Full text of "Recollections of seventy years"

See other formats

LI B RARY

OF THE

U N IVERSITY
OF ILLINOIS

IU. HIST. S-Ullv

i\ j&nft VM<-

•> ^i /V> •&,."..••: .v?t-

4-f

^/*'-^R^^v **•'•

Recollections of Seventy Years

<a/iuuslus JJ.

Brigadier, and Brevet Major General U. S. Vols.
Civil War, 1861-65.

GALENA

THE GAZETTE PUBLISHING COMPANY,
1899.

TO MY ESTEEMED FRIEND

THOMAS FOSTER, ESQ.,

A WHOLESALE MERCHANT AND BANKER IN GALENA FOR
OVER FIFTY YEARS, WHOSE STERLING WORTH AS A
CITIZEN HAS ALWAYS BEEN RECOGNIZED AND
WHO IS AN EXCELLENT TYPE OF THE
CHRISTIAN GENTLEMAN, I RES-
PECTFULLY DEDICATE
THE FOLLOWING
PAGES.

A. L. CHETLAIN.

9 77, 3

PREFACE.

For several years past my friends have suggested to
me that I write the recollections of my long and some-
what eventful life. I hesitated to undertake the task
for the reason that I had not been accustomed to write
for publication. A year ago I reached the conclusion
that if such a work was ever to be done, it should be
begun at once. My memory has always been exception-
ally good and reliable. In giving to the world my
recollections of seventy years, as found in the following
page?, I have made no effort at fine writing, but have
\ endeavored to state facts in such a way as to make them
intelligible. What I give in these pages is not an
autobiography, but rather my impression of men and
. things, especially of men, as I have seen and known
them. The readers, whoever they may be, old or young,
cannot fail to find something in this book which will
interest them. With best wishes to them for health,
prosperity and long life, I am, Sincerely,

THE AUTHOR.

C O 3VT ID JVT ® .

Chapter.

I. Early Galena, 1825 to 1832.
II. Black Hawk War, 1832. Galena 1832— 1S36

III. Later Galena, 1836 to 1850. Sketches of Prominent

Citizens.

IV. Galena and the Northwest, 1850 to 1861. A tour in

Kurope, incidents, etc.

V. The Civil War. Recruiting the first Galena Company
in April 1861. Army at Cairo. Movement on
Fort Donelson. Prominent Army Men, etc.

VI. The Civil War. Fort Donelson to Vicksburg. Battles
of Shiloh and Corinth. Sketches of promi-
nent army men. Incidents, etc.

VII. The Civil War. 1863 to J865. Army of the Tennessee-
Recruiting and organizing U. S. Colored
Troops in Tennessee. In command of Post
and forces of Memphis. Incidents at close of
the War. Commanding the District of Tala-
dega, Ala., 1865-66.
VIII. Utah, 1867-9. The Mormons and Mormonism.

IX U. S. Consul at Brussels. 1869-72. Sketches of Ameri-
cans in Europe. Notes on the Franco-Pruss-
ian War, Siege of Paris, The Commune, etc.
X. Chicago after the great fire of 1871. Convention in Chi-
cago in 1874 of old Abolitionists. Tour in Cali-
fornia. Jo. Jefferson, the famous actor at Ga-
lena in 1840. International Military Encamp-
ment at Chicago 1837. Visit to Europe. Inter-
view with Gen. Perron, the French Minister of
War. Gen. Grant and Ex Minister Washburne
in 1879 — '80. Sketches of prominent men who
have died in Chicago since 1872, and of men
now living in Chicago and in the Northwest.

XI. World's Columbian Exposition of 1893. Location
secured. Management, etc. Womans Depart-
ment, etc.
XII. Brief sketches of Noted Women of Chicago.

XIII. Army Societies in Chicago. Brief Sketches of army

Officers.

XIV. Notes on the Dominion of Canada. Notes on Rock-

ford, 111., and Platteville Wis.
XV. The Philafrican Liberators League.
XVI. Galena at the close of the 19th century. Sketches of
prominent citizens who have died. Sketches
and notices of citizens now living.

Page 15— 6th line from bottom should read "Jeremiah Wood."

28— nth " " " ...... Thomas Drummond."

«« 103— oth " " " ..... There also was my friend."

« 200— i8th " " " ...... whose death in 1891."

" 209-^th and loth line from top should read "draw" and "make."

" 299-2oth line from top should read "Superintendent of Public Schools.

" 304— 2d " " " " " "while on their way."

•• 304— 3d " " bottom should read "requiescat in pace."

«. 304— 5th " ......... 'garlands dead."

CHAPTER I.

EflRLY GALENA.

The lead mine region of the Northwest is about
fifty miles square, lying in the northwestern corner of
Illinois and the southwestern part of Wisconsin, with a
narrow strip on the west side of the Mississippi river, in
the vicinity of Dubuque, Iowa. A few adventurous men
came into the region as early as 1821 to engage in min-
ing lead ore, and a larger number in the succeeding five
years. They were mostly from Missouri, Kentucky and
Southern Illinois, making their way to the mines on
horseback, by ox-teams and by *keelboats up the Mis-
sissippi river. The early best paying "diggings" were
located west of Fever river, from five to ten miles from
La Pointe (afterwards Galena). Their supplies were ob-
tained at a small store or trading post, kept by a French-
man named Bouthillier, just below and on the opposite
side of the river from Frederic's Point, the landing for
steamboats, and the head of navigation at an ordinary
stage of water. Crude log furnaces were constructed to
smelt the ore, and the product of these furnaces was
taken to St. Louis by keelboats and by ox-teams over-
land. The teams occasionally hauled loads to Juneau's
Point (afterwards Milwaukee), and to Fort Dearborn
(afterwards Chicago). During these years and prior
thereto, the Winnebago Indians did some mining, which

*The keelboats were much like a canal boat, only much smaller and of lighter
construction, and propelled by rowing, poling or cordelling, and were in general
use on the Mississippi before steamboats began running.

£ave them lead to mold into bullets and buckshot for
their guns. They never exported any lead.

By 1826 the mining operations, which had proved
lucrative, began to attract the attention of the country
and brought in a large immigration, not only of miners,
but also of farmers, merchant?, mechanics and a few
professional men. The next year brought in a still
larger number, and mining centers were formed, each
with its store, blacksmith shop, etc. The locating of
Galena on Fever river was a matter of accident. Prior
to 1826 all supplies for the miners were brought up
Fever river and landed at Frederic's Point, a natural
landing, and prior to 1827 this landing was known as
La Pointe. In the summer of 1826 a street was laid out
under the bluff, just below the landing, and named
Main street, and the lots were leased for building pur-
poses. A few log houses were erected for dwellings,
stores, shops, etc. The fall of that year brought in the
greater part of the French-Swiss colony from the Selkirk
settlement on Red river. These people having become
dissatisfied with the condition of things at the settle-
ment, emigrated in a body to the lead mines to join
some of their compatriots already there. Traveling
overland to Fort St. Anthony (now Fort Snelling1, they
obtained passage on a steamboat which had carried sup-
plies to the garrison stationed there, and by it were taken
to their destination. The new comers, all well-to-do
financially, chose to locate on government lands and en-
gage in farming.

The favorable reports from the mining region dur-
ing the latter part of 1826, induced capitalists to locate
there for the purpose of trading, smelting lead ore, etc.
In the spring of 1827 two additional streets were laid
out in the new town and lots were sold. Steamboats
began to run at regular intervals between St. Louis and

Fever river. By fall the village had more than doubled
in population. When the question of obtaining a town
charter was being discussed it was proposed to name the
town Jackson, in honor of Gen. Jackson, who was pop-
ular in the West. Others suggested that it be named
Harrison, called after the hero of Tippecanoe, but wiser
counsel prevailed, and the more appropriate name Ga-
lena, was chosen. The character of the settlers in the
lead mines during this year, either to locate in Galena
or elsewhere, was much better than that of the previous
years.

Among the large number of enterprising men who
located in the town of Galena in 1827 and during the
two succeeding years. I can call to my mind Dr. Horatio
Newhall. Charles S. Hempstead, Col. James M. Strode,
Captain W. B. Green, James G. Soulard, Captain J. B.
Atchison, Captain D. B. Morehouse, Captain Orrin Smith,
Captain Smith D. Harris, Captain W. H. Hooper. Captain
Edward Beebe, Captain G. W. Girdon (the last seven
named well-known steamboat captains), Scribe Harris,
Ben C. St. Cyr, H, F. McCloskey, Frederick Stahl, Nich-
olas Dowling, Lucius and Edward Langworthy (after-
wards prominent citizens of Dubuque), Thomas Ford
(later governor of Illinois), Henry Dodge (general in the
Blackhawk war and subsequently U. S. senator), Charles
R. Bennett, Daniel Wann (Collector of the port of Ga-
lena for a score of years), William Hempstead and Moses
Hallet (the first sheriff of the county).

For the most part the young men named above were
as energetic and wide awake as any to be found. Nothing
pleased them better than a horse race, a turkey shooting
match or a country dance. Shrewd, enterprising and
industrious, most of them were successful in their various
vocations, W. H. Hooper, trader as well as a steamboat
captain, moved west, engaged as a freighter west of the

Missouri river, joined the Mormon church, settled in
Utah, and was for sixteen years a delegate to congress.
Although a Mormon, he never practiced polygamy. He
had great energy, much practical intelligence and a
charrn of manner that won the respect and confidence of
his brother members in both houses of congress.

George W. Campbell, who was a successful wholesale
grocer at Galena lor nearly twoscore years, moved to Chi-
cago during the early part of the civil war and filled a
position in the United States commissary department
there, with the rank of colonel. A quiet, careful, conserv-
ative business man, he always kept his affairs well in hand.
He was a member of the First Presbyterian church at
Galena and a ruling elder for more than a score of years.
His Christian zeal and benevolence led him to do much
for the poor and unfortunate in alleviating their needs.
It could truly be said of him that he was the poor man's
friend.

My parents came to the lead mines in the spring of
1826, from St. Louis, Mo., where they had lived for two
years and where I was born. They were members of
the French-Swiss colony which emigrated via Hud-
son Bay to the Selkirk settlement in British America
in 1821 and left there in 1823. They made their way
to the Mississippi and down that river in open boats to
St. Louis. The climate of Missouri did not agree with
them, and when Col. Henry Gratiot, the newly appointed
agent to the Winnebago Indians, left St. Louis for the
lead mines in 1826 to establish an agency, my parents,
with a few of their fellow colonists who were in St. Louis,
joined him. The party took passage on one of the first
steamboats that ascended the Mississippi above the mouth
of the Illinois river, and reached Fever river on the 14th
day of April. A beautiful grove on the south side of an
undulating prairie, twelve miles north of La Pointe

(afterwards Galena), was chosen as the site of the new
agency. Col. Gratiot's family, as well as that of my
father, were left at La Pointe while suitable buildings
were being erected at the agency for their accommoda-
tion. Col. Gratiot was joined the next spring by his two-
brothers, Biou and Paul, who became his partners in the
business of mining and smelting lead. There were good
"diggings" in the vicinity of the agency. They con-
structed several log furnaces and employed a large num-
ber of men to dig ore, run the furnaces, cut and haul
wood, etc. The men so employed were usually Canad-
ian ex-trappers and voyageurs, among whom were some
half-breed Indians. My father engaged in mining and
teaming. The teaming business was a large one, as alf
the ore dug had to be hauled, to the furnaces to be-
smelted, and the lead in "pigs" was then hauled from
the furnaces to La Pointe, on Fever river, for shipment.

In the three or four years succeeding the establish-
ment of the agency at Gratiots' Grove, the mining opera-
tions on the prairie north of there were so successful
that it became the attraction for many miners. In after
years this tract, known as "Shullsburg's Survey," devel-
oped into one of the richest sections of the lead mine
region. The flourishing town of Shullsburg, Wisconsin,
was built on this tract.

The rapid increase in the products of the mines in
what was called the Galena District brought in a large
number of men of capital; who constructed smelting
furnaces within fifteen miles of Galena. Some of the
earlier ones were the Gratiots, H. H. Gear, Lockwood,
Magoon, Hughlett, Meeker, Strawbridge, Hamilton and
January. The government, through the war depart-
ment, exacted from the miner one-tenth of the mineral
dug by him as a tax. The miner usually arranged with
the smelter to pay this tax, consequently the relations-

between the miner and the smelter were very close, and,
to a certain extent, confidential. The furnaces in these
early days were crude and inexpensive, and in the pro-
cess of smelting there was much waste. In the early
30's Burton & Sons constructed near Galena a new, im-
proved and more expensive furnace, patterned after the
English furnace style. It was called the "Cupolo" fur-
nace, and is in general use now.

The teaming business increased in importance as
the mining interests of the country developed. The
opening of valuable mines in the northern portions of
the lead mine region about Mineral Point increased the
number of teams engaged in the carrying business. In
the spring teams of four yoke of oxen and a strong
canvas covered wagon would leave Southern Illinois for
the mines, haul lead to the furnaces, or from the furnaces
to the place of shipment, usually Galena, and take a
"back load" in goods for the traders or supplies for the
miners. The teamsters lived in their wagons and cooked
their food, which consisted of corn bread, bacon and
coffee. The oxen browsed at night, and so obtained a
living. Late in the fall these "outfits" would return to
their southern homes for the winter, sometimes, in the
early days, taking a load of lead to St. Louis. These
were called "sucker teams," after the sucker fish, which
ascends the Mississippi river in the spring and returns
late in the fall.

As early as 1827, Col. James M. Strode, a Kentuck-
ian, located at Galena and put out his "shingle" as at-
torney and counselor at law. He was one of the first
lawyers in the village, preceded by only one other, viz :
Judge John Turney. He was of splendid physique, tall
and straight, and dignified and courteous in manner.
He had ability as a lawyer, especially in jury trials. His
affability and good nature drew men to him, and he

soon becarm well known and popular in all that region.
When the Blackhawk war broke out, he raised a com-
pany of mounted men, and later was elected a colonel of
a small regiment, to which was assigned the duty of
scouting in the mining district and in the country east
and south of it. His men were ever on the alert and
did some efficient work as scouts. The colonel was never
engaged in a battle with the Indians, but had a few
lively skirmishes with them. During the short war he
achieved considerable distinction as an Indian fighter.
For many years after the war stories were told of his ex-
ploits. Many were doubtless exaggerated, but they
never failed to interest the people. His vanity was
great, and he seemed to enjoy being thus made a hero.
Col. Strode moved to Chicago about the early '50's, and
will be remembered by the old Chicago bar and by old
citizens of the northern part of the state, as one of the
counsel in the famous Birch-Stewart divorce case, which
was tried at the county seat of Du Page county.

One of the most noted men who came to Galena in
1827 was Hezekiah H. Gear, a New Englander, nearing
middle life. He was tall, slender, wiry, of irrepressible
energy, and soon proved to be a successful business man.
He engaged in mining on a large scale, hiring men by
the score to do his work, built furnaces and ran them,
and also engaged in trading at Galena. At this time he
was the wealthiest man in the lead mines. When the
Blackhawk war broke out in 1832, he raised a company
of mounted volunteers, which he himself commanded.
He was elected to the state senate and made a very cred-
itable record. Whlie senator he warmly favored the
project to build a railroad from Cairo to Galena, called
the "Illinois Central Railroad," and was an active factor
in developing the resources of the lead mine region.
Later in life he became somewhat erratic, the result of

long mental strain, arid "his right hand forgot its cun-
ning."

The Rev. Mr. Gear, a brother of Captain Gear, was a
Protestant Episcopal clergyman, and in the early 30s was
rector of a church at Galena. His son, John H. Gear,
who was a schoolboy at this time and whom I knew,
moved to Fort Snelling. Minn., with his father, who had
been appointed a chaplain in the United States Army.
After the completion of his education he went to Bur-
lington, Iowa, and became a merchant. He was elected
to the legislature and was chosen speaker and served
two terms. He was soon afterwards elected governor of
the state and served four years, and is now one of the
United States senators, from that state. Governor Gear
is a man of quiet disposition, of sound judgment and of
fine administrative ability, and has always been popular
with the people of his state.

Among the young men who came to Galena in 1827
were two from New England and who were prominent
figures in that place for nearly a half century. They
were Charles S. Hempstead and Dr. Horatio Newhall, a
practicing physician. The former was a quiet, dignified,
urbane man, and an able lawyer, who practiced his pro-
fession until past middle life, when he devoted his en-
tire attention to his private affairs. He was a promoter
of the Galena and Chicago railroad, the first road to be
constructed west of Lake Michigan, and was one of its
board of directors for many years. He served in the
civil war as a paymaster and was one of Galena's early
mayors. His two sons, Edward and Charles, became
prominent citizens of Galena, and both moved to Chicago
and engaged, the first named in the lumber business,
and the second in the practice of his profession as a
physician, in which he became distinguished. Dr. New-
hall was a man of liberal education, of superior natural

ability, and was recognized as a skillful practitioner.
Both were ruling elders in the First Presbyterian church
at Galena during all these years. They were both pub-
lic spirited citizens, in whom the communit}r had un-
bounded confidence and hdd in high esteem. No two
other citizens did more to advance its every interest, so-
cial, moral and material.

In the same year (1827) a young Kentuckian
made his advent in Galena in the person of John H.
Rountree. He was tall, handsome, genial and generous.
He turned his attention to mining and located in a min-
ing center near Galena. His industry, energy and rare
practical intelligence attracted the attention of his neigh-
bors. Not long after he moved to the village of Platte-
ville, Wis. His success as a business man soon made
him prominent, and his kindly manner naturally won
for him the friendship of all classes. His cordial greet-
ing and handshake was often regarded by the recipients
as n benediction. So much confidence did his neighbors
have in his integrity and good judgment, that not in-
frequently when disagreements arose among them in-
stead of going to a court, they would mutually agree to
leave it to Major Rountree for decision. He served in
the Black hawk war as a captain of volunteers, was elecied
a member of the constitutional convention of his state,
was a state senator several terms, and held other posi-
tions of trust in his state. He was one of Wisconsin's
best known and most highly esteemed citizens.

The first clergyman to settle in Galena was the Rev.
Aratus Kent in 1829. Having completed his theolog-
ical studies, he came to the lead mines under the aus-
pices of the Home Missionary society. When he made
application fora mission he said that he wanted a ''place
so hard that no one would take it." With commenda-
ble Christian zeal he began to canvass the village, to as-

certain if it contained any members of the Presbyterian
church. A few were foand, who gave him a cordial
welcome, and arrangements were at once made by them
and their friends, without regard to sect, for holding
Sunday meetings. A suitable room was secured at the
rear of a grocery store and saloon — a combination not
unusual in those days. It is related that while the
young clergyman was preaching in the rear room, a few
citizens, who evidently "esteemed all days alike," were
having a quiet game of "seven up" in the front room.
Mr. Kent organized the first Presbyterian church in Ga-
lena in 1831, and bought a frame building adjoining
the present stone church building, in which services were
held for several years. He was its pastor for nearly a
quarter of a century. In the '40s it was the largest
and most influential church in the Northwest outside
of Chicago. About 1855 he was appointed the General
Superintendent of Home Missions for the Northwest.
He continued in this work for nearly a score of years,
and by his untiring energy accomplished what few other
men could have done in establishing religious societies,
organizing churches, and in securing missionaries to
take charge of them. He also took an active interest in
educational matters, and was an important factor, with
Elder John Edwards, an old and influential citizen of
Rockford as an assistant, in founding Beloit college and
the Rockford Female college. During the first decade of
his ministrations at Galena he was in the habit of giving
one day each week to visiting the villages and hamlets
in the lead mine region, going frequently from house to
house to ascertain the religious needs of its inmates. He
took with him Bibles, tracts and other religious books,
which he distributed freely, thereby doing the work
usually done by the colportuer. He was generally known
at an early date as the "pioneer missionary," and in the

later years of his life as "Father Kent." He was a man
of wonderful energy and of deep and earnest piety. I
united with his church at an early age, and have always
felt deeply grateful to him for his faithfulness in giving
me so many valuable moral and religious lessons in my
youth, lessons which I have never forgotten.

Soon after the beginning of the '30s Mr. Kent in-
duced Amasa B. Campbell, a graduate of a New England
college, to come to Galena and open a first-class school.
He intended to enter the ministry, but lack of physical
ability caused him to change his mind, and he resolved
to be an educator. Mr. Campbell began his work with
zeal and energy. He had a well-trained mind and a
disposition well adapted for teaching. For fifteen years
he carried on his work with untiring devotion, and his
school at Galena was regarded as the best in the Noith-
west. Soon after its opening he had the valuable assist-
ance of bis wife, who was a lady of fine natural ability
and thoroughly educated. For several years I was a
pupil in his school, attending every winter from four to
five months. He was of great assistance to his pastor,
Mr. Kent, in his arduous work, frequently filling his
pulpit when the latter was absent or disabled. Mr.
Campbell took a lively interest in his pupils and did
more than merely teaching them. In the latter part of
the '40s he gave up teaching on account of impaired
health, and turned his attention to farming. He was
succeeded by George S. Magoun, afterward Rev. Dr.
Magoun, President of Iowa college, at Grinnell, Iowa.

Mr. John Wood, a college graduate, came to Galena
a few years before Mr. Campbell to establish an academy.
His project did not succeed. He moved out to Gratiot's
Grove, opened a boarding and day school there, ran it
for a few years and returned to Galena. I attended his
school at Gratiot's Grove one winter. He was a man of

ability and superior education, and one of its prominent
citizens for nearly fifty years. He served as a deacon
and ruling elder in the first Presbyterian church during
most of these years.

CHAPTER II.

THE BLACKHAWK. WAR Op 1832— GALENA, 1832 TO 1836.

The Black hawk war broke out in the early summer
of 1832. For six years prior to this event the emigra-
tion to the lead mine region had been phenomenally
great. The settlers during the latter part of this period
were largely of the agricultural class, who had been in-
duced to locate on government lands, not only in the
mining districts, but also on the fertile lands south and
east of the district. Thus it happened that when roving
bands of Indians began their depredation of stealing
cattle and horses, burning farm houses and occasionally
murdering their inmates, there was a considerable though
scattered population in Northwestern Illinois and South-
western Wisconsin. It will be remembered that the
Winnebago Indians in 1827 had become dissatisfied and
restless and threatened to take the war path. They as-
serted that they had received bad treatment from the
white settlers in the lead mine region, that they could
get no redress, etc. The Indian agent, Col. Henry Gra-
tiot, who had always been on friendly terms with this
tribe, at once went to their camps on upper Rock river,
and had a "talk" with its chiefs, and induced them to
delay all action and meet a high official of the govern-
ment, Gen. Cass, of Michigan, and lay all their griev-
ances before him, promising them that he would rectify
all their wrongs and have the wrongdoers punished.
The result was that a conference was held and a treaty
of peace was made and signed by all the leading chiefs.

of the tribe. These Indians were the allies of the whites
during the war of 1832.

The Sac tribe of Indians, of which Blackhawk was the
chief, had two years before (1829), by treaty, ceeded to the
government their lands on Rock river, and had moved
to their new reservation on the west side of the Missis-
sippi river in Central and Southern Iowa, and nearly
directly west of their reservation in Illinois.

For some reason never fully understood, Blaekhawk
moved the greater part of his tribe in the spring of 1832
to his old reservation on lower Rock river. Blackhawk
always asserted that his intentions were not hostile. He
simply desired to spend the summer on his old hunting
grounds, where game was more plenty than on the Des
Moines and Iowa rivers, and that he had brought his
squaws and papooses with him showing his peaceful in-
tentions. There was a garrison of United States troops
at Fort Armstrong, Rock Island, in command of Gen.
Atkinson. The authorities at Washington construed
this action on the part of Blackhawk as a violation of
the treaty and a declaration of war, and Gen. AtcMson
was ordered to move his troops against Blackhawk and
force him to recross the Mississippi river. Fearing that
the force at Fort Armstrong might not be sufficient, the
governor of Illinois was ordered to issue a call for volun-
teers. Blackhawk, finding that he could not recross the
Mississippi river below Rock Island without coming in
conflict with United States troops, moved his tribe up the
valley of Rock river, fighting the white troops, regulars
and volunteers, wherever attacked by them.

Small bands of the younger Indians, on the plea of
scouting, went out and began to steal, pillage and burn
hay and grain in the stack, burn houses and in some in-
stances committed murder; such bands are now called
"pillagers." Blackhawk claimed that he had no control

over them and was not aware at the time of their conduct.
The act of these pillagers created intense excitement
among the white settlers, and their outrages were charged
directly to Blackhawk. It has always been evident to
me that Blackhawk, finding his retreat cut off, pushed
northward, hoping to cross the Mississippi above the
Wisconsin river, which he ultimately succeeded in doing,,
after having lost nearly one-half of his warriors and
many of his women and children.

Three years before the war my father located about
a half section of government land on Apple river, six
miles south of the agency, and lying in Jo Daviess coun-
ty, Illinois, fora farm. He began to improve it at once,
and by the time the war began he had one of the best
farms in that section of the country. The family lived
on the farm and he divided his time between the farm
and his business at the agency. This farm, as I remem-
ber it, was an ideal one. On the north side of this beau-
tiful river, large enough to run mills, was an undulating
prairie with soil of great fertility, and on the south side,
gently rising from the river, was a thick grove, mostly of
hard wood, from which no wood or timber had ever been
taken. The prairie land and timber or wood land were
of nearly equal area. We were near the Indian trail
from the agency to the Indian camps on lower Rock
river. After the war began reports were circulated to
the effect that the Winnebagos would join the Sacs in
their war. In the early summer of 1832 the bad con-
duct of Indians south of us caused the settlers some
anxiety, and they became suspicious of the hitherto
friendly Winnebagos.

I remember well in the early summer of the war a
band of ten or twelve Winnebagos stopping at our farm
house at nightfall and asking for food. Bread and meat
were given to them and they left. Their conduct led my

mother, who understood the Indian character well, to be-
lieve the}' might be bent on doing mischief. Father was
at the agency, and she was alone with her five small
children, the eldest being only nine years old. The near-
est neighbor was nearly a mile away. She barricaded
the door for the night, and took as a weapon of defense
in case of attack a large four-pronged iron pitchfork.
The next evening at about sun down we heard a noisy
band of Indians on the trail less than half a mile dis-
tant. It was evident that a part or all of them were
under the influence of liquor. Mother was alarmed, and
hurriedly gathering up a few valuables took her five little
ones to a secluded spot up the river, where stood a stack
of hay. She made beds of hay at the foot of the stack
for the smaller ones and with the two oldest boys (I be-
ing the younger of the two) sat up the livelong night.
Father came home the next day, and the family was at
once taken to the agency for better protection.

My father soon after joined a company of mounted
volunteers that belonged to Col. Strode's regiment. The
company was active as scouts, but never had an engage-
ment with the Indians. One day about the middle of
July, about 2 o'clock in the afternoon, our village was
startled by the news brought by a scout that a large force
of hostile Indians was moving on Galena from the east
and would attack it by daylight the next morning, and
that Gratiot's Grove might be attacked Hrst. As Galena
had a stockade and a small force of volunteers, all were
ordered to leave for there at once. There we had no
stockade nor troops and were entirely unprotected. All
the horse teams and saddle horses were brought out. The
women and children were crowded in the wagons. The
men and boys took the horses, two on a horse. When it
came my turn to mount, I found that my only chance to
ride was the third seat on a horse, a Canadian and a young

colored girl of eighteen were to ride in front of me A
few men with arms volunteered to stay and defend the gov-
ernment stores at the agency warehouse. Soon after 3
o'clock the procession moved off at a rapid rate. When we
had made about two-thirds of the twelve miles to Galena,
we were met by a messenger, who informed us that the
alarm was a false one, that no Indians had been seen,
etc. Most of the villagers turned back to their homes. A
few went on to Galena. I was permitted to go, and boy
like, had a good time.

The big scare narrated above induced the villagers
and the settlers in the vicinity to begin the construction
of a stockade around the two buildings used as a store
house for the government Indian supplies. As nearly
all the able-bodied men had joined the mounted com-
pany of volunteers, it was left to the old men. women
and boys to do the work. Men were set to work felling
trees and cutting logs about eighteen inches in diameter
and twenty-five feet long, which were dragged a half a
mile or more to the agency storehouse. A trench three
feet in depth was dug, when the logs were set up on end
in it. Every log had its upper end sharpened. It fell to
nay lot, though less than eight years of age, to drive two
yoke of oxen to drag the logs from the forest. It took
several weeks to complete the stockade. All the settlers
felt greatly relieved after its completion, and only once
were they all brought into it for one night before the
close of the war, about a month later. During the time we
were constructing our stockade the settlers at Elizabeth,
fifteen miles east of Galena, were attacked by a small
force of Indians, probably "pillagers." Their stockade
had been completed and the Indians were repulsed after
an irregular fight of several hours. Much ammunition
was expended, and when the supply of bullets was ex-
hausted the women went to work moulding a new sup-
ply. The settlers lost only one man.

This Indian war, as well as the serious trouble with
the Winnebagos five years before, which came nigh to
an open conflict, were unnecessary. In both instances the
white settlers were to blame. In 1826 and 1827 the
miners and keelboat men treated the Indians and their
squaws not only harshly, but often brutally. In the
latter case, had the military authorities been more pru-
dent, and, instead of sending an armed force to fight, in-
stituted an inquiry into the reasons for Blackhawk's vio-
lation of the provisions of the treaty of 1829 in leaving
his reservation on the west side of the Mississippi, all
would have been explained satisfactorily and a bloody
war averted. To show how unfair and unmilitary was
the conduct of the volunteers, I will state that when
Blackhawk was camped some distance north of Dixon,
where were rendezvoused some three hundred volunteers
in command of Major Stillman, one company was de-
tailed under command of Major Stillman to find the In-
dians under Blackhawk. After a short day's ride, they
went into camp not far from the Indian encampment.
Towards evening Blackhawk sent a flag of truce to the
camp of the volunteer company to say "that he wanted
to talk to them; that he did not want to fight. Some of
the white men, probably under the influence of liquor,
deliberately fired upon the Indians with the flag of truce,
and killed three of the five. The two who escaped in-
jury reported to Blackhawk what had happened. He
immediately sent out a force of men to do battle. After
a few volleys at long range the volunteers fled, some
going to Dixon to report a great and bloody battle, but
most of them to their homes, and were not seen again
during the war. *The whites lost eleven men, mostly
killed while retreating, and the Indians five men. The

*From S. W. McMaster's "Sixty Years on the Upper Mississippi," published
in 1894.

above describes the battle of Stillraan's Creek, of which
much has been said and written. The foregoing ac-
count is from the written statement of J. W. Spencer of
Rock Island, a participant in the battle and a man of re-
spectability and probity.

After the war, matters generally in the Northwest
assumed their normal condition. The miners suffered
but little loss from the war. but the farmers in many
localities lost their entire crops. The influx of settlers
continued, both as miners and farmers, and by the year
1836 there seemed to be a general condition of prosper-
ity. In 1831 a newspaper was established in Galena
called the "Miners' Journal." Drs. Phileo and Newhall.
the editors and proprietors, continued its publication
until 1834. Dr. Phileo was the war correspondent of
the "Miners' Journal," and much information given by
him of the Blackhawk war is reliable and has historical
value. In 1834 the "Miners' Journal" was bought by H.
H. Houghton, a practical newspaper man, who changed
the name to the "Galena Gazette and Northwestern Ad-
vertiser," Mr. Bartlett becoming publisher and business
manager. Mr. Bartlett, after a few years, discontinued
his connection with the paper and went to Armenia,
Turkey, as a missionary, where he took charge of the
first missionary paper published in that country. Mr.
Houghton continued as editor until about 1860, when he
retired, and J. B. Brown succeeded him as editor and
proprietor. Mr. Houghton was a man of broad educa-
tion, general intelligence, quiet energy and always in-
tensely loyal to his country and true to his friends. The
"Gazette" is still published, now as a daily and weekly,
and is in its sixty-fifth year. I read the paper first in
1834, and have read it continuously since. It has fol-
lowed me to the army and to Europe during my four
years' residence there.

In the spring of 1834 my father sold his Apple River
farm, gave up his business at Gratiot's Grove and moved
to Galena, where there were good schools to which his
children could be sent. He rented a farm near Galena,
known as the "Bennett farm," on which his family could
live while he was improving a tract of government land a
mile and a half west of Galena on the Mineral Point
road. His neighbors north of him who located lands at
the same time were James G. Soulard, Captain John
Atchison and E. Lytle, and south Francis Longet and
Alfred Quinch. This farm or homestead was increased
in area in after years, so that in the '60s it was generally
regarded as the best farm for stock breeding and the
growing of mixed crops of any in the county. Although
reduced in size, it is still in the family and owned by
Captain H. B. Chetlain, my younger brother, who is one
of the best known and highly esteemed men of the lead
mine region.

For nearly a score of years after the death of my
father in 1872, this large property was managed by my
eldest brother, Frederic Chetlain, a man of sound judg-
ment, of excellent executive ability, of genuine kindli-
ness of disposition, of unostentatious piety and of sturdy
honesty.

I remained with my father on the farm until after
the middle of the '40s, when I took a position in a
wholesale mercantile house in Galena as clerk. When I
was seventeen years of age. I obtained a practical knowl-
edge of horticulture and floriculture from my father's old
friend and neighbor, Mr. James G. Soulard, who had for
years given his personal attention to these branches of in-
dustry, especially the former. He had wealth, and was
ardently attached to the business, from sheer love of it.
He spent large sums of money in bringing from the
East, and often from Europe, rare fruit trees, plants and

shrubs, constantly making experiments to ascertain what
kinds were best suited to the climate and soil of North-
ern Illinois, and all this was done, not for personal gain,
but from a desire to give to the settlers of the region the
best that could be cultivated with success. He intro-
duced in the early '40s, the Red River Beardless wheat
and the Bolles variety of corn, both well adapted to the
soil and climate of that region. In all this he proved
himself a public benefactor. My object in familiarizing
myself with horticulture especially, was that my bent of
mind and taste led me to choose this industry and follow
it after reaching manhood. Both myself and my older
brother, Frederic, had inherited this taste in this matter
from our mother, who was an ardent lover of plants and
flowers.

CHAPTER III.

GALENA, 1836 TO 1850— SKETCHES Of PROMINENT
CITIZENS.

The great financial depression which swept over this
country in 1837 was felt more keenly in the older sec-
tions of the country than in the newer. The lead mine
region, settled at first by miners and traders, had re-
ceived after the Blackhawk war of 1832 a large influx of
people, who settled on government lands and cultivated
them. The inducements for engaging in farming were
great, as the miners could get their supply of flour,
meats, potatoes, etc., near home, instead of having to
rely for such supplies from Missouri and other points
south. The farmers who located on lands in the mining
district and on lands south and east of it, as far as Rock
river, always had a ready sale for all their farm products,
cattle and hogs, for ready money at satisfactory prices.
In the early '40s lead ore commanded a good price, and
the total yield or output of the mines amounted to over
a million dollars a year. Moreover, the miners having
refused currency for their mineral, and the American gold
being difficult to get, English sovereigns were imported
and paid to the miners at $4.90, being a little more than
their real value. Many failures occurred throughout
the country among businessmen, owing in a great meas-
ure to depreciated paper money then in general use.
Few failures occurred in the mining district, and a time
of comparative prosperity was enjoyed by all classes.

This favorable condition of things in the lead mine
region attracted the attention of people all over the

country, and naturally the wide-awake and enterprising,
especially among the young men, sought the new El-
dorado. From 1838 to say 1845, a large number of law-
yers, physicians, traders, mechanics and some capitalists
made their way to Galena, the principal town of the dis-
trict, and settled there. Among those who were thus at-
tracted were a number of young lawyers, principally
from the Atlantic states. Many of them, after having
practiced their profession from a half score to a score of
years, and when other places offered greater inducements
to make money, left Galena, some going to Chicago and
others to California and other western states. Out of the
large number who located in Galena and moved to-
other places, an unusual proportion met with phenom-
enal success, some achieving great distinction. I was
acquainted with nearly all these professional and busi-
ness men and can write of them knowingly. In the fol-
lowing pages I will give my own impressions of these
men and of others who settled here at an earlier time.

The bar of Galena received an accession in the lat-
ter part of the '40s in the advent of a young lawyer from
Massachusetts named Benjamin R. Sheldon, who began
the practice of his profession in an unostentatious way.
He was liberally educated, of a retiring disposition and
of courteous manner. As a business lawyer he had few
equals at that bar, and his practice as a counselor was
large and lucrative. Moreover, he was regarded by hi&
associates at the bar as not only a sound, but a profound
lawyer as well. He was elected judge of the circuit
court of the district of Galena, and after several years'
service, was elected associate judge of the supreme court
of the state, and later was chosen its Chief Justice. Judge
Sheldon had the reputation of being one of the best
judges of that court. His opinions were regarded as-
sound, and were treated with consideration. He never

married. At his death in 1896 he left an estate valued
at nearly two million dollars.

Ben H. Campbell located in Galena in 1835, and
soon after began business as a wholesale grocery mer-
chant and continued in that business for over thirty
years. In the '50s his business, extending into the lum-
ber district of Central and Northern Wisconsin, was the
largest of any other in the Northwest. In the latter
part of the '60s he moved to Chicago to assume the duties
of United States Marshal of the district of Northern
Illinois, to which position he had been appointed as ihe
successor of the Hon. J. Russell Jones, formerly a suc-
cessful wholesale merchant at Galena, who had been ap-
pointed by President Grant United States Minister to
Belgium. I remember him well when he came to Ga-
lena at that early time. He was a handsome young man
of vivacity, genial manner, kindly disposition, and evi-
dently the leader of a group of young men with whom
be associated. In later years he was regarded as one of
the shrewdest business men of that region. During his
term of service of eight years as United States Marshal
he became well known to the business men of Chicago
and to the bar of the state.

Among the young lawyers who came to Galena in
1836 was Thomas W. Drummond. He was from the
state of Maine, had received a college education, was
well versed in law, and soon took a high position at the
bar. Of a retiring disposition and courteous manner,
he became popular with his fellow citizens. He took an
active interest as a Whig in the noted political campaign
of 1840, was elected a member of the state legislature
and soon after judge of the circuit court of the Galena
district and served for several years, proving a learned
and impartial judge. He was appointed judge of the
United States district of Illinois in 1850. Some years

later he was appointed judge of the United States Circuit
Court and moved to Chicago. He served in that court
until 1884, when he resigned and retired to private life.
During his long term of service on the bench he earned
the reputation of being one of the ablest judges on the
Federal bench. I knew him well all these years, and
admired him for his simplicity of character, amiable
disposition and varii d and profound learning. He was
one of the most entertaining men in conversation I ever
knew. Some time after the civil war, while in conver-
sation with him, I said: "Judge, the first time 1 saw you
at Galena I thought you were the best dressed man I had
ever seen. You wore a silk hat, dark blue swallow-tail
cloth coat with gilt buttons, and a light drab vest and
pantaloons." He laughed and replied: ''I remember
well that suit of clothes. When I was about to leave
Boston, I was told that I was going to a town where pro-
fessional men dressed well, and that I must do the same.
I bought the suit you mention, wore it a few times at
Galena, when I came to the conclusion that it was not
just the thing, and laid it away." The judge was always
neatly but inexpensively dressed.

In the latter part of the '30s William H. Bradley, a
young lawyer, arrived in Galena. He was bright and
good-looking, of a charming personality, great energy
and of much business tact. He did not practice his pro-
fession, but entered into business. An active and ardent
Whig, he soon became a power in local politics. He was
appointed clerk of the circuit court, which position he
held for several years. He was a natural leader of men.
In church, in politics and in business affairs he proved
himself such. His popularity was great, and he became
an active factor in advancing the moral and material in-
terests of the community. He was appointed clerk of
the United States district court (Judge Drummonds) in

the '50s and moved to Chicago. He filled the position
with marked ability for over twenty-five years. During
that time he became well known to and was highly es-
teemed by all the people of the state. I knew Mr. Brad-
ley for nearly half a century, and I regard him as one
•of the strongest and best characters I ever knew.

A few years after Judge Drummond had opened a
law office in Galena, there came into his office a young
lawyer from Eastern New York named J. M. Douglas.
.Modest and studious, and of more than average natural
.ability, he began his profession and soon won a repu-
tation as a successful lawyer in the trial of mining cases.
His success was largely due to the pains he took in the
.preparation of his cases. Often before the trial of such
a case he would hire a horse, ride out to the "diggings,"
•careflluy inspect the premises by going down the mining
shaft, and then try the case, usually before a justice
court, for which expense and work he would receive the
fee customary in such cases. His industry and careful
saving of his earnings were known to all his friends, On
one occasion, after the trial of a mining case, while pac-
ing the floor of the office, he turned to Judge Drummond
.and putting his hand on his pocekt, with his characteris-
tic smile, said: "Drummond, money in a man's pocket
is his best friend." There was in his pocket the com-
paratively small fee just received from a client who had
had his claim "jumped." Douglas became the attorney
of the Illinois Central railroad and moved to Chicago.
His ability as attorney induced the board of directors to
place him at the head of the management by electing
him president. Under his forceful energy and tireless
industry the affairs of this great corporation prospered.
With him it was work, work, early and late, and all em-
ployes under him had to do the same. Douglas worked
too hard. His brain gave way in time, and he was com-

pelled to seek rest and quiet on his farm in Jo Daviess
county.

In the latter part of the '30s there appeared at Ga-
lena two young lawyers whose advent created some stir
among the half score of lawyers who composed the Ga-
lena bar. They were Joseph P. Hoge and Thompson
Campbell, the former from Maryland and the latter
from Pennsylvania. Both were well educated, and
equally excellent lawyers. Both had the rare gift of
oratory, but Campbell the keener intellect and was the
wit of the bar. Hoge was tall, of symmetrical figure,
and dressed with exquisite taste. Both were Democrats
and intensely partisan, and became leaders in the Dem-
ocracy of the state. They stood high at the bar and
each had a lucrative practice. Hoge was elected to con-
gress in 1849 and served one term, and made an envi-
able record as a representative. Not long after he moved
to California and practiced his profession in San Fran-
cisco and was elected district judge. He was a promi-
nent candidate for United States senator just before the
civil war, but his affiliations with Southern men who
had left the South to avoid the discomfort incident to
war, which was regarded as inevitable, cast a shade of
doubt as to his loyalty to the Union, and, although the
favorate of the Democrats of the state, Satterly, a man
of inferior ability, was chosen. It became clear later
that Hoge had been misjudged, for his loyalty to the
Union was sincere. Campbell, who had been the secre-
tary of state under Governor Ford, was elected to con-
gress from the Galena district to succeed Hoge and
served one term. He was succeeded by E. B. Wash-
burne. Campbell, whose ability as a lawyer was every-
where recognized, was appointed by President Pierce
judge of the United States Land Court of California,
which position he held for many years before his death.

Campbell was a favorite with the bar of the state. His
slight but graceful figure, keen and ready wit, and gen-
tle and polished manner made him a favorite in society
as well.

Samuel M. Wilson located in Galena as a lawyer
about 1840 and became Hoge's law partner. He was a
close student, of untiring industry, and as a business
lawyer had few equals at the bar. He removed to Cali-
fornia with his partner and practiced his profession in
San Francisco. He took a high position at that bar and
was elected attorney for the Bank of California at an ex-
ceptionally large salary, which position he held for near-
ly a quarter of a century before his death. He has two
sons in San Francisco, who have inherited much of their
father's ability and who are successful practitioners at
the Sari Francisco bar.

Two young lawyers came to Galena about that
time and opened the law office of Higgins & Higgins.
The elder, Van H. Higgins, took a prominent position
among the lawyers of the place. He was broadly edu-
cated, learned in law, of exceptional ability in the trial
of cases, and had the rare faculty of attracting men to
him. He moved to Chicago in the early '50s and began
his practice there. He was elected judge of the Superior
Court of Cook county just before the civil war. He filled
the position one term, proving himself an able and con-
scientious jurist. After leaving the bench he devoted
himself to his private affairs. He had great industry,
fine administrative ability, and met with success. At
the time of his death, in the latter '90s, he had accumu-
lated a very large fortune.

One of the most unique figures that came to the
lead mines in the early '40s was Thomas Hoyne, a young
lawyer from New York city, who began the practice of
law in Galena. His industry, intense energy and su-

perior attainments as a lawyer, brought him into promi-
nence at the bar. He was, although at times brusque in
manner, kind-hearted and affable. He was an ardent
Democrat and became a leader in his party. His convic-
tions were decided and firm, and he was bold and fearless
in their advocacy. After a few years' residence in Galena
he removed to Chicago. His strong personality impressed
itself on the people of that city, and he soon became one
of its most prominent citizens. He was foremost in every
scheme or enterprise undertaken to benefit the commun-
ity. He won distinction at the bar of the state, and had
the reputation of being, not only a learned lawyer, but
also that of a forceful and convincing speaker. He had
much of the spirit of the philanthropist and humanitar-
ian, and was identified with many local charities. His
untimely death by a railroad accident some years ago.
was a great and almost irreparable loss to his adopted
city.

Phil A. Hoyne, brother of Thomas Hoyne, accom-
panied him to Galena and entered a business house as a
clerk, and not long afterwards engaged in business on
his own account. In 1852 he followed his brother to
Chicago, when, after studying law, he was appointed
United States commissioner and commissioner of deeds
for all the states, which position he held for over a quar-
ter of a century. He became one of the best known and
most highly esteemed citizens of that city. He was a pro-
nounced Republican, and in his quiet way was a power
in the party, not only in the city, but in the county and
state as well. Large-brained, large-hearted, of frank
manner, and of amiability of disposition, he was one of
Chicago's most popular citizens.

Col. Edward D. Baker came to Galena from Spring,
field, 111., where be had served in both houses of the leg-
islature and had been elected a member of congress and
c

served one term. He was regarded as the most brilliant
orator in the state and had ability as a lawyer, but lacked
industry and application. In the Mexican war he com-
manded a regiment and won distinction. He was elected
in 1848 to congress as a Whig, to represent the Galena
district, and served one term without gaining much rep-
utation. Soon after he removed to California and prac-
ticed his profession in San Francisco, ran for congress
and was defeated, then removed to Oregon, and was there
elected United States senator. When the civil war broke
out, he raised and commanded a regiment of volunteers,
was soon appointed a brigadier general, and was killed
at Ball's Bluff early in the war. I knew Col. Baker well
at Galena. He was a man so full of good nature and of
manner so charming, that one was naturally drawn to
him. As a stump speaker I have never heard his equal.
He was positively fascinating.

In 1839 there came to Galena a singular character,
in the person of Cyrus B. Denio, from the state of Mis-
sissippi; a Whig of the most pronounced type, who im-
mediately attracted notice. Without much education,
he was intelligent, tactful and gifted as a fluent and forc-
ible speaker. He entered the political campaign of 1840
and canvassed, not only the lead mine region, but other
portions of the state. He was a bricklayer by trade and
was known as the "Mississippi Bricklayer." He was
originally from Buffalo, N. Y. This man, with the cer-
tain kind of energy he possessed and shrewdness withal,
became a prominent and influential leader of the Whig
part}7. He was elected a member of the general assembly
of Illinois and made a most creditable record. He was
re-elected and served a second term. His frank and
easy manner, kindness of disposition and peculiar kind
of homely wit made him a favorite, not only among his
brother members, but also with the average citizen. He

was appointed by President Lincoln superintendent of
the force en g.iged in the construction of the public works
atMare Island, Cal., which position he held tor several
years. He also became a political leader in Nortl ern
California.

About 1842 another young lawyer appeared in Galena
named C. W. Churchman, and located there to practice
law. The advent of this brilliant lawyer from the South
had been heralded, and there was general curiosity to see
and know him. In physique he was of medium height
and size, with dark complexion, piercing black eyes, and
a manner both dignified and courteous. He had the gift
of oratory and was a pleasing and forcible speaker. He
soon took a high position at the bar and business came
to him rapidly. His success in jury trials was excep-
tionally great. An old practitioner at that bar told me
years afterwards that Churchman was the hardest man to
beat in a trial before a jury he had ever met. His habits
were somewhat irregular, which militated against his
success as a practitioner. After having practiced his-
profession in Galena for a decade, in a fit of anger
or disgust, he left for the far West, on foot with a
rifle on his shoulder, joined an emigrant train near the
Missouri river starting for California, and crossed the
plains with it. He continued the practice of law in,
some flourishing mining town and became an active poli-
tician, affiliating with the Democrats. His reputation as
a stump speaker soon became known and the honors
were divided between him and ray old friend, Frank M.
Pixley, editor and proprietor of tin San Francisco "Ar-
gonaut." Churchman ran as a Democrat for congress,,
made a brilliant canvass, but was defeated. Pixley was
also nominated as a Republican in another district and!
was also defeated. Churchman, when making his can-
vass in the villages and hamlets of mining districts*

rode a spotted broncho horse and Pixie}7 a large mouse-
colored Kentucky mule. Each was advertised in his dis-
trict by posters " 'Churchman and his Broncho,' and
'Pixley and his Mule' will be here to address the citi-
zens," eto.

In 18(>8, when I was in Utah as United States as-
sessor of internal revenue, I had occasion to visit offi-
cially the newly discovered gold mines of the Sweet-
water Pass, in the northwestern corner of Wyoming.
While there, Lawyer Churchman called upon me and
made himself known. He was well dressed and had the
look of a man doing well. His face, however, indicated
that he had been living fast He said he was doing well
and gave me some account of his "ups and downs" in
California in the twenty-five years previous. During
the next early winter I had occasion to visit the city of
Echo Canon, in Utah, forty miles east of Salt Lake City.
T met Churchman again, who was in a very dilapidated
•condition; in fact he was a tramp and in the last stages
•of alcoholism. He died a few months later, utterly des-
titute and friendless, and was buried in a pauper's grava
Alas, poor Churchman — he had been good to ever}7 one
•except himself.

About the middle of the '40s Robert S. Blackwell, a
young lawyer, located in Galena to practice law, and at-
tracted the attention of the bar and the citizens general-
ly by his unique appearance. He was a tall, black-
haired, well dressed, jovial young fellow, who made
friends rapidly. Well educated, industrious and ener-
getic, he soon won the respect of his confreres in the
profession. He was a good speaker and a good story
teller. When he could get a group of his friends to-
gether he would indulge in recitations, story telling, etc.
greatly to their gratification. He removed to Springfield
;and then to Chicago, where he became well known to

the bar of Chicago and the state through his valuable
book "Blackwell on Tax Titles," which had a wide cir-
culation and was regarded as a reliable work.

About 1845 an accession to the Galena bar was made
in the person of a young lawyer named Orville C. Pratt,
from the state of New York. He was a handsome man,
who had just married a lady of rare beauty and accom-
plishments. He was associated with Van Higgins in
practice for a while and was regarded by his brothers at
the bar as a young lawyer of unusual ability, was a
speaker of fluency and force, he was elected a member
of the legislature and made a creditable record. He re-
moved to California and then to Oregon, wnere he was
appointed chief justice of the supreme court of the terri-
tory, which position he filled for many years. Besides
being learned as a jurist, he was a successful man of
affairs and accumulated a large fortune before his death.

One of the most remarkable men who settled in the
Northwest in the early '30s was George W. Jones, who
without being a really great man, was conspicuous for
half a century as a public man, much of the time
being in the National Legislature as a representative and
senator. He was a native of Virginia. For some years
after going west he resided at Sinsinawa Mound, ten
miles northwest of Galena, and filled the position of sur-
veyor general of the territory of the Northwest, which
included Wisconsin and Iowa, He moved to Dubuque,
Iowa, and was elected a member of congress and after-
wards United States senator, which position he held for
twelve years, when he was appointed United States min-
ister resident at Bogota, New Grenada, by President
Buchanan. He became acquainted with Jefferson Davis
when he (Davis) was a lieutenant in the United States
army at Fort Crawford, Prairie du Chien, and was a
close friend ever after. At the breaking out of the war,,

and when United States minister at Bogota, some of his
correspondence with President Davis, of the Confederate
states, was accidentally discovered, which led to his recall
and imprisonment at. Fort LaFayette. He was subse-
quently released, but never again (ntered into politics.
Gen. Jones had great energy, general intelligence, a
handsome person, arid his suavity and attractive man-
ner led to his being called the "Chesterfield"' of Wash-
ington society. I saw the general a short time before his
death (1896), when he was 92 years of age and still active
and his mental faculties unimpaired. For a half score
of years before his death he appreciated and regretted
the mistake he had made in 1861, and became a thor-
oughly loyal citizen.

The spring of 1840 witnessed the advent in Galena
of Elihu B. Washburne, from the state of Maine, a young
lawyer recently a graduate from the Harvard Law school.
I saw him for the first time at a Whig political meeting,
wl ere he made his maiden speech in the West as a poli-
tician. The address was described by an old citizen who
had heard it as a "rattling good speech." It was the talk
on the streets for several days after. As I remember
him he was of medium height, of slight build, fair-
faced, well dressed, with an air about him that indicated
energy and pluck. He took an active part in the mem-
orable political campaign of 1840, and won laurels
everywhere as a stump speaker. He associated himself
for the practice of law with the Hon. Charles 8. Heiup-
stead, and at once took a high position at the Galena
bar, which had at that time a large number of very able
lawyers. All 1 will say about him now is that his ca-
reer in public life, beginning in Galena, where he lived
thirty years, was a remarkable one, and has hardly
a parallel in this country. His indomitable will, force-
ful energy and untiring industry, keen discrimination

and sturdy integrity carried him from the country print-
ing office in Maine through twelve years of successful prac-
tice as a lawyer, eight consecutive terms in congress, the
Department of State as its Secretary, and United States
Ambassador to France for eight years, where he achieved
a world- wide reputation as a fearless, able and efficient
official. I knew Mr. Washburne during his brilliant ca-
reer, and for a quarter of a century before his death he
was one of my most intimate friends.

Cadwallader C. Washburn, a younger brother of
Elihu, came to Galena in 1842 and studied law with the
Hon. Joseph B. Wells, a distinguished lawyer at the Ga-
lena bar. and afterwards moved to Mineral Point,
Wis., in the northern part of the lead mines, where he
formed a co partnership with Cyrus Woodman (now of
New York city), a banker and extensive land agent. He
never practiced his profession. He soon developed into
a shrewd, practical and successful business man. In en-
ergy, will power, industry and tenacity of purpose
he resembled his brother Elihu. His firm was the
agent of the ''New England L-ind Company," and
when, in 1846, the state of Wisconsin put several million
acres of school lands (mostly pine) into the market, the
firm of Washburn & Woodman was made one of its
agents. The lands were sold at an average of fifty cents
per acre. Cadwallader bought all he could and induced
his brother Elihu to do likewise. The latter bought
some ten thousand acres of choice pine lands at the low
price given above. Washburne like, he held these lands,
paying the taxes which were nominal, until in the '80s,
when he began to sell them. The greater portion were
sold for over $20 per acre. The result of this venture
made a large part of the handsome fortune he left at his'
death in 1887. In the '50s Cadwallader Washburn en-
gaged largely in the manufacture of lumber at La

Crosse, Wis.. and afterwards began the manufacture of
flour at Minneapolis by an improved process with great
success. He had as a partner in this enterprise his
cousin, Dorilus Morrison, who for many years before had
been an extensive manufacturer of lumber at St. An-
thony Falls (Minneapolis). Mr. Morrison was an ex-
ceptionally shrewd and level-headed business man, who
operated on lines that invariably led to success. He also
established extensive woolen mills in Minneapolis. At
his death, a few years ago, he was regarded as one of the
wealthiest men in Minnesota. Mr. Washburn was
elected to congress twice from the La Crosse, Wis., dis-
trict, and made a splendid record as an able, conscien-
tious and conservative representative. At the breaking
out of the civil war he raised a regiment of cavalry, and
before the end of the war was made a major general of
volunteers. He was later elected governor of Wiscon-
sin. At the time of his death he was a multi-millionaire.
There sat in my Sunday school class at Galena in
the latter part of the '40s a bright-eyed, large-headed,
quiet boy of ten or twelve years of age, named Moses
Hallett, the son of the first sheriff of our county. When
he reached his majority, he studied law and was admit-
ted to practice, and soon after went to Pike's Peak, Colo.
He located in Denver, practiced his profession there, and
was elected to the Territorial legislature. His strong
practical sense, good judgment, industry and correct
habits brought him to the favorable notice of the bar
and of the citizens of Denver. President Lincoln ap-
pointed him chief justice of the supreme court of the
territory, and, after Colorado had become a state, Judge
Hallet was elected chief justice of the new state. He
•has filled the honorable position ever since. Of such a
record few men in the far West can boast. His wise and
able decisions, especially in litigation growing out of

mining claims, have been accepted by the bench in other
states as sound. Judge Hallett has a judicial mind, cold
blood judgment, and is impartial and conscientious.

Madison Y. Johnson, a lawyer from the South, locat-
ed in Galena the latter part of the '30s. He was a
Whig and an ardent partisan and took an active part-
in politics, doing much effective work as a "stump
speaker." His presence was striking; he was tall, broad-
shouldered, of swarthy complexion, bushy black hair,
and had a strong face. A man of much vanity, but of
popular manners and a certain kind of dogged tenacity.
He had the reputation of being a good jury lawyer,
hence his success. After the Whig party had broken up,
he affiliated with the Democrats and become a leader of
prominence in the party. After the breaking out of the
civil war, being an intense Southern sympathizer, he was
charged with discouraging enlistments, arrested and
sent to Fort LaFayette. He was soon released, and re-
turned to his practice in Galena, a more quiet and proba-
bly a wiser man.

Of the score or more of lawyers practicing at the
bar of the small commercial town of Galena in the '40s
and '50s, many of them remarkable men who afterwards
achieved great distinction in other parts of tne country,
only four are now (1899) living, and. strange to say,
three of the four are residents of Galena: Mr. J. N.
Jewett, the fourth, is in Chicago in the active practice of
his profession. The rest have all died. The three in
Galena are Wellington W. Weigley, Robert H. Mc-
Clellan and David Sheean. The first named (now re-
tired from active practice) was one of Galena's earliest
lawyers who always stood high in his profession. His
industry, tact and ability, to which was added the rare
gift of oratory, assured him success as a practitioner.
As a jury lawyer he had few equals.

Robert H. McClellan, who in the early '40s came to
Galena from the law office of Martin I. Townsend at
Troy, N. Y., afterwards a prominent politician and dis-
tinguished member of congress, had a strong and well-
trained mind, a keen intellect, great industry, and was
regarded by the old bar of Galena as one of its most
learned members. In 1861 he was elected a member of
the lower house of the legislature, and in the 70s to the
state senate. He made a most excellent record in both
instances. He was a prominent Republican, and after
leaving the state senate, had he been as ambitious for
preferment as the average citizen, he could have received
the nomination for congress in his district, which would
have been equivalent to an election. I have no doubt
that had he lilled the position he would have made such
a reputation as would have assured him still higher
honors in his state. He has been a shrewd and dis-
criminating business man and has accumulated a very
large fortune.

David Sheean. who was associated with General
Rawlins in Galena in the practice of law before the war,
has a judicial mind, is a careful, studious, able and suc-
cessful lawyer, and has been a leader in the Democratic
party for many years. Had he been ambitious for polit-
ical preferment, he might have filled high positions of
trust in his state. His younger brother, Thomas J.
Sheean, who is associated with him in practice, has a
high reputation for learning, tact and energy.

In the autumn of 1847 I went to Elyria, Ohio, to
marry Miss Emily Tenney, a young lady whose acquaint-
ance I had made the year before in Galena. She had a
fine physique, a strong intellect, and was well educated,
unassuming and amiable. To give the reader some idea
of the difficulties of travel in the West fifty years ago, as
compared with the present, I will say that to reach

Elyria I had to -go by stage from Galena to Milwaukee,
where I took a steamer for Cleveland, and there a stage
for twenty-five miles to my destination. After our mar-
riage, it having become too late in the season to return
by the lakes, we took a carriage and crossed the state of
Ohio to the nearest point on the Ohio river, where we
took a steamer for St. Louis, and then an Upper Missis-
sippi river steamer for Galena. It took me eight days to
reach Elyria, and twelve days from Elyria to Galena.
The journey from Galena to Elyria is now made in
twenty hours. Eighteen months after our marriage my
wife died, leaving a little boy, Arthur Henry, only a few
days old. Miss Tenney, before our marriage, lived for
some time with intimate friends, the family of Dr. Nor-
ton S. Townshend in Elyria, a practicing physician of
some celebrity. I became well acquainted with the doc-
tor in after years. He was born in England and brought
to this country by his parents when a child: was an
original abolitionist and one of Ohio's earliest and most
•active Freesoilers, and when a member of the lower
house of the Ohio legislature was an important factor in
the election of Judge Salmon P. Chase to the United
•States senate. The legislature on joint ballot was equal-
ly divided between Whigs and Democrats; with Dr.
Townshend and another member as Freesoilers who held
the balance of power. A deadlock of several weeks was
the result. A compromise was finally effected by the
choice of Judge Chase for United States senator, the
nominee of the two Freesoil members. Dr. Townshend
was elected a member of congress soon after, and when
in Washington was a prominent figure in a group of
Freesoilers headed by Senator Chase, with the "National
Era" as the party organ, edited by Dr. Bailey, assisted
by the graceful and forcible writer, Louis Clephane.
Judge Chase's election to the United States senate was

the beginning of his brilliant career as a statesmanr
which gives the foregoing facts in regard to his election
much interest.

The Democratic party of the lead mine region was
usually in the majority during the '40s. Unlike the
Whig party, which had a well conducted organ in the
Galena Gazette, its organ at Galena was decidedly a
"weakling." Its leaders determined on making a change.
Two young men from Ohio, who were practical newspa-
per men were induced to come to Galena and start a first-
class paper to be the organ of the party. Horace A.
Tenney and Henry W. Tenney, brothers, in 1845 bought
out the old plant and began the publication of the
"Jeffersonian." They were both graduates of Middle-
bury college, Vermont, and both practical printers.
Horace, the elder, assumed the business management
and Henry was editor-in chief. As he was a polished
and forcible writer, his editorials were able and practical
and were often reproduced by other papers in the North-
west. At the end of two years it was found that the
paper "didn't pay " A chronicler of events in Illinois at
that time, when writing of newspapers, said that the
"Jeffersonian," under the management of the Tenneys,
was unquestionably the best newspaper in the state.
The Tenneys sold out their paper and Horace moved to
Madison, Wis., and assumed the management of the
"Wisconsin Argus, a Democratic paper of prominence.
At that time the politics of the state was badly ''mixed"
and party feeling ran high. The "Argus" fought the
Whig officials, past and present, and known as "Barstow
and the balance," with vigor. Horace Tenney's editorials
were bold, fearless and trenchant. "My purpose," he
said, "is to make the 'Argus' a terror to the evil-doer."
He continued as its manager several years. Henry Ten-
ney went to Milwaukee, where, having previously studied

law and been admitted to the bar, he began the practice
of his profession. In the '60s he removed to Chicago
and entered the law office, as partner, of his brother, D.
K. Tenney, a well-known, able and successful business
lawyer. After a half-score years of successful practice,
;he returned to Wisconsin and retired from active practice.

CHAPTER IV.

GALENA, AND THE NORTHWEST IN THE '50s.

From 1845 to 1856 were Galena's "halcyon" days.
It was then the most important commercial metropolis
iu the Northwest. Its trade, which began in the later
'30s, continued to increase steadily ag the country devel-
oped until beyond the middle of the '50s. In 1856 the
statistics show that Galena did a larger wholesale busi-
ness than Chicago. Lines of fine steamboats plied be-
tween St. Louis and Galena bringing in merchandise
and general supplies, and taking back lead and farming
products. Then a line of first-class steamboats ran be-
tween Galena and St. Paul. The "Northwestern Packet
Company" was organized in 1852, with Ben H. Campbell
as president and J. Russell Jones as secretary. It built
some six or eight of the finest and fleetest steamboats,
that ever ran on the upper Mississippi river, and its busi-
ness, far into the ,60s was large and lucrative. I have
known in the busy season twelve to fifteen steamboats,
lying at the wharf of Galena at one time loading and
unloading freight. The construction of the Milwaukee
and Prairie du Chien railroad and the Galena and Chi-
cago railroad seriously affected the trade of Galena.
After 1856 its wholesale business declined year by year,
so that by the close of the civil war, nearly one-half of
its wholesale houses had either closed or moved elsewhere.

Near the close of the '40s the tide of emigration,,
mostly from the East, set in toward Northwestern Wis-
consin, Northern Iowa and Minnesota. The supplies for

the new settlers up to 1853 were nearly all obtained in
Galena. Moreover, the output of the lead mines contin-
ued unimpaired, with an advance in the price of lead.
Thus Galena's prosperity can be accounted for until it
was checked by the construction of two railroads from
Lake Michigan to the Mississippi river, already stated,
and the general financial depression of 1857, which
seriously affected the prosperity of the whole country.

In 1852 I began business in Galena selling mer-
chandise by wholesale and retail. I had very little cap-
ital, but by hard work, careful management and strict
economy I was reasonably successful. When I began
we had in Galena some twenty wholesale houses, the
largest part being in the line of groceries and dry goods.
By 1856 this number had nearly doubled, and many
of the houses which had started six to eight years before
had doubled and quadrupled the volume of their busi-
ness. The difficulties the merchant had to contend with
in the early '50s and for years before were, first, the re-
moteness of the markets where his stock of merchandise
was bought. Almost all kinds of merchandise except
sugar, rice, molasses and a few other articles were bought
in New York, Boston and Philadelphia and shipped to
Galena, usually by sailing vessels to New Orleans, from
there to St. Louis by steamboat, and from St. Louis by
upper Mississippi steamboats to Galena, consuming two
or three months in transit. Merchants usually bought
their stock of goods twice a year, and it was difficult to
tell when buying, what the needs of the customers would
be. It was also a slow process to get in a reasonable
time such articles as might be needed to fill up a line of
goods which had become exhausted. When the financial
depression came upon the country, Galena merchants
suffered like the others, only in a less degree.

As depreciated currency greatly aggravated the sit-

nation, the merchant was compelled to stand a serious
loss from this cause. Galena merchants had a consider-
able trade in the lead mines, and, as the miners and
smelters had long before refused to take currency for
mineral or lead, all transactions with them had to be
settled with gold. It is safe to assert that while one-half
of the merchants in the West and Northwest failed, this
was only the case with but three or four out of some
forty mercantile houses in Galena. I suffered with the
rest, but managed to "weather the storm." Among the
merchants at Galena many were men of great shrewd-
ness, who operated upon lines that were broad, but con-
servative and safe. Such men would have been success-
ful almost anywhere. Lucius S. Felt and his brother, B.
F. Felt, Stillman and Rood, Foster and Stahl, J. A. Pack-
ard, McMaster and Hempstead, B. H. Campbell, George
W. Campbell, H. F. McCloskey, J. Russell Jones and
William and James Ryan were some of Galena's
leading merchants in tho '50s. The last named firm at
& later time became large packers in Galena and Du-
buque. Our banking facilities were ample. Henry and
Nathan Corwith, who began business as private bankers
in the early '30s and later organized the National Bank of
Oalena, were men of large capital, conservative and able
as financiers, and had won a national reputation as bank-
ers. James Carter also operated a private bank during
the '50s. His moneyed relations with George Smith,
banker at Chicago, and Alex Mitchell, banker at Milwau-
kee, were close. Some time after the war the Corwiths
•sold out their Galena business and moved to Chicago,
where they became well and favorably known in finan-
cial circles.

A little after the middle of the '40s a young man,
George F. Magoun, of Bath, Me., a recent graduate of a
•college of that state, appeared in Galena for the purpose

of opening a high grade school for boys. He was a
bright, clean-cut man of attractive address, and who at
once made a favorable impression on the people of Ga-
lena. He succeeded in his mission, and after having
managed his school for two years, returned east and went
through a theological course of scudy, came back to the
West, and, as a home missionary, took charge of a church
in a mining town near Galena. Soon after he accepted
a call from the Second Presbyterian church of Galena
and became its pastor, I severed my connection with
the First Presbyterian church and united with the Second
church to aid the new organization. Mr. Magoun proved
an unusually learned and eloquent preacher. After a few
years' service as pastor he had a serious difficulty with
the officers of the church, which induced him to leave
the ministry. He went to Burlington, la., and entered
the law office of the learned lawyer and brilliant orator,
Henry W. Starr. He was soon admitted to the bar and
began the practice of law. Mr. Starr said of him that
he was the best lawyer of his age in the state ot Iowa.
Magoun soon wearied of his new profession and returned
to the ministry. He preached for a few years in Daven-
port, la,, when he was elected president of Iowa College
at Grinnell, and he filled the posstion in a most satisfac-
tory manner for nearly a quarter of a century. Dr.
Magoun was in many respects a rare man. He was en-
dowed with a strong inteliect, immense will force, had
great and varied learning, and withal was a fluent and
forcible speaker. He took an active interest in educa-
cational and kindred matters, and his death, which oc-
curred some years ago, was a serious loss to his state and
to the Northwest.

Near the close of the '40s Dr. Magoun induced a
young theological student, Rev. E, D. Neill, who had
just been ordained to the ministry, to come west as a

home missionary. He filled a pulpit for two years at
Elizabeth, a mining town near Galena, and then moved
to St. Paul, Minn., and organized the first Presbyterian
church in that place. Dr. Neill was mentally and mor-
ally a strong man. and soon impressed himself upon the
people of that new town. He resided in St. Paul nearly
half of a century, and was an active and potent fac-
tor in pushing forward the interests of religion, morals
and education. Dr. Neill was appointed United States-
consul to Dublin in the '80s.

When Governor Slade of Vermont started in the
middle of the '50s the scheme to prepare young women
for school teaching, to be sent to the Territory of Minne-
sota, Dr. Neill and the Rev. Aratus Kent, of Galenar
were the managers of the Western end of the line of op-
erations. A school of instruction was opened and main-
tained in New Haven, where a large number of young
women of from 21 to 35 years of age were trained as
school teachers and*were then sent St. Paul in groups of
a dozen or more, all passing on their route through Ga-
lena, from which place they were taken to St. Paul by
steamboat. On arriving at their destination they were
assigned to the localities in the territory where they were
most needed. The project was not carried on long, for
an unexpected trouble arose. The young women often,
after having taught school for a few months or longer,
were induced to give up teaching to become the wives of
the bachelor settlers. An old and prominent citizen of
St. Paul, who had taken much interest in Governor
Slade's scheme, told me years afterwards, when speaking
of this matter, that if the governor failed in giving Min-
nesota good teachers, he certainly did not fail in giving
it good wives.

John N. Jewett, a young lawyer from Maine, located
in Galena in the early '50s, and associated himself for

the practice of his profession with Wellington W. Weigley.
He hail received a collegiate education, had a judicial
mind, was a close student, cartful and methodical in
the preparation of his cases. His ability a.s a lawyer
was at once recognized by the bar. In disposition he
was quiet, urbane and self-contained, always giving the
impression of reserve power. Alter a few years of prac-
tice at the Galena bar, he removed to Chicago, where he
opened a law office. He was chosen by the manage-
ment of the Illinois Central railroad as counsel at Chi-
cago. He served one term in the senate of the State
Legislature, making a creditable record as an able, dis-
criminating and conscientious legislator. His opinions
and judgment in regard to railroad law have always
been treated with consideration by the bench and bar.
Daring President Hayes administration his claims and
fitness fora stat as Justice of the United States Supreme
Court were seriously entertained, with a view to his ap-
pointment. He is favorably known to railroad lawyers
throughout the country.

In the autumn of 1853, on my return from the East,
where I had gone to buy goods, I met and became ac-
quainted with a bright, clear-headed young man, who
was on his way to Galena o take a clerkship in a whole-
sale clothing house. This man was Edward A. Small,
who afterwards became well known as an able and suc-
cessful lawyer. Small, after having filled a clerk's posi-
tion for a year, went into another clothing house as a
partner, sold out in two years, and entered Wellington
\V. Weigley's law office as a student. He w.is a persist-
ent worker and at the end of two years was admitted to
the bar. He practiced his profession in Galena with un-
usual success until after the civil war, when he moved to
Chicago and continued his practice there. His industry,
devotion to business, success in the trial of cases, and

UNIVUUITY OF ILLINO/6
LIBRARX

his amiability of disposition, brought to him a large and
lucrative practice. As a business lawyer and counselor
he was prominent, and as a trial lawyer was remarkably
successful. He died some half-score of years ago, leav-
ing his family a handsome competency. At the time of
his death I had known him intimately for over a quar-
ter of a century. His strength of character, with a rare
faculty of attaching men to him, made him a favorite
with all classes. Although an ardent Republican, he
declined all offers of political preferment.

W. R. Marshall, with his older brother, the younger
having hardly reached his majority, came to Galena
from Quincy, 111., locoted a mining claim a few miles
north of Galena, built a miner's cabin and worked their
"diggings" several years. From the lead mines the
young men moved to the Territory of Minnesota in 1849.
They opened the first general merchandise store at St.
Anthony, and a few years later an iron and hardware
store in St. Paul. They wes-e successful in business, and
in 1855 W. R. Marshall engaged in banking in St. Paul.
He served one term in the Territorial Legislature. Soon
after the breaking out of the civil war he entered the
volunteer service as colonel of the Seventh Minnesota
Infantry, and at the close of the war was made a brtga-
dier general by brevet. Soon after the war General Mar-
shall was elected governor of the state of Minnesota and
served four years. Gen. Marshall was of a modest, re-
tiring disposition, of attractive manner, and always pop-
ular with the masses. He was a brave and efficient sol-
,dier in the war and his record was a most creditable one.

I met and became acquainted with Governor Alex
Ramsey of Minnesota in 1853, on a Mississippi steamer
going to St. Paul. He was then governor of the Terri-
tory of Minnesota and afterwards governor of the State
of Minnesota. He impressed me as being a man of men-

tal force, sound judgment, great general intelligence and
of decided convictions. He served as United Statss sen-
ator one term and was Secretary of War during a pa t
of President Hayes' administration, and afterwards tilled
other high positions of trust under the Federal govern-
ment. He still lives in Minnesota in retirement, and is
one of its most esteemed and honored citizens.

In the latter part of the '40s I became acquainted
at Galena with Cyrus Aldrich, then in charge of the
business of the stage line of Frink & Walker. He soon
after moved to Minneapolis, Minn., and engaged in busi-
ness. He was succeeded at Galena by L. P. Sanger, of
Lockport, 111. In the latter '50s he was fleeted a mem-
ber of congress for the Minneapolis district. He was
tall and robust, of much practical intelligence and indus-
try, of sturdy integrity and of unassuming manner. He
made a valuable representative, never forgetting the in-
terests of his constituents while attending to national
affairs. In the early spring of 1861 I met him often in
Washington. On one occasion he came into the room
of our mutual friend, E. B. Washburne, the Galena
member of congress, where I happened to be, and re-
marked: "Well, Washburne, I have done it. I have
just had a postmaster appointed at Minneapolis. There
were eleven candidates for the place, all good men and
all well endorsed. I presume what I have done will
make me ten enemies and possibly one ingrate."

One of the earliest and best steamboat "captains on
the upper Mississippi, who lived in Galena, married
there, and for many years was a great favorite with its
people was Captain Russell Blakeley. He moved to St.
Paul in the early '50s, engaged in the staging business
on an extended scale and afterwards became interested
in railroad enterprises in the state of Minnesota. He was
a clear-headed, upright business man of much force and

decision of character. He met with sutvess in these va-
rious enterprises and is now retired mid living in St.
Paul, one of its wealthiest and most highly esteemed
citizens.

Ex-Governor L. F. Hubbard, of Red Wing, Minn.,
I knew during the civil war, when he commanded the
Fifth regiment Minnesota Infantry. He enlisted as a
private, and in less than two years he had command of
the regiment. He was young, active, brave and well
versed in all matters relating to his duties as regimental
commander, and his unfailing devotion to them made
him a favorite with all his superior officers. At the
close of the war he was brevetted a brigadier general for
conspicuous gallantry. Soon after the war he was elect-
governor of the state of Minnesota and served four
years. He filled many other positions of honor and
trust in his state. 1 was gratified to learn that his fine
soldierly qualities had been recognized by President
McKinley who appointed him a brigadier general in the
late Spanish-American war.

Colonel Hubbard in 1862 had a chaplain in his
regiment in the person of Father Ireland, a young priest
from St. Paul. I noticed his activity and ceaseless de-
votion to the sick and wounded of his regiment, alwa}7s
shown in a quiet and unostentatious manner. Some
years after the war I met my young army friend again
at Minnetonka, Minn., at a reunion of the Army of the
Tennessee, and renewed a pleasant acquaintance begun
in the war. He was then bishop pnd is now an arch-
bishop of the Catholic church. I have become well ac-
quainted with this distinguished prelate and regard him
as one of the most remarkable men I ever knew. Arch-
bishop Ireland has great learning, excellent judgment,
rare administrative ability, energy, will force, piety, and
withal, modesty and rare simplicity of character. His

zeal in his calling is unsurpassed, and his broad, prac-
tical an«l advanced views touching united Christian
effort, without regard to sect or denomination, to bless
and to elevate mankind to a higher moral plane, are pro-
nounced. He is a strong and convincing public speaker.

Among the Minnesotians who had been residents of
Galena, and whom I knew well, was the late Judge J. M.
Shaw, one of the "Galena boys" in the earl}* '50s, and
who studied law in the office of General John A. Raw-
lins. He moved to Minneapolis before the civil war to
practice law, entered the volunteer service as a private
and rose to the rank of captain. His army record was
a most creditable one. He resumed the practice of his
profession in Minneapolis, became prominent at the bar,
and in the '80s was elected judge of the circuit court of
that district, where he made a tine reputation for learn-
ing, ability and impartiality. He served several years
on the bench, when failing health compelled him to re-
sign. His death occurred less than two years ago. He
was always an assiduous student, and his tastes were
literary.

About the middle of the '50s [ became acquainted
with a yoang man who was a second or "mud clerk" 011
one of our upper river steamboats, whose business it wras
to receive and discharge all freight. His energy, correct
and rapid manner of transacting business and good
nature, made him a favorite. His name was James J.
Hill. Soon after he located in St. Paul and went into
business for himself. In time he became interested in
a, steamboat line running on Red river, and then into
some railroad scheme. A little more than a decade ago
he undertook the gigantic enterprise of building the
Great Northern railroad, which, with consummate tact,
energy "and ability, he succeeded in completing. Mr.
Hill,known as the "Railroad King," was elected the pres-
ident of its board of directors.

About 1852 I became well acquainted at Galena
with W. C. Burbank, who had started a collecting and
express business between Galena and the upper river
towns, giving his personal attention to the business. He
not long afterwards located in St. Paul, and became
the partner of Captain Russell Blakeley in his stage and
railroad enterprises. He was a careful, industrious,
shrewd and resourceful man of affairs, and met with
great success, and died a few years ago leaving a very
large estate.

Dr. Charles H. Ray came to Galena from Spring-
field, Til., in 1854, and assumed the position of editor and
manager of the weekly "Jeffersonian," the organ of the
Democratic party of the lead mines. The office of the
"Jeffersonian" was next door to my place of business,
and I not only saw a good deal of the doctor, but grew
to be very fond of him. He seemed to lack "push" in
the management of the paper. I knew his ability as a
writer, and he, in his work on that little country paper,
was like a "giant playing with straws." The doctor
made his paper a very readable one, but its circulation
was not large, and the majority of his readers were not
of the appreciative kind. After two or three years spent
in Galena he removed to Chicago and became associated
with Mr. Medill in editing the Chicago Tribune. It
soon became apparent that the doctor was a writer of
great ability, and his reputation became national. He
had much of the milk of human kindness in his na-
ture, natural ability, rare practical intelligence, and
when thoroughly aroused, wrote with vigor and force.
Socially he was always entertaining, and had in him
what the French call "bonhomie." After he left Galena
I seldom saw him, until the winter of 1860-61, when he
was in Washington writing for the Tribune.

There lies in the cemetery in the village of Hazel

Green, less than ten miles from Galena and just over the
border of Wisconsin, the body of a very remarkable
man, James G. Percival, the poet and geologist. This
grave was unmarked until within a few years, when
some friends and admirers erected over it a modest mar-
ble monument. Dr. Percival came to the lead mines
from Connecticut in the early 50's to do some geological
work for the American mining company, and .in 185&
was appointed geologist for the state of Wisconsin. He
was seen often on the streets of Galena and was known
to some of its citizens. He lived while at Hazel Green
in the family of Dr. Jenckes, a practicing physician of
the place. Dr. Percival was a man 'of great learning.
He read ten languages, was a physician, philologist,
geologist, botanist, musician and poet. His habits were
erratic, and by nature he was retiring and inclined to
melancholy. He was highly gifted as a poet and began
to write verse at the age of lo. At the age of 20, while
in college, he wrote the tragedy of "Zamor." I knew
the doctor somewhat while he lived in Hazel Green.
Very few people knew him well. His dress and manner
were so peculiar that he was usually taken, when seen on
the streets, for an ordinary mirier who had had a "streak
of bad luck." All the money he made he put into
books. He died poor, except that his library after his
death was sold for the handsome sum of §20,000.

On a farm a few miles northwest of Hazel Green, lived
a family named Evans. In the early '50s a well-grown
boy named Henry Clay Evans often passed over the
"plank road" going to Galena driving a team of horses
drawing a wagon loaded with products of the farm.
When the war broke out, Henry Clay Evans enlisted in
a Wisconsin regiment of volunteers. By the end of the
war he had risen to the rank of captain by sheer merit.
He had been brave, faithful and efficient. After the war

Captain Evans located at Chattanooga, Tenn., and went
into business. He was fairly well educated, ambitious,
energetic, tactful, persistent and a good public speaker.
He soon became a prominent and influential politician.
He was nominated for governor, made a splendid can-
vass and was elected, but the legislature "counted him
out." I met him in Chattanooga three years later, when
he seemed not at all "cast down" by the unfair treatment
he had received. President McKinley appointed l.im
United States commissioner of pensions, which position
he is filling with marked ability. Captain Evans has in
him the elements of success in a high degree.

A large wholesale boot and shoe house was opened
in Galena in 1845 by James and Benjamin F. Adams,
two young men from Boston. I became intimately ac-
quainted with them. They had received training as
merchants and were not lacking in moral stamina. Some
five years later they sold out their business and moved
to Chicago, where they engaged in the manufacture of
flour. They had energy and keen business discrim-
ination, and soon were some of the leading manufactur-
ers and operators in flour in the West. James died
about the middle of the '50s. Benjamin F. lived in Chi-
cago until 1880, when he died, leaving a large estate.

James Rood, of the firm of Stillman & Rood, whole-
sale grocery merchants of Galena in the '40s and '50s,
moved to Chicago soon after the war and engaged largely
in the iron business as the agent for several iron mines
in Wisconsin. Mr. Rood gained the reputation at an
early time of having keen business perception, quiet en-
ergy and good judgment. He has always been careful and
•conservative in his business methods and successful. He
has retired from active business and is living at Evans-
ton, 111.

William J. Quan, when a young man, began busi-

ness in Galena as a grocery and provision merchant. His
close application to business, energy and industry made
him successful, and soon after the civil war he located in
Chicago and opened a wholesale grocery house. He
soon became one of the leading merchants of Chicago in
that line of trade. In the management of his great
business, Mr. Quan has always followed conservative,
practical and safe lines.

About that time Edward Hempstead, of the firm of
McMaster & Hempstead, wholesale grocers in Galena,
moved to Chicago and with Thomas H. Beebe, another
Galena merchant, engaged in the lumber business and
soon became prominent in lumber circles. They were
clear-headed and energetic business men. Mr. Hemp-
stead died some years ago. Mr. Be^be is living in retire-
ment at Evanston, 111.

In 1857, through the influence of political friends in
Northern Illinois, Governor W. H. Bissell, who had
been elected the year before, appointed me one of three
aides on his staff with the rank of colonel of cavalry.
The govt rnor was one of the most noted and popular
men in the state, and was elected the year before by the
Freesoil-Republican vote. He had served in the Mex-
ican war as captain of the Second regiment of Illinois
volunteers, and, I think, with a higher rank later, and
particularly distinguished himself at Buena Vista. He
represented the Belleville district in congress two terms
before the Mexican war, was a forcible and ready debater
and a prominent and useful member. His health failed
in the early '50s, he became partially paralyzed, and
while he was governor was compelled to use crutches.
While he was in congress opposing the passage of the
Missouri compromise measure he became involved in a
controversy with the Southern Democrats and hot words
passed between him and Jefferson Davis, of Mississippi,

on the subject of the bravery of the Northern, as com-
pared with that of the Southern soldiers, which led to a
challenge from Mr. Davis. In accepting the challenge,
Colonel Bissell chose as the weapons, muskets at thirty,
paces, loaded with a ball and three buckshot. Mr.
Davis' friends interfered and the duel was not fought.
The governor died before the end of his term, and Lieu-
tenant Governor Wood served until the inauguration of
Governor Yates.

In the summer of 1856 a distinguished statesman,
in the person of Senator Charles Sumner, visited Galena.
He was making a tour of the West for the first time, and
had a letter to me. His tour was not one for pleasure
alone, but also to learn from personal observations more
about the great West, He had come from the East by
way of the Ohio river, and intended to go up the Miss-
issippi river to Minnesota and then back east by the
lakes. The senator expressed a desire to see one of our
best lodes. I took him to the Marsden "diggings." some
three miles south of the city, then producing large quan-
tities of lead ore. When we had reached there he ex-
pressed a desire to go down the main shaft. The mana-
ger supplied him with a loose miner's suit of clothes,
and thus equipped he went down the shaft to the princi-
pal horizontal drift, at a depth of seventy feet. With a
candle and pick he explored the mine. When he re-
turned he had some fine specimens of ore, which he had
dug out himself and with which he was greatly pleased.
The next day he said he would like to visit one of our
smelting furnaces, and I accompanied him to Hughlett's
furnace, two miles north of the city, which he inspected
with great interest. He asked many questions in regard
to the process of smelting lead ore. In speaking of farm-
ing lands afterwards, he said he was surprised to find the
soil in the mining district so fertile and so generally cul-

tivated. I enjoyed the senator's visit. He was genial
and communicative, and entertained me with his im-
pressions of that portion of the West he had seen, and
with incidents connected with his life when a young man.
In the summer of 1859 I went to Europe, to be gone
the greater part of a year. I had been in business at
Galena for over seven years, had passed through the "hard
times" of 1857-8, and felt I needed rest and recreation.
I sold out my interest in the store to J. Bates Dickson,
formerly my chief clerk, and who for two years had had
a pecuniary interest in the business. In those days it
was no small matter to go to Europe, and few Americans
went there as compared to the present. I was thirty-five
years of age, full of enthusiasm, and had a strong desire
to see the old world, especially the land of my fathers in
the French speaking canton of Neuchatel, in dear old
Switzerland, lying on the southeastern slope of the Jura
mountains, which I had often heard my good mother de-
scribe as being so beautiful. I sailed from New York to
Liverpool on the splendid steamer "City of Paris." I
had a pleasant and uneventful passage of nine days,
then deemed a speedy trip, I visited the manufacturing
districts of Staffordshire and the manufacturing city of
Sheffield, where I had some orders filled for my successor
in business at Galena. I then went to the great city of
London, with a population much less than that of Chi-
cago to-day. After a two weeks' stay in London, and
a brief visit to Windsor Castle and Stratford-on-Avon,
the home of Shakespeare. I proceeded to Paris, which
city, when I came to see it, was the realization of a life-
long dream. To tell of all I saw that interested me
there would fill many a page.

From Paris I journeyed by railroad to Switzerland,
going first to Geneva and then to Neuchatel and to the
village of Lignieres near by, where my mother was born

and reared, and where ray father and mother were mar-
ried in 1820, the year before their immigration to the
Selkirk settlement on Red river in British America, with
the French-Swiss colony, which went by the northern or
Hudson Bay route. I found there an uncle and an
aunt, well-to-do people, who were land owners, and who
welcomed me warmly. In fact, I was as great a curiosity
to them and to the rest of the villagers as if I had come
from another world. This village, situated at the lower
end of the valley of St. Imier, a broad and fertile valley
in which were some ten or twelve villages, surrounded
by their little plats of fertile lands of from ten to forty
acres. The people in those villages were prosperous, cul-
tivating their lands in the summer, and making by
hand, laces and watch works in the winter. From the
villages in this valley can be seen all the grand range of
the snow-capped Alps. I walked up the valley some
twelve miles, crossed the divide into another valleyr
where is the village of Tramelan, where my
fater was born and lived until the age of 18, when he
went to Lignieres. There I found an aunt, the oldest
of a family of seven children, my father being the
youngest and only son. This dear old lady was over-
joyed to see me, and on the second day of my visit to
her she accompanied me on foot up the valley to the
Jura divide to LaCle, where stood an old castle owned by
our family, the Chatelains (the original name of the fam-
ily) in the Sixteenth century. The name Chatelain
means the owner or governor of a castle. From Tramelan
I proceeded to Berne by diligence. This old historic
city was full of interest to me. From it is obtained a
view of tne vast range of the Alps from Mt. Blanc
and Monte Rosa to the Sch reck horn in the Germ in Alps
a view grand beyond description. I visited among
other places the old cathedral, with its enormous bell. I

ascended to the bell tower to get a good view of the Alps,
I found there a pale-faced youth of some 18 years of age,
who pointed out to me and described in a remarkably
intelligent manner the various peaks of the ran^e.
When leaving the place I offered him, as is customary,
a piece of silver, which he declined to take, saying that
he was not the custodian, but for a day had taken his
place, was a student, etc. I became interested, and on
questioning him found he was a student in an academy
there and that his name was Vuille. I remarked that I
had an aunt, a widow, in that city of that name and that
the family were from the Jura. He replied that she
must be his mother. It proved true, and I met the stu-
dent, my cousin, at his mother's house the next day.
From Berne I made my way to Lausanne, on Lake
Geneva and via Vevay and the castle of Chilon to the
head of the lake, and by railway to Martigny, from
which place I visited the Hospice of Great St. Bernard
in the St. Bernard pass, where I spent the night and saw
a number of fine St. Bernard dogs, and afterwards went
to Ohamony at the foot of Mt. Blanc. I ascended the
valley of the Rhone and crossed the Alps via the Simp-
Ion Pass in to Italy. 1 visited Lakes Maggioreand Como,
and then went to the beautiful city of Milan. After a
few days stay there, I proceeded to Venice, via Padua,
and on my return visited the battlefields of Magenta and
Solfareno and took in the famous Quadrilateral, the great
fortification of Northern Italy, and then went to Turin,
a most interesting city to the tourist.

When I was in Geneva, I made the acquaintance of
the great Calvanistic theologian, Dr. Malan. He kindly
gave me a letter to his son, Professor Malan, of the theo-
logical school of the Waldensian church at La Tour,
where young men were being educated for the ministry
in the Waldensin or Vandois church. La Tour is thirty

miles from Turin, at the junction of three valleys on the
southern slope of the Alps near Pincrol, the capital of a
small province inhabited by 22,000 Vandois, a people or
sect that was an offshoot of the Calvanistic church. The
sect was founded by Peter Waldo. I took a walk of
some ten miles up one of the valleys and gained much
valuable information in regard to the habits and customs
•of this singular people, who, although intensely Protest-
ant, have always been favored by the Italian (Catholic)
government. The principal industry of this people is
the manufacturing of raw silk from the cocoon. I was
cordially received by Prof. Malan, to whom I had a let-
ter, who invited me to spend some days with him at La
Tour. The theological school with which he was con-
nected was then supported largely by contributions made
by sympathizing and generous people living in London,
England.

From Turin I proceeded south to Genoa, and from
there to Pisa and Florence, the latter place being one of
great interest to the intelligent tourist, on account of its
numerous collections of rare paintings and other works
of art, and prized by all for its lovely winter climate. I
spent three weeks, including Christmas week, in Rome,
and witnessed its interesting and attractive festivities.
With a number of other Americans I was presented to
the Pope, Pio Nino, by the United States minister, the
Hon. Hr. Stockton. The Pope was one of the handsom-
est old gentlemen I had ever seen, gracious in manner,
with a face indicative of benevolence and amiability of
disposition. I had the pleasure of listening to the
Pope's choir in St. Peter's cathedral, composed of twenty-
five male voices, the finest I had ever heard. The so-
prano was a young Italian of 21 years of age, with a
voice purer, swteter and more powerful than that of the
famous prima donna, Stephanoni, who had sung there

in grand opera the year before. Rome will never cease
to interest the American visitor, of whom there were an
unusually large number that winter.

After leaving Rome I proceeded to Naples for a two
weeks' stay. From there I returned to Paris, stopping at
Marseilles and Lyons on the way. I remained in Paris
nearly a month, visiting places of interest in the vicinity.
While there I met at breakfast, in the house of a mutual
friend, Edmond About, the clever and popular French
writer, who was then being lionized in Paris on account
of his book, written in Rome the summer before, entitled
•"The Roman Question." In this book the writer severe-
ly criticised the Italian government, including the Pope
and church. It was issued just after the Austrio-Italian
war of the summer of 1859, in which France had be-
come involved. The book was condemned by the church
and the state and Mr. About was ordered to leave Italy.
His expulsion created great excitement in France, es-
pecially in Paris. On his return to Paris he was received
with great enthusiasm and was the hero of the day.
Mr. About was a modest but agreeable gentleman of wide
information, and although of smaller physique, remind-
ed me by his looks and manner when talking of my old
Galena friend, Dr. C. H. Ray. I corresponded with him
for some time after my return to the United States. By
early spring 1 found myself at home again, a wiser man
for tl e experiences of the eight months abroad.

I first met Captain U. S. Grant, an ex-captain of the
United States army, in the spring of 1860 at Galena on
my return from Europe. He had come there from St.
Louis during my absence abroad, to take a position as
clerk in the wholesale and retail leather store of J. R.
Grant & Co., his father being the senior member of the
firm. He filled the place in the store of his older broth-
er, Simpson Grant, who had been incapacitated by sick-

ness and who died the year after. Captain Grant, after
having left the army some six years before, had been en-
gaged in farming near the city of St. Louis, but had met
with poor success. He brought his family, consisting of
his wife and four children, from St. Louis in the spring
of 1860. He rented a comfortable brick house at a
rental corresponding with his salary, which was less than
$1,000 a year. In the store he was really more than an
ordinary clerk, for he at times was a salesman, and at
other times a collector, going out to country towns, and
occasionally doing the work of a bookkeeper. The firm
had no tannery in Galena, but bought green hides in the
Galena market, shipped them to Covington, Ky., where
the tannery was located, and after having tanned them
reshipped them to Galena. He led a quiet life and
seemed little inclined to make the acquaintance of his
fellow citizens, but was highly esteemed by all who knew
him. With his family, he was a regular attendant at
the Methodist Episcopal church. He was a free and in-
teresting talker and frequently entertained his friends
and neighbors by the hour in relating his experiences
in the Mexican war and while stationed a few years on
the Pacific coast. He was not an active politician, but
took a deep interest in all political questions before the
country. Although a Whig in early life, he supported
Mr. Buchanan for the presidency, but became a Freesoil
Democrat before the end of his administration. He took
little part in the exciting campaign of 1860, but favored
the election of Senator Douglas for president, and would
have voted for him had his time of residence in Illinois
given him the right to vote.

The great political campaign of 1860, which resulted
in the election of Abraham Lincoln to the presidency,
will ever be a memorable one. I returned from Europe
in time to be infused with the enthusiasm that pervaded

the people of the northern states, especially those who
had been Freesoilers. Illinois, the adopted state of Mr.
Lincoln, led in this enthusiasm. I heard Mr. Lincoln at
Freeport in 1858, while having a joint debate with Sena-
tor Douglas, tnd was impressed with his great ability as
a debater and the fairness and honesty of his utterances.
I attended the National Republican convention at Chi-
cago in May of that year. Like all other Illinoisans, I
was enthusiastic in my support of Mr. Lincoln. I had
been a decided abolitionist when a youth and young
man, entered heartily into the Freesoil movement, and
cast my vote for John C. Freemont for President. My
first vote as a Whig was cast for Taylor in 1848.

After the nomination of Mr. Lincoln there was held
at Galena a ratification meeting, over which I was chosen
to preside. The year before I had made the acquaintance
of a young lawyer in New York city named Stewart L.
Woodford, and, meeting him at the Chicago convention,
invited him to come to Galena and address our meeting,
which he agreed to do. Like all other New Yorkers, he
came to the convention a strong supporter of Senator
Seward. He had, however, great admiration for and
confidence in Mr. Lincoln and came to his support after
his nomination with zeal and earnestness. He followed
the Hon. E. B. Washburne at the meeting, and delivered
an exceedingly spirited, eloquent and convincing speech,
which was well received by the audience. Woodford be-
came one of the ablest members of the New York bar,
served in the civil war with distinction, was appointed
United States attorney for the Southern district of New
York, and was United States Ambassador to Spain when
the Spanish-American war began. Years after the Ga-
lena meeting Woodford told me that he always looked
back with pleasure to that ratification meeting at Galena,
from which place his old army commander, Gen. Grant,,

entered the volunteer service in the early days of the
civil war.

I attended in the month of August, 1860, the great
rally of the Republicans of the state at Springfield, the
home of Mr. Lincoln. Nearly every prominent Repub-
lican in the state was present, and it was estimated that
100,000 people participated in the great parade and were at
the meetings held in the open air in various parts of the
city. In the afternoon of the day previous to the parade.
I called on Mr. Lincoln with the Hon. Mr. Henry, of
New Hampshire, who had served with him in the house
of representatives. I allude to this incident because,
although I had seen Mr. Lincoln frequently, I never had
the cliai-ice to study his face under favorable circum-
stances. We had a very pleasant call, and when tea
time came Mr. Lincoln insisted upon our taking tea
with Mrs. Lincoln and himself. At the table Mr. Lin-
coln was very entertaining in his conversation, giving
anecdotes, reminiscences, etc. I noticed when he was
quiet and his face at rest, that there was a shade of sad-
ness over it caused by a slight droop of the eyeli is and
the lowering of the corners of the mouth. When he
began to speak, his face lighted up like the sun passing
through a rift in the cloud.

The latter part of the winter of 1860 61 I spei.t in
Washington city, and was there during the sessions of
the national peace congress and listened to some of the
exciting debates in congress. I witnessed the ceremony
of the inauguration of Mr. Lincoln. It was the first in-
auguration of a President I had ever seen, and I was
greatly impressed with it. When I left Washington,
about the middle of March, the political sky was over-
cast, and our wisest and best men in the Northern states
were feeling anxious for the future of the nation. The
causes wnich led to the war are familiar to all intelligent
readers. It was the culmination of an irrepressible con-
flict between liberty and slavery of nearly half a cen-
turv's duration.

CHAPTER V.

CIVIL WflR, 1861-62.

The firing on Fort Sumpter by the Confederate
States of America was regarded by the government of
the United States as an act of rebellion. The act caused
intense excitement throughout the northern states. Pres-
ident Lincoln at once issued a call for 75,000 volunteers
for ninety days' service. The patriotic citizens of Ga-
lena shared in the general excitement and resolved to
act promptly in response to the President's call for vol-
unteers. A mass meeting of the citizens of Galena was
held at the court house on the evening of the 16th of
April, 1861, four da}'s after the firing on Fort Sumpter.
to discuss the situation and the feasibility of raising at
once one or more companies of volunteers to aid in the
suppression of the rebellion. The court house was filled
with citizens. The mayor of the city, Hon. Robert
Brand, was chosen to preside. Upon taking the chair,
in a brief speech, he gave expression to anti-war senti-
ments and favored compromise and peace. Indescribable
confusion followed, and a motion was made that he va-
cate the chair. The chairman begged permission to be
heard, and said in explanation that he had understood
the meeting had been called to discuss the situation, and
that he had given expression to his own views and opin-
ions, but as they evidently were not those of the meeting
he would vacate the chair. After some discussion, it was
agreed that he continue to preside. The Hon. E. B.
Washburne, member of congress, being present and one

of the leading spirits of this war movement, offered the
following resolutions, which were unanimously adopted:

1. That we will support the government of the
United States in the performance of all its constitutional
duties in this crisis, and will assist it to maintain the in-
tegrity of the American flug whenever and wherever
assailed.

2. That we recommend the immediate formation
of two military companies in this city to respond to any
call that may be made by the governor of the stale.

3. That having lived under the ^tars and stripes
by the blessing of God, we propose to die under them.

Spirited and patriotic addresses were made by the
mover of the resolutions, by John A. Rawlins, B. B.
Howard, Hon. Charles S. Hempstead and others. The
meeting adjourned with the wildest enthusiasm and
cheers for the Union. The excitement following the
gathering seemed to increase, and on the evening of the
18th of April another mass meeting was held in the same
place to raise a military company. The crowd at the
court house was greater than at the first meeting. Cap-
tain U. S. Grant, formerly of the United States army,
who had been a resident of Galena for eighteen months,
was, at the suggestion of Hon. E. B. Washburne, elected
chairman of the meeting, Upon taking the chair, he
briefly, with some evident embarrassment, stated the ob-
ject of the meeting. Earnest and eloquent appeals to
the patriotism of the audience were made by E. B.
Washburne and John A. Rawlins. I followed in a brief
address, offering to enlist for the war. When volunteers
were called for I headed the list, and was followed by
Wallace Campbell, J. Bates Dickson, Nicholas Roth, C.
H. Miller and some twenty-five others. These enlist-
ments proved to be the first in the Northwest outside of
the city of Chicago. A telegram was sent to Governor

Yates offering a company of volunteers, which was at
once accepted. It was decided before the close of the
meeting to push the recruiting vigorously. Captain
Grant, Rawlins and Rowley agreed to go the next day to
Hanover, fourteen miles south of Galena, and Campbell
and Dickson volunteered to go to Dunleith (now East
Dubuque). With Washburne and S. K. Miner, I took
the city and its suburbs, the men who had enlisted the
evening before giving valuable assistance. The meeting
of citizens at Hanover the evening of the 19th was ad-
dressed by Captain Grant and Rawlins. Some twelve
men were obtained. Captain Grant told me afterwards
that his Hanover speech was the first one he had ever
made. Rawlins spoke of it as an earnest and sensible
speech. Campbell and Dickson recruited about as many
men at Dunleith. On the morning of the 20th it was
found that over eighty men had been recruited, and all
were on hand to answer to roll call. Notice was given
that in the afternoon a meeting for the election of offi-
cers would be held. Captain Grant, having understood
that there was a movement to elect him captain of the
company, told me that he could not accept the captaincy
of a company of volunteers; that he had been educated
at West Point, had served in the Mexican war as a lieu-
tenant and afterwards as a captain on the Pacific coast,
and that, with his military education and experience, he
ought to have the colonelcy of a regiment or a suitable
staff appointment. He suggested that I take the cap-
taincy of the company, and that he would go with the
company to Springfield and assist it in getting into a
regimental organization. The result was that I was
elected captain, and Campbell and Dickson first and
second lieutenants, respectively. On the morning of the
21st the company was full.

The day after the acceptance of the Galena company

Governor Yates telegraphed to know if the company
could be uniformed without delay. On inquiry, it was
found that suitable doth could be obtained of L. S. Felt
& Co., and the clothing house of H. P. Corwith & Co.
would agree to make, with the aid of all the tailors in
the city, the uniforms in three days. The governor was
telegraphed the facts, and the reply came back: "Uni-
form your company." Captain Grant gave nearly the
whole of his time superintending the making of the
uniforms. At his suggestion, the men of the company
were at once put to drilling. Pine laths were used for
guns and the men were drilled in marching, facings,
etc. Captain Grant kindly took out a squad on two oc-
casions and once drilled the entire company. The uni-
forms were completed at the end of the time agreed
upon, and the regulation caps were obtained in Chicago.
On the afternoon of the 25th of April, the company
left Galena for Springfield, the place of rendesvous of
all the volunteers raised in the state under the 75,000
call. The announcement of its departure brought to-
gether an immense concourse of people from the sur-
rounding country. The fire companies, civic societies,
mayor and city council, with two bands of music, es-
corted the "Jo Daviess Guards" through the principal
streets of the city. When the column had reached the
corner of Main and Green streets it was halted. Captain
J. A. Maltby of the Mexican war, and afterwards colonel
of the "Lead Mine Regt.." (Forty-fifth Illinois infantry),
and brigadier general, acted as chief marshal. Hon. E.
A. Small, in behalf of the patriotic ladies of Galena, pre-
sented to the company a beautiful silk flag. His presen-
tation address was eloquent and appropriate. I, as cap-
tain, accepted it in a brief speech in behalf of the com-
pany. This silk flag had been made by the ladies of
Galena, headed by Miss Annie Campbell (afterwards

Mrs. Gen. 0. E. Babcock), who bought the material and
who, on application to Captain U. S. Grant, was furnished
with a design giving the dimensions, etc. At this point
Captain Grant fell in at the left and rear of the company
and inarched with it across the river to the station of the
Illinois Central railroad, on his way with the company to
the capital of the state. At and near the station on the
hillsides, was gathered an immense throng of people to
bid the company farewell. On the top of a freight car
stood the mayor of the city and the Rev. (now Bishop) J.
H. Vincent, of the M. E. church. The mayor made a
patriotic addrtss to the departing volunteers, and ended
by presenting to G. A. Godat, the color bearer of the
company, a beautiful revolver, after which the Rev. J.
H. Vincent delivered an address of rare eloquence, filled
with patriotic and Christian sentiments and words of
cheer and encouragement and closed with a briel prayer.
Soon after the train moved off, amid the huzzas, waving
of hats and handkerchiefs and the tearful farewells of
the great crowd.

The company reached Decatur the next morning,
and, having three hours to wait for the Springfield train,.
Captain Grant took it out to an open field and gave it
one hour of drill. On its arrival at Springfield it went
into quarters at Camp Yates. The next day I turned
over the command of the company to Lieutenant Camp-
bell, and at the request of Captain Grant, roomed with
him in a private apartment he had rented, and we
took our meals at the Chinner}' hotel near by. Captain
Grant found employment in the adjutant general's office
doing clerical work. Upon the organization of the
Twelfth regiment, the last of the six under the 75,000
call to be organized, the "Jo Davies Guards" became one
of the ten companies which composed it. When the
election of field officers by the company or line officers

took place, Cap ain John McArthur of Chicago, was elect-
ed colonel, I lieutenant colonel, and Captain J. D. Will-
iams of Rock Island, major.

The regiment was mustered into the three months'
service on the 2d of May by Captain John Pope of the
regular army, an< i the "Jo Daviess Guards" was given
the right center of the regiment as Company F, and
designated as the color company. The company on its
arrival at Camp Yates attracted attention, not only be-
cause it was the only one of the sixty companies ac-
cepted by the state which was uniformed, but also on
account of its soldierly appearance and discipline. The
personnel of the company was exceptionally good. The
men averaged well in size and physical robustness. A
large part were of foreign birth (mostl}' German), many
having seen some service before leaving their native
land. Without a single exception all could read and
write. In occupation there were merchants, mechanics,
clerks, farmers and laboring men. The average age of
the men was greater than was usually found in compan-
ies raised in the West. After the organization of the
Twelfth regiment, Lieutenant Campbell was elected cap-
tain of Company K\ Dickson tirst lieutenant and Sergeant
Roth second lieutenant. Captain Campbell was a born
soldier, intelligent, energetic, brave, and a fine tactician
and disciplinarian. At the end of his three months'
service he was in every way qualified to command a regi-
ment. He was commissioned colonel of a regiment in
December, 1863. Dickson was capable, painstaking,
coolly courageous and efficient. He was the adjutant of
tlie regiment, adjutant of a brigade, and after having
been appointed assistant adjutant general by the War De-
partment, served on the staff of General Rosecrans with
great credit to himself. Lieutenant Roth was an ener-
getic and competent officer, whose duties, especially as a

tactician, were always well performed. Captain Mayer,
whose service was given mostly after I had left the regi-
ment, has the reputation of having been a most brave, con-
scientious and efficient officer, and I will add, that it can
truthfully be said of all the other commissioned officers
of the company, that they were not only well qualified
for the duties of their respective positions but discharged
them with fidelity.

Some three days after we had arrived at Springfield
I called at the office of the adjutant general and asked
for Captain Grant. I was directed to a small, poorly-
lighted and scantily furnished room, occupied by the
captain only, who was engaged in copying in a blank
book the orders which had been issued by the adjutant
general since the organization of the volunteer regiments
began. When I asked him how he was getting along he
replied, with a look of disgust: "I am tired of this work.
It is no work for me. I am going back to the store (Ga-
lena) to-morrow." I replied that I hoped he would not
leave now, that something more suitable would surely
be given him to do. We talked over the matter in our
room in the evening, and he finally decided to remain a
few days longer. His pay for the work he was doing
was $2 a day. Two days later Captain (afterwards Gen-
eral) Pope, who had commanded Camp Yates while act-
ing as mustering officer, returned to St. Louis, when
Captain Grant was detailed by Governor Yates to fill the
vacancy as commandant of the camp.

The legislature of the state, then in extra session,
the month previous had passed a law directing the gov-
ernor to raise ten regiments of infantry, one in each
congressional district, to ba held in readiness for the
president's next call for volunteers. Three days after
the captain had assumed the command of Camp Yates
he was ordered to proceed to Mattoon and organize

a regiment that was being raised there. A short time
afterwards he was appointed a mustering officer, to mus-
ter into the state service regiments raised under the new
law. He went to Mattoon and to Anna and mustered in a
regiment at each place. He proceeded to Belleville for
the same purpose, but finding that the regiment there
was not ready, crossed the river to St. Louis to see and
consult with his old army friend, Captain Lyons, com-
manding the United States troops at the Arsenal, in re-
gard to getting some suitable staff appointment or the
command of a volunteer regiment in the state of Mis-
souri, his former place of residence. Upon arriving at
the Arsenal on the morning of May 10th, he found all the
regular trojpsand Colonel Frank Blair's regiment of vol-
unteers about to move upon and capture Camp Jackson,
a Confederate camp of instruction in the vicinity of the
city of St. Louis. Captain Lyons invited him to act as
and aide on his staff, which he did, and was a witness to
the breaking up of the camp and the arrest of all its-
officers.

Receiving no encouragement from either Captain
Lyons or Colonel Blair in the matter of securing an
appointment for staff duty, he returned to Springfield,
stopping on his way at Caseyville, six miles tast of St.
Louis, where the Twelfth Illinois infantry was tempor-
arily stationed. Colonel McArthur having been disabled
by an accident, had gone to Chicago, leaving me in com-
mand of the regiment. Captain Grant became my
guest for two days. During this time he was depressed
in spirits, and seemed to feel keenly his lack of success
in obtaining a suitable appointment in the volunteer
service, when civilians without military education or ex-
perience could easily obtain them. When talking about
the care, work and responsibility involved in the suc-
cessful management of a regiment of volunteers, he

said: "I don't think I am conceited, but I feel confident
I could command a regiment well ; at least, I would like
to try it." When alluding to his old army friend,
Captain George B. McClellan, who had just been placed
in charge of the organization of the volunteers in the
state of Ohio, he said: "Of the many officers of the reg-
ular army who are receiving appointments in the volun-
teer service, I look upon Captain McClellan as one of the
brightest, and I think he is sure to make his mark in
this war." During his stay with me he took a deep in-
terest in the Twelfth regiment and made many valuable
suggestions to the adjutant, quartermaster and commis-
sary of subsistance. He conversed freely with rne about
new recruits and the best method of managing them to
insure speedy efficiency. I have always felt that if I suc-
ceeded in bringing my regiment to a high standard of
drill, discipline and efficiency during the two and a half
years I commanded it, it was due largely to the sensible
hints and valuable suggestions of Captain Grant during
this visit and when we roomed together at Springfield a
few weeks- before.

After leaving Caseyville Captain Grant returned to
Springfield, and on being informed that there was no
further work for him to do as a mustering officer, he
went back to Galena. He was restless, and felt humili-
ated that he should be compelled to remain inactive,
when there was so great need in the country of the serv-
ices of educated and experienced military men. Unable
longer to endure this inaction, he went to Ohio to ascer-
tain what could be done in his native state. He stopped
at Columbus to see Gen. McClellan, who had just been
made a general of volunteers, hoping he might from him
get a staff appointment, but McClellan had gone to
Washington. After visiting his mother at Covington,
Ky., he returned to Galena, and as a last resort wrote the

•J8

adjutant general of the United States army at Washing-
ton, offering his services and soliciting an appointment
as colonel of a volunteer regiment. No reply was made
to his letter.

About the 10th of June he received a telegram from
Governor Yates asking if he would accept the colonelcy
of the Twenty -first Illinois infantry, known as the Mat-
toon regiment, which he had organized and mustered
into the state service the month before. He, of course,
accepted the position offered. It seems that this piece of
good luck came to the captain in this wise. The Mat-
toon regiment had been unfortunate in its choice of a
colonel for the thirty days' service, who became unpopu-
lar with both officers and enlisted men before the expira-
tion of that time, and a change was desired by all. The
officers, who had made the acquaintance of Captain
Grant as mustering officer, believed him to be a good
man for the position and petitioned Governor Yates to
appoint him colonel of the regiment. The governor
hesitated, for he clearly was not partial to Captain Grant,
but the Hon. Jesse K. Dubois, the state auditor, who hap-
pened to be in the governor's room when the petition
was received, spoke in such high terms of the "Galena
Captain," as the governor called him, and of his fitness
for the position, that it turned the scales and the appoint-
ment was made.

Colonel Grant took command of the regiment at
Camp Yates, Springfield, where it had been brought from
Mattoon. It had been neglected by its late colonel and
its drill and discipline were below par. It devolved on
its new commander to raise its esprit de corps and make
it whatEit|became in the next two months, one of the
most efficient regiments in the Western Army. Many
stories are told how the colonel, in his quiet but firm
way, subdued some of its most unruly men. He took

his regiment to Missouri, where it was kept busy fight-
ing the "bushwhackers" of that region. On the 10th of
August he was appointed brigadier general, his commis-
sion to date from May 17th. which made him the senior
officer of that rank in the state of Illinois, save one, viz:
Gen. B. M. Prentiss, who was not a West Pointer and
was outranked by Grant in accordance with an act of
congress giving West Pointers precedence. ^ Six other
brigadier generals were appointed at the same time, all
recommended by members of congress from that state,
acting jointly.

Before the middle of June the Twelfth regiment
was taken to Cairo, where the five other Illinois regi-
ments were stationed, as a brigade commanded by Gen.
Prentiss. The last week in July the men who had en-
listed for three months were asked to enlist for three
years. The Twelfth regiment re-enlisted almost in a
body, and Colonel McArthur was elected colonel, I lieu-
tenant colonel, and Captain A. C. Ducat major, over
Major W. D. Williams. The choice of Colonel John Mc-
Arthur as colonel for the three years' service was a wise
one. for he proved to be a very capable officer. Fond of
the profession of arms, he was well informed in all mat-
ters pertaining to his duties, was vigilant, brave, a good
disciplinarian and tactician, and whether in command
of a brigade or of a division in after years his efficiency
made him a favorite with his superior officers. He be-
came a brigadier general and was rewarded at the close
of the war with a brevet major general's commission for
meritorious services. Major A. C. Ducat was an excep-
tionally good officer. Having studied civil engineering
before the war, he was better equipped for the duties of a
volunteer officer than the average civilian. He was
soon detailed for staff duty, for which position he was
well fitted. He served on Gen. Ord's staff as inspector

in 1862, and later was detailed by Gen. Rosecrans as his
chief of staff and was with him in the battles of Corinth
and Chickamauga. He became lieutenant colonel of
his regiment, and at the close of the war was made a
brigadier general by brevet.

The Twelfth regiment was stationed at Cairo until
near the close of August, when it was taken to Bird's
Point, on the opposite or Missouri side of the river.
Colonel McArthur, being one of the oldest colonels, was
assigned to a brigade. For nearly two and a half years
thereafter I continued in command of the Twelfth Illi-
nois, and until I received my promotion as brigadier
general.

The summer of 1861 was unusually hot, and the
troops stationed at Cairo on the low grounds back of the
embankments on the Mississippi and Ohio rivers were
far from comfortable. The medical service was good
and the hospitals were admirably conducted, so that our
men got along better than could have been expected
under conditions so unfavorable. Much credit was due
to chief Surgeon Si mms, who was ably assisted by Dr.
Horace Wardner of the Twelfth regiment, who after-
wards became a brigade, division and general hospital
surgeon. His energy, skill and exceptional administrat-
ive ability were generally recognized. His anti war ex-
perience was in his favor, he having been demonstrator
of anatomy in the Rush Medical college, of Chicago.
Dr. W. F. Cady, who was Dr. Wardner's assistant in the
Twelfth regiment, soon became the surgeon, and during
his four years' service in this regiment he made an ex-
cellent record for skill and devotion to his duties. By
early fall all the troops in and about Cairo were in fine
physical condition and well drilled and disciplined.

Gen. Grant established his headquarters as com-
mander of the District of Cairo, at Cairo about the 1st of

September. He learned from his scouts that the Confed-
erates had invaded the "sacred soil" of Kentucky, had
occupied Columbus, a point of importance on the Mis-
sissippi river, and were fortify ing it. The state of Ken-
tucky had not seceded and had kept her representative
in congress. He learned further that Paducah was to be
occupied soon and fortified. This* latter place, being at
the mouth of the Tennessee river, was of great strategic
importance. As soon as Gen. Grant had been informed
of the movement on Paducah he telegraphed to Gen.
Freemont at St. Louis, suggesting to him that Paducah
be at once occupied and fortified. No reply to his tele-
gram was received, but so impressed was he with the
importance of occupying Paducah at once, that he as-
sumed the responsibility of moving on the place imme-
diately. On the 6th of September he secured two large
transports, placed on them the Ninth and Twelfth regi-
ments of infantry (I commanded the latter), a battery of
light artillery and a small force of cavalry, which body
of troops were placed in command of Colonel Me Arthur,
In the evening the expedition, led by two gunboats,
started up the Ohio river. At daylight the next morn-
ing Paducah was reached, the troops were landed, and
the construction of light earth works was commenced. It
was afterwards learned that a force of Confederates from
Columbus was on its way and would have been in Padu-
cah by noon that day. Gen. Grant was at first criticised
for thus acting without orders, but the wisdom of his
movement was so apparent that the matter was dropped
by Gen. Freinent, and he received commendation at
Washington for his prompt action.

A few days after «ihe occupation of Paducah by
Union troops, Brigadier General Charles F. Smith, an
old officer of the regular army, reported to Gen. Grant,

and wasplaced in command of the post of Paducah and
the territory up the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers,
and to be second in command in the district of Cairo.
The force at Paducah was at once increased and the
construction of permanent fortifications to command the
mouth of the Tennessee river began. The assignment
of Gen. Smith for duty under Gen. Grant caused much
feeling among the regular army officers, and was shared
by Gen. Halleck, who had succeeded Gen. Fremont at
St. Louis. Gen. Smith had been in continuous service
for over thirty years and had held the rank of colonel
for many years, while Gen. Grant had left the army seven
years before with the rank of captain, which rank he
had held but a short time in the department of Califor-
nia, and who had risen to his present rank in the volun-
teer service in less than a year through supposed polit-
ical influence. To the regular officer this seemed incon-
gruous and unfair. With Halleck, it was not that he
objected to Gen. Grant per se, but he felt deeply the in-
justice done his old friend Smith, whom he regarded as
one of the ablest officers in the Federal army, and for .a
long time afterwards he did all in his power to place
Smith over Grant.

Some two weeks after Gen. Smith had assumed com-
mand at Paducah, he detailed me to take command of
the post of Smithland, twelve miles above Paducah, at
the junction of the Cumberland and Ohio rivers, with
six companies of infantry, a battery of light artillery
and a squadron of cavalry, to construct, under competent
engineers, fortifications at the mouth of the Cumber-
land. Gen. Smith visited the post every week to inspect
the work of the engineers, and I became not only well
acquainted with him, but much attached to him, and
grew to have great admiration for his splendid soldierly
qualities. Although a strict disciplinarian, he was a

favorite with all the soldiers of his command. He was
six feet tall, spare, straight, with a heavy white mus-
tache and close cut gray hair. His personality was that
of the ideal soldier, and his appearance on parade or
elsewhere always elicited the applause of the soldiers
On one of his first visits to Smithland he said to me, "I
think you are acquainted with Gen. Grant?" I replied,
"Yes, we are from the same town, and I was with him a
good deal just after the breaking out of the war." He
then remarked: "I remember the general well as a
cadet at West Point when I was its commandant. He
was a fair-faced young man, modest, a fine horseman
and very proficient in mathematics." Gen. Smith had
not yet met Gen. Grant, owing to the latter's absence
from his district. A day or two after my conversation
with Gen. Smith, Gen. Grant, when passing down the
Ohio river in his little steamer, stopped at the post and
came to my quarters and spent the evening. In convers-
ing about Gen. Smith, who, I said, had just visited me,
Gen. Grant said: "I am going to Paducah to-night and
will have to give Gen. Smith orders to-morrow morning,
which don't seem just right to me, for this veteran officer
was the commandant of West Point when I was a cadet
and all the school regarded him as one of the very
ablest officers of his age in the army." Gen. Grant had
great admiration for his old commandant, and Gen.
Smith seemed always to be proud of his former cadet,
and gratified with his success. He certainly was not
jealous of him.

Not long after the battle of Belmont, opposite Colum-
bus, which the Confederates were fortifying, I had a visit
from Gen. Smith. I remarked that there was a rumor
afloat that Paducah was threatened by a force under
Gen. Albert Sidney Johnson. The general smiled and
replied that Johnson and he were old army friends and

knew eacli other well. "Johnson knows what forces I
have and I know what he has I don't think he will at-
tack me," and he didn't. He then gave me a brief ac-
account of his relations with Johnson in the Mexican
war and afterwards. They were nearly of the same age.
From other sources I learn that both were regarded by
army officers as two of the ablest officers in the army.
Johnson was the senior in age and in time of service.
When lieutenants they became intimate friends and con-
tinued such for nearly a quarter of a century. Smith
s rved continuously, while Johnson left the service for a
time after the Mexican war. When the government de-
cided in 1857 to send troops to Utah to suppress the
Mormon rebellion, so called, Johnson (being the senior
colonel) commanded a regiment of cavalry, as well as
the expedition, and Smith a regiment of infantry. The
expedition started somewhat late in the season, and,
inarching overland from the Missouri river, did not
reach Utah until early winter, having suffered great
hardships^while crossing the Wasatch mountains during
the latter part of the long march. The Mormons sur-
rendered before the expedition had fairly reached Utah.
The next spring Smith returned to duty in New York,
and Johnson, after leaving a garrison at Camp Douglas,
near Salt Lake City, took the remainder of his command
to California, where he was assigned to command the
Department of California, with headquarters at San
Francisco.

When the civil war began Smith was in New York
and Johnson in California. In the winter of 1860-61
many Southern sympathizers, usually old and wealthy
men, went to California to avoid the discomforts of war,
which they regarded as inevitable. Johnson, being a
Southerner by birth and having lived on his extensive
ranch in Texas after the Mexican war, became more or

less intimate with these refugees. Reports reached the
government officials at Washington that Johnson was-
not as loyal to the Union as he should be. Without giv-
ing Johnson any intimation, Gen. Simmer was sent to
California to relieve him. Johnson felt deeply hurt hy
this act, which indicated a lack of confident- in his loy-
alty to the Union. He became dejected, angry and re-
sentful, resigned his commission and went to his ranch
in Texas. Before the midsummer President Davis, of
the Confederate states, offered him the command of the
Western Army of the Confederacy, which he accepted.
Gen. Simpson (now retired) the quartermaster general of
the Department of California, who was on intimate
terms with Johnson at the time, assured me a few years
ago that Johnson was thoroughly loyal to the Union,
and that the hasty and unwise conduct of the War De-
partment drove him into the Confederacy.

In the spring of 1862 Gen. Albert Sidney Johnson
was in command of the Confederate forces in Tennessee
and Kentucky, and having been charged by the govern-
ment at Richmond with inefficiency, became almost des-
perate, and, contrary to the advice of his brother officers
at Corinth, attacked the Union forces at Pittsburg Land-
ing (Shiloh), resolving to gain a victory or die in the at-
tempt. Had his life-long friend and comrade, Gen.
Smith, not been ill and in a hospital, he would have
been on the battlefield of Shiloh as second in command
of the Union forces, and, in all probability, would have
met Johnson face to face on the field of battle. It has
been intimated that Johnson knew of Smith's illness
hence his desire to attack the Union forces during his
absence. He feared Smith more than he did Grant.

In January, 1862, I was relieved of the command of
the Post of Smithland by Gen. Lew. Wallace, who had
recently been made a brigadier general, and returned to.

my regiment at Paducah soon after the battle of Bel-
mont. Gen. Grant felt that an expedition should move
at once up the Tennessee river to drive out the Confed-
erate forces fortifying at Fort Henry on the Tennessee
river and Fort Donelson on the Cumberland river. These
forces could easily have been routed by 10,000 men.
Gen. Grant went to Halleck at St. Louis, who was in
command of the Department of the Mississippi, and un-
folded his plan to him. Grant received no encourage-
ment from Halleck. In January, 1862, it became evi-
dent to Halleck and to the authorities at Washington
that an expedition such as had been suggested by Grant
in November, should be sent up the Tennessee river and
capture Fort Henry and up the Cumberland river
against Fort Donelson.

Soon after the 1st of February the expedition started,
with Gen. Grant in command and Gen. C. F. Smith,
commanding a division as second in command. My
regiment was in Smith's division. Fort Henry was
easily captured and Grant moved his forces overland
thirteen miles to Fort Donelson, invested it. and the gun-
boats on the Cumberland river co-operating, in two days
the Confederate stronghold capitulated. The victory
was a splendid one, and the first decisive Union victory
in the West of any importance. In the first day's fight
my regiment held the extreme right of our line, and al-
though it was its "maiden" fight, behaved admirably.
Immediately after the surrender, Gen. Halleck tele-
graphed to the War Department: "Make Gen. Smith a
major general. He, by his coolness and bravery when
the battle was against us, turned the tide and carried the
enemy's works." Had Halleck been successful in his
scheme, Smith would have been the ranking officer.
Both were made major generals, with Grant as the senior.
Smith, I know, was ignorant of all efforts to make him
the ranking major general.

CHAPTER VI.

CIVIL WflR— FORT DONELSON TO VICKSBURG, 1862-3.

Soon after the surrender of Fort Donelson, Grant
was put in arrest by Halleck for alleged neglect of duly.
In a few weeks he was released and returned to duty and
assumed his former command, making his headquarters
at Savannah, eight miles below Pittsburg Landing, on
the east side of the Tennessee river. Gen. Smith had
command of the Union forces being massed at Pittsburg
Landing preparatory to a movement on Corinth, Miss.,
at the junction of the Mobile & Ohio and the Memphis
<fe Charleston railroads, a place of great importance,
which the Confederates had been fortifying for many
months.

Had Gen. Grant's suggestion to Halleck in Novem-
ber, '61, been heeded, the movement would undoubtedly
have obviated the expedition of February, '62, thereby
saving millions in money and thousands of lives, and
more, would have rendered unnecessary the massing of
troops at Pittsburg Landiiigand the subsequent terrific bat
tie of Shiloh. Corinth would have been the point of attack.
The Union troops, when ascending the Tennessee river
in transports, were organized into brigades and divisions
by Gen. Grant, and then sent to Gen. Smith at Pittsburg
Landing. My regiment was in Gen. W. H. L. Wallace's
division ( formerly Gen. C. F. Smith's), which held the
right of our line. During the three weeks we were in
camp our men suffered from diarrhoea and dysentery,
caused by having to use surface water taken from shal-
low wells. I was taken down with dysentery. My con-

dition became serious and on the 5th of April it was de-
cided by my regimental surgeons that I be taken to a
hospital at Paducah. On the morning of the 6th at
sunrise we were attacked by the enemy, numbering
40,000 men, a force a little larger than our own. My regi-
ment, in command of the senior Captain J. R. Hugunin,
moved out of our camp at 8 o'clock. Major Ducat, of
the regiment, was sick in a hospital at Paducah. An
hour after the regiment had moved to the front at the
extreme left of the line, I became uneasy and deter-
mined to join it and take command. It was an unwise
act. I have had reason since to regret my rashness,
I rode my horse with great difficulty, and not long after
I had reached the regiment in line of battle my horse
was shot and killed by a sharpshooter. The fall from
my horse injured rue somewhat. On regaining my feet,
I found that there was not another horse to be had, as all
had either been killed or taken off the field. I was
tnerefore compelled to command the regiment, weak as I
was, on foot for four hours, much of the time under the
enemy's fire. At about 1 o'clock we were overpowered
and driven back in confusion. [ had lost heavily in
killed and wounded, especially in officers. After the long;
engagement I collapsed from sheer weakness, and when
taking my regiment back to the rear and near the land-
ing, there being no ambulance obtainable, I was held up
on my feet by two of my officers. On arriving there I
saw Gen. Grant and his staff. He had just come in from
making an inspection of our line. It was then past 3
o'clock. I approached him, when he expressed surprise
at seeing me out, as he had the day before sent his staff
officer, Col. Rowley, to see me with a message that I had
better go to a hospital at Paducah the next day if not
decidedly better. After some general conversation in
regard to the events of the day. he said: "Colonel, you

had better take your regiment to its old camp and go to-
bed. You ought not to have come out to-day." Then
he remarked calmly, "The enemy has done all he can do-
to-day. To-morrow morning, with Gen. Lew Wallace's
division and the fresh troops of the army of the Ohio,
now crossing the river, we will soon finish him up." He
was confident, and seemed by intuition to know the ex-
hausted condition of the enemy. I was assisted to my
old camp, when, to my surprise, I found that all the
tents had been struck and taken away. By the aid of
two strong men I dragged myself to the landing and
went on board the hospital steamer "latan," where I was
cared for. The next day by noon the enemy had been
driven from the field. Gen. Grant proposed to pursue
the enemy vigorously with the 25,000 or more fresh
troops he had, including some 1,200 cavalry, which had
done little service the first day, but a telegram from Hal-
leek forbade a pursuit. Had Grant been allowed to do
as he intended, there is no doubt that the Confederates
would have been utterly routed, a great part of their ar-
tillery captured and Corinth abandoned, which would
have obviated the necessity of massing over 100,000 men
to lay siege to it, as was done by Halleck, who came to
Pittsburg Landing soon alter the battle and assumed com-
mand of the army, giving Grant the second place. This
hotly contested and sanguinary battle was a victory for
the Union army, and had Gen. Lew Wallace strictly
obeyed orders on the morning of the 6th and taken his
place at the right of our line with his division of 6,000-
men and two batteries, the battle would, without doubt,
have been a decided Union victory by or before 2 o'clock
that day. This I know was the feeling at Gen. Grant's
headquarters. Gen. Wallace's defection the morning of
the 6th in not appearing on the field until a late hour in
the afternoon came near losing us the day. Grant felt

bitter towards Wallace, but in after years the latter made
some explanations which induced Grant to change his
opinion, and in his memoirs, he so states/ Gen. Grant,
after the war, stated in my presence that he regarded the
battle of Shiloh the bloodiest and hardest fought battle
of the war. I have always been of the opinion that had
Gen. Buell not reached Pittsburg landing the afternoon
of the 6th with a portion of his army, Gen. Grant, never-
theless, with the aid of Lew Wallace's division of fresh
troops an-d the return to the ranks of the greater part of
the men who had fled panic stricken to the rear in the
early morning, would have won a victory by the middle of
the second day. Had Gen. Smith been on the ground prior
to the battle and able to participate in it, I have no doubt
the partial surprise of the early morning of the 6th
would have been averted and a decisive victory gained
by 4 o'clock. This gallabt old officer had been sick in
a hospital at Savanna for over a week before the battle
and died some ten days after it. His death was a severe
and almost irreparable loss to the army of the Tennessee.
I mourned for him sincerely for I was greatly attached
to him.

Gen. Halleck came to Pittsburg Landing and assumed
command of our forces and began to move towards Cor-
inth, a little over twenty miles distant, where the Con-
federate army was supposed to be strongly entrenched.
Gen. Grant, as second in command, directed the right
wing of the besieging army, Gen. George ii. Thomas the
center and Gen. Pope the left. Our advance was unac-
countably slow, for by the 20th of May we were still over
two miles from the enemy' entrenchments. About this
time Grant modestly suggested to Halleck that were a
feint in force made by the center and left he believed
the right could easily charge over the enemy's works, for
he thought he had information that would justify such a

movement. Halleck received the suggestion coldly and
treated it as being entirely impracticable. It soon be-
came evident, however, that had the suggestion been
Acted upon success would have been the result, Corinth
captured, and a substantial victory won. A week later
our troops entered without resistance, for the "bird had
flown" and the victory was a barren one. Halleck, in
theory, was great, but in practice he was a failure. He
never again commanded an arm.)7 in the field. Our
troops took possession of Corinth June 1st, and Memphis
was captured after a naval engagement six days later.

During our advance on Corinth Halleck treated
Grant discourteously, and at times ignored him entirely
by sending his orders directly to the division command-
ers of his reserve, a proceeding unusual and unmilitary.
Gen. Grant, during all these operations was useless as
the "fifth wheel to a coach." He felt the indignity keen-
ly, but bore it uncomplainingly, except twice, when out
of sheer desperation he asked to be relieved of his com-
mand, but no notice apparently was taken of his re-
quests.

Not long after the occupancy of Memphis by the
Union troops Gen. Grant suggested to Gen. Halleck the
feasibility of taking one-half of his army and moving
directly to Vicksburg, the "Gibraltar" of the lower Mis-
sissippi river, which the Confederates held and had begun
to fortify; sieze it, fortify it and hold it permanently.
The distance from Corinth was not great and the march
could easily have been made in two to three weeks
Halleck gave little heed to the suggestion and evidently
regarded it as of little importance. Four months later
the government found that it was necessary to take
Vicksburg in order to open the Mississippi river from
Memphis to New Orleans. An expedition with Gen.
Grant as commander, was organized and moved south

down the Mississippi Central railroad. After reaching
Oxford, contending on its march with large and well or-
ganized bodies of Confederates, the burning of its supply
depot at Holly Springs compelled it to return to its-
starting point, then descend the Mississippi river by
transports from Memphis to Young's Point and Milli-
gan's Bend. Vicksburg was invested late in the winter
and it was July before the Confederate stronghold sur-
rendered. Had Grant's plan of June, suggested to Hal-
leek, been carried out, there would have been saved to
the nation some 25,000 lives and $25,000,000, and the
war in the valley of the Mississippi would have virtually
ended in 1864 instead of 1865.

About the middle of June Grant's request to be re-
lieved and assigned to some other military department
finally reached the War Department at Washington and
permission was granted him to report for duty to the
Secretary of War at Washington. The afternoon before
he was to have started for the East with his staff Gen.
Sherman happened to call on him for a friendly chat,
On Grant's informing him of his good fortune in having
been relieved, the former protested so vigorously in lan-
guage more forcible than elegant on the imprudence of
the move that i e was about to make, that Grant changed
his mind and decided to stay with the army of the Ten-
nessee. Had not Sherman happened to visit Grant at
his headquarters near Corinth on the afternoon in ques-
tion, Grant would have gone to Washington after re-
porting at St. Louis, and probably been assigned to the
command of some army corps, but there would have
been no Grant at Vicksburg or at Chattanooga, no Grant
at Appomattox, and probably no President Grant.

The latter part of June, Halleck having divided his
army, sending the greater part to Central and Eastern
Tennessee, leaving some 50,000 troops with Grant to gar-

rison Memphis, Corinth, Jackson and Grand Junction
and to garrison some 150 miles of railroad extending
from Memphis to Tuscurabia, including several outposts,
Orant moved his headquarters to Memphis, where Sher-
man was in command. Two months later he moved to
Jackson, some forty miles north of Corinth. My regi-
ment was stationed all summer near Corinth and formed
part of McArthur's brigade.

From the time the expedition moved up the Ten-
nessee river in February to the time Gen. Grant made
Memphis his headquarters*! saw a good deal of him, of
Rawlins, his adjutant, and of Rowley, his aide. At
headquarters I always had a cordial welcome, and as the
two officers last named were townsmen and old friends, I
was always regarded as "one of the family." Rawlins I
knew as a boy at home with his father on the farm,
.five miles east of Galena. He was my junior by four
years. I knew him too as a law student and later as a
practitioner at the Galena bar. He was a lawyer of abil-
ity and a quiet, industrious and painstaking young man
of excellent habits. Rowley came to Galena when a
young man, and was made clerk of the county court and
.afterwards clerk of the circuit court succeeding the
Hon. W. H. Bradley. He was an efficient official and a
shrewd and successful politician of great popularity.

The personnel of the officers at headquarters was
unique. Gen. Grant, the commander, was a large-
brained man of almost unerring judgment, unassuming
in manner, coolly courageous, decided in his convictions
and firm, forceful and persistent in executing his plans
and purposes. The remark afterwards made by him, "I
will fight it out on this line if it takes all summer,"
illustrated one phase of his character, viz: tenacit}7 of
purpose. Rawlins, his adjutant, and later his chief of
staff, was clear-headed, energetic, fearless and conscien-

tious in the discharge of duty, and endowed with un-
usual administrative ability. Kowley, his military sec-
retary, and afterwards his aide, had a vast amount of
practical common sense, energy, vigilance and tact, and
was utterly devoted to the interests ot his commander.
To the headquarters was also attached Gen. J. D. Web-
ster, formerly of the regular army, his chief of artillery,
of unsurpassed ability as an artillerist and topograph-
ical engineer. Such a combination of varied talent, all
acting in concert, as was found at these headquarters in
1862 was unusual, and it is not surprising that an army
directed by such a head should have achieved success.
Colonel Ely Parker (an Indian and chief of the Six Na-
tions), whom I knew well at Galena, became a member
of Grant's staff in the autumn of 1862. He had a well
trained mind, much natural ability, was educated as a
civil ergineer and had experience as such, all of which
fitted him for the position of military secretary and after-
wards as an aide. Captain Badeau (afterwards general
by brevet,) was Grant's military secretary for two years.
I knew him well at Galena when he was a clerk in a
mercantile house. He returned to the state of New
York, completed his education and entered the volunteer
service in that state. Gen. O. E. Babcock, with whom
I became well acquainted soon after the war, was de-
tailed by Gen. Grant as his chief aide in 1863. Having
received a West Point education, and belonging to the
engineer corps, he possessed rare qualifications for the
position he held so long. He had no superior as a staff
officer in the army and was held in high esteem by his
superior officers, especially by Gen. Grant.

The battle of luka was fought in September, 1862,
but my regiment, forming a part of the reserve, did not
actively participate in it. On the 3d and 4th of October
occurred the bloody and decisive battle of Corinth.

Grant had his headquarters at Jackson, forty miles north
of Corinth. Gen. Rosecrans was in command of the
four divisions of Union troops, two from the army of
the Gumherland and two from the army of the Tennes-
see. The place, fortified the winter before by the Con-
federates under Albert Sidney Johnson and evacuated by
Beauregard four months before, was attacked by a su-
perior force under Generals Van Dorn and Price, who
confidently expected to capture it. The inner fortifica-
tions had been enlarge! and strengthened during the
previous summer. My regiment had a sharp engage-
ment on the afternoon of the 3d and lost heavily. Gen.
Oglesby, who commanded the brigade at the critical
moment when the firing was the heaviest, in the absence
of his aides rode to the front to give me an order, my
regiment being at the right of the brigade. While doing
so he was shot below the point of the shoulder, the ball
passing under the shoulder blade, lodged near the
spine. He carries the ball in his body to-day. Gen.
Oglesby, in delivering that order in person, did as splen-
did an act of personal courage as I ever saw. Gen.
Hackelman, of Indiana, commanding the next brigade
in line, was shot a few moments later, and the same am-
bulance took from the field the two officers, both believed
to be mortally wounded, and what is singular, both
were warm personal friends of President Lincoln.
Gen. Hackelman died the next night. The next day
the enemy charged our inner works in full force and
with an impetuosity seldom seen, but was repulsed and
compelled to retire badly demoralized, having lost in
killed and wounded over one-fourth of its men. Gen.
Rosecrans had specific orders from Gen. Grant that in
case the enemy were defeated to pursue him promptly
and vigorously. This he failed to do, although he had
a division of infantry and several regiments of cavalry,

which had been slightly engaged during the battle either
day. and waited until the next morning before he began
the pursuit in earnest, thereby giving the enemy ample
time to escape with his artillery. Gen. Grant never fully
forgave Rosecrans for this virtual disobedience of orders.

Some two weeks after the battle of Corinth I was
placed by Gen. Rosecrans in command of the Post of
•Corinth, a compliment I fully appreciated. Gen. Ham-
ilton was assigned to the command of the troops in and
about Corinth. Two weeks later he was relieved by
Gen. G. M. Dodge, with whom I became well acquainted,
and a mutual friendship followed which has continued
to the present. Gen. Dodge was educated at the
Partridge Military Academy at Norwich, Vt, Later he
studied civil engineering and became proficient in that
vocation. He entered the volunteer service early in the
-war as colonel of the Fourth Iowa infantry, and soon
proved to be a most efficient officer, and commanded
the Sixteenth Army corps in Sherman's march to the sea.
He possessed rare practical intelligence, intense and un-
tiring energy, was courageous to a fault, resourceful and
efficient, and as a soldier in the civil war, a railroad
•engineer and manager, and a member of congress
achieved more than a national reputation. As com-
mander of the district of Corinth for over six months,
with 25,000 troops under him, holding a section of coun-
try of great stragetic importance, he proved himself a
most valuable officer to the service in the West. Gen.
Grant had unbounded confidence in him as a sagacious
and reliable commander.

About the close of the year 1862 the officers sta-
tioned at and near Corinth felt that something should be
done to arouse the people of the western states to the
importance of filling up the depleted ranks of the West-
ern Army. A large meeting of officers was held, over

which I had the honor to preside. Able and spirited ad-
dresses were made by Gen. E. W. Rice, colonel of
the Second Iowa infantry; Gen. M. M. Bane, colonel of
the Fifty-first Illinois infantry, Col. J. S. Wilcox, of the
Fiftieth Illinois infantry, and a notable one by Gen. J.
J. Phillips, then lieutenant colonel of the Ninth Illinois
infantry, and now the chief justice of the Supreme Court
of Illinois. A stirring appeal to the loyal people of the
West, in the form of resolutions, was adopted. The
meeting was fully reported and commented upon by the
press of the West, especially by that of Chicago. The
•effect was that other meetings of a similar character
were held at various points "along the line." I have
always believed that the expressions on the part of the
soldiers at the front did much good, and that the large
number of recruits sent to the front in the early spring
of 1863 was in part, at least, the resust of the action
then taken.

A pleasant incident to me occurred when I was in
command of the Post of Corinth. Late one afternoon a
gentleman called at headquarters on business. He gave
his name as Knease, of Cincinnati, Ohio. Having fin-
ished our business, I remarked that his name was an un-
usual one, and that I had never seen nor heard it but
once before; that when I was a young man, not yet of
age, a friend of mine, Major Bender, a young civil en-
giner in the service of the government at Galena, fre-
quently sang "Ben Bolt," a soag much in favor then,
marvelously well. He had a fine voice, which he accom-
panied with the guitar; that the author of the music
of the song bore his name. He seemed a little sur-
prised and remarked that he was the author of the
music of "Ben Bolt." He said that he had come across
the poem "Ben Bait," written by Dr. William Dunn
English, of New Jersey, (afterwards a member of con-

gress), was struck with its beauty and set it to music. He
was at the time connected with Christie's celebrated
minstrel troupe; that he sang it on the stage for years,
and that it was usualy enthusiastically received by an
appreciative public. After some further conversation
I asked him to sing it for me, adding that I had a piano
in the next room. He cheerfully complied, with the re-
mark ''that he did not sing as well as when he was
younger." Mr. Knease sang this beautiful ballad, so
well known and admired since it was brought out by
Mr. De Maurier in his "Trilby," better than I had ever
heard it before. He was good enough to sing for me sev-
eral other songs of his own composing. Knease died
many years ago. Like many other men of genius, he
was good to everyone except himself.

One day in the early summer of 1862 I called at Gen,
Grant's headquarters, just out of Corinth, and found Gen,
Rawlins alone. He said, after some conversation: "By
the bye, colonel, I have just received a letter from our
good old friend, Parson Kent, of Galena. Some fool or
other has told him that I was swearing a good deal."
He handed me the letter, saying "read it." I did so. It
was a kind lelter, expressing regret to learn that he
(Rawlins) was in the habit of using profane language
— that it was a bad habit, unchristian and wicked, and
that he hoped and prayed he would give up the practice.
On my returning the letter to him, Rawlins said: "It is
very kind in the old Christian man to write me in that
way. He is right, but I tell you, colonel," bringing his
fist down on the table, "there is no use talking. I'll be

if an army like this can be run without some

swearing."

In the early part of November, 1863, Gen. G. M.
Dodge was ordered to march his large division from Cor-
inth eastward to Pulaski, Tenn., some seventy-five miles

south of Nashville, My regiment belonged to his com-
mand, and soon after its arrival at Pulaski I was ordered
to take it to the outpost of Richland, some six miles south
of Pulaski on the railroad, to hold the place with one
other point further south on the railroad. In December
the government decided to ask the enlisted men of all
regiments mustered into the service in the summer of
1861 to veteranize, i. e. to enlist for the war, giving all the
men who thus re-enlisted a thirty days' furlough and
transportation to their homes and return. My regiment,
I found to my gratification, re-enlisted in greater pro-
portion than any other regiment in the division, and
also that my old Galena company did so almost in a
body. This division had been actively engaged in forti-
fying the Post of Pulaski, and in foraging in the country
lying south and ea^t of there.

On the 15th day of December 1 was nominated by
the President brigadier general of United States volun-
teers. This promotion gratified me exceedingly, for I
had been at the head of my regiment as colonel for over
two years, leading it in the battles of Fort Donelson,.
Shiloh, Siege of Corinth, luka and in the battle of Cor-
inth, and having been absent from it on leave of absence
only thirty days in all that time. Near the close of the-
month I reported to Gen. Grant at Nashville for assign-
ment to duty. I left my old regiment with regret. I
had labored hard and unremittingly from the beginning
to make it an efficient body of soldiers. As a consequence,,
it had the reputation of being one of the best drilled,
disciplined and efficient regiments in the Army of the
Tennessee. Its conduct in all the battles in which it
took part was exceedingly creditable to all its officers
and men. It was always a favorite with the brigade
and division commanders, and was an especial favorite
with the veteran commander, Gen. Charles F. Smith. I
am pleased to be able to say that it maintained its repu-
tation in its march to the sea with the Gen. Sherman ex-
pedition and received great praise for its gallant conduct,
in the battle of Altoona.

CHAPTER VII.

CIVIL WflR, 1863-65.

Soon after iny promotion as brigadier general I re-
ported to Gen. Grant at Nashville early in January,
1864, for assignment to duty. He congratulated me on
my well-deserved promotion, and said he had decided to
assign me to a position which, without being arduous,
would require close attention to details. It was to su-
perintend the recruiting and organizing of colored
troops in Tennessee and West Kentucky, a work already
begun and which needed an energetic and discriminat-
ing officer at its head. He said that if I had any objec-
tion to doing the work he would assign me to some other
duty. I replied that if he believed I was fitted to do it,
to command me. He then said that it was the policy of
the government, which he fully endorsed, to place a
large force of col >red troops in the service at once; that
the experiment of using the colored men of the South in
the army so far had proved satisfactory. After a pause,
he added: "I believe the colored man will make a good
soldier. He has been accustomed all his life to lean on
the white man, and if a good officer is placed over him,
he will learn readily and make an efficient soldier."

My headquarters were to be at Memphis, and I was
to report to Gen. Lorenzo Thomas, the adjutant general
of the United States army, who had been placed by the
War department in charge of the entire work of recruit-
ing and organizing the colored troops of the South.
After a brief leave of absence to my home in Illinois, I

101

selected my staff officers and established my headquar-
ters at Memphis. With the conse-it of Gen. Lorenzo
Thomas, I had Gen. Stephen A. Hurlbut, the commander
of the district of Memphis, appoint a board of seven offi-
cers, representing the several arms of the service, with
Col. Turner of the Eightieth Illinois infantry, as presi-
dent, to examine enlisted men and officers for appoint-
ment in the regiments of colored troops. After a rigid
examination, the board would report to me the rank the
applicant was entitled to, recommending his appoint-
ment, which I usually approved and forwarded to the
War Department at Washington, upon which it issued
a commission. The regimental and company officers of
all volunteer regiments from the various states were com-
missioned by the governors of the respective states, but
with colored troops raised in the states which had seceded
all commissions were issued by the war department. I
had recruiting stations at Knoxville, Chattanooga, Nash-
ville, Corinth, Columbus, Ky., Memphis and other places,
under competent officers. In April, Major Booth, with a
battalion of colored troops from my command, was sent
to Fort Pillow, on the Mississippi river 100 miles above
Memphis, to garrison the place. Soon after his occu-
pancy of the fort, and before its new earthworks had
been completed, he was attacked by a superior force
of Gen. Forest's cavalry, under command of Colonel
(afterwards General) Chalmers, who, after a hotly con-
tested fight, captured the place and killed, in a most
brutal manner, the major, his officers and every enlisted
man. The act was a disgrace to the civilization of the age.
Soon after I had begun my work at Memphis I re-
ceived a call from my friend, Gen. Sherman. After he
had greeted me, he said in his usual earnest manner:
"Well, Chetlain, you have undertaken the work of mak-
ing soldiers of colored men. You have a big job on

102

your hands. The colored mat) will make a fairly good
soldier, but it will take time. Don't be too sanguine. If
you make an efficient soldier of him in a year or a
year and a half you will be doing well. I wish you
success." Comparing Grant's and Sherman's opinion of
the colored man's adaptability to make a soldier, Grant
was right rather than Sherman, as was subsequently
proven.

In the month of April my old friend, Gen. C. C.
Washburn, succeeded Gen. S. A. Hurl but as commander
of the district of Memphis. The change gratified me
greatly. He was thoroughly in accord with the work in
which I was engaged, and afforded me every facility in
.his power to advance it. The district was in many res-
pects a difficult one to command, or rather to control, as
Memphis with Vicksburg were the principal shipping
points for cotton on the river between Cairo and New
Orleans. Gen. Washburn was not only an able mili-
tary man, but possessed of unusual administrative ability
and great business experience, which gave him an advan-
tage over the ordinary military officer. His wise and
conservative administration of affairs, in his district,
soon became apparent. It can in truth be said that his
administration covering the greater part of a year, was
not only successful, but also a "clean one," all of which
was well known and appreciated at Washington.

I had as staff officers at Memphis, Major Geo. L. Pad-
dock, now a well known and successful lawyer in Chica-
go, as Military Inspector; Lieutenant (afterwards Major)
George Mason, now a prominent iron manufacturer in
Chicago, and Lieutenant (afterwards Captain) Chas. P.
Brown, now a banker in Ottumwa, la., as aides, both
brave, energetic and efficient officers; Dr. John Rush, a
physician and surgeon of experience and ability from
Philadelphia, ae medical inspector; Captain C. W. W.

103

Clark as Quartermaster, and Captain (afterwards Major)
Geo. B. Halstead as Assistant Adjutant General. Captain
Halstead was sent to me by Gen. Lorenzo Thomas from
Washington. He was a man of broad education, of fine
natural ability and of genial disposition, belonging to an
old and wealthy family of Newark, N. J., and thoroughly
interested in the work I was doing, as were also my other
staff officers. He had an older brother, a man of culture
and high social standing, like himself, who sometime after
the war, for reasons I never learned, left his home and
friends and made his way to Lake Minnetonka, Minn.,
bought a small island in the lake, built a little log cabin
on it and lived there alone, the life of a hermit, seldom
going out excepting to get his mail and supplies at the
village of Excelsior, a few miles distant. After several
years of seclusion in his island home he died. My for-
mer staff officer, Major Halstead, who was unmarried,
went to his brother's old home, took up his manner of
living and is there now at the "Hermitage" in good
health and always glad to see his former army comrades.
He is still the handsome, courtly and genial gentleman
of the long ago. He occasionally attends army reunions
at St. Paul and Minneapolis.

Near the close of the month of June, my work in re-
cruiting and organizing colored troops had proved so de-
cidedly successful, that it was deemed best at Washing-
ton to extend my field of operation over central and east
Kentucky. I received an order to that effect and moved
my headquarters to Louisville. The state of Kentucky
not having seceded, retained its place in the Union, and
its representatives their seats in congress. After the con-
federate army had invaded the state, marshal law was
declared. The policy of placing colored troops in the
army was combatted by the Kentuckians. They favored
voluntar3T but not forced enlistments. As soon, therefore

104

as I began ray work of forcing able bodied colored men
in to the Union ranks, a vigorous protest was made by citi-
zens, and by the Kentucky members of congress. Our
method of recruiting was simple. A company of colored
troops, fully equipped, would be sent to a certain section
of the state, with orders te bring in all colored men found
of suitable age and of apparentgood health and physique.
After an examination by an army surgeon, all the re-
jected were sent back to their homes. The owners of
those accepted as fit for service had a receipt given to
them, with the proviso inserted that all owners would
when the time came be paid by the government, $300,
for each slave, provided they proved their loyalty to it.
Recruiting stations were established at Louisville, Owens-
boro and other points in the state.

By the 4th of July we had at Louisville one full reg-
iment, armed, uniformed andfaiily well drilled, and two
regiments more than half filled, all officered with men
who had had experience in the service. Colonel Bartho-
lomew, of the full regiment, made application to be per-
mitted to take his regiment in the forenoon of the 4th, to
a large picnic to be given by colored people in the vicini-
ty of th^ city which was granted. As the regiment would
have to march through the heart of the city, and the fact
became known, a committee of leading citizens called
upon me to protest against it, fearing that this display of
colored troops in the city might lead to riot and blood-
shed. I answered that these were United States troops,
who had a right to pass through their city. I told the
committee that permission had been granted to the regi-
ment and that I hoped their citizens would have the good
sense not to interfere with it. I sent for Col. Bartholo-
mew and gave him instructions to have each man in the
regiment furnished with ten rounds of ammunition, and
if interfered with or attacked by a mob under no circum-

105

stances were the men to fire unless so ordered by an offi-
cer. The regiment marched by fours down the principal
street in fine order and presented a splendid appearance.
It was as fine a body of men physically as I had ever
seen. The men were newly uniformed with new arms
and all wore white cotton gloves. The streets were
crowded with people, but all was as quiet as if it had
been a funeral procession. After the regiment had passed
out of sight, the crowd became boisterous, »rotesting ve-
hemently at the insult which had been given the people
of Louisville. After the picnic which was attended by
three to four thousand colored people, and was a quiet
and well conducted affair, the regiment returned to its
quarters by another route. The above incident shows
the animus of the people of the "loyal ?" state of Ken-
tucky, at that time.

Soon after the occurrence related above, a commit-
tee of leading citizens, mostly from Louisville, went to
Washington, and getting the members of congress from
the state to join them went to President Lincoln and laid
their grievances before him, representing that the meth-
ods now practiced in their state of taking their best hands
from their tobacco fields for the army was wrong and
would soon ruin every tobacco grower in the state. The
result was, that the War Department before the middle
of August revoked the order for recruiting in central and
east Kentucky and ordered me back to Memphis to con-
tinue my work in Tennessee and west Kentucky. In
less than two months there had been recruited at the
Louisville and Ovvensboro stations, over three full regi-
ments of Infantry composed of a superior class of men.

In compliance with the order I moved my head-
quarters to Memphis with my adjutant and quarter-
master in Charge. With the rest of the staff offi-
cers I made a thorough inspection of the colored troops

106

•stationed at Louisville, Nashville, Johnsonville, Chatta-
nooga, Knoxville, Athens Ala., Paducah and Columbus,
•ending with the four regiments at Memphis. Tvro regi-
ments of infantry passed a particularly creditable inspec-
tion; one at Nashville, was commanded by Col. W. R. Shaf-
ter a youngofficer of rare intelligence, energy and discrimi-
nation. I took the occasion to compliment him on the
.admirable condition of his regiment. This officer in 1867
received a captain's commivssion in the regular army. I
am greatly gratified to know that as a Major General of
volunteers, he commanded the army of invasion against
Santiago de Cuba, and acheived a splendid victory. The
other regimant at Chattanooga, was commanded by Col. T.
J. Morgan, who at the battle of Nashville won great honor
while commanding a brigade of four colored regiments,
capturingan important earthwork, and with it a battery of
light artillery. Colonel (afterwards General) Morgan was
honored by President Harrison with the appointment of
Superintendent of Indian Affairs. He served on Gen. 0.
O. Howard's staff as aide, before he was appointed Colo-
nel of a colored regiment. He was highly educated, brave
and efficient as a staff officer. After the war he became
widely known as an advanced educator. I will add that
the regiments of heavy artilery at Columbus and Fort
Pickering, Memphis, passed a very creditable in-
spection. Colonel Jas. McArthur of the former and Col-
onel Kupner of the latter were able and efficient officers.
The former was a brother of Gen. John McArthur.

Before the close of the year 1864 I found I had re-
porting to me eighteen regiments of infantry, three regi-
ments of heavy artillery with 1,700 men in each, and
one batter}" of light artillery, nearly all of which had
been recruited during the nine months of my active
service as superintendent. At this time the work of re-
cruiting was deemed completed, and I was relieved from

107

further service. Not many months after I was, without
solicitation, promoted to major general by brevet for
meritorious services.

Gen. Lorenzo Thomas, a few months later, when
making his final report to the War Department of the
work done by him as general superintendent, said :
"Brigadier General Chetlain reported to me and I as-
signed him as superintendent of the recruiting service
in Tennessee and Kentucky. He proved a most valu-
able officer, for I found him to possess both intelligence
and zeal, with a rare qualification for the organization
of troops. He never failed in any duty he was assigned,
either as superintendent or inspector, to which latter
duty I assigned him. I am gratified that he was subse-
quently rewarded by a brevet major general."

The average citizen of to-day, even among those
who took an active part in the late civil war, has no cor-
rect idea of the number of colored men enlisted as sol-
dters. Gen. Lorenzo Thomas informed me in November,
1864, that reports showed that there were 179,000 colored
soldiers fit for duty, and, adding the disabled arid absent
on furlough, the total would have been about 200,000,
a large army of itself, numbering nearly one-sixth of the
entire Union army. When the policy of the govern-
ment was first promulgated, it met with opposition both
in and out of the army. The argument was that this
was a white man's war and should be fought out by
white men.

I favored the policy at an early date, and while com-
manding the post at Corinth near the close of 1862. su-
perintended the recruiting and organizing of the first
regiment of colored troops in the West north of New
Orleans. I believed then, that as the negroes or colored
people were to be freed as a result of the war. it was but
fair that they should fight for their freedom by taking

103

part as soldiers in effecting that result. During my
service as superintendent I addressed scores of meetings
of these people, giving them such advice as I thought
they needed. The colored soldiers, as the representa-
tives ot over 4,000,000 slaves, who served in the Union
army during the war, deserve great credit for what they
did to save the Union.

Some time in July 1864 a bold dash was made at day-
break by a comparjy of Gen. Forrest's cavalry into Mem-
phis. Their object was clearly not to fight, pillage or de-
stroy property, but to capture the general commanding
and other general officers supposad to be in Memphis.
Gen. Washburn's headquarters were visited first. Before
the raiders could reach his room he had hastily put on
citizen's dress, quietly passed out of the back door into
an alley, down the alley a few blocks to the river, and
down the river bank a half mile to Fort Pickering.
The raiders, failing to get the general in command, has-
tily went to the Gayoso hotel near by, where Gen. Hurl-
but was stopping, only to find that he had gone to the
house of a friend for the night. They then proceeded to
my old headquarters, where they were told that I had
left the city some weeks before. The discomfitted raid-
ers then beat a hasty retreat, losing a few men in passing
through the picket line. While in Gen. Washburn's
headquarters they captured his best uniform. The story
that was afterwards current that the general had escaped
in a citizen's coat, a stove-pipe hat and a pair of boots is
a myth. A few days after the raid Gen. Forrest, under
a flag of truce, sent to Gen. Washburn his uniform, with
a note saying that he had sent his men to capture him,
not his clothes. Not to be outdone by Gen. Forrest in
high-toned generosity, he went to the general's former
tailor in Memphis (Forrest was a cotton broker in Mem-
phis before the war) and ordered for him a uniform of

109

the best material, which he had sent to him by flag of
truce, with a letter acknowledging his generosity, etc. It
is said the letters which passed between these officers
were "rich, rare and racy." A pity they had not been
given to the public.

About the middle of October I received a leave of
absence for fifteen days to go to my home at Galena to
assist my old friend, E. B. Washbiirne, M. C., in his can-
vass for member of congress and to vote at the fall elec-
tion. While I was at Galena a member of congress
(now United States senator), W. B. Allison, of Iowa, came
there to assist his old friend, Mr. Washburne, in his can-
vass. I accompanied him in his tour through the coun-
ty. We were out together three days, speaking every
afternoon and evening. During that time I became well
acquainted with him. I found him posseesed of wide
experienee, sound judgment and a most gracious and
winning manner. Without being a great orator, he had a
way of discussing issues and stating facts that made his
speeches strong and convincing. Ever since, I have re-
garded him as one of the ablest, most conservative re-
liable and efficient members of our national legislature.
I was strongly in favor of his nomination in 1895 for
President.

In January, 1865, I was appointed commander of
the post and forces of Memphis to succeed Gen. R. P.
Buckland of Ohio, who had a splendid record in the war
and who had been preceded by Gen. J. C. Veatch, of
Indiana, an officer of rare ability, and who up to that
time, had won an enviable reputation on the battle field.
The troops in my command consisted of a division of
twelve regiments of infantry, eight of which were white
and four colored, including the regiment of heavy artil-
lery at Fort Pickering, four batteries of light artillery
and two regiments of cavalry. This was the third time

110

I ha<l been placed in command of a post — Smithland,
Corinth and now Memphis. It seems that I had earned
the reputation of being a good administrative officer,
which no doubt accounted for this last appointment.
The duties of my new position I knew would be arduous
and at times complicated. Soon after I assumed this
command my old friend, Gen. Washburn, was relieved
and sent to Vicksburg to command that district, and
Gen. N. T. J. Dana was appointed to succeed him at
Memphis.

Near the close of March, 1865, I went to Galena on
a short leave of absence, and on the 6th day of April I
was married to Mrs. Annie M. Smith, the daughter of
Mr. John Edwards, an old and prominent citizen of
Rockford. 111., and the widow of Colonel Melancthon
Smith, who was killed at Vicksburg in June, 1863,
while leading a portion of his regiment, the Forty-fifth
Illinois, in an assault on Fort Hill after it had been
blown up and after he had entered it. Lieut. Col. Smith
was an officer of marked ability and a favorite with Gen.
Grant. He was a practicing lawyer at the Rockford bar
bafore the war, and was gifted as a writer and orator.
During his two years of service he achieved a splendid
reputation for thorough knowledge of his duties, his
cool courage, general efficiency and good fellowship. For
some time before the war he had been a member of
Ellsworths' company of Zouaves. His widow, whom
I married, was a lady of attractive personality, of
many accomplishments, of much will force, tactful
and self-reliant. Colonel Smith had been appointed
postmaster at Rockford and on entering the volunteer
service had appointed his wife his deputy. Aiter his
death she was appointed to fill the office by President
Lincoln, which was an innovation, as no other woman
had ever before been appointed postmistress.

Ill

After ray marriage I returned to Memphis, taking
my wife with me. The next day after my return Presi-
dent Lincoln was assassinated. The excitement in Mem-
phis on the receipt of the sad news was intense. I called
on Gen. Washburn, who commanded the district, and we-
arranged for holding a mass meeting in Jackson Square
the next day (Sunday) to give expression to the feeling
of grief felt by all over the great national calamity. I
was selected to preside at the meeting. Gen. C. C. Wash-
burn made the first address. He was followed by Gen..
N. P. Banks, who had arrived by boat at Memphis the
morning of the day of the meeting, on his way to New
Orleans. His address was one of rare force and elo-
quence. The audience of over 10,000 people was com-
posed of soldiers and citizens, many of the latter being
colored people, who were visibly affected by the addresses
made. The old residents of Memphis were particular-
ly interested in the sad event, as Vice President Andrew
Johnson, a Tennesseean, had by it become President of
the United States.

In the month of June Gen. Washburn, who at his-
own request was about to be mustered out of the service
desired to meet the citizens of his district to deliver a
farewell address. A mass meeting of citizens, white and
colored, was called at La Grange, forty miles east of
Memphis. The meeting was attended by at least 30,000
people. Gen. Washburn was accompanied by Gen. John
E. Smith and myself. In his address he gave all much
timely advice, and closed by speaking on the subject of
suffrage. He gave utterance to advanced and radical-
ideas. He favored giving all the colored men' of the
South the privilege of voting at all elections at once and
all in the South who had been disloyal to the gov-
ernment to be debarred from voting for five years,

112

after which all would be granted the privilege who
would take the oath of allegiance to the government.
His remarks were enthusiastically received by the col-
ored people, but were evidently distasteful to most of the
whites. When I spoke, following the General, I, too,
touched upon the all-absorbing question of suffrage. I
stated in substance that I believed in giving the ballot to
all colored ex-soldiers and to all colored men .who could
read or who had property to the amount of say $250. All
the white men who had been in the Confederate army or
who had been disloyal to the government during the war,
were to be prohibited from voting for five years at least,
after which all who would take the oath of allegiance to
the government would be allowed to vote. My conviction
was that the conditions imposed upon the colored men
to be able to read or to own property would be an incen-
tive to all who were debarred to learn to read or accumu-
late a little property in order to be entitled to the ballot.
Subsequent events proved that Gen. Washburn was on
the popular side of the question, and yet, as the dreary
days of reconstruction passed by I felt that had my plan
been adopted it would have been for the good of the col-
ored people in the South in the end.

Gen. John E. Smith, who was to succeed Gen.
Washburn as commander of the district of Memphis,
was introduced and spoke briefly. Gen. Smith was an
old friend and townsman of mine, who had been the
Colonel of the Forty-fifth Illinois Infantry (the Leadmine
regiment,) in 1861 and 1862, and proved himself an offi-
cer of superior ability and efficiency. He entered the
regular army in 1867 as colonel of the Twenty-seventh
infantry, and before his retirement was made a Briga-
dier General in the United States army. He had been a
brigadier general and a major general by brevet in the
volunteer service.

113

In the early part of 1864, when Gen. Sherman was
in command of the Department of the Mississippi with
headquarters at Nashville, with his usual practical sense
he issued an order compelling all male citizens of Mem-
phis of proper age, without regard to color, to serve in
the militia, and officers of the Union army were detailed
to organize and command them. Five full regiments
(one of which was colored) were soon organized and
armed. Captain Decatur G. Chapin, of Galena, 111., an
intelligent, active and painstaking officer, was detailed to
organize and command the colored regiment, the only
one of the five composed entirely of men loyal to the
Union. Gen. Sherman intended that in case of a raid,
like that of Forrest's cavalry, or a general attack on Mem-
phis, the enemy should be met and resisted, in part at
least, by the militia or "Home Guards." In the spring
of 1865 Colonel Von Schroeder, the Inspector General of
the Department, came to Memphis to inspect my division.
After the inspection, he reported my command in excel-
lent condition, and added that the four colored regiments
passed a better inspection than some of the white regi-
ments. They were better drilled and their quarters
were in better condition, probably owing to the more
careful attention of their company officers.

In the summer of 1864 my only son, then in the
preparatory department of the University of Wisconsin,
spent his summer vacation with me at Memphis. He was
in his fifteenth year and well grown for his age. I ap-
pointed him a volunteer aide on my staff and he soon
proved himself of valuable assistance to me. He acquir-
ed much information during his brief service which he
claims was of value to him in after years.

In the early summer of 1865 I received a visit from
Col. Frank A. Eastman of Chicago who had recently been
married to Miss Gertrude Barrett of Chicago, whose father

114

had been a wholesale clothing merchant in Galena, in
1854-55. Eastman started life as a newspaper man and
later became a wholesale merchant in Chicago, During
the war he was'elected to the State Senate of Illinois, and
was appointed by President Grant during his first admin-
istration, Postmaster of Chicago. After his term of office
had expired, he returned to his first love, "the newspaper,"
and was on the editorial staff of the Chicago Times for
several years. He has continued as a newspaper writer
to the present time. Col. Eastman has great ability as a
writer, always wielding a graceful and forcible pen. He
is a politician, but never a partisan, and is a gentleman
of broad education, of wide and varied information, cour-
teous, of a reticent dispositon and of uncompromising in-
tegrity.

In October 1865, I was relieved of the command of
the post and forces of Memphis, and ordered to report to
Gen. Thomas commanding the Department of the Miss-
issippi with headquarters at Nashville, for assignment to
duty. I was ordered to report to Gen. Wood, command-
ing the Department of the Gulf, at Mobile, who assigned
me to the central District of Alabama with headquarters
at Taladega. I succeded Gen. Daviess who had been
assigned to the southern District of Alabama, with head-
quarters at Montgomery. I found the command in every
way an agreeable one, being composed of several regi-
ments of Infantry and a portion of Gen. Hatch's division
of Cavalry. The district had in it a few union men, but
the greater part had either been southern sympathizers
or had been actively engaged in the confederate army.
All however accepted the new order of things, and were
earnestly trying to repair the fortunes they had wrecked
during the war.

Toward the close of the year the colored {people, es-
pecially those in the southern half of my district, in

115

which lies a [.fart of the "cane brake" or cotton growing
section of Alabama, became dissatisfied and were unwill-
ing to enter into contract to work on the cotton planta-
tions during the succeeding year. They had imbibed
the erronious idea that the government intended to give
the head of eveiy family a mule, a cow, farming imple-
ments and a few acres of ground, which they would cul-
tivate and be independent of the white planters. I
turned my attention to this class of people, called them
together when I could, explained to them the true con-
dition of affairs and advised them to make contracts
at once with the planters for the ensuing year. My ad-
vice was generally heeded, and when this was evident to
the planters, I had calls from all parts of my district to
address the colored people. The fact was made known
to Gen. Thomas at Nashville, by the planters, who tele-
graphed me to go to any part of my district, or beyond
it, where I thought addresses to the rolored people would,
do good, and thus enlarge the work I had begun in Tal-
adega and the adjoining counties. The planters afford-
ed me every facility in their power to carry on the work
and were grateful to me for what I was doing, for I
seemed to be a Godsend to them. Gen. Daviess, of the-
Montgomery Dictrict, had detailed officers from the
Freedmen's Bureau, who did work in his district with
similar results. Among the planters who expressed a
grateful appreciation of my services was Gen. Hardee,
of the Confederate army, who had a large cotton planta-
tion in Green county in the southern part of my district.
In the month of January, 1866, many regiments of
the volunteer service having been mustered out, result-
ing in the consolidation of several districts, I, with many
other general officers, was mustered out of the service. I
was strongly urged by leading citizens in my district to
remain in Alabama, where I had become favorably

116

known, and engage in cotton planting, as many other
ex-officers of the Union Army were doing. My wife's
health not being of the best, and my own inclination
to live in the North rather than in the South, induced
me to return home, after an active service in the Union
army of four years and nine months. The summer of
1866 I spent in looking up the loose ends of a business I
had left five years before. The succeeding winter we
spent in Washington, w-here we met many friends and
acquaintances.

The following interesting incident occurred during
that winter at a reception given by the Secretary of the
Treasury, Hon. S. P. Chase, and presided over by his
daughter Mrs. Sprague. I had the honor of being pre-
sented to Prof. Agassiz, then at the height of his fame.
As the professor was a Swiss, born in the canton of
Freibourg, adjoining that of Neuchatel, wheie my pa-
rents were born, I alluded to the fact, expressing my
gra ification at meeting him and making his acquaint-
ance. He soon turned to war matters and spoke of the
Swiae officers who had served in the civil war. I said
that he well knew that there were many of them who
had served as regimental and staff officers, but that there
were but three general officers, General John E. Smith
and myself in the Union army, both from the same
town and old friends, and at the close of the war Major
Generals by brevet. Gen. Smith was bom in Phila-
delphia, Pa., and I was born in St. Louis, Mo., the year
after my parents had located there. Our parents were
French-Swiss. The third was Gen. Zollicoffer, a Ger-
man-Swiss of Nashville, Tenn., and a prominent citizen,
who entered the Confederate army and was killed in bat-
tlei n 1862. The professor became much interested in my
statement, and said: ''Well, general, we can thank God
that two of the three were in the Union army and that

117

both are living." I then said that there was another
"Switzer" living in Chicago, who was born in Switzer-
land and who served in the Union army all through the
war, a highly intelligent, brave and efficient officer,
Gen. Herman Lieb, who did some staff duty and was the
colonel of a cavalry regiment and brevetted a Brigadier
General, for meritorious services, at the close of the war,
who, I thought, ought also to be classed as a general
officer of Swiss parentage. I was glad to make the ac-
quainiance of this distinguished naturalist of world-wide
renown.

In 1867 Gen. John E. Smith, the United States As-
sessor of Internal Revenue for Utah, having been ap-
pointed a colonel in the regular army resigned his posi-
tion in Utah. I was induced by the Utah delegate to
congress to accept the appointment as Gen. Smith's suc-
cessor, and early in March with my wife started for
Utah, going by railroad to the Platte river and then by
stage via Denver. The snow in the mountains had fallen
to an unusual depth that spring, and the trip to Salt
Lake City was made in an open sleigh, which carried
the mail. We traveled mostly by day and rested at
night.

CHAPTER VIII.

UTAH, 1867-9— THE MORMONS AND MORMONISM.

I reached Salt Lake City, to wl ich place I had been
appointed to fill the position of United States Assessor
of Internal Revenue, at the close of the month of March,
1867. While descending the western slope of the Wa-
satch mountains I looked for the first time upon the
great valley, forty by fifteen miles in extent, at the north-
ern part of which is Salt Lake City, and eight miles west
of it is the Great Salt Lake. The view was one of rare
beauty and grandeur. The broad valley was already
tinged with the delicate green of early spring and the
numerous orchards of fruit trees were in bloom. I could
easily understand how the vanguard of the Mormon
emigration in 1847, with Brigham Young, "the seer and
prophet" at its head, was enchanted and decided to take
and occupy "the promised land," the "Zion of the Lord."
At that time (1867) Salt Lake City, built on a gentle
slope of great extent at the northern end of the valley
through which flows the river Jordan and under the
shadow of Mount Pisgah, had a population of nearly
20,000 and the territory of Utah about 120,000, nearly
one-third of whom were emigrants brought from various
foreign countries by the "perpetual emigration fund" of
the church.

When I was receiving my instructions at Washing-
ton, prior to my departure for Utah, I was informed by
the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, Mr. Rollins, that
he desired me to use diligence in getting all the revenue

119

which rightfully belonged to the government and to
avoid taking sides with the Mormons or the anti-Mor-
mons (Gentiles); that the fight there between these fac-
tions had been bitter in the past and he feared the
efficiency of the assessor might be impaired and the rev-
enue suffer. Soon after I had assumed my official duties
I made a formal call upon Brigham Young, who, as Pres-
ident of the Council of the Mormon church was addressed
as "President" by some, and having been governor
of the territory by appointment of President Fillmore,
was addressed as "Governor." by others, I preferred to
use the latter title. Governor Young received me cor-
dially and we had a long talk about my duties as assessor.
I stated to him frankly that in coming to the T* rritory as
a government official I had no prejudices and intended
to treat Mormons and Gentiles alike, just as I would
the people of any other state or t* rritory. He replied :
"You are right, and you can depend upon me to help
you all I can. I believe our people will be fair and hon-
est in making their returns to you."

I received my first impression of this singular man
during that interview. He was a little reticent at first,
but soon talked freely and well. In physique he was of
medium height and somewhat stout, with rather small,
clear bluish eyes, and a face indicative of shrewdness,
firmness and force. His language in conversation was
such as to make his idea clear and no more. He was
never verbose. I soon afterwards learned that as a busi-
ness man he had few equals in the great far West. To
illustrate his business methods, I will state that in 1846,
when the Mormons were sojourning temporarily at Fre-
mont, near to and west of Omaha, Major Kearney, of the
United States army, in behalf of the government, called
upon Brigham Young, the head of the Mormon church,
and asked if he could furnish from his young men a

120

batallion of 500 for service in the Mexican war, Brig-
ham Young answered: Yes, you shall have them in
three days. The batallion was ready on time and was
mustered into the volunteer service.

When the Union Pacific railroad was being con-
structed in 1868-69, Brigham Young took a contract for
grading over 100 miles of road across the Wasatch
mountains, from just west of Fort Bridger to the north
end of Great Salt Lake, and one of the directors of the
road told me that he was present when Governor Young
was talking with the committee of directors about the
contract, and that all agreed that he was a shrewd, broad-
gauged business man, who, without having studied civil
engineering or assisted in railroad construction seemed
to know more about the details of railroad construction
than the average expert. He had a temper hard to con-
trol at times, and when he was deeply angered he was a
fully developed tornado. He was naturally disposed to
treat everybody well, and was kind and generous to his
friends, but bitter and unrelenting to any one he be-
believed to be his enemy. He asked no one to accept
his faith, but simply desired to be let alone in his belief.

Governor Brigham Young was, by intuition, a
good judge of men. I noticed that not only in the se-
lection of men for positions in the church, but also in
the choice of agents to manage business affairs, such as
the directors of "Zion's Co-operative Mercantile Institu-
tion," an immense wholesale establishment, his judg-
ment seemed unerring. That his word was law in Utah,
in state as well as in church matters, was patent to
every one. The strange thing was that the men he thus
controlled were not "weaklings" in intellect, or inex-
perienced, but men of brain force, thorough knowl-
edge of affairs, and who would have been regarded as
strong men in any community. Such men as Clawson,

121

Hooper, Jennings, Gen. Eldridge, formerly president of
the Deseret National Bank, Farr, Godbe, Gen. Burton of
the militia, Gen, Wells, former mayor, George A. Smith,
Little, Hills and others I might mention, were all level-
headed, shrewd, aggressive and successful men.

One of the remarkable schemes inaugurated at an-
early time by Governor Young was the "Perpetual Emi-
gration Fund" of the church, to bring to Utah emigrant
converts to the Mormon church from foreign countries,
mostly from Europe and Great Britian. This fund has
always been large, being a percentage of the annual
tithing paid by the members of the church. The mis-
sionaries (all men), sent out to all parts of Ihe world, re-
ceived no pay for their services. When I was in Utah
there were about one thousand thus employed. The
usual term of service was three years: The converts,
when desiring to emigrate were sent to some sea-
port in the United States, and from there in charge of
an agent or missionary were taken to Utah. Probably"
three-fourths of all these emigrants were from the labor-
ing classes, and a large part people utterly destitute and-
belonging to the very lowest classes. Upon their arrival
in Utah, if the head of a family, he was sent to some
locality selected by the managers, where he was placed in
charge of the bishop of the district, put upon a piece of
land ten to twenty acres in extent, an adobe house was
built for him, a yoke of oxen, a wagon, a cow and a few
pigs and sheep were given, or sold to him on long credit.
The bishop or his agent taught him when and how to-
plant his seed, how to cultivate the soil, irrigate his
crops, etc. By this careful training these emigrants be-
came in a few years well-to-do farmers. Such of the
emigrants as had trades were sent out and put to work
in places where they were needed. Single persons were
given employment on farms or in factories. The schools

122

in the territory were numerous and fairly good. This
system of emigration had then been going on successfully
for nearly twenty years, and is still carried on. It was esti-
mated in 1868 that nearly one-third of the population
of the territory had been brought into it by the aid of
the Emigration fund of the church. However objec-
tionable Mormon ism may have been to the average citi-
zen of the United States, one thing must be clear to him,
and that is that the moral, intellectual, and certainly the
worldly condition of the emigrant has been immensely
improved. And here let me say that in my two years'
stay in Salt Lake City I never saw so little open
immorality in a city of 20,000 inhabitants as in
that city, and I will add that when the people
of that Territory made their returns to the United
States Assessor they were, I believe, as fair and honest in
making them as the people of any other state or terri-
tory. Moreover, I was seldom the guest of a Mormon
family in any part of Utah, which did not have prayers
offered at least once a day, and no meal was taken with-
out the blessing being asked at table by the head of the
family. I am no apologist for Mormonism, nor for its
creed or practices, but the facts 1 have stated should not
be ignored by the Christian and philanthropist. But
few of their disagreements are ever taken to the courts
of justice. They are usually settled by mutual friends.
The creed of the Mormon church is a very singular
one. In some of its essentials it is not unlike that of
many of our evangelical churches. When I went to
Utah I resolved to familiarize myself with its creed. I
had access to one of the best libraries in the city and
began to study carefully the works of Parley Pratts,
"Key to Theology," "Celestial Marriage" and "Material-
ism," and the standard works of the church, viz: "The
Doctrines," "Covenant" and the "Book of Mormon.'.

123

The last named has never supplanted the Bible in the
Mormon church. It is an addenda, much as the Apuc-
rapha of the Bible, which has always been regarded as a
portion of the sacred writings by certain theologians, and
is a history of what is claimed to have been a portion of
the ancient Hebrews. A fact not generally known is
that the Book of Mormon strictly forbids concubinage
and the marrying of more than one wife. Polygamy
was revealed to the head of the Mormon church in the
latter part of the '40s, but was not given to that body
until 1850.

On inquiry I found that the creed of the church
had never been formulated, so I set about the rather
difficult task of doing it and brought it out under twenty
heads or articles. In brief, the church of "Jesus Christ
of the Latter Day Saints" believes and teaches the doc-
trine of the Trinity, of future reward and punishment,
faith and good works necessary to salvation, the second
coming of Christ, and also materialism, [t does not be-
lieve in original sin — that in "Adam's fall we sinned all."
It believes in an intermediate place to which all at death
go, and where the true gospel is preached. All who ac-
cept this gospel will be saved, and all who reject it will
be eternally damned. It believes in miracles and the
healing of the sick by prayer and the laying on of hands,
in polygamy, in celestial marriage, and that God now re-
veals his will to his chosen people as in the days of old.
The belief in celestial marriage is not accepted generally
by the church, nor is that in regard to polygamy, notably
by the Joseph Smith branch of the Mormon church. I
placed my summary of the creed of the church in the
hands of Elder George Q. Cannon, one of the most
learned theologians in the church, for revision, who.
after careful reading, said it was all right, except that the
doctrine of celestial marriage was not generally accepted
by the church.

124

Twenty years before I went to Utah the Mormons-
made their advent into the Salt Lake valley and began
the process of reclaiming an arid wilderness in the fast-
nesses of the mountains. Twenty years of judiciously
directed work had wrought wonders. Many of the val-
leys in the mountains in all parts of that widely extend-
ed territory had been made to bloom like a garden, and
the inhabitants appeared to be healthy, prosperous and
contented. When I came there the friction between the
Mormons and Gentiles in Salt Lake City had to a great
extent ceased. After the Mormon troubles with the gov-
ernment in 1856, sometimes called the 'Mormon Rebell-
ion," while Brigham Young was territorial governor,,
and United States troops were stationed at Camp Doug-
las, near Salt Lake City, there came with them man y
Gentiles, directly and indirectly connected with the
army, and many others to engage in trading, to practice
their professions, with some sporting men and women of
questionable character. The Mormons, when in control
of affairs in the years before had prohibited the sale and
manufacture of spirituous and malt liquors. The Gen-
tiles began to do both. Serious trouble followed and
much bad blood was engendered, When I arrived there
ten years later, although there was still much friction
between the factions, matters were comparatively quiet.
That the Mormons had been harsh and unfair in their
treatment of resident Gentiles during the earlier part of
the twenty years is no doubt true.

It must not be forgotten, however, that the Mor-
mons sought out this remote mountain region to escape
what they deemed persecution in Ohio, Missouri arid
Illinois, where they could worship God in peace and ac-
cording to the dictates of their consciences. The Mor-
mon church was organized at Kirtland, Ohio, in the
early '30s. They claim that they were not well received or

125

treated kindly by that people. A portion of them, led by
Brigham Young, removed to Far West, Mo. There
they were treated worse than in Ohio, and were expelled
from the state by order of the governor, who threatened
to use the militia of the state to enforce his order of ex-
pulsion. From Far West and other places in Missouri
they went in a body to Hancock county, 111., locating
chiefly at Nauvoo, where they erected a costly church
or massive edifice known as the "Temple." They in-
creased rapidly in numbers and wealth and became a
potent political power. The "Prophet and Seer," Joseph
.Smith, was at the head of the church. Serious disagree-
ments arose between the Mormons and the citizens of
Nauvoo and the adjacent towns, ending in open conflict.
'The state, through its governor, sent militia to the dis-
turbed district. Mob violence followed, and Joseph
.Smith and hi? brother Hyrum were murdered while
under arrest and in prison and the lives of leading Mor-
mons were threatened. They were notified that they
must leave or take the consequence. They might not
.always have acted wisely or well since settling in Nauvoo
and its vicinity. Some of them may have acted badly,
•but the conduct of their townsman ani neighbors can-
not be palliated or justified. Moreover, it must be
borne in mind that in all these years polygamy was not
.a part of the Mormon creed, and was not practiced by
them.

At last the Mormons, numbering some 16,000 souls,
•heeding the counsels of citizens of the state who desired
•to put an end to this conflict, determined to leave and
seek some country where they would be free from the an-
noyances and, in some instances, persecutions^ which
they had been subjected for fifteen years. Many of the
Mormons, who could not or would not obey the scripture
injunction to "forgive your enemies" left Illinois full of

126

wrath and revengeful. Judge John Moses, in his ad-
mirable and comprehensive History of Illinois, recently
published, gives a full account of the conflict between
the Mormons and anti-Mormons at Nauvoo and their
expulsion from the state. He says: "The assassination
of Joseph Smith and the expulsion of the Mormons from
the state, including many thousands of innocent women
and children, cannot be justified on any principle of
natural equity or just government. Their unwelcome
presence, made so by the offensive conduct of their lead-
ers, however intolerable, ought not to have subjected
them as a body to evictional proceedings. High-handed
and indefensible as these measures were, however, they
proved to be beneficial to the Mormons rather than in-
jurious." While in their mountain home, where they
were "masters of the situation," they organized secret
bands, ostensibly for self protection, such as the "Dan-
ites." or "avenging angels," of which so much has been
said and written and of which Governor Young was
said to have been the commander or controlling spirit,
but strenuously denied by all leading Mormons. This
"Danite" band did not exist when I lived in Utah. At
least, I could not learn of its existence, although several
men were pointed out to me as former members of the
band.

At Salt Lake City I found in the office of Superin-
tendent of Indian Agencies Mr. Franklin Head, of Wis-
consin, who, with his family, had come there the year
before. He was a man oi broad education, genial man-
ner and an efficient officer. For the past score of years
he has lived in Chicago, and is well known as a capital-
ist and banker and a leader in literary circles. In the
spring of 1868 the great Mormon tabernacle, capable of
seating 10,000 people, was completed. Mr. Head, as
well as myself, believed that it would be a good idea to

127

hold a mass meeting in it and celebrate the approaching
4th of July. The leading Mormons agreed with us, and
a great celebration with a mass meeting was the result.
Governor Durkee presided and Mr. Head was the prin-
cipal speaker. His address of nearly an hour was able,
eloquent and patriotic. I then addressed the meeting
for half an hour and was followed by Governor Young
and Elder George A. Smith. The militia and many
thousands of citizens and Sunday school children paraded
the streets, led by two bands of music, just previous to
the meeting at the tabernacle. After the meeting Mayor
Wells served an elaborate lunch at the city hall, to
which were invited some fifty gentlemen, including the
city, territorial and federal officers and leading Mormon
and Gentile citizens. Several brief patriotic addresses
were made. I learn that the day has been celebreted in
Salt Lake City and other leading towns in the territory
ever since.

Ex-Senator Charles Durkee, who presided over the
mass meeting at the tabernacle, was one of the early
settlers of Wisconsin, served in the territorial legislature,
and in 1855 was elected to the United States senate as a
Freesoiler. He was appointed Governor of Utah in
1865, was a quiet man of large and varied experience in
public affairs, of kindly disposition and of sturdy integ-
rity. His administration as Governor of Utah was ac-
ceptable to the authorities at Washington.

In the summer of 1867 I made the acquaintance of
Waah-Kie, chief of the Shoshone Indians, whose reserva-
tion had been in Idaho, but at that time was in the
Uintah mountains in Northern Utah. He was about 50
years of age and a splendid specimen of a man, over six
feet in height and as straight as an arrow. His face
below the eyebrows was not unlike that of Benjamin
Franklin. His head was large and well set on his

128

shoulders, and his forehead broad but somewhat reced-
ing. His eyes were mild and expressive and his smile
pleasant. In disposition he was gentle, firm and brave.
He boasted, and truthfully it is believed, that he had
never knowingly killed a "pale face." In many wars
waged against neighboring tribes he always proved him-
self a wily, fearless and able chieftain, who had won
many a hotly contested battle. His tribe, chiefly through
his influence, was always friendly to the whites, and
often proved of great value to the United States govern-
ment as an ally in wars with other Indian tribes.
It received its annuities at Fort Bridger, a military
post 100 miles east of Salt Lake City.

In the summer of 1868, while visiting with my wife,
army officers at Fort Bridger, Wash-Kie came there with
a portion of his tribe and camped in the vicinity of the
Fort. I met him and he invited me to come and see
him at his camp. I found him in his tepee (wigwam)
and he greeted me cordially. He told me through an
interpreter, that he wras feeling badly over the condition
of his only daughter, who was seriously ill in the next
•tepee. My wife, who obtained his consent to see her,
went to the tepee and spent some time with her. She
•was a sweet girl of some 18 years of age and evidently
in the last stages of pulmonary consumption. With
{he assistance of a young Indian woman who had lived
in a Mormon family she was able to converse with her.
The chief, while speaking to me of his daughter, whose
mother was dead, and his love for her and the certainty
of her death, tears were in his eyes. He seemed to have
faith and believed he would meet her again in the happy
hunting grounds to which she was going. My call on
Wash-Kie was on a Sunday morning, and I remarked to
him that his camp seemed very quiet and asked him if
he observed Sunday as the white man did. He replied

129

that he tried to keep his young men in camp on Sunday,
and never allowed them to indulge in games or in horse-
racing and that he never sent them out on the chase un-
less they were out of meat He spoke of the Indian
wars and deprecated them. He alluded with evident
feeling to the dishonest practices of many of the govern-
ment Indian agents in dealing with the red men, and
ad'Jed that he thought the troubles between the Indians
and the whites, ending so often in bloody wars, were the
result of their bad practices. When I was taking my
leave of him he asked me for one of my photographs —
one taken while I was in the army, which I happened to
have — and I gave it to him. I never met Wash-Kie
again. His daughter died a few days after we left Port
Bridger. Wash-Kie died a few years ago. Gen. Sher-
idan once remarked that "there may have been good In-
dians, but I guess all the good Indians are dead." I
have no great faith in the average Indian of to-day nor
admiration for his character, but I think Wash-Kie, the
chief of the Shoshones, was not only a good Indian, but
one who could in truth be said to have been "a noble
red man." I will add that the Mormons and this tribe
of Indians, once powerful, but at that time reduced to
less than 3,000 souls, were always friendly. Many of the
children of these Indians, orphans usually, were taken
into Mormon families and educated and the boys taught
useful trades.

At Salt Lake City I found a Protestant Episcopal
Church organized, with the Rev. Mr. Foote as rector.
The services were held in one of the public halls and
were attended by army officers stationed at Fort Doug-
las and their families, Federal officials and other gentile
citizens. Before I left the city in 1869, a handsome little
church edifiice had been erected and dedicated. Rev. Mr.
FoDte, who for a couple of years had been a chaplain of a

130

New York regiment in the civil" war, was a clergyman of
more than ordinary ability, earnestly devoted to his work
ol attractive manner an 1 popular. I saw a good deal of
him socially, during my two years stay in Salt Lake City
and became much attached to him. Bishop Tuttle of the
Protestant Episcopal Diocese of Utah, Montana and Idaho
and whose wife was a sister of Mr. Foote. made Salt Lake
City his home a part of the time, and I became well ac-
quainted with him. He was a conspicuous figure in his
diocese. Of splendid physique, over six feet in height,,
straight as a Norway pine, with a fine and well poised
head, bright eyes and an expressive and benignant face.
He was a forceful speaker and had withal a rare faculty
of drawing men to him. As a result he was popular in
his diocese with all classes, especially with the miners
and ranchmen, and his work of organizing churches,,
{usually mission churches) in the cities and towns of his
widely extended field was most successful. Bishop Tut-
tle was born and educated in the State of New York. An.
athlete when a boy and young man, he became proficient
in the "manly art of self defense." A good story is told
of him which I will relate. In Montana the Bishop was
traveling in one of Wells and Fargo's fine six horse
coaches with two ranchmen and a woman and small
child as traveling companions. At nightfall some slight
accident brought the coach to a stop. The driver, phy-
sically a fine specimen of a man, and widely known as a
clever pugilist, was abusing everybody and everything
in language coarse and profane. The Bishop expostulat-
ed with him, reminding him of the presence of a lady.
He was told to mind his own business. The Bishop's
coat flew off and in less than two minutes the stalwart
driver was laid out by the roadside in the sage bush. He
became much subdued, regained his feet, repaired the-
damage which was slight, and drove on to the next

131

station in silence. The driver told his friends at the
station that he had a champion pugilist aboard. He ad-
ded "I was out of humor about that harness of the wheel
horses, talked pretty rough in the presence of a lady pas-
senger, and the fellow interfered. I told him to mind
his own business when he just walked into me and in less

than two minutes knocked h 1 out of me. I would

like to know who he is. I would give three m-mths-
wages for that left hand swing of his." The story of that
little episode got out among the miners and ranchmen
and for a long time afterwards this class of men with an
occasional sporting man would go many miles to hear
and see the fighting Bishop. I have often met Bishop-
Tuttle since our Utah days. He is now the Bishop of the
diocese of Missouri.

In Salt Lake City among the Gentile or non-mor-
mon po ulation, I found many men of ability, of large
experience and successful in their various vocation. Of
the three judges of the Federal Court, the Chief Justice
Judge Titus of Pensylvania, was an eminent lawyer and
a learned jurist of sturdy integrity as were also his twa
associates Drake and McCurdy. Colonel John A. Clark,
an old Illinoisan whom I had known many years, was the
Surve}7or General, tilled the position most acceptably, and
Attorney Marshall the nephew of the great Tom Marshall
of Kentucky, and Bankers Hussey and McCornick and Dr.
Hamilton, a friend and classmate of the late distinguishd
practitioner, Dr. H. A. Johnson of Chicago, whose wife
(Mrs. Hamilton) was an Illinois girl and the organist of
the Episcopal church, whose skill as an organist was of
a high order; Dr. Anderson, Rev. Mr. Haskins, the able
assistant of Rector Foote in the Episcopal church; Mr.
George Scott, a gentleman of culture and a successful
merchant; the Walker Brothers, bankers, wholesale mer-
chants and extensive mining operators, and formerly of

132

the Mormon faith; Theodore Tracy, manager of the ex-
press and banking business of Wells and Fargo, and
many of the officers of the United States army stationed
at Camp Douglas near the city, who always treated us
with marked courtesy. Outside of Salt Lake City, in
such large towns as Ogden, Brigham City, Provo and
Echo City, but few Gentiles were found, and very few in
any part of the territory engaged in farming and manu-
facturing. Of late years Ogden and Echo City, located
on the Union Pacific railroad, have attracted non-Mor-
mon merchants, professional men and men of other vo-
cations.

There came to Salt Lake City in the summer of
1867 Colonel Alex K. McClure, of Chambersburg, Pa.,
who was accompanied by his wife and daughter. He
was a distinguished lawyer, editor and politician, and
his object in visiting Utah on his way to San Francisco
was, as he informed me, to study for himself the problem
of Mormonism. I was with him much of the time for
ten days. He was a courteous and most companionable
gentleman of wide and varied information, a close ob-
server of men and things, and, as I thought, disposed to
treat every one with fairness. My wife was with his
charming wife and daughter much of the time engaged
in general sightseeing. Colonel McClure afterwards
made a national reputation as the able editor of the
"Philadelphia Times," which he has edited for over a
quarter of a century. It is seldom that I have met in
my long life a man who impressed me more with his
true manliness than did the gallant colonel.

In the month of August, 1867, Gen. G. M. Dodge,
my old army friend and the engineer in chief of the
Union Pacific railroad, with his assistant engineer and
secretary, while making a preliminary survey of the
route from Cheyenne to Salt Lake City, arrived with his

133

party, in which were Gen. John A. Rawlins, my former
townsman and afterwards Secretary of War under Presi-
dent Grant, John E. Corwith, a Galena banker, and
Major Dunn, of theregular army,escorted by a squadron
of cavalry commanded by Colonel Mizner, of the United
States army. The party remained in Salt Lake City
some ten days, the cavalry being quartered at Camp
Douglas. The General and his party were the recipients
of much attention, both from Mormons and Gentiles,
who vied with each other to do them honor. Gen. Dodge
had from the first been an earnest advocate for the con-
struction of this great national highway. After he had
finished the preliminary survey he was in favor, I un-
derstood, of running the road from the mouth of Echo
Canon up Parley Canon, and by a tunnel through the
Wasatch range to the head of Emigration Canon, and
thence to Salt Lake City and westward south of Great Salt
lake, there to connect with the Central Pacific, which
was then in process of construction from San Francisco.
This route would have shortened the distance and have
proved of incalculable advantage to Salt Lake City. But
other counsels prevailed, and the road from Echo City
went down Weber Canon to Ogden City, and then in a
northerly direction to the north end of the lake, where
it connected with the Central Pacific road. This great
enterprise was pushed through from Cheyenne across the
Laramie Plains with incredible rapidity, and by the
month of May, 1869. was completed. The last spike
(gold) was driven in, uniting the two roads, with impos-
ing ceremonies, the 12th day of May. I was invited to
participate in the ceremonies, but had to leave for Eu-
rope before that date, which I very much regretted.

In the early September of that year it became neces-
sary for me to visit officially my assistant assessors in
the northern part of the territory, in which lay the great

134

•valleys of Carhe and Bear Lake, where were located a
number of flourishing towns, and which comprises over
200.000 ac-res of land, all susceptible of cultivation and
easily irrigated by the mountain streams. With a good
span of horses and carriage, a companied by my wife, I
started on my tour of inspection. At Ogden City we
were overtaken by Governor Young, ten of the twelve
apostles of the church, and a large number of elders and
deacons, in many cases accompanied by one wife, going
north to make their annual official visit to the churches
in that portion of the territory. There were some thirty
or forty carriages in the procession, headed by Governor
Young and Amelia, one of his wive**. On the Govern-
or's cordial invitation we joined the party. I was de-
sirous to see how these annual visitations were conducted,
and as their route and mine were the same, I accepted
his invitation. From Ogden City to about seven miles
from Willard City we were escorted by a small company
of mounted militia, who, at a given point, were relieved
by a similar body and escorted to Willard City. From
the outskirts of the town a band of music led us to
the public square. A sumptuous lunch was served in
one of the public halls, after which all the faithful as-
sembled in a large church, where addresses were made
by the Governor and others of the party. About the
middle of the afternoon, escorted by the mounted militia
of the forenoon, we started for Brigharn City, some ten
miles distant, and when half way were met by the
mounted militia of that place and escorted into the town,
when we were again met by a band of music. The vis-
itors were all assigned to quarters for the night in the
homes of residents of the town. The evening exercises
in a large church or tabernacle were interesting, and ad-
dresses were made by the Governor, Orson Pratt, George
Q,. Cannon and others. As the day was a holiday, every-

135

body turned out to meet and greet the visitors and to
bid them God speed on their departure.

The program of that first day after leaving Ogden
City was substantially carried out for four succeeding
days, the visitors stopping and holding meetings at
Logan, Providence, Franklin, St. Charles and Paris in
Bear Lake Valley and other places, some of the faithful
having come a score of miles to see the visitors and at-
tend the meetings. The people I saw looked fairly in-
telligent, healthy, and were well dressed and well behaved.
Great preparations were always made, for these annual
visitations of the officials of the church were highly
prized by the people and were of great benefit to them
aside from the religious instruction imparted, for much
practical advice was given and many valuable sugges-
tions made as to the best methods of cultivating their
crops and irrigating them, and how best to care for their
herds of cattle and sheep. I attended but few of their
meetings, as I had my official duties to look after, but
learned much of the Mormons as they were in
their homes in the towns and villages we visited.
In the spring time Brigham Young, with his apos-
tles and elders, made a visit to the southern part of
Utah, similar to, but less imposing than the one I have
just described. The semi-annual general conferences of
the church are held in the tabernacle at Salt Lake City
in the first weeks of April and October. A part of the
exercises of the general conference are now held in the
"Temple" recently completed, an elaborate and expen-
sive church edifice which was over thirty years in
building.

In the early autumn of that year, having business
in the "states" that required my personal attention, I
started east on one of the Wells and Fargo coaches, and
had as traveling companions the great actors, Lawrence

136

Barrett and John McCullough. They were partners in a
theatrical enterprize, viz: the leasing of the California
theater in San Francisco, and were then on their way
east to secure a suitable corps of actors. I had never met
either of them before and during the five days we were
together in the coach and car I became well acquainted
with them. In disposition and temperament they were
opposites. Barrett was a small, quiet, clerical looking
man, usually reticent, of keen intellect, of high literary
culture and a remarkably interesting talker. McCul-
lough had a superb athletic physique, a manly and ex-
pressive face, and was genial and generous to a fault.
He had fascinating manners, and as a result was a gen-
eral favorite.

In after years I often met these men socially and
otherwise and came to know them well. Barrett drew
around him the scholar, the professional man, the artist
and the man of letters at his summer home on the At-
lantic coast, where he spent his vacations. He had as
guests men with tastes similar to his own. Among oth-
ers found at his home occasionally was my old friend
and pastor, Prof. David Swing, of Chicago. McCullough
had as companions, in and out of his profession, men
like himself, bright, keen-witted, full of bonhommie and
much given to the enjoyment of the good things of this
life. Barrett survived McCullough by many years.
McCullough died in the prime of life, when his star was
in the zenith. Alas, poor John, he was his own greatest
enemy.

The annual muster of the militia of Northern Utah
was held at Camp Wasatch, near Salt Lake City, in No-
vember, 1868. Upon the invitation of Gen. Wells; com-
mander-in-chief of the militia of the territory, I attended
the drill and review the last day of the encampment.
The militia numbered about 1,500, about one half being

137

mounted and drilled as cavalry. The troops were well
officered, well armed, fairly well drilled and evidently
well disciplined. Gen. Burton, the efficient collector of
United States revenue for the District of Utah, com-
manded the brigade of the northern district, then at
Camp Wasatch. Among the officers and men were a
number who had seen service in the Mexican war as
members of the Mormon battalion.

On a summer day of the last year of my stay in
Utah, Governor Young invited me to ride with him to
his dairy farm, some three or four miles south of the
city, which invitation I accepted. His carriage, a spa-
cious and substantial one, was drawn by a pair of fine
large mules. The day was a perfect one and the Govern-
or was in one of his best moods. On our way to his farm
we discussed farming and manufacturing, more especially
the manufacture of woolen cloths for both men's and
women's wear. He wore clothes of home manufactured
cloths, as did many other citizens in and out of the
church. There were several woolen mills in different
parts of the territory, in all of which he had more or
less pecuniary interest, ?»nd which manufactured almost
enough fabrics to supply the home demand.

His dairy farm, a large one for that country, was
managed by one of his wives, a middle-aged woman,
who superintended it most successfully. All the milk,
butter and cheese used by his five or six households
were obtained from this farm. The large herd of milch
cows belonging there were Jerseys. A fine lunch was
served, after which we inspected the creamery, etc., and
then started back to the city. Something was said in
connection with the management of the farm that
brought up the subject of polygamy, which subject I had
discussed with him before. I began by remarking that
when I saw the general prosperity of the people of Utah,

133

and how much had been accomplished in the last twenty
years and the possibilities of the future, it made me sad
to think that serious trouble, perhaps in the near future,
was inevitable on account of the practice of polygamy by
the people of Utah and sanctioned by the church. I said:
''Governor, you know as well as I do that in these latter
<3ays all civilized peoples have declared against polygamy
and in favor of monogamy. It is only the semi-civilized
or barbarous ones that now practice it. You are here, a
handful of people in these remote valleys, with civil-
ized people all around you and crowding upon you who
regard the practice of polygamy as a blot on the escutch-
eon of your fair territory. How long will you be able to
resist the tide before it overwhelms you ?" He listened
to me attentively, and with a serious look replied: "My
friend, you know that we are simply obeying a revela-
tion from God, which we hold as sacred and binding as
anything in the sacred scriptures: I, too, foresee trouble,
but if we were to give up polygamy simply because we
feared trouble, however serious, you would look upon us
as moral cowards. Therefore, what else can we do ?" I
turned to him and said: "Governor, get another revela-
tion doing away with the practice." To this he re-
plied: "Should such a revelation come to us, we would
obey it with more alacrity than we did the one ordaining
it. So while the revelation stands we must obey it and
trust in God to protect us, as he has often done in the
past."

He then began to speak of himself, his relations to
the people of the church of the Latter Day Saints, as
their spiritual head under God, of his family (then com-
posed of sixteen wives and fifty-one children). He said .
"You know how hard I am working to make my people
what they should be, good Christians and good citizens,
and how hard I work and pray, day and night, to bring

139

up my children, whom I love as much as you do yours,
in the fear of the Lord." As he was speaking of his chil-
dren and his love for them tears stood in his eyes. I
have often been asked: "Do you believe Brigham Young
was sincere in his belief in the revelation ordaining
polygamy?" I have always answered, "Yes, I believe he
was sincere.

Over twenty years have elapsed since m}r conversa-
tion with Governor Young as given above. The world
has moved, and Utah is now one of the states of the
Union, with a constitution prohibiting the practice of
polygamy.

CHAPTER IX.

UNITED STATES CONSUL AT BRUSSELS, 1869-72.

In the early part of June, 1869, with my wife and
daughter, I sailed from Nesv York for Liverpool on my
way to Brussels, Belgium, to fill the position of United
States Consul at that place. I did not visit Brussels
while in Europe in 1859, and now saw it for the first
time. It had a population of less than 200,000, but
with its suburbs, nearly 250,000. It was well built, hav-
ing many magnificent buildings, including the Royal
palaces, extensive boulevards and public parks. A mile
and a half from the palace, at the end of the grand Ave-
nue Louise, was the great park of 500 acres, being a
part of the old forest of Lasigne, which once extended
from the city to within a few miles from the battlefield
of Waterloo, twelve miles away. The language spoken
by the better classes was French, and as pure French as
that spoken in Paris. The lower classes, especially in
Northern Belgium, spoke a mixed language called Wal-
loon. All the official business of the government and
all the proceedings of parliament were conducted in.
French.

I found the consulate in charge of Judge Aaron
Goodrich of Minnesota, then acting as secretary of the
United States Legation. The United States Minister
resident, Henry G. Sanford, who had filled the position
for eight years, was well known in the diplomatic circles
of Europe, having been an attache and secretary at
Paris and other legations for twenty-five years. He had

141

the reputation of being one of the best informed in mat-
ters of diplomacy of any American representative in
Europe. He had great wealth and lived in Brussels in
princely style, and was a favorite in the diplomatic
corps of 'that capital and with the government officials
as well. He was, withal, a fine linguist. He was suc-
ceeded the next month by J. Russell Jones of Chicago, a
former Galenian and an intimate friend of Gen. U. S.
Grant. He took up his residence in Brussels under
some disadvantages. He did not speak the French lan-
guage, and being a man of considerable means, but of
no great wealth, he could not afford to keep up his prede-
cessor's style of living, As a result the common people
looked upon him as a "pauvre Americain" compared
with the outgoing minister, when, in fact, the incoming
official was the abler of the two, and, in point of admin-
istrative force, far the superior.

The civil war in the United States increased the
amount of Belgium's exportation^ to that country, be-
ginning with 100,000 or more Belgian muskets, bought
for the Union army in 1861-2. The exportation of laces,
gloves, cloths, iron, plate glass, etc., increased year by
year, so that when I assumed the duties of consul the
business of the consulate was one of the largest of any of
the inland United States consulates in Europe. Nor was
this increase confined to Brussels, but it extended to the
United States consulates at Antwerp, Liege, Ghent,
Charleroi and Namurs. Belgium, with an area of 11,000
square miles and its population in 1869 of 5,000,000,
was and is eminently a manufacturing country, and the
products of its manufactories find their way to all the
markets of the world. I was formally presented to the
King and Queen some months after my arrival at Brus-
sels. The King impressed me as a man of much natural
ability, broadly educated in English as well as French,

142

and shrewd and practical. He had the reputation of
being thoroughly Belgian, sincere and indefatigable in
his efforts to promote the best interests of his kingdom,
and especially to adopt and carry out measures to benefit
the masses. Since then his policy has been unchanged,
and he has done much for "Little Belgium" in planting
successfully colonies in the Congo region of Western
Africa. The Queen was dignified, graceful and good
looking, without being handsome, highly accomplished,
and had the reputation of being kind and sympathetic.
She was an Austrian and a sister-in-law of the unfortun-
ate Prince Maximillian, whose tragic death in Mexico
brought so much grief to his family and friends, and es-
pecially to his brave and heroic wife. It is not often
that a king and queen can reign so long and have the un-
wavering support of their subjects. It can be said with
truth that the nation has made great progress in every-
thing that has marked the advance of civilization in the
last half of the Nineteenth century under their wise rule.

Leopold I. of Belgium, when reigning, had as chief
of his military staff, Baron Bormann, a Saxon, and a
classmate in the military school of Saxony of Leopold I.,
and who at his death was retained in his former position
with advanced rank by Leopold II. He was a distin-
guished army officer, especially as an artillerist, and
wrote some valuable treatises on that arm of the service.
The venerable baron was an accomplished linguist and a
favorite with all Americans who had the good fortune to
make his acquaintance. He was frequently a guest at
my house, and all the members of my family, as well as
myself, were very fond of the genial old general.

In Brussels we found a large colony of English,
numbering some 2,000 or more. Among them were a
number of retired army officers; men of fine attainments,
wide experience and very companionable. I greatly en-

143

joyed anc! appreciated their society. The greater part of
the colony was composed of families who resided there
for the purpose of educating their children in the excel-
lent French and English schools of the place. Not a
few, however, were people of a moderate income, who-
could live in Brussels comfortably at a much less ex-
pense than at home. Ordinarily few Americans re-
sided in Brussels, although there were American chil-
dren in its schools and convents.

One thing added much to the pleasure of our resi-
dence in Brussels, and that was the proximity of friends
in diplomatic life in neighboring countries The United
States Embassador to France, the Hon. E. B. Washburne,
was in Paris with his family, only six hours distant by
railroad. The Hon. Horace Rublee of Wisconsin, an
old-time friend, was Minister Resident at Berne, Switzer-
land. Before the civil war he was for a long time the
editor of the "Madison Journal," of Wisconsin, the official
organ of the Republican party. After his return from
the Swiss mission he became the editor and proprietor of
the "Milwaukee Sentinel," one of the leading papers of
the state, and continued so until his death a few years
ago. He possessed rare ability as an editor, was a
graceful, forceful and keenly discriminating writer, and
was sometimes spoken of as the "Horace Greeley" of the
Northwest. Gen. T. H. Gorham, a retired banker of
Marshall, Mich., a man of fine attainments, of manly
bearing and of engaging manners, was the United States
Minister Resident at The Hague. Herman Kreismann,
formerly of Chicago, the United States Consul General at
Berlin, was in 1861 appointed Secretary of Legation at
Berlin under United States Minister Norman B. Judd of
Illinois, and alter his retirement from the consulate in
1877 settled in Berlin and became president of the
board of directors of the surface or Tramway company

144

of Berlin. Geii. Adam Badeau, Gen. Grant's military
secretary during the civil war, was United States Consul
General at London, and Gen. Merideth Reed of New
York, Consul General at Paris. There was naturally a
good deal of social visiting between these officials, which
made it pleasant for all.

One of the first distinguished Americans I met at
Brussels was United States Senator Zachariab Chandler
at the residence of Minister Sanford at a dinner party.
The senator had just come from Washington and it did me
good to hear him, in his clear and forcible manner, tell
of political and other events that had just transpired at
the nation's capital.

In January, 1870, upon the invitation of Embassa-
dor Washburne, my wife and myself, with some twenty
other Americans, were presented to the Emperor Napoleon
III. and the Empress Eugenia at the palace of the Tuil-
leries. This court ball and reception given by their maj-
esties, became notable as having been the last one given
before the downfall of the Empire, six months later.
Among those presented besides ourselves were Mrs. N. P.
Banks, Hon. Nicholas Fish, afterwards, United States
Minister to Switzerland, and wife, and Colonel Wilson
and wife. Colonel Wilson was a distinguished surgeon
in the civil war and ex-United States Consul at Antwerp,
Belgiu'n. The representatives of some six or eight other
countries presented some of their countrymen, the Eng-
lish and Americans being the most numerous. The
form of presentation was simple. The Emperor passed
in front of the line of guests accompanied by a repre-
sentative, who presented his countrymen, giving the
name of each. The Emperor simply bowed without
speaking. The Empress Eugenia followed some five
minutes later and the guests were presented to her
in the same way. Her manner was most gracious,

145

and she occasionally stopped and had a few words with
some of her guests. She had a brief conversation with
Mrs. Gen. Banks and others of our pirty. She was con-
ceded to be one of the brightest and most beautiful
ladies of the royal circles of Europe, and had just re-
turned from Egypt, where she had witnessed the cere-
monies attending the opening of the Suez canal, and
wore a magnificent silk dress of a new color called "eau
•du nile." The ladies of our party were all charmed
with the Empress, and all regarded her as being, as a
lady of the party expressed it, "just too lovely for an}7-
thing.

In the early sum ;nar of 1870 the Hon. Bsn Wood,
ox-member of congress, of New York city, came to Brus-
sels, accompanied by his wife. He was the editor of the
"New York News" and a brother of Fernando Wood,
the distinguished member of congress and politician of
that city. He was in Europe for his health, which was
much impaired by overwork. I found him an exceed-
ingly companionable man, of large experience and of ex-
tensive acquaintance with men of affairs in the United
States. I enjoyed his society during his few weeks' so-
journ in Brussels. He died soon after his return home.

Not long after my arrival at Brussels I received a
call from George Catlin, the great American painter of
Indian portraits, who, much to my surprise, informed me
that Brussels was his home and had been for some time.
I had seen Mr. Catlin just before the Blackhawk war
of 1832 at the Indian agency at Gratiot's Grove. He was
a young artist then, just starting out in his work, almost
a lifelong one, viz: painting the portraits of Indian chiefs
and scenes in Indian life. Through the good offices of
the Indian agent, Colonel Gratiot, he succeeded in paint-
ing the portraits of several of the chiefs of the Winne-
bagos and Pottawatamies. Before the civil war he had

146

succeeded in getting portraits of the chiefs of nearly all
the Indian tribes in the Northwest whose reservations
were north of the Ohio and Arkansas rivers, spending
several years among the Mandan, Blackfeet arid other
tribes on the upper Missouri and Yellowstone rivers^
When he began his great work he had a rival in the art-
ist Stanley, who gained a high reputation as a portrait
painter, but who did not have the industry, persistency
or energy of his competitor, Catlin, and failed to achieve
great success. Mr. Catlin had brought together the fin-
est of his life work to Philadelphia. His collection was-
offered to the government at Washington, but lack of
means to purchase at once caused delay. In the mean-
time, Mr. Catlin was so unfortunate as to get into a seri-
ous quarrel with his family and friends. In the midst
of it he left all, and with a light purse went to Brussels-,.
where he took up his residence. When I called upon
him he was living in an obscure part of the city, occu-
pying two small, scantily furnished rxmis. The few
francs a day, required for his living, were obtained by a
little work he did, copying some small-sized paintings he
had representing Indian life, and selling them. When
I asked him why he did not sell some of his larger
paintings stored in Philadelphia and live more comfort-
ably he replied: "As my collection is the largest and
best in the world, I do not intend to break into it, and
will sell it only as a whole, and my price for it is $100,-
000. I feel sure my government will buy it some day at
my price. The English government has made me a
fair offer for it, but I am too much of an American to
permit my collection to go to England or any other for-
eign country." I saw a good deal of this distinguished
artist, who was frequently a guest at my house: He was
a most intelligent man and an entertaining talker, being
full of reminiscences connected with [ndian life. He

147

had lived for years with the Marxian, Blackfeet and
other Indian tribes, taking up with their manner of
living while he was prosecuting his work. He became
much enamoured with the Mandans, a tribe now almost
extinct, which he regarded as the best and noblest tribe
of Indians in the great West. In the latter part of his
working days he spent two years on the Amazon river,
S. A., painting Indian portraits. He died a few years
after I had left Brussels. Before his death his collection
was bought by the government of the United States and
is now on exhibition in the Smithsonian Institution at
Washington. He wrote several interesting books on In-
dian life, habits, customs, etc. In him the red man had
a true friend.

In the early summer of 1870 the relations between
Prussia and France became strained, and on the 16th of
July war was declared by France. The news created
great excitement in Belgium, whose territory abutted on
both countries. The Belgium government at once de-
clared its neutrality, although strongly urged to become
the ally of France. About the first of the month I had
started for a ten days' tour up the Rhine, with my wife
and two lady friends. A few days before war was de-
clared I had returned to Brussels, leaving my ladies at
Hombourg, in Germany, Fearing that travel would be
interdicted via the Khine, I hastily left for Hombourg,
I found that United States Minister Washburne, who was
at Baden Baden, had the day before passed hurriedly
through Hombourg on his way to his legation at Paris.
I returned to Brussels with my ladies without inconven-
ience, but a few days later the lines were closed and all
travel on the Rhine by steamer or railway was stopped,
to the great inconvenience of tourists passing from Ger-
many into France or Belgium, or visa versa.

About the middle of August Gen. Sheridan of the

148

United States army, and his chief of staff, Colonel For-
syth, came to Brussels on their way to the headquarters
of the Prussian army, to remain some time as lookers
on, and not for the purpose of taking part in military
operations. We were all glad to see them. Their stay
was so short that many Americans who desired to pay
their respects to them were unable to do so. Gen. Sher-
idan promised to return to Brussels in two months and
he did so, when the American colony, which was then
quite large, had the opportunity of meeting him at an
evening reception given for him at our apartments.
He was in fine health and spirits, and full of the excit-
ing experiences of the preceding sixty days spent with
the victorious Prussian army. He was enthusiastic in
his praise of that army.

In August the railway route from Brussels to Col-
ogne on the Rhine, into Germany, was opened, and tour-
ists from England and elstwhere could pass through
into Central Europe without detention or inconvenience,
consequently Brussels was constantly crowded with trav-
elers, many of whom were Americans, who, finding
Paris virtually closed to them, decided to do the next
best thing, viz: to stay in Brussels. The siege of Paris
soon followed, when many American tourists chose to
remain in Brussels until winter, or until the siege was
raised.

Early in September the great battle of Sedan was
fought, which proved more than a "Waterloo" to the
French. Emperor Napoleon III. was taken prisoner
with a large part of his army. The Empress, a few days
after fled from Paris in disguise and sought refuge in
Holland. A provisional government was organized in
Paris, republican in form, which government a few days
later was formally recognized by Gen. Grant as President
of the United States. A few days before the battle of

149

Sedan, Minister Washburne sent his wife and children
to Brussels, in order that they might not be compelled to
suffer the inconveniences of the siege. Many other
Americans left at the same time. Mr. Washburne re-
mainrd at his post, and having been ordered to take
charge of the German interests in Paris, at the request
of the Prussian government began to send out of Paris
all German residents of that city, of which there were
many thousands, to Germany by railroad For a time,
two trains every day were sent out of Paris filled with
Germans, who were mostly of the working class. Over
17,000 were thus transported within a few weeks to Ger-
many, going via Brussels to Cologne, on the Rhine.
Many remained in the city, and these, during the long
siege that followed, had frequently to be fed by the Em-
bassy, often in a clandestine way. The action of the
French government in sending out these Germans has
been criticised, but, with the intense aversion of the
French populace to people of that nationality, it was
necessary to do this as a matter of safety to them.

Many Americans remained in Paris, contrary to the
wish and advice of Mr. Washburne, and in consequence
suffered many hardships. Ten days after the battle
of Sedan, with a party of friends, I visited the battle-
field, going from Brussels nearly one hundred miles by
railway and then ten miles by carriage. The sight was
a sad one. The villages near the scene of the conflict
had been destroyed by fire, and the few buildings that
remained were used as hospitals. The field, an extended
one, was torn up by improvised rifle pits, and the ground
in many places was covered with broken guns, parts of
artillery carriages, etc., all showing the terrific nature of
the conflict. I had seen the fields after the battles of
Fort Donelson, Shiloh and Corinth in the civil war of
1861-5, but saw nothing to compare with Sedan. The

150

battle field was a few miles from the Belgium frontier,
and that government, during the battle, held a division
of soldiers just inside the dividing line between France
and Belgium to prevent either army in the contest from
parsing into neutral territory.

The siege of Paris had the effect of filling Brussels
with strangers, many having come from the besieged
city. It was estimated that during the fall of 1870 the
city of Brussels harbored 40,000 strangers. Among them
were many tourists. I remember well a party of Amer-
ican gentlemen who were often seen together, and like
many others there were bent on having a "good time."
They were Hon. John M. Francis, Perry H. Smith, Fred
Woodbridge, Barney Williams and Frank M. Pixley,
who were in Brussels with their families and acknowl-
edged to be the life of the American colony. They were
ever on the qui vive to devise ways to make the stay of
their compatriots in the Belgium capital agreeable, and
in this they were assisted by the untiring efforts of the
courteous and efficient American Minister, J. Russell
Jones. They were all men distinguished when at home
in their various vocations. Mr. Francis had been ap-
pointed by President Grant Minister Resident at Athens,
Greece, and was on his way to assume the duties of that
Legation. He had been the editor and proprietor of the
"Troy (N. Y.) Times," for a score of years, a paper which
had the largest circulation of any in the state, outside of
the city of New York. He was a recognized leader in
the politics of his state. He possessed a keen and well-
trained intellect, much will force and untiring energy.
As a discriminating and forcible writer he had few equals
and at the time of his death, which occurred a few
years ago, he was regarded as the strongest writer of
editorials in his state, and was the last of that remarka-
ble group of editors, of which he was the youngest, mem-

151

ber, composed of Horace Greeley, Thurlow Weed, James
Gordon Bennett, H. C. Raymond and Parke Goodwin.
He was appointed by President Garfield, the Minister
Resident at Lisbon, Portugal, and soon after filled the
position of United States Embassador at Vienna, Aus-
tria. His attainments were many and varied. As a
conversation ilist he was fascinating. He was courte-
ous and of a kindly disposition and popular with all
classes. Trie acj:[uainian33 I tnids with him at that
time ripened into intimacy and we were fast friends to
the end of his life. His wife, whose death preceded his
by several years, was a lady of many accomplishments,
of rare amiability and a graceful and vigorous writer.

Perry H. Smith of Cnicago, was knowa to all rail-
road ru3n, having been for many years the President of
the Chicago & Northwestern Railway. He started life
in Wisconsin as a lawyer, was a msmbsr of the Wiscon-
sin legislature, afcer which hs moved to Chicago and
went into the railroad business with his friend, the Hon.
W. B. Ogden. His railroad affairs brought him into
close relations with the millionaire attorney and railroad
magnate, S. J. Tilden of New York, who later became a
canlidate for the Presiding on the Democratic Ticket.
Mr. Smith, with his family, spent several years in Europe,
daring which time his children were in school at Brus-
sels He was known to nearly all American tourists in
Europe, ani his attractive personality and quiet but
kindly manner, mide him a favorite with all. I knew
him intimately in Chicago during the 70s and '80s. I
was impressed with his tact and shrewdness in business
affairs. His clear and conservative judgment led him
almost invariably to do theri^ht thing at the right time.
His will force was great, his convictions strong and his
plans and purposes were persistently executed.

Frank M. Pixley of San Francisco, a lawyer, poli-

152

tician and the editor and proprietor of a newspaper,
"The Argonaut," was a man of great force of character.
He was gifted as a vigorous and trenchant writer and a
fluent and eloquent speaker. He went to California in
the early '50s, and in time became one of the conspicu-
ous figures in that state. He filled several positions of
trust under the Federal government. Always self-con-
tained, keen-witted, affable and of an amiable disposi-
tion, he was one of the most companionable of men.
He died a few years ago and left a large estate.

The Hon. Fred Woodbridge, ex-member of congress
for the Vergennes district. Vermont, was a man of ex-
ceptional ability, both as a lawyer and a representative
in congress. He had a well-trained mind, large experi-
ence in public affairs, much practical sense, and was a
speaker of fluency and force. Dignified, courteous and
genial, with his fine physique and handsome face, he was
the cynosure of many eyes. His wife, a daughter of the
Green Mountain state, was an accomplished lady of rare
beauty and grace.

Barney Williams, well known in the United States
and Great Britain as an actor in comedy, was traveling
in Europe for the benefit of his health. He was full of
vivacity, despite his ill health, and his wit, charming
manner and amiable disposition made him a welcome
guest wherever he went. Williams died soon after, and
his wife, who was with him in his travels, was an actress
of great ability and still lives, but never followed her
profession after his death.

For many weeks I was the companion of the five
talented Americans I have just described. I am the
only one now living. A little later in the autumn, and
while Paris was still besieged, many other distinguished
Americans came to Brussels and sojourned there from a
few days to as many weeks. Gen. Burnside, the gallant

153

and handsome soldier of the civil war, was one of the
number. He visited Paris and saw the head of the pro-
visional government, Jules Favre, and then went to the-
headquarters of the Prussian army to confer with Em-
peror William and Prince Bismarck. I understood that
these visits were repeated. As a supposed result, a con-
ference was held between the commanders of the con-
tending forces and terms of peace were discussed. Bis-
marck's ultimatum was that Prussia should hold the
provinces of Alsace and Lorraine without regard to
its indemnity. The French refused peremptorily, pre-
ferring to fight it out to Ihe end.

Gen. Hazen, of the United States army, was a vis-
itor at Brussels during the fall. He was a popular offi-
cer, who served in the civil war and won distinction for
bravery and efficiency. He was the object of much at-
tention from the American colony during his brief so-
journ there. Gen. Dan. Butterfield and family were
also at Brussels for some weeks. He, like Gen. Hazen,
made a fine reputation in the civil war, serving in
the Army of the Potomac.) Judge P. H. Morgan of
New Orleans, a distinguished lawyer and jurist, had his
residence in Brussels while his children were in school
there. We became intimate with the framily during
their stay in Brussels. The judge divided his time be-
tween Brussels and New Orleans. He was a Union man
during the war, and Gen. Grant, before the close of his
second administration, appointed him the American
member of the Tribunal or Court of Cairo, Egypt, for
the trial of civil matters. Judge Morgan was a striking
figure on the streets of Brussels. He had a splendid
ph3'sique, was over six feet tall, erect, and weighed over
200 pounds, with a flowing beard and a handsome face.
He was usually reticent, but courteous and of a kind
disposition.

154

And there came to Brussels, also, Mr. Montgomery
•Gibbs, formerly a well-known New York lawyer, and his
wife. He had held some diplomatic and afterwards
some financial position on the continent, and was well
known in all the diplomatic and financial circles of
Europe and Great Britain. The well-known jurist, the
Hon. Hugh T. Dickey of Chicago, and family were for
some time in Brussels, and were prominent members of
the American colony. Gen. Ledlie, an artillerist in the
civil war and a well-known engineer and bridge builder
of Chicago, and his wife passed several weeks there. Mr.
and Mrs. George M. Pullman and Mr. and Mrs. Potter
Palmer were there for a few days only. Mr. Palmer,
who was planning to build a large hotel in Chicago, was
making a tour of Europe with his architect, studying
the architecture of the hotels of the European capitals
with the object of utilizing the information obtained in
the construction of his projected Chicago hotel. So
crowded were the hotels in Brussels that he and his wife
were compelled to occupy a 7x9 room in a second class
hotel.

Another prominent Chicago man, the Hon. J. B-
Rice, ex-mayor of Chicago, with his wife and two young
lady daughters came to Brussels to spend some months.
I knew Mr. Rice by reputation but had never met him.
During the fall of 1870 I saw Mr. Rice at the consulate
nearly every day and our families became intimately
acquainted. Mr. Rice was a man of quiet manner, in-
clined to be reticent, of wide and varied information, and
of large experience in public affairs, having served as a
member of congress, and as mayor of the city of Chicago.
He was a successful man of business, and when in the
mood was an interesting talker. As the mayor of the city of
Chicago he made a reputation as a clear headed, ener-
getic, efficient and honest official. I became well ac-

155

quainted with him at Brussels, met him often in after
years at Chicago and seldom in my life have I known a
man who impressed me so thoroughly with his sturdy
manliness as he. His wife and accomplished and
vivacious daughters did much during their residence in
Brussels in conjunction with Mrs. P. H. Smith of Chi-
cago, and Mrs. W. H. Ryder, of New York, to infuse life
into the American colony, especially among its ladies.
During the fall and early winter of 1870, Admiral Glis-
son, commander of the Mediteranian fleet had his flag-
ship wish other war ships of the fleet at the Port of Ant-
werp. He, as well as other officers of his fleet were fre-
quent visitors at Brussels an i were always well received
by the American colony.

In the late autumn of 1870 I made the acquaintance
at Brussels of Gen. Cluseret, sometimes called the "soldier
of fortune," whose military career was singularly event-
ful and romantic. Born in France an 1 educated in the
national military school at St. Cyr, he served in the army
with distinction and was made a chevalier of the Legion
of Honor. He left the army for political reasons and
opened a painters studio in Paris. He re-entered the
army and served in Algeria, and was in the Crimenian
war. After leaving the army again, he joined Garabaldi
in Italy. He came to the United States in early 1862
and served as an aide on General McClellan's staff with
the rank of colonel; was assigned to Gen. Fremont, who
gave him a command in the cavalry corps, and was soon
after brevetted a brigadier general. He left the Union
army and located in New York city, where he started a
newspaper advocating the claims of Gen. Fremont for the
Presidency. He returned to France, established a news-
paper, and was imprisoned for violently attacking the
government. He escaped and left France. After the
fall of the empire he returned to Paris and joined the

156

Commune and became its minister of war. He was soon
after arrested, escaped to England and finally settled in
Switzerland. I met him in Brussels when he was on his
way to join the Commune. He did not have the appear-
ance of the "dashing and fearless" soldier, but more
that of a man in one of the professions, clerical or legal,
and in manner was courteous, modest and affable. He
was an able writer and the author of several works of a
military £nd political character.

During the winter of 1870-71 1 received a call at the
consulate from Mrs. Merriman, of New York city, whose
acquaintance I had made in Washington, D. C., soon
after the war. She was a lady of rare personal charms
and highly accomplished, and had just returned from
Italy where she was associated with other American and
English ladies in carrying out a scheme to found several
schools of a high grade for the education of young ladies.
She said they had received encouragement in London and
Paris, both in sympathy and material aio, and would
certainly make the enterprise a success. A few years
later she was married to the eloquent priest of Notre
Dame, Paris, Pere Hyacinth, (afterwards the Rev. Mr.
Loyson.) Mr. Loyson visited Chicago with his wife in
the early 80's on a religious mission connected with his
pastoral work in Paris. He was met by a number of
prominent ladies and gentlemen of Chicago at my house,
where a meeting was held at which he explained the ob-
ject of his mission, and gave some account of the work in
which he was engaged.

There came to Brussels about this time an old friend
in the person of the Rev. S. G. Spees, who succeeded the
Rev. Mr. Kent in the pastorate of the First Presbyterian
church at Galena, 111., about 1850. He was making a
tour in Great Britian and Central Europe for the benefit
of his health and incidentally, to examine the methods

157

of instruction in the colleges and universities of those
countries, to utilize in a college projected by himself and
his friends at Cedar Falls, la., which place had been his
home for soin<3 years. Dr. Spees was well known in the
entire Northwest, and had the reputation of being a
clergyman of marked ability as a sermonizer, energetic,
zealous, and devoted to the interests of his work as a
Christian minister. He was prominent in educational
circles, and what is not usual in men of his profession,
was shrewd and discriminating in business affairs.

Soon after the fall of the empire and Paris had been
besieged the method of sending letters of light weight out
of Paris by means of balloons was begun. Balloons were
sent out semi-weekly in a northernly direction, carrying
300 to 500 pounds of mail matter, almost exclusively let-
ters, weighing one-eighth of an ounce. There was more dif-
ficulty in getting letters into Paris than in getting them
out. Minister Washburne kept a full journal of everything
that transpired in Paris, and as a matter of safety, had
his journal once a week press copied, on very light paper
and the copy sent to his wife by balloon to Brussels,
which, after having read she would forward to Gen. C. C.
Washburn, then Governor of the state of Wisconsin. I
had the privilege often of reading the journal while in
the hands of Mrs. Washburne at Brussels.

The latter part of January, 1871, after an armistice
of several days, terms of capitulation were agreed upon
and 30,000 Prussian troops entered the city of Paris,
bivouacked on the Champs Elysee for two days, and then
returned to their camps outside of the city limits. The
siege of Paris continued for 332 days. The provisional
government moved from Bordeaux, where it had been
located since its organization, to Versailles, ten miles
from Paris.

That portion of the people in Paris who had been

15$

dissatisfied \viih the action of the government for sur-
rendering to the Prussian?, and composed mostly of the
middle and lower classes, led by unscrupulous politi-
cians, organized a government in Paris and called it The
Commune. It openly opposed and defied the govern-
ment at Versailles, In a short time it was able to mus-
ter nearly 100,000 troops, and a terrible and bloody con-
flict began which lasted two months. The Provisional
government wasv compelled to lay siege to Paris. During
the first siege of Paris all the representatives of foreign
countries had one after the other left and were mostly at
Tours, their legations having been left in charge of sub-
ordinates, the exceptions being the American minister,
Mr. \Vashburne, and the Swiss minister, Dr. Freye, who
remained at their posts discharging their official duties
through both sieges.

About the middle of March I went to Paris to pay a
friendly visit to my old friend, Minister Washburne.
The Commune was in full blast, and Paris was being
bombarded by the French troops from Mt. Valerian and
other points on the south side of the river Seine. On
the afternoon of the second day of. my visit I witnessed
the terrible fusilade on the Rue de la Paixnear the Place
Mendome. While standing on the sidewalk in front of
the banking house of Bowles Brothers on Rue de la Paix,
I saw some 2,000 or more civilians, all unarmed, evidently
belonging to the better class of citizens, pass down the
street en masse to the Place Vendome, where a body of
Commune troops were stationed. One company had
been placed across the street at the entrance to Place
Vendome. The crowd, apparently a good-natured one,
on arriving where the troops were stationed, began to ex-
postulate with them for their conduct in joining the
Commune, and entreated them to lay down their arms.
In a few minutes shots were fired above the heads of the

159

crowd, and soon after a full volley was fired directly into-
it with frightful effect. I was standing about one hun-
dred yards from the troops and in the line of their fire.
A Belgium engineer was shot down at my side. The
crowd dispersed rapidly. I stepped into the doorway of
the Hotel Holland, and going to the second story, looked
out and saw ten dead bodies on the deserted street. The
excitement in the central part of the city, as a result,
was intense. Shops were closed and all traffic was sus-
pended. I decided to leave Paris for Brussels by the
evening railroad train. Towards evening Mr. Washburne
took me in his carriage from the legation, near the Arch
of Triumph, through the heart of the city to the Bel-
gium railroad station in the northern part of the city.
In passing along the boulevards from the Place de la
Concorde to the Bastile we were halted several times by
troops placed across .the boulevard. The officer in com-
mand, on coming to the carriage door, was saluted by Mr.
Washburne, who simply said "le Ministre Americain,'r
when the ranks would at once be opened and his car-
riage allowed to pass.

Some four weeks later I had official busim ss which
required my presence in Paris. As before, I was permit-
to enter Paris on my official papers. I found the Com-
mune still vigorously opposing the government troopsr
but it had lost ground, and the Versailles army (so
called) was very near the city, and the city was being
badly injured by its artillery, especially on its southern
and western sides. On the second day of my stay I ac-
companied Mr. Washburne in his carriage to the Troce-
dore, some distance down the Seine, to witness the effect
of shells sent occasionally from Mt. Vadrian. We left
our carriage near the Seine and walked to the top of the
hill. While waiting to see a shell explode, one fell and
exploded less than 200 yards from where we stood. I

160

was very much interested, but Mr. Washburue suggested
in a very emphatic manner that we leave at once, which
we did and returned to the legation.

The next day I accompanied him in his carriage to
Versailles, where he often went to meet the officers of the
Provisional government. I had the pleasure of meeting
Mon. Thiers, soon after the President of the Republic of
France, and Mon. Jules Favre, afterwards Minister of
Foreign Affairs under President Theirs. A few days
later the Commune, or insurgents, pulled down the beau-
tiful historical monument known as the "Napoleon col-
umn," in Place Vendome, out of sheer vandalism. A
few weeks later the Versailles army succeeded in driving
the "Communards," or insurgents, into the hearl of Paris
and compelled a surrender, but, before surrendering, the
"vandels" set fire to and destroyed a number of public
buildings, including the Palace of the Tuilleries and the
Hotel de Ville.

In the latter part of the winter of 1871, my only
son, Arthur, who had joined me at Brussels in the au-
tumn of 1868, returned to the United States. After hav-
ing graduated at the University of Wisconsin he went to
Brussels and entered the "Universitie Libre" of that city,
and took a course in the sciences. He passed his exam-
ination in the summer of 1870 and received a diploma
as Bachelor of Sciences. In the autumn he was ap-
pointed and served for some months as bearer of dis-
patches for the United States from London to the United
States legations at Paris and Berlin. He studied law
after his return to the United States, practiced his pro-
fession in Chicago for nearly twenty years, when he was
elected one of the judges of the superior court of Chi-
cago. He has just been re-elected to serve a term of six
years.

During the two months reign 'of the Commune in

161

Paris, many thousands of its people left that city, a large
portion of whom came to Brussels so that Belgium's capi-
tal was again filled with strangers. During the spring
and summer of 1871 many distinguished Americans so-
journed there, and our American colony which had suf-
fered depletion after the close of the Franco-Prussian war
received many accessions. Among others who came was
G. W. Fishback, of St. Louis, the editor of the "St. Louis
Hepublican" and his family. He was a quiet man, of
amiable disposition and kindly manner, of eminent good
sense, who won the respect and esteem of all who came
in contact with him. Gen. J. H. Wilson, the famous
Union commander of cavalry in the army of the Tennes-
see during the Civil war was also in Brussels for some
days.

About this time there came also Mrs. Colonel Mulli-
gan, of Chicago, the widow of Colonel James A. Mulligan,
who, in the early part of the civil war, won so much re-
nown for his heroic defense of Lexington, Mo. His name
is the synonim of all that is patriotic, brave and gallant
in the American soldier. Aside from being a great
soldier and an able lawyer, he was exceptionally gifted
as a graceful and forcible writer and an eloquent speaker.
Mrs. Mulligan had her three little daughters with her,
for whom she was trying to find some suitable French
school. She is one of the best known ladies in Chicago,
of much grace and charm of manner, and of
rare intelligence. She had the compliment paid her of
being appointed by the President, United States pension
agent at Chicago, which position she filled for four years
with marked ability. Her three amiable and accom-
plished daughters now live in Chicago, and are well
known in its society circles.

The latter part of the summer of 1871 two distin-
guished citizens of Chicago visited Brussels viz. Judge

162

Drummond of the United States District Coin t, and James
Carter; formerly a banker with whom I transacted busi-
ness in Galena in the 50's, and before he moved to Chi-
cago, where he lived twenty years before his death. He
was born in Scotland and educated there. In the 40's
he came to the United States with his friends, George-
Smith and Alex. Mitchell, all intending to engage in the
banking business. Smith located in Chicago, Mitchell
in Wilwaukee, and Carter in Galena. They were all suc-
cessful bankers. Smith and Mitchell became the most
prominent bankers in the northwest.

Soon after, the Americans at Brussels were gratified
to have among them ex-Governor Reuben E. Fen ton, of
New York, who had just been elected to the United
States senate to succeed the distinguished statesman,
Hon. E. D. Morgan, and the Hon. Lyman Tremain,
former judge, a lawyer of distinction, ex-United States
Attorney General of New York, and ex- member of con-
gress. Upon the invitation of these gentlemen I spent a
day with them at Antwerp visiting the collections of
paintings, sculpture, etc. Both were genial and affable and
charming conversationalists, being full of reminiscences
and anecdote. The day to me was a most enjoyable one.
and will never be forgotten.

About this time I was called upon at the consulate
by Gen. Henry Wilson, United States Senator and Vice-
President of the United States during Gen. Grant's second
administration as President. He came in hurriedly, to-
make inquiries as how he could best visit the battlefield
of Waterloo. I replied that I would accompany him,
and induced him to stay and take breakfast with my
family. After breakfast we took a carriage for the bat-
tlefield twelve miles distant. We reached there in good
time and were enabled to go over the field with a guide
before luncheon. He was deeply interested and seemed

163

to enjoy every moment. This distinguished American
statesman, for whom I always had threat admiration, and
who I had met in Washington after the war, was in fine
health and spirits, and during our ride he was affable
and talked freely, and gave rne much inside information
with regard to war operations on the Potomac, gained by
him as the chairman of the Senate committee of military
affairs. On our return to Brussels he paid his respects to
the United Stales Minister, J. Russell Jones, and then
ascertained that preparations had been made to have
him dine at the Legation, the dinner to be followed by
an informal reception. To the sore disappointment of
the Minister and many Americans who desired to meet
him, Gen. Wilson informed the Minister that he would
have to leave for London at 6 o'clock that evening to
meet an engagement there the next morning.

Not long after the close of the Franco German war
I met at Brussels and had some conversation with an in-
telligent German officer who had served in the war as a
colonel of cavalry. While speaking of the amount of
indemnity demanded, I remarked thnt Prince Bismarck,
whom I regarded as without a peer in Europe as a states-
man and diplomat, had made a grave mistake in retain-
ing the provinces of Alsace and Lorraine. The French
government would and could have paid more indemnity,,
but the wresting from it of these provinces was regarded
by the French as a wrong never to be forgiven. Had
Bismarck not insisted on this ultimatum after the battle
of Sedan, terms of capitulation could have been agreed
upon, and the war have ended satisfactorily to the Prus-
sians and have saved the French the fearful loss of lives
and property through the insane actions of the Commune,
and the Prussians a long campaign before the capitula-
tion of Paris. The French nation has taken a vow to
again possess the provinces coute qui coute. The colonel

164

replied that he thought I was mistaken and that the
Prince had acted wisely.

Since the close of the war the French government
has expended many millions in money, fortifying its
eastern border from Belgium to the Jura. The Prussian
government has been compelled to do the same on the
Rhine from the Belgium border to Switzerland. The
French army has been inert ased from year to year, and
the Prussian arm}7 has also been increased, and now,
when the Czar of Russia suggests to all the powers in
Europe that an agreement be entered into looking to the
gradual reduction of all standing armies, Prussia con-
sents or rather favors the suggestion, but France says no,
not until Alsace and Lorraine have been won back.

In the middle of the forenoon of October, 10, 1871,
the newspapers of Brussels, in extras, gave the startling
intelligence that Chicago was burning, that ten blocks
in the heart of the city were totally destroyed, and the
loss was $100,000,000 and many lives lost. By evening
it was stated that the burnt district was two and a half
miles long and one mile wide, covering the entire central
portion of the city, the total loss estimated to be $200.-
000,000, and that all the fire insurance companies had
failed. The excitement in Brussels was intense, especial-
ly among the Americans. Within the next ten days
meetings of sympathizers were held in London, Man-
chester, Liverpool, Berlin, Paris and Brussels and large
sums of money were subscribed for the relief of the
sufferers. London alone subscribed $100,000. I had
many friends in Chicago whom I knew were among the
sufferers. Most of my moneyed interest in Chicago was
stock in the West Division Street railway, which had suf-
fered very little. Later in the month news came of wide-
spread and destructive fires in the pine districts of Wis-
consin, and the loss estimated at $100,000,000 and thous-

165

ands of lives lost. Moreover, news came that there was
a panic in the stock market of New York. Judge Drum-
mond of Chicago, who was in Brussels, immediately left
for home. By the first of December telegrams were re-
ceived stating that Chicago was being rapidly rebuilt,
which greatly surprised the slower moving people of
Brussels.

The following winter was a quiet one in Brussels, a
natural reaction after a year and a half of business and
social activity caused by the late Franco-Prussian war.
OurAmeri;an colony was greatly lessened, yet the at-
tractiveness of this beautiful city, sometimes called "Le
petit Paris," induced many American tourists to prolong
their stay after reaching it. Its attractions to the visitor,
especially in works of art, were great.

Among some of the last Americans who came to
Brussels was the well-known school book publisher of
New York city, Albert S. Barnes, with his wife and a
party of friends. They took apartments and remained
in the city some time. Mr, Barnes was a man of wide
culture, first-class business talent and of quiet and charm-
ing manner. Mrs. Barnes possessed rare personal and
mental charms and great amiability of disposition. They
soon became favorites in the colony. The acquaintance
then formed ripened into friendship, which continued
between the families for many years after their return to
the United States. Soon after we took up our 'residence
in Chicago we made the acquaintance of Charles J,
Barnes and family, who have been and are still well
known in its social circles. Mr. Barnes has been
the manager of the Western department of the publish-
ing house of A. S. Barnes & Co., of New York. He has
managed the extensive business of his company with
rare skill, discrimination and success. He is a gentle-
man of attractive personality, of a frank and genial dis-
position, and cordial and generous as a host.

166

Soon after I assumed my duties of consul at Brus-
sels I made the acquaintance of Mr. Eugene Verboeck-
hoven. the celebrated painter of sheep and cattle, who
had achieved a world- wide reputation. He had then
been a painter, and in his early career a sculptor, for
over forty }rears. He was genial and affable, and I fre-
quently spent an hour with him in his great studio,
which was filled with specimens of his work in painting
and sculpture running through all these years. He was
a hard and rapid worker, but the demand for his work
was so great that he was at times a year behind in exe-
cuting orders. His greatest success was in painting
sheep in an enclosure or stable, or with a land-
scape about them. In ihe latter case, I once commented
on the whiteness of his sheep in the landscape. He re-
plied that long before he had spent one summer in Scot-
land, making studies of sheep on its heathery hills, and
on these hills the fleece of the sheep is whiter, i. e., clean-
er than elsewhere. I met him often at the banquets
given by the artists' guild of Brussels, and as the senior
in age and being the most distinguished artist, he was
always the central figure and had the seat of honor.

About the first of January, 1872, I sent rny resigna-
tion as United States Consul to the Department of State
at Washington, to take effect the 1st of April, or as soon
thereafter as my successor could be appointed and quali-
fied. My three years' service in Brussels was in every
way agreeable, but, as the object I had in view in accept-
ing a consular appointment, which was to give my
daughter the opportunity to learn the French language
and to gratify my wife's desire to spend some time in
Europe, was accomplished, I felt a strong inclination to
return to an active business life, and decided to go to
Chicago, the place to which, of all others in the United
States, I felt the most drawn. My successor in the Brus-

167

sels consulate was Colonel John Wilson, a distinguished
army surgeon during the civil war, who has served as
Consul at Antwerp for three years and who was in every
way admirably fitted to fill the position.

I left Brussels with some regret, for my family, as
well as myself, had formed many pleasant acquaintances,
not only among the Americans residing there, but also
English and Belgium residents. I visited Brussels again
in 1887, and found the city greatly improved and its
population, like that of all the other large cities of Eu-
rope, greatly increased. After taking my wife and
daughter on a tour through Germany, I left Brussels the
early part of April, and, after a week spent in London,
reached Chicago the latter part of the month.

CHAPTER X.

CHICAGO AFTER THE GRE^T FIRE OF ISTI,

On the 25th of April, 1872, I arrived at Chicago
from Europe, where I expected to locate and engage in
business. My wife and daughter accompanied me, and
we were the welcomed guests of friends living on the
South side, whom we had known in Europe. The next
day, upon the invitation of a friend, I rode over the*
burned district. The sight was one of the saddest I had
ever witnessed. I had no adequate idea or conception
of the extent nor the completeness of the destruction
caused by the terrific fire, which had no parallel in the
world's history. The scene was simply appalling. I
found great activity in the central or business part of the
city. To my great surprise, I saw on Wabash avenue
and State street immense buildings, temporarily con-
structed, filled with all kinds of merchandise and an
active business being done, and on other streets many
large and expensive buildings in process of construction.
The people I met were all busy and hopeful, and not in
the least cast down by the terrible disaster of the autumn
before. The offices of professional and real estate men,
as well as those of the banks, were in buildings on the
West and South sides, just outside of the burnt district.
Some few were in improvised buildings in the central
part of the city. Ten years later, when looking at the
rebuilt district, with its magnificent structures, which in
point of stability and beauty of architecture surpassed

169

in every respect the buildings which stood there before
the fire, I said: "Verily, the great fire was a blessing in
disguise to this people." My family, as well as myself,
did not feel like strangers in that city of 300,000 inhab-
itants. We met everywhere and were cordially welcomed
by men and women we had known in other parts of the
state years before, and many delightful people whose ac-
quaintance we had made during our stay in Europe.

In the summer of 1872 I organized the Home Na-
tional Bank, intending it to be a West side banking in-
stitution. Its paid up capital was $250,000, and I secured
for directors a few capitalists and the rest manufacturers
living in the West division of the city. I was elected
president of the board of directors and opened the bank
on Washington and Halsted streets, the center of the
business district of the WTest side. Soon afterwards I
was appointed a member of the board of education, a
member of the board of management of the Chicago
Athseneam, a member of the board of directors of the
Chicago Stock Exchange, one of the executive commit-
tee of the Citizens' Association, and also on the board of
management of a benevolent organization. I soon began
to realize that I was doing a great deal of work for the
public, leaving me but little time to attend to my own
personal affairs.

Some two or three years after I had located in Chi-
cago a movement was made by leading citizens to con-
struct a large building on the lake front, to be used for
holding annual exhibitions of farm products and manu-
factured articles, including works of art. It was to be
known as the Interstate Exposition building. I favored
the project heartily, feeling that if there was a place in
the United States favorably located for such exhibitions,,
it was Chicago, situated in the geographical center of the
best part of the continent of North America, very ac-

170

•cessible by railroad and by water from all points and
having about it, within a radius of 500 miles, more fer-
tile lands than any other large city in the world. The
project met with general favor. The building, inexpen-
sive, but convenient and comfortable, covering an area of
250 by 800 feet, with spacious galleries, was erected. For
nearly a score of years extensive exhibitions were held
annually, which without interfering with state or count)7
fairs in the Northwest, met a want long and generally
felt. There is no question that Chicago was greatly
benefitted by these annual exhibitions, which lasted
from thirty to forty days. The building was removed a
few years ago, and I am gratified to know that promi-
nent capitalists and business men are planning to erect,
in the near future, a larger and more substantial build-
ing for the same general purpose. Another movement
on the part of far-sighted and enterprising citizens was
the securing of land for a system of extensive parks and
boulevards. It has taken many years to carry out so
far the plans adopted, which when completed will give
Chicago more extensive parks and boulevards than any
other city in the world.

In the early spring of 1874 a few old-time abolition-
ists of Chicago planned to hold a national reunion of old
abolitionists at Chicago. The project met with a hearty
response from all parts of the country, and the 10th day
of the following June was fixed upon as the time for
holding the reunion, which was to last three days. Allan
Pinkerton, R. B. Derrickson and other well-known citi-
zens of Chicago, were the executive committee and
Zebina Eastman, the editor of "The Tree of Liberty"
and the "Daily News" in Chicago in 1845-6, was secre-
tary. The sessions were held in the Second Baptist, the
Second Congregational and the Park Congregational
churches, one day's session in each church. Vice Presi-

171

dent Henry Wilson of Massachusetts, had promised to
attend the reunion and act as president. I was chosen
as first vice president, Hon. J. B. Grinnell, M. C., of Iowa,
as second, and the Hon. James Birney of Michigan, as
third vice president. Mr. Birney was the son of the dis-
tinguished statesman and early abolitionist, the Hon.
James B. Birney of Kentuok}', for a long time the earn-
est and able advocate of gradual emancipation in his
own state and the founder of and a prominent leader in
the American Anti-Slavery society. James Birney was
appointed in 1876, by President Grant, United States
Minister Resident at The Hague. At the first day's ses-
sion Governor Beveridge of Illinois, delivered the ad-
dress of welcome, and I responded in behalf of the meet-
ing in the absence of Vice President Wilson, who, at the
last hour, was prevented from coming to Chicago by
serious illness in his family. The secretary of the execu-
tive committee, Mr. Eastman, read an interesting paper
on the martyrdom of the Rev. E. P. Lovejoy at Alton.
111., in 1837. Mrs. Jane G. Swisshelm, a well-known
writer and lecturer, and for many years the editor of the
"Saturday Visitor," published at Pittsburgh, Pa., deliv-
ered an exceedingly able address." The second day the
meetings, morning, afternoon and evening, were addressed
by the Rev. Dr. W. H. Brisbane, an old-time abolitionist,
writer and lecturer; Mrs. Harper, a highly educated
colored woman of Philadelphia; President Blanchard of
Wheaton College, 111.; Joseph W. Alden, editor of "The
Emancipator," and the Hon. Joseph Gillette. The third
day a valuable historical paper was read by the Rev. Mr.
Goodell of Janesville, Wis., giving the history of the rise
and fall of slavery in the United States. The afternoon
of the third day was given to listening to personal ex-
periences in the days when the "underground railroad"
was in active operation, The desire to speak by persons

172

in attendance was so great that the time was limited by
vote to ten minutes for each speaker, and for the last
hour it was limited to five minutes, and finally, when
the gavel fell and the announcement was made of the
adjournment of the reunion sine die, it was agreed that
the session be continued informally to permit persons de-
siring to speak to do so.

This gathering or reunion was composed of men
and women from all parts of the country (not a few
being Quakers from Ohio, Pennsylvania and Kentucky),
most of whom were already well advanced in life, and
who, for more than a score of years previous to the civil
war, had wrought heroically, impelled by honest convic-
tions, to abolish a detested system of human slavery and
to aid all in bondage and seeking freedom to gain it.
When, finally, the civil war had secured for the slave
this long sought liberty they had met to praise God and
tell what they had done and suffered toward furthering
this grand result. The proceedings of this reunion had
been kept for the purpose of having them published in
book form, in compliance with the wishes of its members.
Soon after the close of the reunion, however, by an acci-
dent, all the records, which were regarded as historically
valuable, were destroyed. I have, therefore, in the fore-
going pages, tried to give from notes I made at the time
a full synopsis of the proceedings of that remarkable
gathering. Many letters of regret were received from
distinguished citizens from all over the country, among
others, one of great interest from the Hon. Charles Fran-
cis Adams of Massachusetts.

In the summer of 1873, accompanied by my wife, I
visited California, going directly to San Francisco. This
was my first visit to that great state, which had been so
full of interest to me since the early '50s, when I came
near joining a party of friends who were' going there

173

overland. I was impressed not only with the beauty and
grandeur of the scenery, but also with the wonderful
productiveness of its soil, its great mineral wealth and
the wonderful salubrity of its climate, making it one of
the grandest states in the Union. Five years ago I spent
a winter in California, making Los Angeles my home.
I had many years before spent a winter in Italy, and I
am fully convinced that Southern California has a cli-
mate far superior to that of Italy, especially for people
with weak lungs or who need "building up." The pro-
ductiveness of the soil of Southern California almost
surpasses belief. Three crops are easily obtained from
the same land in one year. This vast state, 700 miles in
length and susceptible of supporting a dense population,
is divided at about 250 miles from its southern bound-
ary by the Mohave range of mountains, and will at some
future day, I feel sure, be divided into two states, Upper
and Lower California. Los Angeles, almost in the geo-
graphical center of the lower half, would naturally be its
capital. It is a city already of nearly 100,000 inhabi-
tants and growing in population faster than any other
city in the state. Twenty-five years hence its popula-
tion will reach nearly a quarter of a million and in time
may become the rival of San Francisco in this respect.

In 1893, during a five months stay in Los Angeles, I
became well acquainted with Mrs. Gen. Fremont, ne
Jessie Benton, who had been a resident of the place for
several years. She was living in a delightful part of the
city in a beautiful cottage surrounded by orange trees,
the gift of a number of the citizens of the place who had
known her husband after the Mexican war, when he was
commanding a small force of United States troops station-
ed there. Her only daughter was living with her. Mrs.
Fremont although nearly 70 years of age was in excel-
lent health with all her mental faculties entirely

174

unimpaired. About the time her husband was the can-
didate for President (1856) when she was in the prime of
life, was regarded as one of the most beautiful and bril-
liant women in Washington society. She had been very
highly educated and her father Col. Benton of St. Louis
(afterward United States Senator) took unusual pains
with her when a girl, giving much personal attention to
her education. She became a fine linguist and read and
conversed in five languages. I was a little surprised to
find her speak French so fluently. She is fond of the
language and speaks it whenever she has the opportuni-
ty. As a conversationalist she excels, and delights in
talking of the past connected with her long and eventful
life. Her two sons are in the service of the government,
one having been educated in the United States Naval
Academy at Annapolis, and the other in the Military
Acadtmy at West Point. Both were in the late Spanish-
American war and made excellent records, one in the
navy and the other in the army. They are proving
"worthy sons of a noble sire." Mrs. Freemont is always
glad to receive calls from visitors to Los Angeles.

While in California in 1873, we were the guests for
some days of Governor Newton Booth, living in Sacra-
mento the capital of the state. His career was a remark-
able one. As a "hoosier boy" just out of college, he went
to California, made some money, returned home, studied
law, was admitted to practice, went back to California,
and settled in Sacramento where he became the manager
of the largest wholesale grocery house in the state. In
the 60's he was elected a State Senator, and soon after-
wards Governor of the state. While Governor he was
elected to the United States Senate, and served one term.
His popularity in the state was great. He never severed
his connection with the great mercantile house of Booth
&Co., of which he had been the head for nearly 30 years,

175

until his death in 1893. He was always a careful student
and during his official life was regarded as one of the
most scholarly men in the state, and all his state papers
while Governor, and his speeches in congress which were
infrequent, indicated the thorough scholar and statesman.
An unpretentious man of fine intellect, far sighted in
business affairs, and of attractive manner. When in the
senate at Washington, he was the intimate friend of one
of Illinois' favorite sons, Gen. R. J. Oglesby then United
States Senator, who held his brother senator from Cali-
fornia in high esteem.

Among the distinguished men I me', and afterward
knew well in San Francisco, was the Hon. J. K. Swift, a
lawyer of exceptional ability, whose practice was large
and who was generally regarded as one of the "coming
men" of the coast. He was appointed one of the special
commission chosen to negotiate a commercial treaty with
China, of which the Hon. (Dr.) J. B. Angell, president of
Ann Arbor University, Mich., and late United States Em-
bassador to Turkey was President. His bright intellect,
and wide information in regard to commercial matters
in China, made him a valuable, member of the commis-
mission. After his return to the United States he was
appointed Minister to Japan, and died there before the
end of his term of service.

During my stay in San Francisco, I often met one
of my old army comrades of the civil war in the person
of Colonel Alex Hawes of the Ninth Illinois Infantry,
whose regiment, during the first two years of the war,
was brigaded with mine, the Twelfth Illinois infantry,
which brigade part of the time was commanded by Gen.
Oglesby. For nearly a score of years Colonel Hawes
had held the responsible position of general agent of the
New York Life Insurance Company for the Pacific coast,
and was one of the best known men in San Francisco.

176

He made a splendid record in the civil war during his
four years of service. He possesses administrative abil-
ity of a high order, an attractive personality, is frank
and generous in disposition and highly esteemed by all
who know him. Some years ago he was sent by the
company to London, England, to superintend its large
'business in Great Britain.

In the latter part of the '80s I met at a dinner party
at the house of a mutual friend in Chicago Joseph Jeffer-
son, the celebrated actor. The conversation at the table
was in regard to early times in Chicago and the North-
west. I mentioned incidently that in 1840 I knew him
-at Galena and that we had played town ball together.
He looked up in surprise, and said: "Are you Gus
Ohetlain, the athlete, as the boys called him, of the
•Campbell school, whom I knew when my father and Mc-
Kenzie ran a theater there for a season?" I replied, ''I
.am." "Well, well," he continued, "I remember that
winter well. I played occasionally when a role suitable
for a girl or a boy happened to be on the bill, for I was
only 11 years of age, and as I had leisure, I joined in
the sports of the boys of Campbell's school, which was
kept in the next door to our improvised theater. There
were a lot of bright boys in that school with whom I be-
came acquainted and of whom I have often thought
since, wondering what had become of them." After
dinner we were in the library, and when cigars had been
lighted, he said: "Now tell me about those Galena boys.
What has become of them?" I replied: There was Eu-
gene Strode, the oldest son of Colonel Strode, and one of
the oldest of the boys, who studied for the ministry and
became a distinguished Baptist clergyman in Tennessee.
He is now dead. John Q. Charle?, the son of 'Squire
Charles, the old justice, who studied law and became a
merchant for a time, went to Pike's Peak in the earl}'

177

'50s, moved to Denver, practiced law, went to the legis-
lature, made a big success in some land deal, and is now
•one of Denver's millionaire lawyers. Boltoii Strother,
related to the distinguished family of Strothers in Vir-
ginia, the handsome and bright scholar who studied law
in Galena, practiced there a while, moved to Chicago,
won a high position at the bar, and when 35 years of
age, through the influence of his friend and admirer,
Stephen A. ^Douglas, was appointed collector of the Port
•of Chicago. He was a brilliant fellow, but was careless
and irregular in his habits, and died soon after reaching
40 years of age. There was James M. Maughs, very
bright and a good debater at the age of 15, who when
20 years of age was appointed by Governor Ford of Illi-
nois, one of the three aides on his staff with the rank of
colonel of cavalry. In the latter '40s he moved with his
father, who was a lumberman, to Central Wisconsin and
engaged in the lumber business with great success for a
time, and then lost all by timber fires and general bad
luck. There too, was the handsome and bright little
Watson Smoker, your favorite among the boys, who took
to steamboating on the lower Mississippi, first as a clerk
and then as a captain. He was popular and successful,
but died before middle life. Albert Stephenson (Buck
Hooper) was the mechanical genius of the school, who,
at the age of 12. with a pocket knife, some lead and
tin, ingeniously constructed a small engine, 8x12 inches
in size, which worked admirably. He took a position as
an engineer on one of our large steamboats, invented
several valuable improvements for steam engines, and
died a few years ago in St. Louis. Abner Hodgins, the
quiet and studious boy of the school, who when as a
clerk in a lumber firm, moved to Winona. Minn., en-
gaged in the manufacture and sale of lumber, was elected
the mayor of the city and is now one of the honored and

178

wealthy men of that place. (He has recently died.)
Calraes Wight, son of State Senator A. G. S. Wight, one
of our oldest boys, went into the Mexican war and was
elected the first lieutenant of Captain Crow's Galena
company and made an excellent record as a soldier. A
few years later, when a young lawyer of recognized abil-
ity, he died when on his way to St. Louis.

Then I asked Mr. Jefferson how it came about that
the Jefferson-McKenzie troupe was in so far an out of the
way place in winter as the lead mines, with such a large
and able corps of actors. He replied, in substance, that
the Jefferson-McKenzie troupe wanted to go West for a
year as a venture. They left New York in the spring
and made their way to Buffalo by canal, playing in the
larger places on their route. After a brief engagement
at Buffalo they took a steamer for Chicago, stopping for
a few days at Cleveland, Detroit and Milwaukee. They
spent the later summer and fall in Chicago, doing a fine
paying business, when they proceeded to Galena in open
wagons, taking their stage paraphernalia with them.
They played in Galena until the close of the year, when
they went to Dubuque for a month or more, returned to
Galena, where they remained until after the opening of
navigation in April. Leaving Galena the troupe went to
Burlington by steamboat and then to Quincy, Peoria
and Springfield, filling brief engagements in each place.
The intention was to stop in Springfield all summer,
erect a temporary playhouse or theater, and play there
all the next winter during the session of the legislature.
During the summer McKenzie and wife left the troupe.
Jefferson played in Springfield all winter and then went
south to Memphis and Mobile, at which latter place he
died, and young Joe, with his mother and a younger sis-
ter, were left to shift for themselves.

In the latter part of 1879, when Gen. Grant was

179

about to return from his memorable tour around the
world, a movement was started in the East to place him
in nomination for the Presidency in 1880. The three
leading public men most active in the movement were
Senators Conklin of New York) Logan of Illinois, and
Cameron of Pennsylvania. These men, with all others
who joined in the movement, claimed that Gen. Grant
would be nominated in convention by acclamation, and
the character of his reception after his tour around the
world by the people, without regard to party, from San
Francisco to New York, seemed to justify their claim.
When Gen. Grant, after his return, was consulted, he said
that he would not consent to be a candidate, but finally
stated that he would take no part in the movement, and
that the nomination should either have to come to him
unsolicited or not at all. Gen. Grant's old friend, ex-
Minister Washburne, then residing in Chicago, gave his
early support to the movement. Later, however, and
after the ovations were over and an anti-third term sen-
timent had sprung up in the Republican party, he be-
came convinced that Gen. Grant would never permit his
name to be used in the convention if there was to be a
contest, and he foresaw that a contest was inevitable.

Gen. Grant took his family to his Galena home and
soon after started on a tour through the South, Cuba and
Mexico. It was arranged that Mr. Washburne was to
join the general and his party in Cuba and go with them
to Mexico. For some reason I never understood, Mr.
Washburne did not carry out the agreement. As the
winter wore away it became evident to the leaders of the
party that a more pronounced anti-third term sentiment
was growing in the party in various parts of the country,
many prominent German Republicans taking the lead.
Mr. Washburne, as Gen. Grant's best friend, was ap-
pealed to to stop the movement, secure Grant's nomina-

180

tion the following June, and after throwing out the sug-
gestion that in case Gen. Grant should decline to go be-
fore the convention, he, Washburne, would certainly be
taken up and nominated. Others appealed to Mr, Wash-
burne to come <>ut openly and declare himself a candi-
date. His invariable reply to the latter was: "I am not
a candidate. I am a Grant man, and will support him
for President,"

In the month of March. 1880, a Republican club
was organized at Mt. Carroll, 111., and named the Wash-
burne Republican club, the intention of the club being
to advocate the claims of Mr Washburne for President.
I discussed the matter with Mr. Washburne, and he in
my presence, wrote to the president of the club, prote-4-
ing against the use of his name for the club, saying that
lie ''Wiis a Grant man and not a candidate for President."
About this time many Republicans in the state began to
distrust Mr. Washburne's sincerity as a supporter of Gen.
Grant, and talked ab<>ut it openly. I went to Mr. Wash-
burne and told him wait I hid heard, and added that
he ought to stop certain of his friends I named from
publicly supporting him, and that the feeling against
him was growing bitter. He replied that he had done
everything possible to prevent people from supporting
him, and had said a thousand times that he was not a
candidate, but a supporter of Grant for President, I
added: "All that is doubtless true, but something ought
to be done at once to set you right with the Grant men.
Your only hope is with the Grant supporters. If anything
should happen to him, and you are on right terms with
his adherents, they would undoubtedly favor you, but
the way things are going on, in such an emergency you
would be ground to powrder." He simply replied, "I
have done all I can — more I cannot do."

As the spring advanced, matters grew worse. Wash-

181

burne continued to receive many letters begging him to
cut loose from Gen. Grant and take an independent
stand as a candidate before the convention. This he
would not do, for he was pledged to Grant and to Grant's
supporters, and lie would stand by his pledges. I saw
him every day. He seemed perplexed and worried.
About the 1st of May I met Gen Grant at Mr. VVash-
burne's home in Chicago, and it seemed to me then that
their former friendly relations were unchanged. Gen.
Grant was on his way to Springfield, with a party of
leading Republicans, to hold a conference. Mr. Wash-
burne joined the party, although more than half sick,
and his ailment I knew was more mental than physical.
Arrived at Springfield, the party were invited to dine
with the Governor. Mr. Wash burne accepted with the
rest of the party. Before the end of the dinner he
begged to be excused on account of illness, went to his
hotel, took a late train for the East and stoppel at the
house of a relative at Bridgeport, Conn., went to his bed
a sick man, and remained there for some weeks.

The convention was held in Chicago early in June.
The Grant men were united and sanguine. The opposi-
tion was not united, but determined. The proceedings
of that remarkable convention are a matter of history.
The delegates voting for Grant, numbering 306, stood
together without a break through many ballotings. Fin-
ally the opposition united, and Gen. Garfield was nomi-
nated. Gen. Grant during the session of the convention
was at his home in Galena. A private telegraph wire in
the office of his old staff officer, Gen. W. R. Rowley, gave
him the proceedings of the convention direct and with-
out delay. A dispatch came to him at 11 o'clock the
day of Garfield's nomination, stating that at 1 o'clock
he (Grantv would be nominated. Instead, at 1 o'clock a
message came announcing the nomination of Gen. Gar-

182

field. Gen. Grant exhibited no unusual emotion. He
rose from his seat, adjusted his hat, lighted his cigar and
remarked : "Well, I am glad that as good a man as Gar-
field has received the nomination." He then started for
his home to give his wife the news.

The next day he said to Gen, Rowley: "My friends
have not treated me well. They assured me that there
would be no serious opposition to me in the convention.
I could not afford to go before that convention and be
defeated " It is very clear that Gen. Grant was not
aware before the convention of the strong opposition to
him, or rather to the third term, as was shown by
the vote of the convention. Gen. Grant felt his defeat
very keenly. Mr. Washburne did not receive many
votes in the convention, although he was the second
choice of very many of the Grant delegates. He had
reached Detroit on his way home when Garfield was
nominated. The feeling among many of the Grant dele-
gates, who had stood solidly and so long for their candi-
date, seemed to intensify against Washburne after the
adjournment, and Gen. Grant shared in the feeling.
Washburne's conduct was condemned in bitter terms,
and he was charged with having acted perfidiously. In
the excitement, much was said and done which was clear-
ly unjust to Mr. Washburne,

The politicians who started to make Gen. Grant
President for the third time did it, I believe, to head off
a movement in favor of Mr. Washburne, whose popular-
ity since his return as Embassador to France was very
great, especially with the Germans. Senator Conkling
had been a bitter enemy of Washburne's for twenty
years, the outgrowth of a serious quarrel when both
were members of the House of Representatives. Gen.
Logan was strenuously opposed to him because he feared
his political influence in the state of Illinois should he

183

become President. As to Senator Cameron, he, to say
the le&st, was never an admirer of Mr. Washburne, and
did not want to see him President. Gen. Grant, who
was just about to return from his tour around the world,
was just the man for them, if he could be induced to ac-
cept the nomination. They moved judiciously and ob-
tained his consent to be a candidate, which he gave with
great reluctance and on condition that there was to be
no opposition to him in the convention. Although Mr.
Washburne, early and with much enthusiasm, joined in
the movement to make his old friend again President, I
have always been of the opinion that by the middle of
the next winter he became convinced that Gen. Grant
would not be nominated and held to that idea to the
very last. He knew better than any one else the grow-
ing opposition to a third term, which would inevitably
bring on a contest in the convention and which, when
discovered by Gen. Grant, would induce him to peremp-
torily decline to be a candidate. It was asserted, during
and after the convention, that Mr. Washburne controlled
enough votes among the anti-third term delegates to
have given Gen. Grant the nomination had he so willed.
This was not true. Mr. Washburne had a few friends
among the so-called opponents to Gen. Grant. His many
friends were among the Grant delegates. What few he
had in the opposition to Grant were not under his con-
trol. There was no combination favoring Mr. Wash-
burne or any one else who was opposed to Grant. The
contest was not between Gen Grant and some one else,
but between Gen. Grant and the anti-third term idea.

The breach between these two old and trusted
friends was complete. They never met again after the
Springfield dinner at the gubernatorial mansion. So
bitter and unrelenting was Gen. Grant that when writ-
ing his memoirs just before his death, he almost entirely

184

ignored his old friend. The breach between these two>
great men of world-wide renown was the saddest that
had ever occurred in the history of the nation. I, too,
suffered with Mr. Washburne in Gen. Grant's estimation,,
for he believed that I, who had been his friend through-
out, had advised and upheld Mr. Washburne in his
course. The blow to both was severe, and neither ever
fully recovered from its effect.

Many years have elapsed since the occurrences re-
lated above took place. Gon. Grant I had always re-
garded as my friend, and as a soldier he was my ideal.
Mr. Washburne had been my intimate friend for nearly
two score years. The longer I live the more I am con-
vinced, knowing as I do their close friendly relations
during and after the civil war, that Gen. Grant ought
never to have consented to be a candidate for the Presi-
dency the third time, and when asked to take the nomi-
nation should have replied: "No, gentlemen, I will not
accept the nomination, but there is my friend, Mr. Wash-
burne, well qualified for the high position; nominate him
and I will work for his election."

In February, 1885, when Gen. Grant was so ill at
his home in New York city that his physicians believed
he could live but a short time, Mr. Washburne left hur-
riedly for New York and returned in ten days. After
his return he seemed ill at ease and depressed in spirits.
In conversation with him about his visit to New York,,
he said, with some hesitancy, that he had gone there;
hoping that it might result in a meeting with Gen.
Grant and possibly a reconciliation between them. He
said he went to one of the leading hotels of the city and
all the daily papers had noticed his arrival. When I
asked him if he made an effort to see Gen. Grant, he an-
swered. "No. The General knew I was in the city, and
if he had desired to see me he could easily have notified

185

ine. He was the greater man, and it was for him to ex-
tend his hand, which I would have taken with pleasure."
I never heard him allude to the matter again.

In the latter part of the '70s there drifted into Chi-
cago six young men from Galena. They were James
W. Scott, Christian C. Kohlsaat, George B. Swift, Her-
man Kohlsaat, Hempstead Washburne and Arthur H.
Chetlain. They were all Galena boys and at times
schoolmates, who often went out on little excursions to
shoot turkeys, pheasants and quail on the wooded bluffs
of the Mississippi river west of Galena. In time, one
after the other located in Chicago, and it so happened
that in the early '90s, without any concert of action or
combination, Scott was the manager and part proprietor
of the "Times-Herald," and Herman Kohlsaat, proprie-
tor and manager of the ''Inter Ocean," both leading
daily newspapers of the city. George B. Swift was
mayor of the city, and was preceded by Hempstead
Washburne and Carter H. Harrison, who was mayor
during the world's fair year. Christian C. Kohlsaat was
judge of the Cook County Probate Court, and Arthur H.
Chetlain one of the judges of the Superior Court of Chi-
cago, An old and prominent Chicagoan remarked at
the time "that it looks very much as if Chicago was
being run by Galena men." All who were officials were
regarded as upright, able and efficient in the discharge
of their official duties. The two who were managers of
newspapers achieved wide reputations for energy, tact,
discrimination and excellent administrative ability.

In 1892 I organized the Industrial Bank of Chicago,
with a. paid-up capital of $200,000, locating it in the
manufacturing district lying near West Twenty second
street and Blue Island avenue. The need of banking
facilities had long been felt in that district by the lumber
and coal dealers and iron manufacturers. I was elected

186

the president of the board of directors. Fifteen months
after its doors had been opened for business I was taken
severely ill, and my eyesight became seriously impaired-
I was compelled to give up all business. I went to Cali-
fornia for a year for the benefit of my health. After my
return I found myself still unfit for business, and sold
out my interest in the institution, greatly to my sorrow,
for when I organized it I intended the scheme to be the
last business venture of my life. The bank started under
most favorable auspices and its business met the expec-
tation of its managers. In the board of directors were
James B.Goodman and W. D. Goodman, extensive lum-
ber manufacturers and dealers, who had large interests
in pine lands in Wisconsin, with the reputation of
being some of Chicago's most sagacious and successful
business men; Louis Hutt, ex-county treasurer and a
large manufacturer and dealer in lumber; John McLaren,
now the president of the Hide and Leather Bank of Chi-
cago, a financier of recognized ability, and Davey S. Pate
and B. M. Hair, well known lumbermen, whose business
qualifications were of a high order, and who ranked
among the leading and successful lumbermen of Chicago.
In 1881 there was started a scheme to celebrate the
semi-centenial }^ear of Chicago's existence as a chartered
city, by a unique international military encampment to
last twenty days. Troops of the regular army, of Nation-
al Guards of various states, and a few small bodies of
troops from Europe were to go into camp together and
give drills for prizes, etc., thereby giving them an
opportunity to fraternize. The project was well re-
ceived and approved of by many leading citizens of Chi-
cago who pledged material aid. It was estimated that
the cost of the enterprise, including the expense of
bringing troops from Europe and subsisting them while
in the encampment, would be about $200,000. The

187

month of October was fixed upon as the time for hold-
ing the encampment. I was not one of the original
promoters of the scheme, but was chosen Vice-President
of the organization with the view of securing my services
in obtaining troops from the various countries in Europe.
Ex-Governor, J. L. Beveridge, a man of large experience
in business affairs was the President of the organization.
Gen. C. S. Bentley of the Iowa National Guards, then a
resident of Chicago, and one of the original projectors of
the enterprise, was chosen as General Manager or Com-
mander, on account of his previous experience, having
managed with success several inter-state encampments
of National Guards, assisted by troops of the regular
army, and for his well known energy and executive
ability.

In the latter part of May I sailed for Europe, accom-
panied by Gen. C. S. Bentley, the General Manager, who
was to assist me in securing troops in England, Holland
and Belgium. The State Department at Washington as
the result of an interview with Hon. T. B. Bayard, the
Secretary of State, had provided me with an official letter
to each of our diplomatic representatives in England and
Europe, instructing him to give me such aid as he could
in carrying out my mission. These letters were placed
in my hand by Secretary Bayard in person. I learned,
soon after reaching Europe, that Secretary Bayard, after
the letters of introduction had been prepared, was in-
formed that the enterprise was of a private character
and for personal gain, and at once sent a circular
letter to each one to whom my letters were addressed,
cautioning him against doing anything that might lead
other governments to believe that our government was
endorsing the scheme, that it was a private enterprise,
etc. Had Secretary Bayard said this to me when he gave
me the letters in question as he should have done, I

188

think I would not have gone to Europe, but have
returned to Chicago and advised abandoning the
enterprise, at least so far as trying to get troops from
Europe.

My treatment by the United States ministers was
courteous and nothing more. At Brussels I made the
discovery alluded to, after I had visited London and
Paris. It was then too late to think of retreating and I went
on with my mission without the co-operation of
our ministers. From Brussels I went to The Hague
(Holland) and then to Berlin, Copenhagen, Stockholm,
St. Petersburg, Vienna and Berne. All the ministers of
war I met treated me with consideration despite the
"shady" character of my credentials, and in every in-
stance I was permitted to have interviews with
them, without the usual formality of making a written
request for an audience through the American Legation,
and being compelled to wait, sometimes for days for a
reply. Gen. Ferron, the French Minister of War, at the
request of an official in the office of the Minister of For-
eign Affairs, whom I had known in the United States,
granted me an immediate audience. I used his action
as a precedent afterwards with all other officials, with the
result given above.

I will here digress to say that General Ferron, the
French Minister of War, had been informed before I saw
him that I was a personal friend of Gen. Grant, At the
audience granted me, after 1 had stated my business
briefly, and had agreed to see him again upon my re-
turn from Northern Europe I rose to go. He said, "No,
General, be seated, I want to talk with yon about Gen,
Grant, who I am told you knew well." Upon my assur-
ing him that such was the case he went on to say, "I was
in command in Algeria during your great war, and was
impressed with Gen. Grant's admirable conduct at Fort

189

Donelson and the splendid victor}' he there achieved.
From that time to the end of the war I studied him care-
fully. You had many able commanders in your war, as
had also the Confederates. Your General Sherman
showed great ability as the commander of a large army.
General Sheridan was simply splendid as a cavalry
officer, and as commanders of great ability you had be-
sides, McClellan, Thomas Meade and Rosecrans. Now
tell me General, wherein do you think Grant was a great
commander?" I hesitated a moment and replied, "Gen.
Grant never claimed to be a tactician. He probably was
not a greater organizer than some of the Generals you
have named, but as a cool, determined and persistent
fighter he had no equal in our army. Gen. Grant had
a mathematical brain, and his forte was as a strategist or
planner of campaigns. His old commandant at the
military academy at West Point, while Gen. Grant was a
cadet, Gen. Charles F. Smith, one of the oldest and ablest
generals in our civil war, told me before the battle of
Fort Donelson, that Gen. Grant, as a cadet, was wonder-
fully proficient in mathematics." I said farther, "I don't
think General, that the true history of Gen. Grant has
yet been written. We are too near the scenes of that
great war, but in time, such a historian as your Thiers
or Macaulay, of England, or our own Prescott, will give
to the world a true history of that great military com-
mander, and then I think it will be found that in high
strategy i.e. in planning campaigns for an army, or
rather armies of 1,200,000 men scattered along a line of
nearly one thousand miles in length, Gen. Grant
could do so better and more successfully than any other
military commander that this century has produced."
Gen. Ferron became deeply interested, and as I finished
he brought his hand down upon his knee with some
force and said, "General, that is the conclusion I reached

190

long ago." Gen. Perron was then a man nearly sixty
years of age, tall, spare, gray haired, with a kindly face
and a dignified and courteous manner. I learned after-
wards that the General had the reputation of being one
of the most accomplished officers in the French army,
and an authority in army matters, not only in France,
but in all Europe.

The result of my visit to the countries I have
named was as follows: The law in France prohibited
her armed troops from going beyond her limits. The
proposition made to Gen. Ferron was to allow, say forty
cadets of the National Military school at St. Cyr to go to
Chicago to join an equal number of graduates from West
Point, to be together at the encampment, and then all go
to West Point for a visit. After my return from North-
ern Europe, Gen. Ferron said that my proposition had
been favorably considered, but he regretted to say
that all the cadets of the National Military school
at St. Cyr who had graduated in June had been as-
signed to armies in various parts of the world, and
that, had the encampment been held in July or
August my proposition would doubtless have been ac-
cepted.

In London there were two independent regiments,
like the famous Seventh of New York, and the First regi-
ment of Illinois National Guards of Chicago, composed
of young men in the professions, trades, etc. From one
of the two, "The Scottish Rifles," we hoped to get one
company of eighty men with its officers and its lieuten-
ant colonel and his staff. At Brussels we were to get a
company of eighty picked men, twenty from each of the
four arms of the service, with its officers and a major
general and his staff officers. At The Hague, Holland, a
general with hisstaff officers§and fifteen lieutenants of the
line agreed to come. Prussia had regular troops only, and

191

would not permit them to go to the United States, fear-
ing they might not return, as there was no provision
in the treaty with the United States by which they could
be compelled to return. At St. Petersburg I was cordial-
ly received by the Minister of War, General De Feid-
man, who informed me that my request had been con-
sidered, and that the government regretted that some
complications in the southeast border of the empire
might become serious, and it was not deemed advisable
to permit any part of the army to leave the em-
pire; that under ordinary circumstances the govern-
ment would have been glad to send 100 or more
picked men with their officers and a general officer and
staff by a man of war to New York, without expense to
any one. At Vienna conditions were much the same as
at Berlin, but the government would send a general offi-
cer and staff to represent their country at the Interna-
tional Military Encampment. At Berne I found no
difficulty in securing eighty sharpshooters and their
officers and a colonel and staff. That there could be
no doubt as to our ability to meet the expense incurred
by the visiting foreign troops, there was an agreement
in every instance that immediately upon my return to
Chicago I was to place in some bank funds estimated to
be sufficient to defray the expenses of the contingent to
New York, and from there to Chicago and during the en-
campment and return. At Denmark, Norway and Swed-
en no deposit of funds was asked for, and there were sent
eighty picked men with their officers, and besides twenty-
one officers, including two colonels. The contingent was
in command of Colonel Lilliehook, commander at Stock-
holm of the regiment of Royal Guards. He was an offi-
cer of distinction, both brave and accomplished and of
large experience, who had actively participated in two
wars. After my return fr)m Europe, about the close of

192

July, I was surprised to find that the managers had failed
to raise by subscription the money necessary to meet the
estimated expenses of bringing foreign troops to the en-
campment. There had been lack of energy and system
in obtaining subscriptions. The}7 had on the books less
than $100,000, when over $200,000 would be required to
carry out the agreements made while on my mission. I
immediately notified the parties in London, The Hague
and Berne that their contingents had been eliminated
from troops to come from foreign countries. The Bel-
gium contingent, a very desirable one, at the last mo-
ment decided not to come. The Scandinavian officers,
after their return to their various countries, wrote back
to the management expressing thanks for the courteous
treatment they had received while at Chicago.

The month of October was a most disagreeable one
for a militaiy encampment. The cold and wet weather
prevented visitors from attending. Moreover, the Na-
tional Guards of the state, especially those of the city of
Chicago, for some real ~or fancied slight on the part of
the management, failed to give the encampment the sup-
port expected. The government was liberal in sending
some of its best troops of infantry, cavalry and artillery,
who co-operated cordially with the management in its
•efforts to make the encampment a success. It was not,
however, the success its friends had hoped for and confi-
dently expected.

I have given above in detail my experience while on
nay missions to obtain foreign troops to take part in the
International Military Encampment held in Chicago in
1887, to show that troops can be obtained in foreign
countries for such a purpose. The idea of bringing to-
gether troops of various countries to fraternize for a
time is a good one, and cannot result in other than mu-
tual good.

193

As I came into daily contact with IP any of Chicago's
active and enterprising men, I was more impressed with
them than with Chicago itself, wonderful as it has been
in its growth and prosperity. And now, looking back-
ward over more than a quarter of a century, I find that
many men with whom my life became unconsciously in-
terwoven in society, in politics and in business affairs,
are and will be a part of me the rest of my life. Among
those now dead, whom I vividly recall, is that singular
•character, John Wentworth. I knew him well, and yet
he was and ever will be an enigma to me. Every one
recognized his wonderful power over men. As an editor
of a newspaper, a representative in congress, and as a
politk-al leader he was "one in a million." Had this
gifted man been less devoted to John Wentworth and
more so to humanity about him, he would have ranked
higher among the nation's great men.

J. Young Scammon, once almost an autocrat in
Chicago in finance, in politics, in society and in public
affairs, was a born leader of men. He had a clear intel-
lect, broad education, large experience, and was gifted
as a vigorous writer and impressive speaker. The real
strength and beauty of his character was clearly seen in
his patient philosophical and cheerful endurance of ad-
versity through financial disasters which overtook him
several years before his death.

There was also a brother banker, W. C. Coolbaugh,
the banker and able financier, who held such a
distinguished place among the financial men of the
Northwest. It is a pity that he did not live out his nat-
ural life to show to the world the power he possessed.
That he was a man of great mental force, clear-headed
and far-sighted, no one who knew him could doubt.

I knew as far back as 1858, Emory Storrs, the brill-
iant, learned and resourceful lawyer and captivating ora-

194

tor, who, had he practiced more discrimination in the
management of his every-day private affairs would have
held a higher position among those who are deemed
truly great. His marked ability as a lawyer was univers-
ally recognized and his friends all over the country
made efforts with two administrations to have him ap-
pointed United States attorney general. If he failed to
be appointed, it was not because he lacked the requisite
ability.

And Leonard Swett, the great lawyer who had few
peers in the state, and who was the intimate friend of
Abraham Lincoln and of Senator and former Judge
David Davis. He always seemed to me like the tall and
shapely oak in the forest. I knew him well, admired
his splendid ability, nnd loved him for his stern integ-
rity and generous and sympathetic disposition.

About 1856 I first met Judge Lyman Turnbull, the
distinguished lawyer, able jurist and ripe statesman, who
during the dark days of the civil war, while chairman
of the Senate Committee on Judiciary, did so much in
shaping in a constitutional manner important legisla-
tion, and, after the war, legislation bearing on the recon-
struction of the seceded Southern states.

I knew well the sound lawyer and learned jurist,
Judge C. B. Lawrence, for many years preceding his
death a resident of Chicago, and who, for some time, was
the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the state of
Illinois, and later was appointed by President Hayes one
of the five commissioners, of which Senator McVeagh of
Pennsylvania, was the chairman, to investigate the re-
turns made by the state of Louisiana for President the
year before. Few men whom I have known intimately
impressed me with their nobility of character more
than he. Of wide and varied learning and a good con-
versationalist, he was a favorite wherever he was known.

195

James VV. McVicker, the veteran theatrical mana-
ger of Chicago, was a man of acute mental perception,,
of firm convictions, of sturdy integrity, with a generous
disposition, and who was so conspicuous in his active
loyalty to the Union at the breaking out of the civil war
that he was elected an honorary member of the Illinois
Commandery of Loyal Legion of the United States. I
knew him intimately, and loved him for his admirable
qualities of head and heart.

There too was the Rev. Dr. Patterson, the recognized:
leader of the Presbyterian church in the Northwest for
over two score of years before his death. Of command-
ing presence, untiring energy and will force, a sound and
learned theologian and an able and convincing speaker,
I had olten heard him in the pulpit of the Rev. Aratus
Kent at Galena long before I knew him in Chicago. He
was one of a type of men fast disappearing, and was a
potent factor in the building up of the Presbyterian
chim-h and in founding educational institutions. When
he died a few years ago, the loss was not only to his-
church, but to all other Christian denominations.

And my good friend and pastor for fifteen years,.
Professor David Swing, the ripe scholar, Christian phil-
osopher, humanitarian and great sermonizer. Few men
with so little of the graces of oratory have succeeded in
drawing such large audiences as did he for so many
years. His great learning, quiet and kindly disposition,
broad and liberal views and ready wit, naturally drew
men to him. In the use of language as a public speaker
he was not only scholarly, but his diction was of unsur-
passed excellence, the result of natural ability and of
careful mental training.

Carter H. Harrison, formerly a member of congress,
from Chicago and for many years its ma\Tor, was one of
the most remarkable men I ever knew. Of broad edu-

196

cation, wide and varied information, keen perception in
affairs, large experience, a thorough politician, an excel-
lent judge of men, and of an attractive personality, a most
fascinating conversationalist, gifted as a writer, and a
fluent and forcible speaker. His son, Carter H. Harri-
son, now mayor of Chicago, has much of his father's
mental virility and political sagacity, with possibly more
energy, less experience in public affairs, but tactful and
keen I}7 discriminating as an official. He has in him the
elements of success in a high degree.

George M. Pullman, a "king" among men of large
.affairs, was one of Chicago's most remarkable men. Su-
perbly endowed with mental force, he was ingenious, re-
sourceful, sagacious, energetic and conservative. In the
twoscore years of his active business life he achieved a
reputation that "girdled the world."

Edward G. Mason, the eminent lawyer, so long and
so well known in Chicago, was a man of great natural
ability and superior education, who, for many years pre-
vious to his death, was the efficient President of the Chi-
cago Historical Society, being the successor of the Hon.E.
B. Washburne, former United States Minister to France.
His mind was a vast storehouse of rare and valuable in-
formation gathered largely Irom the annals of the past.
Immediately preceding his death his qualifications were
considered with a view to his appointment as President
of Yale College. '

Gen. Walter Q. Gresham was in many respects a
rare man, of much positive strength of character and of
a most amiable disposition. He made a brilliant record
in the civil war. Gen. Grant appreciated him as a sol-
dier, and also as a lawyer and jurist. After ihe war,
while President, he appointed him Judge oi the United
States District Court of Indiana. He was subsequently
appointed Judge of the United States Circuit Court at

197

Chicago. He filled these positions with marked ability.
He was Postmaster General under President Arthur and
was appointed by President Cleveland Secretary of
State, and died while he was an incumbent of that office.
I knew Gen. Gresham well when he was foi- some time
my neighbor in Chicago. I admired him for his learn-
ing and unassuming and kindly manner. He was a
favorite with the former soldiers of the civil war, and
while Judge of the United States Circuit Court was
chosen commander of the Illinois commandery of the
Loyal Legion.

Judge Mark Skinner was one of the best types of
noble manhood. Living, he was honored — dead, he
was mourned. Though dead, his labors and his-
Christian example remain, and they form his fittest
monument. He was an early settler in Chicago, and
during his long residence in that city he impressed him-
self upon its people and institutions, as few other men
had done. He was an unassuming Christian, a public
spirited citizen, a genuine patriot, and a true friend.
His great work as President of the Sanitary Commission
held in Chicago in 1864 will never be forgotten by the
loyal people of the country. He was a lawyer of ability,
and a conscientious judge. His conspicuous loyalty to
the Union during the civil war induced the Loyal Legion,
to make him an honorary member.

Henry W. King, an early merchant in Chicago, and
who died recently, was one of Judge Skinner's neighbors
and esteemed friends. Mr. King was a strong character.
His work for nearly a quarter of a century as President
of the Board of Managers of the Chicago "Relief and
Aid Society" organized after the great fire, was a notable
one. In performing it he displayed rare executive
ability, excellent judgment and untiring industry. His
death was an almost irreparable loss to the society. I

198

.knew Judge Skinner and Mr. King well, and loved them
for their many admirable qualities of mind and heart.

Col. T. Lysle Dickey, a former captain of the Mexi-
can war, was one of Illinois, early cavalry officers who I
first met after the hattle of Donelson. He was an able
lawyer, a sound jurist, and a modest, brave and efficient
commander of cavalry who never failed to receive the
•commendation of his superior officers for faithful service.
•Gen. Grant regarded him as oiie of his most excellent
-officers and appointed him his chief of cavalry in 1862,
which position he filled until he left the army in 1803.
He was the assistant United States Attorney General
•during President Johnson's administration, and in
1876 was elected to the Supreme Court of Illinois, where
.he served until his death in 1885. A Kentuckian by
birth, but an lllinoisan from his boyhood, he was well
known and highly esteemed, not only by the bar of the
state, but by his fellow citizens as well.

Major Joseph Kirkland entered the volunteer service
in the civil war at an early time as a private, was com-
missioned a lieutenant after his three months service,
received a staff appointment, and by his zeal, bravery
and efficiency rose to the rank of Major. He was an able
lawyer, and a writer of recognized ability, the latter, a
quality inherited from his gifted mother, and was the
author of several books, including "Zury" and the "Story
•of Chicago." He was a leader in the literary circles of
Chicago for many years, and for some time previous to
his death was the President of the "Twentieth Century
Club" of Chicago. He was a cultured and courteous
gentleman, and had many friends and admirers.

There, too, was my old friend, the learned lawyer
and distinguished and profound jurist, Judge John D.
Caton, whose official acts as Associate Justice and after-
ward Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Illinois and

199

his many private enterprises mike a conspicuous page
in the early history of Illinois. After leaving the bench
he traveled extensively in Europe, China and Japan,
and wrote several books filled with valuable information
gathered during his extensive travels. He was a man
of great simplicity of character, directness of purpose,
integrity, and of a kindly disposition,

Three lawyers in Chicago whom I knew well and
appreciated were Wirt Dexter, of keen intellect and of
superior ability in his profession, and gifted as an elo-
quent speaker; E. C. Lamed, the accomplished and cour-
teous gentleman and distinguished lawyer, and the Hon.
Isaac N. Arnold, the friend of Abraham Lincoln and the
learned lawyer, scholar and statesman.

I also knew well Andrew Shuman, former Lieuten-
ant Governor of Illinois, and for many years the able
and genial editor of the Chicago "Evening Journal,"
an 1 Anton Hesing, the venerable editor of the ''Staats
Zeitung," and his talented son, Washington Hesing, late
postmaster at Chicago, and Robert Law. who in the '50s
was at Galena, a contractor on the Illinois Central rail-
road, and for many years an extensive dealer in coal in
Chicago, aiii A. M. Billings and Jacob Betdler, friends
and neighbors for many years on the West side and both
multi-millionaires, and R. P. Derrickson, former member
of the legislature, and the extensive manufacturer of and
dealer in lumber, and the public-spirited citizen, 8. S.
Hayes, the brainy lawyer and the efficient city comp-
troller after the great fire.

Among the many men who were in the civil war as
active participants and who have passed away, and not
mentioned in the foregoing pages, was my esteemed
friend, Gen. William E. Strong, an exceptionally brave
and efficient, officer during his long term of over four

200

years of service in the volunteer army. Of an engaging
personality, clear-headed, far-seeing and successful as a
business man, and unselfish and public spirited as a citi-
zen. He was loyal to his country and true to his friends,
a veritable Bayard, "sans peur et sans reproche."

Gen. Phil H. Sheridan was the ideal American sol-
dier, whose name is a synonym for all that is brave and
heroic in the patriotic defender of his country. In 1883r
when the Illinois commaudery of the military order of
the Loyal Legion of the United States was instituted in.
Chicago, he was elected its commander, and served until
his removal to Washington. He went to Europe in 187O
to witness the military operations in the Franco-Prussian
war. Prince Bismarck, after having had an interview/
with him, made the remark: "That man is a good fight-
er, and he looks it."

And that gallant soldier, Gen. William T. Sherman.,
whose death in 1883 caused heartfelt sorrow among his
army comrades, to whom all were deeply attached. I
was one of a large delegation of his friends who went to»
St. Louis to attend his funeral. I knew him somewhat
during the war, but in the last ten years of his life I be-
came intimately acquainted with him, and he was fre-
quently a guest at my home in Chicago, where all were*
very fond of him. He was a grand and noble man. The
world said he was peculiar in disposition, Well, he was-.
William T. Sherman, and there was no other army offi-
cer like him. Large- brained, large-hearted, impulsive
at times, but sensible, upright and true always.

Gen. Julius White was not only a brave and effi-
cient soldier, but also a man of thought and action and
successful in business affairs. After the civil war he was
appointed United States Minister to the Argentine Re-
public and filled the position with marked ability. Be-
fore the civil war he was prominent in the politics of his

201

state as a Republican, especially in the memorable Lin-
coln campaign in 1860, and won the reputation of being
energetic, shrewd and discriminating. His uniform
courtesy and kindly manner made him popular.

Gen. J. D. Webster was at the breaking out of the
civil war an ex-captain of the regular array. He ranked
high as a military engineer and became in 1862 chief
engineer of Gen. Grant's staff, where his services were of
a most valuable character. His energy was proverbial,
his judgment excellent, and his resourceful brain led
him to suggest much which proved a great benefit to the
service. He possessed wide and varied information, and
was a most entertaining and instructive conversationalist.

Gen. George W. Smith, who died recently, and who
was one of Chicago's prominent lawyers, was a neigh-
bor of mine for many years. He served in the civil war
with great efficiency and was regarded as one of the best
and bravest of Illinois' regimental commanders. At the
close of the war he was brevetted a brigadier general for
meritorious services. He was elected State Treasurer of
Illinois in 1866 and served one term. His judgment as
a business lawyer was regarded as sound and reliable,
and his practice as counselor was large and lucrative.
Endowed with many admirable traits of character he
was universally beloved.

Gen. I. N. Stiles was the brave soldier, able and suc-
cessful lawyer, and the witty and genial companion;
Colonel J. H. Howe, the gallant soldier, tawyer, jurist
and railroad attorney, and Gen. H. N. Eldredge, the
brave soldier, learned lawyer and a courteous, generous
and companionable man.

A third of a century has passed since the civil war
ended. For over twenty-five years of that time I have
lived in Chicago and have mingled with my army com-

2U2

rades. Among those still living, with many of whom I
have been intimate and who have not been mentioned in.
foregoing pages, are Gen. John C. Black, intellectually
one of the ablest of the able men of Illinois, who won
distinction in the civil war by his courage, efficiency and
thorough knowledge of his duties. His attainments as
a lawyer are of a high order, and he has few equals as
a scholarly writer and a fluent and forcible speaker. He
has filled with marked ability the offices of United States
Commissioner of Pensions and of United States District
Attorney for the Northern district of Illinois. He is
courteous and genial in manner and a favorite in social
and literary circles.

Major E. A. Blodgett, so well known in Chicago, has
been the commander of the Illinois Department of the
G. A. R. one year. Daring his long service in the civil
war he was as brave as the bravest and conspicuously
efficient. In civil life he has won a high reputation as a
shrewd and successful business man. He has quiet en-
ergy, is a good judge of men, is genial and companion-
able, frank and generous, and a favorite with the old sol-
dier element.

My old-time friend. Gen. John Corson Smith, for-
merly of Galena, has a record in the civil war of which
.any American patriot might well be prcud. Years ago
he was the Treasurer and afterwards Lieutenant Governor
of the state of Illinois. He has clear judgment, rare
practical intelligence and is cordial and kindly in man-
ner. He is a high and distinguished Mason and Odd
Fellow. It is believed that the general has the rare fac-
ulty of being able to call more men in the state of Illi-
nois by their full names than any other man in it.

Gen. Thomas 0. Osborn, the soldier and diplomat, a
a brave and distinguished officer in the civil war, had
few equals and no superiors. He was the United States

203

Minister Resident at Buenos Ayres, Argentine Republic,
for sixteen years, achieving a high reputation for sound
judgment and unusual skill in managing the affairs of
his country as its representative at a foreign court.
He possesses rare general intelligence, is an able lawyer
.and an eloquent speaker.

Colonel James A. Sexton, so well known in Chicago,
was its postmaster one term by appointment of President
Harrison. He commanded the Illinois department of
the G. A. R. one year, and at the time of his death, which
•occurred recently, was commander of the National De-
Department. He made a splendid record during his
long service in the civil war, and when but twenty years
of age, with the rank of captain, won distinction by suc-
cessfully commanding a regiment in battle. His attract-
ive personality, integrity, practical sense and cordial and
kindly manner made him popular outside as well as in-
side of army circles. He was a careful student of events,
well informed, and withal a graceful and impres-
sive speaker. Shortly before his death he was hon-
-ored by being appointed by President McKinley one of
the Commission to investigate the conduct of the late
Spanish-American war.

Gen. Smith D. Atkins, whom I knew before the civil
war, has been for twenty-four years past the postmaster
at Freeport, 111., and for many years the editor and pro-
prietor of the "Freeport Journal." His long service in
the civil war, especially while in command of cavalry,
was full of deeds of daring and great efficiency. He was
a Freesoiler and afterwards a Republican, and has always
been influential in the counsels of his party. He is a
vigorous writer and an effective speaker, and is widely
known an I highly esteened throughout the state.

Gen. J. B. Leake is a lawyer of recognized ability,

for one term served as United States District Attor-

201

ney for the Northern district of Illinois. As an officer
in the civil war he possessed valuable soldierly qualities
in an eminent degree.

My esteemed friend, Gen. A. C. McClurg, the ripe
scholar and polished and courteous gentleman, was also
the brave and accomplished soldier of the civil war with
a record of exceptional merit.

Gen William Sooy Smith, who as a military engi-
neer in thecivil war had few equals, and who as the com-
mander of a brigade was skillful, brave and efficient.
He has served for one year as commander of the Illinois
Commandery of the Loyal Legion.

Major George Hunt of the Twelfth regiment Illinois
Infantry, rose from the ranks in his four years' service to
a Majority. After the war he was elected to fill the
office of Attorney General of the state of Illinois, and
made a record seldom equalled. He is now practic-
ing his profession in Chicago, where he has taken a de-
servedly high position at the bar.

Gen. Joseph Stockton is a careful, conservative and
successful man of business, was a gallant soldier in the
civil war, and is a public spirited citizen of much amia-
bility and popularity.

My friend, J. Mason Loomis, is the born soldier who
was always fond of the profession of arms. In the civil
war, as a regimental or brigade commander, he proved
himself in an eminent degree a courageous and skillful
officer, especially in battle, for which he never failed to
receive the unqualified commendation of his superior
officers.

Gen. Orrin L. Maun, the sheriff of Cook county for
four years soon after the civil war, is endowed with fine
natural ability, has a well trained mind, and so consti-
tuted mentally that whatever he undertakes to do he does
well. His army record is one of unusual excellence.

205

Gen. John McNulta is one of the best known men in
the state of Illinois, and is an excellent type of the Amer-
ican volunteer soldier. A learned lawyer, a sagacious
man of affairs, a public spirited citizen of sturdy integ-
rity, genial in disposition and exceptionally generous. He
is intensely loyal to his country, and invariably true to
his friends.

Col. George K. Dauchy, one of Chicago's extensive
iron manufacturers, is a man of broad education, of high
literary attainments, of keen business perception, con-
servative and successful. His record in the civil war
was an exceptionally creditable one. Suave in manner,
and of a kindly disposition, he is highly esteemed by all
who know him, especially by his army comrades.

Col. F. A. Stevenson has long been known in Chi-
cago as a lawyer of ability and a successful man of busi-
ness. He entered the army early in the civil war and
won distinction, especially as a staff officer, possessing a
thorough knowledge of his duties, with tact, vigilence
and bravery. As a business manager he is clear sighted
and conservative. His engaging personality, frank and
generous disposition makes him a favorite in the circles
in which he moves.

I knew Captain Samuel E. Gross nearly a quarter
of a century ago when he operated in Chicago as a real
estate agent, in a small way. He soon developed rare
ability and discrimination. His shrewdness and skill in
subdividing and improving outlying tracts of land for
suburban residences has placed him at the front rank of
real estate operators in Chicago, and has made him
very wealthy. He has literary taste, and is the author
of several books. He served in the army during the
civil war and won distinction for bravery and efficiency.
He has practical intelligence, is cordial in manner, and
is a genial and generous host.

206

Gei). Green B. Raum is an eminently practical manr
and was a soldier, not only brave, but resourceful and
efficient as the commander of a regiment or a brigade-
He was United States Commissioner of Pensions at Wash-
ington for four years, and discharged the duties of the
office with ability.

Gen. R. N. Pearson, whose career in the civil war
was marked by energy, intelligence and personal courage
in an eminent degree. He commanded a regiment of
Infantry with discrimination and success before he was
21 years of age. His frank and cordial manner makes
him a favorite with the ex-soldiery.

In your intercourse with some men you are naturally
drawn to them. Such a one is my friend and neighbor
in Chicago, Major William Vocke, the able lawyer, dili-
gent student, ripe scholar, the brave and efficient soldier
in the civil war, and the courteous 'and generous host.

Captain Eugene Gary, past commander of the Illinois
Commandery of the Loyal Legion, is a quiet, refined, in-
tellectual and suave gentleman, the conspicuously gal-
lant soldier in the civil war, the public spirited citizen,
the clear sighted man of affairs, and the genial compan-
ion.

The "Saul" * of the Illinois Commandery of the Loyal
Legion, is Colonel J. B. Keeler, of superb physique, large
bodied, large minded, and large hearted, and seemingly
born to command men. As a soldier in the civil war his rec-
ord was an admirable one, replete with deeds of daring.
He is a sagacious and successful man of business, and his
genuine kindness of disposition makes him a favorite
with all who know him.

Gen. (Bishop) Samuel Fallows is one of the earnest
and able leaders of the Reformed Episcopal church in
Chicago. He entered the service in the civil war as the

* See ist Samuel, gth chapter, zA verse.

207

chaplain of a Wisconsin regiment of volunteers, and was-
soon appointed its colonel and commander. At the close-
of the war he was appointed a brigadier general by
brevet for gallant and meritorious services. His bravery
and efficiency as the commander of a regiment was only
equalled by his zeal and devotion as a chaplain. He is
a graceful and forcible speaker and has had conferred
upon him the honorary degrees of D.D. and L.L.D.

The Rev. Dr. Arthur Edwards is the veteran editor
of the ''Northwestern Christian Advocate," published in
Chicago. He rendered his country valuable service in
the civil war as a chaplain. His marked ability and dis-
crimination as a writer has long been recognized, as well
as was his zeal, earnestness and devotion to his sacred
calling. His attractive personality, sympathetic dispo-
sition, affability and wide and varied learning make him
one of the most companionable of men.

I have always had great esteem for my friend, Col-
onel Huntington W. Jackson, the handsome, courteous
and accomplished gentleman, and the brave, intelligent
and successful soldier of the civil war. He is a distin-
guished member of the Chicago bar, and one of the best
types of the energetic and public-spirited citizen.

There are three Judges on the bench in Chicago who-
are members of the Illinois Commandery of the Loyal
Legion, the first-named having served for one year as its
commander. They are Colonels R. S. Tuthill and A. N.
Waterman of the circuit court, and Captain H. V. Free-
man of the superior court, all officers of the civil war
whose records were unusually meritorious. Their learn-
ing and ability as jurists are only equalled by their
bravery and efficiency as soldiers while in the service.

Gen. Charles Fitzsimons, so well and favorably
known in Chicago for a score of years, is a gallant officer
who served in a New York regiment of cavalry and was-

208

brevetted a brigadier general at the close of the war for
meritorious services. He is a civil engineer of recog-
nized ability, and has had much to do with public works
in Chicago. A forceful character, frank and cordial in
manner, and highly esteemed by his fellow citizens.

Gen. Walter R. Robbins is another cavalry officer who
served with distinction in the Army of the Potomac
during the civil war, and was also made a brigadier gen-
eral by brevet for gallant services. He came to Chicago
soon after the war and engaged in the lumber trade.
His energy, industry, uprightness and approved meth-
ods in business have made him a prominent figure in
lumber circles. He is a popular member of the Loyal
Legion and of other army societies.

One of the prominent figures in the military circles
of Chicago is Gen. John L. Beveridge, a former member
of congress and ex-governor of the state of Illinois. He
is a lawyer of learning, who practiced his profession in
Chicago before the war. His record in the civil war.
as the colonel of the Seventeenth Illinois cavalry, is one
of rare excellence. The general has an impressive per-
sonality, much natural ability, a well trained intellect,
large experience in public affairs, much practical intelli-
gence, is dignified and courteous in manner, of a kindly
disposition, and is a ready and forcible speaker.

One of the most admirable characters I know among
the former soldiery of the civil war is Colonel Augustus
Jacobson, the exceptionally brave and efficient soldier
and the cultured and accomplished gentleman. He has
literary tastes and marked ability as a writer and lectur-
er on practical subjects, such as manual (mechanical)
training schools for boys and young men. With an
acute and well-trained intellect, he has good judgment,
broad sympathies and a courteous, genial and attractive
manner, He is an excellent representative of the Ameri-
can patriot and soldier of foreign birth.

209

The Rev. Dr. N. D. Hillis is a talented and popular
3roung clergyman, and the successor of Prof. David Swing
in the Central church. He is broad-minded, liberal in
his views as a theologian, and an earnest, active and
persistent worker, not only in his own church and con-
gregation, but also among all classes. He is emphatic-
ally a man of ideas as well as of action, and a fluent and
effective speaker. His genuine kindness of disposition
and wide and varied learning naturally draws men to
him and makes him popular. He has recently become
the pastor of Plymouth church. Brooklyn, N. Y.

Some time in the latter '50's there came from Chica-
go to Galena a young, fair faced and highly educated
German of courteous and winning manner, named
George Schneider, who addressed a large German, polit-
ical meeting in a very eloquent manner. He was then
and had been for several years a prominent and influ-
ential politician in the northwest. In 1854-5 he was the
editor of the Staats Zeitung of Chicago, the most influ-
ential German paper in the Northwest. It was anti-
slavery and an early advocate of free soil. Mr. Schneider
was a delegate to the Philadelphia convention which
nominated Gen. Fremont for the presidency, and was also
a delegate to the Chicago convention which nominated
Mr. Lincoln. He was chairman of the executive com-
mittee of the Union Defense committee of the state and
in 1862 was appointed by his old friend, President
Lincoln, collector of U. S. revenue for the Chicago dis-
trict, which position he filled for four years. He was ap-
pointed U. S. Consul to Denmark in 1851, and U. S. Min-
ister Resident to Switzerland in 1876, but declined the
latter appointment. In 1871 when the National Bank
of Illinois was organized in Chicago he was elected its
president and filled the position for over twenty-five
years, during which time he won the reputation of being

210

a shrewd, sound and conservative financier. During his
residence of forty-five years in Chicago he has been rec-
ognized as one of the best types of the citizen of foreign
birth. Mr. Schneider's genial and cordial manner, his-
kindly dispo?ition and marked intelligence has made him
popular with all classes.

John G. Shortall is one of Chicago's active and suc-
cessful men of business. He is besides, a reformer,
philanthropist and humanitarian. For many years he
has been the efficient president of the Chicago Humane
Society, and also for some time the president of the Na-
tional Humane Society. When a young man of eighteen
he went to Galena from New York where he had served on
the reportorial staff of the "Daily Tribune," and was em-
plo}ed by the Illinois Central R. R., after which in 185S
he took a position as reporter for the "Galena Jeffer-
sonian," edited by Dr. C. H. Ray. He possesses intense
mental activity, a clear head and marked executive force.

Judge W. H. Blodgett who has served so long and so-
well as judge of the U. S. District Court at Chicago is one
of Northern Illinois' oldest, best and most highly
esteemed citizens. He studied law in Chicago with
Scammon and Judd in the '40s, was in the legislature of
Illinois for many years and served as director, attorney
and president of a railroad. In all the positions he occu-
pied he showed himself energetic, resourceful, of sound
judgment and successful. I have long known Judge
Blodgett and have always admired him for his learning,
integrity and kindly disposition. He is now living in
retirement in his old home at Waukegan, 111.

I knew the Hon. A. M. Jones of Warren, 111., before
the civil war. Not long after the close of the war he wa&
elected to the legislature and served several terms He
took a high position in the lower house and was the rec-
ognized leader of the Republicans. His restless energy,

211

discrimination, tact and persistency naturaly made him a
leader. As a sagacious politician he had few equals and
no superiors in his state. He made Chicago his home in
the early '80s and '90s. His residence is now in southern
Wisconsin. In disposition he is genial, frank, affable
and withal an excellent judge of men.

Judge Bradwell, the veteran editor and proprietor
of the Chicago "Legal News" has been prominent as a
citizen of Chicago for nearly half a century. During the
civil war he was a member of the committee of safety and
a recognized power among Chicago's active, loyal citizens.
He is clear headed and resolute and his probity has never
been questioned. He has filled positions of honor and
trust in the state.

I knew in Galena in the early '50s a bright eyed,
active, industrious bo\' of some 12 years of age, the son of
a widow. Through the influence of a good friend he
made his way to Chicago, entered a bank as a messenger,
and later a mercantile h mse as a clerk. In time he be-
came the head of the wholesale house of Felix, Marston
& Blair. B. F. Felix is one of Chicago's best known and
most highly esteemed citizens. His shrewdness and reli-
ability in business affairs are everywhere recognized, and
his frank and generous disposition make him a charm-
ing companion.

Joseph Medill,* for so many years the veteran editor
of the Chicago Tribune, with whom I have spent pleas-
antly and profitably so many hours at his Chicago home,
and the nestor of the press of the Northwest, is a unique
character. His great ability as a newspaper writer has
long been recognized, and he clearly ranks with and is
the peer of any of that group of great editors now all
dead, Greely, Bennett, Raymond, Weed and Parke God-
win. He has been an indefatigable worker all his life, is

*Has recently died.

212

a great reader and has a retentive memory. His infor-
mation on almost every subject is wide and correct. As
a conversationalist he has no superiors, and he is always
interesting and instructive. He was the mayor of Chi-
cago just after the great fire, and has filled important po-
sitions of honor and trust under the Federal government.

Robert T. Lincoln is one of Chicago's favorite citi-
zens,, who, in his quiet way, has impressed them with
his brain power, sound judgment and great executive
force. He is a recognized lawyer of ability. His ex-
perience in public affairs as Secretary of War, and more
especially as United States Embassador to England,
where he won a high reputation for statesmanship, clear-
ly fits him for any position in the gift of the American
people. He is modest, courteous, self-contained and
kind-hearted.

Thomas F. Chard, my immediate neighbor in Chi-
cago for some years, is a clear-headed and successful man
of business. He is a constant and careful reader, whose
mind is stored with varied and valuable information,
and who wields a graceful and vigorous pen. His men-
tal acquirements and attractive manner are appreciated
by a large circle of friends.

Thomas B. Bryan fey over forty years has been a
prominent figure in Chicago. As a learned, able and
successful lawyer he has few equals at the bar of that
city. He was appointed by President Lincoln the presi-
dent of the Board of Commissioners for the District of
Columbia, which virtually made him its governor. He
has filled other important positions of trust under the
Federal government since. Probably no other man in
the past twoscore years has inaugurated so many projects
to promote the best interests of Chicago, or has been so
active and potent in carrying them out. He is endow-
ed with superior natural ability, is broadly educated

213

and has been an assiduous student all his life. As a
man of affairs he has few equals. He has a magnetic
personality, untiring energy, keen business perception,
kindliness of manner, and withal is a fluent and impres-
sive speaker.

I have an old and valued friend in J. McGregor
Adams, the well-known manufacturer, who for nearly a
quarter of a century has been identified with almost
every movement designed to advance Chicago's welfare.
His practical sense, good judgment and kindly and at-
tractive manner and sympathetic disposition has made
him popular with all classes. Practically retired from
active business, he spends his leisure time at his charm-
ing home, "Yarrow," at Highland Park, a Chicago sub-
urb, where he is known as the ''Laird of Yarrow."

My friend and neighbor, Potter Palmer, the veteran
man of affairs, whose life for nearly half a century has
been so closely identified with Chicago,s social, moral
and material development, is far-seeing, conservative and
of sound judgment, who moves on business lines that
almost always lead to success.

Lyman Gage, now Secretary of the United States
Treasury, is a product of Chicago. Forty years ago he
was a bank clerk, and has since ascended the ladder step
by step, until now he is on the topmost round. He has
been recognized in Chicago as an able and conservative
financier for many years. The whole country now con-
cedes his ability as such. Broad-minded, of clear, cool
and reliable judgment and general practical intelligence,
with his recent large experience in national affairs, un-
questionably qualifies him to fill any position in the gift
of his countrymen.

George L. Dun lap is an old-time friend, whose suc-
cessful career as a railroad manager in the Northwest is
well known, and which success was due to his force-

214

energy, keen busii ess insight, and the practical and often
ingenious methods he employed. He has an attractive
personality, a generous and kindly disposition, which
makes him one of the most companionable of men.

W. W. Kimball, the extensive manufacturer of or-
gans and pianos was one of a group of my intimate
friends. He is a level-headed, far-seeing, intensely act-
ive and successful business man, and is genial, witty and
magnetic with his friends, and always a cordial and
generous host.

Franklin McVeagh is one of a number of my es-
teemed friends and neighbors on the North side, I be-
came well acquainted with him in the latter '70s, while I
was a member of the executive committee of the Citi-
zens' Association of Chicago, of which he was the presi-
dent. He is a man of rare culture, of much brain force,
clear-sighted in business affairs and a public spirited
citizen. He is recognized in society as a courteous, dig-
nified and kind-hearted gentleman.

W. J. Onahan, long a citizen of Chicago, has a well
trained intellect, is a persistent student and a popular
lecturer. He has been closely identified with Chicago's
various interests as a private citizen and a public official.
He filled, by appointment, the office of city comptroller
for three terms, discharging its duties faithfully and well.
His interest in educational matters has been active and
potent, and he has been connected with the management,
indirectly, of several of the leading educational institu-
tions of the Northwest, one of the most prominent of
which has honored him by the bestowal of the honorary
degree of L.L.D. He has by a long and persistent effort
and at great expense collected the largest and most val-
uable library of books, old and new, of Irish literature
in the United States. He is still in the prime of life, a
courteous, cultured, genial and kind hearted gentleman.

215

In the early '50s Charles T. Trego was a clerk in
one of Galena's large mercantile houses. His industry,
intelligence and strict devotion to his duties were well
known. A few years before the war he moved to Chi-
cago, became connected with a commission firm, and soon
afterwards operated alone. In a few years he became a
prominent and influential member of the Board of Trade.
His keen discrimination and conservative methods made
.him successful. His integrity and unvarying fairness
in his business transactions gave him a high position
among his fellow members.

Among my near neighbors and esteemed friends of the
north side was Edward F. Lawrence who recently died. I
knew him in Galena in the '50s when employed by a
Boston mercantile house to look after its western busi-
ness. He was a shrewd and successful business man and
an able financier, who for many years before his death
was a director of the First National Bank of Chicago.
He was a generous, genial and companionable man.

Two young men from the state of New York located
in Chicago in the '40s Charles B. and John V. Farwell,
ambitious, brainy, energetic, sagacious and of good judg-
ment, who in time engaged in mercantile business, and
met with marked success. They have always been public
spirited and active factors in pushing forward any pro-
ject to benefit Chicago and its people. Charles B. besides
being a successful merchant developed rare ability as a
statesman and financier, as was shown by his services as
a Representative in Congress and later as a United States
Senator. While in the Senate he did much in securing
the location of the World's Columbian Exposition at Chi-
cago. John V. always had much religious zeal and en-
thusiasm. Through his close connections with, and ma-
terial support of the Young Men's Christian Association
for over a quarter of a century he has exerted a powerful

216

Christian influence far beyond the limits of his own state.
While engaged in this work he unconsciously builded
for himself a monument more enduring than granite.

One of the clear-headed, broad-minded and most ag-
gressive and successful men in Chicago, is its old citizen,
George E. Adams, who was one of its most efficient mem-
bers of Congress a few years ago. He is constantly sug-
gesting schemes and enterprises to benefit the city of Chi-
cago and is ever ready to aid in executing them. He is
a lawyer of recognized ability, has had large experience
in public affairs, and backed by his wealth and personal
influence he usually succeeds in accomplishing whatever
he undertakes, especially if he believes it to be for the
public good. He is a man of culture, is courteous in
manner, and a thoroughly up-to-date American.

During the latter part of the '70s five young men of
Chicago were frequently at my house, all being intimate
friends and college chums of my son, and some of them
were at times members of my family. They were all pro-
fessional men. Twenty years have wrought great
changes, yet all are in Chicago, practicing their profes-
sions. Stephen S. Gregory, the son of one of Wiscon-
sin's most distinguished lawyers, has practiced law in
Chicago with success for over twenty-five years. He
is recognized as one of the ablest lawyers, of the that bar.
His attainments in his profession are high. He is a
man of broad sympathies, literary taste, and marked
ability as a writer, and is frank, cordial and courteous
in manner. Hempstead Washburne was Chicago's effi-
cient mayor the year before the Worlds Fair. He is a
lawyer and has won the reputation of being learned and
able, as also that of being a financier of much discrimi-
nation and shrewdness. Henry S. Bobbins is a profound
lawyer, of clear and keen intellect and thoroughly versed
in the practice of his profession. He is genial in dispo-

217

sition and a most charming host. Dr. Charles H. Vilasr
a younger brother of ex-United States Senator Vilas
of Wisconsin, distinguished in his profession, is of an
impressive and attractive personality, of wide and varied
information, a fine conversationalist and a favorite in
the social circles of Chicago. He is now and has been
for some years the dean of Hahnemann College of
Chicago. Herman B. Wickersham is a clear headed
lawyer, industrious, painstaking and successful. In the
early years of his practice in Chicago he was in the office
of the late Judge Turnbull, who held him in high esteem.
Mr. Wickersham, as a practical and efficient business
lawyer, stands deservedly high. He has recently been
elected President of the Marquette Club of Chicago.

One of the most popular men in the society circles
of the North side is Orrin W. Potter, one of Chicago's
able financiers, a successful business man, and now presi-
dent of one of the leading banks of the city. He pos-
sesses a high order of administrative ability, practical
intelligence, cool and reliable judgment, and in disposi-
tion is kind and cordial and one of the most generous of
hosts.

Among the many Board of Trade men 1 have known
in Chicago, Charles W. Brega is one of the most remark-
able in this, that over a score of years ago, while an act-
ive member of a commission firm, he met with unusual
success on the Board of Trade, and had the wisdom to
know when he was "well off," practically gave up his
business, and has since operated in other and safer finan-
cial lines. His acute discrimination, practical good
sense and conservative business methods are well known.
His kindly and generous disposition makes him socially
one of the most attractive of men.

I am an admirer of Henry J. Willing, the energetic
and clear-headed man of affairs, whose energy, industry,

218

persistency and devotion tu his duties as an active mem-
ber of the mercantile house of Field and Leiter, were
proverbial. He retired from active business years ago,
and now, with a generous hand, assists those less fortun-
ate in life.

E. B. McCagg, the learned lawyer, ripe scholar and
courteous and accomplished gentleman, has been a resi-
dent of Chicago for nearly half a century, and is the
center of a large circle of cultured friends. He is a
writer of rare force and elegaii3e. Although not a poli-
tician, he has filled positions of trust in the state. For
his conspicuous loyalty to the Union during the civil
war he was elected an honorary member of the Loyal
Legion.

W. R. Harper, L.L.D., is one of the leading and
best known educators of the country, and for years past
has been President of the University of Chicago. What
he has accomplished for that institution during his ad-
ministration by his zeal, tact and excellent judgment is
simply a marvel. Still in middle life, possessed of great
natural ability, highly learned, intensely energetic, of
unusual brain force and of keen discrimination in judg-
ing of men, if he lives, he cannot fail to accomplish still
more in making the University of Chicago what he in-
tends it shall be, viz: the greatest and most advanced
school of learning on this continent.

Rev. Dr. F. W. Gunsaulus made his advent in Chi-
cago some ten years ago, as the pastor of Plymouth
church, and at once took a high place as a pulpit and
platform orator of great force and eloquence. Although
comparatively a young man, having scarcely reached
middle life, he has already accomplished much as an
earnest and untiring worker in the broad field of Chris-
tian effort to elevate and bless mankind of all classes
and conditions in life. For some years he has been at

219

the head of the management of the Armour Institute of
Chicago, where he has shown himself possessed of su-
perior administrative ability. Broadly educated, of an
ardent temperament, liberal in his views as a theologian,
he is a sincere, unassuming and kind-hearted Christian
man, much beloved by all who know him. He has re-
cently become the pastor of the Central church, as the
successor of Dr. D. N. Hillis.

I know and have appreciated that group of Chris-
tian stalwarts in Chicago who for over a score of years
have earnestly and fearlessly led the hosts of righteous-
ness against the powers of evil and wrong doing, and
who have joined hands in performing effective work in
lifting erring humanity to a higher moral plane. They
are the Rev. Drs. Henson, Locke, Noble, Goodwin, Emil
Hirsch, H. W. Thomas, and Bishops Cheney, McLaren,
Fallows and Foley. The noble and unselfish Christian
work of all these years will never be fully known and
appreciated until after they have gone to their reward.

William Penn Nixon, whom [ have known since he
assumed the management of the ''Daily Inter Ocean,"
one of the leading newspapers of Chicago, more than
twenty years ago, is one of the best known and most
highly esteemed of its citizens, and is now the United
States Collector of the Port of Chicago by appointment
of President McKinley. He possesses great will force,
energy and acute discrimination, and in his quiet and
methodical way manages to accomplish much. He is a
man of thought as well as of action, is a careful student
of events, and possesses rare practical intelligence. In
disposition he is unassuming, genial, generous and com-
panionable.

There are in Chicago many men of large affairs,
whose phenomenal success in their various vocations has
been and is the marvel of the world. Armour, Marshall

220

Field, Allerton, Ream, the Cudahys, Nelson Morrisr
Seigel, Leiter, Sr., Fairbank, Otto Young and scores more
who might be named, whose intuition leads them almost
invariably to do the right thing, and whose magic touch
seems to turn dross into pure gold.

Fernando Jones, an early settler of Chicago, has a
retentive memory, and for years past has been a walking
encyclopedia of interesting events connected with Chi-
cago in the '30s and '40s, Mr. Jones has always been a
keen observer of persons and things, and has large ex-
perience and excellent judgment. The information he
has been able to give his fellow citizens in relation to the
value of realty within the limits of the county of Cook
has been regarded as reliable, and hence valuable. In
the early years of his residence in Chicago there was a
group of energetic and sagacious men to which he be-
longed, composed in part of P. W. F. Peck, Alex N. Ful-
lerton, Silas Cobb, Dr. Foster, Jerome Beecher, Archibald
Clybourne, F. C. Sherman, Philo Carpenter and Walter
L. Newberry, who did much as shrewd and far-sighted
business men in developing its resources arid in advanc-
ing as well their own pecuniary interests, for they all in
time became wealthy.

Soon after I took up my residence in Chicago I
made the acquaintance of Amos Hall, for m.any years
previous to his death the treasurer of the Chicago, Bur-
lington & Quincy railroad. He was a man of mental
force, great practical intelligence, uprightness and amia-
bility, of akindly disposition, and was not only respected,
but beloved by all who knew him. His daughter, Mrs,
Colonel Fred L. Fake, who resides in Chicago and is well
known in society circles, has inherited much of her
father's mentality, attractive manner and genuine good
nature.

Some fifteen years ago circumstances brought me in

221

close contact with Elmer Washburn, who was a candi-
date for mayor of Chicago in 1891. When a young man
he served for a time as a volunteer in the civil war, and
was, not long after the war, the marshal or chief of po-
lice of Chicago for two years. He filled a position of
trust under the government at Washington in the '70s.
He was for some time the president of the board of man-
agement of the Union Stock Yards of Chicago, and
afterwards president of the Stock Yards Bank, He is a
quiet but forceful character, an excellent judge of men,
the embodiment of effective energy, and is now a large
contractor on public works in New York, with his son,
Frank Washburn, who is a civil engineer of superior at-
tainments.

I have long known Eugene S. Pike, a man of large
business affairs and a financier of recognized ability,
who, for many years has been connected with the manage-
ment of the First National Bank of Chicago. He has
energy, keen business perception, good judgment, and
operates on conservative and safe lines. In manner
he is frank and cordial, in disposition kind and sympa-
thetic, and is generous as a host.

John R. Walsh, for many years the president of the
Chicago National Bank, is one of the remarkable men of
Chicago. Like his brother banker, the Hon. Lynian
Gage, president of the First National Bank of Chicago,
and now Secretary of the Treasury at Washington, he
began his career at the foot of the ladder, a newsboy,
then the owner of a newspaper and periodical stand, and
later the organizer and manager of the Northwestern
News company, the largest and most successful establish-
ment of the kind in the country. A quarter of a cen-
tury ago he began business as a banker. Some men are
said to be born soldiers and others born poets. Mr.
Walsh is evidently the born banker and financier. He

222

has a keen intellect, a well balanced mind, and is an ex-
cellent judge of men. Of quick perception and intense
energy, he may at times be somewhat impulsive, but
when the emergency arises, his cold-blood judgment
asserts itself. His management of affairs outside of
banking is masterful and successful. He is, moreover, a
public spirited citizen, ever ready to assist generously in
carrying out any project which is clearly for the public
good. He is still in the prime of life, and if nothing un-
forseen happens, he will, I believe, achieve a reputation
as a financier in the next decade which will be more
than national.

The Hon. George Peck, a lawyer of national reputa-
tion, located in Chicago a few years ago for the practice
of his profession. For a half score of years he had been
the attorney for the Santa Fe system of railroads and
lived in Kansas, where he achieved great distinction
in his profession. He was supported by delegates of
some of the trans-Mississippi states as a candidate for the
Presidency in the Republican National Convention of
1896. He possesses much natural ability, a keen and
well trained intellect, energy, tact, good judgment, an
attractive personality, and is generous and kind hearted.
He is, moreover, highly gifted as an eloquent and forci-
ble speaker.

Among my esteemed friends in Chicago is the Hon.
John S. Miller, the well known and able lawyer, who was
the corporation counsel under the administration of
Mayor Washburne in 1891-3, and is now the president
of the Union League Club of Chicago. He stands de-
servedly high at the bar, having much mental force, en-
ergy, keen discrimination and probity, and whose suc-
cess in his profession has been exceptionally great. He
possesses largely the elements of popularity, viz: rare
practical intelligence, knowledge of human nature, a
frank and genial manner, and a generous disposition.

223

I met the Hon. Lorenzo Brentano, the scholar, lawyer,
editor, diplomat and statesman in Europe in 1872, when
he was on his way to Dresden to fill the position of United
States Consul. Mr. Brentano was a strong character and
impressed all who came in contact with him as a man of
unusual mental force and broad sympathies. He was my
neighbor in Chicago in the '80s, and I esteemed him for
his many admirable qualities of head and heart. He
served in Congress most efficiently for one term. His son
the Hon. Theo. Brentano, for many years a Circuit Judge
in Chicago has his father's strong and vigorous mental-
ity, good judgment and amiable disposition. He possesses
a judicial mind and ably fills his position on the bench.

Years ago I often met in business circles and in so-
ciety on the south side, two prominent citizens who have
died recently. Charles M. Henderson, with his brother,
Wilbur S. Henderson, the extensive boot and shoe manu-
facturers, and Edson G. Keith, the broad guaged merchant
and capitalist of the linn of Keith Bros. These men were
friends and neighbors, equally patriotic, public spirited
and unassuming zealous and devoted Christians, ac-
tively interested in the great work of elevating human-
ity to a higher intellectual, moral and religious plane.
They were shrewd, sagacious business men and excep-
tionally successful. When such men are removed, the
loss to the community is great, and often irreparable.

DeWitt C. Cregier whose acquaintance I made in the
latter 70s was a man of unusual force of character. For
some years, before he was elected the mayor of Chicago,
he was the general superintendent of the West Division
street railroad and made a most efficient manager. He
possessed thorough knowledge of his duties and was en-
ergetic and discriminating. He served two terms as
mayor of Chicago. During President Cleveland's second
administration he received the appointment of United

224

States Store Keeper of Army Supplies in Chicago. His
large experience, practical intelligence, uprightness, good
judgment with a quiet but attractive manner, drew men
to him and made him popular. He was a high and
influential Mason. I have met him often in Masonic
circles during the past twenty years. He presided over a
convocation of Royal Arch Masons or over a conclave
of Knights Templar with rare dignity and ability,
was gifted in Masonic work, and greatly beloved by the
fraternity. When he died (1898) he was sincerely
mourned by many of his fellow citizens outside of Ma-
sonic circles.

I would not be doing myself justice were I to pass
unnoticed my esteemed friend, Edmond Bruwaert, who
for nearly a decade was the Consul General for France
at Chicago, and so well known to the business men of
that city, as well as in its social circles. In the latter
'70s Mr. Washburne, at that time United States Ambas-
sador to France, told me that in the diplomatic circles of
Paris Mr. Bruwaert, who then was not many years past
his majority, was regarded as the brightest young diplo-
mat of his age in France. He made commercial treaties
a stud}7 and became an expert. For many years he was
often chosen as secretary of high commissions appoint-
ed by the French government to negotiate commercial
treaties with European and other nations. So learned
and skillful was he that at the age of 35, without solicita-
tion or effort on his part, he had been decorated ten
times by other nations after treaties of this kind had
been made. The last decoration, "Knight Commander of
Oustav Wasa of Sweden," was conferred upon him by
King Oscar of Sweden in the '80s, after the conclusion
of a commercial treaty with France. The Republic of
France has made him a ''Chevalier of the Legion of
Honor," and he is an officer of the order. All who

225

know him will bear me out in saying that he is a thor-
oughly cultured, genial, suave and courteous gentleman,
possessing unusual general practical intelligence. In
the latter part of the '80s, when France sent a high com-
mission to China to negotiate a commercial treaty, Mr.
Bruwaert was taken from his post in Chicago to accom-
pany it as secretary. Political complications arose and
the commission, after a few months' stay at Pekin, re-
turned with its mission unfulfilled. He is now Consul
General lor France in New York city, and his friends
expect that he will soon be promoted to Minister Resi-
dent at some foreign court. A few years ago he married
Miss Susie King, one of Chicago's most beautiful and ac-
complished young ladies and a favorite in society.

Among other men living in the North division of
the city, with whom I came in frequent contact, was
Abram M. Pence, for a quarter of a century a prominent
member of the Chicago bar. His superior ability as a
lawyer has always been recognized, and, having a judi-
cial mind, he should have been placed on the bench of
Chicago long ago. He has the reputation of being one
of the most public spirited citizens of that division of
the city.

One of Chicago's veteran lumbermen and long a
resident of the North side is George Farnsworth, late
president of the Oconto Lumber company and now vir-
tually retired from business. His mental force, large
experience and excellent judgment, has made him for
many years an authority in lumber circles. His success-
or as the president of the company, James C. Brooks,
well known as a successful lumberman and long con-
nected with that compan}', has energy, acute business
perception and good judgment. His uprightness and
fairness in dealing with others is generally recognized.

George B, Harris, a valued friend and resident of

226

the North side, is the Vice President of the Chicago,.
Burlington & Quincy and also President of the Chi-
cago, Burlington & Northern railroads, and has the rep-
utation of being the best railroad manager of his age in*
the Northwest. He is the incarnation of effective en-
ergy, and his judgment in railroad matters is of superior
excellence. When "off duty" he is an interesting talker,,
a genial companion, and a generous host.

Another well-known and popular Northsider is Lu-
ther Laflin Mills, the learned lawyer, brilliant orator and
one .of the best types of excellent manhood.

Soon after the great fire of 1871, when the North
side, south of Lincoln Park began to be rebuilt, there-
came into the district a number of men of prominence,.
with whom I became well acquainted. Among those-
still living who have not been alluded to in foregoing
pages are Dr. Ralph N. Isham, the eminent practitioner;
Volney C. Turner, capitalist and former efficient Presi-
dent of the North Division Street railway; S. M. Nicker-
son, President of ti e First National Bank of Chicago;
A. H. Burley, ex-city comptroller, capitalist and banker;
Hon. Lambert Tree, lawyer, jurist and ex-United States
Minister to Belgium and Russia; Hon. D. B. Magruderr
lawyer, and associate justice of the supreme court of Illi-
nois; F. B. Peabody, prominent operator in mortgages
and loans; A. A. Carpenter, a leading lumberman, capi-
talist and banker; Gen. F. S. Winston, lawyer, capitalist
and ex-United States Minister to Persia; Dr. Robert
Collyer, the eminent Unitarian clergymen, now of New
York city; Orson Smith, President of the Merchants'
Loan and Trust Company of Chicago; James W. Odellr
long a prominent Board of Trade operator before his re-
tirement; Calvin S. Wheeler, the veteran banker (now
retired) and former President of the Continental Nation-
al Bank of Chicago; E. W. Blatchford, manufacturer and

227

capitalist, and W. D. Kerfoot, a leading real estate oper-
ator and now comptroller of the city of Chicago.

Among those who have passed away are Cyras H.
McCormick, of world-wide reputation as an inventor and
manufacturer of farming implements; Mahlon Ogden,
capitalist and operator in realties; S. H. Kerfoot, promi-
nent as an operator in loans and realties, Sam Jones,
capitalist and financier; Colonel Lucien Tilton, long
connected with the management of the Illinois Central
railroad; S. Corning Judd, eminent lawyer and postmas-
ter of Chicago in the '80s; W. D. Houtaling, prominent
lumberman and capitalist; Hon. Norman B. Judd, law-
yer, legislator and Minister to Germany: John DeKoven,
capitalist and banker, and Perry H. Smith, the railway
magnate.

There were many men in the state outside of the
city of Chicago who, before, during and after the civil
war I knew well and with many of whjm I was on terms
of friendly intimacy. Among those now numbered
with the dead I will name the following: Gen. Richard
Rowett of Macoupin county, the large hearted, clear
headed and brave soldier of the civil war, who was a
forceful character and greatly beloved by all his comrades.

Gen. John Tiilson of Quincy, 111., to whom [ was
much attached, was the recognized poet of the Army of
the Tennessee. He was ever chivalrous, brave and of an
attractive personality. In the '70s he held the office of
United States Collector of Internal Revenue for the
Quincy district.

Gen. T. E. G. Ransom, whose thorough knowledge
of his duties as a soldier and whose conspicuous bravery
in action made him the cynosure of all eyes and greatly
endeared him to all his army comrades.

Gen. W. W. Belknap, a learned and distinguished
lawyer in Iowa, enterred the volunteer service at the

228

breaking out of the civil war as the colonel of a regi-
ment, and made a very creditable record for intelligence,
bravery and efficiency. He impressed Gen. Grant as
a man of unusual ability, executive force and integrity.
He appointed him Secretary of War, as the successor of
Gen. John A. Rawlins. He resigned his office before the
end of his term for reasons I need not here state and for
which he was subjected to severe criticism in certain
quarters, but his friends who knew all the facts esteemed
him none the less. Gen. Belknap was a strong and well
poised character, and his management of the war office
was excellent in every respect. He was always popular
with the "old soldiers" of the. Army of the Tennessee. I
was fond of him and admired him for his true manli-
ness, generosity and genuine kindliness of heart. His
son, Hugh R. Belknap, member of congress from one of
the Chicago districts, has much of his father's mental
force, administrative ability and amiability. He is "a
worthy Ion of a noble sire "

One of rny most highly esteemed army friends was
Gen. Lucius Fairchild of Wisconsin. He commanded
for some time the Iron Brigade of Wisconsin Volunteer
Infantry in the Army of the Potomac, where he achieved
great renown for bravery and unusual efficiency. After
the war he was successively elected for six terms govern-
or of his state, was United States Consul at Liverpool
four years (1872-76) and in the '80s was commander-in-
chief of the Grand Army of the Republic one year.
Possessed of unusual practical intelligence, of a kind
disposition and attractive manner, he was one of the
most beloved and popular of the ex-soldiers of the civil
war.

The Rev. Joel Grant of Lockport, 111., was appointed
in the summer of 1861 chaplain of the Twelfth Illinois
Infantry, which regiment I commanded for over two

229

years. He was highly educated, unassuming, patient
and industrious. His singular devotion to his duties
and faithfulness in their discharge won for him during
his four years of service, the respect and love of the men
of his regiment and the unqualified commendation of
his superior officers.

Capt. Guy C. Ward, of the Twelfth Illinois, so well
and favorably known before the war in Southern Illi-
nois, was killed in battle at Corinth. He was a good
type of the intelligent, patriotic citizen and of the mod-
est, brave and faithful soldier. Captain H\ B. Ferris, of
my regiment, also one of Princeton's (III.) esteemed citi-
zens, died from wounds received at Shiloh. His courage
and devotion to his duties made him an exceptionally
valuable officer. Captain W. T. Swain, of the same regi-
ment and from the same county, was also mortally
wounded at Shiloh. Captain Swain was a strong char-
acter, faithful and brave as a soldier, and public spirited
as a citizen, whose integrity was never questioned.
Princeton lost another of its best citizens when Lieuten-
ant Wright Seaman was killed at Shiloh. He, too, be-
longed to the Twelfth regiment and was beloved by all
his comrades and was a brave, intelligent and efficient
officer.

Among my friends now living in Illinois and in
other sections of the Northwest who have not before been
mentioned, I will name the following: Gen. J. G. Mar-
tin, a prominent citizen and banker of Salem, 111., a sol-
dier in the civil war who achieved an enviable reputa-
tion, and who not long ago was commander of the Illi-
nois Department of the G. A. R. His actions through
life have always been guided by a clear and sound
judgment.

My admiration was always great for Gen. J. J. Phil-

230

lips of the Ninth Illinois Infantry, a bright young law-
yer before the war and now Chief Justice of the Supreme
Court of the state of Illinois. He was a dashing, brave,
and intelligent soldier of the civil war, who when, as a
Lieutenant Colonel in command of cavalry in 1863, had
rank and opportunity favored him, would have been the
"Phil Sheridan" of the Army of the Tennessee.

One of the prominent citizens of Fulton county,
111., is Gen. L. F. Ross, who, when in the civil war, al-
ways performed his duty in a most gallant and efficient
manner. His zeal, energy and good judgment, when in
the command of a regiment or of a brigade, were con-
spicuous, and made for him a record of rare excellence.

Elgin, 111., is the home of a well known citizen,
Gen. J. S. Wilcox, who, as a soldier in the civil war dur-
ing his four years' service, showed rare intelligen.ee,
marked ability and military prowess. He had no su-
perior as a regimental commander in the Army of the
Tennessee.

Gen. John B. Turchin, now living in Southern Illi-
nois, of military training in Europe when young, en-
tered the volunteer army in Chicago as a Colonel in the
early days of the civil war. His two years' service was
replete wi h deeds of daring and marked efficiency, the
result, in a measure, of his early military training.

I have an esteemed friend in Gen. Thomas J. Hen-
derson, of Princeton, 111., the veteran soldier and states-
man, who has great brain force and who is endowed
with the rare faculty ol always doing well whatever he
undertakes to do. He has served several terms as a
member of congress, and filled soon after the war, posi-
tions of trust under the Federal government. He is de-
servedly popular throughout the state.

Gen. John M. Palmer, whom I have long known,
the astute lawyer, learned jurist and able statesman of

231

Springfield, III., was a brave and efficient commander of
volunteers in the civil war. His clear and strong intel-
lect made his practical methods in the war valuable to
the array and the country.

Gen. William 0. Kueff'ner of Beliville, 111., having
gained some military knowledge in Germany when a
young man, made a most intelligent and efficient officer,
and his long service of over four years in the gallant
""old Ninth Illinois" was a notable one. He commanded
the regiment in Sherman's famous campaign through
Georgia. He held after the war positions of honor and
trust under the general government.

My friend, Gen. John B. Sanborn, at the break-
ing out of the civil war was a youn^, highly educated and
popular lawyer at St. Paul, Minn. He was intensely
loyal to the Union, was early appointed quartermaster
general by the Governor, and was a prominent factor in
recruiting four regiments of volunteers for the war. He
was commissioned in 1862 the Colonel of the Fourth regi-
ment Minn. Infty., and began a service which was marked
throughout by zeal, intelligence and efficiency. He at-
tracted the attention of General Grant, who detailed him
to perform duties requiring tact and discrimination
After the war he served in both branches of the state leg-
islature and afterwards filled positions of trust under the
Federal Government. He stands high in his profession,
and is one of the most prominent and honored citizens
of his state.

I knew well in 1863 Gen. John I Rinaker, after-
wards a member of congress from Carlinville, 111., as
our regiments were in the same brigade for several
months. He was an intelligent, painstaking and brave
soldier, who was conscientious in the discharge of his
duty, either as the commander of a regiment or of a
brigade. He has been an influential member of the Re-

232

publican party in the state, and since the war, besides
serving with distinction Iwo terms in congress, has filled
offices of honor and trust in the state. I was impressed
with three traits in Gen. Rinaker's character, viz: prac-
tical intelligence, modesty and integrity.

Gen David B. Henderson of Dubuque, la., who has
just been elected to congress from his district for the
ninth time, is one of Iowa's volunteers in the civil war
who achieved a high reputation for bravery and general
efficieccy. He has for some time been the chairman of
the committee on military affairs in the House of Repre-
sentatives, where, during the Spanish-American war, he
was enabled to do much to aid the government in suc-
cessfully prosecuting the war. Gen. Henderson has ins
him the elements of success. Although an ardent Re-
publican, he has always been stronger than his party in
his congressional district. In manner he is cordial and
attractive. Endowed with much natural ability, he is
well educated, has had long experience in national
affairs and is energetic, resourceful and a ready and forc-
ible speaker.

In 1863 I served with Colonel W. P. Hepburn of the
Second Iowa cavalry on a military commission for two
months. He was then a young lawyer of marked ability.
His record in the war was one of exceptional excellence.
In the '80s he was elected a member of congress for the
Clarinda, la., district and served two terms. He was
afterwards appointed by President Harrison, Solicitor of
the Treasury and later re-elected to congress, and is a
prominent and influential member of the House of Rep-
resentatives. He has a keen intellect, much will force
and persistency, and as an impressive and convincing
speaker has few superiors in the House. He was a
prominent candidate for United States senator before the
legislature of Iowa two years ago.

233

Ex-Governor George W. Peck of Milwaukee, Wis.,.
has been for many years a prominent figure in the state
of Wisconsin. He began life when a boy in a country
newspaper office, and in time became the proprietor of
"Peck's Sun," a weekly newspaper published in Milwau-
kee, and achieved a national reputation as a writer of
articles under the head of "Peck's Bad Boy," in which he
showed marked ability as a humorous writer. He was
elected twice the Governor of the state of Wisconsin,
after he had served one term as mayor of Milwaukee.
His army record in a Wisconsin regiment during the
civil war was a very creditable one. Governor Peck is a
forceful character, possessing intelligence, energy, tact
and discrimination. Hisattractive personality, keen sense
of the humorous, genial temperament, generous disposi-
tion and gracious manner have made him popular with
the masses. He has returned to his "first love," and is
again the editor and proprietor of "Peck's Weekly Sun,"
published in Milwaukee.

Captain H. A. Castle of St. Paul, was also a soldier
in the civil war, with a most creditable record. For
some years after the war he was the editor arid proprie-
tor of the "St. Paul Dispatch," and afterwards was ap-
pointed postmaster at St. Paul. He was not only a gal-
lant soldier, but also a cultured gentleman, who has been
the center of a circle of friends and admirers of tastes
similar to his own. He has held various positions of
trust under trie state and Federal governments. I have
long known Captain Castle and esteem him for his many
attractive traits of character.

I am an admirer of Colonel William F. Vilas of
Madison, Wis., who entered the volunteer army as a
colonel of a Wisconsin regiment in the early days of the
civil war, but who, from ill health, was compelled to re-
tire before the end of his second vear of service. He is-

234

a lawyer of great learning and ability, and possesses a
strong, keen and well trained intellect. In the '80s he
was elected United States senator for Wisconsin, and
afterwards was Postmaster General by appointment of
President Cleveland. He has energy, acute discrimina-
tion and administrative talent of a high order. When
Gen. Grant was received and entertained in Chicago by
the Society of the Army of the Tennessee after his tour
around the world, Col. Vilas delivered an address at the
banquet of exceptional beauty, force and eloquence,
which gave him a national reputation as an orator. He
is dignified and courteous in manner, and in disposition
generous and kind-hearted.

The events of 1861 are more indellibly impressed
upon my mind than those of any other year in my life.
In April 1861 I found myself in Springfield, 111., at the
head of a company of volunteers who had enlisted for
three months service under President Lincoln's call for
75,000 volunteers. The legislature was in extra session,
and prominent citizens from all parts of the state were in
Springfield, many being connected with the six regi-
ments of Infantry, the states quota under the call. The
central figure was Governor Yates who had been in-
augurated in January of that year. During my two
weeks stay at the capital I became well acquainted with
him. Possessed of a keen intellect and well trained
mind, energy, large experience in public affairs, he was
well fitted for the responsible position he held. He was
intensely loyal to the Union, proved equal to the
emergency, and became one of the six noted "war gov-
ernors" of Union states. He was gifted as an orator, had
a frank and winning manner, and was a great favorite
with the masses. His son, Richard Yates, a lawyer of Jack-
sonville, 111., has inherited his father's keen and vigor-
ous intellect/energy and an attractive personality. He is

235

now the United States Collector of Internal Revenue for
the Jacksonville District, and is one of the most popular
youn^ politicians in the state.

*Richard J. Oglesby, a young lawyer of ability
was there, and had just been elected the Colonel of the
Eighth regiment. He soon won distinction as a brave
and efficient soldier, and was made a Major General at
the end of two years service, was twice elected Governor
of his state, and served one term as United States Sena-
tor. His strong and active mind, tireless energy, and ex-
cellent judgment combined with a rare talent as an im-
pressive orator, and a frank, genial and generous dis-
position made him one of the most generally popular
men in the state.

Ben M. Prentiss, an ex-Captain of the Mexican war
was elected the Colonel of the Tenth regiment and was
soon after elected Brigadier General of the six regiments
just organized, over his competitor Captain Pope of the
regular army. His splendid conduct at the battle of
Shiloh while in command of a division, gave him great
renown, and a Major General's commission.

Owen Lovejoy, the member of Congress from the
Princeton District, and the bold, fearless and aggressive
abolitionist of former days, was there also with military
aspirations, and having failed to gain the command of
a regiment went to Missouri and performed staff service
during the succeeding summer and fall.

W. H. L. Wallace, the able and learned lawyer, was
elected the Colonel of the Eleventh regiment. He rose
rapidly, and as a Brigadier General commanded a
division at Shiloh, where he was killed in battle. Gen.
Grant afterwards spoke of him as the "splendid soldier."

Colonel John Me Arthur, of the Washington Inde-
pendent Regiment (militia,) of Chicago, was there, and

*Has recently died.

236

by his marshal bearing became a marked figure in the
military circles. He was elected Colonel of the Twelfth
regiment and soon rose to a Brigadier, and at the close
of the war was appointed a Major General by brevet.
His military career was marked throughout by rare
intelligence, bravery and efficiency.

At that time I made the acquaintance of Hon. Shel-
by M. Cullom, who was the speaker of the House of
Representatives. He was then young, well educated,
clear headed, a lawyer of ability and a trusted friend of
Abraham Lincoln. He served in the legislature three
terms and was twice chosen speaker of the House; was
elected a member of Congress three times, Governor of
the state, and United States Senator three times. No
other citizen has ever received more favors from the peo-
ple of tl:e state than he. I regard Senator Cullom as one
of the most remarkable men the state of Illinois has ever
produced. All through his long career in public life he
has shown himself possessed of great mental force, ex-
celleiit judgment, industry and integrity, and i&
recognized as one of the most efficient, reliable and in-
fluential members of the United States Senate.

Senator Cullom's colleague in the Senate, is the Hon.
William E. Mason, of Chicago, whom I have known for
two decadts, is a lawyer of learning and ability, whose
experience in public affairs covers many years. In dis-
position he is nearly the opposite of Senator Cullom.
He has an ardent temperament an active and well train-
ed intellect, quick mental perception, intense energy, and
is aggressive and resourceful, and at times perhaps some-
what impulsive and impatient of opposition. He is a
ready debater and an eloquent orator, and possesses
the elements of popularity viz. keen wit, vivacity and a
cordial and attractive manner.

I met Robert R. Hitt in 1858, when as a stenog-

237

rapher he was reporting the speeches of Abraham Lin-
coln in his noted debate with Stephen A Douglas. He
is an "Illinois boy," and was educated at the Mount Mor-
ris Seminary, in which school at an early time were
Gen. Rawlins, Senator Cullorn and Gen. Beveridge. He
was appointed Secretary of Legation of the French Em-
bassy during Mr. Washbume's second term as Embassa-
dor. He has served as member of congress for the Ga-
lena district for nearly twenty years, and for a long time
as chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Rela-
tions, for which position he is sj eminently qualified.
Mr. Hitt has been a close student of events, has a strong
and well balanced mind, much general intelligence, un-
tiring energy, tact and persistency, which have made
him one of the most practical, useful and influential
members of the House of Representatives. In manner
he is courteous, genial and cordial.

In the latter '50s I became acquainted with John
A. Logan, a member of congress and a prominent and
influential Democrat of Southern Illinois. He entered
the volunteer service in 1861 as the colonel of an Illi-
nois regiment and soon proved himself a brave, skillful
and intrepid soldier, and before the end of the war was
one of the most distinguished commanders in the army
of the West. After the war he was elected to the United
States senate, where he displayed superior ability as a
statesman. He was the Republican candidate for Vice
President in 1884. For nearly forty years Gen. Logan
was a conspicuous figure among the distinguished men
of the nation. His fine sy metrical physique, shapely
and well-poised head, long straight black hair, swarthy
complexion, heavy mustache, dark piercing eyes and a
strong and handsome face made his personality strik-
ing. He possessed a strong intellect, quick mental
perception, great will force, untiring energy, decided con-

238

victions and tenacity of purpose. He was at times im-
pulsive and a little brusque in manner, but usually
courteous, genial and gracious. After the war he was
exceptionally popular with the army veterans and was
elected and served one year as commander-in-chief of
the Grand Army of the Republic.

Benjamin H. Grierson, the famous raider of the
Army of the Tennessee, I knew well during the civil
war. He possessed some rare qualities as a soldier, and
especially as a commander of cavalry, and his untiring
energy, vigilance, discrimination, pluck and persistency
won for him a Brigadier's commission after his brilliant
raid through Mississippi to Baton Rouge, La., and later
that of a Major General. After his successful raid he
was a conspicuous figure in the army of the West. In
1866 he was appointed Colonel of cavalry in the United
States army, where he served principally in Texas, New
Mexico and Arizona with great efficiency until his re-
tirement a few years ago. He was bre vetted a Brigadier
and a Major General in the United States army for con-
spicuous efficiency in several campaigns against the In-
dians. His home is now at Jacksonville, 111. He is still
in robust health and his genial and gracious manner
makes him a delightful companion, for he retains to a
remarkable degree all the qualities of head and heart
which made him a general favorite in the army.

Frederick Dent Grant, the oldest son of Gen. U. S.
Grant, I knew in Galena when a schoolboy in the early
'60s. He received a military education at West Point,
and before the close of the war served for a brief period
on his father's staff as an aide. He resigned his com-
mission in the army at the close of his father's second
term as President and engaged in civil pursuits. In the
'80s he was appointed United States Embassador to Aus-

239

tria, where he won the reputation of being a careful,
practical, intelligent and efficient representative and was
held in high esteem in the diplomatic circles at
Vienna. Colonel Grant has inherited much of his
father's strong mentality, good judgment and tenacity of
purpose. I was gratified with the action of President
McKinley in appointing him a Brigadier General of vol-
unteers in the late Spanish-American war. I hope he
will remain in the service, for I believe, should an op-
portunity present itself or an emergency arise, he would
show himself possessed of a high order of military abil-
ity, especially in strategy, which was his father's forte.

Of the many prominent politicians I have known
in the state of Wisconsin during the past forty yearsr
Jeremiah M. Rusk was one of the most distinguished. I
knew him in the latter '50s, when he was a young law-
yer practicing his profession in the town of Viroqua in
Western Wisconsin. He was a tall, broad-shouldered,
unassuming, courteous young man of excellent habits.
In 1862 he entered the volunteer service as Major of the
Twenty-fifth Wisconsin infantry, became its Lieutenant
Colonel, and at the close of the war was brevetted a Brig-
adier General for meritorious service at Vicksburg. Soon
after he was elected Bank Comptroller of the state ani
then mtmber of congress and served three terms. He
declined the appointment of United States Minister to
Paraguay and Uraguay, S. A. In 1882 he was elected
governor of the state and re-elected twice, serving three
consecutive terms. His administration of affairs as gov-
ernor was replete with acts in which he displayed excel-
lent judgment, firmness, tact and efficiency. Later he
was appointed Secretary of Agriculture at Washington^
and filled the position with rare ability and discrimina-
tion. During his long and varied career as a state and
federal official he proved himself exceptionally capable,

210

and was conscientious in the discharge* of his duties.
Governor Rusk was a quiet, dignified gentleman of great
simplicity of character, and of a most kindly disposition.

I became acquainted with the Hon. Horatio C.
Burchard during the political campaign of 1858. He
was a lawyer of learning, who had lo -ated in Freeport,
111., some years before, and had associated himself for
practice with the Hon. Thomas J. Turner, a lawyer of
recognized ability and an ex member of congress. Mr.
Burchard, as a Republican, was influential in his party.
He was twice elected a member of the legislature and
took a high position as an able legislator, especialy on
matters pertaining to finance. In the latter '60s he was
elected to congress to succeed the Hon. E. B. Washburne,
who had resigned to assume the duties of Secretary of
State under President Grant, and served four consecu-
tive terms. Not long after leaving congress he was ap-
pointed Director of the United States Mint at Washing-
ton, D. 0., and filled the position sevjn years with ex-
ceptional ability and efficiency. The position made him
virtually the director general of all the mints and assay
officers of the United States. In 1885 he was appointed
by Governor Oglesby a member of the revenue commis-
sion to draft and report a plan for a revision of the reve-
nue Iaw6 of the state. Throughout his long career as an
official he showed himself most capable, especially in
matters connected with finance and revenue, and
achieved a high reputation as a statesman. In disposi-
tion he is unassuming, cordial, kind-hearted and com-
panionable. He always kept near the people and was
popular with them to an eminent degree.

John H. Addams was a prominent figure in Steph-
enson County, Illinois for over a quarter of a centurj7
before his death. He was an extensive farmer, operated
a grist mill and for man}7 years was the President of the

241

Second National Bank of Freeport. He was tall, digni-
fied and courteous, unassuming in manner, and gener-
ous and kind-hearted in disposition. He possessed great
will force, excellent judgment, much practical intelli-
gence and administrative ability. He filled various
offices of trust in the county, and served sixteen years in
the state senate, making a notable record as a careful,
conscientious and conservative legislator. He was held
in high esteem by the people of his Senatorial district.
In the latter years of his life he was known as "Honest
John Addams." I loved him for his many admirable
traits of character.

Another resident of Northern Illinois, Allen C. Ful-
ler, of Boone county, a lawyer and circuit judge, was a
conspicuous figure in political circles for a third of a
century before his retirement in the '80s. He was an
early Republican, and in 1860, as an elector, held joint
debates in the electorial district with John A. Rawlins,
(afterwards General and Secretary of War,) who was a
Douglas Democrat. He was appointed in 1862 Adjutant
General of the state by Governor Yates to succeed Col.
T. S. Mather who had resigned to accept the Colonelsy
of a regiment of artillery. Gen. Fuller proved a most
efficient officer, having good judgment, a thorough
knowledge of his duties, firmness, energy and discrimi-
nation. Later he served as a member of the Legislature
and was speaker of the House. He was a lawyer of
ability, had large experience in state affairs, and it seems
to me that his party should have recognized his ability
and valuable services to the state by nominating him in
the '80s for Governor. His son, Charles E. Fuller, of
the same county, also a lawyer, has his father's strong
and vigorous mentality and has represented his senatorial
district in the Legislature for many years with distin-
guished ability.

242

Mr. Waite Talcott, of Rockford, Winnebago county,,
one of its early settlers, was a man of much force of char-
acter, who in 1854 was elected as a Freesoiler to the State
Senate, served one term and made a most creditable
record. During his forty years residence in the county
he became closely identified with its material, moral,
religious and social interests, and impressed himself upon
its people as being a clear headed, conscientious, public
spirited, Christian citizen.

Judge William Lathrop, a lawyer of exceptional
learning and ability has been a resident of Rockford for
nearly two score years and been regarded as one of its
foremost citizens. Some years ago he represented the
Rockford District in Congress for one term and won dis-
tinction as an industrious, intelligent and efficient
representative. He has done much as a public spirited
citizen during all these years in advancing the best in-
terests of the people of that city and county.

Before closing these brief sketches I must not omit
to mention my esteemed friend and neighbor, Colonel
LeGrand W. Perce, a learned and able lawyer of the
Chicago bar. His record in the civil war was a credit-
able one. and after its close settled in the state of
Mississippi. He was twice elected to Congress, and in
the early '70s removed to Chicago where he practiced his
profession. For some time he was an active and influen-
tial politician. He made corporation law a specialty,
and now stands deservedly high as a corporation lawyer.
Col. Perce, born and educated in one of the Atlantic
states, possesses much natural ability, a strong and well
trained rnind, industry and energy, and in manner
is unassuming, courteous and cordial.

CHAPTER XI.

THE WORLD'S COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION 1893.

The great World's Columbian Exposition which
celebrated the four hundredth anniversary of Christopher
Columbus' discovery of America was held in Chicago in
1893. It was one of the grandest enterprises undertaken
and executed in modern times. I quote briefly from
the address of the Hon. William T. Baker, President of
the Chicago Board of Trade, and President of the Chi-
cago Local Directory, at the formal opening of the
Columbian Exposition May 12th, 1893. "The act of
Congress approved April 25th, 1890, providing for the
Exposition states in the preamble that such an exhibi-
tion should be of a national and international character,
so that not only the people of our Union and this conti-
nent, but those of all nations as well can participate, and
to carry out this intention, Congress provided two
agents to do its will. The first is a commission, consist-
ing of two commissioners from each state and territory of
the United States, appointed by the President, on the
nomination of the Governors of the states and territories
respectively, and eight commissioners at large, appoint-
ed by the President. The Board so constituted was
designated the "World's Columbian Commission."

The other agent, recognized by the act of Congress is
the World's Columbian Exposition, a corporation organ-
ized under the laws of the state of Illinois. This cor-
poration has cl-argeof the ways and means, the erection
of buildings, the maintenance, protection and policing of

the same, the granting of concessions, the collection and
disbursement of all its revenues, and fixing the rules
governing the Exposition. It is composed of upward of
2,800 stockholders and is controlled by a Board of
forty-five directors. These directors have been chosen
from among the active business men of Chicago."

In order that the city of Chicago might enjoy the
honor confeured upon her by having the Exposition
located in her midst, she was required to furnish an ade-
quate site acceptable to the National Commission and
$10,000,000 in money, which was, in the language of the
act, considered necessary for the complete preparation for
said Exposition. This obligation the citizens promptly
met. The adequate site and $10,000,000 were provided,
and on evidence thereof, the President of the United
States issued his proclamation inviting the nations of the
earth to participate in the Exposition.

When the matter was first discussed in Chicago by
public spirited citizens in the latter part of 1890, com-
paratively few had faith to believe that Chicago could
succeed in getting the Exposition, with New York city
as a competitor. An organization was however effected,
in which were many of Chicago's wealthiest and most
enterprising citizens. A large and efficient local com-
mittee was appointed, and for over a year systematic, far
reaching and effective work was accomplished in obtain-
ing subscriptions toward the $10,000,000 required, and
in securing the votes of Members of Congress fixing the
site of the Exposition at Chicago.

Previous to any action on the part of Congress fix-
ing the site of the Exposition, a committee or delegation
of Chicago citizens was sent to Washington to look after
Chicago's interests. The secretary of the local commit-
tee, E. F. Cragin, had gone to Washington in advance of
the committee. Mr. Cragin, who in Chicago had been

245

most efficient in his energetic and methodical work, con-
tinued it in Washington, and the final success in Con-
gress was largely due to his industry and tact. I was to
have gone to Washington with the sub-committee, but
ill health prevented me. The vote in Congress giving to
Chicago the location of the Exposition was a great sur-
prise, especially to New York, which city confidently ex-
pected to get it.

After the location of the Columbian Exposition the
local Board of Directors of forty -five was elected by the
stockholders. The members were of Chicago's very best
men, in point of experience, administrative ability and
clear business perception. It was composed in part of
such men as W. T. Baker, President of the Board; H. N.
Higinbotham, who was chosen President of the Board
the second year; Hon. T. B. Bryan, the Vice President; A.
F. Seeberger, the Treasurer; W. K. Ackerraan, the Audi-
tor; F. W. Peck, Chairman of the Committee on Finance;
Hemp. Washburne, Mayor; Lyman J. Gage, James W.
Scott, Potter Palmer, E. G. Keith, Charles Henrotin,
Adolph Nathan, James W. Ellsworth, A. H. Revell,
Charles H. Schwab, Washington Porter, Otto Young, W.
D. Kertbot, S. W. Allerton, Charles E. Hutchinson, Eu-
gene S. Pike, Arthur Dixon and George Schneider.

Colonel George R. Davis, ex-Member of Congress,
whom I had known in Chicago for twenty years, was
chosen by the National Commissioners as Director Gen-
eral. The choice was an eminently wise one. Another,
writing of him, says: "His record in public affairs de-
.cided the selection. He has a wonderful knowledge of
human nature, is well versed in the affairs of the world,
and, it is said, he possesses that subtle tact which is often
called diplomacy, with keen perception and comprehen-
sive views he handles the multiform forceslhat are sub-
ject to his orders without blundering, and executes his

246

tasks with rare ability." He filled the difficult position
most satisfactorily, performing his arduous and compli-
cated duties in a masterful manner.

William T. Baker, the President of the local Board
of Directors, was the einbo liment of energy, practical
common sense and efficiency. The same mty be said of
H. N. Higinbotham, who succeeded him as President.
Mr. T. B. Bryan throughout showed himself a sagacious,
forceful and discriminating man of affairs. His great
work, however, was done in assisting to secure the loca-
tion of the Exposition. His address before the Congres-
sional committee on the Columbian Exposition when
presenting Chicago's claims, where he met the great
orator, Chauncey Depew, who was doing the ?ame thing
for New7 York, was a powerful, ingenious and convincing
effort, and did much towards securing for Chicago the
site of the 'Exposition.

Under the direct management of the local Board of
Directors and the indirect management of the National
Board of Commissioners of which ex-United States Sen-
ator J. W. Palmer of Michigan, was President, and the
Hon. J. T. Dickinson, the energetic and efficient Secre-
tary, the success of the Exposition was the wonder of the
world. Its location on the shore of the great Lake Mich-
igan was unique and most favorable, the buildings con-
structed were surprisingly grand and beautiful, and the
exhibits so varied and extensive that it seemed as if
there was not a green spot on the earth that had not
something there to represent it. There will be many
World's Fairs or Expositions in the future. France will
have one in 1900, and no expense will be spared to make
it the grandest the "sun ever shone upon." It is my
opinion, however, that there will never again be such a
wonderful World's Fair or Exposition as the one that was
held in Chicago in 1893.

247

Another potent factor in making the World's Colum-
bian Exposition of 1893 such a pronounced success was
the Woman's Department, controlled and managed by
som? of tha brainiest and m >st practical women of our
country. A department in a World's Fair to be man-
aged solely by women was an innovation, and many
doubted its feasibility. A National Board of Women
Commissioners, two from each state and territory, and a
local Board of Commissioners, consisting of nine women,
were appointed. The Board of National Commissioners
met in Chicago and organized by electing Mrs. Potter
Palmer of Chicago, President, and Mrs. Ralph Traut-
man of New York city, First Vice President The choice
of these officers was a most judicious one, especially that
of Mrs. Palmer for President. Mrs. Palmer did not seek
the office, for she distrusted her ability to fill the respons-
ible position, but from the time she took the chair as
President and delivered her address of acceptance to the
end of her long and arduous administration, it was evi-
dent to all the commissioners that they had made a most
wise selection. Inexperienced as she was in presiding
•over a large deliberative body and in the management
of important and complicated business affairs, she made
no mistake, but proved herself a woman of great intel-
lectual force, energy, tact, keen discriminatim and of
almost unerring judgment. When her great work had
been completed, she was one of the most widely known
and greatly admired women in the world.

The local Board of Commissioners, composed of
such women as Mrs. Colonel James A. Mulligan, Mrs.
Sol. Thatcher, Mrs. Gen. M. R. M. Wallace, Mrs. Gen. A.
L. Chetlain. Dr. Frances Dickenson, Mrs. L. Brace^Shat-
tuck, Mrs. Myra Bradwell, Mrs. George L. Dunlap, Mrs.
Matilda B. Carse and Mrs. James R. Doolittle, was a
most efficient one. All its members possessed zeal, good

248

judgment and executive force and were unremitting in
their efforts to make the Woman's Department a suc-
cess. Mrs. Palmer, the President of the Board of Na-
tional Commissioners, fully appreciated the efficient
services rendered by the Local Board, as she did also the
valuable work and advice of such able women as Mrs.
Gen. Logan, Mrs. Gov, J. J. Bagley, and Mrs. S. S. (X
Angell, of Michigan, Mrs. Gov. R. J. Oglesby, Mrs. W.
P. Lynde, of Wisconsin, Mrs. F. B. Clarke, of Minnesota.
Mrs. Trautmann, of New York, and other members of
the National Board who spent much time in Chicago^
while prosecuting their work.

There grew out of the Columbian Exposition an in-
stitution in Chicago which in time will be noted not only
in this, but in all other civilized countries. I refer to the
"Field Columbian Museum" started and upheld thus far
largely by the munificent generosity of the "Merchant
Prince," Marshal Field, long known in Chicago as a
man of keen intellect and superior administrative ability.

A few years before the World's Columbian Exposi-
tion was held in Chicago a number of public spirited
citizens started a movement to found in that city an Art
Institute, believing that it was needed in the metropolis-
of the northwest. The leader in the movement was the
comparatively young financier, Charles L. Hutchinson,.
the son of R. P. Hutchinson, the famous Board of Trade
member and extensive operator of a score of years ago.
Young Hutchinson entered the project with zeal and
energy, and backed by his wealth, was a potent factor in
making it a success. He is forceful and far sighted as a
a man of affairs, morally high-toned and one of the best
poised characters I ever knew. He has as an earnest co-
worker, Martin A. Ryerson, a man much like himself,
highly educated, enthusiastic and wealthy, who, besides
being scholarly is a great lover of art. A magnificent

249

and substantial building was erected on the Lake Front
for the uses of the Institute. The holding of the
Columbian Exposition in Chicago gave it an impetus.
Its,management is admirable. Charles L. Hutchinson
is the President of a Board of twenty-two directors com-
posed of some of Chicago's most enterprising and sa-
gacious citizens. James H. Dole, the Vice-President of
the Board, is an old time prominent business man, whose
activity as a director virtually makes him the general
manager, for which position he is well qualified, having
been an artist of considerable reputation in his early
manhood. He has energy, tact and administrative abil-
ity of a high order.

W. R. French, long recognized in Chicago as an
artist of unusual merit is the active Director of the
Institution. He possesses great energy and acute dis-
crimination. One of the Directors who gives much of
his time in assisting the management is Charles W. Ful-
lerton, the son of one of Chicago's early and prominent
citizens, who has large business experience and artistic
taste. Mr. Fullerton has recently donated a sum
sufficient to construct a large lecture hall to be known as
the "Fullerton Memorial Hall" in memory of his father,
the late Alex. N. Fullerton. The Executive Committee
of the Board of Directors is composed of C. L. Hutchin-
son, James H. Dole, Albert A. Sprague, Chas. H. Hamill,
Gen. J. C. Black, Martin A. Ryerson and William T. Baker.
The Art Institute under the judicious management of
a body of such men cannot fail to be a success.

CHAPTER XII.

NOTED WOMEN Of CHICAGO.

Chicago has a number of women of strong intellect,
broadly educated, of advanced ideas and of much will
force, which have made their influence felt far and wide.
In the latter '70s Mrs. Kate Newell Doggett was a leader
in the literary circles of Chicago, the founder of the
Fortnightly Club of Chicago, and was its President until
her death. She was a woman of exceptional culture,
great energy, and had largely what the French call the
savour faire.

About that time Miss Frances E. Willard began to be
generally known as an advanced educator, editor, and a
writer of ability. She was in the lecture field, and was
at the head of the Woman's Christian Union, the leader
of the White Cross Union, and later the President of the
American branch of the National Council of Women,
and of the World's Christian Temperance Union, which
she had organized. She was a prolific writer, and the
author of several books. Before her death, which oc-
curred last year, (1898,) she was recognized as one of the
strongest characters the last half of the 19th century had
produced in the United States. The work of the last
twenty years of her life was a great one, especially as an
educator and reformer.

Mrs. MyraBradwell in an entirely different field of
effort had achieved a wide reputation as a learned lawyer
and the able and discriminating editor of the "Legal
News" of Chicago before Miss Willard had become gen-

251

erally known. She possessed great mental force and
much positive strength of character.

The Fortnightly Club was organized over 20 years
ago, and it soon brought together many of the brightest
and most cultured women of Chicago. The Club or
Society was in some respects a literary training school
of a high order, and many of the carefully prepared
papers read before it by its members were unsurpassed
in point of ability. The World's Columbian Exposition
of 1893 with its Congress of nations, its Congress of
religions and the great work wrought by its Woman's
Department, gave an impetus to woman to become an
active participant in the great field of thought and
action.

Mrs. Potter Palmer, to whom I have already alluded
in connection with her remarkable work in the Woman's
department of the Columbian Exposition was a member
of the Fortnightly Club and had there displayed rare
ability as a writer.

Dr. Sarah Hackett Stephenson, for nearly a quarter of
a century a resident of Chicago, is widely known not only
as a skillful practitioner, but also as a popular lecturer.
She has intellectual force, energy, rare practical intelli-
gence, broad and advanced views of social and moral
questions and withal is a ready and impressive speaker.

Mrs. Charles Henrotin, for some time the efficient
President of the General Federation of Woman's Clubs,
was active during the Columbian Exposition in the two
Congresses alluded to, and was the Vice-President of the
Woman's branch of the Congress auxiliary of the
Columbian Exposition. She possesses a keen and well
trained intellect, intense energy, tact and administrative
ability, is a pleasing and forcible speaker, of cordial
manner, and a kind and amiable disposition.

Dr. Julia Holmes Smith, who has practiced her pro-

fession in Chicago many years, is a careful student of
events, has wide general information, will force, energy
and executive ability. She served with efficiency as a
Trustee of the University of Illinois.

Mrs. J. M. Flower is more of a reformer and.
humanitarian than any other of the distinguished women
I have named. She has intellectual force, rare intelli-
gence, untiring energy and excellent judgment, which
qualities fit her to govern a state. Her work for years
in endeavoring to ameliorate the condition of the poor
and unfortunate, including the criminal class in the
county jails, police stations, etc., has been a great one and
not destitute of good results. She has filled the position
of Trustee of the University of Illinois acceptably.

Miss Jane Addams, is the efficient manager of that
unique institution, "The Hull House Social Settlement,"
patterned after Toynbee Hall, the first settlement which
was founded in London about fifteen years ago, which
has been running under her management for a half
score of years in the heart of the city of Chicago, effected
great good in a novel but practical way. Its charter
states that the objects of the Hull House are "to provide
a center for a higher civil and social life, to institute and
maintain educational and philanthropic enterprises and
to investigate and improve the conditions in the in-
dustrial district of Chicago." Miss Addams has a strong
and well trained mind, is intensely energetic and of
sound judgment, who as a social reformer uses methods
which are unusual. Not long since upon her own solici-
tation she was appointed Health Inspector of one of the
worst districts in the city, and served one term most
efficiently and acceptably. She is an attractive speaker
and is often seen in the pulpit, and on the platform as a
lecturer. She is the daughter of the Hon. John H.
Addams, of Stephenson county, 111., who was a farmer,

253

manufacturer and banker, and a State Senator for sixteen
37ears.

There are other women in Chicago who possess
unusual mental force, excellent judgment, effective en-
ergy, acute discrimination and marked ability in man-
aging affairs, such as Mrs. John N. Jewett, former Presi-
dent of the Fortnightly Club, Vice President-at-large for
Illinois of the Daughters of the American Revolution
and President of the Antiquarian Society of Chicago,
and Mrs. Gen. M. R. M. Wallace, late President of the
Woman's Club of Chicago and President of the National
Relief Corps of the G. A. R.

Mrs. George L. Dunlap, long prominent in benevo-
lent and philanthropic work in the city of Chicago, is a
forceful character, and in her work pursues practi-
cal lines. Her exceptional efficiency has always been
recognized. During the Columbian Exposition she was
the President of the Board of Women which constructed
and managed the Children's building.

Mrs. J. J. Glessner, a woman of strong mentality,
many accomplishments and a well directed energy,
founded, soon after the Columbian Exposition, the Anti-
quarian Society of Chicago, and has long been a gener-
ous and discriminating patron of music and art in Chi-
cago. Mrs. J. Young Scammon, a woman of marked
force of character, excellent judgment and practical in
her methods, founded some years ago the Decorative Art
Society of Chicago and has always been active in its
management.

Mrs. E. W. Blatchford, one of the most thoroughly
sensible and practical Christian women of Chicago, some
years ago, as a philanthropic work, organized the first
kindergarten in the city. Kindergartens are now very
numerous aud have become a part of our system of pub-
lic schools. Miss Julia Lathrop, a woman of high liter-

254

ary attainments and an advanced reformer, is a mem-
ber of the Illinois State Board of Charities. Mrs. Ma-
tilda B. Carse, well known in the literary, charitable and
humanitarian circles of Chicago, of exceptional will
force and administrative ability, has for many years
been prominently connected with the Woman's Christian
Temperance Union, and is one of the Managing Board
of the "Woman's Temple."

Mrs. Cyrus McCormick Sr., a woman of rare culture
and broad sympathies, has with munificent liberality
and discrimination aided religious societies and educa-
tional and charitable institutions in Chicago and else-
where for many years; and Mrs. Lydia A. Coonley-Ward,
strongly intellectual, effectively energetic, with broad
views of moral and social questions, has long been a
recognized conservative leader in reform and humani-
tarian movements in Chicago.

Mrs. Elizabeth A. Reed, of keen and well trained
intellect, has written valuable books on Indian and Per-
sian literature, and Miss Lillian Bell, the daughter of
my esteemed army friend, Major W. W. Bell, has
achieved a wide reputation by her books, written with
marked ability; and Mrs. Dr. Horace Wardner, of much
culture and mental strength, a reformer and humanitar-
ian, is a lecturer and writer of unusual force, and well
known throughout the state.

Mrs. Mary Hartwell Catherwood, of Hoopestown,
111., who spends much of her time in Chicago and is well
known in its literary clubs and circles, is a woman of
high literary attainments and the author of nearly a
half-score of books written since 1880. Her last books,
"The Romance of Dollard," "The Bells of Ste Anne" and
"The Storey of Tonti," have given her more than nation-
al reputation.

CHAPTER XIII.

ARMY SOCIETIES,

I have had much to do with soldiers' organizations
since I located in Chicago over twenty-five years ago. I
have been a member of the Society of the Army of the
Tennessee, the oldest and largest of the societies of the
different armies of the civil war. It was organized in
North Carolina in 1865, just before the close of the warr
with Gen. John A. Rawlins as its President, Gen. A. Hick-
enlooper, of the artillery arm of the service and after
the war Lieutenant Governor of Ohio, as Corresponding
Secretary, and Colonel L. M. Dayton of Gen. Sherman's
staff, and after the war a prominent manufacturer of
Cincinnati, as Recording Secretary. The qualifications
for membership for commissioned officers, was creditable
service in the Department or Army of the Tennessee.
The society has held thirty meetings in various parts of
the West since its organization. The meetings are in-
tended to be held annually. After the death of Gen.
Rawlins, Gen. Sherman was chosen President and served
most acceptably until his death in 1883. His successor
was Gen. G. M. Dodge of Iowa, the last corps com-
mander appointed by him on his march to the sea,
who still holds the position. The original Correspond-
ing Secretary, Gen. A. Hickenlooper, still fills the place.
He was a brave and exceptionally valuable officer, and
is now a highly esteemed and influential citizen of Cin-
cinnati. After the death of Colonel Dayton in 1891,
Colonel Cornelius Cadle was elected Recording Secretary,.

an officer with a most excellent record in the service,
who possesses admirable qualifications for the somewhat
arduous position he fills, viz: intelligence, industry and
discrimination.

The societ}7, from its organization, at considerable
cost, has kept a careful record of all its proceedings,
giving in full all papers read and addresses made, which
proceedings are printed in a bound volume every year
for the use of its members. There is, therefore, in the
records of the society thus kept, a mass of valuable his-
torical information. Among the distinguished officers
whose names are found on the roll of the society as
members and who have died, are Generals Grant, Sher-
man, Logan, Rawlins, Buckland, Corse, Gresham, Fisk,
Leggett, McCook, Hurlbut, Rowett, Rowley, J. E. Smith,
Rusk, Pope, Rice, Belknap and Blair. The roll of the
society now shows a membership of less than 700.

The Grand Army of the Republic was organized in
Illinois in the early part of 1866. It has been one of
the most remarkable organizations of ex-soldiers the
world has ever known. Out of the 2,000,000 men who
volunteered to save the life of the nation and who served
from three months to four years in the civil war, nearly
one-fourth of whom, were killed in battle or died from
disease, over 300,000 of them, within a few years after
the close of the war joined together and under solemn
pledges formed a society or order, the objects of which
were: First, to perpetuate the sacred memories of the
war — second, to assist each other in the struggles of life
— and third, for good fellowship. I became a member of
the order in Illinois in 1866, and have always taken
great pleasure in attending reunions, post meetings
and "camp fires," where I have witnessed exhibitions of
genuine comradeship. Probably four-fifths of this vast
order is composed of men who served in the ranks. The

257

longer I live the more I am impressed with the idea that
the man "who carried a gun," i. e., the enlisted man in
the ranks, is deserving of more honor than his fellow
citizen who, more fortunate than he, held a commission,
be the rank high or low. All were patriotic, but the
patriotism of the former always seemed to me a degree
higher than that of the latter. Nearly all the officers
who belong to the societies of the Army of the Tennessee,
the Potomac, the Cumberland, or of the Mititary order
of the Loyal Legion, are also members of the Grand
Army of the Republic.

Over fifteen years ago there was organized by the
^wives and daughters of the members of the G. A. R., an
order connected with the G. A. R. and called the Veteran
Relief Corps. Out of some 3,000 Posts in the United
States there are very few without its relief corps. This
addenda, formed and sustained by patriotic women, has
done and is doing an amount of benevolent work that is
incalculable. Us principal work is relieving the neces-
sities of the families of unfortunate members of the order,
and in case of death to look after and care for the wid-
ows and orphans.

Other orders composed of former soldiers of the civil
war have been organized and patterned after the G. A. R.
Some fifteen years ago when the order of the G. A. R. was
at low ebb, the society of our "Our Country's Defenders"
was instituted, but its existence was brief. A few years
ago another order, The Union Veteran Legion, was or-
ganized with all the characteristics of the G. A. R. except
that elegibility for membership requires a service of at
least two years in the civil war. It has now numerous
posts in the country, especially in the western states.

The military order of the Loyal Legion of the
United States, was instituted at Philadelphia in 1878.
Its objects are to cherish the memories and associations

258

of the war waged in defense and indivisibility of the
Republic; to strengthen the ties of fraternal fellowship
and sympathy formed by companionship in arms, and
to advance the best interests of the soldiers: and sailors of
the United States. Its principles and objects are not
dissimilar to those of the "Order of the Cincinnati" in-
stitution soon after the close of the Revolutionary war,,
of which Gen. George Washington was the Jirst comman-
der. The chief difference was in the qualifications for
membership. In the Order of the Cincinnati, no officer
of less grade than a Lieutenant Colonel was eligible to-
membership. The Military Order of the Loyal Legion,
admits all commissioned officers or ex-officers of the army
and navy from the highest to the lowest grade viz. that
of Second Lieutenant, and is therefore of a more popular
character. A good military record and an honorable
life as a citizen are required. Membership is hereditary
descending to the oldest of the male line or in default of
male issue to the oldest in the collateral line. The son
of a member when he becomes of age is eligible as a
member of the second class, and at the death of his fath-
er becomes a member of the first class. The Order of
the Cincinnati has now four state commanderies, with
members of the second and third generations.

I was one of the fourteen members of the Order who-
instituted the Illinois Commandery in 1880. Gen. Phil.
H. Sheridan was its first commander. There are now
twenty state commanderies in the United States with a
membership of about 8000. The order is not secret nor
political, and only incidentally benevolent.

We have on our rolls of membership as companions.
Generals Grant, Hancock, Sherman, Sheridan, Hayes,
McClellan, Garfield, Logan, Meade, Burnsideand Arthur,
now numbered with the dead, and a long list of distin-
guished commanders still living. The Illinois Com-

259

mandery which holds its meetings monthly in Chicago
has a membership of about 700, nearly one-tenth of
whom are members of the second, and of the first-class
by succession. Col. J. Mason Loomis succeeded Gen.
Sheridan as commander, and served one year. Since
then a new commander has been elected every year.
The last commander, Col. Charles W. Davis, died recent-
ly before the end of his official term. He had been the
Recorder of the Commaiidery for some ten years prior to
1896, serving with great acceptance. Col. Davis had an
exceptionally excellent war record, and was a gentleman
of culture and rare good nature. His predecessor as
Recorder was Captain Richard Robins, formerly of the
United States army, who was elected at the organization
of the Commandery, proved a most intelligent and
efficient officer. The present Recorder, Captain R. H.
Mason, is a lawyer of recognized ability, and of scholarly
attainments, with an admirable reputation as a soldier,
and is highly esteemed by his companions.

I have in preceding pages alluded to many of
my army comrades, who are members of the Com-
mandery. There are many more of whom lam very fond,
having been drawn to them by the natural law of affinity.
They are men whose records in the civil war are of un-
surpassed excellence and of which any American patriot
might well be proud. Among the number is Gen. Wal-
ter C. Newberry, a citizen of large private affairs; Colonel
William L. Barnum; prominent in fire insurance circles
and an able business manager; Colonel Francis A. Rid-
dle, a learned and successful lawyer; Major S. E. Barrett,
the sagacious and exceptionally successful manufacturer;
Gen. J. H. Stibbs, United States Pension Examiner at
Chicago; Major 1. P. Rumsey, of the Board of Trade
management; Captain James G. Everest, the efficient
railroad special agent and United States commissioner

260

of the Vicksburg National cemetery; Gen. Milo S. Has-
call, extensive operator in realties; Captain George H.
Heafford, the popular railroad general passenger agent;
Major W. L. B. Jenney, a civil and military engineer
and a distinguished architect; Dr. J. Nevins Hyde, skill-
ful in practice and of literary tastes; Gen. Charles
W. Drew, a recognized authority in fire insurance and
matters; Major Martin J. Russell, editor and a writer of
ability; Captain Alfred T. Andreas, of literary taste and
the publisher of the great history of Chicago; Major
William E. Furness, learned as a lawyer and of high
scholarly attainments; General Charles S. Bentley, mem-
ber of the Board of Trade; Major Robert W. McClaugh-
ry, reformer, and an authority on the management of
penal institutions; Colonel Henry L. Turner, banker,
scholar, arid long prominently connected with the Illi-
nois National Guards and colonel of the First regiment;
Captain Ephraim A. Otis, a learned and successful law-
yer and commander of the Illinois Commandery of the
Loyal Legion; Captain E. B. Sherman, well known and
able lawyer of the Chicago bar, and Dr. O. W. Nixon, of
the editorial staff of the Chicago Daily Inter Ocean;
Gen. Horace H. Thomas, ex-Speaker of the Legisla-
ture of Illinois and now Uniced States Appraiser at the
Port of Chicago; Captain Alonzo N. Reece, the clear-
headed and successful merchant; Captain Sartell Pren-
tice, an able lawyer and far sighted man of affairs; Col-
onel Edgar D. Swain, the distinguished dental surgeon
and long prominent in the Illinois National Guards;
Captain Amos J. Harding, the intelligent and successful
manager of fire insurance companies; Major Horatio L.
Wait, the able lawyer, of literary taste and of recog-
nized ability as a writer; Captain John McLarem, banker
and a financier of recognized ability; Colonel Wilton A.
Jenkins, active and successful in business; Dr. Edward

261

O. F. Roler, of exceptional skill in surgery; Captain Au-
gust Busse, successful in business, and formerly known
as the "fighting captain" of his regiment. Colonel Byron
M. Callender, of the Chicago Board of Trade, and now
retired; Captain Peter Hand, a successful business man;
Captain Charles T. Boal, a man of large private affairs;
Colonel Charles R. E. Koch, in business, and for many
years identified with the Illinois National Guards and
for some time the colonel of a regiment; Colonel Man-
ning D. Birge, in active business; Major D. V. Purington,
a prominent manufacturer, and Dr. Samuel C Plummer,
an able and successful practitioner of Rock Island.

Colonel Isaac Clemens, a lawyer and successful prac-
titioner, former member of Congress and later United
States Pension Agent at Chicago; Captain William C.
Cadle in active business; Major Maurice J. McGrath, for
many years superintendent of mails in the Chicago
postoffice; Col. George S. Roper, the "sweet singer" of
the Commandery, who recently died; Captain Norman
Ream, retired capitalist; Captain James B. Goodman, one
of Chicago's lumber "Barons;" Gen. Charles T. Hotch-
kiss, active and successful in business; Col. John S.
Cooper, a prominent lawyer of the Chicago bar; Major
George Mason, proprietor of the Excelsior Iron Works;
Dr. Horace Wardner, a distinguished practitioner, now
virtually retired; Captain Theo. W. Letton, prominent in
fire insurance circles; Major George L. Paddock, an able
and distinguished lawyer of the Chicago bar; Major John
D. Crabtree, a judge on the circuit bench. Col. Thomas E.
Milchrist, ex-United States District Attorne}7 at Chicago;
Major Lumley Ingledew, real estate operator; Charles F.
Matteson, the distinguished dental surgeon; Major James
M. Ball, in active business. Captain James T. McAuley,
a former merchant, and now in life insurance, as a man-
ager; Col. William A. McLean, capitalist, and Gen. Mar-
tin D. Hardin, U. S. A., retired.

262

The three scores of young men who are members of
the first and second classes are energetic, intelligent, and
of good habits, who give promise of making excellent
citizens and prove "worthy sons of noble sires" Many
of them have already taken high positions in business
affairs, and in the professions a few have achieved dis-
tinction.

CHAPTER XIV

THE DOMINION Of CANADA.

In the early part of 1894 I spent several months in
Montreal. During my stay there I devoted my leisure
time to the study of the Dominion of Canada. I was
surprised to find how little I knew about ihat vast coun-
try lying contiguous to the United States and greatly
surpassing it in area. Its arable lands, good, bad and
indifferent, lying west of Lake Winnipeg and the
Red River to the Rocky mountains, are estimated at
150,000,000 acres. The eastern part of the area is of un-
surpassed fertility. If only one-third of this area, the
part best adapted for the growth of wheat and other
small grains, were cultivated and the yield put down at
ten bushels of wheat per acre, the aggregate would be
500,000,000 bushels, an amount equal to the entire wheat
crop of the United Slates. Should this great area of
wheat lands be added to that of the United States, the
total yield would be sufficient to supply the markets of
the world.

Some fifteen years ago I joined a party of capitalists
and visited Manitoba. While in Winnipeg we called
upon the Hon. Mr. Couchon, the Governor of the Prov-
ince of Manitoba, to pay him our respects. The ques-
tion of wheat growing was discussed, and the Governor
brought out a small bag containing some two quarts of
wheat, which was a sample of that grown on land 1,500
miles in a direct line northwest of Winnipeg, at the
headwaters of the McKenzie river. The wheat was well

264

matured, large and plump. I state this fact to show how-
far northwest wheat can be successfully grown on this
continent.

A charter has been obtained from the Parliament of
Canada for the construction of a railway from Winni-
peg to Fort York on the Hudson Bay called the Winni-
peg & Great Northern railway. The length will be less
than 700 miles. The intention of the projectors is to
carry wheat to Fort York, store it in large elevators and
ship it to Great Britain and Northern Europe during the
two or three months of summer when the Hudson strait
is open.

I learned another thing that interested me, viz: that
the extensive territory of the Dominion lying south and
east of the Hudson Bay to within a hundred and fifty
miles northwest of the great valley of the St. Lawrence
river and Lake Ontario and say two hundred miles west
of the Atlantic coast in Labrador, had never been ex-
plored and was a terra incognita. This vast tract is well
watered by some six or seven large rivers which flow into
the Hudson bay from the south and east. A portion of
this territory in Labrador, lying west of the Atlantic
coast for two or three hundred miles, has recently been
explored by a competent corps of scientific men appoint-
ed by the government. In this vast unexplored region
geologists and mining experts believe that coal, iron and
copper exists in large quantities, and that lands suscepti-
ble of cultivation and well adapted for grazing purposes
will be found.

Another thing interested me, and that was the pro-
duction of iron found in shallow lakes and dry bogs at
the base of the range of the Laurentian mountains, simi-
lar to the Swedish iron, so largely imported in the United
States, and extensively used for the manufacture of car
wheels. The iron is smelted with charcoal and can be

265

produced with profit only in a region where wood is
abundant. Nearly 200 years ago some French mission-
aries began at Radnor on the St. Maurice river to smelt
this ore in crude furnaces, producing two to three tons of
pig iron a day. A few years ago a syndicate was formed
to develope this industry of which George E. Drummond,
Thomas J. Drummond, and J. T. McCall, of Montreal,
iron manufacturers and dealers in imported and domes-
tic metals, Thomas Griffin, an extensive manufacturer of
•car wheels in Chicago, and E H. Griffin, a capitalist of
Buffalo, N. Y., with a few capitalists of London, England,
composed the syndicate, known as the "Canada Iron
Furnace Company, Limited." It bought the old French
plant with 100,000 acres of timber land, lying in the
Laurentian mountains near Radnor and up the St.
Maurice river. It began at Radnor, the manufacture of
pig iron on a large scale by improved methods of smelt-
ing. For some years the daily output of the Radnor
Forges of the "Canada Iron Furnace Co.," has been from
forty to fifty tons. This iron known as "bog iron" is
found in various localities along the base of the Lauren-
tian mountains which fringe the great valley of the St.
Lawrence river from Quebec south westward for 500
miles. Much of the pig iron is sold in Great Britain
where it will soon supplant the Swedish iron.

The construction of the great high way, the Canadian
Pacific railroad, across the continent, has greatly in-
creased the carrying trade across the Atlantic and has
proved a benefaction to all lower Canada. The entire
system is admirably managed, the credit being due to
the forceful energy, good judgment and practical methods
employed by its President, William C. Van Home, who
by the by is a product of Illinois, if not of C hicago. In
the latter '50s or early '60s, a young man living in
Joliet, 111., obtained a position as brakeman of a freight

266

train on a railroid running into Chicago. By industry
and close application to his duties he rose step by step
until he became an assistant manager of the Chicago &
Alton railroad. His great energy and acute discrimina-
tion was recognized by all railroad men. When the
Canadian Pacific railroad needed a clear head to manage
its extensive aff lirs its Board of Directors chose William
•C. Van Home as its President. He soon proved himself
not only capable and efficient, but exceptionally so. A
few years ago at the request of the Government of Can-
ada, Queen Victoria knighted him, and he has since been
Sir William C. Van Home. It is said that his old friend,
the distinguished veteran railroad "King," T. B. Black-
stone, President of the Chicago & Alton railroad, has the
credit of having first discovered the genuine worth as a
railroad operator of the "Illinois boy," and taught him
many valuable lessons in railroad management. T. G.
•Shaughnessy, the former General Manager of the road
and now its Vice-President, is a product of Wisconsin.
His father was a contractor in Milwaukee, and like his
superior officer, Van Home, he began his career at the
foot of the ladder on Wisconsin railroads. He is the
embodiment of energy, industry and efficiency with a
thorough knowledge of the details of railroad manage-
ment.

One thing should immediately be done by the gov-
ernment of Canada, and that is the enlargement and
deepening to twenty feet the Welland and other canals,
which would give an impetus to the carrying trade of
the Great Lakes. Before my visit to Montreal I believed
that the greater part of the intelligent people of
Lower Canada favored annexation to the United States.
To my surprise, I found that not one in five favored it.
As a general thing, the greater the intelligence of the
person the more decided the opposition to the scheme of

267

annexation. I was told that in Upper Canada a greater
proportion of the people favored annexation.

The banking system of Canada interested me. The
great Bank of Montreal, with its $12,000,000 chartered
capital and nearly two-thirds as much more as a surplus
which is used as Capital, is nut a national money institu-
tion like the Bank of England, but it does all the busi-
nes of the government of the Dominion. It has some
forty to fifty branches in the Dominion and some half-
dozen in the United States, two being on the Pacific
coast, at San Francisco and Portland, Ore., respectively.
The bank is conducted on sound banking principles and
follows conservative and safe lines. Although unlike
the Bank of England, it stands in Canada much as does
the Bank of England in Great Britain.

I spent the summer of 1895 in Lower Canada and
made a tour in the lake region of the Laurentian mount-
ains northwest of Montreal, where, in its numerous small
lakes and streams, the speckled trout are found in great
numbers. I met there, and in the villages and hamlets
at the base of the mountains, many of the early settlers
of French origin called "habitants." They speak an im-
perfect French, which is almost a "patois" and not en-
tirely intelligible to the Frenchman. Nearly all, how-
ever, speak a peculiar English or dialect almost as
marked as that of the Creoles of Louisiana. I became
very much interested in that singular people, usually
"well-to-do, who number nearly a million in Canada, and
whose habits, customs and mode of living have changed
very little in two hundred years. As is always the case
with such peopte, they have cherished legends and tradi-
tions, many of the former being full of romance.

Dr. William H. Drummond, F. R. S., of Montreal,
who spent, while fishing and hunting, much of his early
life among the "habitants" of Lower Canada, has within

268

the past few years collected many of their legends and
traditions, which, with descriptions of their habits, cus-
toms, mode of living, manners, sentiments and supersti-
tions, after having with great ingenuity and labor form-
ulated, or rather created their dialect, put them into a
volume of poems, "The Habitant, and other French-
Canadian Poems." The book was issued less than two
years ago, and he has done for the "habitants" of Canada
what Harriet Beecher Stowe and others did for the blacks
of the South, and what George W. Cable has done for the
Creoles of Louisiana, especially in their dialect. Dr. Drum-
mond's book caused something of a sensation in Canada,
and its sale there, in Great Britain and in the United
States has been exceptionally large. Dr. Louis Frech-
ette, the French poet laureate of Canada, when writing
of Dr. Drummond and his work, says: "If ever any one
in Canada has deserved the title of 'Pathfinder of a new
land of song,' it assuredly is he.

ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS.

I lived in Rockford in 1866 for nearly a year after
leaving the army, and became well acquainted with the
history of the place and most of its leading citizens. The
city is the seat of Winnebago county, built on both sides
of Rock river, which gives it a splendid water power.
It is conceded to be the most beautiful city in the state,
has a population of over 35,000, and has long been
known as the "Forest City." The land in the county is
of unsurpassed fertility. The town was founded in the
early '40s, and was fortunate in having as early settlers
men of mental force, energy and of great public spirit,
who did much in its early days toward develop-
ing its resources and starting it on its career of pros-
perity. For over a quarter of a century it has been
one of the most important manufacturing centers in the

state and a thoroughly up-to-date city, with its extensive
system of electric surface railways, splendid waterworks,
electric street lights, well-paved streets, three daily news-
papers, etc.

One of the early prominent figures of that town
was John Holland, a wealthy banker and a man of much
force of character, who carried on the -business of bank-
ing under the firm name of Holland & Coleman. After
the death of Mr. Holland in the latter '40s, Thomas D.
Robertson, a practical banker, became associated with
Coleman in conducting the business. In the early '50s
Melancthon Starr located in Rockford and entered the
bank of Coleman & Robertson as cashier. He had re-
ceived his training in the bank of his father, Chandler
Starr, an old-time New York banker, who, besides being
a prominent banker, was an influential leader in the
Whig party in the city and state. After the death of
Mr. Coleman, Robertson and Starr continued the busi-
ness, and when the bank, in the latter '60s, organized
under the national banking law as the "Winnebago Na-
tional Bank," Mr. Robertson became its President and
Mr. Starr its Cashier. For over thirty years the bank
flourished under the management of these two able finan-
ciers. Mr. Robertson is still its President, but Mr. Starr
died some years ago and his place as Cashier has been
filled by his son, Chandler Starr. This bank, which has
carried on its business for over half a century is the pride
of the city of Rockford. Under the management of
Robertson & Starr this veteran moneyed institution did
much for Rockford and Winnebago county. Mr. Rob-
ertson has been a sagacious, conservative and successful
banker and a public spirited citizen. Mr. Starr's death
was a severe loss to the community, in which he had
lived for over a third of a century, and who had become
closely identified with its material, social, moral and re-

270 •

ligious interests. His culture; attractive personality, up-
rightness and genial and kind disposition made him a
general favorite. As a conversationalist he had few-
equals. He was one of the best types of the Christian
gentleman.

Another early, prominent and influential citizen
was John P. Manny, the extensive manufacturer of farm-
ing implements; who had much inventive genius, a well
trained mind, quick business perception, integrity and a
generous and kind nature. He was one of the most pop-
ular and highly esteemed citizens of Winnebago county.

William A. Talcott located in Rockford when a
young man and became identified with the great manu-
facturing establishment of Emerson & Co., so long and
favorably known in the Northwest. He has the reputa-
tion of being one of the most far-sighted and successful
business men in that community. With much mental
force, energy and industry, he possesses unusual admin-
istrative ability, and has ehown rare discrimination as a
financier. A careful student of events, he has gained
much information and is an interesting talker. He has
literary taste and is a forceful writer. In disposition he
is genial and kind-hearted, and as a host is cordial and
generous.

John Edwards came to Rockford in the early '50s
from Lowell, Mass., where he had been for some years
engaged in the lumber business. Possessed of much will
iorce and erierg}', he soon became a prominent citizen.
He was public spirited and one of the prime movers in
founding the Rockford Female Seminary, now the Rock-
ford Female College, an institution of wide reputation in
the Northwest. In the latter '50s he donated to the city
of Rockford a central tract of land for a public park. A
few years after his death, which occurred in the early
'70s, a fine fountain was erected in the park and called

271

the "Edwards Memorial Fountain." He was a leading
member of the Congregational church for many years
before his death. His sound judgment, broad sympa-
thies and sturdy integrity, gained for him the respect
and confidence of the entire community.

Ralph Emerson, the head of the firm of Emerson &
Co., for nearly half a century manufacturers of farming
implements, has always been regarded as Rockford's
foremost citizen. His great brain power, quiet energy
and practical methods in the management of large af-
fairs, moving on conservative and safe lines, have led
to success, and have been recognized by the commun-
ity. Unassuming in manner and of a kindly disposi-
tion, he has always been closely identified with the edu-
cational and religious interests of the city which has so-
long been his home.

Other citizens besides those mentioned above, have
been active and potent factors in advancing the various
interests of that flourishing city. Dr. George Haskell
was also an early settler, a man of education and ad-
ministrative ability; W. A. Dickerman, an early mer-
chant and a successful man of affairs; Dr. R. P. Lane, a
banker and an enterprising citizen; Charles Horsman, a
merchant and capitalist; Alexander Forbes, an exten-
sive manufacturer, and one of Rockford's most enter-
prising citizens, and Horatio Stone, a retired merchant
who died recently, whose generous bequests to educa-
tional and charitable institutions of the city were appre-
ciated by its citizens.

Winnebago county was conspicuously loyal to the
Union during the civil war and sent more men than its
quota to the front under the several calls for volunteers.
Rockford was singularly unfortunate in losing in battle
so many of its regimental officers. Colonels Ellis, Nevius
and Melancthon Smith were of the number. Had these

272

exceptionally brave and capable officers been spared to
return to their homes and former occupations, they
doubtless would have been active and potent factors in
promoting the welfare of the community. Major Patrick
Flynn, a courageous, faithful and efficient officer, who was
with Sherman on his "march to the sea," and still liv-
ing, is the last surviving regimental officer who went out
from "old Winnebago county."

PLATLEVILLE, WISCONSIN.

Platteville, in Grant county, is nearly due north of
Galena in the northwestern section of the lead mine re-
gion. I knew the village somewhat in the '40s and well
in the '50s. It has considerable mineral wealth in its
vicinity and the land within an area of ten miles is of
great fertilit}7. Among its early settlers I now recall
Major J. M. Rountree, to whom I have alluded elsewhere;
Noah H. Virgin, a miller and manufacturer; Elijah Bay-
ley, a merchant and capitalist; George R. Lawton, an ex-
tensive land owner; Leonard Coates; Isaac Hodges, bank-
er and land proprietor; Charles H. Nye, educator; Dr.
George W. Evans, a prominent surgeon in the civil war;
Major Henry Gratiot, paymaster in the civil war; Dr.
Edward Cronin, a former Galenaian; Prof. J. L. Pickard,
educator, afterwards Superintendent of Public Schools in
Chicago; Rev. John Lewis, a young, zealous and able
Congregational minister, who died in the latter '50s, and
Colonel H. H. Virgin, a soldier of the civil war. Most
the men I have named were energetic, sagacious and
enterprising, and did much in making Platteville what
it now is, a noted educational center. The "Platteville
Academy" was incorporated in 1840, and under the man-
agement of Prof. Pickard and others flourished until
1857, when it gave up its charter and became a "State
Normal School and Teachers' Institute." Ample funds

273

have been provided by the state, and the institution,
under judicious management, now ranks as one of the
very best in the state. Of late years this school has been
a great benefit to the city of Platteville, as many well-to-
do people in all parts of the state having children to be
educated have moved into the city to avail themselves of
the superior educational advantages afforded by that and
the other schools of the place.

The "Platteville Witness," which has been published
for nearly forty years, is a newspaper of rare excellence.
In 1864 to 1870 its editor and proprietor was George K.
Shaw, a "Galena boy," and a brother of the late Judge J,
M. Shaw of the circuit court of Minneapolis, Minn., who
later became the able editor of the "Minneapolis Jour-
nal." On his retirement the "Witness" became the prop-
erty of M. P. Rindlaub, an able and experienced news-
paper man, who at once infused into it new life. The
paper was enlarged and improved in many respects.
Under Mr. Shaw's administration it became a pronounced
Republican paper, and has so continued to the present
time. Mr. Rindlaub, by judicious management and by
the force and pertinancy of his editorials, has made it
one of the very best newspapers in the state.

During the '40s and '50s the commercial and social
relations between Galena and Platteville were close. The
latter brought trade to Galena, from which point was
shipped their farm products and lead. After the open-
ing of railroad communication with Chicago and Mil-
waukee these relations changed.

CHAPTER XV.

THE PHIL-AFRICAN LIBERATORS' LEAGUE,

Two years or more ago my attention was directed to*
a movement in Switzerland, Belgium, Great Britain and
the United States to suppress the internal African slave
trade, and that a society or organization was being^
formed in New York called the Philafrican Liberators'
League to assist in effecting this object. The movement
was the result of reports from the Rev. Heli Chate-
lain, a French-Swiss American and an explorer in
south central Africa. A condition of things was re-
vealed by Mr. Chatelain that surprised and horrified the
civilized world. It seems that a regular system of slav-
ery has long existed in southern central Africa and that
the slave trade in its worst form has been carried on with
impunity on the southeast coast of Africa south of Zanzi-
bar. The parties engaged in this nefarious traffic go*
into the interior of the country 300 to 500 miles, buy
or capture men, women and grown-up children, and
drive them in gangs, loading them with food needed for
the journey, to some coast town and then sell them to
parties who take them to the countries of the far East or
to the East India islands. It is believed that over 50,000
every year are thus bought or captured and brought to
the coast, and that sometimes nearly one-half of the
number die from disease, brutal treatment or exposure
while en route and are left by the roadside unburied to
be devoured by wild beasts.

275

Mr. Chatelain was the first to give to the world the
facts briefly narrated above. Nearly a score of years
ago he went from New York as a missionary to Loando,
on the southwest coast of Africa. He is a fine linguist,
was educated near his place of birth in the Canton of
Neuchatel, Switzerland, and studied theology in New
Jersey, United States, after which he went as a mission-
ary to Africa. He was soon appointed by the govern-
ment of the United States its commercial agent at Loando.

Soon after having translated the language of the
nearest tribe into Portugese, the commercial language at
Loando, he began his explorations and investigations
with the results stated. His representations, made in,
Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, England and the United!
States after his return from Africa, aroused deep interest
every where, especially among statesmen, philanthropists
and the clergy. In New York a Philafrican Liberators'
League was organized at once with distinguished men of
national reputation for directors, such as Rev. L. T.
Chamberlain, D. D., the President of the League, well,
known in Chicago as the pastor of the New England
church in the '80s; Rev Josiah Strong, D. D.; Rev. W.
W. Atterbury, D. D.; Rev. Joachim Elmendorf, D. D.;.
Rev. W. H. P. Faunce, D. D.; Rev. Lyman Abbott, D.D.,
late pastor of the Plymouth church, Brooklyn; Rev.
David J. Burrill, D. D., formerly of Chicago; Rev. John
H. Edwards, D. D., and Rev. A. F. Beard, D. D.; the
Hon. Fred R. Coudert, the distinguished lawyer; Paul du,
Chaillu, the great African explorer; Booker T. Washing-
ton, the educator; Dr. Albert Shaw, the editor of the
"Review of Reviews;" Gen. John Eaton; Horace E.
Garth, prominent banker, and William J. Schieffelin.
Hon. Thomas B. Bryan and Gen. A. L. Chetlain are, the
Chicago members of the Board of Directors.

The New York League began active work over a

276

year ago, with Mr. Chatelain as the field manager. A
year ago he left for Africa with a corps of competent
aides to establish a station on the west coast of Africa
known as Portugese West Africa. The place selected for
the first station, named Lincoln, is on an elevated plat-
eau or table land, 6,000 to 7,000 feet above the sea level,
150 miles from the coast, with a healthful climate, and
surrounded by land of great fertility, well watered and
well timbered. Mr. Chatelain has already as helpers,
two young Christian physicians and three college gradu-
ates, two of whom are accompanied by their wives. All
.are now at Lincoln as missionaries "to civilize and Chris-
tianize" the natives.

As money has been liberally contributed, more com-
petent helpers will be sent to Lincoln, after which other
stations will be established farther into the interior, until
a cordon of the stations will extend across the continent
and be "cities of refuge" for all who seek freedom from
oppression, The missionaries who go to Lincoln have
transportation furnished them to their destination, and
$300 given to each for his expenses for one year, after
which they are to support themselves.

Rev. Dr. L. T. Chamberlain, the President of the
League, is admirably fitted for the position, having zeal,
good judgment and unusual administrative ability.
Rev. Dr. J. H. Edwards, of the executive committee
•of the Board of Directors, was reared in Rockford,
111., educated at Beloit college, Wis., and has been in the
Christian ministry for over a third of a century. He is
broadly educated, has a strong mentality, great execut-
ive force, and in disposition is genial, generous and
sympathetic. Rev, Mr. Chatelain, the field manager of
the League, is still in the prime of life, thoroughly edu-
cated, of intense energy, deep and sincere piety, large ex-
perience as a missionary and an explorer, and the best

277

master of African languages living. If his life is spared,
he will soon, by his well directed efforts and practical
methods, raise up a corps of active Christian men and
women who, aided by native helpers, will carry on the
great and good work just begun in all parts of the "dark
continent."

I have given in the foregoing, as briefly as I could y
an account of the new work of "civilizing and Christian-
izing" the natives of Africa, a work in which I have be-
come deeply interested and in which I assume the aver-
age reader will be also. I regard this undertaking in
the field of missionary work as an advanced one. When
the time shall have come that the missionary will be
virtually self-supporting, a long stride will have been
taken in the direction of "civilizing and Christianizing"
the pagan world. I predict that it will not be long be-
fore this horrible system of slavery and the more horri-
ble traffic in human beings will be broken up in Africa.

CHAPTER XVI.

GALENA AND ITS MEN AT THE CLOSE OF THE NINE-
TEENTH CENTURY.

Galena was founded nearly three-quarters of a cen-
tury ago. It was the first city in the Northwest to or-
ganize under a charter. Its history is strange and inter-
esting. Beginning at that early date it grew steadily in
population and commercial importance until the middle
of the '50s, when it began to lose its trade, which then
was larger than that of Chicago. Up to that time its en-
tire business had been done by steamboats running on
the Mississippi river. Fever river, on which Galena is
situated, was a narrow, crooked, but deep river, naviga-
ble at all seasons for the largest steamboats. As soon as
railroad communication had been opened between Lake
Michigan and the Mississippi river competition began
and Galena lost much of its trade. Its immediate
neighbor, Dubuque, by a direct line only twelve miles
distant, started only a few years later and, although more
favorably located, being on the west side of the Mississippi
river, was kept in check by Galena for a quarter of a cen-
tury, when it took a start, and before the civil war it had
distanced its competitor in volume of commercial business.
Now Dubuque has a population of 40,000 and Galena
about 7,000, a little less than it had in the '50s, when it
was at the height of its commercial prosperity.

When Galena lost its wholesale trade it lost all. The
mistake made, and it was a fatal one, by its capitalists
was in keeping all their capital in trade. They might

liave reached out, (as they could easily have done in the
'40s and '50s.) and have induced manufacturing estab-
lishments to locate there. Had that been done, after its
trade had left they could have fallen back on their man-
ufacturing industries. Dubuque began late, but its
manufacturing interests are now very considerable
.and constantly increasing. Galena has endeavored
within the past two decades to start various manufact-
ures with little success. It is trying now with a better
prospect of succeeding. Galena in the '60s had some
forty wholesale houses, which commanded the trade of
Western Wisconsin, Northeastern Iowa and Minnesota,
.and now has but five or six. Such a change is phenom-
enal and almost incredible.

And yet Galena is not a dead city nor a "deserted
village." It has a good local retail trade, much wealth
among its citizens, considerable culture, many churches,
excellent public schools, a very valuable free circulating
library, and ample railroad facilities. Its streets are
lighted by electricity, excellent artesian well water is
supplied to all by waterworks, and what must not be for-
gotten, that aside from its immediate agricultural re-
sources, it has what no other western city has to any great
•extent, mineral resources as well. Hence, it will always be
A prosperous city. When Galena was at the height of com-
mercial prosperity, a veritable "bee hive" of activity, the
hills surrounding the business portion of the city were dot-
ted with houses of uncouth appearance, without trees or
shrubbery about them, giving to the hills a bare and
bleak appearance. I now look out upon these hills,
with shade trees and beautiful lawns and houses of mod-
ern construction, filled with everything that makes a
modern home attractive, making the view a beautiful
and picturesque one. The average citizen of Galena is
well to-do There are com >aratively few poor people.

280

The bad element in its population is very bad, but not
numerous. House rent is cheap, and all supplies needed
by a family are abundant and obtained at little cost.

In the '30s and '40s the city of Galena, then the
metropolis of the lead mine region, drew to it young and
enterprising men from all parts of the country, especially
from the Eastern, and Southern border States, mostly to
engage in trade or to practice the professions. In time
they removed to other places that offered greater induce-
ments to them. These men, jurists, lawyers, physicians,
mechanics and men of affairs, in very many instances
became the leaders of men, and active and potent factors
in everything that has marked the advance of the civil-
zation of the last half of the Nineteenth century in the
great West.

The moral and intellectual influence which they
have exerted, directly or indirectly, to elevate and bless
mankind cannot be estimated. Galena may well be
proud of her past achievements in commerce and trade
and in the development of the mineral resources of the
region about her, and justly proud too of what her citi-
zens and sons did in the late civil war to save the life
of the nation. She had at the close of the war a gen-
eral, a major general, two brevet major generals, a briga-
dier general and three brevet brigadier generals, and,
including the county, out of a population of less than
27,000, over 3,000 brave and patriotic men volunteered
and served in the army from one to four years. Sitting
modestly on her five hills, she can point to objects within
her limits which will always be of interest to the patriotic
American citizen. There on West or Cemetery hill is
the house in which lived the Great Commander before
the war, and on the east hill overlooking the city is the
house he occupied after the war and which the family
still owns. In the public park is his statue in bronze,

281

erected by the generous and patriotic citizen, Herman
Kohlsaat of Chicago, formerly a "Galena boy." Within
the walls of the Custom house is the great historical
painting by Thomas Nast, "Peace in Union," depicting
the surrender at Appomatox, a gift to the city from the
same generous citizen. These objects will ever invest
Galena with historic interest and be valuable object les-
sons to the children of the nation for generations to come.
She can point also to such of her distinguished citi-
zens and sons as the late Elihu B. Washburne, the diplo-
mat and statesman of world-wide renown; to such jurists,
dead and living, as Thomas Druramond, Moses Hal-
lett, B. R. Sheldon, Orville C. Pratt, Van H. Higgins, C.
C. Kohlsaat, J. M. Shaw, Arthur H. Chetlain, Jacob
Fawcett, J. S. Baume and W. T. Hodson; as Governors,
to Thomas Ford of Illinois, C. C. Washburn of Wiscon-
sin, W. R. Marshall of Minnesota, W. H. Gear of Iowa,
and W. A. Richards of Wyoming; as distinguished and
successful men of affairs; to J. M. Douglas, Henry and
Nathan Corwith, Ben H. Campbell, the Ryan Brothers,
JohnRoss, Herman Kohls^at, J. A. Packard, B. F. Felt,
James W. Scott, L. S. Felt, Thomas Foster, W. J. Quanr
J. Russell Jones, Wm. H. Hooper, Russell Blakeley and
Richard Brown; as distinguished lawyers to Ben Mills, J.
P. Hoge, Thompson Campbell, S. M. Wilson, John N.
Jewett, J. B. Wells, A. C. French, E. A. Small, C. W.
Churchman, Wellington W. Weigley, R. H. McClellanr
John A. Rawlins, David Sheean and Colonel E. D. Baker,
the lawyer, soldier, United States senator and brilliant
orator, and to such noted clergymen as Rev. Drs. Arthur
Swazey, S. G. Spees, George F. Magoun, A. C. Smith,
Bishop J. H. Vincent and Elder Hooper Crews.

In looking back over the twenty-five years preceding
the civil war spent in Galena as a boy and young man,

the last ten of which were devoted to active business as
a merchant, I cannot but think of the men with whom
I associated in church, in society, and in business affairs,
many of whom were among my intimate friends. Most
of them have crossed the river into the great beyond.
Not a few were men of strong character, whose person-
alities impressed me so deeply that they can never be
forgotten. Among those who have not been mentioned
before in these pages is the Rev. Dr. Arthur Swazey, for
many years pastor of the First Presbyterian church at
Galena, a man of rare mental force and great loveliness
of character who moved to Chicago, and for ten - years
was the editor-in-chief of the "Interior," the organ of the
Presbyterian church of the northwest.

Warren W. Huntington, one of my most esteemed
friends, for many years the business manager of The Ga-
lena Gazette, was by appointment of President Lincoln,
postmaster at Galena, and held the office for twelve con-
secutive years. A man of much mental force, upright,
public spirited, generous to a fault, intensely loyal to his
country, and always true to his friends. The men who
knew him the best, loved him the most.

John A. Packard, whose career in Galena as a whole-
sale merchant, and as a manufacturer in Chicago, was
one of marked success, was recognized as a shrewd, far
sighted business man of much positive strength of char-
acter, and of probity and honor.

L. S. Felt, for so many years a leading merchant in
Galena, the intimate friend of Gen. Grant, a man of such
marked ability in affairs, that had he been a merchant
in Chicago or New York instead of Galena, he would
undoubtedly have taken his place with the foremost
merchants of either city.

William and James Ryan, early wholesale mer-
chants in Galena and later extensive packers in Du-

283

buque and Galena, were men of much brain force, clear
sighted in business affairs, enterprising and successful.
William, the elder, was a friend of Gen. Grant and con-
spicuously loyal to the Union during the civil war.

John E. Corwith, who died recently, a younger
brother of Henry and Nathan Corwith, and for fort}7
years a resident of Galena, was engaged in business, and
for many years was the President of the "National Bank
of Galena." Repossessed a quiet force of character, was
shrewd, conservative and discriminating in business
affairs, with an attractive personality and kindliness of
disposition. His judicious management in business se-
cured for him a very large fortune. His cousin, David
N. Corwith, an old resident and business man of Galena,
its former City Treasurer, and now retired, has occupied
the Gen. Grant house on East hill with his family for
some twelve years, and is the custodian of many articles
of historic interest owned by the General and, still held
by his family.

James Spare, who came to Galena in the latter '30s
was a builder and contractor, and a man of reliable judg-
ment, much practical intelligence and conscientious in
his dealings with others. I sat in his Sunday school
class for some years and can bear testimony as to his
moral worth and high Christian character. His brother,
John C. Spare, who located in Galena about the same
time is still there, highly esteemed by his fellow citizens.
He is a shrewd student of events, has great practical in-
telligence, strong and decided convictions, with the cour-
age to uphold and defend them.

Dr. Augustus Weirich, for so many years a success-
ful practitioner in Galena, was highly learned and skill-
ful in his profession, and a most estimable citizen, of
whom it is related that some of his patients had so much
confidence in his ability to heal all the diseases that

284

flesh is heir to, that his presence alone without the use of
medicine, would often effect a cure. His son, Dr. Augus-
tus Weirjch who succeeded him in his practice after his
death, is a most highly educated and skillful practitioner,
who stands deservedly high in the community.

Doctors J. S. Crawford and Charles W. Hempstead
practiced in Galena for many years. Both had much
natural ability and were thoroughly educated in their
profession, and their skill as practitioners was generally
recognized. Dr. Hempstead moved to Chicago, taking a
high place among the medical fraternity. Dr. Crawford
has a son, Dr. W. S. Crawford, who has taken up his
father's practice in Galena and vicinity, and has won a
high reputation as a successful practitioner.

Dr. E. D. Kittoe, surgeon of the forty-fifth Illinois
Infantry, in the first year of the civil war, impressed
himself upon the army of the Tennessee by his ability,
skill and superior executive force, and later when in
charge of important work in the medical department he
maintained his high reputation. During his long term
of service Dr. Kittoe, both as a surgeon and medical
director, had no superior. Gen. Grant, on whose staff
he served for some time as medical inspector, was much
attached to him, and had great confidence in his skill,
integrity and administrative ability.

Captain T. D. Connor, of the forty-fifth Illinois In-
fantry, who lost his life in the battle at Shiloh, was an
intelligent and brave officer, and greatly beloved by the
men of his company. As a business man in Galena be-
fore the war, he was well known and highly esteemed,
whose word was regarded as "good as his bond," and in
all dealings with others, was the soul of honor.

Major U. G. Scheller de Buol, a topographical en-
gineer, with a European education, entered the volunteer
service in 1861 and bv order of Gen. C. F. Smith con-

285

structed, in the fall of that year, the fortifications at
Smith land, Ky., to command the mouth of the Cumber-
land river. I was in command of that military post, and
while engaged in this work he wae a member of my staff
and one of my military family. In 1864, under Gen. C.
C. Washburn, Commander of the District of Memphis,
he improved and strengthened the extensive fortifica-
tions of Memphis, where he showed skill and excellent
judgment, and for which service he was highly com-
mended by the Engineer-in-Chief of the Department.

George M. Mitchell was an early settler in Galena
and closely identified with all its interests for nearly
two score of years. He was endowed with much natural
ability, liberally educated, and had a genial, generous
and kindly disposition. He filled many positions of
trust in the city and county with fidelity a,nd efficiency.
When the civil war broke out his loyalty to the Union
was conspicuous.

G. H. Mars, so well known and so highly esteemed
by all old Galenians, had an attractive personality, much
practical intelligence, a generous nature and a kind and
sympathetic disposition. He filled several positions of
trust in the city, and had he desired could have held
many more. His was a strong and lovely character. Of
such a man it can in truth be said, that the world is
better for his having lived in it.

W. H. Snyder, for many years the popular and effi-
cient cashier of the Merchant's National Bank of Galena,
and who was held in such high esteem by the commun-
ity in which he lived so long, had much positive strength
of character, kindness of disposition and stern integrity.
Such a type of manhood, when known, is always appreci-
ated by discriminating minds. His successor as cashier,
Charles S. Merrick, is the son of one of my old-time
friends and one of Galena's successful merchants, and

286

has the reputation of being exceptionally efficient and
reliable.

Augustus Estey located in Galena in the latter '30s,
having come from one of the New England states. He
soon engaged in superintending raining operations and
smelting lead ore with marked success. He was a clear-
headed, careful and conservative man of business. For
many years previous to his death he was the President of
the Merchants' National Bank of Galena. His quiet en-
ergy and judicious management in business affairs was
only equalled by his piety and devotion to his Christian
duty. His life was full of good works. Though dead,
his works and his example remain and they form his
fittest monument. His son, Eugene Estey, a prominent
and popular citizen of Galena, has managed the estate of
his father since his death.

Frederic Stahl, an early settler of Galena, and for a
score of years one of its leading wholesale merchants,
was a man of few words, but possessed quiet energy,
sound judgment, conservative in business affairs, and of
much force and probity of character. He held several
positions of trust in the state. He was a politician, but
never a partisan.

Nicholas Stahl, brother of Frederic Stahl and his
partner in business, possessed unusual ability and dis-
crimination in business affairs, admirable in detail,
painstaking and a man of great practical sense, was a
a sincere Christian, a public spirited citizen, having an
exceptionally kind and sympathetic disposition.

Nelson Stillman, for so many years a wholesale mer-
chant in Galena, was a quiet and unassuming man of
great force of character, far sighted, of excellent judg-
ment in business affairs and successful. He was a sin-
cere, active and consistent Christian and one of the most
loveable men I ever knew.

287

Daniel Wann, who at an early day was of the mer-
cantile house of Lytle & Wann in Galena, and in later
years the collector of the port of Galena, which position,
he held with acceptance for nearly a score of years, was
of a retiring disposition, had much practical intelligence
and uprightness, and was a good type of the gentleman
of the old school.

Colonel C. L. Stephen-son was also for a few years
collector of the p:>rtof Gilena and a co.ispicu-ms figure,
large bodied, large brained, large hearted, blunt at times
in manner, but of a most kind and sympathetic disposi-
tion. A close and careful student of events, he was well
informal and hid greit practical gooJ sense. He was a
Whig, and later an uncompromising Republican and in-
fluential in the counsels of his party.

Captain Smith D. Harris, not long dead, was the last
of the mining pioneers in the lead mines of 1823-25. He
was highly esteemed for his superior judgment of affairs,
simplicity of character, generous disposition and genuine
integrity. During his long residence in Galena he did
much to advance its best interests. As a steamboat cap-
tain he had a wide and excellent reputation in the '30s
and '40s. His loyalty to the Union during the civil
war was intense. He served as a captain in the Black-
hawk war of 1832, and nothing but his advanced years
prevented him from offering his services as a volunteer
in 1861.

Harvey Mann, an old, well known and extensive
farmer and stock breeder near Galena, was for many
years a member of the County Board of Supervisors and
a politician of influence. He possessed rare intelligence,
good judgment and sturdy integrity.

Ralph S. Norris, who made his advent in Galena
in the early '40s was a strong character. He was
a clerk at first, and then engaged in business on his own

288

account. For nearly twenty years he was the Treasurer
of the county and politically one of the most popular
men. He married, the only daughter of the late Dea-
con John Wood soon after locating in Galena, who is
still living on the farm near the city. Mr. Norris was
one of Jo Daviess county's best citizens, public spirited,
generous, intelligent, upright and kind-hearted. "To
know him was to love him."

Thomas P. Pate located in Galena with his family
in the early '40s.. He was born in England and was a
practical gardener and a man o f rare intelligence and
integrity. His two sons, Davey S. Pate and Alexander
Pate,xwere educated in the Galena schools, and in the
early '60s, soon after the death of their father, moved to
Chicago. The older son went into the lumber business
as a clerk, and in time began business on his own ac-
count. Having a thorough knowledge of the business,
by judicious management he was not only successful, but
became prominent and influential in lumber circles.
The younger son engaged in the grain commission busi-
ness, and is now a prominent operator in grain, and a
banker at Wilmington, 111. All old Galenians will re-
member Mr. Pate, the father, as a dignified, courteous
and unassuming Christian gentleman.

Reimer Kohlsaat, the agent at Galena, of the Amer-
ican Bible Society, for the Lead Mine region in the early
'50s, was the father of Judge C. C. Kohlsaat, Herman
Kohlsaat and Ernest W. Kohlsaat, well known and
prominent citizens of Chicago. He had much natural
ability, was well educated, a leader in the Baptist de-
nomination, and an active and efficient Director in the
Galena Bible Society for many years. His zeal, good
judgment and devotion to his duties as agent of the local,
as well as of the parent society were recognized by all.
In disposition he was courteous, modest, kind-hearted,
sympathetic, and beloved by those who knew him.

Col. T. E. Champion, of Warren, 111., of the ninety-
sixth Illinois Infantry, was before the war, -a lawyer of
learning in his profession, whose practice was for the
most part at the Galena bar. He had in him the elements
of the true soldier viz. intelligence, courage and devotion
to his duties. As the commander of a regiment he had
no superior. The record he made during his service was
one of which any American patriot might well be proud.

Among the early merchants of Galena was A. M.
Haines, who in the latter '40s opened a wholesale boot
and shoe house. He had received a thorough training
for his business, and was methodical, careful and con-
servative. His recent death was deeply regretted by his
fellow citizens who always held him in high esteem.

J. B. Brown, the editor and proprietor of The Galena
Gazette for many years, had much mental force, and
was large hearted, genial, frank and companionable. As
a writer he was vigorous and forceful. He was held in
high esteem, not only by his fellow citizen? of the Lead
Mine region, but also by all who knew him in the state.
The "Gazette" under his management was unquestion-
ably the best paper published in a city of less than 10,-
000 inhabitants in the northwest. As an old employee
recently said to me, "he never had to look up to anyone,
and never would look down on anyone, he was our
friend." Mr. A. W. Glessner, the present able, genial
and popular editor and manager, is maintaining the
high character of the paper.

My old time frieii 1, Joshua Brookes, who died re-
cently in Chicago, came to Galena in the early '40s, as a
clerk in the book store of A. H. Burley, who was then, and
is still a resident of Chicago. He soon became the pro-
prietor of the establishment, and for over forty years was
one of the leading bjok sellers of the northwest. He was
a born book man, an assiduous reader, and gifted with a

290

retentive memory he became an encyclopedia of litera-
ture. Men of the legal profession, clergymen, or the or-
dinary student or citizen, when seeking for literary in-
formation difficult to obtain would go to Brookes, who
was usually able to give all that was desired. He had
a keen and well trained intellect, was courteous and kind
in manner, and always a charming companion. His re-
ligious convictions were strong and he was an earnest
consistent Christian, and for many years a ruling elder
in the First Presbyterian church at Galena.

Darius Hunkins was a prominent figure in Galena
nearly a third of a century ago. A quiet, forceful man
of acute discrimination in business affairs and of splen-
did administrative ability. He was an extensive con-
tractor on the early railroads constructed in the
West; he was a man of thought as well as of action,
and a citizen of which any community might well be
proud.

Edgar M. Bouton, a noted farmer and stock breeder
a few miles north of the city, was one of that well known
group of men engaged in the same occupation, whose
farms were all in a radius of a few miles, composed of S.
S. Brown, R. S. Norris, Harvey Mann and Frederic
Chetlain. Not only was he energetic, discriminating
and successful in managing his affairs, but was also in
disposition modest, generous and kind — a model citizen
and neighbor.

Bushrod B. Howard, a lawer of ability at the Galena
bar, was postmaster at Galena during President Buchan-
an's administration. He recruited the second company
of volunteers in Galena for the war in April, 1861, and
was chosen its captain. He was killed two months later
in a railroad accident while taking his company to the
front to join its regiment. He had much will force, en-
ergy, persistency and a frank and cordial manner. His

291

loyalty to the Union was great, and possessing the ele-
ments of a successful soldier, had he lived he would un-
doubtedly have made a highly creditable record in the
service. His two sons, a few years after the war, were
educated, one at the Military Academy at West Point
and the other at the Naval Academy at Annapolis.
They have made good records as officers in their respect-
ive positions.

Henry Green of Elizabeth, a man of rare mental
power and great loveliness of character, served as a
County Supervisor for some years and afterwards was
elected a member of the State Legislature and served
three terms in the house and two terms in the senate,
where he became conspicuous for his sound judgment,
general intelligence, efficiency and uprightness. He was
a farmer, and also managed important mining opera-
tions for many years before his death.'

About the middle of the '40s two young druggists
located in Galena and were competitors in the prosecu-
tion of their business. Hector McNeill and Stewart
Crawford were men of education and marked strength of
character. They were "well up" in their profession as
practical druggists, and were regarded by many of their
fellow citizens, while under treatment for some of their
ailments, as being as competent as the average physician*
They were public spirited citizens and active and influ-
ential church members, who were ever ready to assist in
any work to elevate and Christianize their fellow men.
Thomas McNeill, a son of Hector McNeill, has succeeded
his father in the drug business at Galena. He is thor-
oughly educated in his profession, has business qualifi-
cations of a high order and is a most estimable citizen.

William B. Green located in Galena in 1827. He
was a practical surveyor, and at the breaking out of the
Blackhawk war in 1832 joined and assisted in recruiting

292

Captain Stephenson's company of Mounted Rangers. In
1836, when the settlers of the lead mine region lying
within the stale of Illinois, bought their lands from the
government, Captain Green was chosen to represent them
at the land office in Dixon as their agent. He performed
his trust faithfully and to the satisfaction of all. In the
'SOs'and '40s he filled many positions of honor and trust in
the county. Captain Green was a man of mental force,
great energy, attractive manner and wielded great influ-
ence in the community among all classes. He died in
Chicago a few years ago. I was always very fond of him.

Stephen Jeffers, an early settler at Hanover, fifteen
miles south of Galena, was an active and influential
man in his town. Soon after the civil war began he vol-
unteered and was chosen quartermaster of the Ninety-
sixth Illinois. He displayed great ability in his official
position and was prometed to the quartermaster depart-
ment with the rank of major. He made an excellent
record, showing rare zeal, intelligence and efficiency.
After the war he returned to Hanover, where he lived
until his death in 18^8, highly esteemed by all his fel-
low citizens.

One of my friends in the '40s and '50s was the Hon.
Richard Seal, who for man}7 years was Judge of the
County Court. He was liberally educated, of sound
judgment, and faithful and impartial in the discharge of
his official duties. Of infinite good nature and kindness
of heart, he was one of Galena's most esteemed citizens.
To name him was to praise him.

Simon Alderson of Council Hill, whom I knew in-
timately in the '50s and '60s, once a clergyman, after-
wards a merchant, a manufacturer and a farmer, pos-
sessed will force, tireless energy, and was resourceful.
His loyalty to the Union during the civil war was well
known He was an active and influential member of

293

the Methodist church, and wielded much influence for
good.

Among my earliest friends in Galena was James M.
Spratt, who died a year ago. We were schoolmates and
intimate friends when young men. He was for many
years a clerk in the mercantile house of L. S. Felt & Co.
In the '50s he began business on his own account, and
was for some forty years the proprietor of the popular
dry goods house known as the "St. Louis Store." He was
one of the best poised characters I ever knew. Unas-
suming and courteous in manner, he had rare intelli-
gence, excellent judgment, quiet energy, a thorough
knowledge of his business and always followed conserva-
tive lines. His integrity was never questioned, and his
reputation for fair dealing was generally recognized. I
esteemed him for his many admirable traits of character.

Among the prominent men now living in Galena and
well known to me, not mentioned in preceding pages,
is John Ross, the President of the National Bank of Ga-
lena, who for many years was the "right hand" man of
Henry Corwith. He possesses superior ability in busi-
ness affairs, is a good judge of men, energetic, of large
and varied experience and of sound judgment. He is
genial, generous and kind hearted, and stands high in
the estimation of all who know him, and his integrity
has never been questioned. Galena rates him as one of
her millionaires.

Thomas Foster, the nestor of Galena merchants,
was in the early '40s, the senior member of the wholesale
mercantile house of Foster & Stahl, and is now the
President of the Merchants' National Bank of Galena.
He possesses cool and reliable judgment, much practical
intelligence, long experience in business, is forceful and
discriminating, a sincere and consistent Christian, and is
of a kind and sympathetic nature. With two exceptions,

294

he is the last member of that group of noted active and
successful wholesale merchants who did business in Ga-
lena in the '40s and '50s. Although reared in the South,
his loyalty to the Union in the days of the civil war was
conspicuous. He is one of Galena's mist highly esteemed
and best beloved citizens.

John Hellman, for two score of years was one of
Galena's prominent merchants, of quiet manner, but of
much business sagacity, who seems always to have done
the right thing at the right time. He is connected with
the management of the Merchants' National ^ank of
Galena as a director, and is one of its most useful mem-
bers. J. A. Burrichter, who for many years was his
senior partner in business, but who died some years ago,
had rare practical sense, simplicity of character, marked
shrewdness in affairs and sturdy integrity.

Walter Ford, the efficient and popular cashier of the
National Bank of Galena, whose service in that mon-
eyed institution covers nearly the half of a century, has
ever been courteous, painstaking, industrious and con-
scientious, a veritable ''faithful servant." Mr. Ford may
well be proud of the record he has made and the reputa-
tion he has achieved, for it is an unusual and highly hon-
orable one.

John Fiddick, one of Galena's oldest retail mer-
chants, has great ability, is clear sighted, conservative,
and operates on lines that almost always assure success.
He has been one of Galena's most active citizens in car-
rying out measures undertaken for the public good. His
older brother, William, and former partner in business,
who died a few years ago, began business in Galena in
the early '40s. He was a man of rare business capacity
and great amiability of disposition.

S. 0. Stillman, one of the largest hardware mer-
chants in the Northwest outside of Chicago, now retired,

295

possessed in a marked degree the ability requisite to suc-
cessfully manage such a business as his for so many
years. His life of activity, probity and success gives
him a high place in the esteem of his fellow citizens. He
is an active director of the Merchants' National Bank of
Galena.

The veteran bookseller, Joseph N. Waggoner, now
retired, whose career as a bookseller in Galena for over
half a century brought him in close contact with the
people of the city and county, is a strong character.
During all these years he has been a prominent member
of the M. E. church, and his influence has been great in
advancing the interests of that, as well as in assisting
other denominations in the great work of elevating hu-
manity to a higher moral and religious plane. His life
has been a long, useful and honorable one.

Benjamin F. Felt, younger brother of Lucius S.
Felt, who located in Galena in the early '40s, was a clerk
and a few years later a grocery merchant, is a careful,
industrious, far-sighted, conservative and upright man of
business who has impressed himself upon the community
in many ways, but especially by his generosity, mani-
fested a few years ago in founding the Galena free circu-
ting library and by performing other acts of a benevo-
lent and philanthropic character, which have endeared
him to his fellow citizens. He has always been a sincere
and active Christian, whose works will be appreciated
long after he has gone to his reward.

James B. Young and D. F. Loveland, merchants for
many years in Galena and now retired from business,
did much during the active years of their lives towards
making Galena what she was when at her best. They
always operated on conservative lines, had keen and
quick business perception, energy, industry and stern in-
tegrity. As a result they were successful.

296

Richard Barrett, long one of Galena's wholesale
merchants, has in him as a business man the elements of
success, viz: good judgment, intelligence, industry and
persistency. Possessed of much will force and being of
an unselfish nature, he has done much by his wise coun-
sels, as well as by his generous deeds, in promoting the
welfare of the community in which he has lived so long.
He is a model citizen.

There is now living in Galena in retirement that
veteran steamboat pilot so well known on the Mississippi
river, Captain Thomas G. Drenning. During the civil
war, as the pilot of the steamboat "Cricket," the flag
boat of Admiral Porter, when it became necessary to run
the boat down the Red river in close range of the enemy's
batteries, after over thirty shots had struck it, one of
which had carried away a portion of the pilot house, the
Admiral getting within speaking distance asked the
Captain, who was at the wheel badly wounded in the
head by a piece of shell and bleeding profusely about
the face and neck from the effects of splinters and broken
glass, "how he was doing," replied, "I'm all right, Ad-
miral, I'll stick to the wheel." The boat passed the bat-
teries, although badly damaged and almost entirely dis-
abled. Such an act of personal courage makes a man a
hero. The incident is related in detail by Admiral Por-
ter in his memoirs.

Colonel George Hicks, an old-time "Galena boy" and
a lawyer for a time, who, for many years before the civil
war, was on the editorial staff of The Galena Gazette,
entered the volunteer service as a Captain in the Ninety-
sixth Illinois Infantry, and at the end of three years was
mustered out as Lieutenant Colonel, with a record of
marked excellence. His intelligence, bravery and devo-
tion to his duties was recognized by all and received the
commendation of his superior officers. After the war he

297

took up his residence in Kingston, Jamaica, where he was
appointed Assistant General Superintendent of Public In-
struction, to perform all the duties of superintendent out-
side of Kingston. His former experience as county su-
perintendent of public instruction was of service to him
and he has proved a most efficient and valuable official.
He is held in high esteem by the authorities of Jamaica
as an advanced and able educator.

The 25th day of April, 1861, as the first company of
volunteers for the civil war, the "Jo Daviess Guards,"
was parading the streets of Galena just before starting
for Springfield, 111., there sat on a fence viewing the pa-
rade, a handsome, well-grown boy of 17 years of age, the
eldest son of Dr. Thomas A. Livermore, a well-known
dental surgeon of Galena. He was greatly impressed
with what he saw, and resolved that he would enlist as a
volunteer as soon as he had a chance. The following
year he was sent to an academy in Massachusetts. He
soon left his school and enlisted as a private, rapidly de-
veloped fine soldierly qualities and became a commis-
sioned officer. He rose in rank, and at the close of the
war was a Colonel commanding a regiment and was
brevetted a Brigadier General for gallant and meritorious
services. He is now in Boston at the head of a large
manufacturing establishment, and is regarded as having
rare business qualifications. Gen. T. L. Livermore, of
superb physique, courteous, genial and attractive in man-
ner, is one of the best types of the intelligent, aggressive
and successful "Galena boy."

Henry Fricke, the veteran jeweler of Galena, widely
known in the Northwest and now retired, is a man of
great intelligence, clear-headed in business, urbane,
honest, kind hearted and greatly esteemed by all his fel-
low citizens. His loyalty to his adopted country during
the civil war was conspicuous.

298

H. 0. Gann, the editor arid proprietor of the "Sen-
tinel," of Warren, 111., whose admirable management
and clean cut ability as a writer has made his paper one
of unusual attractiveness, and it is a welcome visitor to
many homes beyond the limits of Jo Daviess county.

Dr. B. F. Fowler has been a resident of Galena in
the practice of his profession for nearly forty years. Well
educated and of recognized ability as a practitioner, he
has always been an unselfish public spirited citizen of at-
tractive personality, genial and kindly disposition and
held in high esteem by the people of the city and county.
He has long been a high and influential Mason and Odd
Fellow. His son, Hon. B. F. Fowler, after having stud-
ied law with Gen. D. B. Henderson of Dubuque, Iowa,
and been admitted to practice, located at Cheyenne, Wyo.
He at once took a high position at the bar, was appointed
prosecuting attorney for the county, soon after received
the appointment of attorney general for the territory of
Wyoming, and later that of attorney general for the
new state of Wyoming. Throughout he has shown
himself a capable, efficient and honest official. He has
in him the elements of success, viz: intelligence, indus-
try, a genial disposition and an attractive manner.

William A. Richards, another "Galena boy," after
having graduated from the high school, went'to Omaha,
Nebraska, where he held a responsible position in the
postoffice in that city for a number of years. Later on
he was appointed Surveyor General of the territory of
Wyoming, and subsequently was elected governor of the
state of Wyoming. At the expiration of his term of
office he was appointed by President McKinley Assistant
Land Commissioner of the Department of the Interior
at Washington, D. C.

William D. McHugh, a son of Prof. John McHugh,
who was for forty years connected with the public schools

299

of Galena, after having studied law and been admitted
to practice, located at Omaha; Neb., where he soon devel-
oped exceptional ability in his profession. He was ap-
pointed by President Cleveland United States District
Judge of Nebraska, but political complications arose and
the appointment had to be recalled.

When I was the chairman of the Jo Daviess County
Central Republican committee in 1860, in the course of
my various tours through the county, I became well ac-
quainted with many men who impressed me with their
intelligence, intense loyalty to the Union and genuine
honesty. I now recall an early settler, Abel Proctor of
Scales Mound, a man of rare intelligence, energy and
good judgment, and who had been an official in the
county at an earlier period, and J. D. Platt of Warren,
County Judge for one term, a banker and postmaster at
Warren.

Captain G. W. Pepoon, of the Ninety-sixth Illinois
Infantry, with a most excellent record in the civil war,
afterwards County Supt. of Public Instruction for eight
years, is broadly educated, of wide information and pop-
ular in the county.

J. W. White, a prominent citizen of Hanver, who
for nearly fifty years has been an extensive manufacturer
of woolen cloths, a man of much natural ability and
culture, great energy good judgment, and unselfishly de-
voted to the advancement of the best interests of his
town and its surrounding country. He is held in high
esteem by the people of the entire county.

S. K. Miner was elected sheriff of the county in
1860, and at the breaking out of the war showed his
loyalty to the Union by his untiring efforts in recruiting
men for the army. His loyal fellow citizens recognized
.an:! appreciated the patriotic work he did during his two
years of official life.

300

Dr. W. A. Little of Elizabeth, fomerly a member of
the Legislature, R. E. Odell and August Switzer of Dun-
leith (now East Dubuque), Josiah Conlee of Scales
Mound, Frederic Rindesbacher, the extensive farmer and
stock breeder, and Orange Gray of Stockton; William
Passmore of Council Hill, E. T. Isbell, Samuel W. Hath-
away and William Avery of Guilford, J. M. Hunter,
lawyer, afterwards a State Senator from the Mount Car-
roll district, and James Parkinson of Berreman, were all
stalwart Republicans of influence, who performed effi-
cient work in the notable Lincoln campaign of 1860.
During the civil war they were actively patriotic. Mr.
James Parkinson furnished four sons as soldiers in the
Union army. Three of them lost their lives in the serv-
ice. The surviving son, 1. W. Parkinson, is now the
efficient postmaster at Stockton, in this county.

There are a few old soldiers of the civil war living
in Jo Daviess county whom I know, aside from those I
have already alluded to, such as Major George S. Avery,
the popular postmaster at Galena; Captain William Rip-
pin, the efficient clerk of the county court for many
years; Captain William Vincent, one of Galena's promi-
nent citizens and a successful merchants, and Captain
Charles Meyer of East Dubuque, the last captain of the
nrst company of volunteers raised in the Northwest in
April, 1861. They were brave and patriotic soldiers,
whose services in defense of the flag of the Union were
most creditable to them, and for which they will ever re-
ceive the gratitude of their loyal fellow citizens. Also
Dr. Henry T. Godfrey, a successful practitioner in Ga-
lena for many years, who was a surgeon of recognized
skill in the civil war, where he served so long, so faith-
fully and so well. His son, Dr. Alfred Godfrey, in Colo-
rado, as a practitioner has achieved much reputation for
exceptional ability.

301

I was gratified not long since to meet the five mem-
bers of my old company of April, 1861, now living in
Galena. All served as enlisted men, who, after their
three months' service re-enlisted for three years. No one
of them was seriously wounded or sick in hospital, and
they all took active part in the battles of Fort Donelson,
Shiloh, Corinth and Altoona. They are William Scheer-
er, a manufacturer; Charles H. Miller, former editor of
the "Galena Volksfreund," Charles Limper, George Sal-
zer and Anton Bahwell. All were brave and faithful
soldiers and of the best types of the American soldier of
foreign birth. There are many other soldiers in Galena
and Jo Daviess county who served in the ranks in the
civil war equally deserving of honor with the above
named.

In the '40s and '50s three of the most extensive fur-
naces in the lead mines were owned and operated by Sam
Hughlett, Thomas Leekley and the Spensley brothers,
men of energy, good judgment and probity. All have
passed away, but they have sons in Galena who are their
worthy representatives: Thomas Hughlett succeeded his
father in a business he had carried on for thirty years
and is a successful operator; James F. Leekley, recently
elected County Treasurer, was a gallant soldier in the
civil war; William Spensley, for many years County
Judge and one of Galena's most able attorneys, and his
brother, R. M. Spensley, Clerk of the Circuit Court; all
prominent and highly esteemed citizens.

During the last forty years there have grown up in
Galena a large number of men who can properly be
called the "second growth of the forest." Most of these
"sons of Galena" have, after reaching manhood moved
into other states. Many have located in Iowa, Wiscon-
sin and Minnesota, and some have gone farther west.

302

Chicago has over one hundred of them. As a general
thing they have succeeded in life. Many have become
prominent citizens, and a goodly number have become
distinguished in business and in the professions.

The "second growth of the forest" now found in Ga-
lena are not numerous, but possess the elements of suc-
cess. Among them, Jacob J. Jones, one of the oldest of
the "boys," a lawyer who has made a reputation for abil-
ity, integrity and the successful management of the busi-
ness intrusted to him, and Louis A. Rowley, the only
son of the late distinguished Gen. W. R. Rowley, who
has succeeded his father as a real estate and fire insur-
ance agent. He has much of his father's vigorous men-
tality, industry, cordial manner and good nature. James
M. Sheean, son of Thomas Sheean of the law firm of
David and Thomas Sheean, has the reputation of being
exceptionally able as a practitioner, and John Boevers,
the prosecuting attorney; Martin J. Dillon, the city at-
torney; Hon. M. H. Cleary, member of the Legislature,
Moses Rees, Paul Kerz, D. B. Blewett, C. S. Cook, John
F. Jewell and Joseph Nack are young lawyers of excel-
lent education, well versed in the practice of their pro-
fession and successful. The former mayor of Galena,
Hon. T. J. Bermingham, a prominent lumberman and
banker, is the son of an old-time Galenian. His successor,
Hon. John G. Schmohl, a dealer in farming implements^
is the son of one of Galena's leading retail dry goods
merchants in the '50s and '60s. The present mayor, the
Hon. Jarnes B. Ginn, is the son of an early and promi-
nent settler of the county.

Dr. Edward^Kittoe, son of Dr. E. D. Kittoe, medical
inspector on Gen. Grant's staff, and Dr. Alder Smith, son
of Colonel Alfred Smith, U. S. A., and grandson of the
late Gen. John E. Smith, are among the successful prac-
titioners in*Galena.

303

Two young men, reared on a farm in Jo Daviess
county, after having received a common school educa-
tion, studied law and were admitted to the Galena bar.
These brothers possessed much natural ability, were well
educated in their profession, and by industry and close
application to business soon gained the reputation of being
able and successful lawyers. The younger brother, W.
T. Hodson, a few years ago was elected Judge of the
County Court, and is filling the position most creditably.
He has several times been called to discharge the duties
of County Judge in Chicago, where he gained the repu-
tation of being able, impartial and efficient. Thomas
H. Hodson, the older brother, and former Prosecuting
Attorney, aside from being a good lawyer, was a gallant
soldier in the civil war, and was for some time a prisoner
at Andersonville.

In the '40s there was in Galena a unique character
in the person of D'Arcy A. French, a learned and
scholarly man, who conducted a select school for boys.
His rare intelligence and charm of manner made him a
favoiite in the community. One of his sons, John B.
French, a highly educated man of a quiet and unassum-
ing disposition, has been connected with the city govern-
ment of Galena, for nearly a half century, during forty
years of which he was the city clerk. One of Mr. D'Arcy
A. French's daughters married Phil A. Hoyne of Chi-
cago, a former Galenian, and another daughter married
George R. Melville, who was one of Galena's prominent
wholesale merchants in the '50s and '60s, and has recent-
ly died.

While writing of Mr. J. B. French's long service as
city clerk, I was reminded of another instance of sim-
ilar long service, that of Thomas L. McDermott, a "Ga-
lena boy," who has filled the position of station agent for
the Illinois Central railroad at Galena thirty-eight con-
tinuous years with ability and fidelity.

I have just learned that this great railroad corpora-
tion has retired its oldest conductor, William Thayer,
who was in its employ in 1854 and ran the first passen-
ger train through from Chicago to Galena. I remember

304

Mr. Thayer in 1861, when he punched the soldier boys'
tickets when on their way to the front. He has been a
conductor on this route ever since, and it is stated that
no one of his trains has ever met with a serious accident.

Jo Brown, the faithful and popular mail carrier of
Galena, began his service forty years ago transferring the
United States mails to and from the depots.

Before the civil war J. H. Barry ('Squire Barry) was
elected Justice of the Peace in Galena and has continued
to "dispense justice" ever since with ability and impar-
tiality. His two sons, bright and enterprising young
men, have been for some time leading retail dry goods
merchants in Galena.

Before closing I desire to acknowledge my great
obligations to Miss Almira Fowler, the daughter of Dr.
B. F. Fowler, a lady of culture, and many ac-
complishments, who is a prominent member of the Illi-
nois Woman's Press Association, and the able local cor-
respondent of several of the leading daily newspapers of
Chicago and St. Louis, and to Mr. Edward Grimm, for
many years the intelligent and capable foreman of the
Galena Gazette company, for many valuable suggestions
in regard to the publication of this, my first effort at
bookmaking.

For some months past I have lived in Galena, the
"City of the Hills," where I have been surrounded by
scenes so familiar to me in the days of my early man-
hood. Then I knew almost every man and woman in it.
To-day most of its people are comparative strangers to
me. My friends and companions of the long ago have
nearly all passed away, and I often, in the language
of the poet,

"Feel like one who treads alone

Some banquet hall deserted,

Whose lights are fled, whose garland dead,

And all but he departed."

To the dead, and they are many, I will say, requiscat
in pace, — and to the living, the great and good Father of
all, bless and prosper you.

\'.^'\\1^

•fir^r

~'4\&

^ v>l

'Mi

&it&P^ffi ^KMfe^
:• -inrrftvLvi^ C^PV^ \fe ft-.vM^...

p^ ".
-.1-^ 'K

? ^ M^

,« ,fe^.^

>£•!

: <<m

iir^

V I It^- »SJ;~ -.^ V . S l,r i^>; ' X • If .

^^, ^ X -. > W: ^ Yl ^ P^

•i

5feS\;^*

. '

ELCE BROS.

GALENA, ILL.

UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBANA

977.3C42WC

C003

RECOLLECTIONS OF SEVENTY YEARS GALENA

3 0112 025379055

Internet Archive Audio

Featured

Top

Images

Featured

Top

Software

Featured

Top

Books

Featured

Top

Video

Featured

Top

Mobile Apps

Browser Extensions

Archive-It Subscription

Save Page Now

Full text of "Recollections of seventy years"

See other formats