen, France, in 16i3. His
father was wealthy but he renounced his
patrimony on entering a college of the
Jesuits, from which he separated and came
to Canada a poor man in 1666. The priests
of St. Sulpice, among whom he had a
brother, were then the proprietors of Mon-
treal, the nucleus of which was a seminary
or convent founded by that order. The
Superior granted to La Salle a large tract
of land at La Chine, where he established
himself in the fur trade. He was a man
of daring genius, and outstripped all Iiis

EARLY HISTORY OF ILLINOIS.

competitors in exploits of travel and com-
merce with the Indians. In IGGO, he vis-
ited the headquarters of the great Iroquois
confederacy, at Onondaga, in the lieart of
New York, and obtaining guides, explored
the Ohio River to the falls at Louisville.

In order to understand the genius of
La Salle, it must be remembered that for
many years prior to liis time the mission-
aries and traders were obliged to make
their way to the Northwest by the Ottawa
River (of Canada) on account of the fierce
hostility of the Iroquois along the lower
lakes and Niau;ara River, which entirely
closed this latter route to the UpperLakes.
They carried on their commerce chiefly by
canoes, paddling them through the Ottawa
to Lake Nipissing, carrying them across
the portage to French River, and descend-
ing that to Lake Huron. This being the
route by which the}' reached the Northwest
accounts for the fact that all the earliest
Jesuit missions were established in the
neicrhborhood of the U]iper Lakes. La Salle
conceived the grand idea of opening the
route by Niagara River and the Lower
Lakes to Canadian commerce by sail vessels
connecting it with the navigation of the
Mississippi, and tlmsopiening a magnificent
water communication from the Gnlf of St.
Lawrence to the Gulf of Mexico. This
truly grand and comprehensive purpose
seems to have animated him in all his
wonderful achievements and the matchless
difficulties and liardships he surmounted.
A3 the first step in the accomplishment of
tliis object he established himself on Lake
Ontario, and built and garrisoned Fort
Frontenac, the site of the present city of
Kingston, Canada. Here he obtained a
grant of land from the French crown, and

a body of troops by which he beat back the
invading Iroquois and cleared the jiassage
to Niagara Falls. Having by this musterly
stroke made it safe to attempt a hitherto
untrii^d expedition, bis next step, as we
have seen, was to advance to the Falls with
all his outfit for building a ship with which
to sail the lakes. He was successful in
this undertaking, though his ultimate pur-
pose was defeated by a strange combination
t)f untoward circumstances. The Jesuits
evidently bated La Salle and plotted against
him, because he had abandoned them and
co-operated with a rival order. The fur
traders were also jealous of his superior
success in opening new channels of com-
merce. At La Chine he had taken the trade
of Lake Ontario, which but for his presence
there would have gone to Quebec. While
they were plodding witli their bark canoes
through the Ottawa he was constructing
sailinf^ vessels to command the trade of the
lakes and tlie Mississippi. These great
plans excited the jealousy and envy of the
small traders, introduced treason and revolt
into the ranks of his own companions, and
finally led to the foul assassination by which
his great achievements were prematurely
ended.

In 1682, La Salle, having completed his
vessel at Peoria, descended the Mississippi
to its confluence with the Gulf of Mexico.
Erecting a standard on which he inscribed
the arms of France, he took formal posses-
sion of the whole valley of the mighty
river, in the name of Louis XIV, then
reiojnin'r, in lionor of whom he named the
country Louisiana.

La Salle then went to France, was ap-
pointed Governor, and returned with a
fleet and immigrants, for the purpose of

EARLY HISTORY OF ILLINOIS.

pliintirifj a colony in Illinois. They arrived
in line time in the Gulf of Mexico, but
Inilinij; to tind tlic month of the Mississippi,
up which La Salle intended to sail, his
Bui^ply ship, with the immigrants, was
driven ashore and wrecked on Matagorda
Bay. "With tlie fragments of the vessel he
constructed a stockade and rnde huts on
the shore for the jirotection of the immi-
grants, calling the post Fort St. Louis.
He then made a trip into New Mexico, in
search of silver mines, but, meeting with
disappointment, returned to find his little
colony reduced to forty souls. lie then
resolved to travel on foot to Illinois, and,
starting with his companions, had reached
tJie valley of the Colorado, near the month
of Trinity' river, when he was shot bj' one
of his men. This occurred on the 19th of
March, 1687.

Dr. J. W. Foster remarks of him :
" Thus fell, not far from the haidcs of the
Trinity, Robert Cavalier de la Salle, one
of the grandest characters that ever figured
in American history — a man capable of
originating the vastest schemes, and en-
dowed with a will and a judi;'ment capable
of carrying them to successful results. Had
ample facilities been placed by the King
of France at his disposal, tiie result of the
colonization of this continent might have
l)een far different from what we now
behold."

j:ari.y settlements.

A temporary settlement was made at
Fort St. Louis, or the old Kaskaskia village,
on the Illinois River, in what is now La
Salle County, in 1682. In 1690, this was
removed, with the mission connected with
it, to Kaskaskia, on the river of that name,

emptying into the lower Mississippi in St.
Clair County. Cahokia was settled about
the same time, or at least, both of these
settlements began in the year 1690, though
it is now pretty well settled that Cahokia
is the older place, and ranks as the oldest
liermanent settlement in Illinois, as well as
in the Mississippi Yaliey. The reason for
the removal of the old Kaskaskia settle-
ment and riiission, was probably because
the dangerous and difficult route by Lake
Michigan and the Chicago portage had been
almost abandoned, and travelers and traders
passed down and up the Mississippi by the
Fox and Wisconsin River route. They re-
moved to the vicinity of the Mississippi in
order to be in the line of travel from Can-
ada to Louisiana, that is, the lower part of
it, for it was all Louisiana then south of
the lakes.

During the period of French rule in
Louisiana, the population probably never
exceeded ten thousand, including whites
and blacks. Within that portion of it now
included in Indiana, trading posts were es-
tablished at the principal Miami villages
which stood on the head waters of the
Maumee, the Wea villages situated at
Ouiatenon, on the Wabash, and the Pian-
keshaw villages at Post Vincennes; all of
which were probably visited by French
traders and missionaries before the close of
the seventeenth century.

In the vast territory claimed bj' the
French, many settlements of considerable
importance had sprung up. Biloxi, on
Mobile Bay, had been founded by D'lber-
ville, in 1699; Antoine de Lamotte Cadillac
had founded Detroit in 1701; and New
Orleans had been founded by Bienville,
under the auspices of the Mississippi Com-

EARLY HISTORY OF ILLINOIS.

pan 7, in 1718. In 'Illinois also, considera-
ble settlements liad been made, so that in
1730 they embraced one hundred and forty
French families, about six hundred "con-
verted Indians," and many traders and
vowaweiirs. In that portion of the country,
on the east side of the Mississippi, there
were five distinct settlements, with their
respective villages, viz.: Cahokia, near the
mouth of Cahokia Creek and about five
miles below the present city of St. Louis;
St. I'hilip, about furty-five miles below Ca-
hokia, and four miles above Fort Chartres;
Fort Chartres, twelve miles above Kaskas-
kia; Kaskaskia, situated on the Kaskaskia
Eiver, five miles above its confluence with
the llississipju; and Prairie du Rocher,
near Fort Chartres. To these must be add-
ed St. Genevieve and St. Louis, on the west
side of the Mississippi. These with the
exceptioa of St. Louis, are among the oldest
French towns in the Mississippi Valley.
Kaskaskia, in its best days, was a town of
some two or three thousand inhabitants.
After it passed from the crown of France
its population for many years did not ex-
ceed fifteen hundred. Under British rule,
in 1773, the pojiulation had decreased to
four hundred and fifty. As earl}' as 1721
the Jesuits had established a college and a
monastery in Kaskaskia.

Fort Chartres was first built under the
direction of tlie Mississippi Company, in
1718, by M. de Boisbraint, a military ofiicer,
under command of Bienville. It stood on
tlie east bank of the Mississippi, about
eighteen miles below Kaskaskia, and was
for some time the headquarters of the mil-
itary commandants of the district of Illinois.

In the Centennial Oration of Dr. Fowler,
delivered at Pliiladelpliia, by appointment

of Gov. Beveridge, we find some interesting
facts with regard to the State of Illinois,
which we appropriate in this history:

In 1682 Illinois became a possession of
the French crown, adependency of Canada,
and a part of Louisiana. In 1765 the Eng-
lish flag was run up on old Fort Chartres,
and Illinois was counted among the treas-
ures of Great Britain.

In 1771) it was taken from the English
by Col. George Rogers Clark. This man
was resolute in nature, wise in council,
prudent in policy, bold in action, and heroic
in danger. Few men who have figured in
the history of America are more deserving
than this colonel. Jsothing short of first-
class ability could have rescued "Vincennes
and all Illinois from the English. And it
is not possible to over-estimate the influence
of this achievement upon the republic. In
1779 Illinois became a part of Virginia. It
was soon known as Illinois County. In
1784: Virginia ceded all this territory to the
general government, to be cut into States,
to be re])ublican in form, with " the same
right of sovereignty, freedom, and inde-
pendence as the other States."

In 1787 it was the object of the wisest
and ablest legislation found in any merely
human records. Xo man can study the
secret history of

TOE "compact of 1787,"

and not feel that Providence was guiding
with sleepless eye these unborn States. The
ordinance that on July 13, 1787, finally be-
came the incorporatinu: act, has a most
marvelous history. Jefferson had vainly
tried to secure a system of government for
the northwestern territory. He was an
emancipationist of that day, and favored the

EARLY HISTORY OF ILLINOIS.

exclusion of slavery from the territory Vir-
ginia had ceded to the (general government;
tint the South voted him down as often as
it came up. In 1787, as late as July 10th,
an organizing act without the anti-slavery
clause was pending. This concession to the
South was expected to carry it. Congress
was in session in New York City. On July
5th, Rev. Dr. Mannasseh Cutler, ol Massa-
chusetts, came into New York to lobby on
the northwestern territory. Everything
seemed to fall into his hands. Events were
ripe.

The stateof the public credit, the growing
of Southern ])rejndice, the basis of his mis-
sion, his personal character, all combined to
coinplete one of those sudden and marvelous
revolutions of public sentiment that once in
live or ten centuries are seen to sweep over
a country like the breath of the Almighty.
Cutler was a graduate of Yale — receivedhis
A. M. from Harvard, and his D. D. from
Yale. He had studied and taken degrees
in the three learned professions, medicine,
law, and divinity. He had thus America's
best indorsement. lie had published a
scientific examination of the plants of New
England. His name stood second only to
that of Franklin as a scientist in America.
He was acourtly gentleman of tJie old style,
a man of commanding presence, and of
inviting face. The Southern members said
they had never seen such a gentleman in the
North. He came representing a company
that desired to purchase a tract of land now
included in Ohio, for the purpose of plant-
ing a Colon}'. It was a speculation. Gov-
ernment money was worth eighteen cents
on the dollar. This Massachusetts coin]);inv
had coller-ted enough to juircha^e 1,500. 000
acruti of laud. Other speculators in New

York made Dr. Cutler theiragent (lobbyist).
On the.]2th he represented a demand for
5,500,000 acres. This would reduce the
national debt. Jefferson and Virginia were
regarded as authority concerning the land
Virginia had just ceded. Jetferson's policy
wanted to provide for the public credit, and
this was a good opportunity to do some-
thing.

Massachusetts then owned the Territory
of Maine, which she was crowding on the
market. She was opposed to opening the
northwestern region. This tired the zeal of
Virginia. The South caught the inspiration,
and all exalted Dr. Cutler. The English
minister invited him to dine with some of
the Southern gentlemen. He was the cen-
ter of interest.

The entire South rallied round him,
Massachusetts could not vote against him,
because many of the constiiuents of her
members were interested personally in the
western speculation. Thus Cutler, making
friends with the South, and, doubtless, using
all the arts of the lobby, was enabled to
command the situation. True to deeper
convictions, he dictated one of the most
compact and finislied documents of wise
statesmanship that has ever adorned any
human law book. He borrowed from Jef-
ferson the term "Articles of Compact,"
which, preceding the Federal constitution,
rose into the most sacred character. He
then followed very closely the constitution
of Massachusetts, adopted three years be-
fore. Its most marked points were:

1. The exclusion of slavery fron) the ter-
rit ry forever.

2. Provision for [>ul)lic schools, giving
otie tnwiishi)! for a seminary, and every sec-
tion numbered 10 in each township; that

EARLY HISTORY OF ILLTN'OIS.

is, one thirty-sixth of all the land, for public
schools.

3. A provision prohibiting the adop-
tion of any constitution or tlie enactment
of any law that should nullify pre-existino;
contracts.

Be it forever remembered that this com-
pact declared that " Religion, morality and
knowledge beinar necessary to good govern-
ment and the happiness of mankind,
schools and the means of education shall
always be encouraged."

Dr. Cutler planted himself on this plat-
form and would not yield. Giving his
nnqnalilied declaration that it was that or
nothing — tliat unless they could make the
land desirable they did not want it — he
took his horse and bng:jy, and started for
the constitutional convention in Phila-
delphia. On July 13. 17S7. the bill was
put upon its passage, and was unanimously
adopted, every S.JUthern member voting
for it, and only one man, Mr. Yates, of
Xew York, voting against it. But as the
States voted as States, Yates lost his vote,
and the compact was put beyond repeal.

Thus the great States of Ohio, ludiana,
Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin — a vast
empire, the heart of the great valley — were
consecrated to freedom, intelliirence and
h«nesty. Thus the great heart of the na-
tion was prepared for a year and a day and
an honr. In the light of tlie*e eiglity-nine
years I affirm that this act was the salva-
tion of the republic and the destruction of
slavery. Soon the South saw their great
blunder, and tried to repeal the compact.
In 1S03, C<nigress re erred it to a commit-
tee of which John Randolph was chairman.
He repiirted that this ordinance was a com-
pact, and opposed repeal. Thus it stood a

rock, in tlie way of the on-rashing sea of
slavery.

"With all this timely aid, it was, after
all, a most desperate and protracted strug-
gle to keep the soil of Illinois sacred to
freedom. It was the natural battle-field
for the irrepressible conflict In the
southern end of the State, slavery preceded
the compact It existed among the old
French settlers, and was hard to eradicate.
The southern part of the State was settled
from the slave States, and this population
brought their laws, customs and institu-
tions with them. A stream of population
from the Xorth poured into the northern
part of the State. These sections misun-
derstood and hated each other perfectlv.
The Southerners re^rarded the Yankees as
a skinning, tricky, penurious race of ped-
dlers, filling the country with tinware,
brass clocks and wooden nutmegs. The
Northerner thought of the Southerner as a
lean, lank, lazy creature, burrowing in a
hnt, and rioting in whisky, dirt and igno-
rance. These causes aided in making the
struggle long and bitter. So strong was
the sympathy with slavery, that in spite
of the ordinance of 17S7, and in spite of
the deed of cession, it was determined to
allow the old French settlers to retain their
slaves. Planters from the slave States
might bring their slaves, if they would
crive them a chance to choose freedom or
years of service and bondage for their chil-
dren till they should become thirty years
of age. If they chose freedom they must
leave the State in sixty days or be sold as
fugitives. Servants were whipped for of-
fenses for which white men are fined.
Each lash paid forty cents of the fine. A
negro ten miles from home without a pass

EARLY HISTOBT OF rLLINOlS.

was ■whipped- Tliese famous laws were
importcJ Iroin the slave Stales just as they
imported laws for the insjjection of flax
and wool when there was neither in the
State.

These Black Laws are now wiped out
A vigorons effort was made to protect
slavery in the State Constitntion of 1S17.
It barely failed. It was renewed in 1S25,
when a convention was asked to make a
new constitntion. After a hard fi^ht the
convention was defeate-i. Bat slaves did
not disapptear from the censns of the State
nntil ISoO. There were mobs and mar-
ders in the interest of slavery. Lovejoy
was added to the list of martyrs — a sort of
first finits of that long life of immortal
heroes who saw freedom as the one snpreme
desire of their sonls. and were so enam-
ored of her, that tliey preferred to die
rather than survive her.

Tlie population of 12.2S2 that occnp'ed
the Territ«>ry in A. D. ISOO, increased to
45.000 in A. D. ISIS, when tlie State Con-
stitntion was adopted, and Dlinois took
her place in the Union, with a star on the
flag and two votes in the Senate.

Shadrach Bond was the first Governor,
and in his first message he recommended
tlie construction of the Illinois and 2£ichi-
gan Canal.

The simple economy in those days is
seen in the tact the entire bill for station-
ery for the first Legislature was onlv
$13.50. Tet this simple body actnaJlv
enacted a very superior code.

There was no money in the Terrltorv
before tlie war ot 1S12. Deer skins ajid
coon skins were tlie circulating medium.
In 1S21. the Legislature orvl;*iiie"J a St,<te
Bank ou the credit of tlie Stale. It issued

notes in the likeness of bank bills. Tiiese
notes were made a legal tender for every
thing, and tiie bank was ordered to loan to
the pe>f>ple §10<1« on personal secmrity, and
more on mortgage. They actually poseed
a resolntion reqaestins: tfae Secretary of
the Treasury of the United Stat^ to re-
ceive these notes for land. Tiie old Frraieh
Lieatenant Governor, CoL Menard, put the
resolution as follows: ~ Gentlemen of tiie
Senate: It is moved and seconded d-at de
notes of dis hank be made land offiee
money. All in favor of dat motion say aye;
all against it say no. It is decided in de af-
firmative. Xow, gentlemen. I bet yoo one
hnndied dollar he never be land-office
money!" Hard sense, like bard money,
is always alcove par.

This o.d Freacliman presents a fine Bg-
nre np against the dark background of
most of his nation. They made no prog-
ress. Tiiey clung to their earli^t and
simplest implements. They never wore
hats or cape. They pniled their blankets
over their heads in the winter like the lu-
dianSj with whom they fineslj intrarmin-
gled.

Dema^rogism had an eaiiy development.
One John Graiuuiar(only in name*, elected
to the Territorial and State L?gisiatar« of
1S16 and 1S36, invented the policy of m>-
posing every new thing, sayinjr, "li it
succeeds, no one will ask who voted a jainst
it. If it proves a £ulnre, be eonld quote
its record.^ In sharp CDUtrast witii Gnm-
mar was the character of D. P. Coi«k. after
whom the oonnty coatAJ ." _• " ' ,■ was
named. Sneiiwashis iri - . ^^J"-

ty and rtm irkab^e ability that his will was
aJraL«st thelawof the Srare. In CL«a^-ess,
a voUD 9- maji. and from a poor State, ne w^ts

EARLY HISTORY OF ILLINOIS.

iiiaile Chairman of the Ways and Means
Couiuiittee. He was pre-eminent for
standing by his committee, regardless of
consequences. It was his integrity that
elected Joiin Quincy Adams to the Presi-
dency. There were four candidates in
1824, Jackson, Clay, Crawford, and John
Quincy Adams. There being no choice by
thepeiple, the election was thrown into the
House. It was so balanced that it turned
on his vote, and that he cast for Adams,
electing him ; then went home to face the
wrath of the Jackson party in Illinois. It
cost him all but character and greatness.
It is a suorsestive comment on the titnes,
that there was no legal interest till 1830.
It often reached 150 per cent., usually 50
pel- cent. Tiien it was reduced to 12, and
now to 10 per cent.

PUVSICAL FEATURES OF THE PRAIRIE STATE.

luarea the State has 55,410 square miles
of territory'. It is about 150 miles wide
and 400 miles long, stretching in latitude
from Maine to North Carolina. It embraces
wide variety of climate. It is tempered on
the north b}' the great inland, saltless, tide-
less sea, which keeps the thermometer from
either extreme. Being a table land, from
600 to 1,200 feet above the level of the sea,
OOP is prepared to find on the health maps,
prepared by the general government, an al-
most clean and perfect record. In freedom
from fever and malarial diseases and con-
sumptions, the three deadly enemies of the
American Saxon, Illinois, as a State, stands
without a superior. She furnishes one of
the essential conditions of a great people —
Sound bodies. I suspect that this fact lies
back of that old Delaware word, Illini, su-
perior men.

The great battles of history that have
been determinative of dynasties and desti-
nies have been strategical battles, chiefly
the question of position. Thermopylse has
been the war-cry of freemen for twenty-four
centuries. It only tells how much there
may be in position. All this advantage
belongs to Illinois. It is in the heart of
the greatest valley in the world, the vast
region between the mountains — ;-a valley
that could feed mankind for one thousand
3'ears. It is well -on toward the center of
the continent. It is in the great temperate
belt, in which have been found nearlv all
the aggressive civilizations of history. It
has sixty-five miles of frontage on the head
of the lake. With the Mississippi forming
the western and southern boundary, with
the Ohio running along the southeastern
line, with the Illinois river and canal divid-
ing; the State diagonally from the lake to
the lower Mississij)pi, and with the Rock
and Wabash rivers, furnishing altogether
2,000 miles of water front, connecting with,
and running through, in all about 12,000
miles of navigable water.

But this is not all. These waters are
made most available by the fact that the
lake and the State lie on the ridge running
into the great valley from the east. Within
cannon-shot of the lake, the water runs
away from the lake to the gulf. The lake
now empties at both ends, one into the At-
lantic and one into the gulf of Mexico.
The lake thus seems to hang over the land.
This makes the dockage most serviceable;
there are no steep banks to damage it.
Both lake and river are made for use.

The climate varies from Portland to
Richmond; it favors every product of the
continent, including the tropics, with less

EARLY HISTORY OF ILLINOIS.

than lialf a dozen exceptions. It produces
every great nutriment of the world except
bananas and rice. It is hardly too much
to sa}' that it is the most productive spot
known to civilization. With the soil full
of bread and the earth full of minerals;
witli an upper surface of food and an un-
dei' layer of fuel; with perfect natural drain-
age, and abundant springs and streams and
navigable rivers; halfway between the for-
ests of the north and the fruits of the soutli ;
witliin a day's ride of the great deposits of
iron, coal, copper, lead and zinc; contain-
ing and controlling the great grain, cattle,
]iork and lumber markets of the world, it
is not strange that Illinois has the advan-
tage of position.

This advantage has been supplemented
by the character of the population. In the
early days when Illinois was first admitted
to the union, lier jiopulation were chiefly
from Kentucky and Virginia. But, in the
conflict of ideas concerning slaver^', a
strong tide of emigration came in from tlie
East, and soon changed this composition.
In 1870 her non-native population were
from colder soils. New York furnished
133,290; Ohio gave 162,623; Pennsylvania
sent on 98,3.52; the entire South gave us
only 206,734. In all her cities, and in all
•her German and Scandinavian and other
foreign colonies, Illinois has only about
one-tifth of lier people of foreign birth.

PROGRESS OF DEVELOPMENT.

One of the greatest elements in the
early development of Illinois is the Illi-
nois and Michigan Canal, connecting the
Illinois and Mississippi Rivers with the
lakes. It was of the utmost importance to
the Sate. It was i- co nnended by Gov.

Bond, the first governor, in his first mes-
sage. In 1S21, the Legislature a)i])ro)iri-
ated $10,000 for surveying the route. Two
brioht young engineers surveyed it, and
estimated the cost at .^600,000 or 870tt,()00.
It finally cost $8,000,000. In 1825, a law
was passed to incorporate the Canal Com-
pany, but no stock was sold. In 1826,
upon the solicitation of Cook, Congress
gave 800,000 acres of land on the line of
the work. In 1828, another law — commis-
sioners a]ipointed, and work commenced
with new survey and new estimates. In
1831—35, George Farquhar made an able
report on the whole matter. This was,
doubtless, the ablest report ever made to a
western legislature, and it became the
model for subse(iuent reports and action.
From this, the work went on till it was
finished in 1818. It cost the State a large
amount of money; but it gave to the in-
dustries of the State an imjietus that
pushed it up into the fii-st rank of great-
ness. It was not built as a speculation any
more than a doctor is employed on a specu-
lation. But it has paid into the treasury
of the State an average annual net sum of
over $111,000.

Pending the construction of the canal,
the land and town-lot fever broke out in
the State, iii. 1831-35. It took on the
malignant type in Chicago, lifting the
town up into a city. The disease spread
over the entire State and adjoining States.
It was epidemic. It cut up men's farms
without regard to loealitj', and cut up the
purses of tiie purchasers without regard to
consequences. It is estimated that build-
ing lots enough were sold in Indiana alone
to accommodate every citizen then in the
United States.

EARLY HISTORY OF ILLINOIS.

Towns and cities were exported to the
Eastern market by the 8hi|i-load. There
was no lack of buyers. Every np-ship
came freighted witli speenlators and their
money.

This distempter seized npon the Legis-
lature in 1836-37, and left not one to tell
the tale. They enacted a system of inter-
nal improvement without a parallel in the
grandeur of its conception. They ordered
the construction of 1,300 miles of railroad,
crossing the State in all directions. This
■was surpassed by the river and canal im-
provements. There were a few counties
not touched by either railroad or river or
canal, and those were to be comforted and
compensated by the free distribution of
$:^00,000 among them. To inflate this
balloon beyond credence, it was ordered
that work should be commenced on both
ends of each of these railroads and rivers,
and at each river crossing, all at the same
time. The appropriations for these vast
improvements were over $12,000,000, and
commissioners were appointed to borrow
the money on the credit of the State. Re-
member that all this was in the early days
of railroading, when railroads were luxu-
ries; that the State had whole counties
■with scarcely a cabin; and that the popu-
lation of the State was less than 400,000,
and you can form some idea of the vigor
with which these brave men undertook tha
■work of making a great State. In the
light of history I am compelled to say that
this was only a premature throb of the
power that actual 1}' slumbered in the soil
of the State. It was Hercules in the cra-
dle.

At this juncture the State Bank loaned
its funds largely to Godfrey Gilman & Co.

and to other leading houses, for the pur-
pose of drawing trade from St. Louis to
Alton. Soon they failed and took down
the bank with them.

In ISIO, all hope seemed gone. A pop-
ulation of 1:80,000 were loaded with a debt
of $14,000,000. It had only six small
cities, really only towns, namely: Chicago,
Alton, Springtield, Quincy, Galena, Nau-
vot). This debt was to be cared for when
there was not a dollar in the treasury, and
when the State had borrowed itself out of
all credit, and wlu-n there was not good
money enough in the hands of all the peo-
ple to pay the interest of the debt for a
single year. Yet, in tiie presence of all
these difficulties, the .young State steadil}'
rei'used to re])udiate. Gov. Ford took hold
of the problem and solved it, bringing the
State through in triumph.

Having touched lightly upon some of the
more distinctive points in the history of
the development of Illinois, let us next
bri'efly consider the

MATERIAL RESOURCES OF THE STATE.

It is a garden four hundred miles long
and one hundred and fifty miles wide. Its
soil is chiefly a black sandy loam, from six
inches to sixty feet thick. On the Ameri-
can bottoms it has been cultivated for one
hundred and fifty years without renewal.

About the old French towns it has yield-
ed corn for a century and a half without
rest or help. It produces nearly every-
thing green in the temperate and tropical
zones. She leads all other States in the
number of acres actually under plow. Her
products from 25,000,000 of acres are in-
calculable. Her mineral wealth is scarce-
ly second to her agricultural power. She

EARLY HISTORY OF ILLINOIS.

l:;is coal, iron, lead, copper, zinc, many va-
rieties of bniltliniT stone, fire clay, cnina
clay, common brick clay, sand of all kinds,
gravel, mineral paint — everythiiii^ nee led
for a hiL;li civilization. Left to herself,
slie has the elements of all greatness. The
single item of ooal is too vast for an apju'e-
ciative handling in fignres. We can lian-
dle it in general terms like algebraical
signs, but long bei'ore we get np into the
millions and billions the human mind
drops down from comprohension to mere
symbolic ap]irehension.

When I tell you that nearly four-iifths
of the entire State is underlaid with a de-
])0sit of coal more than forty feet thick on
the average (now estimated by recent sur-
veys, at seventy feet tiiick), you can get
some idea of its amount, as you do of the
amount of the national debt. There it is!
4I,0:jO square miles — one vast mine into
whicli you could put any of the States; in
which you could bury scores of European
and ancient empires, and have roona all
round to work without knowing that they
bad been sepulchered there.

Put this vast coal-bed down by the other
great coal deposits of the world, and its
importance becomes manifest. Great Brit-
ain has 12,000 square miles of coal; Spain,
3,000; P>ance, 1719; Belgium, 578; Illinois
about twice as many square miles as all
combined. Virginia has 20,000 square
miles; Pennsylvania, 16,000; Ohio, 12,000.
Illinois has 41,000 square miles. One-
seventh of all the known coal on this con-
tinent is in Illinois.

Could we sell the coal in this single State
for one-seventh of one cent a ton, it would
pay the national dcl)t. Converted into
power, even with the wastage in our com-

mon eiiirines, it would do more work than
could be done by the entire race, beginning
at Adam's wedding and working ten hours
a day through all the centuries till the i)re3-
ent time, and right on into the future at
the same rate for the next 600,000 years.

Great Britain uses enough mechanical
power to-day to give to each man, woman,
and child in the kingdom, the help and sei--
vice of nineteen untiring servants. No
wonder she has leisure and luxuries. No
wonder the home of the common artisan
has in it more luxuries than couhl be found
in the palace of good old King Arthur.
Think if you can conceive of it, of the vast
army of servants that slumber in the soil of
Illinois, impatiently awaiting the call of
Genius to come forth to minister to our
comfort.

At the present rate of consumption Eng-
land's coal sujijily will be exhausted in
250 years. When this is gone she iriust
transfer her dominion either to the Indies,
or to British America, wdiich I would not
resist; or to some other people, which I
would regret as a loss to civilization.

COAL IS KING.

At the same rate of consumption (which
far exceeds our own), the deposit of coal in
Illinois will last 120,000 years. And her
kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom.

Let us turn now from this reserve power
to the annual products of the State. AVe
shall not be humiliated in this field. Here
we strike the secret of our national credit.
Nature provides a market in the constant
appetite of the race. Men must eat, and it
we can furnish the provisions we can com-
mand the treasure. All that a man hath
will he give for his life.

EARLY HISTORY OF ILLINOIS.

According to tlie last census Illinois pro-
duced 30,000.000 of bushels of wheat. That
is more wlieat tlian was raised by any
other State in the union. She raised in
1875, 130,000,000 of bushels of corn— twice
as much as any other State, and one-sixtii
of all the corn raised in the United States.
She harvested 2,747,000 tons of hay, nearly
one-tenth of all the hay in the republic.
It is not generally appreciated, but it is
true that the hay crop of the country is
worth more than the cotton crop. The hay
of Illinois equals tiie cotton of Louisiana.
Go to Charleston, S. C, and see them ped-
dling handfuls of hay or grass, almost as a
curiosity, as we regard Chinese gods or the
cryolite of Greenland; drink your coffee and
condensed milk; and walk back from the
coast for many a league through the sand
and burs till you get up into the better at-
mosphere of the mountains, without seeing
a waving meadow or a grazing herd; then
you will begin to appreciate the meadows
of the Prairie State, where the grass often
grows sixteen feet high.

The value of her farm implements is
$211,000,000, and the value of her live
stock is only second to the great State of
New York. In 1875 she had 25,000.000
hogs, and packed 2,113,845, about one-half
of all that were packed in the United States.
This is no insignificant item. Pork is a
growing demand of the old world. Since
the laborers of Europe have gotten a taste
of our bacon, and we have learned how to
pack it drj' in boxes, like dry goods, the
world has become the market.

The hog is on the marcli into the future.
His nose is ordained to uncover the seci'ets
of dominion, and his feet shall be guided
by the star of empire.

Illinois marketeil $57,000,000 worth of
slaughtered animals — more than any other
State, and a seventh of all the States.

Be patient with me, and pardon my
pride, and I will give you a list of some of
the things in which Illinois excels all other
States.

Depth and richness of soil; per cent, of
good ground; acres of improved land; large
farms — some farms contain from 40,000 to
60,000 aci-es of cultivated land, 40,000 acres
of corn on a single farm; number of farm-
ers; amount of wheat, corn, oats and honey
]>roduced; value of animals for slaughter;
number of hogs; amount of pork; number
of horses — three times as many as Ken-
tucky, the horse State.

Illinois excels all other States in miles
of railroads and in miles of postal service,
and in money orders sold per annum, and
in the amount of lumber sold in her mar-
kets.

Illinois is only second in many important
matters. This sample list comprises a few
of the more important: Permanent school
fund (good for a young State); total in-
come for educational purposes; number of
publishers of books, maps, papers, etc.;
value of farm products and implements,
and of live stock; in tons of coal mined.

The shipping of Illinois is only second
to New York. Out of one port during the
business hours of the season of navigation
she sends forth a vessel every ten minutes.
This does not include canal boats, which
go one every five minutes. No wonder she
is only second in number of bankers and
brokers or in physicians and surgeons.

She is third in collejres, teachers and
schools; c ittle, lead, hay, flax, sorghum and
beeswax.

'^/^.

'OT>i^

EARLY HISTORY OF ILLINOIS.

She is fourth in population, in children
enrolled in public schools, in law schools,
in butter, potatoes and carriages.

She is tif'th in value of real and personal
property, in theological seminaries and
colleges exclusively for women, in milk
sold, and in boots and shoes manufactured,
and in book-binding.

She is only seventh in the production
of wood, while she is the twelfth in area.
Surely that is well done for the Prairie
State. She now has much more wood and
growing timber than she had thirty years

ago.

A few leading industries will justify-
emphasis. She manufactures $205,000,000
worth of goods, which places her well up
toward New York and Pennsylvania. The
number of her manufacturing establish-
ments increased from 1860 to 1870, 300
percent; capital employed increased 350
per cent., and the amount of product in-
creased 400 per cent. She issued 5,500,000
copies of commercial and financial news-
papers — only second to New York. She
has 6,759 miles of railroad, thus leading all
other States, worth $636,458,000, using
3,245 engines, and 67,712 cars, making a
train long enough to cover one- tenth of the
entire roads of the State. Her stations are
only five miles apart. More than two-
thirds of her land is within five miles of a
railroad, and less than two per cent is
more than fifteen miles away.

The State has a large financial interest
in the Illinois Central railroad. The road
was incorporated in 1850, and the State
eave each alternate section for six miles on
each side, and doubled the price of the re-
maining land, so keeping herself good.
The road received 2,595,000 acres of land.

and pays to the State one-seventh of the
gross receipts. Add to this the annual
receipts from the canal, $111,000, and a
large per cent, of the State tax is provided
for.

THE EELIGION AXD MORALS

of the State keep step with her productions
and growth. She was born of the mission-
arv spirit. It was a minister who secured
for her the ordinance of 1787, by which she
has been saved from slavery, ignorance,
and dishonesty. Rev. Mr. Wiley, pastor
of a Scotch congregation in Eandolph '
County, petitioned the Constitutional
Convention of 1818 to recognize Jesus
Christ as king, and' the scriptures as the
only necessary guide and book of law. The
convention did not act in the case, and the
old covenanters refused to accept citizen-
ship. They never voted until 1824, when
the slavery question was submitted to the
people; then they all voted against it and
cast the determining votes. (Conscience
has predominated whenever a great moral
question has been submitted to the people.

But little mob violence has ever been felt
in the State. In 1817 regulators disposed
of a band of horse-thieves that infested the
Territory. The Mormon indignities finally
awoke the same spirit. Alton was also the
scene of a pro-slavery mob, in which Love-
joy was added to the list of martyrs. Tiie
moral sense of the people makes the law
supreme, and gives to the State unruffled
peace.

With $22,300,000 in church property,
and 4,298 church organizations, the State
has that divine police, the sleepless patml
of moral ideas, that alone is able to secure
perfect safety. Conscience takes the knife

EARLY HISTORY OF ILLINOIS.

from the assassin's hand and tlie bludgeon
from the grasp of the highwayman. We
sleep in safety, not because we are behind
bolts and bars — these only fence against
the innocent; not because a lone officer
drowses on a distant corner of a street;
not because a sheriff may call his posse
from a remote part of the county; but
because conscience guards the very portals
of the air and stirs in tlie deepest re-
cesses of the public mind. This spirit
issues within the State 9,500,000 copies
of religious papers annually, and receives
still more from without. Thus the crime
of the State is only one fourth that of New
York and one half that of Pennsylvania.

Illinois never had but one duel between
her own citizens. In Belleville, in 1S20,
Alphonso Stewart and William Bennett
arranged to vindicate injured honor. The
seconds agreed to make it a sham, and
make them shoot blanks. Stewart was in
the secret. Bennett mistrusted sometliing,
and unobserved, slipped a bullet into his
gun and killed Stewart. He then fled the
State. After two years he was caught,
tried, convicted, and, in spite of friends
and political aid, was hung. This fixed
tlie code of honor on a Christian basis, and
terminated its use in Illinois.

The early preachers were ignorant men,
who' were accounted eloquent according to
the strength of their voices. But they set
the stj'le for all public speakers. Lawyers
and political speakers followed this rule.
Gov. Ford says: "Nevertheless, these first
preachers were of incalculable benefit to
the country. They inculcated justice and
morality. To them are we indebted for
the first Christian ciiaracter of the Protest-
ant portion of the people."

In education Illinois surpasses her ma-
terial resources. The ordinance of 1787
consecrated one thirtj'-sixth of her soil to
common schools, and the law of 1818, the
first law that went upon her statutes, gave
three per cent of all the rest to

EDUCATION.

The old compact secures this interest
forever, and by its yoking morality and
intelligence it precludes the legal interfer-
ence with the Bible in the public schools.
Witii such a start it is natural that we
should have 11,050 schools, and that our
illiteracy should be less tlian New York or
Pennsylvania, and only about one half of
Massachusetts. We are not to bhime for
not having more tlian one half as many
idiots as the great States. These public
schools soon made colleges inevitable.
The first college, still flourishing, was
started in Lebanon in 1S2S, by the M. E.
church, and named after Bishop McKen-
dree. Illinois College, at Jacksonville,
supported by the Presbyterians, followed
in 1830. In 1832 the Baptists built Shurt-
leff College, at Alton. Then the Presby-
terians built Knox College, at Galesburg,
in 1838, and the Episcopalians built Jubilee
College, at Peoria, in 181:7. After these
early years, colleges have rained down. A
settler could hardly encamp on the prairie
but a college would spring up by his wagon.
The State now has one very well endowed
and equipped university, namely, the
Northwestern LTniversity, at Evanston,
with six colleges, ninety instructors, over
1,000 students, and $1,500,000 endowment.

Kev. J. M. Peck Avas the first educated
Protestant minister in the State. He
settled at Rock Spring, in St. Clair County,

EARLY HISTORY OF ILLINOIS-

1820, aud left his impress on the State.
Before 1S37 only partj- papers were pub-
lished, hut Mr. Peck ])ublished a Gazetteer
of Illinois. Soon after John Ilussell, of
ISIuriUale, published essays and tales show-
iiiir ijeiiius. Judge James Hall published
The Illinois M'onthJij Miujuzine with great
ability, and an annual called The Western
Souvenir, which gave him an enviable
fame all over the United States. From
tliese beginnings, Illinois has gone on till
she has more volumes in publ'c libraries
even than Massachusetts, and of the -ii,-
500,000 volumes in all the public libraries
of the United States, she has one thirteenth.
In newspapers she stands fourth. Iler
increase is marvelous.

This brings us to a record unsurpassed
in the history of any age.

THE WAR EECOKD OF ILLINOIS.

I hardly know where to begin, or how to
advance, or what to say. I can at best give
you only a broken synopsis of her deeds,
and you must put them in the order ot
glory for yourself. Her sons have always
been foremost on fields of danger. In
1832-33, at the call of Gov. Reynolds, her
sons drove Blackhawkover the Mississijipi.

When the Mexican war came, in May,
1846, 8,370 men oifered themselves when
only 3,720 could be accepted. The fields
of Buena Vista and Yera Cruz, and the
storming of Cerro Gordo, will carry the
glory of Illinois soldiers long after the
causes that led to that war have been
forgotten. But it was reserved till our day
for her sons to find a field and cause and
foemen that could fitly illustrate their spirit
and iieroism. Illinois put into her own
regiments for the United States government

256,000 men, and into the army through
other States enough to swell the number to
290,000. This far exceeds all the soldiers
of the Federal government in all the war
of the Revolution. Her total 3'ears of
service were over 600,000. She enrolled
men from eighteen to forty-five years of
age when the law of Congress in 1864 —
the test time — only asked for those from
twenty to forty-five. Iler enrollment was
otherwise excessive. Her people wanted to
go, and did not take the jiains to correct
the enrollment. Thus the basis of fixing
the quota was too great, and then the quota
itself, at least in the trying time, was far
above anj"^ other State.

Thus the demand on some counties, as
Monroe, for example, took every able-bod-
ied man in the county, and then did not
have enough to fill the quota. Moreover,
Illinois sent 20,844 men for ninety or one
hundred da3-s, for whom no credit was
asked. When Mr. Lincoln's attention was
called to the inequality of the quota com-
pared with other States, he replied : "The
country needs the sacrifice. We must put
the whip on the free horse." In spite of
all these disadvantages Illinois gave to the
country 73,000 years of service above all
calls. With one thirteenth of the popula-
tion of the loyal States, she sent regularly
one tenth of all the soldiers, and in the
peril of the closing calls, when patriots
were few and weary, she then sent one
eighth of all that were called for by her
loved and honored son in the White House.
Her mothers and daughters went into the
fields to raise the grain and keep the
children together, while the fathers and
older sons went to the harvest fields of tlio
world. I knew a father aud four sons who

EARLY HISTORY OF ILLINOIS.

agreed that one of them must stay at home ;
and they pulled straws from a stack to see
who might go. Tlie father was left. The
next day lie came into the camp, saying:
" Mother says slie can get the crops in, and
I am going, too." 1 know large Methodist
churches from which every male member
went to the army. Do you want to know
what these heroes from Illinois did in the
field ? Ask any soldier with a good record
of his own, who is able to judge, and
he will tell you that the Illinois men went
in to win. It is common history that the
greater victories were won in the West.
When everything else looked dark Illinois
was gaining victories all down tlie river,
and dividing the Confederacy. Sherman
took with him on his great march forty-
five regiments of Illinois infantry, three
companies of artillery, and one company of
cavalry. He could not avoid

GOING TO THE SEA.

If lie had been killed, I doubt not the
men would have gone right on. Lincoln
answered all rumors of Sherman's defeat
with, "It is impossible; there is a mighty
Bight of fight in 100,000 Western men."
Illinois soldiers brought home 300 battle-
flags. The first United States flag tliat
floated over Kichmond, was an Illinois flag.
She sent messengers and nurses to every
field and hospital, to care for her sick and
wounded sons. She said, " these suft'ering
ones are my sons, and I will care for them."

Wiien individuals had given all, then
cities and towns came forward with their
credit to the extent of many millions, to
aid these men and their families.

Illinois gave the country the great
general of the war — Ulysses S. Grant —

since honored with two terms of the Presi-
dency of the United States.

One otlier name from Illinois comes up
in all minds, embalmed in all hearts, that
must have the suj)reme place in this story
of our glory and of our nation's honor;
that name is Abraham Lincoln, of Illinois.

The analysis of Mr. Lincoln's character
is diflicult on account of its symmetry.

In this age we look with admiration at
his uncompromising honesty. And well
we may, for this saved us. Thousands
throughout tiie length and breadth of our
countr}', wlio knew him only as " Honest
Old Abe," voted for him on that account;
and wisely did they choose, for no other
man could have carried ns through the
fearful night of the war. When his plans
were too vast for our comprehension, and
his faith in the cause too sublime for our
participation; when it was all uiglit about
us, and all dread before us, and all sad and
desolate behind us; when not one ray
shone upon our cause; when traitors were
haughty and exultant at the South, and
fierce and blasphemous at the North; when
the loj'al men here seemed almost in the
minority; when tlie stoutest heart quailed,
the bravest cheek paled, when generals
were defeating each other for place, and
contractors were leeching out the very
heart's blood of the prostrate republic;
when every thing else had failed us, we
looked at this calm, patient man, standing
like a rock in the storm, and said : " Mr.
Lincoln is honest, and we can trust him
still." Holding to this single point with
the energy of faith and despair we held
together, and, under God, he brought us
through to victory.

His practical wisdom made him the

EARLY HISTORY OF ILLINOIS.

wonder of all lands. With sucli certainty
did Mr. Lincoln follow causes to their
ultimate effects, that his foresight of con-
tingencies seemed almost prophetic.

lie is radiant with all the great virtues,
and his memory shall shed a glory upon
this age, that shall fill the eyes of men as
they look into history. Other men have
excelled him in some point, but, taken at
all points, all in all, he stands head and
shoulders above every other man of G,000
years. An administrator, he saved the na-
tion in the perils of unparalleled civil war.
A statesman, he justified his measures by
their success. A philanthropist, he gave
liberty to one race and salvation to another.
A moralist, he bowed from the summit of
human power to the foot of the Cross, and
became a Christian. A mediator, he exer-
cised mercy under the most absolute abey-
ance to law. A leader, he was no partisan.
A commander, he was untainted witli
blood. A ruler in desperate times, he was
unsullied with crime. A man, he has left
no word of passion, no thought of malice,
no trick of craft, no act of jealousy, no pur-
pose of selfish ambition. Thus perfected,
without a model and without a peer, he
was dropped into these troubled years to
adorn and embellish all that is good and
all that is great in our humanity, and to
present to all coming time the representa-
tive of the divine idea of free govern iiient.

It is not too much to say that away
down in the future, when the republic has
fallen from its niche in the wall of time;
when the great war itself shall have faded
out in the distance like a mist on the hori-
zon; when the Anglo Saxim language sjiall
be spoken only by the tongue of the stran-
ger; then the generations looking this way

shall see the great president as the suj^reme
figure in this vortex of history.

CHICAGO.

It is impossible in our brief space to give
more than a meager sketch of such a city
as Chicago, which is in itself the greatest
marvel of the Prairie State. This mysteri-
ous, majestic, mighty city, born first of
water, and next of fire; sown in weakness,
and raised in power; planted among the
willows of the marsh, and crowned with
the glory of the mountains, sleeping on the
bosom of the prairie, and rocked on the
bosom of the sea; the youngest citj' of the
world, and still the eye of the prairie, as
Damascus, the oldest city of the world, is
the eye of the desert. With a commerce
far exceeding that of Corintli on her
isthmus, in the highway to the East; with
the defenses of a continent piled around her
by the thousand miles, making her far safer
than Home on the banks of the Tiber; with
schools eclipsing Alexandria and Athens;
witii liberties more conspicuous tiian those
of the old republics; with a heroism equal
to the first Carthage, and with a sanctity
scarcely second to that of Jerusalem — set
your thoughts on all this, lifted into the
eyes of all men by the miracle of its growth,
illuminated by the flame of its fall, and
transfigured by the divinity of its resurrec-
tion, and you will feel, as I do, the utter
impossibility of compassing this subject as
it deserves. Some impression of her im-
portance is received from the shock her
burning gave to the civilized world.

When the doubt of her calamity was
removed, and the horrid fact was accepted,
there went a shudder over all cities, and a
quiver over all lands. There was scarcely

EARLY HISTORY OF ILLIXOIS.

a town in the civilized world tliat did not
shake on tlie brink of this opening cliasm.
Tlie flames of our Iiomes reddened all skies.
The city was set upon a hill, and could not
be hid. All eyes were turned upon it. To
have struggled and suffered amid the scenes
of its fall is as distinguisliing as to have
fought at Thcrniopylaj, or Salamis, or
Hastings, or AV'aterloo, or Bunker Hill.

Its calamity ama/.ed the world, because
it was felt to be the common property of
mankind.

The early history of the city is full of
interest, just as the early history of such a
Tnan as Washington or Lincoln becomes
public property, and is cherished by every
patriot.

Starting with 560 acres in 1833, it em-
braced and occupied 23,000 acres in lS6i),
and having now a population of more than
600,000, it commands general attention.

The first settler — Jean Baptiste Pointe
au Sable, a mulatto from the West Indies
— came and began trade with the Indians
in 1796. John Kmzie became his success-
or in ISOl, in which year Fort Dearborn
was erected.

A mere trading-post was kept here from
that time till about the time of the Black-
hawk war, in 1S32. It was not the cit}'.
It was merely a cock crowinij at midnight.
The morning was not yet. In 1S33 the
settlement about the fort was incorporated
as a town. The voters were divided on the
propriety of such corporation, twelve voting
for it and one against it. Four years later
it was incorporated as a city, and embraced
560 acres.

The produce handled in this city is an
indication of its power. Grain and flour
were imported from tlie East till as late as

1837. The first exportation by way of
experiment was in 1839. Exports exceeded
imports first in 181:2. The Board of Trade
was organized in 1818, but it was so weak
that it needed nursing till 1855. Grain
was purchased by the wagon-load in the
street.

I remember sitting with my father on a
load of wheat, in the long line of wagons
along Lake street, while the buyers came
and untied the bags, and examined the
grain, and made their bids. That manner
of busitiess had to cease with the day of
small thinofs. One tenth of all the wheat
in the United States is handled in Chicago.
Even as long ago as 1853 the receipts of
jjrain in Chicago exceeded those of the
goodly city of St. Louis, and in 1851 the
exports of grain from Chicago exceeded
those of New York and doubled those of
St. Petersburg, Archangel, or Odessa, the
largest grain markets in Euroj^e.

The manufacturing interests of the city
are not contemptible. In 1873 manufixc-
tories employed i5,000 operatives; in 1876,
60,000. The manufactured product in
1875 was worth $177,000,000.

Xo estimate of the size and power of
Chicago would be adequate that did not
put large emphasis on the railroads. Be-
fore they came thundering along our
streets, canals were the hope of our coun-
try. But who ever thinks now of traveling
by canal packets? In June, 1852, there
were only forty miles of railroad connected
with the city. The old Galena division of
the Northwestern ran out to Elgin. But
now, who can count the trains and measure
the roads that seek a terminus or connection
in this city? The lake stretches away to
the north, gathering into this center all

EARLY HISTORY OF ILLINOIS.

tlie harvests that might otlierwise pass to
tlie north of ns. If you will take a map
and look at the adjustment of railroads,
you will see, first, that Ciiicago is the great
railroad center of the world, as New York
is the commercial city of this continent;
and, second, that the railroad lines form
the iron spokes of a great wheel whose hub
is this city. Tiie lake furnishes the only
break in the spokes, and this seems simply
to have pushed a few spokes together on
each shore. See the eighteen trunk lines,
exclusive of eastern connections.

Pass round the circle, and view their
numbers and extent. There is the great
Northwestern, with all its branches, one
branch creeping along the lake siiore, and
so reaching to the north, into the Lake
Superior regions, away to the right, and on
to the Northern Pacific on the left, swing-
ing around Green Bay for iron and copper
and silver, twelve months in the year, and
reaeiiing out for tiie wealth of the great
agricultural belt and isothermal line trav-
ersed by the Nortliern Pacific. Another
branch, not so far north, feeling for the
heart of the Badger State. Another push-
ing lower down the Mississippi — all these
make many connections, and tap]iing all
the vast wheat regions of Minnesota, Wis-
consin, Iowa, and all the regions this side
of sunset. There is that elegant road, the
Chicago, Burlington & Quincy, running
out a goodly number of branches, and
reaping the great fields this side of the
Missouri River. I can only mention the
Ciiiciig ), Alton & St. Louis, ou7' Illinois
Central, described elsewliere, and tlie Ciii-
cago & Pock Island. Further around we
come to the lines connecting us with all
the Eastern cities. The Ciiicago, Indian-

apolis & St. Louis, the Pittsburg, Fort
Wayne & Chicago, the Lake Shore &
Michigan Southern, and the Michigan
Central and Great Western, give us many
highways to the seaboard. Thus we reach
the Mississippi at five points, from St. Paul
to Cairo and the Gulf itself by two routes.
We also reach Cincinnati and Baltimore,
and Pittsburg and Philadeipliia, and New
York. North and south run the water
courses of tlie lakes and the rivers, broken
just enough at this point to make a pass.
Tiirough this, from east to west, run the
long lines that stretch from ocean to ocean.

This is the neck of the glass, and the
golden sands of commerce must pass into
our hands. Altogether we have more than
10,000 miles of railroad, directly tributary
to this city, seeking to unload their wealth
in our coflers. All tliese roads have come
themselves by the infallible instinct of
capital. Not a dollar was ever given by
tlie city to secure one of them, and only a
small per cent, of stock taken originally by
her citizens, and that taken simply as an
investment. Coming in the natural order
of events, they will not be easily diverted.

There is still another showing to all this.
The connection between New York and
San Francisco is bj' the middle route. This
])asses inevitably through Chicago. St.
Louis wants the Southern Pacific or Kansas
Pacific, and pushes it out througli Denver,
and so on up to Cheyenne. But before the
road is fairly under way, the Chicago roads
shove out to Kansas City, making even the
Kansas Pacific a feeder, and actually leav-
ing St. Louis out in the cold. It is not too
much to expect that Dakota, Montana, and
Washington Territory will find their great
market in Chicago.

EARLY HISTORY OF ILLINOIS.

But these are not all. Perhaps I had
better notice here the ten or fifteen new
roads that have jnst entered, or are just
entering, our city. Their names are all
that is necessary to give. Chicago & St.
Paul, looking up the Red River country to
the British possessions ; the Chicago, At-
lantic & Pacific ; the Chicago, Decatur &
State line ; the Baltimore & Ohio ; tlie
Chicago, Danville & Yincennes ; the Chi-
cago & La Salle Railroad ; the Chicago,
Pittsburgh & Cincinnati ; the Chicago and
Canada Southern ; the Chicago and Illi-
nois River Railroad. These, with their con-
nections, and with the new connections of
the old roads, already in process of erection,
give to Chicago not less than 10,000 miles
of new tributaries from the richest land on
the continent. Thus there will be added
to the reserve power, to the capital within
reach of this city, not less than $1,000,000,-
000.

Add to all this transporting power the
ships that sail one every nine minutes of
the business hours of the season of naviga-
tion; add, also, the canal boats that leave
one every five minutes during the same
time — and yon will see something of the
business of the city.

TUE COMMERCE OF THIS CITY

has been leaping along to keep pace with
the growth of the country around us. In
1S52, our commerce reached the hopeful
sum of $20,000,000. In 1870 it reached
$400,000,000. In 1871 it was pushed up
above $150,000,000, and in 1875 it touched
nearly double that.

One half of our imported goods come di-
rectly to Chicago. Grain enough is export-
ed directly from our docks to the old world

to employ a semi-weekly line of steamers of
3,000 tons capacity. This branch is not
likely to be greatly developed. Even after
the great Welland Canal is completed we
shall have only fourteen feet of water. The
great ocean vessels will continue to control
the trade.

The schools of Chicago are unsurpassed
in America. Out of a population of 300,-
000, there were only 186 persons between
the ages of six and twenty-one unable to
read. This is the best known record.

In 1831 the mail system was condensed
into a half-breed, who went on foot to
Niles, Mich., once in two weeks, and
brought back what papers and news he
could find. As late as 181G there was
often only one mail a week. A post-oflaee
was established in Chicago in 1833, and
the post-master nailed up old boot-legs on
one side of his shop to serve as boxes for
the nabobs and literary men.

The improvements that have character-
ized the city are as startling as the city
itself In 1831, Mark Beaubien established
a ferry over the river, and put himself un-
der bonds to carry all the citizens free for
the privilege of charging strangers. Now
there are twenty-four large bridges and two
tunnels.

In 1833 the government expended $30,-
000 on the harbor. Then commenced that
series of maneuvers with the river that has
made it one of the world's curiosities. It
used to wind around in the lower end of
the town, and make its way rippling over
the sand into the lake at the foot of Madi-
son street. They took it up and put it
down where it now is. It was a narrow
stream, so narrow that even moderately
small crafts had to go up through the wil-

EARLY HISTORY OF ILLINOIS.

lows and cat's tails to the point near Lake
fctreet bridge, and back up one of the
branches to get room enough in which to
turn around.

In 1844 the quagmires in the streets
were first pontooned by plank roads, which
acted in wet weather as public squirt-guns.
Keeping yon out of the rand, they coni-
]iroinised by squirting the mud over you.
The wooden-block pavements came to Chi-
cago in 18.57. In 1840 water was delivered
by peddlers in carts or by hand. Then a
twenty-five horse-power en'j;ine pushed it
throuirh hollow or bored loffs along the
streets till 1854, wlien it was introduced
into the houses by new works. The first
fire-engine was used in 1835, and the first
steam tire-engine in 1859. Gas was util-
ized for lighting the city in 1850. The
Young Men's Christian Association was
organized in 1858, and horse railroads
carried them to their work in 1859. The
alarm telegraph adopted in 1864. The
opera-house built in 1805. The city grew
from 560 acres in 1833 to 23,000 in 1869.
In 1834, the taxes amounted to $48.90, and
the trustees of the town borrowed $60 more
for opening and improving streets. In
1835, the Legislature authorized a loan of
§2,000, and the treasurer and street com-
missioners resigned rather than plunge the
town into such a gulf.

One third of the city has been raised up
an average of eight feet, giving good pitch
to the 263 miles of sewerage. The water
of the city is above all competition. It is
received through two tunnels extending to
a crib in the lake two miles from shore.
The first tunnel is five feet two inches in
diameter and two miles long, and can
deliver 50,000,000 of gallons per day. The

second tunnel is seven feet in diameter and
six miles long, running four miles under
the city, and can deliver 100,000,000 of
gallons per day. This water is distribiited
througli 410 miles of watermains.

The three grand engineering exploits of
the city are : First, lifting the city up on
jack-screws, whole squares at a time, with-
out interrupting the business, thus giving
us good drainage ; second, running the
tunnels under the lake, giving us the best
water in the world ; and third, the turning
the current of the river in its own channel,
delivering us from the old abominations,
and making decency possible. They re-
dound about equally to the credit of the
engineering, to the energy of the people,
and to the health of the city.

That which really constitutes the city, its
indescribable spirit, its soul, the way it
lights up in ever}' feature in the hour of
action, has not been touched. In meeting
strangers, one is often surprised how some
homely women marry so well. Their forms
are bad, their gait uneven and awkward,
their complexion is dull, their features
are misshapen and mismatched, and when
we see them there is no beauty that we
should desire them. But when once they
are aroused on some subject, they put on
new proportions. They light up into great
power. The real person comes out from
its unseemly ambush, and captures us at
will. They have power. They have abil-
ity to cause things to come to pass. We
no longer wonder why they are in such
high demand. So it is with our city.

There is no grand scenery except the
two seas, one of water, the other of prairie.
Nevertheless, there is a spirit about it, a
push, a breadth, a jjower, that soon makes

EARLY HISTORY OF ILLINOIS.

it a place never to be forsaken. One soon
ceases to believe in impossibilities. Ba-
laams are the only prophets that are disap-
pointed. The bottom that has been on the
point of falling out has been there so long
that it has grown fast. It can not fall ont.
It has all the capital of the world itching
to get inside the corporation.

The two great laws that govern the
growth and size of cities are, lirst, the
amount of territory for which they are the
distributing and receiving points ; second,
the number of medium or moderate dealers
that do this distributing. Monopolists
build up themselves, not the cities. They
neither eat, wear, nor live in proportion to
their business. Both these laws help Chi-
cago.

The tide of trade is eastward — not up or
down the map, but across the map. The
hike runs up a wingdam for 500 miles to
sather in the business. Commerce can
not ferry np there for seven months in the
year and the facilities for seven months can
do the work for twelve. Then the great re-
gion west of us is nearly all good, productive
land. Dropping south into the trail of
St. Louis, you fall into vast deserts and
rocky districts, useful in holding the world
together. St. Louis and Cincinnati, instead
of rivaling and hurting Chicago, are her
greatest sureties of dominion. They are
far enough away to give sea-room — farther
ofl' than Paris is from London — and yet
they are near enough to prevent the spring-
ing up of any other great city between
them.

St. Louis will be helped by the opening
of the Missis5ip])i, but also hurt. That
will put New Orleans on her feet, and with
a railroad running over into Texas and so

West, she will tap the streams that now
crawl np the Texas and Missouri road. The
current is East, not North, and a seajiort at
New Orleans can not permanently help St.
Louis.

Chicago is in the field almost alone, to
handle the wealth of one fourth of the ter-
ritory of this great republic. This strip of
seacoast divides its margins between Port-
land, Boston, New York, Philadelpiiia,
Baltimore and Savannah or some other
great ])ort to be created for the South in the
next decade. But Chicago has a dozen em-
pires casting their treasures into her lap.
On a bed of coal that can run ail the ma-
chinery of the world ibr 500 centuries; in
a garden feed the race by the thousand
years; at the head of the lakes that give
her a temperature as a summer resort
equaled hy no great city in the land; with
a climate tliat insures the health of her
citizens; surrounded by all the great de-
posits of natural wealth in mines and forests
and herds, Chicago is the wonder of to-day,
and will be t/ie city of the future.

MASSACRE AT FOET DEAKBOEN.

During the war of 1812, Fort Dearborn
became the theater of stirring events. The
garrison consisted of fifty-four men under
command of Captain Nathan Heald,
assisted by Lieutenant Helm (son-in-law of
Mrs. Kinzie) and Ensign Ronan. Di-.
Voorhees was surgeon. The only residents
at the post at that time were the wives of
Captain Heald and Lieutenant Helm, and
a few of the soldiers, Mr. Kinzie and his
family, and a few Canadian voyageurs,
with their wives and children. The sol-
diers and Mr. Kinzie wereon most friendly
terms with the Pottawatomies and AVin-

EARLY HISTORY OF ILLINOIS.

ncbagoes, the principal tribes around them,
but tliey could not win them from their
attiic'hment to the British.

One evening in April, 1812, Mr. Kinzie
sat playint^ on his violin and his children
were dancing to the music, when Mrs. Kin-
zie came rusliiug into the house pale with
terror, and exclaiming: "The Indians! the
Indians!'' '' Wiiat? where?" eagerly in-
quired Mr. Kinzie. " Up at Lee's, killing
and scalping," answered the frightened
mother, who, when the alarm was given,
was attending Mrs. Barnes (just conlined)
living not far off. Mr. Kinzie and his
family crossed the river and took refuge in
the fort, to which place Mrs. Barnes and
her infant not a day old, were safely con-
veyed. The rest of the inhabitants took
shelter in the fort. This alarm was caused
by a scalping party of Winnebagoes, who
hovered about the fort several days, when
tiipy disappeared, and for several weeks
tlie inhabitants were undisturbed.

On the 7th of August, 1812, General
Hull, at Detroit, sent orders to Captain
lleald to evacuate Fort Dearborn, and to
distribute all the United States property to
the Indians in the neighborhood — a most
insane order. The Pottawatomie chief
who brought the dispatch had more wisdom
than the commanding general. He ad-
vised Captain Heald not to make the
distribution. Said he: "Leave tlie fort
and stores as they are, and let the Indians
make distribution for themselves; and
while they are engaged in the business,
the white people may escape to Fort
Wayne."

Captain Heald held a council with the In-
dians on the afternoon of the 12tii, in whicli
his officers refused to join, for they had been

informed that treachery was designed —
that the Indians intended to murder the
white people in the council, and tlion
destroy' those in the fort. Captain Ileald,
however, took the precaution to open a
port-hole disphxying a cannon pointing di-
rectly upon the council, and b}' that means
saved his life.

Mr. Kinzie, wlio knew the Indians well,
begged Captain Heald not to confide in
their promises, nor distribute the arms and
munitions among them, for it would only
put power into their hands to destroy the
whites. Acting upon this advice, Ileald
resolved to withhold the munitions of war;
and on the night of the 13th after the dis-
tribution of the other property had been
made, the powder, ball and liquors were
thrown into the river, the muskets broken
up and destroyed.

Black Partridge, a friendly chief, came
to Captain Ileald and said: "Linden birds
have been singing in my ears to-day; be
careful on the march you are going to
take." On that night vigilant Indians had
crept near the fort and discovered the
destruction of their promised booty going
on within. The next morning the powder
was seen floating on the surface of the river.
The savages were exasperated and made
loud complaints and threats.

On the following day when preparations
were making to leave the fort, and all the
inmates were deeply impressed witli a sense
of impending danger, Capt. "Wells, an
uncle of Mrs. Heald, was discovered upon
the Indian trail among the sand hills on
the borders of the lake, not far distant,
with a band of mounted Miamis, of whose
tribe he was chief, having been adopted by
the famous Miami wai'rioi", Little Turtle.

EARLY HISTORY OF ILLINOIS.

When news of IIiill's surrender reached
Fort Wayne, he had started with this force
to assist Heald in defending Fort Dearborn,
lie was too late. Every means for its
defense had been destroyed the night be-
fore, and arrangements were made for leav-
ing the fort on the morning of the 15th.

It was a warm, briglit morning in the
middle of August. Indications were posi-
tive that the savages intended to murder
the white people; and when they moved
out of the southern gate of the fort, the
march was like a funeral procession. The
baud, feeling the solemnity of the occasion,
struck up the Dead March in Saul.

Capt. Wells, wlio had blackened his face
with gun-powder in token of his fate, took
the lead with his band of Miamis, followed
by Captain Heald with his wife by his side
on horseback. Mr. Kinzie hoped by his
personal influence to avert the impending
blow, and therefore accompanied them,
leaving his family in a boat in charge of a
friendly Indian, to be taken to his trading
station at the site of Niles, Michigan, in
the event of his death.

The procession moved slowly along the
lake shore till they reached the sand hills
between the prairie and the beach, when
the Pottawatomie escort, under the lead-
ership of Blackbird, tiled to the right,
placing those hills between them and the
white people. Wells, with his Miamis, had
kept in the advance. They suddenly came
rushing back, Wells exclaiming, "They
are about to attack us; form instantly."
These words were quickly followed by a
storm of bullets which came whistling
over the little hills which the treacherous
savages had made the covert for their mur-
derous attack. The white troops charged

upon the Indians, drove them back to the
prairie, and then the battle was waged be-
tween tifty-four soldiers, twelve civilians
and three or four women (the cowardly
Miamis having fled at the outset) against
five hundred Indian warriors. The white
people, hopeless, resolved to sell their lives
as dearly as possible. Ensign Ronan
■wielded his weapon vigorously, even after
falling upon his knees weak from the loss
of blood. Capt. Wells, wlio was by the
side of his niece, Mrs. Ileald, when the
conflict began, behaved with the greatest
coolness and courage. He said to her,
"We have not the slightest chance for life.
We must part to meet no more in this
world. God bless you." And then he
dashed forward. Seeing a J'oung warrior,
painted like a demon, climb into a wagon
in which were twelve children, and toma-
hawk them all, he cried out, unmindful of
his personal danger, "If that is jHiurgame,
butchering women and children, I will kill
too." He spurred his horse towards the
Indian camp, where they had left their
squaws and papooses, hotly pursued by
swift-footed j'oung warriors, who sent bul-
lets whistling after him. One of these
killed his horse and wounded him severely
in the leg. With a yell the young braves
rushed to make him their prisoner and re-
serve him for torture. He resolved not to
be made a captive, and by the use of the
most provoking epithets tried to induce
them to kill him instantly. He called a
fiery young chief a squaw, when the en-
raged warrior killed AYells instantly with
his tomahawk, jumped upon his body, cut
out his heart, and ate a portion of the warm
morsel with savage delight !

In this feartul combat women bore a

EARLY HISTORY OF ILLINOIS.

conspicuous part. Mrs. lleald was an ex-
cellent equestrian and an expert in the use
of the rifle. She fought the savai^es i>r;ively,
receiving several severe wounds. Though
faint from the loss of blood, she managed to
keep her saddle. A savage raised his toma-
hawk to kill her, when she looked hiui full
in the face, and with a sweet smile and in a
gentle voice said, in his own language,
"Surely you will not kill a squaw !" The
arm of the savage fell, and the life of the
heroic woman was saved.

Mrs. Helm, the step-daughter of Mr.
Ivinzie, had an encounter with a stout In-
dian, who attempted to tomahawk her.
Sjiringing to one side, she received the
glancing blow on her shoulder, and at the
same instant seized the savage round the
neck with her arms and endeavored to get
hold of his scalping knife, which hung in a
sheath at his breast. While she was thus
struggling she was dragged from her antag-
onist by another powerful Indian, who bore
her, in spite of her struggles, to the margin
of the lake and plunged her in. To her
astonishment she was held by him so that
she would not drown, and she soon per-
ceived that she was in the hands of the
friendly Black Partridge, who had saved
her life.

The wife of Sergeant Holt, a large and
jiowerful woman, behaved as bravelj' as an
Amazon. She rode a fine, high-spirited
liorse, which the Indians coveted, and
several of them attacked her with the butts
of their guns, for the purpose of dismount-
ing her; but she used the sword which she
hiid snatched from her disabled husband so
skillfully that she foiled them; and, sud-
denly wheeling her horse, she dashed -over
the prairie, followed by the savages shout-

ing, " The brave woman ! the brave woman !
Don't hurt her!" They finally overtDi.k
her, and while she was fighting tliein in
front, a ])owerful savage came up l)eliiiid
hei', seized her by the neck and dragged
her to the ground. Horse and woman
were made captive. Mrs. Holt was a long
time a captive among the Indians, but was
afterward ransomed.

In this sharp conflict two thii'ds of the
white people were slain and wounded, and
all their horses, baggage and provision
were lost. Only twentv-eijjht strago-liuir
men now remained to fight five hundred
Indians rendered furious by the sight of
blood. They succeeded in breaking through
the ranks of the murderers and firainiiiir a
slight eminence on the prairie near the
Oak Woods. The Indians did not pursue,
but gathered on their flanks, while the
chiefs held a consultation on the sand-hills,
and showed signs of willingness to parley.
It would have been madness on the part of
the whites to renew the fight; and so Capt.
lleald went forward and met Blackbird on
the open prairie, where terms of sur-
render were agreed upon. It was arranged
that the white peo])le should give up their
arms to Blackbird, and that the survivors
should become prisonei's of war, to be ex-
changed for ransoms as soon as |U'acticable.
With this understanding captives and cap-
tors started for the Indian camp near the
fort, to which Mrs. Helm had been taken
bleeding and suffering by Black Partridge,
and had met her step-father and learned
that her husband was safe.

A new scene of horror was now opened
at the Indian camp. The wounded, not
being included in the surrender, as it was
interpreted by the Indians, and the British

EARLY HISTORY OF ILLINOIS.

general, Proctor, having offered a liljeral
boiint}' for American scalps, delivered at
Maiden, nearly all the wounded men were
killed and scalped, and ])rice of the trophies
was afterward paid by the British govern-
ment.

This celebrated Indian chief, Shabbona,
deserves more than a passing notice. Al-
though be was not so conspicuous as
Tecumseli or Black Hawk, yet in point of
merit he was superior to either of them.

Siiabbona was born at an Indian village
on the Kankakee River, now in Will County
about the year 1775. "While young he was
made chief of the band, and went to Shab-
bona Grove, now De Kalb County, where
they were found in the early settlement of
the county.

In the war of 1812, Shabbona, witli his
warriors, joined Tecumseh, was aid to that
great chief, and stood by his side when he
fell at the battle of the Thames. At the
time of the Winnebago war, in 1S27, he
visited almost every village among the Pot-
tawatomies, and by his persuasive argu-
ments prevented them from taking part in
the war. By recpiest of tlie citizens of
Chicago, Shabbona, accompanied by Billy
Caldwell (Sauganash), visited Big Foot's
village at Geneva Lake, in order to pacify
the warriors, as fears were entertained that
they were about to raise the tomahawk
against the whites. Here Shabbona was
taken prisoner by Big Foot, and his life
threatened, but on the following day was
set at liberty. From that time the Indians
(through reproach) styled him " the white
man's friend,'' and many times his life was
endangered.

Before the Black Hawk war, Shabbona
met in council at two dilt'ereut times, and

by his influence prevented his people from
taking part with the Sacs and Foxes.
After the death of Black Partridge and
Senachwine, no chief among the Pottawat-
oniies exerted so much influence as Shab-
bona. Black Hawk, aware of this influ-
ence, visited him at two different times, in
order to enlist him in his cause, but was
unsuccessful. While Black Hawk was a
prisoner at Jefferson Barracks, he said, had
U not been for Shabbona the whole Potta-
watomie nation would have joined his
standard, and he could have continued the
war for years.

To Shabbona many of the earlj' settlers
of Illinois owe the preservation of their
lives, for it is a well-known fact, had he not
notifled the people of their danger, a lai-ge
portion of them would have fallen victims
to the tomahawk of savages. By saving
the lives of whites he endangered his own,
for the Sacs and Foxes threatened to kill
him, anil made two attempts to execute
their threats. They killed P^'peogee, his
son, and Pyps, bis nephew, and hunted him
down as though he was a wild beast.

Shabbona had a reservation of two sec-
tions of land at his Grove, but by leaving
it and going West for a short time, the
Government declared the reservation for-
feited, and sold it the same as other vacant
land. On Shabbona's return, and finding
his possessions gone, he was very sad and
broken down in spirit, and left the Grove
forever. The citizens of Ottawa raised
money and bought him a tract of land on
the Illinois Itiver, above Seneca, in Grundy
County, on which the}' built a house, and
supplied him with means to live on. He
lived here until his death, which occurred
on the 17th of July, 1859, in the eighty-

EAHLY IIISTOUY OF ILLINOIS.

'j7

fuurth year of liis age, and was buried with
irroat poinp in the cemetery at Morris.
His sqiiaw, Pokanolca, was drowned in
^[azon Creek, Grundy County, on the
30th of November, 1864, and was buried
by liis side.

In 1861 subscriptions were taken up in

many of the river towns, to erect a monu-
ment over tlie remains of Shabbona, but
the war breaking out, the enterprise was
abandoned. Only a plain nnirblo slab
marks tiie resting-place of this friend of the
white ujan.

HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.

CHAPTER I.*

TOPOGRAPHY— POST-TERTIARY FORMATIONS-
SI LS—ECUNOM

THE relation of the physical features of a
country to its development is an im-
portant one, and he who would learn the hid-
den Causes that make or mar a nation at its
birth must seek in these " the divinity that
shapes its ends." Here is found the elixir
vitce of national life ; the sjn-ing from
whence flow those forces that on their
broader current wreck the ship of state
or bear it safely on to its appointed haven.
It is in these physical features that are
stored those potent industrial possibilities
that make the master and the slave among
the nations. From the fertile soil comes
fruit-laden, peace-loving agriculture; from
the rock-bound stores of mineral wealth
springs the rude early-time civilization
of the Pacific slope, or the half savage
clashing of undisciplined capital and labor
in the mining regions ; from the rivers
rises, fairjdike, the commercial metropolis,
which " crowned with the glory of the
mountains," and fed with the bounty of
the plains, stands the chosen arbiter be-
tween the great forces that join to make a
nation's greatness. The intluence of this
subtle power knows no bounds. Here it

*ByJ.H. Battle.

-ROCK-FORMATIONS— CARBONIFEROUS FOS-
IC GEOLOGY.

spreads the lotus plant of ease and binds
the nation in chains of indolent eiieminacy;
here, among the bleak peaks of a sterile
land,

" The heather on the mountain height
Begins to bloom in purple light,"

type of a hardy and unconc^uered race ;

here it strews the sand of desert wilds, and

man without resource, becomes a savage.

The manifestations of this potent factor
in human economy are scarcely less marked
in the smaller divisions of the State, and
in them is found the natural introduction
to a consideration of a county's social, po-
litical and military history.

Grundy County, situated in the north-
eastern part of the State of Illinois, is
bounded on the north by Kendall, on the
east by Will and Kankakee, on the south
by Livingston, and on the west by La
Salle. It includes twelve townships, or
about 420 square miles, forming a rectangle
of twenty-four miles lotig and about seven-
teen and a half miles wide. Of this, about
two thirds is slightly rulling prairie, and
the balance mostly well timbered creek
banks and river bottoms.

The Illinois River divides the county near
the middle of its northern half, running

HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.

101

a W. S. W. course, with but little variation.
Its principal atlluent on the south is Mazon
Creek, which drains fully one third of
Grundy, and portions of Livingston, Kan-
kakee and "Will Counties. Its principal
water supply is from surface drainage, but
few springs being found along its course.
From this character, one would readily
predicate the truth that a very wet season
often causes it to overflow its banks, though
twenty feet or more in height, while a dry
one leaves its bed bare, except where deep
pools have formed.

A few miles west of the Mazon is the
Waupecan, draining a comparatively small
extent of country ; but in an ordinary sea-
son, carrying nearly as much water, the
product of several strong springs on the
lower part of its course — some of them
from the drift, others from the sandstones
and shales of the Coal Measures, which
show a small outcrop here. Still farther
to the westward, are Billy Run, Hog Run,
and Armstrong Run, which are simply
]irairie drains, and show no outcrop of rocks.
Nettle Creek, on the north side of the river,
is principally of the same character ; but
in the lower part of its course, there are a
few springs, and two or three outcrops of
the shales and sandstones which overlie the
lower coal. Finally, in the northeast cor-
ner of the county is the Au Sable Creek,
with a comparatively large amount of water,
partly derived from springs and partly
from drainage of this and Kendall County.

Of the post-tertiary formations, the beds
of the alluvium formation are very largely
developed in the terraces of the river valley
and the beds of the smaller streams. From
the west line of the county nearly to Au
Sable Creek, the Illinois and Michigan canal

follows the north bank of the present river
valley pretty closely, while the second ter-
race varies from half a mile to two miles to
the northward. On the south side of the
river the higli, gravelly banks of the second
terrace hug the river banks very closely, as
far as the Waupecan Creek. Here they
lose mucli of their elevation, and have as
their continuation a low ridge about a mile
distant from the present bank. East of
Mazon Creek this declines still more and
becomes the heavy sand ridge which bears
still farther southward and then eastward,
south of "Wilmington into Kankakee
County. This sand ridge forms the water
shed between Mazon Creek and Kankakee
River, so that, where it strikes the bank of
the latter stream, to the southward of "Wil-
mington, the water flows from within two
hundred yards of the river, through swamps
and sloughs and finds its way through the
Mazon, into the Illinois, opposite Morris.
The flats of the old river valley, back of
the present banks, show in many places
plain evidence of the comparatively recent
date of their formation. On section 11,
(in Erienna) town 33 north, range 6 east,
a layer of thin slabs of fissile sandstone of
the Coal Measures is found a short distance
below the surface. They were evidently
distributed here by the current of the
river, not long before it became so con-
tracted as to leave this level dry. "When
this old channel was the outlet of Lake,
Michigan, a large body of water must have
flowed through here, and appearances seem
to indicate that its diversion toward Niag-
ara must have been sudden rather than
gradual; otherwise thepresent valley would
probably have been wider, and the descent
to it less abrupt.

102

HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.

A topographer would take peculiar pleas-
ure in studying the various islands of the
old valley, especially at the contlucnces with
the Illinois of the Au Sable and Nettle
Creeks, both of which streams, apparently,
were much larger than at present. Upon
one of these islands stands Morris, the
county seat. Another, and far the largest
in the county, is the high land lying be-
tween the head of the Illinois, the lower
part of the Kankakee, and the slough
which contains Goose Lake, and runs thence
to Pine Bluff, near the embouchure of the
Mazon, upon the Illinois valley.

The following level points within this
county, are gathered princi]>ally from the
notes of the Illinois Hiver Survey. The
figures indicate distances below the estab-
lished "datum of six feet below the lowest
registered water of Lake Michigan":

Feet.

Bluffs at.Morris, north side (level of town) 55.938

" " south " 59.48

" " " " lower terrace 78.00

Level of river, at head of the Illinois 87.809

" " " mouth of Au Sable cnek 92.664

" " " Morris, under roadbridge 95.13

" " Marseilles, La Salle Co., above dam 99.808
■' " " '• '■ •• '• below " 11.3.256

■' " " Goose Lake, about 60.

" " " Minooka, as per railroad survey.

above datum 35.

These levels show that the elevation of
first terrace above the river, opposite Mor-
ris, is a little over seventeen feet, and that
the elevation of the second bluff or gravel
ridge above the first terrace is about eight-
een and one half feet.

The coarser portion of the beds of river
gravel consists mostly of fragments of the
Niagara group limestone, which forms so
heavy beds, from below Joliet to Chicago
and beyond. Much of the sand is probably
due to the disintegration of the Coal
Measure sandstones, while some of it may

have come from the northward. There is,
however, in these beds, but a very small
proportion of the metaraorphic material
from Canada, which forms so large a part
of the true drift, but upon, the surface of the
soil, and often partially buried, are great
numbers of small boulders of quartzite,
gneiss, granite and trap, unquestionably of
northern origin. These are especially
abundant south of Goose Lake, over the
surface of the valley which starts from the
Kankakee, near the county line, includes
Goose Lake, and joins the Illinois valley
near where the Mazon first strikes the bot-
toms. This was probably a shallow chan-
nel, in which floating fields of ice lodged,
melted and dropped the loads of stone
which they had brought from the north-
ward. Similar aggregations of boulders
occur in the adjacent parts of Will County,
at points where eddies would have been
likely to detain the ice floes. It is sus-
pected that this Goose Lake channel was
formerly the main channel of the Kankakee,
which there met the Des Plaines only four
miles above Morris.

The bed of " potter's clay," worked near
the southwest bank of Goose Lake, and ly-
ing " near the level of the fire clay," owes
its origin and deposition to river action,
though principally consisting of the decom-
posed shales and fire clays of the Coal Meas-
ures.

During the autumn of 1868 the remains
of a Mastodon were found at Turners
strippings, about three miles eastof Morris,
under eighteen inches of black mucky soil,
and about four feet of yellowish loam, and
resting on about a foot of hard blue clay,
which covered the coal. The bones were
badly decayed, and most of them were

HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.

103

broken up and thrown away by the miners;
a portion were saved, however, of which a
fra^jineiit of a lower jaw, apart of a thigh
bone, three teeth, and a few small bones
were presented to the State Cabinet. The
locality is a portion of the old river bottom,
but it is uncertain, from the lack of scien-
tific investigation at the time, whether to
believe that the presence of the bones indi-
cates that the animal was mired and died
liere, or to suppose that the carcass was de-
posited here by the river.

The Coal Measure rocks of this county
are too soft and too readily' disintegrated to
allow of the preservation of any scratches
that may, at any time, have been impressed
upon their surface; so that, although we
find in the gravel very numerous scratched
and polished pebbles and boulders, it is
within only a very small area that striated
and polished rock surfaces have been notic-
ed. In the S. E. quarter of Sec. 23, town-
ship 34: north, range 7 east, (Saratoga) at
"Walter's quarry of Trenton limestone,
smoothly polished surfaces have been fre-
quently met with; so in one or two other lo-
calities. As these localities, however, are all
within the old river valley, we can not, with
certainty, predicate upon these facts the con-
clusion that those scratchings and polishings
are attributable to glacial action. In fact,
these and some other circumstances give
some reason for assuming that they are re-
sults of river action alone. At Petty 's
shaft, the outer portion of the shale next to
the creek banks, is found broken up for sev-
eral feet, and thoroughly mingled with the
drifted materials which here form an over-
lying bank of about fifteen feet. This dis-
turbance, as well as the grinding of the sur-
face, may fairly be attributed to the action

of the creek while at its former level. But,
while allowing that, in these particular
cases, river agencies are sufficient to account
for all observed phenoinciia, the frequent
occurrence in the Drift of gravel of large
and small boulders unquestionably plantd
and striated by glacial action must also be
recorded. These are especially abundant
along the Mazon.

The True Drift, in the western part of
the county consists, mainly, of the tough
blue " boulder clay," with pebbles and
boulders, sometimes also including frag-
ments of wood, overlaid but slightly, or not
at all, with gravel, and underlaid, so far as
known, with a bed of " hard-pan," and a
water-bearing quicksand which has thus
far prevented any knowledge of the under-
lying materials. The eastern part of the
county, on the contrary, shows but little
boulder clay, this being replaced by a heavy
layer of sand and gravel. Township 34
north, range 6 east, (Xettle Creek) has no
known outcrop of rock, and wells near its
south line have reached depths of forty-
eight, fifty and fifty-two feet, before meet-
ing the quicksand. Townships 31 and 32,
(Highland and Vienna) of the same range,
and so much of 33 as lies south of the river,
(Norman) together with townships 31 aiul
32, range 7 east, (Goodfarm and Mazon)
possess no outcrop of rock, but the depth
of the Drift is not known. At Gardner, in
section 9, township 31 north, range 8 east,
(Greenfield), the Drift is said to be one hun-
dred feet deep at the coal shaft. At Brace-
ville, section 25, township 32 north, range
8 east, it was found to be forty-four feet
deep. Going northward into township 33,
in ranges 7 and 8, (Wauponsee and Feli.\,)
it rapidly thins out, owing partly to the

104

HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.

downward slope of the surface, partly
to the upward slope of the iinderl}'-
ing rocks, "vvhieli come to the surface in
the northern part of these townships. Much
of the " coal land " in the immediate neigh-
horhood of Morris is bare of drift, having
been stripped by the old river. To the
northward, however, through township 34
north, range 7 east, the gravel and boulder
clay lie, in some places, forty feet deep.
Township 3i north, range 8 east, is deeply
buried in Drift; at Minooka, on the line
between sections 1 and 2, a well-boring
found one hundred feet of gravel overlying
the shaly limestone of the Cincinnati
Group.

Of the rock formations, tlie beds of the
coal measures occupy far the larger part of
tlie surface of the county. The outcrops,
however, are so disconnected, and the beds
so irregular, that it has been found practi-
cally impossible to construct any general
section to represent connectedly all the
outcrop. Apparently tlie higher beds ex-
posed in the county are those which out-
crop near the old coal openings on the
Waupecan, in the southeast quarter of sec-
tion 20, township 33 north, range 7 east,
(Wauponsee). No outcrop of beds above
the coal has been discovered, nor has any
been seen in the deeper parts of the mine.
Near the outcrop a foot of coal was left as
a working roof. The seam is now five feet
thick, resting on a bed of lire clay. It is
coal No. 4 of the Illinois section. The
connection below is not exposed, but at a
short distance from the floor of the seam,
not over ten feet, there is a coarse, ferrugi-
nous, shaly sandstone, filled with fragments
of Lepidodendron, Calamites, Neuropte-
rls hirsida^ etc., with an occasional streak

of coaly matter. Of this bed, there is a
low, nearly continuous outcrop for a mile
up the stream, the last spot observed being
at " Hog-grove quarry," in the southwest
quarter of section 28. At the road cross-
ing, about half a mile down the creek from
the coal mine, tlie sandstone rises a little,
and exposes about six feet of bine and black
shales filled with a variety of small mol-
lusca. The lower part of the blue shale
holds two thin layers of rusty brown nodules
of carbonate of iron, which often, partially
or wholl}', include shells of these mollusca.
Tiie upper part of the black shale also con-
tains nodules of the same material (with
probably some phosphate of lime) but small-
er and less evenly distributed; the smaller of
these contain comminuted scales and bones
of fishes, and judging from both form and
contents, are probably the fossil excrement
of larger fishes. These beds, with others,
outcrop at intervals for about' a mile along
the right bank of the stream ; and the fol-
lowing section will fairly represent the
whole :

Feet.

1. Sandy shale 5

2. Blue clay 3

3. Fissile sandstone 15

4. Blue clay shale, with iron nodules 2 to 5

5. Black shale, top slaty, with small nodules, bottom

very fragile 2 to 3

6. Cone-in-cone, locally becoming solid sandstone... % to V/i

7. Soft olive shale 1%

8. Solid gritty sandstone 1

Another outcrop, on nearly the same
horizon, occurs on Mazon creek from the
center of the south line of southwest quarter
of section 6, township 32 north, range 8
east (Braceville), to near the center of the
south line of section 2.5, (Wauponsee). The
strata are here very irregular in tliickness,
but the following section gives an average
representation of the exposed outcrop:

HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.

10.:

Feet. Inches.

1. Ironstone conglomerate, (local) 6

2. Sandstone 8

3. Black shale, some slaty, with large ironstones 3 to 4

4. Cone-in-cone running into massive limestone 2 to 6

5. Olive shales, changing into concretionary

argillaceous limestone..^ 5 to 7

6. Soft biack shale 2 tq 3

7. Blue Clay shale 9

8. Coal No. 3 2

9. White fire-clay 7

Small quantities of coal have been mined
at this seam at several points along the
limited outcrop. The coal is said to be
good liouse-fuel, but rather soft. The argil-
laceous limestone of No. 5, of this section
generally contains numerous shells of the
genera Productus, Athyris, Terebratula,
etc., and some fragments of criniods. The
coal apparently holds the position of the
thin coal which locally underlies No. 56
of the La Salle County section.

The outcrop along the Mazon appears
nearly continuous, but still I have not been
able to satisfy myself as to the connection
of the above beds with those of the lower
part of the stream. The strata, there de-
veloped, consist of very variable sandy clay
shales and sandstones, in some places be-
coming nearly pure clay shales, but con-
taining many nodules of carbonate of iron.
Pine Elufi', at the lowermost crossing of
the Mazon, is composed of about forty feet
of heavily bedded, but rather fissile sand-
stone, partly nearly white, partly highly
ferruginous. Less than a mile up the creek
the lower part of this bed changes to highly
argillaceous sandy shales with occasional
streaks and nodules of sandstone. The
section is not quite continuous, but there is
no distinct line of demarcation to separate
these latter beds from the ferruginous sandy
shales, twenty to thirty feet thick, of sec-
tion 24, of township 33 north, range 7 east
(Wauponsee), which contain large numbers

of fossiliferons nodules of carbonate of iron,
for which this locality has become famous.
Besides a large variety of ferns mentioned
in the State Geological report, these nodules
also contain a large numberof fossil insects,
marking this as one of the richest deposits
of Carboniferous Articulates ever discov-
ered, if not the richest. These nodules
range from about two to about ten feet
above the main coal seam of all this region,
the intervening space being occupied by the
soft, blue clay shales, filled with fossil plants,
which, at most points, overlie this seam.

About a mile farther up this stream coal
has been dug in the beds and banks of the
stream, bnt is now abandoned. Still further
south, near the soutlieast corner of section
19, township 33 nortli, range 8 east (Felix),
a shaft was sunk upon the creek bottom,
starting at about twenty-five feet below the
general level of the prairie. The section is
as follows:

Feet. Inches..

1. Blue clay and sandy shale, with ferns 20

2. Coal 20

3. Soft black shale 6 to 8

4. Fireclay with rootlets 6 to 8

5. Hard, sandy clay g

6. Fire clay 2 6

At this place the coal is about eight feet
below the bed of the creek. Near the
water level, an offshoot from the main seam,
about seven inches thick, is exposed in the
bank; the shales immediately over it af-
forded a few plants.

Near the center of section IS, township
33 north, range 8 east (Felix), Mr. John
Ilolderman's artesian well furnishes the
following section:

— Feet.

1. Gravel 16

2. Sandstone J4

3. Coal 8

4. Sandy shale 88

B. Limestone 105

108

HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.

It will be noticed that this section gives
the sandstone as iininediately overlying
the coal. This condition of the seam has
been elsewhere noticed, so far as I can learn,
only in a shaft snnk near the southeast
corner of section 9 of the same township,
and in one shaft in the adjoining part of
Will Connty.

On the north side of the Illinois Kiver, in
the neighborhood of Morris, the coal out-
crops in the bank of the canal, and in the
Btre'ch of low land, about one mile to the
northward. The overlying beds are here
mostly bine clay shales, with occasional ii--
regular layers of sandstone. The iron
nodnles, above mentioned, occur here at the
■same level, but not in so great numbers as at
the Mazon locality. The shales immediately
above the coal frequently yield magnificent
specimens of fossil ferns and other plants.
In the north part of township 33 north,
range 6 east (Erienna), the shaly sandstones
overlying this seam are exposed in the
bottom of every little rnn which cuts away
the soil from the edge of the second terrace,
and fragments of them are found scattered
just below the surface over the ^^•hole
lower flat.

It has long been a favorite theory with
minors that another seam of coal could be
found by sinking shafts in the bottom of
the present working. This is not impossible,
at points distant from the outcrop; but at
Morris, and to the eastward, the coal lies
directly upon lower Silurian rocks, with
only four or five feet of firm clay to sepa-
rate them. Tliisis shown at several points.

It was supposed that the coal seam ex-
tended, in its full thickness, much further
northward; but two wells, one in section
27, and the other in section 13, township

31 north, range 7 east, (Saratoga) after
passing through fossiliferons shales which
overlie the coal, met with only about ten
inches of soft coaly shale, underlaid by a
few inches of greenish clay shale, with small
rounded grains of calcareous (?) matter,
(probably belonging to the Cincinnati group)
which rested upon the solid limestones of
the Trenton. From these and similar facts
is derived the conclusion that the present
line of workings corresponds very nearly
with the original outline of deposit of the
true coal seam, while beyond this line, only
occasional small outlying patches will ever
be found, though thin layers of coaly shale
may be met with some miles further north-
ward. On the Au Sable Creek, a few miles
north of the county line, small quantities
of coaly shale and cannel-coal have been
found, bat they are probably of no practical
value, and have no direct connection with
the Morris seam.

Upon the lower part of the Au Sable,
however, in the southeast quarter of section
19, township 31 north, range 8 east (An
Sable), there is a peculiar outcrop of prob-
ably the lower seam. We have here a
seam of coal twenty-eight inches thick,
with a floor of fire clay at least six feet
thick, and a roof of black shale, which is,
at the outcrop, quite solid and a foot thick,
but at the shaft, perhaps fifty yards distant,
it thickens to between five and six feet and
becomes quite soft. This shale has yielded
a few small Discince Lingulw, and a few
fragments of fish scales; but these are not
sufiicient to determine its position in the
series. The bed seems to be but a small
outlier, covering only a few acres, as borings
to the southward and westward have failed
to find any continuation of the bed in these

IIISTOKY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.

:07

directions, while to the northward and east-
ward tlie sliales and limestone of the lower
Silurian outcrop within a few hundred
yards. It seems to be still uncertain
whether this is a locally peculiar condition
of the main seam, or lies above or below it.
If it be the main seam, the black roof sliales
are probably tlie equivalent of the bed
mentioned in the La Salle County section,
as lying tliere about eighteen feet above
the coal ; but no other outcrop of it has
been seen in this part of Grundy, though"
it appears in a shaft in the southeastern
corner of the county.

Another peculiar outcrop of uncertain
connections is along the Kankakee, from
the east line of the county to the " Head of
the Illinois," in section 36, township 34
north, range 8 east (Au Sable), where the
river has cut through some fifty feet of
shales and sandstones of the coal measures,
including a thin seam of coal, and has
reached the underlying shaly limestone
of the Cincinnati group. A few in-
distinct plants have been met with in
the sandstone, but in too poor condition
for specific determination. In conclusion,
the outline of the Coal Measure in Grundy
County may be roughly stated a:i a line
running from near the northwest corner of
the county, with some variations in an
east-southeast course to the mine on Au
Sable Creek, just above the railroad;
thence southeasterly to the Goose Lake
slough, and easterly to the east end of the
lake; thence northerly to the mouth of the
Kankakee.

Tlie shales and shaly limestones of the
Cincinnati group outcrop in the north-
eastern part of the county, showing most
prominently upon the high ground between

Goose Lake and the head of the Illinois.
This outcrop consists of coarse granular,
highly fossiliferous, ferrnginous limestones,
readily disintegrated by the weather, which
have been used, to some extent, for fences.
This outcrop continues southward for about
a mile, and forms the bottom of the north
half of Goose Lake, the south half being
underlaid with coal. At the ford of the
Kankakee, in the northwest quarter of sec-
tion 36, in Au Sable township, beds of soft
blue shal}' limestone, which probably lie near
the base of this group, outcrop in the bed
of the river, but show little upon the bank,
and contain but few and indistinct fossils.

From the bed of the canal, a half mile
west of Dresden, there were thrown out
considerable quantities of a heavy, but rath-
er cellular ferruginous limestone, in heavy
layers, probably belonging below tlie beds
mentioned. The outcro]) at this jjoiut did
not quite reach the surface. Over most of
the country, north of the Illinois, the al-
luvial and drift deposits cover the country
so as to allow of outcrops only along the
streams. In ascending the Au Sable Creek
from the railroad, the scattered fragments
of the shal}' limestones of this group are
frequently seen, but no outcrop is met
until the middle of section 3 in Au Sable
township is reached, where small quanti-
ties of stone have been quarried for wells
and foundations. From this point there is
a nearly continuous outcrop to some dis-
tance above the county line.

A small outcrop of rock of this age is
exposed in the bed of Collins' run, a branch
of the Au Sable, in the southwest quarter
of section IS, of the same township. The
rock here is a rather more solid limestone,
breaking irregularly, and containing but

108

HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.

few fossils. It is reported that similar
small outcrops occur further up this run,
but they have not been 0])ened, so as to
kuow whether stoue of any value cau be
obtained. Similar outcrops were observed
in the bottoms of ditches near the middle
of the north line of Saratoga township. In
the borings about Morris, only a few feet of
beds which can be referred to this group
are found between the Coal Measures and
the underlying Trenton limestone, and to
the northward of that place no such beds
have been found.

The two remaining outcrops of rock in
this county are limestones of the Trenton
group, prob:il)ly near its top. The principal
one is near the center of section 2i, township
3-t north, range 7 cast (Saratoga); this rock
has been quarried for building purposes and
for making'lime. Thetoplayersof theqnaiiy
are thin, and somewhat stained with iron.
Below these, the rock is lieavily bedded,
gray or light drab, tine grained, clinking
limestone, not very rich in fossils, butyield-
ing some good specimens of several varie-
ties. This rock iias been penetrated to the
depth of twenty feet without e.xposing any
other layers; but it is said thatat onepoint
the drill passed into a pocket of a softer
black material. Possibly this may have
been a small deposit of carbonaceous mate-
rial analagous to the petroleum which this
rock has yielded in small quantities in the
adjoining county of La Salle. These beds
contain small portions of pj'rite [sulphide
of iron) disseminated through the whole
mass. There were also occasional streaks
of soft clay. Tiie quarry has exposed two
sets of crevices, one trending south 45° west,
and the other south 35" east. These crevices
are tilled with a fine clay of very nearly the

same color as the limestone, through which
are sparsely disseminated small crystals of
blende {stdjj/iide of zinc) with occasional
pyramidal crystals of pyrite; no galenite
has been observed. The remaining out-
crops of this rock are in the bed of the Au
Sable, on the two sides of the yoke-like
bend of the stream, in the east half of the
northeast quarter of section 19, in Au Sable
township, and consists of small patches of
a thin bedded, fine grained limestone, con-
taining but few fossils. In the Morris bor-
ing, the Trenton limestone is two hundred
feet thick.

St. Peter's sandstone has been struck at
the railroad station in Morris, at a depth of
370 feet, and here, as elsewhere in this re-
gion, has furnished a constant and abundant
supply of artesian water.

The economic geology of this county is
quite an important feature, coal, brick and
potters' clay, building stone and sand, lime
and water being found in abundance, be-
side In-draulic lime and iron ore in smaller
quantities. Coal underlies fully three
fourths of the county, the seam averaging
about three feet, except on the borders of
the field. It has been very largely worked
in the immediate vicinity of Morris, upwards
of one hundred openings having been made,
though a larger part of them at this writing
have been abandoned. These are princi-
pally shafts from thirty to sixty feet deep,
though there are several extensive strippings.
Some of the latter uncover coal thirty inches
thick, which is about the average thickness
in this neighborhood; while others on the
borders of the outcrop, find not more than
eighteen inches. A smaller cluster of shafts
and strippings is found to the south and west
of Goose Lake, with average thickness of full

HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.

109

thirty inches. At a stripping in the south-
west corner of section 12, in Felix town-
ship, the bed is locally thickened to over
four feet, but contains, near its center, a
heavy band of crystalline carbonate of iron
and lime, with much disseminated pyrite.

This seam is also worked at Braceville, by
a shaft ninety-eight feet deep, and in section
26, of the same township, by a shaft of 110
feet. At Gardner, it is worked by a shaft
ICO feet deep. In the southeast corner of
this township, three or four shafts, of about
sixty feet each, work this seam in its usual
condition; but one in the northeast corner
of section 25, finds a roof of black slaty
shale, with heavy ironstone concretions cov-
ering about three feet of a very pure " block
coal," with much mineral charcoal in the
partings. Both the coal and the accompany-
ing beds, at the mine on the Au Sable
Creek, closely resemble the conditions found
here; and at both points the indications
leave it uncertain whether they represent a
local change of the main seam, or are por-
tions of a lower seam which is only occa-
sionally present. The weight of opinion
seems to favor the former view.

The upper seams, which have been worked
Tipon the Waupecan Creek, and upon the
Mazon, near the mouth of Johnny run, ap-
parently occur over only small areas at
either locality; and elsewhere, wherever met
with, they have proved to be irregular seams,
locally quite thick, but of the running out
to a mere streak of coaly matter, and even
disappearing altogether. The Mazon seam
is, apparent!}', the equivalent of a stream,
which, on the eastern side of the coal field,
in the Wabash valley, is usually too thin to
work, except at a single point, where it
reaches twenty-two inches.

The outcrops are not sufficient to give
any exact data as to dips, but there seems
to be no reason to believe that the main
seam lies at a greater depth than 2.50 feet
in any part of the county, if indeed it be
anywhere so deep. Whenever, therefore,
anj' portion of the southern ]iart of the
county becomes so thickly settled as to cre-
ate any considerable demand for coal, it can
be obtained on the spot without much diffi-
culty. This seam is of pretty constant
thickness, at every point where it has been
opened, and the miner can relv upon find-
ing a paying thickness of coal at almost any
point in this part of the county. At many
points, also, one or more of the upper seams
would be found much nearer the surface,
with from two to nine feet of coal.

In the openings of this county, as else-
where, the miner is often troubled with
"faults" and "rolls," which interrupt the
regularity and even the continuity of the
seam. Upon the outer edge of the field,
near Morris, and to the eastward, the dip of
the seam is very variable and irregular,
which greatly interferes with the drainage
of the mines in many cases. Much of this
seems to have resulted from the irreeulari-
ty of the denuded surface of the Silurian
rocks upon which the coal was deposited;
but in one or two cases, the indications
seem to prove that these contortions are the
result of the removal of the subjacent
limestone by solution in subterranean
streams after the deposition of the coal.
This seems to be the only explanation of
the condition of the seam, in a shaft a short
distance east of the Jugtown pottery. In
this neighborhood, the seam is generally
about twenty feet below the surface; but
in the shaft referred to, it was found forty

110

HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.

feet down, and after vieldin<^ about 300
bushels, the coal ceased abruptly, on all
sides.

So far as known, all coal rained in the
county contains more or less pj'rite — "sul-
phur" of the miners — and streaks of calcite;
but this is so variable, even in neighboring
portions of the same mine, that it would be
useless to attempt to disci'iminate between
the products of the various localities. As
a whole, the product of the main seam is a
line steam and grate coal, and is lar<rely
shipped to the Chicago market, the distance
being only sixty-two miles.

The best clay for brick making is not
found here, though there are several large
brick yards in the county. The materials
used are the decomposed shales which over-
lie the lower coal. As these beds contain
considerable calcareous matter, the brick are
not very firm and do not stand the weather
well. It would appear prol)able that the
fireclay below the coal would make a better
article. This has been tried with some suc-
cess at Gardner. The fire clay, and soft
clay shales underlying it, are said to be
thirty-five feet deep and so much of these
beds as may be convenient, in mining the
coal, is dug out and used promiscuously.
Without thorough grinding, therefore, in
thepugmill, the briclisare variable in char-
acter and irregular in burning.

The only bed of Potter's clay known and
worked is that near the west end of Goose
Lake, and extensively used at Jugtown, in
the manufacture of a fair grade of domestic
earthernware, together with drain tile and
sewer pipes. The bed consists of more or
less thoroughly decomposed clay shale and
fire clay of the Coal Measures, containing
many fragments of coal, thoroughly mingled

and deposited in a low part of the old river
channel, which contains Goose Lake, by the
current of the river which formerly flowed
there. The bed has been worked to a depth
of fifteen or twenty feet, but the mixed
character of the materials has given much
trouble to the potters.

The principal source of building stone in
this county is the quarry of Trenton lime-
stone in Saratoga township, about four miles
northeast of Morris. This yields an abun-
dance of light gray or drab massive lime-
stone, which has been extensively used for
foundation walls, and in a few cases also
for the superstructures. It appears fitted
to stand the weather as well as any ordi-
nary stone, and is said to dress well. The
Cincinnati group along the An Sable Creek
near the county line, yields small quanti-
ties of stone for wells and foundations, but
nothing suitable for superstructures. Beds
of the same group upon the northern side
of Goose Lake, have been quarried slightly,
for similar purposes. Upon the bank of
theWaupecan Creek in the southeast quar-
ter of section IS, in Wauponsee township,
small quantities of a very solid limestone
— No. 6, of the "Waupecan section — have
been quarried. A sandstone, representing
Nos. 1 and 3 of the same section, has been
quarried to some extent for foundations on
the upper part of the stream, at "Ilog
Grove Quarry," and has given good satis-
faction; though when exposed to the
weather it crumbles rapidly. The same
defect exists in the sandstone of Pine Blufi".

Lime is obtained from the Saratoga
quarry, where considerable quantities of
the stone are annually burned, though
some care has to be exercised to exclude
from the kiln the ferruginous layers. The

HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.

Ill

only hydraulic . limestone found in the
county occurs in nodules along the Kan-
kakee Kiver, and in email quantity. The
abundant supply from an adjoining county
renders these deposits of no commercial
value.

Builders' sand is obtained in unlimited
quantities from the sand ridges of the river
valley. From one of these ridges, about
one mile south of Morris, large quantities
of road gravel are also obtained.

Iron ore is found in form of ironstone
nodules (carbonate of iron) on the Mazon
and Waupecan Creeks, but nut in sufficient
quantities to supply a furnace. Bog ore
is found near the quarries in Saratoga, but
its quality or quantity has not been tested.

The natural supply of water through
this county is quite variable. In a dry
season, large portions are very scantily sup-
plied. In oi'dinary seasons, however, wells
running ten or fifteen feet into the top of
the drift in the eastern part, supply all
needs. In the western part of the county,
reliable wells can be obtained only by pass-
ing through the boulder clay to the under-
lying quicksand. The lower seam of coal
is everywhere accompanied by an abun-
dance of water, which is pure and good,
until the working of the coal exposes the
accompanying pyrite to decomposition.
A well bored at the tile factory in Jugtown
some years ago, struck coal at about thirty
feet, and gave exit to a strong stream of
water, highly charged with sulphurated
liydrogen. Small springs of similar char-
acter are said to accompany the supposed
line of outcrop of this coal seam, along the
foot of the first terrace, from Mazon Creek,
nearly to the Morris bridge. A very strong
s]jring of this character flows from beneatli

the drift gravel, over the black shale, No.
3, of the upper Mazon section, in the south-
M'est quarter of section C, in Braceville
township, leaving a heavy white deposit of
sulphur on the surface of the shale.

The artesian boring on the northeast
quarter of section 3, in Felix town-
ship, brings to the surface a small
but constant supply of slightly sul-
phurous water from the upper part of
the Trenton limestone, at a de])th of about
137 feet. On section IS of the same town-
ship, a boring of 325 feet failed to secure
flowing water, after penetrating 1S5 feet of
the Trenton limestone. The boring for the
railroad well at Morris, shows this lime-
stone to be 200 feet thick, and that in tliis
county the underlying St. Peter's sandstone
is full of pure water, which is ready to flow
to the surface wherever it is tapped. This
abundant supply can be reached anywhere
in the northern part of the county at about
400 feet, and in the southern part, at prob-
ably nowhere more than 600 feet, and in
part of it much less than that.

" Gas" wells in the boulder clay are
known at two localities. Near the north-
east corner of section 3, in Vienna town-
ship, a well at twenty feet, gave off" so much
carbonic acid gas, as to prevent farther ex-
cavations. Probably this flowed from some
ancient soil, like the muck beds encoun-
tered in Livingston and other counties.
On section 35 in Nettle Creek township, a
well at forty-seven feet, gave oif light car-
buretted hydrogen with so much noise as
to be heard at a considerable distance, and
in such quantity as to blaze " as high as
the house," for some minutes after being
approached with a lighted c;indle. The gas
still flows freelj', though it is several years

112

HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.

since the well was dug, and a load of gravel
has been thrown in, to act as a filter for the
water, which was at first filled with quick-
sand, brought up by the ebullition of the
gas. Similar phenomena have been ob-
served in otiier wells in this vicinitj'. A
large spring on section 22 of the same
township, constantly gives off bubbles of

this gas. Springs of similar character
have been found along the outcrop of the
lower coal seam in the adjoining county of
La Salle, and it is generally accepted as a
partial indication of the coal outline, when
the depth of drift prevents actual observa-
tion.

CHAPTEE II.*

PREHISTORIC RACES— EARLIEST TRACES OP MAN— MOUND BUILDERS AND
REMAINS- INDIAN TRIBES— RELATIONS WITH THE WHITES—
WAUPONSEE— SHABBONA— NUCQUETTE.

THEIR

EOBINSO:X CEUSOE'S unexpected
discovery of a human footprint upon
tlie sands of his solitary island, was hardly
more startling than have been the discover-
ies of antiquarians in Europe within tlie
past twenty-live years. Scientitic followers
of Usher and Petarius, had placed the vari-
ous migrations of men, the confusion of
tongues, the peopling of continents, tlie de-
velopment of types — the whole evolution of
human society, within the narrow compass
of little more than four thousand years,
when the discoveries of the geologist and
ethnologist developed the trace of human
existence dating back to a possible period,
30,000 years ago. Nor are contirmatory
evidences to tlie truth of these discoveries
entirely wanting in the new world. The
gold-drift of California has sup))lied abun-
dant testimony to tlie high antiquity of man,
and notably the " Pliocene Skull," the pop-
ular conception of which is derived more
widely, perhaps, from a characteristic
poem by Bret Harte than from scientific
publications. Explorations in Illinois, Mis-
souri and South Carolina, have yielded simi-
lar testimony, and while it should be stated,
that in many cases these evidences rest upon
the testimony of single observers, and that
there is not that recurrence of "finds"

*By J. H. Battle.

which would render " assurance doubly
sure," yet there seems to be no doubt in thu
minds of scientists that the "elder m;in "
was also an inhabitant of this nexo world.
Descending to a later time and one prob-
ably falling within tiie historic period,* we
find the more tangible traces of an early
race of men. Of this race, named from
the character of their remains, the Mound
Builders, we find the evidences vastly mul-
tiplied, and of such character as to aflbrd
means of forming a reasonable conjecture
as to their mode of life, their advancement
in civilization, and final destiny. These
evidences, though first accepted with great
distrust, have been so amplified and con-
firmed by more recent researches, as to
leave no room for reasonable doubt as to
the former existence of this race. Tlie
remains upon which this conclusion is
based, " consists," says Mr. Foster, " of
tumuli symmetrically raised and often en-
closed in mathematical figures, such as the
square, the octagon and circle, with long
lines of circumvallation; of pits in the solid
rocks, and rubbish heaps formed in the
prosecution of their mining operations, and
of a varietj' of utensils, wrought in stone
or copper, or moulded in clay."-|- To the

* Fo ter's "Prehistoric Races of the United States."
t " Prehistoric Races, etc."

114

HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.

uninstnicted mind these mounds doubtless
seem a very sliglit foundation upon which
to construct tlie fabric of a national exist-
ence, and yet to the archffiologist they fur-
nish " proofs as strong as II0I3' AVrit; " in
them they find as distinctive characteristics
as mark the prehistoric remains of the
Pelasgi, the " wall-builders " of Europe, a
not dissimilar race in many respects, and
one vvlio long ago found a place in the
realities of history; and while they differ
in external form and are scattered over a
wide scope of territory, — characteristics
in marked contrast with those of the abo-
riginal race found here in possession of the
couiitrv, yet the scientist finds in each
mound the never failing marks of a race
peculiarity.

The widest divergence from the typical
mound is found iu Wisconsin. Here in-
stead of the circular or pyramidal structure
are found forms, for the most part, consist-
ins of rude, siijautic imitations of various
animals of the region, such as the buffalo,
bear, fox, wolf, etc.; of the eagle and night
hawk, the lizard and turtle, and in some
instances the unmistakable form of man.
These, though not raised high above the
surface, and even iu some cases represented
intaglio, attain the largest dimensions;
one representing a serpent extending 700
feet and another representing a turtle,
had a body 56, and a tail 250 feet long.
The significance of these peculiar forms
has not been determined, but unmistakable
evidences have been discovered which mark
tlieni as the work of the same race whose
structures are found elsewhere, so numer-
ous throughout the Mississippi valley.
Typical structures are sometimes classi-
fied with reference to tlieir purpose as

"Enclosures — 1. For defense; 2. Sacred; 3.
Miscellaneous. Mounds — 1. Of sacrifice;
2. For tem])le sites; 3. Of sepulture; 4.
Of observation." Of tiie first class, the
enclosures for defense seem to have been
constructed siin])ly for protection against
hostile attack. Tlie locations chosen are
those best adapted naturally to repel a
military attack. The only ajiproach is
generally by a steep and narrow way, re-
quiring the assailant to place himself at
immense disadvantage, wliile the garrison
provided with parapets often constructed
of rubble stone, could fight under cover
and may be found in these stones, his store
of ammunition. The "sacred" enclosure
included within its lines, the mounds of
the three leading classes, as the uses to
which they were put, were all sacred to
this people, and yet in the " American
Bottom " in Illinois, where the mound
system reaches, perhaps its highest devel-
opment, the mounds of these classes are
not enclosed. The mounds of sacrifice or
altars, as the}' are variously termed, are
generally characterized by the fact " that
they occur only within the vicinity of the
enclosures or sacred places; that they are
stratified; and that they contain symmet-
rical altars of burned clay or stone, on
which were deposited various remains,
which in all cases have been more or less
subjected to the action of fire." * In relation
to this latter characteristic it should be
said, that it is not at all plain that the use
of fire was intended for the purpose of cre-
mation. A thin coating of moist clay' was
applied to the bodj' nude, or wrapped in
cloth, and upon this a fire was maintained

* Squier and Davis' "Ancient Monuments," etc.

HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.

115

for a more or less prolonged period, but in
many cases the heat was not siitKcient to
destroy the cloth sometimes found in a
good state of preservation. This evidently
did not result from a lack of knowledge, as
cremation and urn burial was also practiced.
Temple mounds are described by Squier
and Davis as •' distinguished by their great
i-egularity of form and genei-al large dimen-
sions. They consist chiefly of pyramidal
structures, truncated and generally having
graded avenues to their tops. In some in-
stances they are terraced or have successive
stances. But whatever their form, whether
round, oval, octangular, square, or oblong,
tiiey have invariably flat or level tops," and
upon these were ]irobably constructed their
temples, but which, constructed of perisha-
ble materials, have left no trace of their
existence. This class of mounds are not
found along the lake region or that line
which seems to mark the farthest advance
of this people. The principal structures
of this class are found at Cahokia in Illi-
nois, near Florence and Claiborne in Ken-
tucky, at Seltzertown, Mississippi, at Mari-
etta, Newark and Ciiillicothe in Ohio, and
at St. Louis, Missouri. The mound at Ca-
hokia, "the monarch of all similar struct-
ures in tlie United States,'' may well serve
as a type. AYhen in all its integrity, this
mound formed a huge jiarallelograin with
sides at the base, res])ectively 700 and 500
ieet in length, towering to the height of 90
feet. On the southwest there was a terrace
160 by 300 feet, which was reached by a
graded way, and the summit was truncated,
atfording a phitform 200 by 450 feet. This
structure, ui)on which was probably reared
a spacious temple, jierhajM the principal
one in the euipire, co\X'reJ an aroa of about

six acres, while in close proximity were
four elevated platforms, varying from 250
to 300 feet in diameter. The great mound
of St. Louis reached a height of thirty-five
feet, and that at Marietta to about the same
lieiglit.

'' Sepulchral mounds," says Mr. Foster in
his volume on the Prehistoric Races, "con-
sist, often, of a simple knoll, or group ot
knoJls, of no considerable height, without
any detinite arrangement. Exani]:)les ot
this character may be seen at I>ul)U(|uo,
Meruni, Chicago, and Lajiorte, wliifh, on
explciration, have yielded skulls ditleriiig
wiilel> from the Indian tyjie. * * * Tlie
corpse was almost invariaiily ])lacud near
the oi-iginal surface of the soil, enveloped
in bark or coarse matting, and in a few in-
stances fragments of cioth have been ob-
served in tliis connection. Sometimes a
vault of timber was built over it, and in
others it was enclosed in long and broad
flags of stone. Sometimes it was placed in
a sitting position, again it was extended,
and still again it was compressed within
contracted limits. Trinkets were often
strung about the neck, and water jugs,
drinking cups, and vases, which probably
contained food, were placed near the head.
Over the corpse thus arrayed, a circular
mound was often raised, but sometimes
nothing more than a hillock." Other
mounds have been found that favoi'cd the
theory that many of these structures were
used for miscellaneous burial. A notable
example is the " Grave Creek Mound," in
West Virginia, twelve miles below Wiieel-
ing. This mound is something over 7()
i'eet high, of circular form, with a circum-
ference at the base of about 900 feet. h\
the center of this mound, on a level with

116

HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.

the original surface, was found a vault with
twelve human skeletons, and thirty-four
feet above this was found a similar vault,
enclosing a skeleton which had been deco-
rated with a profusion of shell-beads, copper
rings, and plates of mica. In a mound at
Yincennes "a bed of human bones, arranged
in a circle eighteen feet in diameter, closely
packed and pressed together." In anotlier
at Merom, three tiers of vaults were found,
in each of which were found from five to
seven human skeletons. Mounds of obser-
vation is a rather fanciful classification
intended to mark mounds found on elevated
points of land. Tlie authors of this classi-
fication think that these may have been
iised as platforms on which to build signal
fires, and such is their elevation and out-
look that such signals could liave been seen
at great distance. This tlieory of a special
purpose, however, has not been accepted, as
supported by any special evidence. They
may have been so used, or simply as an
eligible site for residence.

There is in addition to these mounds a
large number which are 'not embraced in
this classification, which following Mr. F.
W. Putnam, whom Mr. Foster quotes at
length, ma}' be called "Habitation Mounds."
A large number of these are described as
located at Merom, Indiana, and " a group
of fifty-nine mounds" at Hutsonville, Illi-
nois, a few miles above the former place
and across the Wabash River. These
mounds were carefully examined " to ascer-
tain if they were places of burial," without
discovering a single bone or implement of
any kind, but, on the contrary, the excava-
tions " showed that the mounds had been
made of various materials at hand, arKl in
one case ashes were found which had prob-

ably been scraped up with other material
and thrown upon the heap." In the an-
cient fort at Merom, in depressions found
within the earthworks, were found striking
evidences of food having been cooked and
eaten there, and the conclusion drawn by
Mr. Putnam is, " that these pits were the
houses of the inhabitants or defenders of
the fort, who were probably further pro-
tected from the elements and the arrows of
assailants, by a niof of logs and bark, or
boughs." Anotlier writer,* in a paper read
before the American Association for tiie
Advancement of Science at their Boston
meeting, August, ISSO, says: "There is in
tiiis region a peculiar class of mounds that
was for a long time a puzzle to me. They
are usual!}' found in groups of from two or
three to twenty or thirty, and even more,
and are generally on some pleasant knoll
or rising ground in the vicinity of a spring
or watercourse, especially in the vicinity of
our j)rairies or level areas of land. These
mounds are from one to three, and in a few
instances, even four feet in heigiit, and
from twenty to fifty feet in diameter.
One mound of the group is always
larger than the rest, and always occupies
the commanding position. Sometimes the
group is arranged in a circle; other groups
have no apparent design in arrangement.
Numbers of these mounds can be seen in
the cultivated fields.

" Although I have made excavations in
them, and dug trenches entirely through
them, I have found nothing but ashes, char-
coal, decayed portions of bones of fishes
and animals partially burned, shells from
the adjacent streams, flint chippings, and

* Hon. Wm. McAdams, Jr., of Otterville, Ills.

'^<LyTZ/^^-^^~-^^^^^c

CKL^l^

HISrORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.

119

in one or two instances a flint implement
of a rude cliaracter.

"After examining many of these structures
I am induced to believe that ther are pos-
sibly the remains of ancient dwellinfrs,
made by placing in an upright position
the trunks of young trees in a circle, or in
parallel rows, the tops of the poles inclining
inward and fastened togetiier, the wliole
being covered with earth and sod to
form a roof, or in tlie same manner as many
Indian tribes make tlieir mud lodges; as
for instance, the Mandansand the Omahas.
Such a structure, after being repaired from
time to time by the addition of more earth
on top, would finally, by the decay of the
poles, fall inward and the ruins would form
a sligiit mound.

" Conant and Putnam describe such
mounds in Missouri and Tennessee, some
of the largest of these ancient towns being
provided with streets and highways. They
are also found in Southern Illinois, Indiana
and Ohio. Putnam has described an en-
closed town in Tennessee, in whicli were
many low mounds, or rather, as he calls
them, earth circles, tliat he has pretty con-
clusively shown to be sites of the lodges or
houses of the people."

To which of these classes tlie mounds
found at Morris shall be referred, is difficult
to determine. There were nineteen of these
mounds, circular in form, from two to four
feet high, and from seventeen to thirty in
diameter at the base. These were superfi-
cially explored and evidences of the intru-
sive burials of Indians found, but nothing
bearing upon their ancient origin. The
growth of the village has encroached upon
these ancient relics and their site so oblit-
erated as to ailord little inducement fur any

scientific investigation. There are mounds
along the southern marg-in of the river that
ofi'er better j^rospects of reward to a proper-
ly conducted research, but at best such ex-
jiloration is likely to develop little more
than to coimect their origin with this an-
cient people.

These mounds, with the implements
formed in stone, metal and pottery (of whicli
the scope of this work allows no mention),
form the data upon which is founded the
historical speculation concerning this peo-
ple. Once having reasonably established
the former existence of this extinct race,
the absorbing question presents itself — who
were the Mound Builders? The limited
space devoted to this subject, however, for-
bids any extended consideration of the in-
teresting scientific deductions made from
this data, though the conclusion arrived at
may be briefly stated in the language of
Mr. Foster,* as follows: "Their monu-
ments indicate that they had entered upon
a career of civilization; they lived in sta-
tionary communities, cultivating the soil
and relying on its generous yield as a
means of support; they clotlied themselves
in part at least, in garments regularly spun
and woven; they modeled clay and carved
stone, even of the most obdurate character,
into images representing animate objects,
even the human face and form, with a close
adlierence to nature; they mined and cast
copper into a variety of useful forms; they
quarried mica, steatite, chert, and the novac-
ulite slates, which they wrought into arti-
cles adapted to personal ornament, to domes-
tic use, or to the chase; unlike the Indians
who were ignorant of the curative proper-

*" Prehistoric Races," etc., p. 350.

120

HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.

ties of salt, thej collected the brine of the sa-
lines into earthen vessels moulded in baskets
which they evaporated into a form which
admitted of transportation; they erected an
elaborate line of defense, stretching for
many hundred miles, to guard against the
sudden irruption of enemies; they had a
national religion, in which the elements
were the objects of supreme adoration; tem-
ples were erected upon the platform
mounds, and watchfires lighted upon the
highest summits; and in the celebration of
the mysteries of tlieir faith, human sacrifices
were probably ofiered up. The magnitude
of their structures, involving an infinitude
of labor, such only as could be e.xpended
except in a community where cheap food
prevailed, and the great extent of their
commercial relations reaching to widely
separated portions of the continent, imply
the existence of a stable and eflicient gov-
ernment, based on the subordination of the
masses. As the civilizations of the old
world growing out of the peculiar conditions
of soil and climate developed certain forms
of art which are original and unique, so on
this continent we see the crude conception
in the truncated pyramid, as first displayed
in Wisconsin, Ohio and Illinois, and the
accomplished result in the stonefaced foun-
dations of the temples of Uxraal and Palen-
que. And finally, the distinctive character
of the Mound Builder's structures, and also
the traditions which have been preserved,
would indicate that this people were ex-
pelled from the Mississippi Valley by a
fierce and barbarous race, and that they
found refuge in the more genial climate of
Central America, where they developed
tiiose germs of civilization, originalJv
planted in their northern homes, into a

perfection which has elicited the admiration
of every modern explorer."

The obvious inquiry suggested by these
conclusions is, who succeeded this extinct
race ? To this question science offers no an-
swer. Two hypotheses are entertained as
to the origin of Mound Builders liere, the
one supposes them to be of autothionic
origin, and that semi-civilization originat-
ing here flowed southward and culminated
in the wonderful developments of the Tol-
tecs of Mexico ; the other supposes to have
originated in the South American continent
or in Central America, and to have emi-
grated northward from natural causes, and
later to have returned to Mexico, driven
from their northern empire by an irresist-
ible ibe or by a powerful political irruption
among themselves. Upon any tlieory, the
line of their most nortiiward advance is
pretty clearly define 1, and writers upon
this subject generally agree that the line of
defenses "extending from sources of the
Alleghanj' and Susquehanna, in New York,
diagonally across the country, through
central and nortliern Ohio, to the Wa-
bash," accurately indicates the region from
whence attacks were made or expected, and
marks the farthest extent of the Mound
Builders' empire. But what was the char-
acter of the foe, what his action on the
retreat of tlie Mound Builders, and what
his final destiny, is an unwritten page of
science, and for which there exists no
known data. It is a late suggestion, that
the North American Indian may be a
degenerate but legitimate descendant of
the dominant race, but tiiere is a broad
chasm to be bridged before the Mound
Builder or his successful assailant can be
linked with those aboriginal tribes. With-

HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.

121

out making any such attempt, however, the
Indian naturally succeeds this people in reg-
ular historical order, and passing over the
vexed question of his origin, it is sufficient
I'ur the purposes of this work tiiat tlie whites
found him everywhere in full possession of
the country.

With the advent of the white man in
America, hegan an "irrepressible conflict"
which was destined never to cease so long
as the red man retained a vestige of power.
In this struggle, the absence of national
organization or affiliations on the part ot
the Indians, made the final success of the
whites inevitable from the beofinninsr.
Taking each tribe or section of country in
succession, the little band of adventurers
conquered this vast country in detail, and
planted here one of the mighty nations of
the world. It was due to this lack of any
bond of union that the Illinois tribes were
allowed to rest so long undisturbed in their
fiincied security. Euiiiors of the conflict
waging on the Atlantic border were borne
to their ears by chance visitors from other
tribes, and later by remnants of vanquished
tribes who sought with them an asylum
from their foes, but still no apprehension
of impending disaster dawned upon their
superstitious ignorance, while the reflection
that the Iroquois, the enemy which tlieir
experience had taught them most to fear,
had met an overpowering foe, gave them
no little satisfaction.

The great family to which these tribes
were allied by language, physical and men-
tal peculiarities, was the Algonquin. Be-
fore the encroachments of the whites the
numerous tribes of this family occupied
most of the teri'itory now embraced in the
United States, between the 35th and GOth

parallels of latitude, and the 60th and l(J5th
meridians of longitude. According to
Davidson,* the starting point in the wander-
ings of the Algonquin tribes on the conti-
nent as determined by tradition and the cul-
tivation of maize, their favorite cereal, was
in the southwest. Passing up the western
side of the Mississippi valley, they turned
eastward across that river, the southern
margin of their broad tract reaching about
to the 3.5th parallel, while the center prob-
ably covered tlie present territory of Illi-
nois. On reaching tiie Atlantic coast thov
seem to have moved northeasterly alon<i-
the seaboard to the mouth of the St. Law-
rence; thence ascending this river and the
shores of the great lakes, they spread north-
ward and westward to Hudson Bay, the
basin of Lake "Winnipeg and the valley of
the upper Mississippi; and thence the
head of the migratory column circling
around the source of the great river, re-
crossed it in a southeasterly direction above
the Falls of St. Anthony, and passing bv
way of Green Bay and Lake Michigan came
into the present limits of Illinois, Indiana
and Ohio. Thus after revolving in an ir-
regular ellipse of some 3,000 miles in diam-
eter, they fell into the original track east-
ward. This extended course of migration
induced by a varietvof causes and circum-
stances, continued through a long period,
the original stock probably receiving con-
siderable accessions from the nomadic
tribes of the Pacific slope, and leaving be-
hind large numbers at each remove, until
the head of the column came to rest from
sheer lack of momentum or other moving
influences. Thus scattered over a larae

'Davidson and S: neve's "History of Illinois."

122

HISTORY OF GRUXDY COUNTY.

expanse of country, and broken into nnnier-
ous tribal organizations, they lost much of
their family affiliations and characteristics,
and the early whites found the Algonquins
everywhere possessing the border lands, and
wao'cd with them their first and bloodiest
wars. Situated within the ellipse above
described, were the nations of the Iroquois
family, who held together by circumstances
and posted advantageously on the inner
side of the circle, able at any time to mass
their forces upon a single point of tlie cir-
cumference, soon proved a devastating
scourge to the Indian world, and especially
so to the Algonquins.

Of the tribes of this latter family this
history has to do only with the tribes of the
"Illinois Confederation." This was made up
of the Taraaroas, Michigaraies, Kaskaskias,
Cahokias and Peorias. The name of the
confederation, as explained by Gallatin, one
of the ablest writers on the structure of
Indian languages, is derived from the Dela-
ware word Leno, and variously written Leni
or mini, meaning " superior men." Its
present termination is of French origin.
The Algonquin lamily, so far as cranial in-
dications, were marked by a larger intellect-
ual lobe than their great adversaries, the
Iroquois, and their whole history adds force
to these indications. While not so ferocious
or fiendish in their warfare, they exhibited
no less bravery and skill in tlieir savage en-
counters, and were rewarded with no less
success when circumstances admitted an
equal contest. In courageous resistance to
the superior numbers and arms of the
■whites and in savage strategy and diplo-
macy, the history of our Indian wars bears
ample testimony to their high mental and
physical qualities. Of the Illinois Confed-

eration, however, this can not be said with-
out qualification. Exposed like the rest of
the Algonquin family to the powerful at-
tacks of their ferocious enemy, though gain-
ing some notable victories, they had been
forced to leave their earlier location near
Lake Michigan and settle west of the Mis-
sissi]3pi, from whence, aboi:t 1670-73, they
migrated to the Illinois Iliver. Here they
seem to have stood in great fear of their
hereditary foe, and while proving their
warlike superiority to other tribes, their
only sure defense against the Iroquois ap-
])eared to be in flight. The early association
of this confederacy with the whites was of
an unusually peaceable and pleasant nature
and did much to confirm their un warlike
character. As early as 1670, the Jesuit Mis-
sionary, Marquette, stationed at the western
extremity of Lake Superior, mentions the
visit of members of these tribes who ear-
nestly requested that missionaries might be
sent among them. When, therefore, Joliet
and Marquette, returning from their explo-
ration of the Mississippi, found the tribes on
the banks of the Illinois in 1673, they were
hailed with joy by the natives, who from
that day never wavered in their allegiance
to the French. In 1675, Marquette re-
turned and established the " Mission of the
Immaculate Conception " at their village,
located near the present site of Utica. la
December of 1679, La Salle* with his little
band of adventurers found here a town of
460 lodges temporarily deserted, and passing
on to where the city of Peoria now is, found
another village of about eighty lodges, where
he landed and soon established amicable
and ]3er.nanent relations. With theconsent
of the tribes, La Salle soon built the fort of

* R^n*;— Robert Cav^'lier, Sieur cle la Salle.

HISTORY OF GRUXDY COUNTY.

123

Crevecoeiir, a half a league below, and then
early In March of 1680, set out fur Fort
Fronteuac in Western Xew York, and
thence to Montreal to repair the loss of his
vessel, the Griffin.

In the meanwhile the Jesuit faction,
engaged in fierce competition with him in
securing the peltry trade of the Indians,
and jealous of La Salle's success, and the
English of the Atlantic border, striving to
overreach the French in securing both
territory and trade,united in stirring up the
Iroquois to assault La Salle's Illinois allies
in his absence. "Suddenly," saysParkman,
" the village was awakened from its lethargy
as by the crash of a thunderbolt. A
Shawanoe, lately here on a visit, had left his
Illinois friends to return home. He now
reajipeared, crossing the river in hot haste
with the announcement that he had met on
his way an army of Iroquois apjiroaching
to attack them. All was jianic and con-
fnsion. The lodges disgorged their fright-
ened inmates; women and children
screamed; startled warriors snatched their
weapons. There were less than five hun-
dred of them, for the greater part of the
voung men had gone to war." Here Tonti,
La Salle's able lieutenant, left in charge of
the fort, found himself weakened by the
early desertion of most of his force, and
now an object of suspicion to his allies, in
an awkward and dangerous ])redicameut.
Undaunted by the untoward circumstances,
he joined the Illinois, and when the Iroquois
came upon the scene, in the midst of the
savage melee, faced the 5S0 warriors and
declared that the Illinois were under the
protection of the French King and the
Governor of Canada, and demanded that
they should be left iu peace, backing his

words with the statement that there were
1,200 of the Illinois and 00 Frenchmen
across the river. These representations had
the eil'ect of checking the ardor of the
attacking savages, and a teni|)orar3' truce
was effected. It was evident that the truce
was but a ruse on the part of the Iroquois
to gain an opportunity to test the truth of
Tonti's statements, and no sooner liad the
Illinois retired to their village on the north
side of the river than numbers of the invad-
ing tribes, on the pretext of seeking food,
crossed the river and gathered in increasitia:
numbers about the village. The Illinois
knew the design of their foe too well, and,
hastily embarking, they set fire to their
lodges, and retired down tiie river, when
the whole band of Iroquois crossed over,
and finished their work of havoc at their
leisure. The Illinois, in the meanwhile,
lulled into a false security, divided into
small bands in search of food. One of their
ti'ibes, the Tamoroas, "had the fatuity to
remain near the mouth of the Illinois,
where they were assailed by all the force of
the Iroquois. The men fled, and very few
of them were killed; but the women and
children were captured to the number, it is
said, of seven hundred," many of whom
were put to death with hori-ible tortures.
Soon after the retreat of the Illinois, the
Iroquois discovered the deception of the
Frenchmen, and only the wholesome fear
they had of the French Governor's jiower
restrained their venting their rage upon
Tonti and his two or three companions. As
it was, they were dismissed, and bidden to
return to Canada.

It was in the wake of these events that
La Salle returned in the winter of 1680 and
found this once populous village devastated

124

HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.

and deserted, surrounded b}' the fViglitfnl
evidences of savage carnaoje. Disheartened
Lilt not cast down, lie at once set about re-
jKiiring his fortunes. Discerning at once
the means and object of his enemies be set
about building wp a bulwark to stay a sec-
ond assault. Returnins' to Fort Miami on
the St. Josepli, by tlie borders of Lake
Michigan, he sought to form a defensive
league among tlie Indians whom be pro-
jwsed to colonize on the site of tlic destroyed
village of the Illinois. He found ready
material at hand in remnants of tribes fresh
from fields of King Phillip's war; he
visited the Miamis and by bis wondei-fiil
power won them over to bis plans; and
then in the interval, before the tribes could
arrange for their emigration, be launched
out with a few followers and hurriedly ex-
plored the Mississippi to the Gulf. Re-
turning to Michillimackinac in September,
10S2, where he had found Tonti in May of
the previous year. La Salle, after directing
his trusty beutenant to repair to the Illiiuiis,
prepared to return to France for further
supplies for bis proposed colony, but learn-
ing that the Iroquois were planning another
incursion, he returned to the site of the
destroyed Tillage and with Tonti began in
December, IGS2, to build the Fort of St.
Louis on the eminence which is now known
in history as "starved rock." Thus the
winter passed, and in the meanwhile, La
Salle found emplo^'ment for bis active mind
in conducting the negotiations which should
result in reconciling the Illinois and the Mi-
amis and in cementing the various tribes into
a harmonious colony. The spring crowned
his efforts with complete success. " La
Salle looked down from bis rocks on a con-
course of wild human life. Lodges of bark

and rushes, or cabins of logs, were clustered
on the open plain, or along the edges of the
bordering forests. Squaws labored, war-
riors lounged in the sun, naked children
who()]icd and gamboled on the grass. Be-
yond the river, a mile and a half on the left,
the banks were studded once more with the
lodges of the Illinois, who, to the number
of six thousand, had returned, since their
defeat, to this their favorite dwelling-place.
Scattered along the valley, among the ad-
jacent hills, or over the neighboring prairie,
were the cantonments of a lialf score of
other tribes, and fragments of tribes, gath-
ered under the protecting aegis of the
French, — Sbawanoes, from the Ohio, Abe-
nakis from Maine, and Miamis from the
sources of the Kankakee."* In the mean-
while, a party was sen t to Montreal to secure
supplies and munitions to put the colony in
a state of defense, which to the disappoint-
ment and chagrin of the sorely beset leader,
he learned had been detained by his enemies,
who by a change of Governors had come
into official power. Devolving the coin-

*" Discovery of the Great West." Third part.
Franquelin's map finished in 1684 and reproduced in
part in this work, adds some further particulars
which maybe of local interest. From the location of
thp tribes on this map, it is ascertained that the In-
dian colony of La Salle, numbering, according; to
his representation to the French ministiy, "about
four thousand waiTiors or twenty thousand souls,''
occupied the country bordering both sides of the Illi-
nois, from the present site of Morris to the junction
of the Big Bureau Creek. Of the tribes represented,
the Illinois proper numbered 1,200 warriors; the
Miamis, 1,300; the Sliawanoes, 200; the Weas, .500;
the Pepikokia, 160; the Kilatica, 300; Ouabona, 70;
the Piankishaws, 150; in all, 3,880 warriors. This
latter tribe occupied the present site of Morris village,
while northeastwardly to the margin of the lake, the
country was occupied by the Kickapoos, and other
friendly tribes.

H [STORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.

12)

in and of the enterprise upon Lis faitliful
lieutenant, La Salle set out in November,
16S3, for Canada and France, where he
hoped to tliwart his enemies and snatch suc-
cess from the very jaws of defeat. Trium-
phant over his enemies, lie returned to
America in 1G85, and after wandering inef-
fectually for two years in the inliospitable
wilderness of Texas, fell dead, pierced
through the brain by the bullet of a treach-
erous desperado of his own band. It was
not until the latter part of 1688, that Tonti
with grief and indignation learned of the
death of La Salle. In 1690, Tonti received
from the French government the proprie-
torship of Fort St. Louis on the Illinois,
M-here he continued in command until 1702,
when by royal order the fort was abandoned
and Tonti transferred to lower Louisiana.
This fort was afterward re-occupied for a
short time in 1718, by a party of traders,
when it was tinally abandoned.

Hitherto, the Indians, faitliful to tlie
French, found vent for tlieir savage nature
in warfare upon their fellows, but events
were rapidly hurrying forward the time
when this state of affairs should be re-
versed. In turn the French power here
gave way to the English, and they to the
Americans; these momentous changes
manifesting themselves to the Indian world
in little more than the change of the na-
tional ensign on Fort Chartres. Upon the
savages, however, a subtle change had been
wrought. Unwillingly released from their
fealty to the French, they became the fatal
cats-paw of the warring whites. Incited
by the French to hostilities against the
English, they easily turned against the
Americans under the influence of British
goods and gold. Other influences were

powerfully moving them to fulfill their des-
tiny. The success of the American colo-
nies in their war with the mother country,
brought them in contact with the natives
of tlie "far west." The whole Indian
world viewed their conquests witli alarm,
and when the restless tide of emigration
reached the natural boundary of the Ohio,
tribal animosities were forgotten in the
united straggle to hold the insatiable pale-
faces at bay. In the meantime, the
abandonment of Fort St. Louis followed by
the removal of Kaskaskia and the erection
of Fort Chartres had drawn the remnant
which their savage enemies had left of the
Illinois Confederation, to the southern
part of the State, while their deserted lands
were occupied by the Sacs and Foxes, Pot-
tawattomies and other tribes which the
success of the Americans had forced to find
a new home.

The first cession of territory demanded
of the tribes here was made by the treaty of
Greenville, O., in 1795, consisting of " one
piece of land, six miles square, at the
mouth of Chicago River, emptying into the
southwest end of Lake Michigan, where a
fort formerly stood;" one piece 12 miles
square near the mouth of the Illinois Riv-
er; and one piece 6 miles square, at the
old Peoria Fort and Village, near the south
end of the Illinois Lake, on the said Illinois
River."* In 1803 by a treaty at Vincennes
the greater part of southern Illinois was
ceded by the Illinois Confederation and
other tribes; and by a treaty in the follow-
ing year signed at St. Louis, the Sacs and
Foxes ceded a great tract of country on

*At these points the National Goyemment subse-
quently erected FoWs.

126

HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUXTY.

both sides of the Mississippi, extending on
tlie east bank from the niontli of the Illi-
nois River to the head of that river, and
thence to the Wisconsin River. In 1S16 a
treaty was concluded with the "united
tribes of Ottawas, Cliippewas and Potta-
wattomies," at St. Louis. The treaty
recites: "Whereas, a serious dispute has
for some time existed between the contract-
ing parties relative to the right to a part of
the lands ceded to the United States by
the tribes of Sacs and Foxes, on the third
of November, ISOi, and both parties being
desirous of preserving a harmonious and
friendly intercourse, and of establishing
permanent peace and friendship, have for
the purpose of removing all difficulties,
agreed to the following terms:" etc. Tiie
boundaries established by this treaty are
the only ones that have found a place upon
the 2:)ublished county maps of the State.
The territory ceded is marked by lines
drawn from a point on Luke Michigan ten
miles north, and south of the mouth of Clii-
cago Creek, and following the general di-
rection of the Desplaines to a point north
of the Illinois on the Fox River, ten miles
from its mouth, and similarly on the south
on the Kankakee River. This treaty, it
will be observed, ceded only that part of
Grundy County north of the river. In
1818, however, the Pottawatomies ceded
the larger part of their remaining posses-
sions in Illinois, and with other territory, the
balance of Grundy County. The Indians
did not at once abandon the territory thus
ceded, but under a provision of these trea-
ties lived and liunted here for years,
while numerous reservations in favor
ot individuals and families made these rel-
ics of a peculiar race, like the dying embers

of a great fire, a familiar sight for years to
many of the present generation.

The Indians found in and about Grundy
County by the first settlers, were bands of
the Pottawatomie tribe, and while owninjv
but little allegiance to any chief, recogtiized
in Shabbona and Wanponsee the represent-
atives of tribal authority. The band of
the latter made their home at one time on
the Illinois River, near the mouth of Ma-
zon Creek, in Grundy County, but in 1824
they moved to Paw Paw Grove. Waupon-
see is represented as a large, muscular man,
fully six feet and three itiches in height.
His head presented an unusual feature for
an Indian, being entirely bald s ive a small
scalp lock at the crown. In manner he
was markedly reserved and gave frequent
evidences of an untamed savage disposition
that needed only an opportunity to lapse,
into the cruel barbarity of earlier years.

He was a war-chief and claimed to be one
hundred years old, though this statement
was but little credited by the whites. With
the rest of his nation he was engaged in
the battle of Tippecanoe and other Indian
demonstrations in the following years. He
is credited by some as being the Wicicbaii-
see who befriended the family of Kinzie
after the massacre at Fort Dearborn, but
while such action, inconsistent as it is with
the part he would naturally take in the
attack upon the retreating garrison, it is
not without parallel in Indian history.
However, the strong impression is that
these are two individuals. He moved with
his band to the government reservations in
the "far West "in 1839, signalizing his
departui-e with a deed of barbarous cruelty
that characterizes his memory here. This
occurred in October, 1839, and is described

HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.

127

by L. W. Claypool, who had ample facili-
ties for learning tlie truth, as follows:
"James MoKeen residing on the north
bank of the Kankakee River, a mile above
the moutii, with a hired man, John Byei's,
liad been burning logs in the afternoon.
Some Indians asked the privilege of camp-
ing there for the night, which was readily
granted. In the evening they gathered in
to the camp to the numljcr of some iii'ty,
bringing a supply of whiskey. Soon Wau-
ponsee and his family came, having camped
the night before near our place (S. W.
i Sec. 20, 33, 7). My father and
visited his camp, as he was leaving in the
morning, and curiously observed their prep-
arations for moving. His family con-
sisted of one wife, of middle age — very
attentive to his wants, adjusting pillows on
his pack-saddle and assisting him on a
stump to mouut his pony; an old squaw —
a wife evidently not iu favor; a son, sixteen
or eighteen years old; son-in-law with wife
and two or three children ; and two slave
squaws, poor, miserable, forlorn-looking
wretches in every respect.

" After supper McKeen and Byers went
out to the fires where the Indians were
having a drunken frolic. On approaching
the Indians, they found a crowd of savages
about a log heap, with one of the slave
squaws lying on the ground near the fire,
Wauponsee stooping over her and talking
in a low voice. Immediately after he gave
a signal when the other slave came up, and
buried a squaw-ax into the brains of the
unfortunate victim. Tlie body was re-
moved to a pile of rails lying near, and
being joined by other Indians the orgie
was continued far into the nigiit. In the
morning the Indiaus broke camp and went

on their way, when McKeen and Eyers
buried the unfortunate squaw on the bunks
of the Kankakee.

" Tlie prevailing opinion here as to the
reason for the deed, was that Wauponsee,
realizing the truth of the old adage, ' Dead
men tell no tales,' and that as their new
reservation iu the west joined that of the
Winnebairos, to which tribe the squaw orig-
inally belonged, fearing that her relatives
might be moved to avenge her ill treatment
received at his hands, ordered her execu-
tion, and tluis ' took a bond of fate.' " AVau-
bonsie is said to have been killed by a
party of the Sacs and Foxes for opposing
them in the " Black Hawk War." " His
scalp was taken oif, the body mutilated,
and left on the prairie to be devoured by
wolves." *

Shabbona, who shares with Shakespeare
the distinction of having his name spelled
in an endless number of ways, was born of
Ottawa parents, on the Kankakee river in
Will County, about 1775. In his youth he
married the daughter of a Pottawatomie
chief, who had his village on the Illinois a
short distance above the mouth of the Fox
liiver. Here at the deatli of Spotka, his
father-in-law, he succeeded to the chieftain-
ship of the band, which soon sought a more
salubrious spot, and settled in De Kalb
County, where he was found by the early
settlers. Shabbona seems to have lacked
none of those qualities which were required
to command the respect and confidence of
his band and yet he was possessed of rare dis-
cernment and decision of character, whioh
led him early to see that war with the
whites was hopeless, and that the only hope

*" Memories of Shaubena," by N. Malson.

128

HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.

of the savage was to make the best terms
possible with the inevitable. To this pol-
icy, he was one of the lirst of his people to
give earnest support, and once |coinmitted
to this line of action, he allowed no influ-
ence, however strong, to swerve him from
it for a moment.

He was easily influenced by the elo-
queu2e of Tecumseh, and became an ardent
admirer and devoted personal attendant of
that celebrated warrior. He was absent
from the battle of Tippecanoe with Tecum-
seh, and returned only to hear of the mas-
sacre at Fort Dearborn, and to assist in the
defense of Kinzie on the following night.
Believing that his nation would join the
British in the war of 1812, he joined his
hero- warrior, and acted as aid to Tecuinseli
until the latter was killed. In the general
pacification of the tribes after this war,
Shabbona seems to have imbibed his peace
policy, to which he ever afterward adhered-
Whiie not gifted as an orator, his reputa-
tion for honesty, fidelity to his nation, and
good judgment, gave him a wide influence
among the more warlike of his people, and
in 1827, he rendered valuable service to
the whites in dissuading the Pottawatomie
nation from joining the Winnebago war.
In 1832, when Black Hawk strove to unite
the Indian nations in a combined attack
upon the whites, he met a fatal obstacle in
the influence of Shabbona for peace. Not-
withstanding every influence and induce-
ment brought to bear upon him, the
" white man's friend " stood firm, and was
largely influential in bringing the aid of
the Pottawatomies to the white forces.
Subsequently, when " Black Hawk was be-
trayed into hostilities, and the news of the
Indians' first blow and success reached him,

he sent his son and nephew in different
directions, while he went in still another,
to warn the settlers A' the impending dan-
ger, thus saving the lives of many in the
isolated settlements, a service for which he
suffered the loss of his son and nephew at
the hand of the enraged Sacs and Foxes
years afterward. In the military opera-
tions which followed with Waubonsie,
"Billy Caldwell" and a considerable num-
ber of warriors, he enlisted with the army
under Gen. Atkinson, who at once placed
him in command of the Indian contingent.
After performing valued service, he retired
with his band at the close of the war, to
his village in De Kalb County, where the^''
remained to the date .of their removal to
the West in 1836.

In consideration of his services the nation-
al government, beside many other tokens
of esteem, reserved a tract of land for his
use at Shabbona's Grove, and granted him
a pension of §200 per annum. In the
summer of 1836, however, the Indian agent
notified him tliat his band must go to the
lands assigned them in the West, as none
but himself and famil}- could remain on
the reservation. Much as he regretted to
leave the scenes of his manhood, about
which gathered his dearest memories, he
could not consent to a separation from his
band, and so in September, the whole band
came to Main Bureau Creek, and camping
at the crossing of the Peoria and Galena
road, they remained here about six weeks
hunting and fishing. The government pro-
posed to bear the expense of their removal
as in the case of other tribes, but Shabbona
rejecting this oflTer, set out one October
day with his band of about one hundred
and forty-two souls and one hundred and six-

HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.

129

tj ponies, for their lands in "Western Kansas.
Not long after this the government
moved the Sacs and Foxes from the reser-
vation in Iowa to lands adjoining the Pot-
tawatomies. These tribes entertained tlie
bitterest hostility against Sluibbona for
the part he took in the Black Hawk War,
and Neopope, a chief of these tribes, had
sworn to accomplish the destruction of the
"white man's friend," together with his
son and nephew. In the fall of 1S37,
8!iabbona with liis son and nepliew and a
few liunters went out on the plains to liunt
buffalo, when without the slightest appre-
hension of danger they found themselves
attacked by a band of the Sacs. Shabbona
■with liis son Smoke and four hunters es-
caped, but knowing that a relentless
Nemesis was on his track, he left his
baud and returned with liis family to
his reservation in De Kalb County; this
consisted of 1,280 acres, most of which
was fine timbered land. A clause of the
treaty conveyed this, and other reservations
granted them in fee simple, but the
Senate struck out this clause making
the property only a reservation. This fact
escaped tiie notice of Shabbona, and in 1845
he sold the larger part of his land and re-
turned to Kansas to visit his band. It was
soon discovered by designing persons that
this transfer was illegal, and on the strength
of representations made at Washington, the
authorities declared the reservation vacant
and the transfer void. On his return in
1851, he found his whole property seques-
tered and himself homeless. This grove
had been his home for nearly fifty years;
here he had made the grave of his first
squaw and two papooses, and here he liad
expected to lay his own bones. It was

natural that he should feel a deep sense of
injury at this ungrateful requital of de-
votion to the white race; but this was a
new generation, the reservation had been
technically abandoned, and none were
greatly wronged save the Indian, who had
not yet excited the romantic or humanita-
rian interest of a later day, and broken-
hearted he went out to a retired place to
implore the Great Spirit, after the fashion
of his tribe.

The case excited the interest of his early
friends, who purchased a small tract of im-
proved land, with house, out-buildings and
fencing, situated on the bank of the Illi-
nois near Seneca in Grundy County. Here
he lived in a wigwam, his family occupy-
ing the house, until his death, at the age of
eighty-four, on July 17, 1859. His re-
mains were laid in lot 59, block 7, in the
Morris cemetery with elaborate ceremony
and grateful regard of the whole count3\
Here rest also eight of his familj', five of
whom were his children or grandchildren.

Shortly after his death his family re-
moved to their nation in the West, and
while his land is held by the County Court
in trust for tlie benefit of his heirs, there is
no monument to mark the memory* of one
whom General Cass once introduced to
a distinguished audience at Washington as,
" Shabbona, the greatest red man of the

*There is in the Court House at Morris, a fine life
sized oil portrait of Shabbona, representing him stand-
ing and arrayed in a dress coat, presented to him at

Washington supplemented by Indian finer}-,

which gives him a picturesque but noble appearance.
This picture is still the property of the artist, and it
is to be regretted that the State or N.itional authori-
ties do not see fit to place it in a position to which its
artistic merit and the high character of the subject
richly entitle it.

130

HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.

West." His grandson, Stnoke, is supposed
to be acting as cliief of his nation at this
time.

An Indian relic which has given rise to
many conjectures, is a cedar pole about six
inclies in diameter at the base, and from
twenty to twenty -five feet in height standing
in the center of the largest of the ancient
mounds found in the village of Morris.
The pole stands at the lower end of Wau-
ponsee street, its base protected by a close
fitting piece of flagging, and surrounded by
an iron fence. The universal respect on
the part of the citizens for this monument
of tiie past is, however, its surest protection.
None of the Indians with whom the early
settlers came in contact could give satis-
factory accounts of its erection (indeed they
did notchiini to know), until the engineers
who surveyed the line of the canal made
some investigations in this mound. Some
members of this party made some unau-
thorized explorations, and were rewarded by
the discovery of some interesting Indian
remains. The engineering party was sub-
sequently joined by an Indian named Clark,
who evidently belonged to the extinct
Illinois nation, and of him Mr. A. J. Mat-
thewson, the engineer in charge, obtained
iniich valuable information, wiiich he has
embodied in a letter to L. W. Claypool, of
Morris. By permission, the portion bear-
ing upon matters of interest to tliis county
:s given as follows: Speaking of Clark," wlien
asked, he said — ' Yes, the bones dug up at
the cedar pole belonged to Nucqnette, a
celebrated chief who was killed upon the
ground and buried in a dug-out' — a kind
of rude trough which our boys found in
1837, and from which they took the bones,
a bit of red rust which had once been a

knife blade, and circular ornaments in
silver. His squaw, who died years after,
lay beside liim, her blanket intact, with a
profusion of silver brooches and silver rings
with green glass sets, upon the bones of two
or three fingers of each hand. The threads
of the blanket would crumble upon touch,
and yet the teeth and hair seemed nearly
perfect. Tlie pole, a red cedar, was very
old, full of curious cuts and marks, giving
in a rude way, as Clark said, the exploits of
Nucquette. This brute had a story of his
cruelties noted upon that pole, but the poor
slave of a squaw lay there without a word
being said of her. She was laid in her
blanket, — notliing more.

"I had found a curious mound at the
west side of a small grove, north of tiie
old river stage road and a little west of
south from Seneca, and upon asking Clark
about the stones carelessly thrown about it
he said : ' Oh, yes, that was a very bad
Indian ! Steal horses, etc. They killed him ;
put him in this old mound by himself,'
and then when any Indian passed the
mound he felt bound to show his contempt
for the outcast who would not, or did not
take scalps — but horses (he was a horse
fancier), and before reacliing the place they
would ])ick up finger stones and cast them
npon the mound and spit upon it, showing
their utter contempt for his want of good
taste while living.

"Clark said jS'ucquette was killed in
battle — that tiie fight began at Blue Island.
The Illinois tribe retreated, and again had
a fight three miles east of Joliet, at a vil-
lage on north bank of Hickory Creek, where
Oakwood cemetery now is, then a retreat
and a hard fight at Xettle Creek (Morris),
the Indian name for which has escaped

HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.

131

me ; tlien a retreat and pursuit as far as
Starve Eock, where Clark gave a descrip-
tion of the siege and the daring conduct
of the devoted band, rushing up to the
very edge of the cliff to challenge the foe
to combat. Of course, these were the acts
of a few men in a desperate situation, but
when relating these things the eyes of
Clark, usually mild enough, would assume
a ferocious appearance quite shocking. lie
was evidently a friend of the weaker party.
He gave also the exploits of a very few
who escaped down the Illinois River in a
skiff and were pui'sued for days, though
finally escaping. Those left upon Starve
Eock generally perished. * * *

"In regard to the cedar pole, Clark told
me the tribe or some of them came at
times, as late as 1837-8, to replace the
white flag upon the pole, when the winds
had blown it away. Our men went on the
sly to dig about the cedar pole in the
mound, and upon their return to camp

were told decidedly to go back and fix the
mound and the pole, and to leave every-
thing as they found it or there would be
trouble ; that the savages were then about,
and that they would miss their top-knots by
delay. I went back with them to see the
order executed, and it was. We had no
trouble with the Indians on account of the
act."*

* Mr. Matthewson adds : " The death of Nucquette
was pi'obably between 1G80 and 1700, and the cedar
pole may have been placed there at that time." This
date is not probably derived from the narrative of
Clark. The description of the series of Indian en-
gagements and the incident of Starve Rock corre-
sponds with the historical account of the exterminat-
ing war waged by the Pottawatomies and their allies
against the Illinois to avenge the murder of Pontiac
by one df the latter nation at Cahokia in 17G9. It is
possible that Nucquette fell in a series of conflicts
with the Iroquois, and that Clark confused the tra-
ditions of these fights with those which terminated
at Starve Rock. Even the later date gives the pole a
respectable antiquity.

CHAPTER III.*

EARLY FRENCH SETTLEMENTS— FRONTIER

COUNTIES— CIVILIZED LIFE IN A NE

TION— FORMA'lION OF GRUNDY

TX southern Illinois near the Mississip-
-'- pi, a hundred miles or more above the
mouth of the Ohio, is situated the ancient
village of Kaskaskia, supposed to be the
oldest permanent European settlement in
the valley of the Father of "Waters, "f but
while thus attaining an unparalleled emi-
nence in one particular, it must not be sup-
posed that the whole State permanentlj
shared in this distinction. Though thus
promised with an early dawn of civilization
in the latter part of the 17th century, the
promise proved illusive before the naarch
of greater events, and the bright flush of a
hoped-for day paled into the darker obscu-
rity of a more savage barbarism.

In 1700, the settlement of the French
and Indians at old Kaskaskia was removed
to the spot where the village of that name
now stands; two years later followed the
abandonment of Fort St. Louis on the Illi-
nois; and in 171S, the erection of Fort
Chartres on the Mississippi, sixteen miles
above the former village, confirmed the
tendency of the white population to con-
centrate in the southern part of the State.
About the fort, rapidly sprang up a village

*By J. H. Battle.

t Paper read before Chicago Hist. Soc, by Edward
G. Masou, 1S79.

SETTLEMENTS IN LA SALLE AND GRUNDY
VV COUNTRY— POLITICAL ORGANIZA-
COUNTY— COUNTY BUILDINGS.

wliich was subsequently called New Char-
tres ; five miles away the village of Prairie
du Rocher became a growing settlement,
wliile all along the river between K:iskaskia
and the fort a strong chain of settlements
was formed within a year after the fort was
finished. The erection of Fort Chartres,
at this point, however, was dictated by na-
tional considerations rather than by fear of
the savages. The colonization of Louisiana
consequent upon the exploration of the
Mississippi and the influx of colonists who
found a lionae at Cahokia and Kaskaskia,
made this section the key to the French
possessions in America, the connecting link
between Canada and Louisiana. Here the
French settlers, but little disturbed by the
forays of the Sacs and Foxes, pushed their
improvements up to the Illinois, while
lands were granted, though perhaps never
occupied, some distance up this stream.
The military force found occupation in sup-
porting the friendly Illinois tribes against
the Iroquois and Sacs and Foxes, and
in unsatisfactory or disastrous campaigns
against the Chickasaws. In the meantime
this " neck of the woods" was rapidly be-
coming a spot of national importance.
From the southwest the Spaniards were
jealously watching the French colonists,
while the British gradually pushing west-

HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.

133

ward were building forts near the Ohio and
Mississippi Kivei-s. The European war of
1741-6, in which France and England were
opposed, was eclioed in these Western wilds,
and it was found that the fort must be
strengthened or abandoned. The former
coarse prevailed, and in 1750 the old for-
tress of wood was transformed into one of
stone, and garrisoned by a full regiment of
French grenadiers. It was from this point
that an important contingent went out to
the capture of George Washington and his
forces at Fort Necessit}^ July -4, 1754, and
thus furnished to George II one of the
causes for a declaration of hostilities and a
beofinning: of the " Old French War." In
the ensuino- war a detachment burned Fort
Granville, sixty miles from Philadelphia ;
another party routed Major Grant near
Fort Duquesne, but compelled to abandon
that fortress, set it on fire and floated down
the river in the light of its destroying
flames ; again a large detachment aug-
mented by a considerable number of friend-
ly Indians, assisted in the vain attempt to
raise the British siege of Niagara, leaving
dead upon the field, the flower of tiie gar-
rison. The fort was no longer in condition
to maintain the oiFensive, and learning that
the British were preparing at Pittsburgh
to make a hostile descent upon him, the
commandant writes to the Governor-Gen-
eral : " I have made all arrangements, ac-
cording to my strength, to receive tlie
iMiemy." Tiie victory on the Plains of
Abraham decided the contest, but the little
backwoods citadel, knowing but little of
the nature of the struggle, dreamed that it
might bathe means of regaining, on more
successful fields, the possessions tlius lost
to the French crown. The news that this

fort, with all territory east of the river, had
been surrendered without so much as a
sight of the enemy, came like a thnnder-clap
upon this patriotic colony. Many of the
settlers with Laclede, who had just arrived
at the head of a new colony, expressed
tlieir disgust bv going to the site of St.
Louis, which they supposed to be still
French ground.

Though transferred by treaty to the Eng-
lish in J 763, the fort was the last place in
North America to lower the white ensign
of the Bourbon King, and it was not until
the latter part ot 1765 that the British
formally accepted the surrender of Fort
Chartres. Pontiac, the unwavering friend
of the French, took upon himself, unaided
by his former allies, to hold back the vic-
torious English. ]\[ajor Loftus, Captains
Pitman and Morris, Lieutenant Frazer, and
George Crogan, some with force, some in
disguise, and others with diplomacy, sought
to reach the fort to accept its capitulation,
but each one was foiled and turned back
with his mission unaccomplished, glad to
escape the fate of that Englishman for which
Pontiac assured them, he kept a " kettle
boiling over a large fire." Wearied out
with the inactivity of the French, the In-
dian sought an audience with the com-
mandant, and explained his attitude.
"Father," said the chieftain, "I have long
wished to see thee, to recall the battles
which we fought together against the mis-
guided Indians and the English dogs. I
love the French, and I have come here with
my warriors to avenge their wrongs." But
assured by St. Auge that such service
could no longer be accepted, lie gave up
the struggle, and the flag of St. George
rose in the place of the fair lilies of I'rance.

134

HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.

Tluis another nationality was projected into
this restricted arena, a situation wiiich was
immediately afterward still further compli-
cated by the secret Franco-Spanish f.reaty,
which made the west bank of the Mississippi
the boundary of the Spanish possessions.
" It is significant of the different races, and
the varying sovereignties in that portion of
our country," snja a writer, "that a French
soldier from the Spanish city of St. Louis
should be married to an Englishwoman by
a French priest in the British colony of
Illinois."

The effect of this political change upon
the growth of the Illinois settlements was
disastrous. At the first announcement of
the treaty, the natural hostility of the peo-
ple to the English induced large numbers
of the colonists to prepare to follow tlie
French flag, and a hegira followed which
swept out of the colony fully one-third of
its three thousand inliabitants. There was
still a large number left, forming the larg-
est colony in the west; but there were
forces constantly at work which gradually
depleted its numbers. Under the British
rule an abnormal activity among traders
and land speculators was developed. The
natives were constantly overreached in
trade by unscrupulous persons, protected
by the dominant power, and representa-
tives of land purchasing organizations were
acquiring vast tracts of country from igno-
rant savages, who had little comprehension
of the meaning or consequences of these
transactions. These schemes and practices,
though happily brought to naught by the
Eevolntion, rendered the Indians, for a
time, savagely hostile, and left their blight-
in* influence long after their remo\al.
The lack of proper sympathy between the

governing race and the governed, the hos-
tility of the savages in which they were
involved with the British, induced many
of the Old French colonists to leave their
old homes as rapidly as they could make
arrangements to do so. Unfortunately
there was at this time no emigration to
repair this depletion constantly going on;
few English or Americans even visited this
region, much less settled here.

The British garrison had hitherto occu-
pied the old French Fort Chartres, but one
day in 1772, the river having overflowed
its banks, and swept away a bastion and
the river wall, the occupants fled with pre-
cipitate haste to the high ground above
Kaskaskia, where they erected a palisade
fort. This was the principal achievement
of the British forces, up to the beginning
of the war with the colonies. In this
struggle, removed from the scene of active
operations, the commandant, resorting to
the favorite means of the British during
the entire early history on this continent,
furnished supplies and munitions of war
to the savages, and thus equipped, incited
them to war upon the unprotected frontier
settlements in Pennsylvania, Kentucky
and Virginia. So disastrous in their con-
sequences, and distracting in their influ-
ence, were these attacks, that Col. George
Rogers Clark early set about procuring
tlie means to effectually check them. Rec-
ognizing the British post at Kaskaskia as
the source of the Indians' supplies and
inspiration, he directed his efforts toward
the capture of this point, and enlisting tlie
interest of Patrick Henry, governor of Vir-
ginia, securing such help as he could give,
Clark was able on June 24, 177S, to start
from the falls of the Ohio with one

HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.

137

hundred and fifty-three men for lower
Illinois. So skillfully did he manage his
movements that he cauj^ht the garrison
napping, and captured on tiie 5th of July,
both force and fort without the spilling of
a drop of blood. Cahokia fell in like
manner without a blow, and in the follow-
ing October, the Virginia Assembly erected
the whole country secured by Clark's sev-
eral victories, into the county of Illinois;
a territory now divided into five States.

This county thus erected was at once
placed under control of civil authority,
John Todd representing tlie sovereignty of
Virginia as Count}' Lieutenant. His in-
structions were broad enough to meet the
wliole case; he was to conciliate the French
and Indians; to inculcate on the people the
value of liberty, and to remove the griev-
ances that obstruct the happiness, increase
and prosperity of tliat countrj'. These cer-
tainly were the great ends to be aciiieved
if possible, but in the nature of things
their accomplishment was not possible.
The French population were easily concili-
ated, but the education of a life-time, and
the hereditary characteristics of the race
rendered thetn incapable of appreciating
the value of liberty. They had grown up
under the enervating influence of the must
arbitrary manifestations of nionarchial gov-
ernment, and self-government involved too
great a risk for this simple folk. The re-
sult was a lack of sympathy with the new
order of things, more decided perhaps than
under Britisli rule. To this was added a
business competition, to which they were
unaccustomed; more frequent hostile in-
cursions of the Indians in which the sav-
ages gradually forgot the old-time love for
the French, and repeated losses by the in-

undations of the river, made up a sum
of discouragement which gradually deple-
ted this country of the French inhabitants.
This loss was but imperfectly repaired by
the immigration whicli came in from Vir-
ginia and Mai'yland. Notwithstanding the
fertility of the soil had been widely pub-
lished, and a considerable number had al-
ready found much better advantages here
than the older colonies afforded, 3'et the
Indian depredations that followed the Rev-
olutionary war, deterred others from fol-
lowing until the general pacitioation at
Greenville in 1795.

In 1787, the whole country northwest of
the Ohio was erected into the Northwest
Territory, and in February, 1789, General
Artiiur St. Clair arrived at Kaskaskia as
first Territorial Governor. Among the
earliest acts of his administration was the
erection of the first county, including all
of the present State extending north as far
as the mouth of Little Mackinaw Creek
(now in Tazewell County), and named St.
Clair after the governor. May 7, 1800,
Ohio was set off and the balance of the ter-
ritory called Indiana; on February 3, 1809,
the Illinois territory was constituted, in-
cluding the present State with the State of
Wisconsin, and on April 18, 181S, the
present State of Illinois was admitted into
the union. These dates are ajiproximate
indications of the advance of settlements
in the State. The population in 1809 was
estimated at 9,000; in the census of the fol-
lowing year a total population of 12,282
was returned. The frontiers had been
steadily advanced by the adventurous pio-
neers. To the north, the settlement had
extended to tiie Wood River country, in
the present Madison County; eastward on

]33

HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.

Silver Creek and up the Kaskaskia River;
south and east from Kaskaskia, some fif-
teen miles out on the Fort Massac road; a
family had also located at the mouth of the
0hio, and at old Massac and Shawneetown
were the remains of old colonies. The new
settlements were very sparse and all feeble,
and from ISIO to the close of the war, four
years later, immigration was almost at a
standstill.* With the close of hostilities,
however, and the cessation of Indian ag-
gressions, stimulated by the passage of the
act granting the right of pre-emption to
settle upon the public lands, the tide of
emigration set in toward this State with
unequaled volume.

At the time of the admission of the State,
fifteen counties had been organized, em-
bracing about one fourth of the territory
of the State. The settled portions were all
south of a line drawn from Alton via Car-
lyle to Palestine, on the Wabash, but
within this area were large tracts of unset-
tled country, several day's journey in ex-
tent. At this time there were some iO,000
inhabitants, of whom scarcely a twentieth
part were descendants of the old French
colonists. Nineteen-twentieths of the bal-
ance were Americans from the Southern
states, with the exception of some from
Pennsylvania. In 1820, the population was
returned at 157.447, while the political
organization represented fifty-six counties,
though some of the northern ones were
large and thinly settled. The territory
Ij'ing between Galena and Chicago, extend-
ing southward to the Kaskaskia, the head-
waters of the Yermillion, along the Eock
Eiver, and tar down into tlie " Military

*Hist. of 111.. Davidson & StuvC-, pp. '24-5-246.

Tract," was a trackless waste occupied by
various Indian tribes. The results of emi-
gration had been shown in the interior of
the southern part of the State, and the
country bordering the Embarrass, the San-
gamon and their tributaries, where the
hitherto unoccupied wilderness had been
made to blossom with the harvest of the
frontier farmer. The advanced settlements
still clunof to the eduje of the timber lands
that fringed the streams, an^l along the
Illinois to Chicago — which was just then
beffinnino to attract attention — were found
at this time a few scattered settlements,
weak in numbers and situated long dis-
tances apart. The tide of emigration which
continued to sweep into the State — some-
what changed in character — coming largely
from the Eastern States, and comprising a
considerable percentage of foreigners, fol-
lowed the old channels, and gradually
spread over the northern part of the State
until it met the tide which came latterly
by way of the lake region. The rapidly
increasing demand for the organization of
new counties at this period, gave sure indi-
cation of this rapid development of the
State.

Up to 1812, St. Clair and Randolph Coun-
ties had sufficed, but for the purposes of
better representation in the territorial coun-
cil, three more counties were added at this
time. In 1815, two more were added; in
1816, five; in ISIS, three; and in 1821,
seven. Of the latter were Sangamon and
Pike, the latter including all of the State
north and west of the Illinois, and what
is now Cook County. Sangamon included
the territory east of the river to the boun-
dary of Pike on the north. In 1825, the
county of Peoria was formed of the north-

HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.

139

ern part of Sangamon, and in 1831, Peoria
was divided and La Salle formed, which
then included what is now Grundy County,
and the larger part of Kendall.

The advancing tide of emigration coming
up airing the river made its tirst permanent
settlement on the territory of the present
county of La Salle, near the present site of
South Ottawa, in 1823-4—5. As early as
1821, Joel Hodgson came in the interest of
several families resident in Clinton County,
Ohio, to seek a place suitable for the found-
ing of a colony. Crossing Indiana, he en-
tered the State of Illinois near the present
site of Danville, and guided only by his
compass and an occasional Indian trail, he
reached the Illinois, near the mouth of the
Kankakee, and following the larger stream
down to the mouth of tlie Fox River, he, for
the first time since lie entered the State, rec-
ognized his position on the map with which
lie was provided. He carefully explored
the land along the Illinois and its tributa-
ries in this region, making his way finally
to the settlement at Dillon's Grove, where
he met the first white men after leaving
Danville. It is not a flattering considei-a-
tion to those who now rejoice in pleasant
homes and fruitful farms in this section, to
recall that this explorer returned to his
])rincipals only to report that tliere was no
hind here suitable for the purposes of the
proposed colony. But there were not lack-
ing those who could see bej^ond the present
forbidding aspect, and who had the courage
to dare and do. In 1827, there were some fif-
teen or eighteen families within the present
territory of La Salle, situated some distances
apart on both sides of the river. The col-
ony located south of the river, included a
considerable part of tliis numbei', and when

the news of the Winnebago outbreak
reached them, although the scene of action
was a long distance off, they realized that
they were on the frontier, and at the mercy
of a horde of savages whose motives and
impulses could not safely be conjectured,
and they at once set about building a fort
which served as a rallying point for the pio-
neers in this section. The speck of war,
however, soon vanished, and emigration,
temporarily stayed, began again to push its
way up the Illinois. In 1828, the first settler
on the present territory of Grundy County
made his appearance in the person of Will-
iam Marquis. He came untrarameled by
contingencies, and upon no uncertain mis-
sion ; he came here to stay, and settling on
the banks of the Illinois, above the mouth
of Mazon Creek, he reared his cabin and
was found here by those who reached this
country after the Black Hawk War. Dur-
ing these hostilities, the brunt of which
fell upon the settlements of La Salle County,
Marquis, although a trader and on the
best of terms with the natives, found
greater security in the protection of the
fort at Ottawa than in the friendly dispo-
sition of his patrons, and spent the interval
at the settlement. He did not return to
his place on the Mazon, but settled fur-
ther north in the county, and later left for
the more unsettled parts, where trading
with the Indians was more profitable.

The second family in the county was that
of AVilliam Hoge, who settled north of the
river in what is now Nettle Creek town-
ship, in the fall of 1831. Here the lirs;
white child of the county, James B. Hoge,
was born. May 6, 1S3L In 1833 a iiuml)er
of fixmilies came in and settled on both
sides of the river; John Beard, Sr., and his

140

HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.

son-in-law, James McKeen, settled near the
Kankakee north of the river, the latter
building the first house in Morris, a log
structure, for John P. Chapin, in May,
1S34. Col. Sayers built a cabin in AYau-
ponsee, wliich was occupied in tlie following
year by W. A. IloUoway; W. R. Perkins
built his cabin in Au Sable; Zachariah
Walley settled iu the same township, and
A. K. Owen in Mazon. The latter in a
published autobiography sa^'s: "At the
close of the war (Black Hawk) I sold my
claim on Corille Creek to a man by the
name of Moore, and in the following spring
Edwin Shaw, Dr. S. S. Robbins, Sheldon
Bartholomew, John Hogoboom and myself
litted out an exploring expedition, and on
the second day arrived safe and sound at
the celebrated Sulphur Spring on Mazon
Creek, and proceeded to make claims as
follows, to wit: Dr. Robbins at the Sulphur
Spring, John Hogoboom at John Grove,
Shaw and Bartholomew at Parers' Groves,
and myself on the south branch of the
Mazon, one mile below Mazon Town.

"While we were exploring we made head-
quarters at Johnny Grove, and on leaving
we organized a meeting for the purpose of
naming the different points selected. Dr.
Robbins proposed that from its location, it
should be called Center Grove, but I pro-
posed that it should be called John Grove,
in honor of John Hogoboom, the wealthy
proprietor, and my name was adopted, so
the name is John Grove in place of Johnny
Grove. AVauponsee — tradition had it that
the old chief had, in a drunken fit, taken his
butcher knife and killed six wives in one
dav, so from this and the tact that he had
lived here during the Black Hawk War, we
gave the name of Wauponsee Grove. Pa-

rer's Grove was christened Spring Grove,
in honor of a big spring I found just at the
foot of the grove, but as these claimants
failed to put in an appearance, it was sub-
sequently claimed by an Englishman by
the name of Parer, hence the name. Sul-
phur Spring was called Robbins' Sulphur
Spring, and my claim Owen's Spring, with
reference to a spring at the top of the bank
and a small point of timber running into
the prairie, which I subsequently cleared
off. I think this was in the spring of 1833."
In the following year Robbins alone moved
onto his claim. Early in the same spring
also came James McCartj', an old bachelor,
who took two or three acres in Wauponsee
Grove. He built him a little camp and
raised a crop of corn which he put in with
a hoe. In the fall he erected a shelter out
of the stalks, in which he passed the winter.
About this time came also the families of
Claypool, Collins, Crydei', Tabler, Chapin,
Cragg, Hollands, Kent, Millers, Griggs,
Ewing, Adkins, Newport, Taylor, Robbs,
Eubauks, Snowhill, Samuel and Isaac Iloge
and others. These were the principal fam-
ilies here before the government land sale
of June 15, 1835.

The early settlers here found the public
lands in a very unsatisfactory sliape.
Congress, in 1827, had granted to the
State in aid of a proposed canal, the alter-
nate sections found in the space of five
miles on each side of the proposed line of
its construction. These lands were resur-
veyed by the State in 1829; the "odd
sections" selected, Chicago and Ottawa
laid ofi', and in 1830, some lots brought
into market. Under this sale, the only
property bought in Grundy County, was
the purchase of 'Mr. William Iloge on

HrSTORY OF GRUXDY COUNTY.

141

Nettle Creek. Up to lS34r, the Congress
liuuis were subject to pre-eiii])tion, and
tliose who came prior to that date found
no difficulty in securing the property upon
which they had made improvements.
The larger number of Grundy County's
pioneers, however, came subse(j\icnt to 1833
hoping that the privilege of ])re-emption
would be extended. This, the government
did not do, but ordered a sale of the lands.
In the meanwhile, considerable improve-
ments had been made; each man striving
to include all the land that the old pre-
emption law would allow. In February,
1835, tlie lands were advertised to be sold;
Ranges 1, 2 and 3 east, and all west of
them from tlie southern line of township
13, to the northern boundary of the State,
at Galena; and from range 3, to the eastern
border of the State, at Chicago. The sale
began at Chicago, on June 15, the land
being ofi'ered at auction, and sold to the
highest bidder above $1.25 per acre. The
sale at the latter place was the one in
which the settlers of this county were
interested, and they soon found their worst
fears realized. The town of Chicago was
full of land speculators, who were ready to
l)id against the settlers for lands npon
which they had "squatted " and improved.
The sale was made by ranges, and matters
went quietly forward until a spirited con-
test arose over some land at Marseilles, on
which Ephraim Sprague had erected a saw-
mill. That night there was a meeting of
settlers and speculators, and finding that
the land- holders were bound to assert their
prior claim by force if need be, the
speculators made a virtue of necessity, and
agreed that the actual settlers should have
the privilege of purchasing a quarter-

section without competition. To carr^- out
this arrangement, a committee of three
from each township was appointed, who
should certify to the actual settlers, and
appoint a man who should bid off the
property. Instead of several persons. Dr.
Goddard was chosen to bid off the property
in the region covering La Salle County,
as then constituted. This arranjjement
greatly discouraged the foreign land
speculators, and it is said $500,000 left thi
town on the followinij morninff. Thus
weakened and discouraged, the speculators
conceded to the settlers the privilege of
peaceably bidding oflf more than a quarter-
section, provided their improvements cov-
ered more land, and on reaching range 8,
Salmon Rntherford claimed the right to
bid off in this way, all he had money to
buy, and this being -conceded, became the
rule of the sale. This land auction, which
continned for upwards of two weeks, was
held for a day or two on the steps of a store
which stood where 121 Lake street now is,
this spot proving to be too muddy for
comfort, the sale was adjourned to Garrett's
new auction rooms near South Water street,
where the weight of the crowd, breaking
down some part of the structure, the sale
was finished in a store room on South
Water street. On the second of August
following, the books were opened for entries
and then tlie speculators, having little
opposition, bought every available piece of
timber in the northeast part of 'rie State.
As this section of the country gradually
became settled and less dependent upon the
older settlements, the county seat at Ottawa
was felt to be at too great distance from the
northern limits of the count}'. The demands
of a frontier farm rendered the loss of

142

HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.

several days on the occasion of every nec-
essary visit to the county capital a serious
burden, while the tedious character of
traveling facilities aggravated the burden
by the discomfort of the journey. In
addition to this it was felt that those por-
tions of the county which had readier access
to the county seat had an undue influence,
which acted to the prejudice of the less
represented limits. These motives, what-
ever else may have entered into the
movement, were sufficient to create a desire
for a division of the county. Jacob Clay-
pool, in settling in Wauponsee, with shrewd
forecast, had satisfied his mind tliat tlie
distance between Ottawa and Joliet — the
latter not then a county seat, but of such
growing importance that lie believed it
could not be ignored in the formation of a
county — left space for another county with
its center near the present location of Mor-
ris. The natural discontent of this section
of the county was therefore first crystallized
by the eftbrts of Mr. Claypool and G. "W".
Armstrong, who, thougli not so far distant
trom Ottawa, became interested in the
movement. It was a year or two before the
idea secured supporters enough to challenge
the serious attention of the lower part of the
county, but when it did tliere was consider-
able opposition manifested. However, the
unwieldy size of La Salle was manifest, and
the opposition finally addressed itself to the
eflTort to confine the surrender to as small a
territory as possible. The supporters of
the proposition for a new county, while
united against those who opposed the divis-
ion, were by no means united as to the
line of division. The friends of the Grundy
County plan were surrounded by those who
desired a diflerent division with reference

to other interests, giving rise to a conflict
of interests that afforded scope for diplo-
matic management and rendered the issue by
no means certain. The supporters of the
Kendall County division, having " pooled
their issues " with those of Grundy, the
prospects of success visibly brightened. In
the fall of 1840, Wm. E. Armstrong, a man
of energy and ability, seeing that the for-
mation of Grundy might be turned to
speculative account, interested himself in
the project, and securing in addition to
others a numerously signod petition for tlie
two counties, presented it to the General
Assembly in the winter of ISrW^l; by
which bills erecting the counties of Kendall
and Grundy were passed, the latter being
approved by the Governor Feb. 17, 1841,
and the Kendall bill two days later.

At this time the public interest was cen-
tered in the building of the Illinois and
Michigan Canal, the construction of which
was being delayed by lack of funds, aud all
public measures were made more or less
subsidiary to this object. It was therefore
required in the act erecting Grundy Count}',
that the " Seat of Justice'' should be locat-
ed " on the line of the Illinois and Michi-
gan Canal, on canal lands," of which terri-
tory, not to exceed ten acres, was to be laid
off " as a town site, embracing lots, streets,
alleys and a public S(piare;" the lots thus
formed to be assigned one half to the State
aud one half to the county, " in alternate lots
of equal value." For the lots assigned to
the State, the county was to pay ten dol-
lars an acre, and this revenue devoted by
the Canal Commissioners to the purposes
of the canal. A board to carry out these
provisions of the act was constituted, to be
composed of the Canal Commissioners,

lUSTUUY OF GUUXDY COUNTY.

143

lion. Newton Cloud and Gens. Thornton
and Fry, and William E. Arnistronnj, K. S.
Diiryea and Gen. W. B. Burnett, the latter
an enjjinccr on the catial. A <^lance at the
situation demonstrated the fact that to se-
cure anj'tliinii; near a central location, the
county seat would necessarily be placed on
section 7 or 9, in township 33, range 7.
Section 9, was objectionable to the Canal
Commissioners, as there was but a frac-
tion of its northeast corner north of the
river, and this was the only portion suitable
for a town site. Section 7 was objection-
able to the local members of the board,
])rincipally because their lands were locat-
ed in the vicinity of the other position,
and that the approach to the site from tlie
south, would be over the low bottoms
which would oblige travel to make a con-
siderable detour. Such a conflict of inter-
ests left no room for compromise, and the
result of a vote was a dead-lock," Gen.
Burnett voting with the local members.
Under the organizing act an election was
held at the cabin of Columbus Pinney,
May 24, 1841, with Perry A. Claypool,
Robert "Walker and John Beard, Sr., as
judges of election. One hundred and
fortj'-eight votes were cast, which, as there
was a spirited contest over these first of-
fices, represented the entire population. It
should be noted, however, that about one
third of these votes represented an Irish
element brought here by the work on the
canal, and stayed here but a short time. In
this election, Henry Cryder, Jacob Chiy-
])ool and James McKeen were made county
commissioners; James Nagle, clerk; L. W.
Claypool, recorder; Isaac Hoge, sherifl^,*

*AIr. Hoge refused to qualify, and at a special
election held Sept. 25, 1841, William E. Armstrong
was elected.

Joshua Collins, probate justice; f and J. L.
Pickering, treasurer.;): On June 14, 1841,
the commissioners elect with James Nagle as
clerk, met at the house of William E. Arm-
strong, and after attending to the prelim-
inary duties in relation to oaths and bonds,
proceeded to organize the county. On the
organization of La Salle (Jounty ranges 1 and

2 constituted VermilUon Precinct; ranges

3 and 4 Ottawa Precinct, and ranges 5, 6, 7
and 8 the Eastern Precinct. In June, 1834,
a "Northern Precinct" was erected includ-
ing An Sable Grove and vicinity, and a
year later, in June, 1835, Wauponsce was
erected, embracing the whole of what is
)iow Grundy County. In the following
December that part of Wauponsee and the
county north of the river was divided into
two precincts, the dividing line starting at
the river on the line between sections 3 and
4, township 33, li. 7, and going to section
21, 36, 7. The territory east of this line
was known as Franklin, and west of this
line as Grafton. The newly formed county
was in this shape when the first Board of
Commissioners sat down to arrange its
political divisions. At their first session
they formed tlie first precinct, composed
of all of township 34, in range 8, north of
the Illinois and Desplaines Rivers, and
called it Dresden; the second, comjiosed
of all territory north of the river in ranges
6 and 7, they called Jefferson; the third
composed of all territory comprised in
range 6, and the west half of range 7 south
of the river, they called Wauponsee; and
the fourth, composed of all territory south
of the river, and east of the middle line of

fL. S. Robbins was elected subsequently, in place
of Mr. Collins who failed to qualify.

tSidney Dunton was elected first treasurer but
failed to qualify.

144

HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUXTY.

range 7, they called Kankakee. Subse-
quently, on December 6, ISil, Grnndy
Precinct was erected out of the east side
of Jefferson, and comprised all of 7'an2;e 7,
north of the river. On September 8, 1847,
Mazon Precinct was erected out of tlie
Territory of Kankakee, lying south of an
east and west line drawn through the mid-
dle of sections 25 and 30, in township 33,
range 8, and continued through sections 25
and 27, in township 33, range 7. There
were no further changes until March 2,
1850, wlien under the new Constitution,
the Board of Supervisors through George
II. Kiersted, Phillip Collins and Robert
Gibison acting as commissioners, made the
precinct lines to coincide with the townsliip
lines, save where the rivers made a devia-
tion necessary. Tlie present names and
lines are those fixed at that time save in
the case of the boundaries of Felix which
was attached to Wanponsee, and was
named and given a separate existence Nov.
22, 1854. The present boundaries between
the two townships were arranged on peti-
tion of their citizens, September 9, 1856.
The original names of Fairview, Addison
and Dover were changed by the request of
the State auditor, respectively to " Ari-
anna," Braceville and Goodfarra.

One of the first duties imposed upon
the County Commissioners by the act cre-
ating Grundy County, was to " prepare a
place for holding courts in said county."
The county at this time possessed neither
buildings nor land, and it was ordered that
the house of Wm. E. Armstrong be used
for the court. This seemed to be the most
available place for the purpose, and con-
tinued to be so used, notwitiistanding a
formal protest by Mr. Cryder, until the

May term in 1S43, when Mr. Armstrong,
having erected a frame wooden building
20 by 40 feet and two stories high, on the
northwest corner of the present court house
lot, the court was transferred to this new
temple of justice. In the meanwiiile the
"dead-lock" on the question of locating
had been broken, and the matter decided
in favor of its present location. The com-
missioners, therefore, finding this building
suitably located, bought the building which,
after having it "lathed and plastered," cost
a total of $485.36. The county ofiices were
in the upper story, the east room being as-
signed to the Clerk, and tlie southwest
room to the Recorder. As the court room
was the most available hall in the town, it
found considerable demand for this object
other than that to which it had been devot-
ed, and its use was finally restricted to re-
ligious, political and court purposes. This
modest edifice survived until the erection
of the present courthouse which cost $22,-
760, and was accepted April 26, 1858. The
" Commissioners' Court," as it was called,
rivaled the Circuit Court in importance.
It provided for court and jury, for prisoner
and pauper; it ordered roads and licensed
ferries, regulated the early tavern's bill of
fare and laid its paternal hand on trade; it
was in that day the sole arbiter of the coun-
ty's destiny. The difficulties nnder which
this executive board of the county labored
haAC been long forgotten and now find ex-
pression only in the musty records of that
time. The oft recurrence of the same
names in the list of juries, the chiims made
for " guarding prisoners," and sums paid
for the care of paupers, suggest a lack of
resources in both means and men, which
was characteristic of pioneer days. An

HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.

145

incident, published by Mr. Perry Arm-
sfront^, " points the moral." Michael D.
Prendegast, a man of fair scholastic acquire-
ments, but of inordinate self-esteem, in
August, 18-17, was elected Probate Justice
of the Peace by the large Irish vote which
was then an important element in county
politics. His success stimulated his vanitj',
wliieli he betrayed by signing his name
" Michel De Prendegast," and adorning
his person with a Catalonian cloak, stove-
pipe hat and a fancy ivory headed cane. His
wife expressed the famil}' pride by remark-
ing to a friend: "My husband is none of
your common justices like Pat Hynds; he
is the reprobate justice of the peace."

The greatness thus thrust upon him
could not satisfy all the demands of his
earlier tastes, and the " De Prendegast" was
found, one Sunday evening, wending his
way to one of the saloons with his judicial
cloak about him. His entrance was greeted
b}' a numerous and noisy crowd, and as he
produced a bottle from the folds of his
cloak, ordering it filled with port wine,
Owen Lamb, noted no less for his strength
and size than for his love of fun and adven-
ture, stepped up to the justice, saying:
"Judge, we will all drink with you, and
I'll have the best in the house; give me
some brandy." This was too much for the
self-complacent dignity of the "judge,"
and he burst out with : "The likes of you,
Owen Lamb, insulting me! Why, I'll
blow your brains out on the spot; " and
carried away with his anger, he instantly
presented an old horse pistol to carry out
his threat. The weapon was instantly
knocked to the other side of the room, when
the jud ;e precipitately left the field.

The wits saw fun in this incident, and at

the suggestion of Wm. Armstrong and
George Kiersted, Lamb brought action
against Prendegast for assault. The insti-
gators of the action represented the prose-
cution, and the defendant, aided by the only
lawyers in the placs, E. H. Little and C.
M. Lee, apjieared on the part of the defense.
The proofs in behalf of the prosecution
were positive, clear and unquestioned, hence
the defendant confined his efforts to prove
his good character. Among other witnesses,
L. W. Claypool, deposed substantially that
he had known the defendant a long time;
his reputation as a law abiding citizen was
good; he did not consider him a willful or
malicious man; not half so dangerous as
a little black dog the judge owned. Dr.
Curtis testified that he had never consid-
ered the judge a malicious or dangerous
man, but rather as a d — d fool. This was
the tenor of the testimony for the defense.

In the meanwhile, news of the trial had
come to the ears of the devoted wife as she
was engaged in " wiping the dishes." Her
impetuosity knew no method, but rushino-
out with a cup and towel in her hand, she
entered the court room, just as Kiersted was
addressing the court. Without a word of
parley or protest she rushed up to him sav-
ing: " So you have turned lawyer, Mr.
Kiersted, take that! " at the same time ac-
companying her words with a blow of the
teacup on his breast, which shivered her
missile to atoms. Utterly surprised by the
attack he drew back his fist to strike, when
he recognized his assailant and gallantly
apologized for threatening a woman.

During the progress of the trial, the de-
fendant was pelted with eggs and subjected
to other personal indignities. As he rose to
"sum up" the evidence, an egg struck him

146

HISTORY OF GRUXDY COUNTY.

squra'ely in tlie ear. Throwing liis hand up
to the smitten organ, he exclaimed: "I'm
kilt! I'm kilt!" and instantly feeling the
soft material oozing out of his stunned ear,
he displayed his hand covered with the
meat of the egg, and with a horrified ejac-
ulation, "See me brains!" broke with the
speed of a quarter horse for his residence,
declaring as the hope of a longer existence
dawned upon his mind, "I'll demand pro-
tection from the Governor and his posse
comitatus." Esrpiire Barber, before whom
the trial was had, discovered the whole
matter was intended for a joke, and dis-
charged the defendant.

The first jail was built on or near the site
of the old brick structure south of the court
liouse. There is no record of this, but tradi-
tion has it that it was a two-story log house
with a square excavation in the ground,
with an entrance in the center of the lower
apartment. The prisoner was dro])ped in
and secured by an iron grate over the open-
inir and shielded from the bare earth walls
by hemlock logs. From the numerous
"claims for guarding prisoners" it is sur-
mised that this jail was not much used.
Indeed the early siierifi^'s declared it unfit for
human beings, and occasionally emplo3^ed
the prisoners in the business affairs of the
jailor. It is said, but not fully credited,
that Wm. Armstrong fastened one Cottrell,
arrested for numerous thefts, with a chain
and padlock ,to a whisky barrel. At any
rate, the prisoner served the sheriff as bar-
tender and ferryman for some time, and
served himself so good a turn that on com-
ing to trial the jury acquitted him in the
face of the most explicit evidence of his
guilt. So marked was this action of the
jury that it was for some time afterward

suflicient to show that a man had been on
the Cottrell jury to exclude liiai from the
jury box.

The old jail was subsequently"- sold for
fourteen dollars, when the brick was erect-
ed. This was built at a cost of §3,-
237.13, and accepted April 17, 1855. On
July 14r, 1875, after the brick jail liad
been ofiiciallj' and repeatedly called a nui-
sance the Board of Su])ervisors decided
to build a new one, the result of which
decision is the present stone structure,
erected at a cost of $16,19U.60, and accepted
Sept. 14, 1876.

The last, and perhaps the least satis-
factory of the county institutions is the
" Poor Farm." The first farm consisted of
160 acres (the N. E. quarter section No.
24, 33, 6), in Norman township. This land
cost $2,400; was high land, and while not
presenting its greatest attractions to the
road, was considered well adapted to the
purposes for which it was bought. It was
Jbund to be too large for practical purposes,
and portions of the farm were sold. Later
it was thought a smaller farm could be
made nearer self-supporting, and another
farm was finally bought October 27, 1S79;
eighty acres (the south half of S. W. quar-
ter, section No. 33, 7) in Wauponsee were
bought at fortj'-five dollars an acre. This
selection was very much opposed, and a
special committee appointed by the Board
after examining the property reported as
follows: " It is too low and flat, with no
building place above level of prairie, and no
drainage suitable for such a cellar as the
wants of a poor-house require — wholly unfit
for the erection of such buildings as this
county will require in after years." The
purchase was persevered in, however, and

HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.

147

subsequently a brick building erected at a
cost of $3,S00. What remained of the old
thrin was sold for $2,510.

Under the statute of 1S49 the probate
business was transferred to the county
iudge, wliile that of the commissioners was
transferred to a county court composed of

a county judge and two associates. At the
election in April of the following year tlie
township organization was adopted by a
vote of the people, and under this arrange-
ment the first Board of Supervisors organ-
ized June 12, 1S50.

CHAPTEE IV.*

SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT— EARLY SOCIETY— RISE OF CHURCH AND SCHOOL— INDIAN TRAILS
AND EARLY ROADS— RAILROADS AND THE CANAL— THE NEWSPAPERS.

'PIIE pioneers of Grnndy County came
-»- principally from southern Ohio, with a
number from the southern States, and later,
a few from Pennsylvania and other more
eastern States. Most of these families had
been pioneers in older settlements in the
States from which they came, or had grown
up in frontier colonies which their fathers
had founded, and had been trained in the
stern school of experience to meet and
conquer the difficulties of a new country.
But the problem here, nevertheless, pre-
sented features and difficulties entirely
diflerent from that with which their earlier
experience had acquainted them. The
timber that skirted the mar<>;in of the river
and sent out spurs here and there along
the banks of the creeks and ravines, divided
the vast open sea of grass and flowers into
two great divisions. On either side the
broad expanse of verdant meadow, marked
here and there by a stray clump of under-
sized trees, stretched away from the river,
unbounded save by the horizon, and the
pioneer with his little retinue of wagons
was lost in this luxuriant wilderness like a
convoy of sloops in mid ocean.

A party of pioneers came on foot by way
of Chicago, in May, 1S35, and one of them
presents tins picture:! " There had been

*By J. H. Battle.

fl^lnier Baldwin's Hist of La Salle County, p. 124.

heavy showers for several days, and the
low prairie around Chicago was more like
a lake than dry land. For seven miles
before reaching Berry's Point, the water
was from three to fifteen inches deep,
through which we worked our weary way.
When within about two miles of dry land,
one of our companions gave out, and two
of us, one on either side, placed our arras
around and under his opposite arm, while
he placed his on our shoulders, and thus we
bore him t]irou£:h.

"The next day we walked about forty
miles to Plainfield. It gave us our first
view of a rolling Illinois prairie. We
strained our eyes to take in its extent, till
the efibrt became painful. We descanted
again and again upon its beauty and rich-
ness, and wondered why such a country had
remained so long in the hands of the sav-
age. It was a wonderful country. All was
new. S'range sights and sounds greeted
us. Tiie piping note of the prairie-squirrel,
as he dropped from his erect position, and
sought the protection of his hole close by
our path; the shrill notes of the plover,
scattered in countless numbers, fitfully
starting and running over the prairie; the
constant roaring of the prairie cock; the
mad scream of the crooked-bill curlew, as
we approached its nest; the distant whoop
of the crane; the pump sounding note of

HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.

the bittern; the litlie and graceful forms
of tlie deer, in companies of tliree to five,
lijrlitly bounding over the swells of the
prairie; — it seemed a new creation that we
had entered."

Every immigrant supplied his own means
of reaching his destined home. Tiie pioneer
from Pennsylvania, Oiiio, or the Southern
States, betrayed his nativity and prejudice
in the schooner-shape wagon box, the stiff
tongue, the hinder wheels doable tiie size
of the forward ones, and closely coupled to-
gether, the wliole drawn by a team of four
or six horses which were guided by a single
line in the hands of a teamster riding the
" nigh wheeler." His harness was of gi-
gantic proportions. What between the
massive leather breeching, the heavy hames
and collar, the immense housing of bear skin
upon the hames, the heavy iron trace chains,
and the ponderous double-tree and whittle-
trees, the poor beasts seemed like humanity
in a chain gang, or some terrible monsters
that human ingenuity could scarcely fetter
securely. The eastern immigrant, from
New York or farther east, was marked as
far as his caravan could be seen, by a long
coupled, low boxed, two horse wagon, pro-
vided with a seat, from which with double
lines the driver guided his lightly harnessed
pair of horses. Tiiere was about each part
of tlie outfit, evidences of the close calcu-
lation of means to an end, and an air of
utility which left no room for doubt as to
the purpose of the maker in every part of
it. This strange contrast in these early
outfits suggests that they may not unfitting-
ly be taken as tj'pes of two civilizations
that met here on this middle ground, and
in many a sterner contest waged an "irre-
pressible conflict." In the end, these

"wooden-nutmeg Yankee wagons," as they
were called, prevailed.

This prairie country undoubtedly of-
fered opportunities to the pioneer occu]iant,
far superior to those of a timbered country,
but the early settlers, imbued with the log-
ical deductions of their early experiences,
looked with distrust upon the open prairie.
The general impression was that only the
tiniber belts would ever be inhabited; the
prairie swept by the fires of summer, and
by the piercing blasts of winter, seemed
little better than a desert, and for several
years there was not a cabin in Grundy
County built more than one hundred yards
from the timber. The necessity of tlie
early cabins similar in size, style and ma-
terials, confirmed this impression, and
made it a conviction.

Tiie pioneer having selected a site on
some prospecting tour, or being attracted
to a certain region by the report of friends,
came with all his worldly possessions on
wagons, and making selection of a farm,
chose a site for his cabin, and set at once
to build it. Trees were felled; logs of the
proper length chopped ofl;' and drawn to
the chosen site, and willing neighbors for
miles about invited to the raising. Rude
as these structures were it needed no little
handicraft to rear them, and it was not
long before the special ability of each mem-
ber of the community, entailed upon him
his special duty on these occasions. The
logs trimmed, " saddled," and properly as-
sorted, were placed in the pen shape of the
cabin; the gable ends were run up with
regularity', shortening logs shaj)ed at the
ends, to allow for the slope of the roof; on
these the long roof poles two feet apart,
stretched from end to end, served as foun-

150

HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.

dation for the roof, whicli was made up of
clapboards, riven by the froe from bolts of
oak laid in place and held secure by
'• weight poles" made firm by pegs or
stones. Then followed the sawintr out of
the door-way and windows, the chinking
of the cracks with pieces of riven timber;
the caulking with a mixture of mud and
chopped hay; the construction of floors
and a door from puncheons, and the build-
ing of the chimneys of " cat and chi}'."
Hinges were supplied from rawhide, and
the wooden latch, reached from the outside
by means of an attached leather latch-
string passing through a hole in the door,
was often the only ])rotection against for-
cible entrance. Later experiences intro-
duced the use of heavy wooden bars, but
the jiroverbial expression of early hospital-
ity was the lianging out of the latcli-striiig.
The local characteristics of the early settlers
found their expression in the construction
of the chimneys. Few early cabins were
more than one story high, and the chim-
ney placed on one side, was constructed in
the case of the southerner or the Indianian
on the outside of the cabin, while the rest
built inside, the top in all cases scarcely
reaching the height of the ridge.

The interior of the cabin i^as marked by
the same general similarity. In each the
wide fire-place shed abroad its genial warmth
of hospitality or aided in the preparation
of the table's cheer. The "crane," hung
with iron pots and kettles, and the Dutch
oven, half submerged in coals, were in all
cabins the "evidence of things not seen,"
and furnished forth, under the guidance of
the deft housewife, a meal which is still
sighed for as the "grace of a day that is
dead." The "corn pone," or when so ex-

ceptionally fortunate as to be able to use
flour, the hop-yeast or salt-rising bread, the
"chicken-fixings," the game, the fresh, lus-
cious vegetables, — are memories that more
pretentious days liave not dimmed in the
hearts of the pioneers. The latter-day in-
ventions of saleratus and baking powder
had their prototype in the pearlash, which
was prepared by burning the potash, so
common then, upon the lid of the " bake
kettle;" the sputtering, greenish flame
produced by the process, in the meaiiwiiile
enforcing njion the childish minds of the
household the stern doctrines of the here-
after. The frontier cabin, as a rule, con-
tained but one room, which served all the
domestic and social purposes of the family
alike, unchanged. Curtains arranged about
the beds suggested the retirement of sleep-
ing apartments, while the cheerful blaze of
the fire-place afforded an unstinted glow to
the whole establishment.

The women of those days ate not the
bread of idleness. They were indeed the
helpmates of father, brother and husband,
and nowhere in the world did man prove
such an unbalanced, useless machine as the
unmarried pioneer in this western wild.
While the man, with masterful energy,
conquered the difliculties of a new country
and asserted his sovereignty over an unsub-
dued wilderness, it was woman's hand that
turned its asperities into blessings, and
made conquered nature the handmaid of
civilization. The surplus product of the
frontier farm sufficed to supply a slender
stock of tea, coftee, sugar and spices, with
an occasional hat for the man and a calico
dress for the woman; — all else must be de-
rived from the soil. How this was accom-
plished, the occasional i-elics of a flax-wheel,

HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.

151

brake, spiiiniiiij;-wheel or loom, suggest.
To card and sjiiii, to dye and weave, were
accomplishments tliat all women possessed.
IIoiisekeejMng was crowded into tlie small-
est possible space, and tiie preparation of
linen, of " linsey woolsey," and stocking
yarn, with their adajitation to the wants of
tiie family, became, to vary the catechism,
the chief end of woman. About tliese
homely industries gathered all the ])ride of
womanl}' achievement, the mild di.ssi|)ation3
of early society, and the ho])CS of a future
com])etence; a social foundation, of which
the proud structure of this great common-
wealth bears eloquent testimony.

But with all this heljjful self-reliance
indoors, there was plenty to engage the vig-
orous activity of the male portion of the
famil}- out of doors. The exigencies of the
situation allowed no second e.xperiment, and
a lifetime success or failure hung upon the
efforts of the pioneer. The labor of the
farm was carried on under the most dis-
couraging circumstances. The rude acrri-
cultural implements and the too often
inadequate supply of these, allowed of no
economical expenditure of strength, and
for years rendered the frontier farmer's life
a hand to hand struggle of sheer muscle
and physical endurance with the stubborn
difficulties of nature. The location of the
cabins along the lowlands that formed the
margin of the streams, exposed the early
settlers at their most vulnerable jioint.
During a considerable part of the year the
almost stagnant water of the sluirffish
streams tilled the air with a miasmatic poi-
son that hung in dense fog over stream and
grove like a destroying spirit. The ditti-
culty experienced in securing good water
often rendei-ed it necessary fur the farmers

to drink from stagnant pools, " fre(iuently
blowing off the scum and straining the
wigglers from the sickening, almost boiling,
fluid through the t.>eth." That the " fever
and ague" should stalk through the land, a
veritable Nemesis, was inevitable under
such circumstances, an_d many a hardy
pioneer was cowed and fairly shaken out of
the country in the chilly grasp of this grim
monster. But having withstood these dis-
couragements and secured a harvest, the
greatest disappointment came in the utter
lack of mai-kets. After a year of labor,
privation, and sickness, the moderate crop
Would hanlly bear the expense of gettinij
it to mai'ket. How this country was settled
and improved under such circumstances
can be explained ujion none of the settled
principles of political economy. Retreat
there was none; and that iiomely phrase,
" root, hog, or die," was borne in upon the
pioneer by his daily experience with a be-
numbing iteratio;i that must have wrought
ruin to any class of people of less hardv
mental and ph3'sical health.

In such a community where " The rich-
est were poor and the poor lived in abun-
dance," there was no chance for the growth
of caste, and families for miles around were
linked together as one neighborhood, by
the social customs of the time, which in
the spirit of true democracy, drew the line
at moral worth alone. The amusements
of a ]>eople taking their charactei- fuun the
natural surroundings of the commnnitv,
were here chiefly adapted to the masculine
taste. Hunting and fishing were always
liberally rewarded, while log cabin raisings,
the opening of court with its jury duty,
and the Saturday attenmon lioli(la\ with its
scrub horse I'ace, its wrestling match, its

152

HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.

jumping or t[uoit pitching, and jierliaps a
fight or two, afforded entertainments that
never lost their zest. It was a common re-
mark, however, tliat " Illinois furnished an
easy berth for men and oxen, but a hard
one for women and horses."* Outside of
'' visiting" and camp meetmgs, the diver-
sions in which women participated at that
earl}' daj' were very few; husking and
spinning bees, and " large" weddings where
the larger part of the nigiit was spent in
dancing, did not have the frequent occur-
rence so characteristic of the Eastern States,
and nothing here seemed to offer any substi-
tute. So long as the commimity gathered
liere lacked easy communication with the
outside world this state of things contin-
ued. There was a market at Cliicago at
this time, where a fair price could be liad
for the surplus crop, and the growth of the
older settlements further south brought
the advantages of civilization nearer to
t'lese outlying communities, but the lack
of roads prevented the early enjoyment of
these privileges.

The early lines of travel were along the
Indian trails. These were clearly defined
paths about a foot or eighteen inches wide,
cut into the sod of the prairie, sometimes
to the depth of ten or twelve inches. A
portion of one of these trails can be seen
now on the fsirm formerly belonging to
Jacob Claypool, where it has been carefully
protected by a furrow plowed up on eitlier
side of it. There were three of these fol-
lowing the general course of tlie river
through the county, and terminating at
Chicago, which was atan early time a great
resort of the Indians. One of these ran
along tlie north side of the river, between

'History of La Salle County

it and the present site of the canal up to
near the five mile bridge then passing
north of the line of tlie canal, but south of
the Catholic cemetery, it crossed both
branches of Xettle Creek near where the
stone bridges now stand, thence recrossing
the canal line near the Peacock bridge, and
passing on the ridge throuirh to the Protest-
ant cemetery, it crossed the Au Sable be-
low the aqueduct, and thence through
Dresden it took its course over the bluffs
toward Channahon. Another on the bot-
toms soutli of the river crossed the Wau-
pecan Creek at the quarter corner, of the
east line of section 18, in Wauponsee
township, thence nearlj' in a straight line,
passing twenty rods north of the center of
section 17, it continued to Spring Creek
which it crossed at its mouth, and thence
it led across the Mazon on section 16, and
np the river, crossing the Kankakee one
half mile above its mouth. There was a
second trail on the south side of the Illi-
nois river, which skirted the points of tim-
ber, pas.sed a little north of the present res-
idence of Jonathan Wilson on section 4,
32, 6, and entered Wauponsee about the
center of the west line of the southeast
quarter section 20, continuing thence in a
direct line and intersecting the first trail at
the crossing of the Mazon River. There
was a '• high prairie trail" through Holder-
man's Grove north of Grundy County,
which came to be an important line of
travel.

There were of course no fences at first to
interfere with the choice of road or to serve
as guides, and these trails were followed
until a wa^on path, pretty clearly defined,
made traveling between well established
points no very difiicult matter in the day-

HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.

155

time, or on moonlight nights. But the
belated traveler on a dark night, or one a
little unfamiliar with the fords, found it
advisahle to make an unexpected bivouac
on the open prairie. Even some of the
older settlers, when near at home, had some
experience of this, as an incident related of
Mr. Jacob Claypool, very forcibly illus-
trates:

lie and his boys, Perry A. and L. "W.,
had husked corn for Iloldei-man, for one
and a half bushels per day. Late in No-
vember (1834) they set out from home with
two teams, one of horses and the other of
oxen, to bring Imme their liard earned corn.
On their return they reached the Indian
trail near the west line of section 7, 33, 7,
just about dark. To add to the difficulties
of the situation, a heavy fog arose as night
set in, and knowing that there was no
escape from an open air camp, they made
the best of their situation by carefully
feeling their way along the trail to a point
near the present residence of Isaac Iloge,
where there were some hay-stacks. Here
the party remained until about four o'clock
in the morning, when the fog rising and
the moon coming out, they started for the
ford of the Illinois River, on the west line
of section 8. Perry Claypool with the
horses led, and fortunately striking the
right place jiassed over safely, but the ox
team failed to follow closelj', and becoming
unmanageable, began to swim out of the
difficulty with the wagon and passengers.
By daylight the party reached their cabin
home wet, cold and hungry, and worst of
all, with one load of their hard earned corn
floating down the river.

Such experiences were not uncommon
and stimulated the pioneer to the earliest

possible efforts to secure roads and bridges.
The northern part of the State had set-
tled uj) 60 slowly that there was no thor-
oughfare through Grundy County at all
until about 1833. About this time the
Bloomington and Chicago road began to
be outlined by the droves of live stock
going to market, and the return teams
hauling salt and supplies. This soon be-
came the principal route of travel, and
crossed the county through the northern
part of Highland, passed old Mazon and
crossed the Mazon River at Sulphur
Springs, on section 6, Braceville. From
this point it led to the Kankakee River at
" Cousin John Beard's ford," about a
mile and a half from its mouth. This
road was not officially laid out or worked
until after the county of Grundy was
formed, when the commissioners at one of
their earliest meetings ordered it run out
from " Lone tree point to Cousin John
Beard's ford at the crossing of the Kan-
kakee." It was subsequently' worked, and
in 1843 a bridge was erected over the
Mazon, where the road crossed, but it was
soon destroyed. It was the earliest and
greatest thoroughfare of its time, but it
did not reach the dignity of a mail route,
and has long since been abandoned. In
December of 1834, the commissioners of
La Salle County appointed Henry Green,
Benjamin Bloomfield and Sam'l S. Bullock
to lay out a road from Marseilles toward
Joliet. This was laid out as near as prac-
ticable along the Indian trail nearest the
north bank of the river. This was after-
ward divided into three divisions, and
Wm. Ruhey appointed supervisor of the
western division, "Wm. Iloge, of the
middle division, and Joshua Collins of the

156

HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.

eastern. On July 3, 1839, the "Shalcing
Bridge " was erected near where the pres-
ent stone bridge spans the west branch of
Nettle Creek on Jeflerson street in Morris.
To raise this early bridge required the
Tinited energies of most of the men in the
country about, and was probably the first
bridge erected in the county. It was hoped
that this road would prove to be the route
for the north and soutli travel of the State,
and upon such expectations Lovell Kimball
of Marseilles laid out the village of Olark-
son on the southeast quarter 12, 33, 6, with
a double log cabin hotel as a nucleus about
which to gather the expected city. This
village aspired to county honors, until the
construction of Grundy blighted all such
hopes, and remained even then the princi-
pal village in this region until the location
of the county seat at Morris, when it rap-
idly went to decay. At Dresden, on the
other end of this road in Grundy County,
Salmon Rutherford erected a large
" framed " hotel, where, by license of the
court he was allowed to charge the follow-
ing scale of prices:

"For eacli meal, common 25 cents.

extra 37J^ "

" " lodging _ 12)4 "

. ; " " hor=e or ox, hay over night 12J4 "

" 8 quarts corn or oats 25 "

" each glass of spirits 6'^ "

*' " " " extra spirits 121-^ "

For this privilege he paid $6 and gave
a bond of $100 for the faithful performance
of his obligations. Another of these early
hostelries was erected about this time on
the west fork of the Mazon, and was kept
by James McKean, and was for a consider-
able time the resort of drovers on their way
to market with stock.

The division of the large northern coiin-
ties and the demands of the local commu-
nities led to great changes in these early

highways. Iloads were run with some
reference to the farmers who lived along
the lines of these " through routes," which
led, not without an occasional serious
struggle, to their abandonment. The result
of these changes was to establish the main
line of through travel along the high prai-
rie trail by way of Ilolderman's Grove, etc.,
on which Frink and Walker subsequently
established a line of coaches running be-
tween Chicago and Peru. From four to
eight four-horse coaches left each terminal
point daily, connecting at Peru with a
steamboat from St. Louis. Neil, Moor &
Co., an Ohio firm, ran a line of coaches
between the same points following a route
south of tlie river, but it proved but a
short-lived competition, though vigorous
while it existed. The latter firm failed and
withdrew its coaches in a short time. But
with all these improvements, Chicago,
which had become the market for this
section, was too far oft" for the means oi
transportation possessed by the farmers.
Everything was hauled in wagons and the
roads were stern autocrats of the pioneer's
destiny. The treacherous sod that covered
the long stretch of swamp about the city
would bear up only a moderate load, and
thus restricted the amount of produce to be
taken by a single wagon. Add to this the
rude construction of the best roads and
there is a sense of discouragement that
might have worked despair if it had
not incited to improvement. It may be
noticed here that the civilization of the
broad tread wagon and that of the narrow-
tread, met at the eastern line of Grundy
County. With all the other inconven-
iences, the farmers of this section found
that their wagons had a hard road to travel

HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.

157

even where it was well constructed, one
■wheel being ^on the unbroken or unsettled
roadway all the time. This was soon
remedied by the adoption of narrow tread
wagcMis, but the other difficulties still re-
mained.

The jiroject of connecting the waters of
Lake JVIichigan with the navigable waters
of the Illinois liiver had been talked of
since 1S12, and urged from time to time on
the ground of its military as well as its
commercial importance, but it was not
until July 4, ISoO, that ground was first
broken for its construction. The line sur-
veyed for its construction, connecting with
the eastern arm of the soutli branch of the
Chicago River, followed the general line of
the Desplaines and Illinois Rivers to Peru,
where it was proposed to pass by locks into
the river. Tlie estimate of its cost varied
from $6i0,000 to $10,000,000, the latter
being neai'er the actual cost when con-
structed. There M'as an urgent demand
for greater traiisportation facilities, and
scarcely a year passed without a recommen-
dation on the subject by State or national
official, but here the matter seemed to end
until 1S25. In this year the "Illinois and
Michigan Canal Association" was formed
witli a capital of $1,000,000, which received
a charter granting most extraordinary priv-
ileges. At this time Daniel P. Cook, the
only Representative of the State in the
lower House of Congress, was earnestly
seeking to secure a grant of public lands
in aid of the canal, and he felt that this
charter would defeat his plans. He there-
fore used every effort to have it annulled,
publishing an able argument against the
association scheme and sending it through-
out the State. Tiie " Association" did not

seem to prize its privileges ; no stock was
ever subscribed, and the charter was volun-
tarily surrendered soon after its receipt.
In 1827, came the grant of public lands, but
this was not easily turned into money, and
in 1833 the advisability of devoting the
grant to the building of a railroad between
the terminal i)oints was seriously discussed.
"Up to January 1, 1S39, the gross expendi-
ture on the canal, derived from the various
Sources of loans, lot and land, amounted to
$1,400,000. All of it, but about twenty-
three miles between Dresden and Mar-
seilles, was contracted, and the jobs let
were roughly estimated at $7,500,000,"* In
the meanwhile the public and Legislature
had been carried away with a vast scheme
of public improvement, and the State
involved in great financial embarrassment.
After negotiating several loans on account
of the canal which involved the State's
finances without proportionately aiding the
canal, there was a general collapse. The
breaking of the State bank in 1842 added
to the general distress, and gave rise to an
agitation in favor of repudiating the State
debt, which then amounted to $14,000,000.
It was about this time that the unlet section
of the canal was contracted, Jacob Claypool
taking section 126 about where the aque-
duct is placed. The failure of funds, how-
ever, brought the work here to an early
close. The effort to secure a loan of $1,-
600,000 to finish the canal was protracted
through some three years, in which the
work came to a standstill, but in 1845 its
construction was renewed, and "finally, by
the opening season of 1848, tlie Illinois and
Michigan canal, a stupendous public work,

* Hist, of Illmoi-i, Davidson and Stuve.

153

HISTORY OF GRUNDY. COUNTY.

urged for thirty years, and in course of
actual construction for twelve, after many
struggles with adverse circumstances, was
completed."

The influence upon Grundy County was
felt at once; warehouses were erected, and
a good market for grain of all kinds was
brought within easy reach, while goods and
supplies of all sorts were as easily secured.
Its effect in another way was quite as
marked. When the work ceased in 1843 a
large number of those employed on the
canal, thrown out of work, took up land
here,and, industriously engaging in farming,
have become well-to-do, and are still here,
or represented by their descendants. Daring
the progress of the work the transient Irish
element outnumbered the residents of the
county, and worked their will for a year or
two at the polls. The village of Morris
suddenly changed from a rather quiet town
to a place " where whiskey and Irish were
plenty," together with what such a combi-
nation implies, but with the completion of
the canal this element passed away, leaving
Morris and Gruiuiy County to workout its
own destiny untrammeled by outside in-
fluences.

Closely related with the canal was a
scheme for tiie construction of a railroad
from Chicago to the mouth of the Illinois.
But the completion of the former and its
being placed in trust with all its property
and revenues to secure the piyiiiont of tlie
Eiio'lish capitalists who had loaned the
$1,600,000, discouraged the granting of a
charter for the upper part of such a road.
The slight dependence to be placed upon
the river for through transportation had
been demonstrated, and had proved very
disappointing to the great expectations

entertained of the canal. Tlirough freight
shipped by the canal was occasionally
seriously delayed because of the inability
of boats of ordinary draught to come up the
river far enough to make connections. A
charter had therefore been granted for a
railroad from La Salle to Rock Island.
The country through which it was proposed
to build this road was not thickly settled,
and capital was therefore slow in taking up
this enterprise. In the meanwhile, as it
languished. Senator Douglas, impressed
with the advantage of a railroad from Chi-
cago to Rock Island, began urging his views
upon others, and among the rest upon Nor-
man C. Judd, who then represented Cook
County in the State Senate. He suggested
that the charter for the La Salle & Rock
Island road be amended, so as to allow an
extension of the road to Chicago. Mr. Judd
entered into the project at once, and had no
ditflculty in enlisting the interest of AVm.
Reddick, State Senator from La Salle, Bu-
rea, Livingston and Grundy Counties, and
the late Governor Matteson, Senator from
Will County. The citizens along the route
of the proposed extension were easily en-
listed in the cause, and frequent consulta-
tions were had. At a conference of the
supporters of this scheme, held in the old
American House in Springfield, Senators
Judd, Reddick, and Matteson, with P. A.
Armstrong as clerk, were appointed a com-
mittee to prepare a bill for the purpose of
amending the charter. This was imme-
diately done, Armstrong drawing up the bill
at Mr. Judd's dictation, which was then put
upon its passage on the next day. It was
obstinately contested by the English inter-
est, but notwithstanding the apparent
demands of equity, the bill passed bot'.i

HISTORY OF GRUXDY COUNTY.

159

Louses, and went to the Governor for liis
approval. Tliis was tlie critical point, as it
was understood that Governor French had
assured the canal trustees that lie would
veto the measure. Mr. lleddick, wiio had
been of considerable service in the pa sage
of a bill championed by a brother of the
Governor's wife, at once projiosed to see
Mrs. French, who had the reputation of
being a good deal of a jioliticiau. and no
mean power behind the Governor's throne.
The bill was already in the hands of the
Governor, and a veto was feared in the
morning. So, late as it was in the evening,
Mr. Reddick proceeded to the gubernato-
rial mansion. The Governor's salary was
then $1,500 a year, and Mrs. French was
her own door-girl. Recognizing her guest,
she congratulated him on the passage of his
railroad bill. " I am afraid we are not out
of the woods yet," he responded. " Whj'
sol" said Mrs. French, "I read in the
Jieg'iste)' this morning that your bill had
passed both houses and gone to the Gover-
nor lor his approval." " True," replied Mr.
lleddick, "but we are informed that Gov-
ernor French will veto it." Springing to
her feet, and looking Mr. lleddick straight
in the face, she said, stamping her foot to
enforce her words, " But Governor French
shall not veto this bill! " The next morn-
ing the bill was returned aj^jjroved.

The provisions of this charter which
authorized the construction of a railroad
from Rock Island " by way of Ottawa and
Joliet to Chicago," and changed the name
to " Chicago «fe Rock Island R. R. Com-
pany," were peculiar, and explain its success
in the Assembly. It was skillfully drawn
to "catch votes" and served its purpose.
It provided: 1. That the road should pay

toll to the canal board upon all freights
carried, with the exception of (a) all live
stock; (b) on freight carried after the close
of canal navigation; (c) on freight carried
durinii: the cessation of canal naviyfation
caused by any casualty or otherwise; (d) on
freight received from or destined to a point
on said road tweutj^ miles west of the
southern termination of the canal. 2. These
tolls should cease when the interest and
payment of the $1,600,000 should be paid.
3. That the canal trustees should grant the
right of way free of cost. 4. If the trustees
should refuse their assent to this pro-
vision on the first Monday in June after
the passage of the act, the tolls imposed
should be remitted, and the company have
the right to construct the road untrammeled.
It was further required that the road
should be built within a year. It is needless
to add that the canal board made a virtue of
necessity and yielded. The act was passed
February 7, 1S51, and the work liegun with
energy. The route was surveyed in the
early summer and before the following
January the whistle of the locomotive was
heard in Grundy County. At the time
this charter was granted, there were only
about one hundred miles of railroad in the
State, and the " Kingdom of Grundj'," as
it was jocosely called, considered itself on
the royal road to prosperity and fame. This
road follows the general line of canal
through the county, and has 100,747 feet
of main track, 106,747 feet of second main
track, and 8,015 feet of side track in the
county.

The Chicago & Alton road is the second
railroad of the county in importance and
in the order of construction. It was built
in response to a demand for a closer connec-

160

HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.

tiou between Chicago aud St. Louis. It
crosses the southeast corner of the county,
and affords an outlet for the coal found in
that region, wliich, however, was discovered
subsequent to the construction of the road.
It was opened in lS5i,and has 106,737 feet
of main track, 03, Gil feet of second main
track, and 15,102 feet of side track in the
county. In 1S71: the Chicago & Illinois
Valley Railroad was laid to within a few
feet of the Mazon Creek in Braceville
Township, and in the following year it was
continued througli the county by the Chi-
cago, Pekin & Southwestern Company.
These roads are separate in their organiza-
tion and are likely to become the prey of
more important roads. The former has
39,230 feet of track, and the latter 76,992
feet. Tiie Kankakee & Seneca Railroad is
one of local interest, connecting these two
points and crossing the county diagonally
through the southwestern part of the coun-
ty, having about 107,000 feet of track in
the county. The Wabash, St. Louis &
Pacific Railroad appears on the tax dupli-
cate as having 26,710 feet of track in Green-
field Township, the Wilmington Mining
& Manufacturing Company some 0,000
feet of track, used to reach the mines of tliis
company in Braceville Township, and the
Jlilwaukee & St. Paul about a mile of track
for the same purpose. The railroad inter-
est of Grundy County, however, centers
in the two leading roads.

Closely following the advent of the first
railroad in Morris came the pioneer news-
paper, the harbinger of democratic civiliza-
tion. This was in 1852; arriving in the
village on the verge of winter, accompa-
nied with an almost helpless wife, and pos-
sessing barely enough material to answer

the requirements of his modest office, J. C.
Walters began the publication of an anti-
slavery paper, the Jlon'is Yeoman. The
citizens recognizing the value and impor-
tance of having an "organ" contributed
snch support as they could, and about Oct.
1, 1852, the first number apj>eared. It was
a seven column folio, printed on a sheet 21
by 36 inches in size, and dealt in general
topics of news and politics. The "oflice"
was in an adobe hut (an old mud-house is
the name by which it is referred to now);
the stands and other furniture were home
made, and the old " Franklin press," shipped
from Ann street, 'New York, struck off the
edition. The editor was unique in appear-
ance, surroundings, and in his literary style.
He wore longhair and a cadaverous counte-
nance emphasized by a pair of very dark
eyes; his old fashioned press was surmount-
ed, it is said, by an Indian's skull, the eye
socket of which served to hold a tallow can-
dle; and his editorials — "philippics" his
friends called them — were full of such per-
sonal attacks as only tlie untutored taste of
that day could admire. In 1851, the paper
passed into the hands of Buffington & South-
ard anl the name changed to the Herald.
Subsequently, Mr. BufHngton retired and
Mr. Southard continued its publication un-
til March 30, 1861, when he was called
away and sold the paper to C. G. Perry, who
subsequently took Mr. Turner in partner-
ship. On Southard's return after about
a year's absence, the proprietors of the Her-
ald., having accomplished some political
ends in which they were interested, offered
to sell the paper to him again. This was
agreed upon, but when the transfer was
about to be made, a political consideration
was attached to the bargain which defeated

HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.

lUl

tlie sale. Angered at tliis turn of affixirs,
some of Mr. Soutliard's friends insisted on
his starting up a new paper, and the Jlorris
Adoertlner was started with Soutiiard as
editor and proprietor. It did not take
long to demonstrate wliicli was the " fit-
test," and in accordance witli Darwin's
forniulation of a natural law. the Herald sold
out, and tiie two consolidated were con-
ducted hy ^Ir. Southard under the name of
Herald and Advertiser. It had in the
meanwhile been enlarged to a nine column
folio, and its name sim]ilified to the Herald
alone. In (October, ISl-i, the pajier was
purchased by General P. C. Hays, an Ohio
editor of ability, but a native of an adjoin-
ing county, who conductc.l it alone until
July 1, 1S76, when Mr. Fletcher was added
to the firm. It is now a seven column
quarto.

The Morris Gazette was a six column
folio printed on a sheet 21 by 29 in size.
It was begun by Andrew J. Ashton in July,
1853. It was Democratic in politics, and
of a sharply personal character in all its ef-
fusions. The projector of the paper had
little or no means, and depended upon party
friends to establish the paper. The paper
did not succeed, but in 185.5, the material
was sold to the Herald, leaving a deficit to
be paid by those who had aided in its es-
tablishment. Another paper of the same
political faith was established about 1860
by Matt. Parrott, but it was not a success,
and failed in a few months. The ne.xt pa-
per was the Reformer, started in 1ST2,
by '' Joe " Simpson. This paper was anti-
Eepublican, principally Democratic, but
considerably tinctured with green backisni.
In 1876, this paper passed into the hands
of A. R. Earlow, but soon coming back to

Mr. Simpson it was closed out. Again, in
March, 1880, Col. Blackmore revived Dem-
ocratic journalism in Morris by issuing the
Morris Democrat. Tlie paper added a con-
siderable vigor to the campaign of that
year, bnt its energies were soon spent and
it died before the issue was decided. It
seems to be simply a question of demand
and supply, and there being no demand, any
paper of pronounced Democratic tendencies
gluts the market and necessarily fails.

The IndepeiuJent is a semi-weekly pa-
per, independent in matter as well as in
name. Its first; number was issued March
1, 1S7S. It was established by Messrs.
Perry, Crawford & Kntz, who leased the
material of the Edwards' Directory office,
Morris. It started as a seven column folio,
bnt was increased one column in March,
1881. The business has fallen into the
hands of J. A. Kutz, the other members
having dropped out. It is the only semi-
weekly paper in the Congressional district.

The other papers of the county are the
Gardner WeeTcly News, BraceviUe Miner,
and IJie Independent. The first named is
a weekly paper published at Gardner, an
S-column folio, printed on a sheet about
26 by 40 inches. It was established Sep-
tember 29th, 1881, by C. M. King, when
the " boom " in coal promised a rapid
growth to the village. Mr. King, the
editor and proprietor, is a busy, energetic
man, and publishes editions of his paper
adapted to the locality where issued, for
Essex, Reddick and BraceviUe. The
BraceviUe Miner is one of these editions,
and was begun in 1882. It is the same
size of The News, but is devoted especially
to the interests of the miners, who form the
leading part of the paper's patrons. It h

162

HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.

Republican in sentiment upon all political
matters, but aims more particular!}' at fur-
nishing the families of this part of the
county with the county news. The office
of these publications at Gardner is well
equipped with material and presses. Tlie
Independent, a 6-colamn folio, printed on
a sheet about 22 by 32 inches, is published
at Gardner by J. H. "Warner. It was es-
tablished about ISSO, as an edition of the
paper at Braidwood, in the adjoining coun-
ty. It aims at local news, and serves its
purpose with success.

r.nt deeper tban all these elements, more
important than markets, or railroads, or
newspapers, the foundation of social prog-
ress, is the clmrch and school. Whatever
success the individual lacking these iniln-
ences, may achieve, a community can never
prosper without them, and much that
Grundy County may be proud of is due to
tiiese benign forces. The early settlements
were considerably scattered, and it was for
years a difficult matter to get more than
two families together for religious services.
The pioneer preachers were men of slender
education and homely address, but were
wonderfully effective in their self-denying
earnestness. They visited from cabin to
cabin, exhorting, counseling, reproving, as
the occasion miglit demand; they became in
every house a welcome guest, and many a
weary heart and feeble hand was stayed by
these simple hearted servants of the cross.
Among the earliest names familiar to this
vicinity were those of Adam and Aaron
Payne, Stephen Beggs, "William Eoyal and
Isaac Scarrett. These were all of the Meth-
odist church which established an early
mission at the mouth of Fox Eiver, in La
Salle County. It was from this point that

the Rev. Scarrett was brouoht to solemnize
the first wedding within the present bound-
aries of Grundy County — that of James
Galloway to Martha Matilda Stype, at the
house of Mr. Isaac Iloge. The introduc-
tion of a considerable Irish element here
brought with it the Catholic church and
its earliest re])resentative, Father Dnponta-
ris, who was a worthy man and proved him-
self an efficient shepherd of a wayward flock.
He was at any time ready to administer
" extreme unction" or quell a riot, and did
either with equal skill. The Mormons
were also represented by their itinerants,
but the people of Grundy did not seem to
take kindly to their peculiar doctrines and
gave them little encouragement In the
meantime, while the country part of the
county was being molded and modified
by these influences, the principal vil-
lage was rapidly gaining an unenviable
notoriety for its boisterous incivility and it
required no little moral and physical cour-
ao-e for the first ministei-s to attempt to
hold services in the old Court House. Sev-
eral ministers wei-e broken down by the
rude participation of the audience in the
proceedings of the meeting and left in dis-
gust. The Rev. James Longhead, who
founded the first Protestant church in the
county, was attracted to Morris, principal-
ly by a missionary spirit. On his first en-
trance into town his vehicle was assailed by
a huge foot-ball kicked into it by a boister-
ous crowd of men and boys who occupied
the main street for their game, while ruder
oaths from every side assailed his ears. It
was the roughest town he had met on his
travels from the East, and most in need of
gospel influence. Thirty-five years of such
influence have wrought great changes ; "this

HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.

163

WHS the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous
in ourej-es."

Hand in Iiand with the church is found
tiie school. The early library was made
up of the Bible, Pilgrim's Progress, tiie
Columbian Orator and Webster's Speller.
Out of these tiie members of the family too
young for service in or out of doors drew
mild draughts of mental exhilaration.
Reading came by the devotion iif odd mo-
ments from the mother's otherwise crowd-
ed life, and once in possession of this magic

power, the trials and triumphs of Christian
with the eloquence of the "Orator" proved
both entertainment and instruction. There
were very few private schools in the county
before the establishment in this county of
thn " District S.;hools," about 1851. Since
then there has been a rapid developmeut
of school facilities and Grundy County with
the rest of the State may pride itself on the
possession of educational advantages second
to none.

CHAPTER Y*

GRUNDY COUNTY'S SHARE IN THE WAR OF THE REBELLION— THE LOYALTY OF HER
MEN— THE DEVOTION OF HER WOMEN— THE REPRESENTATIVES IN THE FIELD.

HE war ! What memories, at that
magic word, crowd the mind !

" Of most disastrous chances,
Of movingr accidents by flood and field;
Of hair-breadth 'scapes i'the imminent deadly breach ;
Of being taken by the insolent foe!"

of woman's demotion, and of all the nation's
sacrifice during those woeful years ! And
yet, how our fancy fails. Time's kindly
touch has dulled tlie anguish of those days ;
fame's "ineffectual fire" is but a misty halo
in the intervening shadows, and children
read with ]iroud surprise of gallant deeds
on unfamiliar fields.

The Senatorial campaign of 1858, with
the succeeding Presidential contest in 1860,
in which the great citizen of Illinois had
been the ]irominent figure, served to fix the
undivided attention of this county, with
the rest of the State, upon the political
storm which seemed to be gathering with
portentious mutterings over the southern
portions of the country. It is doubtful
whether hope or fear predominated in the
minds of the people as the d&y approached
wlien Lincoln was to be inaugurated, and
the universal hope and expectation was that
in his grasp the serpent of secession would
be strangled, as Jackson had done before in
tlie case of the "nullifiers." It was in this
state of vacillation between hope and fear

* By J. H Battle.

tliat the reverberations of Fort Sumpter's
guns assailed the ears of the eager North.
It was this explosion, echoing round the
world, that united the various elements and
made men Union or non-Union. Niceties
of political distinctions wore lost sight of
at once, and to the credit of Grundy County
be it said, there was but one party here, and
that for the support of the Union. Fort
Sumpter capitulated on Saturday, April 13,
1S61, and on the 15th, the Secretary of War
telegraphed to tlie Governor of Illinois, the
apportionment of that State under the Pres-
ident's call for 75,000 men to |)Ut down the
insurrection at Charleston. The call was
made under the authoi-ity granted to the
President of the United States to call out
the militia when the laws of the general
government were opposed and the execution
thereof obstructed, and required the Gov-
ernor of Illinois to " detach from the mili-
tia" 225 officers and 4,458 men. The mili-
tia thus called upon had no actual existence
in this State. Here and tliere through the
State were half-filled companies of holiday
troops, but even these in a majority of cases
had no efficient organization or equipment.
On the 15th, the Legislature was called to
convene on the 23d inst., and an order
issued from the Adjutant-General's office to
the various militia officers to hold them-
selves in readiness for actual service. On
the following day an order was issued for

HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.

1G5

the iiutnediate organization of the six regi-
ments called for by the general government.
The response from every part of the State
■was prompt and nnaniinons, and in ten
days over ten tliousand men tendered their
services to the government for the defense
of the Union. In the meanwhile such
companies as had an organization and par-
tial eqnipinent were Jmrried forward, un-
der General Swift, to Cairo. This force
amounted to 90S officers and men, includ-
ing among others the Ottawa Liglit Artil-
lery from this section of the State. Of tlie
ten tliousand men tiiat gathered at Spring-
field in response to the Governor's call, the
majority were in company organization,
clotlied and equipped by tlie communities
which sent them forth. Of tliese Grundy
County sent out the " Grundy Tigers," with
W. T. Hopkins, Capt. ; Sam'l Elton, 1st
Lieut. ; G. S. Doane, 2d Lieut., and Capt.
Hulburd's Company which was mustered
in June as Company E. of the Twenty-
Tiiird Regiment of Infantry.

The response from this county to the
governor's call, was prompt and entluisias-
tic. On the 20th inst., the Board of Su-
pervisors voted $5,000 for the equipment
of volunteers and the aid of their families,
while ladies very soon after organized a
" Soldier's Aid Society " which enlisted for
the war. The record of the disbursement
of the fund thus provided by the Supervis-
ors, is quite amusing in the light of sub-
sequent events. The people here, as
everywhere else, were impressed that the
war would be over in sixty days, and that
the business in hand was little more than
a squirrel hunt in which there might be
accidents, or at worst not more serious than
putting down a mob. With this view the

country and town was scoured for guns,
the men were provided with boots, and the
ladies prepared such additions to a
soldier's bill of fare, as would make his
temporary absence from home less irksome.
But the war did not end in sixty days, and
the first draft came and found the people
of Grundy County relying on their first
effort. This was a rude awakening, and
from that time to the end of the war, the
county was alive to the exigencies of the
occasion. In August, 1S62, a bounty of
$G0 was offered, of which one hundred and
seventy-six men availed themselves. On
December 30, 1863, the Board offered to
pay $110.00 ($100 with interest at ten per
cent, in bonds payable in one year) to all
soldiers " wlio now, have been, or hereafter
may be regularly mustered into the service
of the United States, as Grundy County
volunteers." Under this resolution eighty,
five men were paid as new volunteers, and
in 1S81, under this resolution, $2,750 addi-
tional was paid on old claims. In May,
1861:, under the call for " one hundred
days" men a bounty of twenty-five dollars
was offered and paid to sixty-four volun-
teers. The war had by this time be-
come a very serious business, and while
there was no lack of loyal regard for the
cause of the Union, the burden began seri-
ously to be felt, and there was less alacrity
manifested in volunteering. Those who had
linfhter claims upon them at home, had either
felt some of the severities of soldier life,
or were disposed to take their chance of be-
in<r drafted, while those whose families and
business seemed to demand their staying at
home were anxious to avoid the necessities of
a draft. There was in addition to all this, an
unselfish desire to avoid the draft as a refloc-

166

HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.

tioii upon the count3''s loyalty to the cause,
and in September, ISG-t, the Board of Su-
pervisors impelled by these various motives,
offered a bounty of $300 to each volunteer
under the call of July of that year. Under
this action of the Board one hundred and
ninety-five persons were paid this bounty
at a gross expense of something more than
$6i,000. The revised enrollment of per-
sons in the county subject to military duty,
made January, 1SG5, placed the number
at 1,623. Tiie total quota under the various
calls during the war was 1,364: men, of which
1,3-13 were credited to the county. This
would leave a deficit in the number of men
required of the county, but in such a vast
undertaking, with the necessary official
machinery to originate and put in motion,
it was impossible to avoid all errors; and
while Grund}' County appears to have fallen
short of her quota by the official records, it
is susceptible of ])roof that she furnished
many mon; than her quota, which were
unfortunately credited elsewhere.*

In the matter of bounties it is equally
difficult to get an accurate statement of
all the connty expended in putting troops
into the field. The records show, however,
that the county authorities expended §112,-
175, and the various townships, in their
separate capacity, over $27,000, to which
should be added private subscriptions and
subsequent payments by the county, which

*In October, 1862, a list of volunteers furnished by
the different townships of the county was a-s follows:
Erienna, 13; Au Sable, 76; Braceville. 53; Felix, 20;
Goodfarm, 52; Greenfield, 51; Highland, 68; Mazon,
91; Morris, 1; Nettle Creek, 63; Norman, 24; Sara-
toga, 68; Vienna, 38; Wauponsee, 52; City of Mor-
ris — 1st ward, 38; 2d ward, 43; 3d ward, 78; 4th
ward, 17; a total of 855.

would bring the total up to the amount of
$145,000.

The Soldiers' Aid Society of Morris was
auxiliary to the society in Chicago over
which Mesdames Hoge and Livermore pre-
sided with such efficiency. Every expedient
which would bring an honest dollar into
the treasury was successfully tried, and the
fund thus accumulated was religiously ex-
pended here, or sent to the society at Chi-
cago for the benefit of the boys in the field.
It would be a tedious recital to recall the
various expedients resorted to by the ladies
to extort the last dollar in aid of their en-
terprise. The regular plan was to collect
gifts of money, under-clothing, etc., make
up a box and send it to some company or
hospital. To vary the monotony of this
plan, and to approach the public on a more
susceptible side, balls were given and fairs
held. One of the most important of these
was the " Sanitary Fair," held on the
grounds, and in connection with the Agri-
cultural Society of this county. In a
spacious dining hall, one hundred feet long,
dinner was served to large crowds on
each day of the fair. The supplies were
contributed by the various townships in-
terested in the Agricultural Fair, and the
proceeds, beside a large number of the
entries, were contributed to the purposes
of the society. Canned fruits, vegetables
and pickles, were among the donations
from the farmers' wives — one lot of twelve
half-barrels of pickles coming from the
ladies of Minooka. Others gave hay, coal
and cattle, which were sold, free of charge,
on the grounds, and we may believe the
bidding was not less spirited because it was
known the proceeds were to be devoted to
the army hospitals. But this dry recital does

HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.

1G7

woman's work during the period of the war
scant justice. The value of her moral sup-
port and courageous self-sacririce can never
be adequately estimated, nor its apprecia-
tion placed too high.

"The wife who girds her husband's sworJ,

'Mid little one- who weep or wonder,
And bravely spsaks the cheering ward,

What though her heart be rent asunder.
Doomed ni<?htly in her dreams to hear

The bolts of death aroun J him rattle,
Hath shed as sacred blood as e'er

Was poured upon the field of bittle."

The law proviiled that in token of re-
spect to the Illinois regiments in the Mex-
ican war, the six regiments organized under
the first call of the President should begin
their designating number at seven, and that
these regiments when organized should
constitute the "First Brigade Illinois Vol-
unteers." The Eleventh, therefore, was
the fifth regiment organized, of which the
Grundy Tigers constituted Company F.
This regiment was mustered in at Spring-
field, April 30, 1861, and on May 5th was
ordered to Yilla Ridge, in this State, in
tiie vicinity of Cairo, In the following
month the regiment was ordered to Bird
Point on the other side of the river, where
tiie regiment served out its term of enlist-
ment in garrison and field duty. While not
seeing any active service during this time
the regiment, with others assembled at this
point, did excellent duty in warding off the
danger which the overwiielming forces of
the rebels on the river below threatened, and
at the same time gained that discipline
whicli inadetiiem such efiicient soldiers dur-
ing the war. On July 30th, its term of en-
listment having expired, tiie regiment was
mustered out of service, and iiaving re-en-
listed for tliree years, it was on the follow-

ing day mustered in for three years. The
old number was retained, but tiie ar-
rangement of companies was considerably
changed, the Grundy County Company
taking the letter C. The membership of
the regiment was greatly changed as well.
Out of 916 mustered out only 2SS \kq<:q
mustered in again on tlie following da\',
but during the months of August, Sep-
tember, October and Xoveuiber, it was re-
cruited to about 801 men. During this
time the regiment doing garrison and field
duty, participated in several unimpor-
tant expeditions, among others, tiie one to
Ciiarleston, Mo., wliere tliey got into a
spirited skirniisii with the enemy. Feb-
ruarj- 2d, the regiment embarked on trans-
ports for Fort Henry, participating in the
campaign against that place, and on tiie
lltii inst. moved toward Fort Donelson.
Here the regiment got their first "bap-
tism of fire." The regiment came in sight
of the fort about noon of the 12th, and
here Wallace's brigade, composed of tiie
11th, 20th, -toth and 4Sth 111. Yolunteers.
Taylor's and McAllister's batteries of light
artillery, and Col. Dickey's cavalry, lialted
and drew up in line of battle. Col. Ogles-
by's brigade took up its position on tiie
right of Wallace, and in this position but
little occurred save occasional shots at the
enemy and a cliange of position, until the
loth. Grant had in the meanwhile strength-
ened his line of investment, so that but
little hope of escape remained to the gar-
rison. On tlie morning of the 15tii, there-
fore, the enemy, to the number of 7,500,
emerged from his works and in separate
columns hurled himself on the right of tlie
federal line, seeking to break through and
escape. The first blow dealt upon Ogles-

168

HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.

by's brigade, was followed bj- a second on
Wallace's brii^ade and then upon Morrison's
and McArtlnir's brigades constituting the
extreme right. One of the " Grundy Ti-
gers" writes as follows of this engagement:
" The rebels fought well but not fairly^liko
Indians, they sought shelter of stumps and
trees. The first attack on the 11th regi-
ment was m ide by a regiment of Missis-
sippi riflemen. We suffered them to ad-
vance to within TOO yards, when we opened
upon them with terrible effect and drove
them back to their trenches, where they
were reinforced and advanced again, this
time within fifty yards, but were again
forced to retire. We suffered severely, but
not a soldier fell back unless wounded. At
this time we had lost about eighty men,
killed and wounded. The rebels withdrew
their troops from our front and concen-
trated them on our right, and very soon we
knew by the firing that Oglesby's brigade
was giving way. It proved worse than we
expected. First came the ISth in full re-
treat, followed by the rest of the brigade.
By great exertion Col. Logan rallied tlie
31st on our right, forming two sides of a
hollow square, and here for half an hour
these two regimsnts held the enemy in
check, the 31st giving way and rallying
twice, only to retreat in utter confusion at
last. The 11th still held its own, Lieut. Col.
Hansom, though wounded, remaining cool
and firm. We changed our front by the
right flank, where the 31st had been under
a most galling fire, firing as we moved
around by the sidestep, until ordered to halt.
The rebels, exultant at the retreat of the
31st, pressed forward to within forty yards
of our line, but they were mistaken in their
men, and soon fell back to a ridge, 150

yards distant, leaving the ground strewn
with their dead and wounded.

"There, by a little ravine, we remained
for half au hour, fighting three times our
number, outtlankel on either side, waiting
for reinlbrcemunts, wliich did not coise.
Suddenly a body of rebel cavalry charged
across the ridge, on our left, and gained
our rear. There was but one way of es-
cape, and that lay through the body of cav-
alry, and through we went, the bayonet
opening the way. Two hours afterward,
the remnant of our regiment drew up to
receive Col. Wallace, who. being in com-
mand of the brigade, had seen us but once
since the battle began. It was no faidt of
his that we were left unprotected. AVhen
Oglesby's brigade gave way, he sent au
order to Col. Kansom to fall back on the
20th, but the messenger was killed. The
tears streamed down Col. Wallace' face m
he scanned his regiment. Over 600 liaii
engaged the enemy, and 115 muskets were
all we had left to show. Our flag still
waved over us, though shot to ribbons.
Early next morning we marched into the
fort, the 11th being allowed to lead the
van, on account of its having sufiered the
most severelj'. The loss in this regiment,
so far as we can learn, is 329 killed, wound-
ed and missing. Of the Grundy Tigers,
but one is missing." In this battle, Grundy
County suffered severely. Out of sixteen
men who enlisted from the southern part
of the county in another company, every
man was wounded.

Early in March, the regiment went by
Fort Henry to Savannah, Tenn., and thence
to Pittsburgh Landing, where it took part
in the bloody battle of Shiloh. of April
6th and 7th. The 11th, incorporated in

HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.

]C9

the division of MeCleriiaiid, was on tlie
right of the federal line, near wliere the
line touched the lower point of the river,
and with its division supported Sherman
in the first onset of that memorable battle.
][ere the regiment suffered cruelly, as they
did in the second daj^'s light, losing 27
killed and wounded out of 150 engaged.
After participating in the protracted siege
of Corinth and in the engagements near
Trenton, Tenn., the regiment was finally
ordered back to Cairo to recruit. In the
latter part of August the 11th pro-
ceeded once more to the front, taking part
in various ex]ieditions, reporting in the
latter part of November to Gen. McArthnr,
at Lagrange, Tenn., when it was assigned
to the 13th Army Corps. During the
earlj part of 1863, the regiment took part
in the campaign in northern Mississippi;
later, resting for a time in Memphis, it was
assigned, in February, to the 17th Army
Corps, reinforced by a consolidation with
the 109th 111., and ordered to Vicksburg,
where it arrived May ISth. On the 19tli
and 22d, the regiment was engaged in the
assaults upon the enemy's works; then in
tiie advance siege works up to July 4th,
when the city surrendered. In these en-
gagements the regiment lost its colonel,
three line officers, and forty men. The
regiment subsequently took part in the
Natchez expedition, returning to Vicks-
burg in October, where it remained till the
latter part of July, 1864, engaging in vari-
ous minor expeditions from that point.
At this time, the 11th was assigned to the
19th Army Corps, and after taking part in
several minor expeditions, took part in the
reduction of Mobile, Ala., participating in
the investment and siege of Spanish Fort

and Fort Blakely, and in the assault upon
the latter. This ended its active service,
and, moving from one point to anotliei', it
was mustered out of the service, July lltli,
1865, at Alexandria, La., when the regi-
ment left for Springfield, 111., for payment
and final discharge.

Among the early volunteers from Grundy
County was Capt. Hulburd's company.
This company was among those that were
crovvded out of the earlier regiments, but
was accepted by the State, and finally
authorized by tlie Secretary of War during
the month of June and on the i5th was
mustered into the service as Company E of
the 23rd regiment, but better known as the
" Irish Brigade,"' under command of Col.
Mulligan. The regiment enlisted under the
call for "three months" volunteers, and
spent an uneventful career, first at Quincy,
111., and then at the St. Louis arsenal, until
tlie latter part of July, when the regiment
was moved to Jefl'erson City, Mo. In the
latter part of August the regiment was re-
enlisted, a large part, however, returning to
Chicago and being mustered out. In the
reorganization which followed the re-enlist-
ment of the regiment, 21 men of Company
E., 52 men of Company G., and 25 men of
Company H, were consolidated and called
Company G, which, by an order of Jan. 3,
1865, was changed to Company C. The.
movement of Gen. Price toward Jeft'erson
City caused Col. Mulligan, who had been
engaged in several minor exj^editions, to
move to Lexington as soon as possible afiei-
the reorganization, and arriving at the
place on the 9th of September he set at
once to fortifying his position. His com-
mand consisted of the 23d 111. infantry, 1st
111. cavalry, and about 1,200 Missouri

170

HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.

" home guards," tlie entire force numbering
less than 3,000 men. Gen. Price set down
before the works on tlie 11th, with a force
estimated at 20,000. An assault was made
on the following day, but so determined was
tlie resistance that the rebel General was
forced to undertake a siege. The nature of
the works, however, left no room to doubt
the speedy result of such an attack, unless
relieved by reinforcements. The besieging
force saturated bales of hemp to prevent
their ignition from the hot shots of Mulli-
gan's guns, and rolled them in front of the
intrenchments, and quietly mounted his
guns. Price, who liad been waiting for
ammunition, on the 18th opened with thir-
teen guns, posted in commanding positions.
Col. Mulligan liad but five small brass
pieces with which to reply to this fire, and
these were charged with rough shot manu-
factured for the occasion at a neighboring
foundry. These pieces were worked, how-
ever, with great gallantry, and served to
command very considerable respect from
the besiegers. Price had previously seized
the boats on the river, and fortified the
adjacent blufl:s, so that the federal troops
were entirely cut off from water, and suf-
fered the most intense agonies of thirst. It
rained, however, at intervals, and the thirsty
men, by spreading their blankets till they
became saturated with water, and then
wringing them into camp dishes, were
enabled to prolong the siege until the 20th.
when they surrendered. The Missouri
troops, " invincible in peace and invisible in
war," left the burden of the defense with
the Illinois troops, constituting scarcely
more than half of the whole number. A
writer in the Chicago Pout spoke of the
23d regiment as follows: ''On the 17th tlie

enemy commenced erecting breastworks of
hemp bales, from behind which they con-
tinued to fire as the}' rolled them toward us.
About three o'clock of tlie same day they
charged over our entrenchments, upon Col.
Peaijody's home guards, and planted tiieir
flags on the top of our breastworks. The
Irish Brigade was ordered to leave its
position on the opposite side, and to retake
the ground which Peabody had lost. We
fired on the run, and continued on the
double quick. The rebels scattered and fled
like a flock of sheep, but left the top of the
breastworks covered witii dead and wounded.
In this single charge we killed and wounded
55 and lost about 30 killed and wounded."
An officer in the rebel service wrote of the
capitulation: " This surrender does not cast
the slightest discredit upon Col. Mulligan,
his officers and men. After having ex-
hausted all tlieir means against an enemy
three times their strength they had no
choice but capitulation." The regiment
was paroled, and by order of Gen. Fremont
mustered out of the service in October, but
was restored in December by order of
McClellan. After remaining at Camp
Douglas, near Chicago, guarding prisoners
and recruiting until June 14, 1862, the
regiment was moved to Western Virginia.
Here the regiment found plenty of service,
and had repeated encounters with rebel
detachments. Company G being captured
April 25, 1863, and sent to Richmond.
The regiment was mustered out at Pich-
mond, Va., July 2-1, 1865, and arrived in
Chicage six days later.

Grundy County was also represented in
the Thirty-sixth regiment by Company G,
of that organization. This regiment, like
the 23d, was made up of those volunteers

HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.

173

who tendered tlieir services just too late to
be accepted under the first call of the Pres-
ident. "A meeting of persons interested
in the organization of a 'Fox River Regi-
ment' was lield at Geneva on the 29th day
of Juh', 1861, and preliminary steps taken
for its organization. Fifteen companies,
either complete or in an advanced state of
formation, were represented and tendered
for acceptance, twelve of wliicii were select-
ed, including two cavalry companies."*
This regiment was duly authorized by the
proper authorities, and Col. N. Grensel
was appointed to the command of the "Fox
River Regiment," under date of August
14, 1861. The regiment went into camp
near Aurora, was mustered into the three
years' service September 23d, and uni-
formed, and on the following day started for
St. Louis, where they were armed. The regi-
ment was at once ordered to Rolla, Mo.,
remaining there until January, 1862, when
it took part in the campaign against Price,
resulting in the series of engagements end-
ing with the battle of Pea Ridge. In this
battle, especially, the 36th took a conspicu-
ous part. It was a part of the Second bri-
gade of Osterhaus' division, and occupied
a position on the left of the Federal line.
Company CI. was the most severely han-
dled, losing thirteen men while in skirmish
line. Col. Grensel's report of his part in
the engagement describes this action as
follows: "My attention was now called to
several regiments of infantry in our front,
and immediately opposite the 3Cth Illinois
Volunteers, whereupon I threw out Com-
panies B and G of that regiment as skir-
mishers. These companies crossed the field,

♦Bennett & Haight's Hist, of 36fch Regt.

and on entering the timber discovered the
enemy in ambush — three regiments drawn
up in line and others formed in square,
evidently e.xpecting another attack from
our cavalry. A rapid fire was opened up
by the enemy and returned by the skir-
mishers, which was kept up for fifteen min-
utes. Finding that they were wasting am-
munition to no purpose, the skirmishers
retired in good order, with a loss of twenty
wounded — thirteen in Company G, and
seven in Company E."

The regiment was subsequently trans-
ferred to the Department of the Mississippi
and marched to Cape Giraudeau, Mo., and
on their arrival was transferred to Gen.
Pope's command. September 6, 1862, the
regiment was ordered to Cincinnati, O., to
defend the city against Gen. Bragg'a raid
across Kentuckj', and joined in his pursuit
when that general was forced to retreat.
In the battle of Perry ville, which followed,
the 36tli i-egiment, which formed a part of
Sheridan's division, occupied an advanced
position in front of Barrett's battery near
the center of the federal line. Here the
regiment was the object of a fierce attack
by three regiments of Hardee's famous
troops, and maintained a sharp fight until
the ammunition being exhausted, the 36th
was retired, losing 75 men. They were
ordered subsequenth' to the support of
another battery, but did not again become
engaged with the enemy. With the rest
, of the army the 36th went forward to
Nashville, where it remained until the lat-
ter part of December, 1862, when it moved
out with the army under Rosecrans to the
bloody encounter of Stone River. In this
battle McCook's corps occu])ied the I'ight
of the Union line, Sheridan's division being

174

HISTORY OF GKUXDY COUNTY.

on the left of this corps. Of the 3(3th reg-
iment's part in this action CoL Grensel
reported: "At daylight on the 31st (De-
cember, 1SC2) the regiment was assaulted
by a rebel brigade, under Gen. Weathers,
and being supported by the 88th Illinois,
on its left, the enemy was soon driven
back to the woods; but again and again
they were rallied, every time meeting the
same fate, until thirty-eight of that fine
brigade were all that were left to tell where
their rebel comrades had fallen. The 36th
charged them at the point of the bayonet
twice in succession, driving them back.
Forty-one of the poor bo^'s lay dead on
their faces on less than an acre of ground.
The number of wounded is large, and, in
iact, the killed and wounded are the larg-
est in the whole division." Out of this
light the rci^iment brought only 200 men,
Company G losing three men killed and
thirteen wounded.

After the battle of Stone Iliver, suc-
ceeded a period of more or less inactivity,
in which the regiment recruited its wasted
energies, losing its colonel in the mean-
while by resignation, his place being sup-
plied by Col. Silas Miller. In September,
however, the 36th was called again to face
the enemy at Chickamauga. On the 19th,
the regiment marched ten miles, from Pond
Springs to Gordon's Mills, Sheridan's di-
vision occupying at that time the extreme
right of the federal line. The attack upon
this portion of the line was especially
severe. Lieut. Col. Olson's report of this
engagement is as follows: " At 2 P. M.
went into position near Gordon's Mills,
with one company thrown forward as
skirmishers. At 5 P. M. fell back to the
timber, about 200 yards, and remained dur-

ing the night. At i A. M., 20th, inarched
two miles and a quarter to the left and
formed in the second line. At 11A.M.,
after some skirmishing, was ordered for-
ward to the sup])ort of the center. Formed
on the brow of a hill, under a most ter-
rible fire, but in perfect good order, and
engaged the enemy fiercely, checking his
advance. At this juncture, the enemy ap-
peared on the left, and, turning the flank,
subjected us to a murderous, enfilading
fire, against which we could offfer but little
resistance. The regiment was ordered to
fall back. Here the regiment made another
stand, but was overwhelmed by numbers,
and compelled to fall back." At this
juncture, Sheridan's division was relieved,
and ordered to Rossville to rescue a train
which was in danger of falling into the
hands of the enemy. This was skillfully
done, the troops going silently within rifle
shot of the enemy, securing the train with-
out discovery, and going into camp five
miles away. On the 22d, the i-egiment
took up its line of retreat to Chattanooga.
In this engagement. Company G lost
twenty-two men.

On the following day, the siege and de-
fense of Chattanooga began, the 36th be-
ginning the construction of rifle pits, by
five o'clock next morning. Here some two
months were spent in watching the enemy
on the heights about the city, living on half
or no rations, and wondering whether the
issue wonld be starvation or retreat. In
the meanwhile the army had changed lead-
ers, the line of supplies had been opened,
and Sherman's and Hooker's forces added
to the army, which was now under the im-
mediate command of Gen. Grant. About
noon of Kovember 23d, 1863, the order

HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.

175

was g'weu to the 36tli to " fall in," and with
Sheridan's division it supported Wood's
division, in what was intended as a recon-
noisanee of the enemy on Orchard Knob.
The slight resistance of the enemy changed
the character of the movement, and the
troops, reinforced b^' Howard's division,
occupied the position gained and fortified,
the 36th holding a position on the hill just
south of Orchard Knob, where is now the
National Cemetery. In the meanwhile,
Hooker had taken Lookout Mountain, but
his troops, out of ammunition, were forced
to remain inactive until their cartridge
bo.xes were replenished, and so passed the
day. On the 24:th, Sherman renewed his
attacks upon the northern summits of Mis-
sion Ridge, but finding it impossible to
make rapid progress, and Hooker being
delayed on the left, Grant determined upon
a movement from the center. The plan
was to take the rifie pits at the foot of the
ridge, by the skirmish line if possible, and
the 36tli furnished three companies fortius
service. This was accomplished. From
this point a hill rose eight hundred feet out
of the valley, swept by a storm of bullets,
shot and shell. Along its face, half-way
up, stretched a line of works, then 400 feet
further up, with the steepness of a gothic
roof, rough with rocks and strewn with
fallen trees, the summit frowned with all
its terrible enginery of war. To stay in the
rifle pits already gained meant death,
to retreat was as certain destruction, and
so without orders the troops struggled
up through the deluge of death-dealing
missiles. In this fight Company G did not
lose a man, though the regiment lost some
twenty. In January, 1804, the regiment
re-enlisted, and arrived in Chicago on

"veteran furlough," at midnight of Feb-
ruary 2d. After partaking of the hospital-
ities of the city, the various companies
separated for the localities of their homcR,
Company G being received at Morris with
enthusiastic demonstrations, which was re-
peated during their six weeks' stay, at the
various points where the friends of the
regiment resided. During the furlough of
the regiment every effort was made by the
members to recruit its numbers. Com-
pany G took back twenty veterans and
eleven recruits. March 19, 1804, the regi-
ment took the cars for Chicago, on their way
back to the field. The regiment proceeded
at once to Chattanooga, and from thence
took part in the actions of Dalton, Resaca,
Kenesaw, Atlanta, Spring Hill, Franklin,
and Nashville. After the pursuit of Hood,
■which took the regiment to Lexing-ton,
Ala., it returned to Nashville, where it
remained until the loth of June, when
orders were received to proceed to New Or-
leans. Here the 30th was retained for
lieadquarter and special dut}^ until October
8, 1865, when it was mustered out of the
service.

In Company I of the 55th'regiment, this
county was represented by some fifty men,
the balance of the company being drawn
from La Salle County. The regiment was
mustered into the three years' service Octo-
ber 31, 1861, at Camp Douglas. The 55th
was ordered January, 1863, to Paducah,
Ky., where they remained till March 8, when
they were ordered to the Tennessee River
to take piart in the movements about Cor-
inth. This regiment was finally taken to
Pittsburgh Landing, where it was ]ilaced
on the left of the federal line in that mem-
orable fio;]it. Out of 873 men taken into

376

HISTORY OF GKUNDY COUNTY.

the light, 102 enlisted men were killed, and
161 wounded and taken prisoners. It
took part in the siege of Corinth, and its
colors were the first in the captured city;
with Shernaan's division the 55th partici-
pated in the expedition to Holly Springs,
Miss., thence to Memphis; thence to take
part in the battle of Chickasaw Bayou, Dec.
29, 1862, losing in this engagement ten
men. From this point having re-einbarked
with the army, it took part in the battle of
Arkansas .Post; thence to Young's Point
early iu 1863, and in April joined the army
about Vicksburg, taking part in several ex-
peditions against the enemy's outlying
posts and in the assaults, 19th and 22d May,
upon the main works. Following the for-
tunes of Sherman's division, the regiment
found its way to Chattanooga in Novem-
ber, 1863, and took ]iart in the prelimi-
nary movements of the battle of Mission
Ridge. In the following winter it re-en-
listed and was home on a veteran furlough
of thirty days. On its return it rejoined
Sherman, took part in the engagements of
Kenesaw Mountain, losing 48 men; again
in July losing 33 men; in the siege of
Atlanta losing 25 men; and in the fight of
Jonesboro, losing 23 men. It subsequently
joined in the pursuit of Hood through
northern Alabama, when it returned to
Atlanta, and later with tlie 15th Army
Corps went to Savannah. Marched from
Richmond to Washington, took part in the
grand review, then moved to Louisville;
thence to Little Rock, Ark., where it was
mustered out of the service August li, 1865.
Company I of the 69th regiment was
made up principally from Grundy County.
This regiment was organized under the
call for three months men in 1862, and was

mustered into the service June 14, 1S62, at
Oamp Douglas. They were assigned duty
of guarding prisoners at this camp and
served out their term of enlistment here,
being mustered out Sept. 27, 1862.

Company C of the 76th regiment was
raised entirely in Grundy County. This
company was organized in the summer of
1862, went into camp at Kankakee and was
Tiiustered into the service August 22, 1862.
The 76tli was ordered as soon as mustered
to Columbus, Ky., and from thence to Bol-
ivar, Tenn., October 3d. Late in Novem-
ber the regiment joined Grant's forces in
the campaign along the Mississippi Central
Railroad, and in February, 1863, proceeded
to Memphis and thence to Vicksburg,
where it took part in the assault of May 22d.
This regiment subsequently took part in the
movement against Jackson, Meriden, and
the expeditions of February and May, Isd-t,
up the Yazoo River. In July, 186-1-, it was
in Slocum's expedition against Jackson, and
bore a prominent part in the battle of July
6th and 7th. On the latter day it was cut
off from the balance of the command,
but cut its way out, losing ninety-eight
men. Took part in various minor move-
ments in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Ar-
kansas, and joined in Steele's expedition
from Pensacola to Blakely, Ala. May 9,
1865, engaged in the assault and capture of
Fort Blakely, losing seventeen killed and
eighty -one wounded, but succeeded in being
the first to plant the national ' colors upon
the enemy's works. After long marches
and tedious encampments at Selden, Mo-
bile and Galveston, the regiment was mus-
tered out and ordi.red home, July 22,
1865.

In the 91st regiment of Illinois infantry,

HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.

177

(inituly Cdunty was represented b}' Com-
jiatiy D. Tliis com])any was raised in
Aiii^iist, 18G2, and going to Cainp Butler
was mustered into the service Sept. 8, 1862.
In tiie following month the regiment was
ordered to Louisville and was assigned to
duty guarding the Louisville and Nashville
railroad. The regiment formed a part of
the large force guarding the Louisville and
Nashville railroad, and occupied seven de-
tached posts on thirty miles of tlie line of
that road. Three compiinies were stationed
at each of the trestles at Big llun and Sul-
]ihnr Fork, which are ahout a mile apart,
and seven or eight miles north of Elizabeth-
town ; one company, Capt. Fosha's (Co.
D), occui)ied a stockade at this ])lace ; por-
tions of one company, Capt. Hanna's (en-
listed in Kendall County), were stationed
at two bridges about a mile apart, and
nearly two miles south of Elizabethtown ;
one company at Nolin's Fork, nine miles,
and one at Bacon Creek, twenty miles
south of Elizabethtown. These detachments
liad all received orders not to leave their
diflerent positions for any cause whatever,
bnt to hold and defend them to the last
extremity. For some days before the attack
of Gen. Morgan, reports were constantly
received at the different stations that the
rebels were ajiproaching in large force, and
the impression was universal throughout
the regiment that under the orders they
had received, the small detachments at the
different posts would be gobbled u]>, one
after the other, by superior numbers. These
reports and impressions were fully con-
tirmed late on Fridaj' night, by tha arrival
at Elizabethtown of two negroes who had
escaped from the companies at Bacon
Creek and Nolin's Fork bringing intelli-

gence that both of these companies had
been attacked that day by the rebels and
compelled to surrender. Capt. Fosha im-
mediately sent a messenger to head(|uarter8
at Big Run Trestle, informing Lieut.
Col. Smith of the intelligence he had just
received by the escaped negroes.

"During the night the rebel scouts were
(juite active and bold, but our pickets were
watchful and alert, and no advantage was
obtained. Early in the morning skirmish-
ers were sent out to feel the enemy and re-
tard their advance, and about eight o'clock
the six companies at the Trestle, having
been relieved by the 71st Luliana volun-
teers, arrived at Elizabethtown under Lieut.
Col. Smith, who immediately ordered Capt.
Ilanna's company at the bridges below to
join him. The command then consisted
of eight companies, mustering about 450
effective men, which Col. Smith drew up
in line of battle on the west side of the rail-
road, close by the stockade in which Capt.
Fosha's men were left, with orders to hold
it. Up to this time, neither the rebel
forces nor their commander was known.
To ascertain these facts Col. Smith sent out
a flag of truce, demanding their immedi-
ate surrender. The demand was of course
refused, and in about half an hour Col.
Smith received a reply signed by John IL
Morgan, stating tliat he had Col. Smith's
forces surrounded, and that in ten minutes
liis batteries would be in position to open
upon him, and demanding the surrender of
his command. To this Col. Smitli replied
that it was the duty of United States soldiers
to tight, not to surrender. In less than ten
minutes allowed by Gen. Mijrgan, one of
his batteries had taken position on some
hiffh bluffs to the riii-ht of the Nashville

17S

HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.

pike, and within a thousand yards of the
town, and opened fire upon Col. Smith's
forces; at the same time, heavy columns of
the enemy were observed moving to the
right and left of the town, with the evi-
dent intention of surrounding our troops.
To avoid this it became necessary to change
tlie position of the regiment, which Col.
Smith did by moving his men into the town
and taking possession of the court house
:md buildings on the square. On the re-
tirement of the outside forces and before
the enemy had advanced on the stockade,
Capt.Fosha withdrew hiy forces and followed
the retreat of the rest of the regiment into
the town, and occupied a building on the
south side of the square. It was now ten
o'clock and Col. Smith had determined to
liold the buildings to the last extremity.
The enemy opened fire upon the town with
his artillery, the building from which the
regimental colors were flying being struck
seventeen times and badly riddled. The
men, however, were maintaining their dis-
cipline, though several were killed and oth-
ers wounded, and were returning the mus-
ket firing with some efi'ect. As the enemy
approached the suburbs of the town, and
were dismounting with the evident inten-
tion of making an attack upon the regi-
inent's position, numbers of saddles were
unceremoniously emptied by the accuracy
of our fire, which made the rebels hesitate
to advance. The firing had been main-
tained upward of three hours, and the Un-
ion foi-ces were expecting an assault which
they confidently expected to repel with
heavy loss to the enemy, when a white fiag
was thrown out of a window in the build-
ing occupied by Capt. Fosha's company.
It was immediately ordered to be shot

down, and when fired upon was withdrawn,
but another immediately appeared on the
street, and Capt. Fosha's men were seen
coming out of the building and throwing
down their arms. The firing ceased at
once, and the rebels rushing in from the
alleys and cover of the houses, captured
the whole regiment." * The forces under
Morgan numbered some eight or ten thou-
sand with thirteen guns, and the capture
of the regiment was a foreirone conclusion
from the first, but the spirited resistance
offered by our troops delayed the rebel ex-
pedition and forced them to lose valuable
time. When paroled, the regiment was
ordered to Benton Barracks, Mo., and in
January, 1S63, were sent home on furlough.
In Febrnar}'. they were ordered back, and
subsequently ordered to Yicksburg where
they arrived July Itth. They took part in
the movements to Port Hudson, Carrollton,
La., and Atchafalaya River, arriving at
Morganzia, 10th of October. Transferred
to the 13th array corps, they went to Xew
Orleans, going into camp October 12th.
Later in the month the regiment was ordered
to Texas; took part in several minor engage-
ments, and in July, 1864, occupied Brazos
Santiago as part of the garrison. About the
last of December, the 91st was relieved and
transferred to Xew Orleans and placed on
provost duty, hi February, it joined the
forces at Fort Morgan and subsequently
took an active part in the campaign- whicli
resulted in the capture of Spanish Fort and
Fort Blakely. Following up tlie retreat of
the rebels, the federal forces overtook the
enemy at Eight-mile Creek, where a sharp
engagement took place, the 91st leading a

* Grundy County Herald, January 14, 1863.

HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY.

17!)

bayonet charge, which cleared the field.
This was the last engagement of the war
east of the Mississippi. The regiment was
iiuistcred out of the service, July 12, lS(j.5,
at Mobile, and reached Camp Butler on the
23d of the same month.

The 127th Illinois infantry contained
nearly a full company from Grundy Coun-
ty, Company D, which was organized
about xVugust, 1S63, and was mustered at
Camp Douglas in September, though the
regiment was not organized until October.
Early in the following month the regiment
was ordered to the field, going by rail to
Cairo, and thence by steamboat to Mem-
]ihis. Taking part in the Talahatchie
River expedition, the 127th, on its return
to Memphis, was ordered to Vicksburg.
The regiment was in Blair's division under
Sherman, and after takin^' their turn at
ditcliing in the various bayous (a line of op-
erations soon abandoned), and the trans-
ports having successfully passed the Vicks-
burg batteries, the 127th, with the rest of
the division, steamed up the Yazoo River
to divert the attention of the enemy from
Grant's real object of crossing the
Mississippi. The main army liaving
crossed the river and beaten the enemy
back from Fort Gibson and Grand Gulf, a
feint was made in the direction of Vicks-
burg while waiting the return of Sher-
man's corps, which was ordered to join the
main force by a march across the country.
Gen. Johnson, who commanded the rebel
force in the West, had been apprised of
Grant's movements, and was gathering an
army to reinforce Pemberton at Vicksburg
and to guard aj^ainst beinij assailed in the
rear. Grant, refraining from moving on
the city, attracted Pemberton's attention

b\' a feint, and directed Sherman to fol-
low the eastern side of the Black River to
Edward's Station on the Vicksburg rail-
road, and McPherson to make a detour far-
ther eastward, destroy