LI E> R.AR.Y
OF THE
UN IVERSITY
OF ILLINOIS
?57
coo.
ILUKOtS HISTORICAL SURVP,'
HORARY
THE
; / OF ILLINOIS
HISTORY
OF
PIATT COUNTY
TOGETHER WITH A
FROM THE
DISCOVERY OF THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI TO THE PRESENT TIME.
BY
EMMA C. PIATT.
"Go, little booke, God send thee good passage,
And specially let this be thy prayre,
Unto them all that thee will read or hear,
Where thou art wrong, after their help to call,
Thee to correct in any part or all."
Chaucer.
WITH MAP AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
DEDICATION.
TO MY FATHER TO MY MOTHER,
AS A TRIBUTE TO THE FORTITUDE WITH WHICH THEY ENDURED THE
TRIALS OF PIONEER LIFE,
AND BECAUSE OF MY LOVE FOR THEM, DO I AFFECTIONATELY
DEDICATE THIS BOOK.
EMMA C. PIATT.
WK do not present this book to tlie public as a model literary
effort, but expect it to be classed with county histories only.
Neither do we claim it to be a complete history, since no complete
history was ever written. But we do claim it to be a record of
the most important items that could be collected by one person in
over two years of unceasing labor. The object of the book is to
preserve certain valuable items relative to the county's past and
present, which, but for the preparation of such a book, could not
have been collected. With the failing memories of the citizens,
and the passing away of many of the pioneers, the opportunity for
obtaining such items would soon have been lost.
The writer has spared neither time, trouble nor expense, and in
addition to riding 172 miles by rail within the limits of the county,
has traveled, by actual count, in a carriage, 883 miles, stopping
for neither cold nor stormy weather. Doubtless some mistakes occur;
but our best judgment has been used, and we have conscientiously
striven to keep out as many errors as possible. Since not more
than ten men out of every hundred interviewed could give the
exact date of their marriage, it will not be strange if some of the
dates are wrong. A number of men could not give the number of
their children without stopping to count them up. Several would
have left out one. of their children's names had not the child
appeared during the interview. One man averred he had ten
children, but upon counting them over time and again, said, "I
guess there are only nine, but I thought there were ten !" Upon
asking one man if any of his children were in the army, he said,
"Yes, a boy and, a girl," which statement he afterward contra-
dicted. Frequently people are unable to give the names of their
PKEFAOE.
married sisters, their grandchildren, and, in some cases, their own
children, even. One or two men actually had to study awhile
before they could give the names of their own wives. After such
answers having been given relating to personal items supposed to
be well established in each person's mind, if mistakes occur in this
book, they will be the more readily excused, or at least the people
will know some of the disadvantages we have labored under in
obtaining facts.
There are some worthy and important persons in the county
whom we failed to see, which fact is regretted, but it would take
many more than one trip over the county ere all of theflT'over
fifteen thousand of the county's inhabitants could be found at home,
or at leisure sufficient to be interviewed. Although we advertised
in the county papers for personal matter, many that we wished to
hear from did not reply. Although over one hundred pages have
been added that were not promised to our patrons, still we were
obliged to cut out some of the personal items. We have endeav-
ored, however, to leave out the sketch of no person who encouraged
us to go on with the publishing by agreeing to take one of the
books.
In our travels among the old settlers we heard a great deal
about the hospitality of the old times, and we want to take this
opportunity to assure the public that the county still retains a great
deal of that estimable virtue. In the majority of cases we were
greeted cordially by the people, and many times were we enter-
tained cheerfully in the homes in the county.
We wish to extend thanks to the people who have encouraged
and befriended us in any way in the preparation of this work.
Especially do we thank the old settlers who took the pains to
recite their deeds of years ago. We also acknowledge the assist-
ance of Mrs. N. D. Scovell in the preparation of the article on
geology, and we are grateful for the assistance rendered by Miss
Nettie Adams in the arrangement of some of the final notes for
the book.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
RESIDENCE OF JAMES A. PIATT,
(Frontispiece)
COUNTY COURT HOUSE, .... 23
COUNTY JAIL, 57
MAP OF PIATT COUNTY, . . . . 105
COUNTY POOR HOUSE, .... 137
RESIDENCE OF EZRA MARQUISS, . 171
PORTRA'IT OF JAMES A. PIATT, Sr., . 205
PORTRAIT OF MRS. JAMES A. PIATT, 239
RESIDENCE OF F. E. BRYANT, . . 273
RESIDENCE OF JOHN DICKSON, . . 307
PORTRAIT OF WM. H. PIATT, . . 341
PORTRAIT OF MRS. WM. H. PIATT, . 375
RESIDENCE OF RICHARD MONROE, . 409
RESIDENCE OF WM. H. PIATT, . . 443
PORTRAIT OF F. E. BRYANT, . . 477
RESIDENCE OF MICHAEL HARSII-
BARGER, 511
PORTRAIT OF EZRA MARQUISS, . . 545
PORTRAIT OF J. O. SPARKS, . . . 579
RESIDENCE OWNED BY SAM'LALLER-
TON, 613
A BRIEF HISTORY OF ILLINOIS.
CHAPTER L
TOPOGRAPHY OF ILLINOIS.
TLLINOIS, in common with several other states, has the proud dis-
-*- tinction of lying within the Mississippi valley. This fact alone
places it on an equality with some of the most magnificent states in the
Union.
In area, Illinois contains about 55,531 square miles of territory.
The greatest length from north to south is near 380 miles. The ex-
treme breadth is a little over 200 miles. It lies between 37 3' and
42 30' north latitude. Extending thus through a range of over five
degrees of latitude, its climate is quite varied, permitting the growth
of semi-tropical plants as well as those which are common to the north
temperate zone. An excellent system of drainage is furnished by the
2,000 miles of navigable rivers which bound, or take their course
through, portions of the state.
v Illinois is bounded on the north by Wisconsin. The waters of
Lake Michigan, the only one of the great lakes wholly within the
United States, form a northeastern boundary line of about sixty miles
in length. Indiana and the Wabash river form the eastern boundary
line, while the Ohio river, on the southeast and south, separates the
State from Kentucky. Illinois is separated from Iowa and Missouri by
the Mississippi river, which forms a boundary line about five hundred
miles long.
The general surface of the country is level or slightly rolling.
Near the large streams, especially in the southern part of the state,
quite good-sized hills are found. The highest lands, however, are " The
Mounds," in the northwestern part of the state. From these mounds,
which have an altitude of over 1,000 feet above the level of the sea, to
the southern part of the state, there is a gradual slope of the land
toward the southwest. This slope of the country causes the general
course of the streams to be toward the Mississippi river.
The Desplaines river, rising in the southeastern part of Wisconsin,
and the Kankakee river, which rises in northern Indiana, unite in
10 A BRIEF HISTORY OF ILLINOIS.
Grundy county, Illinois, to form the Illinois river the largest in the
state. The Illinois flows almost directly west across La Salle county,
until, in Putnam county, it makes a bend, and from thence on to its
mouth, about twenty miles above the mouth of the Missouri, the gen-
eral course is southwest. This river is near five hundred miles long,
and is navigable by steamers to La Salle. The Illinois and Michigan
canal, .extending from this plftce to Chicago, opens communication by
water between the Mississippi river and the Great Lakes. The Rock
river in the northern and the Kaskaskia in the southern part are the
other principal tributaries of the Mississippi within the state. The
Wabash receives the waters of the Embarras, Little Wabash, and
Saline Creek, which are the principal streams in southeastern Illinois.
Besides the streams mentioned there are many of smaller size, the ma-
jority of which flow toward the Mississippi. This state is somewhat
remarkable for the small number of lakes and ponds within its
boundaries.
Although Illinois is known as the " Prairie State," still it contains
a great amount of timber, which is found along all the water-courses.
It is a noticeable fact that the amount of timber is constantly on the
increase. The prairies, which were once covered with tall grass and
flowers, are now dotted here and there with groves of trees, and the
cereals have taken the place of the grasses.
The material resources of Illinois are many. Its minerals are a
constant source of wealth. Zinc, copper, fire-clay, and many varieties
of building stone are found. The Galena lead mines alone would
make the state famous, while the coal mines seem exhaustless.
But the agricultural products go beyond all these. It has been
said that " perhaps no other country of the same extent on the face of
the globe can boast a soil so ubiquitous and its distribution so univer-
sally productive." Illinois " is a garden four hundred miles long, and
one hundred and fifty miles wide." Portions of the state have been
under constant cultivation since the beginning of the French occupa-
tion at Kaskaskia, over oue hundred and fifty years
CHAPTER IL
ORIGIN OF THE PRAIRIES.
TLLINOIS has long been known as the " Prairie State." By this
J- appellative her fame has been carried from country to country all
around the world. Nor has this state been made unjustly famous.
The prairies are her pride, and well they may be, for it is owing to
their extent and fertility that Illinois has made such rapid advances in
civilization. At first their great beauty was their chief attraction.
All early writers on the subject, as well as the early settlers of the
state, agree in the statement that the vegetable growth on the prairies
was, in their time, more profuse than now. The grass grew very high,
and when it waved to a summer's breeze it seemed to the pioneer that
a sea of great extent stretched out before his vision. A feeling of awe
came over him, that feeling which always comes upon beholding
Nature's great handiwork. Marquette, in his account of his first voyage
on the Illinois river, over two hundred years ago, made special men-
tion of the beauty and fertility of the prairies.
After their beauty and grandeur, the prairies' next attraction was
their utility. Gov. Reynolds said of them : " It is one of the great
elements in the rapid growth of Illinois that such large and fertile
prairies exist in the state. Nature has made the prairies the finest and
most fertile fields in the Union, and has prepared them for, cultivation."
The experience of persons who have lived since Gov. Reynolds' time
proves that his statement is still a truthful one.
One cannot look upon the broad and beautiful prairies without a
feeling of wonder as to their origin, which has been a subject of thought
for years, and of which there can yet be only conjecture.
In dealing with this subject we can but give the opinion of persons
who have given it their long and thoughtful attention. Judge Caton,
of Ottawa, Illinois, and H. W. Beckwith, of Danville, Illinois, have
both written very instructive and interesting articles on the subject.
The unwritten opinions of many of the early settlers of the state should
not be disregarded, for such men, although in many cases having but
little scientific knowledge of geology and botany, are remarkable for
their deep insight into the visible workings of nature.
The various prairies in different parts of the earth have originated,
most likely, through various causes. It would, then, be wrong to
attribute the origin of all to the supposed causes which led to the
11
12 A BRIEF HISTORY OF ILLINOIS.
origin of some special prairie. Illinois prairies, it may be, had an origin
entirely different from that of the prairies in the western part of the
United States.
One of the first theories, and one that is still held by many, is that
our prairies here were produced by fire. It is certain that at an early
day great fires swept over this state. Ofttimes, within the remem-
brance of some of the early settlers here, portions of forests have been
entirely burnt down. In course of time these settlers have seen the
prairie grass take complete possession of the ground where great trees
had stood.
Gov. Reynolds said : " Many learned essays are written on the ori-
gin of the prairies, but any attentive observer will come to the conclu-
sion that it is fire burning the strong, high grass that caused the
prairies." He further said, in speaking of the forests of southern Illi-
nois: "I have witnessed the growth of the forests in the southern
counties, and know there is more timber in them now than there was
forty or fifty years be'fore. The obvious reason is that the fire is kept
out. This is likewise the reason the prairies are generally the most
fertile soil. The vegetation in them was the strongest, and the fires
there burnt with the most power." "It will be seen that the timber
in the north part of the state is found only on the margins of streams
and other places where the prairie fires could not reach it."
A later opinion, and one that is held by some of the best geologists
in the United States, is that the prairies were formed by water rather
than by fire. Judge Oaton says : " That the prairies, that is, the land
itself, have been formed under water, except the very limited portion
of the surface which has been added from decomposed animal and veg-
etable matter since their emergence, will not be questioned by anyone
of the least observation ; but that is not the main question involved in
the present inquiry. Why are they not covered with forests?"
Judge Caton agrees, in general, with Prof. Lesquereaux, who pre-
pared a paper for the Geological Survey of Illinois, and thinks that
the prairies were formed under water. He, however, disagrees with
the Professor in the particular process of formation under water; and
the fact that the elements of the soil of the prairies are such that are
not conducive to forest growth. The Judge further says: "I en-
tirely concur in the popular opinion that among the most important
of the causes which have produced this interesting result is fire, while
the exhaustion and replenishing the soil with their particular elements
have, no doubt, had their influence." " The hard, impenetrable char-
acter of the sward, formed by most of the herbaceous vegetation of the
prairies, forms a serious impediment to the germination of seeds of
ORIGIN OF THE PRAIRIES. 13
trees, when, by accident, they fall upon it. It is not the composition
of the soil that prevents the germination of this class of seeds, but
whatever difficulty is experienced in this regard arises from the me-
chanical cause above suggested." " The cause of the absence of trees
on the upland prairies is the problem most important to the agricult-
ural interests of our state, and it is the inquiry which alone I propose
to consider, but I cannot resist the remark that wherever we do find
timber throughout this broad field of prairie it is always in or near
the humid portions of it, as along the margins of streams, or upon
or near the springy uplands." "If the head-waters of streams on the
prairies are most frequently without timber, so soon as they have at-
tained sufficient volume to impede the progress of the fires, with very
few exceptions, we find forests on their borders becoming broader and
more vigorous as the magnitude of the streams increases." " Another
fact, always a subject of remark among the dwellers on the prairie, I
regard as conclusive evidence that the prairie soils are peculiarly
adapted to the growth of trees is, that wherever the fires have been
kept from the groves by the settlers, they have encroached upon the
prairies, unless closely depastured by the farmer's stock or prevented
by cultivation. This fact 1 regard as established by careful observa-
tion of more than thirty years, during which time I have been an in-
terested witness of the settlement of this country, from a time when
a few log cabins, many miles apart, built in the borders of the groves,
alone were met with, till now nearly the whole of the great prairies, in
our state at least, are brought under cultivation by the industry of the
husbandmen. Indeed, this is a fact as well recognized by settlers as
that corn will grow upon the prairies when properly cultivated. Ten
years ago I heard the observation made, by intelligent and observing
men, that within the preceding twenty-five years the area of the tim-
ber in the prairie portions of the state had actually doubled by the
spontaneous extension of natural groves. However this may be, cer-
tain it is that the encroachments of the timber upon the prairie have
been universal and rapid, whenever not impeded by fire or other phys-
ical causes, without regard to the constituents of the soil."
Hon. J. D. Caton's article on the origin of the prairies delivered
before the Chicago Historical Society, is so to the point that we have
quoted quite extensively from it.
Mr. H. W. Beckwith says, in the conclusion of his article on the
subject in his " Historic Notes of the Northwest " : " The prairies of
Illinois and Indiana were born of water and preserved by fire for the
children of civilized men who have come to take possession of them."
CHAPTER III
THE MOUND BUILDERS.
~TTT~HO were they? "What were they? Whence came they? "What
VV became of them? These are questions which the civilized world
has for nearly four centuries been trying to answer. Although some of
the best minds of the world have been at work for years trying to
solve the mystery connected with these people, still their conclusions
are but conjectures. The astonishment of the Europeans when first
they knew that the New World was peopled with a race different from
any before known, was more than equaled by that produced when,
many years later, it became known that a race was here long previous
to Indian habitation. Antiquarians say, now, that the Europeans are
the fourth race to people America.
Evidence in regard to the early races was not obtained from the
Indians. Their earliest traditions told nothing of the builders of the
wonderful and magnificent cities, the remains of which are found in
various parts of Mexico and Central America. Neither could any-
thing be obtained from them in regard to the earthworks of the United
States, which are so numerous in places, and are scattered all the way
from the southern shore of Lake Ontario southwesterly to Mexico.
The original inhabitants of this great country passed out of existence
leaving almost nothing for the later inhabitants to know of them save
what is inherent in the grand and ofttimes magnificent ruins scattered
from the Great Lakes to the Andean Plateau.
The inhabitants of Mexico and Peru at the time of the Spanish
conquest had some traditions relating to their predecessors, but all
were of so conflicting a nature that but very little could be obtained
from them. Aztec traditions indicate that Mexico was once occupied
by a savage people, supposed to be the first owners of the land. These
savages were displaced by a more civilized race which came in ships.
This people was, in turn, conquered by another civilized people, who
united with the former inhabitants. Allowing that there may be
truth in these traditions, it has been suggested that the original mound-
builders were a branch or colony of the second of the races which emi-
grated to Mexico, and that they finally were attracted to the warmer
climates, where they conquered and united with the people already
there. These three peoples probably furnished the curious and mag-
nificent structures the ruins of which have been objects of wonder-
ment for so many modern minds.
14
THE MOUND BUILDERS. 15
The great number and magnitude of the ruins in Mexico, Central
America, and South America, show that these countries were once
quite densely populated. The time of the building and occupation of
the cities now in such utter ruin and desolation is almost beyond con-
jecture. From the present crumbling condition of the once massive
stone structures, it would seem that, in point of tune, they long ante-
date the Egyptian and other noted ruins of the Old World. Judging
from their art displayed in various utensils, and in the" construction of
the magnificent edifices, the inhabitants of ancient Mexico and Central
America were much more civilized than those of the United States.
The great number and rnassiveness of the earthworks found in the
United States are no less a matter of speculation than are the. more
artistic ruins found farther south. These earthworks are of divers
shapes, and were evidently designed for various purposes. Some of
them are ruins of forts ; of these some are rectangular, others are
square; some are protected by outer embankments, while almost all
are surrounded by ditches. Ohio, probably, contains the greater num-
ber and the most interesting forts. On the banks of the Saline river,
in Illinois, there was found the remains of a stone fort having walls
four or five feet high. The remains of a walled town was found on
Paint creek in Ohio.
Mounds of various sizes have been found in many of the states.
In many instances these mounds seem to have been originally intended
for burial-places. In general, these earthen tombs were for single fami-
lies or persons, the size of the mound indicating the rank held by the
persons while living. The Indians used some of these mounds for burial-
places, which accounts for the many skeletons sometimes found in
them, Illinois has the honor of containing the largest mound in the
United States. It is called the Caho*kia Mound, and is about six miles
northeast of St. Louis. This mound was, ere modern improvement
marred its shape and diminished its size, in the shape of a parallelo-
gram, having sides seven hundred and five hundred feet respectively
in length. Its height was ninety feet. A large terrace on the south-
west was reached by a winding road. The summit was truncated, and
in the middle of the large platform thus formed was a conical mound
about ten feet high. This mound contained human bones, as well as
the remains of various articles and utensils. The most probable sup-
position is that a temple of wood, or other perishable material, origi-
nally stood on this mound. Here high priests performed religious rites,
which were witnessed by multitudes of people from below.*
Illinois contains a great number of smaller mounds. These are
* Foster's " Prehistoric Races."
16 A BRIEF HISTORY OF ILLINOIS.
often arranged in groups. Mr. Foster, in his " Prehistoric Races,"
mentions a group of fifty-nine mounds found on the banks of the
Merom river. Some of the earthworks assume the shape of gigantic
animals. Adams county, Ohio, contains a mound in the shape of a
monstrous serpent one thousand feet in length. Northern Illinois and
Wisconsin contain the majority of these animal mounds.
It is supposed that the mound-builders were sun-worshipers. This
conclusion was deduced from various facts. The finding of mounds,
such as that at Cahokia, which were evidently used as the bases for
temples ; the placing of the dead with their heads toward the east,
the openings of tombs and forts being toward the east, and finally the
finding of rude carvings, representing the sun, all lead to the conclu-
sion that the mound-builders were sun-worshipers.
What remains that have been found of this curious people show
that in civilization they were far in advance of the Indians. They
mined and quarried stone; they were acquainted with the curative
properties of salt ; they had a national religion, and they built a great
line of defense for protection from their enemies. The great size and
number of their works showed that the government must have been
such that the many were ruled absolutely by the few. No similarity
can be found between this government and that of the Indians.
There is certainly a similarity between the works of the mound-build-
ers and those of the ancient inhabitants of Mexico. It is Dr. Foster's
opinion that the mound-builders were expelled from the Mississippi
valley by a barbarous race, and that refuge was taken in and about
Central America, where their civilization became more complete.
They thus left behind them the magnificent edifices the ruins of
which have elicited the admiration of so many.
Quite an excellent proof of the antiquity of the mound-builders
was evinced when a comparison was made between the bodies found
in the earthworks and some of those found in the Old World having
a known time of burial. Considering the unfavorable conditions for
preservation of the latter as compared with the favorable conditions of
the former, the condition of the bodies when found in works of
the mound-builders show a much longer interment. The conclusion
is arrived at that the mound-builders were here at least two thousand
years ago.
Now, when these massive stone and earthen works have silently
and majestically borne down to us, through the long vistas of centu-
ries, the undeniable fact that this was, in reality, a sister land to that of
the most ancient Romans, Greeks and Egyptians, we pause in awful
wonderment. It is with a feeling akin to reverence that we think of
~
the beings who were here such ages and ages ago.
CHAPTER IV.
THE FRENCH IN ILLINOIS.
IN 1534, seven years before De Soto discovered the Mississippi river,
Jacques Cartier, a French explorer, discovered the gulf and river
St. Lawrence. The name was given to the gulf the next year, at the
close of Cartier's second voyage. Cartier's discoveries were soon made
known, and France immediately attempted to execute a plan for the
colonization of New France, as Canada was first called. Various
attempts were made, but all proved failures. For a time, while
France was employed with domestic troubles, no attempts at coloniza-
tion were made. It was not, therefore, until 1608, when France had
peace at home, that the first permanent settlement was made in Can-
ada. In this year Quebec was founded by Samuel Champlain. In
writing of Champlain, Mr. Ridpath says that to him " more than to
any other man, more than to the French government itself, the
success of the North American colonies of France must be attributed."
Champlain, upon his return in 1615 from a visit tp France, brought
with him some Recollet monks, who came actuated solely by religious
motives. After establishing many missions, they found their field of
labor too great for so few laborers, and the Jesuits of France were
appealed to. They came, actuated by the same religious zeal that the
Recollet monks possessed. Illinois, and in fact all the great North-
west, owes not a little to the pure lives and deep religious bearing of
the French missionaries.
Nicholas Perrot was the first European to tread the soil of Illinois.
Over two hundred years ago, in 1670,* he was sent as an agent of the
Canadian government to call a meeting of the western Indians at St.
Mary's. This peace convention was a movement preparatory to what
finally led to the discovery of the Mississippi river. Perrot, after
visiting other tribes in the Northwest, proceeded to the village of the
Miamas, at what is now Chicago. Illinois did well to rear her great-
est city where her earliest European visitor placed first his foot upon
her yielding soil.
In 1672* two Jesuit ministers, Allouez and Dablon, starting from
their mission on Green Bay, passed through the northern part of Illi-
nois to visit the Fox, Masquotine and Kickapoo Indians.
Not yet was the idea of the western passage to the Pacific given up.
* Bancroft.
17
18 A BRIEF HISTORY OF ILLINOIS.
M. Talon, the intendant of Canada, selected Louis Joliet and Jacques
Marquette to assist in unvailing the great mystery. Before definite
arrangements for the expedition were made, the intendant and gov-
ernor were succeeded by other men. The new governor, Count Fron-
tenac, upon the recommendation of Talon, placed Joliet and Marquette
in charge of the western expedition.
Joliet was a native of Quebec, and was born in 1645. He was
energetic, had a good education, and was well qualified for the task
before him. He had been educated for a priest, but he found his life-
work in another direction. For some time previous to his appoint-
ment with Marquette he had been a trader among the Indians. After
his voyage with Marquette he did further service for the king. As a
reward for all of his services he received the island of Anticosti. He,
after this, caused his name to be written Joliet d'Anticosty. Some of
his descendants are still living in Canada, and are yet in possession of
his seigniory.*
Marquette was the greater man of the two. He was born at Laon,
France, in 1637. He united with the Jesuits at an early age, and in
1666 was sent to America. On account of his wonderful determina-
tion and integrity, his kindness and his deep religious feeling, he
became the mosfbeloved and most successful of all the Indian mission-
aries.
Joliet joined Marquette at Mackinaw. Marquette said in speaking
of their appointment, " Onr joy at being chosen for this expedition
roused our courage and sweetened the labor of rowing from morning
to night." From Mackinaw Strait, in company witli several other
Frenchmen, these men started May 17, 1673, on their renowned ex-
pedition. Green Bay was reached, and on the Fox river an It\dian
village was found. After stating their mission to the wondering Al-
gonquins, and after obtaining two Indian guides, the voyagers pro-
ceeded up the Fox river and across the Portage, when the Wisconsin
river was reached. The guides returned leaving the Frenchmen
" alone in an unknown country in the hands of Providence."
"France and Christianity stood in the valley of the Mississippi. "f
Passing down the Wisconsin river, in all its early June beauty, the
voyagers reached the Great River on the 17th of June 1673. With
untold joy they looked upon the mighty water. With thrilling
hearts they eagerly entered the swift current and "the two birch-bark
canoes, raising their happy sails under new skies and to unknown
breezes, floated down the calm magnificence o f the ocean stream." f
* o
*H. W. Beckwith's "Historic Notes of the Northwest."
f Bancroft.
THE FRENCH IN ILLINOIS. 19
About sixty leagues below the mouth of the Wisconsin a little foot-
path was seen leading westward from the river. Joliet and Mar-
quette, the first white men in Iowa, went alone in search of the In-
dians. After going six or eight miles they found, on the banks of the
Des Moines river, some Illinois Indians, who received them kindly.
An aged chief addressed them thus : " How beautiful is the sun, O
Frenchmen, when thou comest to visit us! All our town awaits thee,
and thou shalt enter all our cabins in peace." After six days' delay
Marquette and Joliet, escorted by many of the savages, returned to
their canoes. As the voyagers journeyed on down the river each day's
travel brought new beauties to their view, and ere long the mouth ot
the Illinois river was reached. The muddy waters of tke Missouri
soon furnished to them a new object of wonderment. After passing
the rnouth of the Ohio, and upon neariug the mouth of the Arkansas,
they were convinced that the waters of the Mississippi did not reach
the Pacific ocean. They therefore decided to return.
Indians had been encountered at various places during the down-
ward voyage. The return voyage was begun in the heat of July.
Upon reaching the mouth of the Illinois river the Indians persuaded
the travelers to follow up that river, thus finding an easier trip to
Green Bay. While moving rapidly against the gentle current of the
Illinois river, Marquette, though suffering from an illness contracted
in the south, found ready enjoyment in the magnificent scenery which
was continually being presented to their view. The blossoming
flowers, the bounding deer, the roaming buffalo, all added to the in-
terest of the scene before them. As they passed up the river, almost
reluctantly their lingering eyes left the beauties in their rear, yet
with eagerness they anticipated what was before them.
Upon arriving at Kaskaskia, a town of the Illinois Indians on the
present site of the town of Utica in La Salle county, they procured
guides and the party soon reached Chicago. From thence they jour-
neyed on to Green Bay. Upon i caching this place Marquette decided
to remain at his mission while Joliet went with accounts of their dis-
coveries to Quebec.
After nearly a year spent in trying to regain his health, Marquette
started on what proved to be his last missionary expedition. In Oc-
tober, 1674, he started, with two Frenchmen and some Indians, to
Kaskaskia, where he proposed to found a mission. His malady re-
turned upon his reaching Chicago, and the winter was spent in a hut
on the banks of the river. The following March he continued his
journej 7 to Kaskaskia, and the first Jesuit mission was founded in Illi-
nois. The Indians took regretful leave of the good man when he
20 _ A BRIEF HISTORY OF ILLINOIS.
started for Mackinaw, which he hoped to reach ere his death.
But it was not thus to be. On the 19th of May he was obliged to
pause in his journey. His companions built a hut for him on the
banks of the st'Nsam which bears his name. Here, in America's great
wilderness, where he had ever loved to tell of his unshaken faith, Mar-
quette's spirit passed upward to his Maker.
After Champlain, Robert Cavalier de La Salle was the next great
French explorer to leave the " vine-clad hills of sunny France " and
brave the trials and misfortunes in the New World. Robert de La Salle
was the son of a wealthy burgher in Rouen, and was born in 1643.
He was deprived of his patrimony by his early connections with the
Jesuits. Finding his sphere somewhat limited, he made an honorable
withdrawal from the Jesuits and followed his brother, a St. Sulpitian
priest, to America. While preparing for the settlement of the grant
of land which was presented to him, he became acquainted with nine
different Indian languages and dialects.
Upon hearing of the Ohio river from Seneca Indians, La Salle re-
solved to attempt to discover the Western Passage to Asia. Although
he failed to obtain help from the government, he was not to be baffled
in his desire. He sold his grant of land and thus prepared for his
expedition. A missionary expedition, which the Seminary was pre-
paring for the northwest, was merged into La Salle's expedition, and
in July, 1669, the explorers began their journey. The missionary part
of this expedition proved a failure. La Salle, however, amid perplexing
trials, won for himself an everlasting crown of glory, won the honor
of discovering the Ohio river.
After returning to France, La Salle came back to America with
renewed energy and additional means for carrying on his pet project.
In 1679 a vessel, the Griffin, was constructed on the Niagara river,
and was destined for an expedition on the Great Lakes. La Salle, in
company with Tonti, Hennepin and others, embarked in the vessel in
August 1679. Green Bay was reached, and the fated Griffin was sent
toward Canada, while La Salle with his remaining men started in
canoes to the St. Joseph river. Upon the completion of Fort Miama,
on the St. Joseph river, La Salle continued his journey, and sought to
find the Illinois river. Before the end of December, La Salle, Tonti
and Hennepin, with two other men, glided joyfully down the Illinois
river and soon reached the Indian village of Kaskaskia. The six hun-
dred cabins were deserted, and La Salle, after helping himself to some
stored corn, passed on down the river. They soon entered Lake
Peoria, and at its lower extremity the friendly Illinois Indians were
found.
THE FRENCH IN ILLINOIS. 21
Notwithstanding the friendship of the Indians dark days were
ahead for La Salle. He already feared the loss of the Griffin, and, too,
his men became discontented. When La Salle planned and began to
build a fort on the banks of the Illinois river, below the Peoria lake,
thwarted by destiny and almost despairing he named the fort "Creve-
coeur," or the " Broken Heart."
These trials afforded but another opportunity for La Salle to show
forth his great determination and will power. His men were led to
construct a bark on the Illinois river. Hennepin was sent on an expe-
dition to the upper Mississippi ; Tonti was left in charge of Fort Creve-
cceur, while La Salle, with but three companions, started on foot for
Fort Frontenac, in Canada. On his way up the river La Salle visited
the Illinois Indians, who had returned to Kaskaskia. While here he
explored the elevation since known as Starved Rock. This rock is
near one hundred and fifty feet in height, and is situated on the south
bank of the Illinois river, about one and one half miles from the
present town of Utica. La Salle, pleased with the rock, afterward
sent word to Tonti to fortify it. After this short pause, La Salle con-
tinued his journey toward Canada. He reached his destination safely
after a long and perilous journey.
Notwithstanding the loss of the Griffin, the receiving of a discour-
aging letter from Tonti at Fort Creve-coeur, and the hearing of the
destruction of Fort St. Joseph, still La Salle was not dismayed. He
obtained necessary supplies, and with twenty-five men returned to Illi-
nois. Upon reaching Kaskaskia they found it deserted. The houses were
burned, and buz/ards feasted on the fetid remains of the slaughtered
Indians. The dreaded Iriquois had evidently made their threatened
invasion. After searching in vain for Tonti, La Salle went on down
the river. The deserted and partially destroyed Fort Creve-coeur was
found but no Tonti. La Salle sadly continued his course to the
Mississippi river, when, in despair of finding the missing ones, he
resolved to return to Fort Miama.
Tonti, in the meantime, after the desertion of some of his men,
had found refuge with the Indians at Kaskaskia. Here he remained
until the arrival of the Iriquois. Previous to the open attack, Tonti
had worked hard on both sides endeavoring to obtain peace. He had
risked his life in vain, and finally, being distrusted by the Indians, he
started with what remained of his company for Green Bay.
La Salle next conceived and executed .the plan of getting the
Illinois and Miama Indians to unite for defense against the Iriquois.
He started again for Canada, and on his way met Tonti at Mackinaw.
Upon reaching Canada another expedition was fitted out for the
22 A BRIEF HISTORY OF ILLINOIS.
valley of the Mississippi. This party reached the Mississippi on the
6th of February 1682. On the 6th of April the Great Gulf was be-
fore them, and on the 9th of April, 1682, La Salle, in the name of
Louis XIV of France, took possession of the Mississippi valley. The
anticipated goal was reached, and the travelers made preparations for
returning to Mackinaw.
From Mackinaw La Salle expected to go to France, but hearing of
the Indian troubles in Illinois he returned and built Fort St. Louis on
Starved Rock. La Salle next went to Canada, leaving Tonti in charge
of Fort St. Louis. From Canada he went to France to fit up an expe-
dition via the Gulf of Mexico to the Mississippi valley. He succeeded
in starting from France with four ships and two hundred and eighty
men. Unfortunately the mouth of the Mississippi was passed, and the
party landed at Matagorda bay. A fort was built here, and named St.
Louis, in honor of the king.
La Salle, failing to find either gold or the Mississippi river, started
with twenty men overland toward Canada. His men were dissatisfied,
and finally in one of their quarrels La Salle's nephew was killed.
While seeking for his nephew La Salle was shot by one of his men.
Such was the death of this bold adventurer.
" For force of will and vast conceptions; for various knowledge and
quick adoption of genius to untried circumstances; for a sublime mag-
nanimity that resigned itself to the will of heaven, and yet triumphed
over affliction by energy of purpose and unfaltering hopes, he had no
superior among his countrymen." *
De Soto discovered the lower Mississippi, and Joliet and Marquette
discovered the upper part of the river; but to La Salle will be yielded
the honor of starting colonization in the great central valley of the
west.
In the preparation of this article on the French explorations the
following works have been consulted : Bancroft's " History of the
United States," vol. iii; Ridpath's "History of the United States";
Davidson and Stuve's "History of Illinois"; H. W. Beckwith's "His-
toric Notes of the Northwest"; Peck's "Annals of the West," and
Parkman's " Northwest."
* Bancroft.
IARY
THE
RSSlV OF ILLINOIS
CHAPTER V.
INDIANS IN ILLINOIS.
"Alas ! for them their day is o'er,
Their fires are out from hill to shore ;
No more for them the wild deer bounds ;
The plough is on their hunting grounds ;
The pale man's axe rings through their woods ;
The pale man's sail skims o'er their floods ;
Their pleasant springs are dry;
Their children look ! by power oppressed,
Beyond the mountains of the west
Their children go to die."
CHAS. SPRAGUE.
present Indians of the United States constitute, it is sup-
J- posed, the third distinct race which has inhabited North America.
Their origin is still but a matter of conjecture. The most common
supposition, however, is that they sprang from some of the early peo-
ples of Asia. According to Indian tradition they came from the
northwest. Their "happy hunting grounds" were always toward the
west. The Algonquin and Iroquois branches of the American Indians
are the only ones which played a conspicuous part in Illinois history.
The principal part of the Iroquois country was in what is now the
State of New York. The five principal tribes of the Iroquois the
Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas and Senecas constituted the
famous Five Nations of New York. It has been considered by some
that these nations showed the Indian in his most favorable aspect
that the Iroquois Indian was the bravest, most patriotic and most
eloquent of all the Indians. A later opinion, however, is that the Algon-
quins, from the same latitude, were fully their equals in courage,
patriotism and eloquence.
The territory of the Algonquin Indians completely surrounded that
of the Iroquois, arid extended far to the north, south and west. The
Algonquins were on the St. Lawrence at the time of the French dis-
coveries there ; they were found as far south as South Carolina, and
Marquette and La Salle found them in the Mississippi valley. The
Algonquins embraced the Ottawas, Chippewas, Pottawatomies, Sacs
3
26 A BRIEF HISTORY OF ILLINOIS.
and Foxes, Kickapoos, Illinois, and several other tribes. The majority
of the Indians who made Illinois their home belonged to the Illinois
tribe.
ILLINOIS INDIANS.
The word Illinois is derived from Illini, an Indian term meaning
"real or superior men." The French have left their impress upon our
state by giving to its name a French termination.
Originally the Illinois confederacy was composed of four tribes,
the Kaskaskias, Cahokias, Tamaroas and Peorias. Not a great while
previous to the appearance of the French in the west, a foreign tribe,
the Michigamies, were taken into the confederacy.
Previous to the discovery of the upper Mississippi by Marquette
the Illinois Indians had been driven west of that river by the Iroquois.
They afterward returned to their former home, and when Marquette
and Joliet passed up the Illinois river they found some of their tribe
near the present town of Utica, on the Illinois river. After the repul-
sion of the Illinois tribe by the Iroquois the former Indians were in
constant fear of renewed attacks ; and they had ground for fear, for in
1680 the Iroquois again made their appearance.
Consternation and fear were depicted in the countenance of "every
inhabitant of the Kaskaskia village .when a Shawnee Indian, after
starting for home, hurried back with the news of the invaders 1 arrival.
With hurried preparations for war the Illinois crossed the river and
barely reached the plain beyond when the Iroquois emerged in vast
numbers from the woods of the Yermilion river. Some shots were
discharged on both sides, but a partial treaty of peace was made and
the Iroquois reserved their attack until later, when they plundered the
village and pursued the Illinois down the river. Near the mouth of
the Illinois river seven hundred women and children of the Tamaroas
were taken prisoner. Throughout the entire attack the butcheries
were fearful ; men, women and children were unmercifully slaughtered.
After the appeasing of their fiendish thirst the Iroquois retired from
their field of conquest and the remaining Illinois returned to their
desolated homes.
The Iroquois were great warriors, could not remain idle, pre-
tended to subject all other nations to themselves, and never wanted a
pretext for commencing hostilities. They, however, were not always
successful in their campaign into the Illinois country, and into other
parts of the west. According to tradition, four hundred Iroquois were
INDIANS IN ILLINOIS. 27
defeated at the moutli of Des Moines river by three hundred Sioux.
Again, on the banks of the Illinois river, some Illinois Indians, at the
instigation of an Indian maiden,* returned after a partial defeat and
completely routed the Iroquois.
The founding at the Kaskaskia village of the earliest Jesuit mission
in Illinois has already been alluded to. This mission, founded in
1675, was removed by Father Gravier to Kaskaskia, in southwestern
Illinois, some time previous to 1690. Kaskaskia, the oldest town in
Illinois, was the last abiding place of the Illinois Indians within the
limits of the state.
Although the Illinois Indians were considered cowardly, treacher-
ous and deceitful, yet the French never had any more faithful allies.
Charlevoix, in the "History of New France," said of them: "If we
except the Abenaqui tribes, they are the only tribe that never sought
peace with their enemies to our prejudice."
In 1684 there were twelve hundred Illinois warriors in their single
village at La Salle's colony, at Fort St. Louis, on the Illinois river.
These Indians assisted the French in many instances. They assisted
in the Chickasaw war, and fought against the Katchez Indians in 1729.
They became involved in Pontiac's great conspiracy, but they had
seemingly lost much of their old thirst for warfare ; and as they did
not show the zeal which Pontiac expected they would, he threatened
them severely. In 1767,f when Pontiac lost his life in the Illinois
country, the other nations that had answered to Pontiac's mighty word
of command sought revenge upon the Illinois confederacy. During
this persecution, shortly after the death of Pontiac, occurred the siege
of Starved Rock. Tradition says that a war party of the Illinois
sought refuge at the old Fcrt St. Louis, on Le Rocher, as the French
called it. Their enemies besieged these warriors until, when near
starving, they grew desperate. One dismal, stormy night they at-
tempted to escape, but they were soon overpowered by their blood-
thirsty enemies. It is said, however, that a few escaped down the
river and joined the remaining Illinois Indians near Kaskaskia. Hence
the name, Starved Rock, by which this rocky promontory is known at
the present time. In 1794 the Illinois Indians were defeated in a war
against the United States. A treaty of peace was made and an annuity
was granted them. They made several moves after this, selling their
* Watseka, the county seat of Iroquois county, perpetuates the name of this
maiden. H. W. BECKWITH.
f H. W. Beckwith.
28 A BRIEF HISTORY OF ILLINOIS.
land as they left. According to a letter of Gen. Harrison's, written
in 1814, the Illinois confederacy was reduced, in 1800, to but thirty
warriors, while in 1745 their warriors numbered four thousand. By
various treaties their lands were ceded to the United States. They
were moved west of the Missouri, and in 1854 were in eastern Kansas.
In 1867 they moved farther west. There remained, in 1872, but forty
persons, men, women and children, of the once great and powerful
Illinois confederacy.
According to the accounts given by some of the early French mis-
sionaries, the Illinois Indians originally possessed their full share,
probably more than their full share, of Indian vices. Upon the arrival
of the French missionaries they were warmly welcomed by the Illinois,
and soon Christianity had "produced a change such as she alone can
produce in morals and disposition." In the use of the bow and arrow
they were more skillful than any of the surrounding tribes. They
were tall and graceful, and were noted for being swift of foot.
Previous to the coming of the Iroquois the Illinois Indians had lived
on the banks of the Illinois river in primitive content'edness. Long
"before Perrot reached Illinois these Indians had lived, fought, loved
and worshiped in the beautiful valley of the river which bears their
name. Their swift arrows pierced the hearts of scores of timid bound-
ing deer. The buffalo, in all his mightiness, fell to the ground no less
Surely than did the deer when the Illinois bow was raised. They
hunted that they might live. They lived in great simplicity, but with
a kindness to relatives and a royal hospitality to friends and strangers,
that some of their pale-faced successors would do well to imitate.
They fought in defense of kindred and homes, and for their dead.
Cupid's arrow was no less potent then than now. Triumphantly the
"persistent god" started the mystic dart that pierced with all surety
the hearts of dusky youths and maidens. And here on this broad
rolling prairie, or in the midst of the great forest, which Marquette
said was the Indian's paradise, these Indians thought ever of the Great
Spirit their God.
SACS AND FOXES.
These tribes originally lived on the banks of the St. Lawrence
river; but hostile tribes drove them westward, and they fought their
way separately to the vicinity of Green Bay. Here, for mutual pro-
tection, these tribes made an alliance which has never been broken.
The Jesuit Allouez found them near Green Bay as early as 1669 or
INDIANS IN ILLINOIS. 29
1672. He was at first received by them with contempt, but with
Jesuitic patience he labored and finally succeeded in gaming their
confidence and friendship. AVhen Marquette, several years afterward,
passed through this region he beheld with joy the cross which had been
erected at Allouez's instigation.
The combined tribes continued their warlike machinations when
they moved to northern Illinois, and while residing there formed
alliances with other nations, and for years harassed the Illinois
Indians on their river and ultimately helped to drive this tribe south-
ward. They warred frequently against the French, and aided the
British against the Americans as late as 1812. They' made several
cessions of land to the United States, and in 1830 that cession was
made which led to the Black Hawk war. After this war these tribes
went to their lands in Iowa. They were afterward removed to the
Indian Territory. From the year 1825 to that of 1850 these tribes
had suffered a decrease in numbers of some 3,000 souls.
THE KICK A POOS.
In 1672* Allouez found the Kickapoos on the Milwaukee river.
In 1763 they were situated in tli3 country around the southwestern
shore of Lake Michigan. They afterward moved farther south ; and
still later, at the time of the first settlements in Piatt county they
lived in the vicinity of the Sangamon river, and had a village on
Kickapoo creek, at Elkhart Grove, and at several places in eastern
Illinois.
It is said that the Kickapoos were somewhat more civilized than
the surrounding tribes ; but be that as it may, in warfare, at least, they
were barbarous. They were very bitter in their hatred of the Illinois
Indians, and for near a century did their share in helping to extermi-
nate that powerful tribe. The Kickapoos reaped their coveted reward,
for they afterward occupied a portion of the coveted Illinois hunting-
grounds. They gained possession of this ground shortly after the
war which followed Pontiac's death, and were not content to let the
Illinois Indians alone after their retreat to the southern part of the
state. The Kickapoos, in general, had a deep feeling of animosity
toward the whites. They, in connection with several other tribes, did
so much damage by murdering and stealing during the war of 1812
that Gov. Edwards was necessitated to suppress them by military force.
* Bancroft.
30 A BRIEF HISTORY OF ILLINOIS.
After their submission annuities were granted them. Some emigrated
to Mexico, where they still showed their hatred to the whites by mak-
ing inroads over the border.
THE POTTAWATOMIES.
The French found this tribe lying just east of the southern part of
Lake Michigan, and the Jesuits founded a mission among these Indians
on the St. Joseph river. The Iroquois had been instrumental in driv-
ing this tribe westward. A portion located as above mentioned, while
some went farther north.
These Indians were ferocious, and long had strong hatred toward
the English and Americans. They were friendly toward the French
and assisted them in some of their battles. In Pontiac's war they were
strongly allied to him. They were merciless, and often disguised their
evil intentions under the garb of friendship. By thus doing they
massacred almost the entire garrison of a military post on the St.
Joseph river. These Indians, in conjunction with parts of the Ottawa
and Chippewa tribes, were very ferocious and vindictive in the wars
which marked the advancement of the whites toward the west. In the
destruction of life they were the most daring, cruel and fiendish.
Pontiae did well when he gained them as co-workers in his great
satanic scheme of cruelty and bloodshed.
In 1812, under British influence, the Pottawatomies enacted at Fort
Dearborn* one of the most merciless crimes that human beings have
ever perpetrated. Fort Dearborn was built and garrisoned in 1804.
The traders who came from time to time to this place managed to keep
up a friendly feeling with the Indians. In 1812, during the English and
American war, word was sent for the garrison at this fort to evacuate.
Captain Heald, commander of the garrison, made known, in council
with the Indians the intended evacuation. Signs of hostility were
observed among the Indians, but all fears were mostly quieted upon
the arrival of Captain Wells with some Miami Indians from Fort
Wayne. Early on the morning of August 15 the fatal day -Mr.
Kinzie, one of the principal traders at the post, received word from a
friendly Indian that mischief was on foot. At nine o'clock the party,
escorted by Captain Wells and 500 Pottawatomies, left the fort to the
sound of martial music. Notwithstanding the Pottawatomies had
pledged their honor to see the party safe to Fort Wayne, before they
were beyond the present limits of Chicago these treacherous fiends
* Xo\v Chicago.
INDIANS IN ILLINOIS. 31
made a terrible attack upon the whites, sparing neither men, women nor
children. The American troops fought bravely, and until over half
were killed, before a surrender was made. The Indians soon had
control of the wagons and baggage, and the helpless were massacred
without mercy. The most tearful of all these dread deeds was that
performed by a single young savage who climbed into a wagon and
with his tomahawk dispatched twelve innocent children. Captain
Wells, then a prisoner, upon witnessing this scene, exclaimed : "If
this be your game, I can kill too," and he started toward the Potta-
watomie camp. But he soon became a prisoner again, and although
some friendly chiefs tried to save him, a Pottawatomie rode up in the
rear and killed him by a single blow. This man's heart was cut to
pieces and distributed among the Indians for a token of bravery.
Wells street in Chicago perpetuates the name of this brave man.
During all this terrible scene Mr. Kinzie's family were guarded by
friendly Indians near the fort. The prisoners taken by the Indians
were widely distributed to various tribes in Illinois and Wisconsin.
The majority were ransomed at Detroit the next year, while some were
detained a year longer.
The Pottawatomies also took part in the outbreak against the Illinois
Indians, and were benefited by the removal of the latter from their cher-
ished land. They were finally removed from Illinois. They found
their way to the Indian Territory, and in 1850 the Pottawatomies only
numbered about 1500 persons.
SHABBONA.
Shabbona was a peace chief of the Pottawatomies, and was born
near the Maumee river, in Ohio, in 1775.* His commanding physical
structure, as well as the noble attributes of his mind, caused him to be
respected by Indian as well as by white man. He was a companion of
Tecumseh in the war of 1812, and was fighting by his side when the
great brave fell, in 1813, at the battle of the Thames. Upon the death
of his wife's father he became a chief of the Pottawatomies. After
the war of 1812 he was always a friend of the Americans. The
whites owe this Indian an everlasting debt of gratitude for the prompt
action in favor of the whites taken by him during the Black Hawk
trouble. Black Plawk endeavored to gain Shabbona's assistance in his
war, telling him, as an argument, that if they united their tribes they
would be in numbers as the trees of the forest. Shabbona replied, "Yes,
* Lecture before the Chicago Historical Society, by Mr. Win. Hickling.
32 A BRIEF HISTORY OF ILLINOIS.
and the army of the palefaces you will have to encounter will be as
numerous as the leaves on those trees. " After finding that war must come
Shabbona traveled, night and day that he might save the frontier white
settlers. Had the white settlers of Indian Creek heeded Shabbona's
' words of warning, that fearful massacre might have been averted. Many
of the people of La Salle county owed the preservation of their lives to
this old peace Indian. For the services rendered by Shabbona to the
whites the government reserved a portion of land at Shabbona's Grove,
in what is now De Kalb county, and presented him with a pension
of $200.
When his tribe moved to the Pottawatomie reservation, west of
the Mississippi, Shabbona went also, but he, with his family, returned
to his individual reservation. He again went west, but affer one of
his sons was killed he returned to Illinois, in 1855. Supposing that
Shabbona had deserted his reservation, some speculators sold his land
during his absence. Upon his return Shabbona was hurt by this act,
and sorrowfully said, "Shabbona has nothing now." The citizens of
Ottawa raised by subscription a sufficient amount of money to pur-
chase twenty acres of land in Grundy county, upon which Shabbona
and his family lived until his death, in 1859. His wife, who weighed
400 pounds, was drowned in Mazon creek, six years after her hus-
band's death.
Let those who would ruthlessly push the Indians to the very verge
of our continent pause and remember Shabbona. His life shows what
nobleness there can be in the Indian's character. He is a striking
example of the people who hate their enemies and love their friends
with all their soul. It may be said of him, however, that while his
friendship was of the strongest, his hatred was not so bitter nor so
lasting as that of some of his people.
ILLINOIS IN PONTIAC'S CONSPIRACY.
Pontiac was born in 1712. His native tribe has long been a mat-
ter of controversy, as several tribes have claimed him. The most
favorable opinion at present, however, is that he belongs to the Sac
tribe. He closely resembled these Indians, and it was the first to
answer his call against the whites. It is well known that he was a
chief of the Ottawas, but that probably was because of their being
greater warriors.
Pontiac was first known as an ally of the French. After the fall of
Quebec, in 1759, the long war between France and England was at an
INDIANS IN ILLINOIS. 33
end, and Pontiac was too politic to adhere to the cause of the van-
quished, so he made friends with the English upon their taking pos-
session of the French posts. It was when Maj. Robert Rogers was.
sent to take possession of the frontier French posts that the great
Pontiac appeared first upon the scene. After passing Fort Niagara
the major landed at the farthest point west the English troops had
been. Soon after their landing Indians made their appearance, evi-
dently to design the purpose of the whites. 'Twas then that Rogers
first saw Pontiac, who addressed the whites in rather an arrogant style
and seemed disposed to prevent their continuance to Detroit. But the
next morning the sagacious, politic Pontiac reappeared, offered the
peace pipe and designated his desire to live in peace with the English.
The party proceeded, and, owing to Pontiac's influence among the
hostile tribes, reached Detroit safely. The French commander w r as
evidently incensed at the appearance of Rogers, but nevertheless the
French garrison filed out of the fort, laid down their arms and gave
place to the English. The Indians who witnessed the transfer could
not understand how a few English could take the place of the French
garrison. When all was explained to them their opinion of the English
began to be exalted, but still they could not understand why the lives
of the conquered French were not taken.' Pontiac expected all the
deference from the English that the French had been wont to pay him,
and the English not bestowing this deference, had not been long in
the possession of the country ere an awful cloud began to hover in
their horizon. The Indians, instigated somewhat by the French, be-
gan to nourish a silent, fearful hate of the English. Pontiac's mind
had not been inactive while these feelings were being aroused among
the other Indians. He began to realize what English supremacy
meant, and he resolved to resist with an awful strength their advance-
ment, and if possible to "drive the red* dogs into the sea."
By his own power, and with the assistance of the French, Pontiac
became the leader of at least fifteen Indian nations. His messengers
had been sent near and far until a mighty war cloud was close upon the
unsuspecting English.
Pontiac's plot was to attack all the English posts on the same day
and, after gaining possession, to kill all the English men, women and
children. Illinois, being still under the French flag, was the rendezvous/
for both French and Indians, and the origin of the great scheme might
be traced there. The principal scene of action, however, was east
* Referi-in r to the red rij. By the ordinance of 1787 the whole of
the country northwest of the Ohio was considered as one district for
temporaiy government. For the good of the original states and of the
future states six articles were drawn up which were to constitute a per-
petual contract between the people of the territory and those of the
original states. According to these articles, there was to be religious
tolerance in the territory ; trial by jury ; education was to be encour-
aged ; the territory was always to be a part of the United States, and
there was to be no slavery tolerated. This compact, thus partially
quoted, has exerted from then till no.w an influence in this country which
could scarcely have been anticipated by the originators of the articles.
Maj. Gen. Arthur St. Clair was elected the first governor of the
Northwestern territory. St. Clair was a Scotchman and came to
America in 1755. He served in the French and Indian war, and later
was president of the congress of the United States. In 1788 St. Clair
county was organized, which included all of the present State of Illi-
nois south of the mouth of Little Mackinaw creek on the Illinois river.
Three judicial districts were made and a court of common pleas was
established. John Edgar, John B. Barbeau and J. D. Moulin were
appointed judges to hold courts in their respective districts. Justices
of the peace were appointed throughout the country. Cahokia was
made the county seat. Thus began the existence of United States law
in the territory. John Rice Jones was the first man who practiced law
in Illinois. He was a very energetic lawyer and a fluent speaker. At
the time of his death in 1824 he was judge of the supreme court of
Missouri.*
About the year 1790 a series of misfortunes arose which soon
caused the French settlements to decline. These misfortunes were of
various kinds, such as inundations of the Mississippi, severity of the
seasons, and supplies granted to troops with no requital. Besides
these causes, the cheerful, free and passive nature of the Frenchmen
was not. altogether congenial with the stern, sturdy, active natures of
the, Puritans who now thronged in great numbers, and French immi-
gration was fast ceasing.
TecumseKs Conspiracy : Indians again on the war-path.^ It
must be remembered that France made no extensive purchases of the
Indians ; consequently in the treaty of Paris only small portions of
land were transferred to the English. The English then had but little
to transfer to America, save what she had received from France. Con-
*Stuve. f Annals of the We.st.
54: A BRIEF HISTORY OF ILLINOIS.
gress felt that as the Indians had adhered mostly to the English they
were conquered too. Congress felt that the land of the Indian was
rightfully won, and settlements were made accordingly. At the same
time efforts were being put forward to establish certain peace. Treaties
with various tribes were made in 1784, 1785 and in 1789. With all
these precautions it was found that most of the tribes in the west
were not bound by agreement to yield land north of the Ohio. The
Indian confederacy had sullenly determined that the Ohio should form
a perpetual boundary between the Indians and the whites, and accord-
ingly organized and began a war against the Americans.
The main theater of- this war was within the present limits of Ohio
and Indiana, while Illinois had little part in it save in resisting the
Indian hostilities on the frontier. The Kickapoo Indians seemingly
were the most hostile and early began their depredations. All through
the years from 1778 to 1794 Illinois was the theater where many bar-
barous murders were enacted.
For six years the war raged, when finally, through the efforts of
Gen. Wayne, a treaty was drawn up and signed by all the principal men
of the Indian confederacy. In this treaty various tracts of land in the
Northwest were ceded to the Indians. In Illinois there was one at the
mouths of the Chicago and Illinois rivers and one at the Peoria's fort.
Peace had come -at last, and the eager whites started forward the
checked tide of emigration.
In 1788 the population of Illinois was about 1220.*
In 1778 there was but one professor of religion in the colonies of
Illinois. This was a lady and a member of the Presbyterian church.
James Smith, a Baptist minister, preached the first Protestant ser-
mon in Illinos. He also made the first Protestant converts.
The first regularly organized Protestant church in Illinois was that
organized in 1796 at New Design, by David Badgley. The first school
for American settlers in this state was taught by Samuel Seely in 1783.
In 1795 Gov. St. Clair made a division of St. Clair county, naming
the lower county Randolph, in honor of Edmund Randolph, of Vir-
ginia. A
In 1796 the white population of Ohio was over 5000, and accord-
ing to the ordinance of 1787 the country was entitled to another grade
of government. In the latter part of 1799 the new order of govern-
ment was in full working order.
Indiana Territory. On May 7, 1800, congress passed an act
* Stuve.
ILLINOIS A DEPENDENCY OF CANADA. 55
dividing the Northwestern territory ; and the Indiana territory was
formed. In this territory the present states of Illinois, Wisconsin,
Michigan, and almost all of Indiana, were included. The government
was to be somewhat similar to that of the h'rst grade of government.
On May 13, 1800, William II. Harrison was appointed governor of
the Indiana territory. By March of 1801 it was in full working order.
By the act of congress March 26, 1804, Louisiana was annexed to the
Indiana territory. In the previous year, through the efforts of some of
America's deep-thinking men, Louisiana had been purchased of France.
Before a year had passed after its admission to Indiana territory
Louisiana was made into a separate territory. Ohio was admitted to
the Union as a state in 1802.
In 1803, 1804 and 1805 treaties were maxle with various Indian
tribes by which the greater part of Illinois was divested of its Indian
title, and the land, even in the Indian's wavering judgment, was a part
of the United States. Some of the Indians, however, were loth to
fulfill their promises and retire from their old hunting-grounds, and it
was some time before Indian depredations ceased.
According to the laws adopted by the territory of Indiana only the
will of a majority of the freeholders was necessary for changing the
government from the first to that of the second grade of territorial gov-
ernment. The change of government was made in 1805. Part of the
old laws were re-enacted, while some new ones were made.
Territory of Illinois. Michigan had been erected into a separate
territory in 1805, and the people of Illinois as well desired a separation
from the Indiana territory.
By the act of congress February 3, 1809, all of the present Illinois
and Wisconsin was to constitute the new territory of Illinois. Hon.
Ninian Edwards was appointed the first governor and Nathaniel Pope
secretary of the territory. The seat of government was fixed at Kas-
kaskia.
At the time of the organization of the territory the population was
about 9,000. In 1810 there were over 12,000. The immigration, it
will be seen, was steadily on the increase. But soon there was to be
a check in the growth of the settlements. Already in the dark forests
might be heard the war-whoop of the secret friends of the English.
After the treaty of peace between England and America, the Indians
had desisted in their warfare only when they had no further hope of
aid from the English. They were ready then and quickly interpreted
the signs of ill-feeling between the United States and Great Britain,
56 A BRIEF HISTORY OF ILLINOIS.
just previous to the war of 1812. In 1810 Tecumseh, chief of the
Shawnees, took measures which placed the nature of his future actions
beyond a doubt. The immediate cause of Tecumseh's excitement was
the treaty of Fort Wayne, in 1809. He was not at the council and
claimed that a part of his land had been illegally sold. His theory
was that the lands of the Indians could not be dispose
