- 35 |

~ Historical Address

ON THE

Karly ¥ sploration al Settlement ot the
Wississippi Paley,

BY C. 0. PARRY, M. D.

LATE BOTANIST OF AGRICULTURAL DEPARTMENT, WASHINGTON, D. C.

DELIVERED IN Davenport, Iowa, JANUARY 2l1stT, 1873.

Davenport, Lowa :
Day, Egbert, & Fidlar.
1873.

MissouR! BoTamcac
RY

The Whississippi Valley,

< HE country we now occupy on this western

a bank of the Mississippi, and of which, as Amer-
‘@ ican citizens, we are justly proud, has not de-
scended to us as a rich inheritance from a vener-
able and time-honored ancestry. By an historic movement
grander than that of the Jewish Exodus, and an irruption
that throws into the shade the Norman conquest, we are
the present possessors of a land unknown to our fathers.
Even during the present century, and within the memory
of living men, this Trans-Mississippi region has borne the
name of a French, monarch and acknowledged the sover-
eignty of a Spanish king. Through what series of changes
the present state of things, as now passing before our eyes,
has been brought about, would seem not altogether devoid
of interest to us, the now living actors, and will be of not less
interest to ides who shall come after us. Desirous to con-
tribute something, however meagre, to this historic fund,
I have endeavored to bring together, in chronological order,
some of the principal events in the early exploration and
settlement of the Mississippi Valley, and to weave into my
narrative such incidents as I have been able to gather up
from the limited sources at my command, having any direct
reference to our local history.

It is a matter of regret —though perhaps in the nature of
things unavoidable —that, in the bustle and excitement of
frontier life, the most favorable conditions are not afforded
for a calm and dispassionate view of the true character and

THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY:

distinctive features of our aboriginal Indian population.
Being regarded mainly as obstacl ea’ in the way of advancing
civilization, or, commercially, as a source of immediate
gain, neither the settler, the trader, or even the missionary,
are qualified to give us an unbiased view of the original
possessors of the soil we now occupy. Hence, the materials
for a correct history have to be laboriously exhumed out of
ae military wy ale Lae missionary narratives,

nd fugiti e correspondence
accidentally preserved. As yet, no histone Agassiz or Hitch- |
cock has appeared to reconstruct these dim tracks into liv-
ing history. Hence, in our attitude as simple inquirers, we
can hardly do better than to take the advice of a western
writer, who, in alluding to the obscure subject of Indian
antiquities, remarks: ‘We are standing in the midst of
monuments that are dumb ; let us keep questioning—they may
hereafter speak to us.”

Viewed only from the present standpoint, the past history
of the aboriginal races on this continent presents no attract-
ive features; it is but a record of continued, persistent, and
relentless destruction. Except in the pages of romance, its
whole history may well be written in blood. Even the
precious seed of the Gospel, heroically sown and carefully
nurtured, has fallen upon an unfruitful soil, save here and
there a few scattered sheaves worthy to be gathered into the
heavenly garner; all else presents a scene of moral waste
and desolation, more repulsive and less hopeful than that
which externally characterizes the most barren of our inte-
rior desert wastes. Turn we from this dark picture.

In the early civilized history of this continent, three great
European powers occupied almost exclusively the domain
of history. Spain, France, and England, extended their
wars, their rivalries, and their enterprises, from the old
world to the new, and in the midst of their incessant and
varied contests, the cradle of American civilization was

AN HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 5

rudely rocked. Spain, in the first period of American dis-
covery the most enterprising, confined her attention mainly
to the southern countries, and stretched her bloody and vic-
torious arm over the weak and luxurious natives of torrid
climes. Most of her northern expeditions proved complete
and disastrous failures, and De Soto, the first discoverer of
the Mississippi, three hundred and thirty years ago, found
only an unhonored grave beneath its waters. France, fol-
lowing later in the track of her enterprising fishermen,
gained her first permanent foothold on the northern Amer-
ican coasts and islands; thence penetrating, by the naviga-
ble route of the St. Lawrence and the chain of northern
lakes, tu the interior districts, from whence the Upper Mis-

sissippi was eventually reached. English colonies at first |

occupying the intermediate country along the Atlantic sea-
board, eventually as the result of fierce and continued wars
dispossessed the other European powers, and extended her
dominion over the greater part of eastern North America.

To French enterprise solely is due the credit of the earli-
est exploration, and the first permanent settlements along
the whole course of the Mississippi Valley. Fortunately,
the record of this first discovery is full and complete, as we
now proceed to note.

Nearly two hundred years ago—on the 17th of June,
1673—two bark canoes, containing barely eight persons,
entered the Mississippi river. Their route was by an almost
continuous water passage, by way of Green Bay, on Lake
Michigan, ascending the Fox river, of Wisconsin, to its
upper marshes, where, by a short portage, the canoes were
transferred to the waters of the Wisconsin, thence, by an
easy descent, reaching the Mississippi river. The chief

member of this exploring party, though not its actual lead- |
er, was Father James Marquette, a "Catholic priest, who, |

with self-denying zeal, had devoted his life to missionary
labor among the western aboriginal tribes. His associate,

6 THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY:

and the official head of the expedition, was Sieur Jolliet, a
native of Canada, a man of enterprise and tact, well qual-
ified for the position to which he had been assigned, at
present geographically commemorated by the thriving Ili-

the June rise, these adventurous travelers pursued their
journey down the course of this majestic stream, to which
the present name, under a slightly changed orthography
(Michisipi), was then applied. The peculiar features of the
country on either hand drew their earnest attention, while

| they were oppressed by the death-like silence that brooded
over its unpeopled shores. By the third or fourth day they
must have passed Rock Island, of which, however, no
special mention is made. The rapids being then covered
up by the swollen waters, also seem not to have attracted
attention.

At some point not far below the present town of Keo-
kuk, on the 25th of June, an Indian trail is noticed on
the western shore, leading from the river bank across the
narrow neck of land between the Mississippi and Des Moines
rivers. Intent on acquiring some knowledge of the inhabi-
tants adjoining this wonderful but apparently deserted

stream, the two adventurers left their canoes in charge of

their attendants, and followed the track six miles, to an In-
dian village on the banks of the Des Moines. Here their
hazardous enterprise was rewarded by being kindly re-

n<is town which bears his name. On the swelling tide of

ceived and hospitably entertained by the no less wondering |

natives. After a prolonged stay of six days, during which
Father Marquette improved the opportunity to speak to
them by expressive signs both of the French king, and the
Great Heavenly Mastcr, they again started on their voy-
age, being escorted back to their canoes by a large retinue
of warriors. On their final parting, they received as a gift

an ornamented peace-pipe, to be used as a sacred calumet

against the foes and dangers to which they might be ex-
posed on their route.

| ESN ee ria oe ea Fer

AN HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 7

The voyage continues without hindrance or mishap, pass-
ing the mouth of the Missouri, noted in the map accompa-
nying Marquette’s narrative as Pekitanoui, or the “* Muddy
Water.” They glide on the swift and now turbid cur-
rent past the then unoccupied site of the present metropolis
of the Mississippi Valley —St. Louis—along the great
American Bottom, soon after to receive the first permanent
French settlers. Farther on, the mouth of the Ohio is
passed, and beyond the sightly bluffs on which Memphis is
now located. Then comes the monotonous, densely-wooded
shores, and the interminable cane-brakes, where oppressive
heat and tormenting insects add their discomforts to the
unattractive scenery. After passing below the mouth of
the Arkansas, and encountering different races of Indians,
not altogether friendly, and being fully satisfied that the
course of the river was to the Gulf of Mexico, and not as
represented — into the South Sea, or the Pacifie Ocean —
they considered that the chief object of their journey was
accomplished. In order, therefore, not‘ to expose ‘the re-
sults of their journey to unnecessary risk, they concluded
to return, and, retracing their course up the Mississippi as
far as the mouth of the Illinois, they were guided by a still
more direct water communication up that stream to the
head of Lake Michigan; and, having uccomplished a ‘trav-
eled distance of over twenty-five hundred miles, reached
their starting-point at Green Bay in September, after an
absence of just four months.

On his return voyage to Quebec, Jolliet was so untortunate
as tu lose the notes of his journey, barely escaping with
his life, by the wreck of his boat in crossing the rapids of

he St. Lawrence. This disaster served to give additional
value to the narrative of Marquette, which, having been duly
transmitted to his ecclesiastical superiors, on the month fol-
lowing his return, was subsequently forwarded to the French
authorities. France, however, was not at this time in a con-

8 THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY : Ce

dition. to avail herself of the advantages thus offered by her
enterprising sons to extend her dominions over the Mississ-
ippi valley, and accordingly no official action was taken to
perfect the discovery. But among those occupying the
frontier settlements along the line of the Great Lakes, to
whom this discovery was communicated, was Robert Cava-
lier de La Salle, then living at Fort Frontenac, (now King-
ston), Canada. This man, possessed of indomitable natural
energy, and ambitious of securing wealth and distinction,
conceived the idea of securing these ends, by colonizing this
new region, and planting the standard of France in this
magnificent valley. Full of these schemes, in the year 1678
he went to France, where, in presenting his plans before the
French government, he had no difticulty in procuring a royal
commission with full powers and privileges for carrying out
his designs. On returning to this country he immediately
set about his preparations, and in 1679 launched the first
sail vessel on Lake Erie. On August 7th, of the same year,
he set sail on his adventurous journey. On reaching the
extreme settlements of Green Bay, he concluded to send
back his vessel loaded with furs, for additional “supplies,
while he continued his journey in bark canoes along the
east shore of Lake Michigan, as far as St. Joseph river, to
which point he had given directions for his vessel to return.
While waiting here impatiently this expected arrival, the
cold season was rapidly advancing, and the severities of an
approaching winter awakened anxious fear and sclicitude.
Unable longer to bear this intolerable suspense, this resolute
commander resolved to push forward with the slender means
at his command, in the direction of his proposed exploration
Accordingly, on the 3d of December, 1679, he proceeded
with his party by the return route of Marquette, six years
previously, passing up the St. Joseph river in Michigan,
crossing by a portage to the Kankakee, branch of the Illi-
nois, and down the latter stream. He found the "Ilinois

AN HISTORICAL ADDRESS, 9

valley then, asin the time of Marquette, occupied by various
bands of the Illinois tribe of Indians. Here his superior
tact and abilities were brought into active requisition to
conciliate the friendship and good-will of this powerful
tribe, and succeeding in this, he located his winter quarters
in ‘heir midst, at some point not far from the present site
of the town of Peoria. As an expression of his bitter dis-
appointment in the present failure of his plans, he gave the
name of Creve-cceur (or broken heart), to the first civilized
| settlement in the now flourishing state of Illinois.

The details of this gloomy and disheartening winter can
be better imagined than described, but nothing could daunt
the resolute spirit of La Salle; having given up all hopes
of the safety of his vessel, on which he was dependent for
the means of continuing his explorations, he organized a
party under Father Louis Hennepin, the missionary priest, to
ascend the upper Mississippi. This Reverend Father, who,
ae RE by his false and contradictory statements, re-

eived the not very dignified title of “The Great Liar,”

. successfully carried out the plans of his comme
(whom he never afterwards met alive), as to ascend the
Mississippi in the following season, 1680, as far as the falls
of St. Anthony, so named by him. After making all due
allowances for the subsequently proved unreliable character
of the man, his published narative of what he actually did
see, cannot properly be overlooked in what purports to give
a true history of the early explorations of the Mississippi
valley.
After completing these arrangements and making the
best provision possible under the circumstances for his par-
ty, La Salle, on the 2d of March, 1680, accompanied by
four Frenchmen and an Indian guide, started overland en-
route to Canada, for necessary supplies. This arduous jour-
ney, performed on foot and in the most disagreeable season
of the year, was successfully accomplished, though no de-
2

i walt ween eine

10 THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY’:

tailed record has been published of the difficulties and hard-
ships of the trip. On reaching Fort Frontenac, La Salle
lost no time in pushing forward his enterprise. Another
vessel was built, and abundant supplies furnished, this oc-
cupying the greater part of the year 1680. By the close of
the year he again reached the Illinois country, to find his
fort abandoned, and his party broken up. The winter and
part of the following spring of 1681 was spent in conciliat-
ing the good-will of the various Indian tribes, in which be-
ing successful, he again returned to Canada to reorganize
his exploring party, and returned at the close of the season
fully equipped for his long-delayed undertaking. Finally
on the 6th of February, 1682, he reached the mouth of the
Illinois, and thence following down the Mississippi beyond
the explorations of Marquette, he crowned his ambitious
hopes by planting the banner of France at the outlet of this
majestic stream, with appropriate imposing ceremonies, on
the 9th of April, 1682, the adjoining country then for the
first time receiving the name of Louisiana. Thus by his
persevering efforts, continued in spite of disheartening dis-
asters, for four years, was accomplished a complete exam-
ination of the entire navigable waters of the Mississippi,
from the falls of St. Anthony to its mouth, one hundred
and ninety years ago.

After his return an interval of two years elapsed, during
which time La Salle returned to France with the news of
his discoveries, and organized a large colonizing expedition,
designed to reach this country by sea.

In July, 1684, the fleet, composed of four vessels, set sail
from France. This expedition, taking a southern route,
landed at San Domingo. Here occurred the misfortune of
the loss of one of the vessels loaded with goods and supplies,
being captured by a: Spanish force. The three remaining
| Ships having laid in a store of provisions, and taking on

board a number of domestic animals designed to stock their

AN HISTORICAL ADDRESS. di

colony, weighed anchor November 25th, 1684, and proceed-
ed on their voyage toward the mouth of the Mississippi.
After safely rounding the western cape of Cuba, they made
land to the north, but by some misunderstanding missed
the mouth of the Mississippi, and following westward in
search of it, along the gulf coast, reached Metagorda Bay,
Texas. Here, on attempting a landing, La Salle’s store ship
was wrecked and went to pieces; discouraged by this loss,
one of the other two remaining vessels abandoned the ex-
pedition, thus leaving La Salle with but one, short of sup-
plies, to prosecute his enterprise. Subsequently, by mis-
management of the pilot, this last ship was also wrecked on
the Texan coast, and La Salle was left, with a remnant of
his disheartened party, to make his way by land to the Illi-
nois country. In thisjjourney La Salle was killed by a mu-
tineer of his party, on the 17th of March, 1687, and event-
ually only a few forlorn individuals of the original expedition
reached the banks of the Mississippi. Thus closes the
eventful history of La Salle, the explorer of the Mississippi
valley.

The disastrous result of this well devised and energetic
enterprise for the settlement of the Mississippi valley might
have been supposed to dampen the ardor of French civili-
zation; but it proved far otherwise. Every new country
seems to require a certain amount of pioneer blood to fer-
tilize its soil, and thus prepare it for the vigorous growth
of the seeds of a higher civilization. The knowledge thus
acquired of this magnificent country, with its broad avenues
of trade, its prolific soil, and varied climate, could not fail
to excite new enterprises, and from this time forward suc-
ceeding the death of La Salle in 1687, up to the close of the
seventeenth century, permanent French settlements were
established in the Illinois country, of which the present
towns of Kaskaskia, Cahokia, and Peoria are the true lin-
eal descendents. On the 2d of March, 1699, D’Iberville, the

12 THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY:

daring arctic explorer of Hudson Bay, and afterwards the
first regularly appointed French governor of Louisiana, en-
tered the mouth of the Mississippi from the Gulf, this being
the first authentic record of a regular sailing vessel reaching
lower Louisiana by this route.

With the close of the seventeenth century, and the ush-
ering in of the year 1700, we leave behind the romance of
discovery and adventure, and enter upon the more common-
place details of civilized history. The Mississippi river is
no longer a mythical stream, affording, it may be, an outlet
to the South Sea and the Indies. Its navigable waters have
been accurately traced, and its principal tributaries have
been laid down m published maps. The nature of the
country through which it flows, and the aboriginal tribes
that occupy its banks have been described in more or less
detail, though it must be admitted, too often clothed with
exaggerated features. It is a wilderness to be redeemed
from heathenism to Christianity, and where to all appear-
ances French civilization will establish a permanent foot-
hold in the new world. The men to accomplish this great
work were being educated in the cloisters of the Catholic
church, or trained to endurance in the rude school of Can-
adian frontier life. It would be difficult to find elements
more promising for attaining grand results; every thing
seemed to point to French supremacy. Spain was absorbed
in her rich southern dependencies, and English colonies
were but slowly struggling into permanent settlement along
the Atlantic seaboard. In the west, France was without
a rival; her policy of ingratiating the good will of the abo-
riginal tribes, by generous treatment, and securing their re-
spect by the imposing ceremonies of a religion addressed
largely to the senses, preserved the early French settlers
from many of the dangers to which Spanish cruelty, and
English overbearance, exposed their respective colonies.

Hence, we find little to record in the matter of Indian wars

AN HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 13

and bloody massacres of defenceless settlements. Still the
country was difficult to reach, and means of conveyance
were expensive and hazardous, rendering the progress of
settlement slow and uncertain. It was under these circum-
stances that the French government, desirous of promoting
a more rapid growth, in accordance with the views then
prevalent, granted a monopoly of the trade of the country
for fifteen years, to a successful and wealthy merchant, M.
Crozat, this grant bearing date September 14th, 1712. Af
ter an unsuccessful experience of five years, during which
Crozat, instead of realizing immense wealth, only dimin-
ished his private fortunes, and failed to add to the growth
and prosperity of the country, he surrendered his grant,
which passed into the hands of an organization known as
the Mississippi Company, under the management of a cele-
brated financial schemer, John Law, a visionary Scotchman.
The ostensible plan of this company was to enrich every
body connected with it by a gigantic system of credit, based
on undeveloped mineral wealth and agricultural resources
yet unrealized. ‘The first effect of this scheme was greatly
to encourage emigration; glowing prospects were held out
to the settler of sudden wealth attained without labor, and
independent of capital. Hence, at this period we note the
location of some of the principal towns of Lower Louisiana,
including New Orleans, dating from 1720, Natchez, as early
as 1716. Upper Louisiana was too far removed to share to
any considerable extent in these enterprises, though mining
schemes were extensively projected in the lead regions of
Missouri and the Upper Mississippi valley. The final col-
lapse of this bubble, which, after a nominal existence of
barely fifteen years, finally exploded, though necessarily dis-
astrous to those directly engaged, who had at the com-
mencement anything to loose, nevertheless, to the country
at large, left some permanent benefits, among which we
may enuroerate a manifest increase of population, more at-

a ee ee

14 THE ‘MISSISSIPPI VALLEY :

tention given to agriculture, as wellas the addition of such
staple articles of production as rice, sugar, and tobacco ‘in
the south, and wheat in the Illinois country. As one of
the darkest shades upon this bright side of the picture, we
are also compelled to note the first introduction of negro
slaves into Louisiana, under the auspices of the Mississippi
Company in 1719. It was during this period of time also,
that Spanish jealousy made itself conspicuous by encroach-
ments on the French colonies, both on the east and west,
from Florida and Mexico. The year 1729 was memorable
tor the massacre of the French colony at Natchez, by the
Natchez Indians, who were provoked to this act by repeated
insults and injuries received from the French military au-
thorities. In the following year this flourishing tribe was
in its turn almost completely extirpated, only a miserable
remnant of survivors being sent to end their days as slaves
in San Domingo. Subsequent to the failure of the Mississ-
ippi scheme, the country gradually increased in population
and wealth. The period of time from 1732 to 1754, being
| regarded as the palmy days of French settlement in the IIl-
inois country. Hereis whata French writer, Vivier, writes
of Illinois, in a letter dated June 8th, 1750 (Annals of West,
page 38):
| “We have here whites, negroes, and Indians, to say noth-
ing of cross-breeds. There are five French villages, and
three villages of the natives within a space of twenty-one
leagues, situated between the Mississippi and a village
called the Karkadiad (Kaskaskias). In the five French vil-
jages are perhaps eleven hundred whites, three hundred
blacks, and some sixty red slaves or savages. The three
Illinois towns do not contain more than eight hundred souls,
all told. Most of the French till the soil, they raise wheat,
eattle, pigs, and horses, and live like princes. Three times
_ as much is produced as can be consumed, and great quanti-
| ties of grain and flour are sent to New Orleans.”

|

AN. HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 15

At this latter period commencing with the year 1754, the
history of the western country becomes involved in the bit-
ter and relentless wars between France and England for
American supremacy. France at the first, occupying the
most advantageous ground, became the successful aggressor,
and was then engaged in carrying out the grand military de-
sign of maintaining a continuous line of forts from Canada
to the Mexican Gulf, including the head of navigation on
the Ohio. It was at this time occured the memorable de-
feat of Braddock, in attempting the capture of Fort Du
Quesne, July 9th, 1755. It was in managing the retreat
from this disaster, that the military genius of Washington
was first brought'into notice. A few years later, in 1757,
occurred the massacre of Fort William Henry, on Lake
George, a survivor of which, Captain Jonathan Carver, as
we shall presently have occasion to note, made an early ex-
ploration of the Upper Mississippi Valley, and published a
very full and accurate account of its geography and natural
resources:

Following these early successes however, the French were
doomed to a continued series of most disastrous defeats,
culminating in the treaty of Paris, of 1763, by which France
surrendered to Great Britain all her North American pos-
sessions east of the Mississippi, including the whole of Can-
ada, with the exception of some small fishing islands off the
Gulf of St. Lawrence, still held by France, which together
with certain West India possessions, comprises all that this
great European power now controls in the western hemis-
phere. Cotemporary with this important event in the his-
tory of the Mississippi Valley, we have to note an addi-
tional secret treaty, concluded between France and Spain,
the year previous, November 8rd, 1762, by which the for-
mer ceded to Spain all her possessions west of the Mississ-
ippi, including the country we now oceupy, and the Island
of Orleans, this controling the outlet of the Mississippi river.

ee

16 THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY:

The exact_terms of the treaty (which Nicolet characterizes
as “the everlasting shameful one”’) were never published,
and the fact was first made known to the inhabitants of
Lower Louisiana, in October, 1764. It was not till the year
1770, that Spanish authority was definitely established in
Upper Louisiana.

The mortification of the French settlers on the eastern
bank of the Mississippi, including the Illinois country, in be-
ing thus unceremoniously transferred to the rule of their old
historic enemies, the English, had a manifest effect in hin-
dering the progress of settlement, and whole communities
left their homes, to seek others more congenial in Lower
Louisiana, or on the west bank of the Mississippi, soon to
pass under the less detested rule of Spain.

On account of the isolated situation of the country, and
especially the active opposition of the Indian tribes, who in
cherishing kind regards to the French, extended a no less
cordial hatred to their aggressive enemies, the English,
military occupation of the country was delayed till July 17th,
1765. It was at this period that the celebrated Indian war-
rior, Pontiac, with his confederated Indian tribes, waged a
bloody and exterminating war through all the English set-
tlements west of the Alleghenies. St. Louis, the present me-
tropolis of the Upper Mississippi valley, also had its origin
in these unsettled times, having been selected by a Mr. La-
clede, as the headquarters of a French fur trading establish-
ment, its first actual occupation dating back to February
15th, 1764. A very interesting account of the early history
of St. Louis is contained in Nicolet’s report on the Upper
Mississippi valley, published by Congress, in 1845. Thus
have we traced a brief outline of the history of French oc-
cupation of the Mississippi valley, covering a period of
ninety years, from the discovery of Marquette, in 1673, to
the treaty of Paris, of 1763.- It may be briefly summed up
in the sparse and widely separated line of settlement in the

AN HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 17

immediate valley of the Mississippi, including New Orleans,
Natchez, Kaskaskia, Cahokia, Ft. Chartres, and the trading
post of Prairie du Chien.

JOINT SPANISH AND ENGLISH OCCUPATION OF THE
MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. =f

We now come to note the era of Spanish and English
occupation of the Mississippi Valley, continuing in the lat-
ter only to the close of the revolutionary war in 1783, while
Spanish rule extended to the date of the re-transference
of Louisiana from Spain to France, and its purchase soon
after by the United States, in 1803.

With the accession of British authority and the introduc-
tion of an English-speaking people, soon to merge into the
great American Republic, we are put in possession of au-
thentic narratives and descriptions of the country, by which
the thread of historical events may be most conveniently
traced. It must be admitted that previous accounts by
French writers are, as a general rule, tinctured by their ex-
elusive national or political views, and indicate not unfre-
quently a disposition to conceal the true state of things, and
thus keep from other rival nationalities an exact knowledge
of the actual resources and capabilities of the country they
aim to monopolize. Hence some of the early French maps
are purposely inexact, and many of the published narratives
were nothing but wholesale fictions. Furthermore, it is not
to be wondered at that the French, in surrendering the
fruits of their dearly earned discoveries to the possession
and control of their old and hereditary enemies, should de-
cline to communicate the knowledge thus obtained, or even

hs. Such at least are the un-

to mislead by positive untrut
contradicted statements of cotemporary English writers and

travelers.

7

18 THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY:

Among the narratives especially worthy of attention in
the way of authentic information of this part of the country,
including especially the upper Mississippi, is that of Capt.
Jonathan Carver, an officer in the American provincial
army in the French war, and one of the survivors of the
terrible Indian massacre of Fort Wm. Henry, in 1757.
With the close of the war this enterprising traveler under-
took a journey of exploration*to these remote western
regions, prompted by the following laudable motives, as
stated in the introduction to his published narrative, from
which I quote: —

“No sooner was the war with France concluded, and
peace established by the treaty of Versailles, in the year
1763, than I began to consider (having rendered my country
some services during the war) how I might continue still
serviceable, and contribute as much as lay in my power to
make that vast acquisition of territory gained by Great
Britain in North America, advantageous to it. It appeared
to me indispensably needful that government should be
acquainted in the first place with the new dominions they
were now become possessed of. To this purpose I determin-
ed, as the next proof of my zeal, to explore the most unknown
parts of them, and to spare no trouble or expense in acquir-
ing a knowledge that promised to be advantageous to my
countrymen,” etc., etc.

—

The narrative following this frank and straight-forward
introduction, considering the time in which it was written,
(over one hundred years ago), is certainly worthy of more
credit than it has generally received. In his statements of the
general features of the country, its scenery, and natural
productions, there is even less of exaggeration than in many
of the books of the present day. The principal localities
there referred to can be readily located, and the exactness
of description fully verified. Itis in this view of credibility,
| as applied to the general aspects of the country, that especial

%

a ade ° = apy

AN HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 19

value attaches to his accounts of the Indian tribes of that
region, some of which had hardly before been visited by
civilized men. His views moreover of the future of this
country were far in advance of his time, and sound in a
measure almost prophetic, as may be seen from the follow-
ing extract (Introduction, p. 28) :—

“To what power or authority this new world will become
dependent after it has arisen from its present uncultivated
state, time alone can discover. But as the seat of empire
from time immemoria] has been gradually progressing to-
wards the west, there is no doubt but that at some future
period mighty kingdoms will emerge from these wilder-
nesses, and stately palaces, and solemn temples with gilded
spires reaching the skies, supplant the Indian huts whose
only decorations are the barbarous trophies of their van-
quished enemies.”

From the body of the narrative, we learn that in the year
1766, the,route of Marquette in 1673, by way of Green Bay
and the Fox and Wisconsin rivers, had already become a
well-known avenue of trade with the Indian tribes of the
northwest. That Prairie du Chien, so named by French
traders, was then occupied as a central point for supplies,
and a general rendezvous for meeting the various Indian
tribes occupying the upper Mississippi, whose navigable
waters, no longer silent and deserted as at the time of Mar-
quette’s discovery, afforded a ready means of conveyance
both north and south. In pursuing his journey to the north-
west, Capt. Carver passed up the Mississippi from Prairie
du Chien, by the same mode of conveyance as that used by
Hennepin in 1680—bark canoes, and reached the Falls of
St. Anthony late in the fall of 1766. Early in December of
that year, he followed up the St. Peters river, and spent
| that winter with some bands of the Sioux Indians occupy-
ing winter quarters north of the great bend of this river.

Here, according to his narrative, he was engaged in observ-
— ae

20 THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY:

ing the customs of these Indians, learning their language,
and acquiring such geographical knowledge of the region
of country to the west as might be available in the prosecu-
tion of his great scheme of penetrating to the Pacific Ocean.
His published map, made up from these various sources of
information, was in point of accuracy far in advance of any
before published, though necessgrily defective in reference
to the remote districts, in regard to which he had to depend
upon the exaggerated statements of Indians, whose infor-
mation was conveyed by means of rough maps, traced with
charcoal on sheets of bark,

Tn the following season, not succeeding in his design of
procuring the necessary outfit and goods for prosecuting his
journey across the continent, he returned to Prairie du
Chien, and from there again ascended the Mississippi as far
as the Chippewa river, followed up the latter stream, and by
a succession of portages reached Lake Superior, where
most of the summer and fal] months of 1767 were spent in
exploring its northern shores.

It was in the course of these various journeys, that Capt.
Carver, who, with genuine Yankee sagacity seemed to have
been particularly attracted by the picturesque region on the

east bank of the Mississippi, lying between the Falls of St.
Anthony and that beautiful expansion of the Mississippi
known as Lake Pepin, secured from the Indian chiefs occn-
pying this district, a grant of land, included in the above
limits, and extending eastward four days journey, reckoned
in round numbers at one hundred and twenty miles, thus
including a large portion of the present states of Wisconsin
and Minnesota, This large grant, duly attested and signed,
only needed the confirmation of the British Crown to secure
to its possessor a lordly domain, in extent and value equal-
ing the broad patent of Charles II. to William Penn. To
secure this rich prize, Carver, on the completion of his jour-
ney in 1769, sailed for England and laid his papers and

AN HISTORICAL ADDRESS. peal §

petition before George III. Unfortunately for the success
of this scheme, the difficulties which eventuated in the war
of American Independence interposed delays and subse-
quent failure, and Carver, unable to secure his claim or to
receive any compensation for his services from the British
Crown, died in actual poverty in 1780, in London, soon
after the publication of his travels.

This so-called Carver’s grant was afterward transferred
to various parties, and was brought before the United States
Congress with a view to the ratification of Carver’s claim,
but for want of sufficient evidence, was reported against
and the claim disallowed. A very full and condensed doc-
umentary history of this claim is contained in Vol. VI. of
Wisconsin state historical collections, lately published. The
war of American Independence, which so seriously inter-
fered with Capt. Carver’s land speculation in the northwest,
produced little outward effect in the sparse and remote set-
tlements of the Mississippi Valley, except doubtless in
checking emigration.

There was at this time little to encourage military occu-
pation among the peaceful French settlers of Illinois, while
at the same time the outlet of the Mississippi and its west-
ern bank was under the military rule of Spain, then in hos-
tility with Great Britain. In this condition of affairs, Eng-
land was content with holding a menancing attitude to-
wards the northwest from her strong-hold at Mackinaw,
and the possession of Detroit, which was maintained through
the war.

Only two prominent events directly connected with the
history of this region need arrest our attention during this
eventful period, viz: The’ Successful attack on St. Louis, by
British and Indian forces, in 1780, and the military occupa-
tion of Illinois, by Col. George R. Clark, of Virginia. The
attack on St. Louis, then, of course, under Spanish rule,
was directly instigated as a matter of retaliation for the part

4 THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY:

taken by Spain in favor of the independence of the United
States; the friendship of Spain in this instance,"being due
more to hatred and jealousy of England, than’ any sincere
love for the struggling American republic. The attack
was planned as a surprise, and was so far successful in find-
ing the inefficient military forces unprepared for defence.
The date of the attack as given by Nicolet was May 6th,
1780. The Spanish garrison consisting of not more than
sixty men, did little or nothing in the way of defence, which
was resolutely made by the inhabitants of the place, inelud-
ing both men and women. The number of the assailants
was estimated at nearly one thousand. The resistance was
so vigorously conducted that the attacking force was obliged
to retreat, and in so doing, wreaked their vengeance on the
unprotected outside settlements, when not less than sixty
persons were killed, and thirteen taken prisoners. This de-
fence of St. Louis, which if the attack has been successful,
would have involved according to the experience of those
times an indiscriminate slaughter of its inhabitants, has
been partly ascribed to an active interferance by American
troops, then in possession of the British forts on the east
bank of the river, but according to Mr. Nicolet, there is no
reliable evidence in support of this statement, though doubt-
less, Americans, in their private capacity as citizens of St.
Louis, took a prominent part in resisting the attack.

The capture and retention of the British forts in the Illi-
nois country, and on the Wabash, was a
planned and successfully carried out by Col. George R. Clark,
of Virginia, under written instructions from Patrick Henry,
the eloquent orator, then governor of that state. Fort
Kaskaskia was taken by surprise, on the 4th day of July,
1778, and on the 24th of February following, 1779, the
British fort at Vincennes was also captured, thus effectually
putting an end to British military occupation in this portion
of the west. An interesting detailed

account of this adven-

military enterprise,

AN HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 23
Se NTE

turous expedition of Col. Clark, is contained in the Annals
of the West, covering the period of 1778 and 1779.

With the acknowledgment of American independence by
the treaty of 1783, the east bank of the Mississippi valley, as
far south as 31° north latitude, became an integral part o
the United States territory, while Spain still retained her
possession of the west bank, including the navigable outlet
of this valley. This ill-defined boundry, especially object-
ionable in the control thus given to Spain, over the free nav-
igation of the Mississippi, was the cause of much disagree-
ment, naturally increasing with the progressive advance of
settlement in the upper country. Spain, from the tirst, jeal-
ous of the progress of the new republic, established on her
very borders, whose institutions were so at variance with all
her policy and national exclusiveness, used her position to
check this growth, and if possible, break up the federal
union. In this view, she placed obstructions on commerce,
denied the right before guaranteed of free navigation of the
Mississippi, and insidiously fostered, and*‘directly encour-
aged plans for the secession of the southwest. Nothing but
the weakness of the federal union prevented actual hostil-
ities, which, on several occasions, nearly reached a crisis,
In fact, near the close of the elder Adams’s administration
in 1800, a United States military organization{was fitted out
for the capture of New Orleans, and the executior of this
military movement was only prevented by the accession of
a new administration under Jefferson. Under these uncer-
tain and discouraging circumstances extending to the close
of the eighteenth century, the interests of the entire Miss-
issippi valley were seriously injured, but with the opening
of the present century, the complication of European poli-
tics again opened up the way for the extension of American
authority over the entire Mississippi valley. Spain, fearing
the loss of her extensive colonial possessions to the south,
by a secret treaty with France, dated in 1802, transferred to

24 THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY:

that power, then under the military rule of Bonaparte, her
entire possessions in the Mississippi valley, including Upper
and Lower Louisiana. By this treaty, the soil we now oc-
cupy, after an interval of about forty years of Spanish rule,
again passed under the control of France. Napoleon, at
this time, absorbed in his gigantic schemes for establishing
the French empire and controling the policy of Europe,
found little opportunity to attend to the interests of a dis-
tant colony, and thus, fortunately for the cause of American
republicanism, the formidable coalition of the European
powers obliged this ambitious military ruler to concen-
trate all his efforts on European soil. Hence, after little
more than a year’s nominal jurisdiction, he disposed of this
newly acquired territory of Upper and Lower Louisiana
to the United States for $15,000,000.

The date of December 20th, 1803, by which the final
transfer was made by France to the United States of this

|| trans-Mississippi region, marks an event which may

worthily occupy the first page of a history which in the suc-
ceeding seventy years progress, has astonished the world.

Jefferson, the master spirit in bringing about this new
acquisition, was not only a far-secing statesman, but an em-
inently practical man, and to his wise policy we are mainly
indebted for the series of government explorations inaugur-
ated by him for determining the actual character and re-
sources of this western region. It would be but a just com-
memoration of the early services of this great statesman, to
affix the name of Jefferson to some well defined state to be
carved out of these rapidly developing western territories,
to inelude, if possible, under natural boundaries, the head
sources of the grand rivers flowing east and west from the
great continental water-shed.

With the era of western explorations commencing with
the adventurous journey of Lewis and Clark, in 1804-5-6,
to the Pacific ocean by way of the head waters of the Miss-

AN HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 25 |

ouri and the Columbia rivers, we come to notice as directly
connected with the progress of settlement in the Mississippi
Valley, the expedition of Lt. Pike, in 1805-6, from St. Louis
to the supposed head waters of the Mississippi.
In this succinct and quaintly written narrative, we get a
clear and connected view of the natural aspects and civil-
ized. development of this region, after a lapse of one hundred
and thirty-two years from its first discovery by Marquette.
St. Louis, then, as now, recognized as the metropolis of this
Upper Mississippi Valley, having thrown off the shackles of
Spanish exclusiveness, had commenced its permanent
growth as an American city. From this point (while Lewis
‘and Clarke’s expedition was still in progress) Lieut. Pike
started on his journey up the Mississippi river on the 9th
of August, 1805. His outfit occupying a single-keel boat,
comprised a party of twenty men and provisions for four
months. The journey, necessarily slow and laborious ex-
cept when aided by a favorable wind, allowed frequent
shore excursions by hunting parties, generally accompanied
by Pike himself. Thus the character of the adjoining coun-
try came under the careful inspection of this in‘elligent ex-
plorer. The map accompanying his report lays down, with
considerable accuracy, the main features of the region thus
passed over, including river tributaries, high points of land,
open prairies, Indian villages, &c., &c. The distances are
also carefully noted in the daily journal, interspersed with
occasional remarks and suggestions, serving to give a life-
like character to the narrative. By an unforeseen accident,
two men of the party, making their way by land along the
Iowa shore, just below the island formed by the Muscatine
slough, were cut off from the main river channel, and thus
separated from the boat party. In this dilemma they did
not succeed in joining their comrades till they were picked
up by some trading parties, and brought as far as Prairie du
Chien. These two men, whose names are not given 1n the
4

eet nee aa a eae ee eepeaaneet |

26 THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY:

narrative, may therefore claim the credit of being the first
settlers on Iowa soil.

On the 27th of August the mouth of Rock river is
reached, and a camp made about four miles above on the
west bank, which must have brought them in the vicinity
of Davenport, probably on the land at present owned by
Mr. Hall, or Judge Cook. In the account of this day’s
journey there is a note made of passing a pole on a prairie
on which five dogs were suspended in preparation for an
Indian dog feast. Such feasts, on a still more extensive
scale, might at this day be enjoyed not far from the site of
Davenport, without much cause for regret to the maj ority of
its civilized inhabitants.

Early on the morning of August 28th Lieut. Pike reaches
the foot of the rapids, where he encountered a Mr. Aird, a
Mississippi fur trader, and accepts an invitation to a late
breakfast. Mr. Aird is here delayed, waiting for his loaded
boats to be piloted over the rapids, and thus ( fortunately for
Pike) the brief interval of the morning meal is improved to
obtain all the information possible from this enterprising
trader. Under these circumstances, it is to be feared that
this first recorded Davenport breakfast was not up to the
times of the Grand Central Hotel, being more of an intel-
lectual than a substantial repast. But the wind is now fair
for an ascent of the rapids, and Pike, after a cordial parting,
spreads his blanket to the breeze, and sails up the rapids
without delay or hindrance. At the head of the rapids is
located a village of the Reynard Fox Indians. From this
on, over the beautiful stretches of river scenery so familiar
to all of us, including the rocky bluffs below Dubuque, and
the ever-varied scenery above, Prairie du Chien is reached,
on September 4th, this being the first permanent settle-
ment on the entire route above St. Louis —and this less
than seventy years ago! On the high rocky bluff on the
Iowa shore, not far from the present site of the town of Mc-

AN HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 27

Gregor, Pike selected the site of a military post, which,
however, was never occupied as such.

On September 21st, the mouth of the St. Peters is
reached, and after some time spent in that vicinity, nego-
tiating with the Indian tribes, and securing the site for a
military post, since known as “Fort Snelling,” he com-
mences the arduous trip above the Falls of St. Anthony,
encountering all the vicissitudes of a winter campaign in
that inclement region, the details of which would occupy
too much time. Suffice it to say, that the supposed source
of the Mississippi was reached, its course mapped out, and
the character of the extensive lakes and marshes of this
district fully made known. Pike’s return voyage was com-
pleted on the 30th of April, 1806, after an absence of nearly
nine months.

Not many years succeeding Pike’s expedition occurred
the second war with England, generally known as “The
war of 1812.” Among other causes leading to this renewed
hostility between the two countries was a most flagrant in-
terference by British traders with the Indian tribes of the
northwest, then under the jurisdiction of the United States.
In fact, not only the English fur traders, whose business was
likely to be curtailed by the active competition of American
citizens, but the British frontier military authorities used all
their influence to promote hostility between the various In-
dian tribes and the enterprising settlers then pushing their
way into the inviting northwestern country. Nor was this
interference confined to misrepresentation of the character
and designs of the United States government, but to the
actual furnishing of arms, ummunition, and supplies for
prosecuting their murderous attacks on the feeble settle-
ments of the west. Thus the Indian rifle, whose startling
peals woke the forest solitudes, bringing dismay and death
to many a hardy frontiersman, and the tomahawk, crushing
through the brain of defenceless victims, were manufactured

eae eer eerste ner

28 THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY:

in English shops, and formed a not inconsiderable item in
the ordinary supplies for the Indian trade. Under these
circumstances, the war of 1812, generally regarded in his-
torical annals as a maratime contest, presented far other
features to the enterprising settlers of the west. To them
it implied a fearful aggravation of the difficulties and dan-
gers by which they had been constantly surrounded, as well
as the liability to open attack from those whose hostilities
had been confined to more underhanded measures, in insti-
gating others. Nor had they to wait long for these open
manifestations. Mackinaw, the key to the northwest, then
occupied by a weak garrison of barely fifty-seven men, was
captured by a British force on July 17th, 1812, before the
news of an actual declaration of war had reached that re-
mote station. In less than a month after (August 16th),
Detroit was also disgracefully surrendered by its incompe-
tent commander, General Hull. Still more disastrous was
the retreat and massacre at Ft. Dearborn (Chicago), oceur-
ring on the 15th of August of that same year. In this re-
treat, fully equalling in barbarity the massacre of Ft. Wm.
Henry in 1757, nearly two-thirds of the retreating party
were killed by the Indians; and the scene of this terrible
catastrophe along the lake shore southeast of Chicago was,
for years, marked by the ghastly trophies of Indian bar-
barity

Had there been sufficient inducements in the way of
plunder, no doubt the Upper Mississippi, then at the merey
of the British forces, backed by their savage allies, would
have presented a repetition of these scenes of war and
massacre. But the settlements were sparse, and difficult of
access, besides offering little substantial results for the dan-
gers to be incurred. St. Louis, then the military headquar-
ters of the United States forces, was far distant and too
strongly manned to justify an attack by the limited means

E the command of the British outposts. Hence, with the

AN HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 29

exception of occasional Indian skirmishes in the vicinity of
the settlements above and below St. Louis — in which the
well-known warrior, Black Hawk, took a prominent part—
we have little to note in the way of historical incident per-
taining to this immediate section of country till the year
1814. At this time, the success which had attended the
American arms in the defeat of the Indians under Tecum-
seh, Perry’s victory on Lake Erie, and the retaking of De-
troit, induced the United States military authorities at St.
Louis to give some attention to securing the important mil-
itary position at Prairie du Chien, then threatened by the
British forces at Mackinaw. Accordingly, in the spring of
1814, some gunboats were sent up with a view to protect
the feeble garrison then engaged in enlarging their means
of defence. But before these arrangements could be prop-
erly carried out, a British military expedition, composed
largely of Indian traders, clerks, and employes in the inter-
est of the English fur-trading companies, with the usual
complement of Indian savages, the whole being under com-
mand of Col. McKay, left Mackinaw, and by the usual trav-
eled route made their appearance unexpectedly before the
feeble Fort, and demanded its surrender. According to the
most reliable authorities, this attack oceurred on July 17th.
Lieut. Perkins, the American officer in command of the
Fort, at first declined to surrender, but after several days
skirmishing, the supply of ammunition being nearly exhaust-
ed, and especially fears of a general Indian massacre in case
of a successful assault, induced a capitulation on the fourth
day. As soon after as practicable the Ameriean troops
were sent down the river. to St. Louis, being escorted as far
as Rock river by asmall company of British soldiers, to
prevent them from Indian assault in their defenceless con-
dition.

Before the fact of this capture was made known to the
military authorities at St. Louis, Lieut. Campbell had been

gre

30 THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY:

Ieee tr ta tpg eee tee SE Ey aa ee es

sent with men and supplies to reinforce the feeble garrison.
He had proceeded as far as Rock Island, where he had an
interview with Black Hawk, who then claimed to be neu-
tral, though unquestionably secretly espousing the cause of
the British. Just after this interview, the news of the
capture of Prairie du Chien was received by Black Hawk
from an Indian runner, and deeming this a favorable op-
portunity to throw off his assumed neutrality, a party under
the leadership of this celebrated chieftain started in pursuit
of Campbell’s party. They were overtaken while carelessly
preparing for a noon repast, in the narrow channel separat-
ing Campbell’s Island from the Illinois shore, one boat
being fastened to the main bank, while another was an-
chored a short distance out in the stream, The attack was
made by rapid firiny from a concealed ambuscade, with a
view to cut off and destroy the party in the shore boat. By
great risk and exposure the boat in the current was turned
toward the shore, and the threatened land party transferred
to it, when the shore boat was abandoned, and left to be
plundered and burned by these treacherous savages. Lieut.
Campbell, himself severely wounded in the encounter, as
well as several of his men, finally made good their retreat,
and returned to St. Louis to report the ill result of their ex-
pedition. This unfortunate commander has inadvertently
secured permanent recognition of his disaster, by havin
his name affixed to what is stil] known as “ Campbell’s
Island.”

_ Doubtless from the representations made by Lt. Camp-
bell on his return to St. Louis, as well as from other evi-
dences of hostility on the part of the Indians on Roek

a view to punish them, and if possible bring them to terms.

mere aa

AN HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 31

Major Taylor, with his well-manned fleet, anticipating of
course an easy victory over the poorly equipped Indian
warriors of Rock river, reached the scene of his operations
just in front of the present city of Davenport, on a bright
morning in August. Here he was considerably dismayed
to find Indians dressed in British uniform on the Rock Is-
land shore, manning two formidable pieces of artillery, set
in a line with other painted guns, looking equally formidable
at a distance It would seem that Col, McKay, the capturer
of Prairie du Chien, had anticipated this expedition, and
accordingly taken measures to prevent any advances that
might subsequently weaken his position at Prairie du Chien.
Hence the first salute that Major Taylor received was a
well-aimed shot, which struck without disabling the advance
boat, which he himself occupied ; a second shot took away
the rudder of another boat, the painted guns, so far as we
can learn, not doing much execution. The disabled boat
was fast drifting toward the Iowa shore, where large par-
ties of Indians were seen lurking in expectation of securing
an easy prey.

In this critical juncture it was necessary for some one to
cast a rope from the disabled boat in order that it might be
taken in tow, and thus removed from imminent danger of
capture by the Indians. This was courageously done by
a young soldier named Paul Harpole, who, not satisfied
with this proof of his bravery, stood up exposed to the fire
of the Indians on the shore, and as loaded guns were
handed to him, fired fourteen times into the crowd, doing
evident ‘execution; after the fourteenth fire, Harpole him-
self was shot in the forehead, and falling overboard, drifted
to the shore, where the men on the retreating boats saw his
body inhumanly cut to pieces. In the monument which
Scott"county, Iowa, proposes to erect to her fallen heroes
during the;late war, the name of Paul Harpole, and the
date of August, 1814 should properly head the list, as com-

$2 THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY:

memorating the first American soldier that fell in the ser-
vice of his country, on our Iowa soil. This retreat of Ma-
jor Taylor (thirty-two years later the hero of Buena Vista,)
ean hardly be considered under the ‘circumstances as any
reflection on his military character; evidently it was"not7the
painted guns that frightened him. We only learn”further
from one of the participants in this expedition that Major
Taylor stopped for repairs on the Illinois shore, three miles
below the mouth of Rock river, from which point he re-
turned to St. Louis. It is hardly necessary? to state that
the account of this affair contained in “Davenport Past and
Present” is in almost every item incorrect.

No doubt the circumstances attending this expedition, as
well as the location of the populous Indian villages on Rock
river, called‘attention to the position of Rock Island as a
desirable point for the establishment of a'frontier military
post. Accordingly after the war, in 1816, Fort Armstrong
was built and occupied, being so named after Gen. John
Armstrong, the efficient secretary of war, under Madison’s
administration.

In the year 1823, Major Long’s expedition to the sources
of the St. Peters and the Red River of the North was car-
ried out. The report of this exploration, published in Lon-

| don in 1825, gives an interesting view of the country along
the line of travel, and is particularly full in its account of
the Indian tribes of the northwest. The notice there given
of Chicago fifty years ago does not compare very well with
the accomplished result of half a century, and would excite
the risibilities of a Chicagoan of 1873. It may be worth
while to quote a few remarks here on this head as showing
how scientific men may be often greatly deceived in their
estimates. I quote from pp. 164-5-6, viz:—

“We were much disappointed at Chicago and its vicinity.
We found in it nothing to justify the greatjeulogium lay-
i

ished upon the place by a late traveler (Schooleraft), who

AN HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 33

observes that ‘it is the most fertile and beautiful that can
be imagined,’ ‘As a farming country,’ says he, ‘it unites —
the fertile soil of the finest lowland prairies with an eleva-
tion which exempts it from the influence of stagnant waters,
and a summer climate of delightful serenity.’ The best
comment upon this description of the climate and soil is the
fact that with the utmost vigilance on the part of the officers,
it was impossible for the garrison, consisting of from seventy
to ninety men, to subsist upon the grain raised in the coun-
try, although much of their time was devoted to agricultu-
ral pursuits. The difficulties which the agriculturist
meets with are numerous; they arise from the shallowness
of the soil, from its humidity, and from its exposure to the
cold damp winds which blow from the lake, with great
force during most of the year. The grain is frequently de-
stroyed by swarms of insects. There are also a number of
destructive birds, of which it was impossible for the garri-
son to avoid the baneful influence, except by keeping, as
was practiced at Ft. Dearborn, a party of soldiers constant-
ly engaged in shooting at the crows and black-birds, that
committed depredations upon the corn planted by them.
But even with all these exertions, the maize seldom has time
to ripen, owing to the shortness and coldness of the season.
The provisions of the garrison were for the most part con-
veyed from Mackinaw in a schooner, and sometimes they |.
were brought from St. Louis, a distance of three hundred
and eighty-six miles, up the Illinois and Des Plaines rivers.
“The appearance of the country near Chicago offers but
few features upon which the eye of the traveler can dwell
with pleasure. There is too much uniformity in the scen-
ery; the extensive water prospect is a waste, uncheckered
by islands, unenlivened by the spreading canvass, and the
fatiguing monotony of which is increased by the equally
undiversified prospect of the land scenery, which affords no
relief to the sight, as it consists merely of a plain, in which
5

34 THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY:

but few patches of thin and scrubby woods are observed
scattered here and there.

“The village presents no cheering prospect, as notwith-
standing its antiquity, it consists of but few huts, inhabited
by a miserable race of men, scarcely equal to the Indians,
from whom they are descended. Their log or bark houses
are low, filthy, and disgusting, displaying not the least trace
of comfort. Chicago is perhaps one of the oldest settlements
in the Indian country; its name, derived from the Pottawat-
tamie language, signifies either a skunk or wild onion, and
each of these significations has been occasionally given for
it. A fort is said to have formerly existed there. Mention
is made of the place as having been visited by Perrot, who
found ‘Chigogau’ to be the residence of a powerful chief
of the Miamis. The number of trails centering all at this
spot, and their apparent antiquity, indicate that this was
for a long time the site of a large Indian village. Asa
place of business, it offers no inducement to the settler; for
the whole amount of trade on the lake did not exceed the
cargo of five or six schooners, even at the time when the
garrison received its supplies from Mackinaw. |

“It is not impossible that at some distant day when the
banks of the Illinois shall have been covered with a dense
population, and when the low prairies which extend be-
tween that river and Fort Wayne shall have acquired a pop-
ulation proportionate to the produce they can yield, that
Chicago may become one of the points in the direct line of
communication between the northern lakes and the Mississ-
ippi; but even the intercourse which will be carried on
through this communication, will, we think, at all times be
a limited one. The dangers attending on the navigation of
the lake, and the scarcity of harbors along the shores, must
ever prove a serious obstacle to the increase of the commer-
cial importance of Chicago. The extent of the sand banks
which are formed on the eastern. and southern shore, by

Fe ONE OE Ce eS,

AN HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 35

the prevailing north and northwest winds, will likewise pre-
vent any important works from being undertaken to im-
prove the post of Chicago.”

Could the writer of this sketch, now after the lapse of less
than fifty years, see the Chicago of the present day, the
Queen City of the Lakes, he would be inclined to materially
modify his views.

On this same expedition an examination was made of the
natural water communication between the lake at Chicago
and the head-waters of the Illinois leading to the Mississip-
pi. In this examination and report we have the first inti-
mation of the feasibility of an enterprise, as yet only par-
tially realized, of direct water communication between
Lake Michigan and the Mississippi river. I say partially,
for the present Illinois and Michigan canal 1s not on the
most direct route, and its capacity is limited to a single
class of boats, not fitted either for river or lake traffic. But
the problem itself, on which the producing interests of the
Upper Mississippi Valley are so intimately dependent, was
substantially solved when, on the 15th of July, 1871, by the
deep eut of the summit level, the waters of Lake Michigan
were cause to flow up the slimy bed of Chicago river, and
pour their tribute on the Mississippi slope. With this grand
feeder virtually drawing on the entire basin of the great
lakes, what is there to prevent a direct water route of any
capacity desired between the lakes and the Mississippi?
Time and money (and, it is to be hoped, not too much of the
former) is all that is now requisite to accomplish this im-

portant result.

But I have already far exceeded the limits originally de-
signed for a brief address, though the subject itself, to do
proper justice, would require volumes.

Thus, to conclude, from the fragmentary materials at
my command, I have endeavored, at least, with honest zeal,
to commemorate the deeds and labors of those early pio-

36 THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY:

neers who have, for our benefit, planted the seeds of a better
civilization in this magnificent valley. I have brought down
my historic sketch within the memory of living men, and
there leave it for other and abler hands to complete. The
forms of those lately passed and now passing away, are too |
palpable —they touch too nearly the clashing interests of
to-day; they need the softening hand of Time to develop
the permanent value of their works.— 7’hey, and we, must
wait.