¥ Tai Sait emilee Ri ete basen OO te be ae Chek aura aaa ia Saaanes steh Sone PticAiaakl aah ee Da Sy wee ene fiat gly fa fag ee ne one te Aparg a “ye Phen y PALS eet Ma tote erie na a akek akeak oa! erie See Joie hee em ert yer hit re o- ane PTS he eke ee oat wee lente ® ae AS CORNELL UNIVERSIV'Y LIBRARY BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME OF THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND GIVEN IN 1891 BY HENRY WILLIAMS SAGE All books are subject to récall afier fi two weds. Olin/Kroch Library : DATE DUE GAYLORD PRINTED IN U S.A. ’ i Cornell University Library F 547E25 P45 “HTT IT 1924 028 805 229 olin THE HISTORY OF EDGAR COUNTY. LLGIN O1s, CONTAINING A History of the Countys—its Cities, Towns, &c.; Directory of its Tax-Payers; War Record of its Volunteers in the late Rebell- ion; Portraits of Early Settlers and Prominent Men, General and Local Statistics; Map of Edgar County; History of Illinois, Illustrated; History of the Northwest, Illustrated; Constitution of the United States, o Miscellaneous Matters, &e., &e. LaGUuS TR AW HD CHICAGO: WM LIE BARON, Jr» & CO., 186 DEARBORN STREET. 1879. PREFACE & ‘ 4 N presenting our History of Edgar County, we deem a few prefatory words necessary. We have spared neither pains nor expense to fulfill our engagement with our patrons and make the work as complete as possible. We have acted upon the principle that justice to those who have subscribed, be they few or many, requires that the work should be as well done as if it was patronized by every citizen in the county. We do not claim that our work is entirely free from errors; such a result could not be attained by the utmost care and foresight of ordinary mortals. The County History was compiled by our historians, W. H. Perrin, H. H. Hilland A. A. Graham. Some of the Township Histories are indeed longer than others, as the townships are older, containing larger cities and towns, and have been the scenes of more important and interesting events. While fully recognizing this important difference, the historians have sought to write up each township with equal fidelity to the facts and information within their reach. We take this occasion to present our thanks to all our numerous subscribers for their patronage and encouragement in the publication of the work. In this confident belief, we submit it to the enlightened judgment of those for whose benefit it has been prepared, believing that it will be received as a most valuable and complete work. THE PUBLISHERS. AS CHICAGO: CULVER, PAGE, HOYNE & CO,, PRINTERS, 118 and 120 Monroe Street. CONTENT &; es HISTORICAL. Pace. PaGr. History Northwest Territory. . 19 | Other Indian Troubles............... 79 | History of Chicago.. Geographical.. 19 | Present Condition of the Northwest 87 Early Discover: Early Explora 20 | Illinois - 99 Early Settlements “101 Education ........ 02: First French Qecupation -103 | Genius of La Salle.. Discovery of the Ohi English Explorations and Settle- Towa ... . 85 | Michigan American Settlements.. Wisconsin. «104 | Material Resources. Division of the Northwest Terri- Minnesota. 106 Massacre ot Fort Dearborn TOPY si feeassacessasadseossaadacccsssies 66 | Nebraska... 107 Physical Features... Tecumseh and the war of 1812...... 70 | History of Illinois. 109 Progress of Develop Black Hawk and the Black Hawk Coal. 125 Religion and Morals. Weal wie sarsnayvecas alee istenitessesaevsegeszes 74 Comp: IL + War Record of Illinois ILLUSTRATIONS. Pacer. Paar. PAGE. a 21 Tecumseh, the Shawnee Chieftain... 69| ing the River at Davenport, Iowa 96 : Indians Attacking a Stockade. 72 |A Western Dwelling... + 109 Black Hawk, the Sac Chieftain Hunting Prairie Wolves | Big Eagle os Narly Days sscsactssiescescosanass sages 108 5 Captain Jack, the Modoc Chieftain.. 83 (Starved Bode on the Illinois River, ; ' Kinzie House é La Salle County, II... 10 29 | Village Residence. + 86;An Early Settlemen 32 | A Representative Pioneer, 87 |Chicago in 1833...... 34 | Lincoln Monument, Springfield, Ti. 88 |Old Fort Dearbron in 1830... é 43 | A Pioneer School House.. . 39 )Preseut site of Lake Street ‘Bridge, 56 | Farm View in the Winter. Chicago, in 1833. i High Bridge and Lake Blu DPioneers’ First Wi 61 Great Iron Bridge of Chicago, Roc View ot the e ily 2 of if Ghicnge, . 6 Island & Pacific Ruilroad, Cross- shabbona.. Scurce of the Mississippi “Mouth of the Sinn. Wild Prairie.. La Salle Landing’ on. ‘the Green Bay... Buffalo Hunt Trapping. Hunting.. Trvquois Chief. Pontiac, the Ottawa Chieftain Indians Attacking Frontiersme A Prairie Storm A Pioneer Dwelling: Breakiug Prairie EDGAR COUNTY HISTORY. PAGE, ; 337 f Ross Township. General History of Edgar eae 225 | Grand View Township 542 Buck Township........ | Hunter ..369 | Sims Brouillett Township .485 | Kansas “ - 411 | Stratton “ Bdgar 625 Paris < 302] Shiloh = “ Embarrass as -499 | Prairie st .-511 | Young America Tow nship Elbridge as 389 | | LITHOGRAPHIC PORTRAITS, PAGE. | Pace. ...221 | Clark, Sarsfield .. 527 | Lo Hair, Michael. 491 | Dole, William Pp, 93 i Ray, John A 401 , Elliott, 8. H.. 383 Stage, N. B.. 311 | Harding, JR. .509 Sutherland, R. B 455 | Kile, William .419 | Steele, James M. Munsell, L. ...257 ' Trogdon, A. Y. ... Alexander, M. K... Austin, A. B., Sr.. Augustus, Jacob Baber, A. J. Blackman, J. Brown, J. A... Barr, Michael PAGE. | Pace. Buck Township: 676 | Grand View Townships Ross Township.. me Brouillett 716 | Hunter Sims i Edgar se 710 | Kansas - Stratton . Embarrass ‘ Paria He Shiloh 3 Prairie i Young America Towns ip ++.658 - Elbridge “ lv CONTENTS. DIRECTORY OF TAX-PAYERS. Pace. Buck Township.. neal 1D Brouillett “ -786 Edgar se Embarrass “ Elbridge Pace. Adoption of Children.......+sssee: 160 Bills of Exchange and ErOmSSONy County Court 155 Conveyances.... 164 Church Organizations. 189 Descent.....cceeceeccevees 151 Deeds and Mortgages 187 Drainage ... 163 Damages from Trespa: Definition of Commercial Term Exemptions from Forced Sal 156 Estrays. 157 Fences.. Forms: Articles of Agreemeut.. Bills of Purchase.. Map of Edgar County.. Constitution of the U.S. Electors of President and Vice Pred ident, Practical Rules for Every Day Use.207 .U.S8. Government Land Measure...210 Agricultural Productions of Illi- nois by Counties, 1870. 210 Surveyors’ Measure... 211 Interest Table ... How to Keep Accoun Grand View Township 4 Hunter Kansas Paris Prairie Pace. Forms: Chattel Mortgages. Codicil Lease of Farm and Build- ings... 5 Lease of House. Landlord’s Agreement 180 NOte8.....ceecereeee 174 Notice Tenant to Qu 181 Orders . Quit Claim Dee: Receipt .. Real Estate, “Mortgaged to Secure Payment of Money. RREVCASO ssc. nisensaideaces Tenant’s Agreement Tenant’s Notice to Qui Warranty Deed. Will Miscellaneous Tal Names of the States o and their Signification. Population of the United States..... Population of Fifty Principal Cities of the United States.. 2 Population and Area of the ‘United States... 2S Populatio tries in the Wor Id... Ross Township.. Sims bed Stratton Shiloh Young America ‘Township... LAWS. Game... Interest Jurisdicti urts. Limitation of Action ... Landlord and Tenant. Liens Married Women . Millers Marks and Brands Paupers .. Roads and ig Surveyors and Surveys : Suggestions to Persons Purchasing Books by Subscription. Taxes .. Wills and “Estates. Weights and Measures. Wolf Scalps . Population of Ilinois............ 216-2 | State Laws Relating to Interest. | State Laws ee to eres Of ACLIONS......c+000+eer000 Senecio of Edgar Co. Assessors’ Report.. Business Directory. War Record of Edgi /. @ & "SAW ied a8 FHL 20M SIONITII ALNIOS BUW OD QW 10 awn Tue Nortuwest Territory. GEOGRAPHICAL POSITION. When the Northwestern Territory was ceded to the United States by Virginia in 1784, it embraced only the territory lying between the Ohio and the Mississippi Rivers, and north to the northern limits of the United States. It coincided with the area now embraced in the States of Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, and that portion of Minnesota lying on the east side of the Mississippi River. The United States itself at that period extended no farther west than the Mississippi River; but by the purchase of Louisiana in 1803, the western boundary of the United States was extended to the Rocky Mountains and the Northern Pacific Ocean. The new territory thus added to the National domain, and subsequently opened to settlement, has been called the ‘“New Northwest,” in contradistinction from the old ‘Northwestern Territory.” 4 In comparison with the old Northwest this is a territory of vast magnitude. It includes an area of 1,887,850 square miles; being greater in extent than the united areas of all the Middle and Southern States, including Texas. Out of this magnificent territory have been erected eleven sovereign States and eight Territories, with an aggregate popula- tion, at the present time, of 13,000,000 inhabitants, or nearly one third of the entire population of the United States. Its lakes are fresh-water seas, and the larger rivers of the continent flow for a thousand miles through its rich alluvial valleys and far- stretching prairies, more acres of which are arable and productive of the highest percentage of the cereals than of any other area of like extent on the globe. For the last twenty years the increase of population in the North- west has been about as three to one in any other portion of the United States. (19) 20 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. EARLY EXPLORATIONS. In the year 1541, DeSoto first saw the Great West in the New World. He, however, penetrated no farther north than the 35th parallel of latitude. The expedition resulted in his death and that of more than half his army, the remainder of whom found their way to Cuba, thence to Spain, in a famished and demoralized condition. DeSoto founded no settlements, produced no results, and left no traces, unless it were that he awakened the hostility of the red man against the white man, and disheartened such as might desire to follow up the career of discovery for better purposes. The French nation were eager and ready to seize upon any news from this extensive domain, and were the first to profit by DeSoto’s defeat. Yet it was more than a century before any adventurer took advantage of these discoveries. In 1616, four years before the pilgrims ‘‘ moored their bark on the wild New England shore,’ Le Caron, a French Franciscan, had pene- trated through the Iroquois and Wyandots (Hurons) to the streams which run into Lake Huron; and in 1634, two Jesuit missionaries founded the first mission among the lake tribes. It was just one hundred years from the discovery of the Mississippi by DeSoto (1541) until the Canadian envoys met the savage nations of the Northwest at the Falls of St. Mary, below the outlet of Lake Superior. This visit led to no permanent result; yet it was not until 1659 that any of the adventurous fur traders attempted to spend a Winter in the frozen wilds about the great lakes, nor was it until 1660 that a station was established upon their borders by Mesnard, who perished in the woods a few months after. In 1665, Claude Allouez built the earliest lasting habitation of the white man among the Indians of the Northwest. In 1668, Claude Dablon and James Marquette founded the mission of Sault Ste. Marie at the Falls of St. Mary, and two years afterward, Nicholas Perrot, as agent for M. Talon, Governor Gen- eral of Canada, explored Lake Illinois (Michigan) as far south as the present City of Chicago, and invited the Indian nations to meet him at a grand council at Sault Ste. Marie the following Spring, where they were taken under the protection of the king, and formal possession was taken of the Northwest. This same year Marquette established a mission at Point St. Ignatius, where was founded the old town of Michillimackinac. During M. Talon’s explorations and Marquette’s residence at St. Ignatius, they learned of a great river away to the west, and fancied —as all others did then—that upon its fertile banks whole tribes of God's children resided, to whom the sound of the Gospel had never come. Filled with a wish to go and preach to them, and in compliance with a THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. MOUTH OF THE MISSISSIPPI, MISSISSIPPI. SOURCE OF THE 21 22 THE NORTHWEST TERRITG«¥. request of M. Talon, who earnestly desired to extend the domain of his king, and to ascertain whether the river flowed into the Gulf of Mexico or the Pacific Ocean, Marquette with Joliet, as commander of the expe- dition, prepared for the undertaking. On the 13th of May, 1673, the explorers, accompanied by five assist- ant French Canadians, set out from Mackinaw on their daring voyage of discovery. The Indians, who gathered to witness their departure, were astonished at the boldness of the undertaking, and endeavored to dissuade them from their purpose by representing the tribes on the Mississippi as exceedingly savage and cruel, and the river itself as full of all sorts of frightful monsters ready to swallow them and their canoes together. But, nothing daunted by these terrific descriptions, Marquette told them he was willing not only to encounter all the perils of the unknown region they were about to explore, but to lay down his life in a cause in which the salvation of souls was involved; and having prayed together they separated. Coasting along the northern shore of Lake Michigan, the adventurers entered Green Bay, and passed thence up the Fox River and Lake Winnebago to a village of the Miamis and Kickapoos. Here Mar- quette was delighted to find a beautiful cross planted in the middle of the town ornamented with white skins, red girdles and bows and arrows, which these good people had offered to the Great Manitou, or God, to thank him for the pity he had bestowed on them during the Winter in giving them an abundant “chase.” This was the farthest outpost to which Dablon and Allouez had extended their missionary labors the year previous. Here Marquette drank mineral waters and was instructed in the secret of a root which cures the bite of the venomous rattlesnake. He assembled the chiefs and old men of the village, and, pointing to Joliet, said: ‘“‘ My friend is an envoy of France, to discover new coun- tries, and Tam an ambassador from God to enlighten them with the truths of the Gospel.” Two Miami guides were here furnished to conduct them to the Wisconsin River, and they set out from the Indian village on the 10th of June, amidst a great crowd of natives who had assembled to witness their departure into a region where no white man had ever yet ventured. The guides, having conducted them across the portage, returned. The explorers launched their canoes upon the Wisconsin, which they descended to the Mississippi and proceeded down its unknown waters. What emotions must have swelled their breasts as they struck out into the broadening current and became conscious that they were now upon the bosom of the Father of Waters. The mystery was about ° to be lifted from the long-sought river. The scenery in that locality is beautiful, and on that delightful seventeenth of June must have been clad in allits primeval loveliness as it had been adorned by the hand of THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 23 Nature. Drifting rapidly, it is said that the bold bluffs on either hand ‘‘reminded them of the castled shores of their own beautiful rivers of France.” By-and-by, as they drifted along, great herds of buffalo appeared on the banks. On going to the heads of the valley they could see a country of the greatest beauty and fertility, apparently destitute of inhab- itants yet presenting the appearance of extensive manors, under the fas- tidious cultivation of lordly proprietors. / THE WILD PRAIRIE. On June 25, they went ashore and found some fresh traces of men upon the sand, and a path which led to the prairie. The men remained in the boat, and Marquette and Joliet followed the path till they discovered a village on the banks of a river, and two other villages on a hill, within a half league of the first, inhabited by Indians. They were received most hospitably by these natives, who had never before seen a white person. After remaining a few days they re-embarked and descended the river to about latitude 33°, where they found a village of the Arkansas, and being satisfied that the river flowed into the Gulf of Mexico, turned their course 24 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. up the river, and ascending the stream to the mouth of the Ulinois, rowed up that stream to its source, and procured guides from that point to the lakes. ‘“ Nowhere on this journey,” says Marquette, «did we see such grounds, meadows, woods, stags, buffaloes, deer, wildcats, bustards, swans, ducks, parroquets, and even beavers, as on the Illinois River.” The party, without loss or injury, reached Green Bay in September, and reported their discovery—one of the most important of the age, but of which no record was preserved save Marquette’s, Joliet losing his by the upsetting of his canoe on his way to Quebec. Afterward Marquette returned to the Illinois Indians by their request, and ministered to them until 1675. On the 18th of May, in that year, as he was passing the mouth of a stream—going with his boatmen up Lake Michigan—he asked to land at its mouth and celebrate Mass. Leaving his men with the canoe, he retired a short distance and began his devotions. As much time passed and he did not return, his men went in search of him, and found him upon his knees, dead. He had peacefully passed away while at prayer. He was buried at this spot. Charlevoix, who visited the place fifty years after, found the waters had retreated from the grave, leaving the beloved missionary to repose in peace. The river has since been called Marquette. While Marquette and his companions were pursuing their labors in the West, two men, differing widely from him and each other, were pre- paring to follow in his footsteps and perfect the discoveries so well begun by him. These were Robert de LaSalle and Louis Hennepin. After LaSalle’s return from the discovery of the Ohio River (see the narrative elsewhere), he established himself again among the French trading posts in Canada. Here he mused long upon the pet project of those ages—a short way to China and the East, and was busily planning an expedition up the great lakes, and so across the continent to the Pacific, when Marquette returned from the Mississippi. At once the vigorous mind of LaSalle received from his and his companions’ stories the idea that by fol- lowing the Great River northward, or by turning up some of the numerous western tributaries, the object could easily be gained. He applied to Frontenac, Governor Gerteral cf Canada, and laid before him the plan, dim but gigantic. Frontenac entered warmiy into his plans, and saw that LaSalle’s idea to connect the great lakes py achain of forts with the Gulf of Mexico would bind the country so wondertully together, give un- measured power to France, and glory to himself, under whose adminis- tration he earnestly hoped all would be realized. LaSalle now repaired to France, laid his plans before the King, who warmly approved of them, and made him a Chevalier. He also receiv2d from all the noblemen the warmest wishes for his saceess. ‘he Chey- 2, seneomaiotmiiines. THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 25 alier returned to Canada, and busily entered upon his work. He at once rebuilt Fort Frontenac and constructed the first ship to sail on these fresh-water seas. On the 7th of August, 1679, having been joined by Hennepin, he began his voyage in the Griffin up Lake Erie. He passed over this lake, through the straits beyond, up Lake St. Clair and into Huron. In this lake they encountered heavy storms. They were some time at Michillimackinac, where LaSalle founded a fort, and passed on to Green Bay, the “ Baie des Puans”’ of the French, where he found a large quantity of furs collected for him. He loaded the Griffin with these, and placing her under the care of a pilot and fourteen sailors, Sis SESS = San Set eans, BQ LA SALLE LANDING ON THE SHORE OF GREEN BAY. started her on her return voyage. The vessel was never afterward heard of. He remained about these parts until early in the Winter, when, hear- ing nothing from the Griffin, he collected all gthe men—thirty working men and three monks—and started again upon his great undertaking. By a short portage they passed to the Illinois or Kankakee, called by the Indians, “Theakeke,” wolf, because of the tribes of Indians called by that name, commonly known as the Mahingans, dwelling there. The French pronounced it Keakiki, which became corrupted to Kankakee. Falling down the said river by easy journeys, the better to observe the country,” about the last of December they reached a village of the Ili- nois Indians, containing some five hundred cabins, but at that moment 26 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. no inhabitants. The Seur de LaSalle being in want of some breadstuffs, took advantage of the absence of the Indians to help himself to a suffi- ciency of maize, large quantities of which he found concealed in holes under the wigwams. This village was situated near the present village of Utica in LaSalle County, Illinois. The corn being securely stored, the voyagers again betook themselves to the stream, and toward evening, on the 4th day of January, 1680, they came into a lake which must have been the lake of Peoria. This was called by the Indians Pim-i-te-wi, that is, a place where there are many fat beasts. Here the natives were met with in large numbers, but they were gentle and kind, and having spent some time with them, LaSalle determined to erect another fort in that place, for he had heard rumors that some of the adjoining tribes were trying to disturb the good feeling which existed, and some of his men were disposed to complain, owing to the hardships and perils of the travel. He called this fort ‘‘ Creveewur’’ (broken-heart),a name expressive of the very natural sorrow and anxiety which the pretty certain loss of his ship, Griffin, and his consequent impoverishment, the danger of hostility on the part of the Indians, and of mutiny among his own men, might well cause him. His fears were not entirely groundless. At one time poison was placed in his food, but fortunately was discovered. While building this fort, the Winter wore away, the prairies began to look green, and LaSalle, despairing of any reinforcements, concluded to return to Canada, raise new means and new men, and embark anew in the enterprise. For this purpose he made Hennepin the leader of a party to explore the head waters of the Mississippi, and he set out on his jour- ney. This journey was accomplished with the aid of a few persons, and was successfully made, though over an almost v}known route, and in a bad season of the year. He safely reached Cana da, and set out again for the object of his search. Hennepin and his party left Fort Crevecceur on the last of February, 1680. When LaSalle reached this place on his return expedition, he found the fort entirely deserted, and he was obliged to return again to Canada. He embarked the third time, and succeeded. Seven days after leaving the fort, Hennepin reached the Mississippi, and paddling up the icy stream as best he could, reached no higher than the Wisconsin River by the 11th of April. Here he and his followers were taken prisoners by a band of Northern Indians, who treated them with great kindness. Hen- nepin’s comrades were Anthony Auguel and Michael Ako. On this voy- age they found several beautiful lakes, and ‘* saw some charming prairies.” Their captors were the Isaute or Sauteurs, Chippewas, a tribe of the Sioux nation, who took them up the river until about the first of May, when they reached some falls, which Hennepin christened Falls of St. Anthony THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 27 in honor of his patron saint. Here they took the land, and traveling nearly two hundred miles to the northwest, brought them to their villages. Here they were kept about three months, were treated kindly by their captors, and at the end of that time, were met by a band of Frenchmen, BUFFALO HUNT. headed by one Seur de Luth, who, in pursuit of trade and game, had pene- trated thus far by the route of Lake Superior; and with these fellow- countrymen Hennepin and his companions were allowed to return to the borders of civilized life in November, 1680, just after LaSalle had returned to the wilderness on his second trip. Hennepin soon after went to France, where he published an account of his adventures. 28 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. The Mississippi was first discovered by De Soto in April, 1541, in his vain endeavor to find gold and precious gems. In the following Spring, De Soto, weary with hope long deferred, and worn out with his wander- ings, he fell a victim to disease, and on the 21st of May died. His followers, reduced by fatigue and disease to less than three hundred men, wandered about the country nearly a year, in the vain endeavor to rescue them- selves by land, and finally constructed seven small vessels, called brigan- tines, in which they embarked, and descending the river, supposing it would Icad them to the sea, in July they came to the sea (Gulf of Mexico), and by September reached the Island of Cuba. They were the first to see the great outlet of the Mississippi; but, being so weary and discouraged, made no attempt to claim the country, .and hardly had an intelligent idea of what they had passed through. To LaSalle, the intrepid explorer, belongs the honor of giving the first account of the mouths of the river. His great desire was to possess this entire country for his king, andin January, 1682, he and his band of explorers left the shores of Lake Michigan on their third attempt, crossed the portage, passed down the Illinois River, and on the 6th of February, reached the banks of the Mississippi. On the 18th they commenced their downward course, which they pursued with but one interruption, until upon the 6th of March they dis- covered the three great passages by which the river discharges its waters into the gulf. La Salle thus narrates the event: ‘“* We landed on the bank of the most western channel, about three leagues (nine miles) from its mouth. On the seventh, M. de LaSalle went to reconnoiter the shores of the neighboring sea, and M. de Tonti meanwhile examined the great middle channel. They found the main outlets beautiful, large and deep. On the 8th we reascended the river, a little above its confluence with the sea, to find a dry place beyond the reach of inundations. The elevation of the North Pole was here about twenty-seven degrees. Here we prepared a column and a cross, and te the column were affixed the arms of France with this inscription: Louis Le Grand, Roi De France et de Navarre, regne; Le neuvieme Avril, 1682. The whole party, under arms, chanted the Ze Deum, and then, after a salute and cries of “Vive le Roi,’ the column was erected by M. de La Salle, who, standing near it, proclaimed in a loud voice the authority of the King of France. LaSalle returned and laid the foundations of the Mis- sissippi settlements in Illinois, thence he proceeded to France, where another expedition was fitted out, of which he was commander, and in two succeeding voyages failed to find the outlet of the river by sailing along the shore of the gulf. On his third voyage he was killed, through the | THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 29 treachery of his followers, and the object of his expeditions was not accomplished until 1699, when D'Iberville, under the authority of the erown, discovered, on the second of March, by way of the sea, the mouth of the ** Hidden River.” This majestic stream was called by the natives: “ Malbouchia,” and by the Spaniards, “la Palissade,” from the great TRAPPING. number of trees about its mouth. After traversing the several outlets, and satisfying himself as to its certainty, he erected a fort near its western outlet, and returned to France. An avenue of trade was now opened out which was fully improved. In 1718, New Orleans was laid out and settled by some European colo- nists. In 1762, the colony was made over to Spain, to be regained by France under the consulate of Napoleon. In 1803, it was purchased by 30 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. the United States for the sum of fifteen million dollars, and the territory of Louisiana and commerce of the Mississippi River came under the charge of the United States. Although LaSalle’s labors ended in defeat and death, he had not worked and suffered in vain. He had thrown open to France and the world an immense and most valuable country ; had established several ports, and laid the foundations of more than one settlement there. ‘Peoria, Kaskaskia and Cahokia, are to this day monu- ments of LaSalle’s labors; for, though he had founded neither of them (unless Peoria, which was built nearly upon the site of Fort Creveceur,) it was by those whom he led into the West that these places were peopled and civilized. He was, if not the discoverer, the first settler of the Mississippi Valley, and as such deserves to be known and honored.” The French early improved the opening made for them. Before the year 1698, the Rev. Father Gravier began a mission among the Illinois, and founded Kaskaskia. For some time this was merely a missionary station, where none but natives resided, it being one of three such vil- lages, tue other two being Cahokia and Peoria. What is known of these missions is learned from a letter written by Father Gabriel Marest, dated “* Aux Cascaskias, autrement dit de 1 Immaculate Conception de la Sainte Vierge, le 9 Novembre, 1712.” Soon after the founding of Kaskaskia, the missionary, Pinet, gathered a flock at Cahokia, while Peoria arose near the ruins of Fort Creveceur. This must have been about the year 1700. The post at Vincennes on the Oubache river, (pronounced Wia-ba, meaning summer cloud moving swiftly) was estab- lished in 1702, according to the best authorities.* It is altogether prob- able that on LaSalle’s last trip he established the stations at Kaskaskia and Cahokia. In July, 1701, the foundations of Fort Ponchartrain were laid by De la Motte Cadillac on the Detroit River. These sta- tions, with those established further north, were the earliest attempts to occupy the Northwest Territory. At the same time efforts were being made to occupy the Southwest, which finally culminated in the settle- ment and founding of the City of New Orleans by a colony from England in 1718. This was mainly accomplished through the efforts of the famous Mississippi Company, established by the notorious John Law, who so quickly arose into prominence in France, and who with his scheme so quickly and so ignominiously passed away. From the time of the founding of these stations for fifty years the French nation were engrossed with the settlement of the lower Missis- sippi, and the war with the Chicasaws, who had, in revenge for repeated * There is considerable dispute about this date, some asserting if was founded as late as 1742. When the new court house at Vincennes was erected, all authorities on the subject were carefully examined, and ng = : uy (02 fixed upon as the correct date. It was accordingly engraved on the corner-stone of the court house. THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 381 injuries, cut off the entire colony at Natchez. Although the company did little for Louisiana, as the entire West was then called, yet it opened the trade through the Mississippi River, and started the raising of grains indigenous to that climate. Until the year 1750, but little is known of the settlements in the Northwest, as it was not until this time that the attention of the English was called to the occupation of this portion of the New World, which they then supposed they owned. Vivier, a missionary among the Illinois, writing from ‘“‘ Aux Illinois,” six leagues from Fort Chartres, June 8, 1750, says: ‘We have here whites, negroes and Indians, to say nothing of cross-breeds. There are five French villages, and three villages of the natives, within a space of twenty-one leagues situated between the Mississippi and another river called the Karkadaid (KKaskaskias). In the five French villages are, perhaps, eleven hundred whites, three hundred blacks and some sixty red slaves or savages. The three Illinois towns do not contain more than eight hundred souls all told. Most of the French till the soil; they raise wheat, cattle, pigs and horses, and live like princes. Three times as much is produced as can be consumed; and great quantities of grain and flour are sent to New Orleans.” This city was now the seaport town of the Northwest, and saye in the extreme northern part, where only furs and copper ore were found, almost all the products of the country found their way to France by the mouth of the Father of Waters. In another letter, dated Novem- ber 7, 1750, this same priest says: ‘For fifteen leagues above the mouth of the Mississippi one sees no dwellings, the ground being too low to be habitable. Thence to New Orleans, the lands are only partially occupied. New Orleans contains black, white and red, not more, I think, than twelve hundred persons. To this point come all lumber, bricks, salt-beef, tallow, tar, skins and bear’s grease ; and above all, pork and flour from the Illinois. These things create some commerce, as forty vessels and more have come hither this year. Above New Orleans, plantations are again met with; the most considerable is a colony of Germans, some ten leagues up the river. At Point Coupee, thirty-five leagues above the German settlement, is a fort. Along here, within five or six leagues, are not less than sixty habitations. Fifty leagues farther up is the Natchez post, where we have a garrison, who are kept prisoners through fear of the Chickasaws. Here and at Point Coupee, they raise excellent tobacco. Another hundred leagues brings us to the Arkansas, where we have also a fort and a garrison for the benefit of the river traders. * * * From the Arkansas to the Illinois, nearly five hundred leagues, there is not a settlement. There should be, however, a fort at the Oubache (Ohio), the only path by which the English can reach the Mississippi. In the Illinois country are numberless mines, but no one to 32 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. work them as they deserve.’ Father Marest, writing from the post at Vincennesin 1812, makes the same observation. Vivier also says: ‘‘ Some individuals dig lead near the surface and supply the Indians and Canada. Two Spaniards now here, who claim to be adepts, say that our mines are like those of Mexico, and that if we would dig deeper, we should find silver under the lead; and at any rate the lead is excellent. There is also in this country, beyond doubt, copper ore, as from time to time large pieces are found in the streams.” HUNTING. At the close of the year 1750, the French occupied, in addition ¢o the lower Mississippi posts and those in Illinois, one at Du Quesne, one at the Mauinee in the country of the Miamis, and one at Sandusky in what may be termed the Ohio Valley. In the northern part of the Northwest they had stations at St. Joseph’s on the St. Joseph’s of Lake Michigan at Fort Ponchartrain (Detroit), at Michillimackanac or Mansillinnieange, Fox River of Green Bay, and at Sault Ste. Marie. The fondest dreams “a LaSalle were now fully realized. The French alone were possessors of this vast realm, basing their claim on discovery and settlement, Another nation, however, was now turning its attention to this extensive country, THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 33 and hearing of its wealth, began to lay plans for occupying it and for securing the great profits arising therefrom. The French, however, had another claim to this country, namely, the DISCOVERY OF THE OHIO. This “ Beautiful” river was discovered by Robert Cavalier de La- Salle in 1669, four years before the discovery of the Mississippi by Joliet and Marquette. While LaSalle was at his trading post on the St. Lawrence, he found leisure to study nine Indian dialects, the chief of which was the Iroquois. He not only desired to facilitate his intercourse in trade, but he longed to travel and explore the unknown regions of the West. An incident soon occurred which decided him to fit out an exploring expedition. While conversing with some Senecas, he learned of a river called the Ohio, which rose in their country and flowed to the sea, but at such a distance that it required eight months to reach its mouth. In this state- ment the Mississippi and its tributaries were considered as one stream. LaSalle believing, as most of the French at that period did, that the great rivers flowing west emptied into the Sea of California, was anxious to embark in the enterprise of discovering a route across the continent to the commerce of China and Japan. He repaired at once to Quebec to obtain the approval of the Gov- ernor. His eloquent appeal prevailed. The Governor and the Intendant, Talon, issued letters patent authorizing the enterprise, but made no pro- vision to defray the expenses. At this juncture the seminary of St. Sul- pice decided to send out missionaries in connection with the expedition, and LaSalle offering to sell his improvements at LaChine to raise money, the offer was accepted by the Superior, and two thousand eight hundred dollars were raised, with which LaSalle purchased four canoes and the necessary supplies for the outfit. On the 6th of July, 1669, the party, numbering twenty-four persons, embarked in seven canoes on the St. Lawrence; two additional canoes carried the Indian guides. In three days they were gliding over the bosom of Lake Ontario. Their guides conducted them directly to the Seneca village on the bank of the Genesee, in the vicinity of the present City of Rochester, New York. Here they expected to procure guides to conduct them to the Ohio, but in this they were disappointed. The Indians seemed unfriendly to the enterprise. LaSalle suspected that the Jesuits had prejudiced their minds against his plans. After waiting a month in the hope of gaining their object, they met an Indian 34 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. from the Iroquois colony at the head of Lake Ontario, who assured then that they could there find guides, and offered to conduct them thence. On their way they passed the mouth of the Niagara River, when the: heard for the first time the distant thunder of the cataract. Arriving IROQUOIS CHLER, among the Iroquois, they met with a friendly reception, and learned from a Shawanee prisoner that they could reach the Ohio in six weeks Delighted with the unexpected good fortune, they made ready to feauimns their journey ; but just as they were about to start they heard of the arrival of two Frenchmen in a neighboring village. One of them roved to be Louis Joliet, afterwards famous as an explorer in the West, He 5 i Hk THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 35 had been sent by the Canadian Government to explore the copper mines on Lake Superior, but had failed, and was on his way back to Quebec. He gave the missionaries a map of the country he had explored in the lake region, together with an account of the condition of the Indians in that quarter. This induced the priests to determine on leaving the expedition and going to Lake Superior. LaSalle warned them that the Jesuits were probably occupying that field, and that they would meet with a cold reception. Nevertheless they persisted in their purpose, and after worship on the lake shore, parted from LaSalle. On arriving at Lake Superior, they found, as LaSalle had predicted, the Jesuit Fathers, Marquette and Dablon, occupying the field. These zealous disciples of Loyola informed them’ that they wanted no assistance from St. Sulpice, nor from those who made him their patron saint; and thus repulsed, they returned to Montreal the following June without having made a single discovery or converted a single Indian. After parting with the priests, LaSalle went to the chief Iroquois village at Onondaga, where he obtained guides, and passing thence to a tributary of the Ohio south of Lake Erie, he descended the latter as far as the falls at Louisville. Thus was the Ohio discovered by LaSalle, the persevering and successful French explorer of the West, in 1669. The account of the latter part of his journey is found in an anony- mous paper, which purports to have been taken from the lips of LaSalle himself during a subsequent visit to Paris. In a letter written to Count Frontenac in 1667, shortly after the discovery, he himself says that he discovered the Ohio and descended it to the falls. This was regarded as an indisputable fact by the French authorities, who claimed the Ohio Valley uponanother ground. When Washington was sent by the colony of Virginia in 1753, to demand of Gordeur de St. Pierre why the French had built a fort on the Monongahela, the haughty commandant at Quebec replied: ‘‘ We claim the country on the Ohio by virtue of the discoveries of LaSalle, and will not give it up to the English. Our orders are to make prisoners of every Englishman found trading in the Ohio Valley.” ENGLISH EXPLORATIONS AND SETTLEMENTS. When the new year of 1750 broke in upon the Father of Waters and the Great Northwest, all was still wild save at the French posts already described. In 1749, when the English first began to think seri- ously about sending men into the West, the greater portion of the States of Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota were yet under the dominion of the red men. The English knew, however, pretty 36 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. é conclusively of the nature of the wealth of these wilds. As early as 1710, Governor Spotswood, of Virginia, had commenced movements to secure the country west of the Alleghenies to the English crown. In Pennsylvania, Governor Keith and James Logan, secretary of the prov- ince, from 1719 to 1731, represented to the powers of England the neces- sity of securing the Western lands. Nothing was done, however, by that power save to take some diplomatic steps to secure the claims of Britain to this unexplored wilderness. England had from the outset claimed from the Atlantic to the Pacific, on the ground that the discovery of the seacoast and its possession wasa discovery and possession of the country, and, as is well known, her grants to the colonies extended “ from sea to sea.”” This was not all her claim. She had purchased from the Indian tribes large tracts of land. This lat- ter was also astrong argument. As early as 1684, Lord Howard, Gov- ernor of Virginia, held a treaty with the six nations. These were the great Northern Confederacy, and comprised at first the Mohawks, Onei- das, Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas. Afterward the Tuscaroras were taken into the confederacy, and it became known as the Six NATrons. They came under the protection of the mother country, and again in 1701, they repeated the agreement, and in September, 1726, a formal deed was drawn up and signed by the chiefs. The validity of this claim has often been disputed, but never successfully. In 1744, a purchase was made at Lancaster, Pennsylvania, of certain lands within the ‘“‘ Colony of Virginia,” for which the Indians received £200 in gold and a like sum in goods, with a promise that, as settlements increased, more should be paid. The Commissioners from Virginia were Colonel Thomas Lee and Colonel William Beverly. As settlements extended, the promise of more pay was called to mind, and Mr. Conrad Weiser was sent across the mountains with presents to appease the savages. Col. Lee, and some Virginians accompa- nied him with the intention of sounding the Indians upon their feelings regarding the English. They were not satisfied with their treatment, and plainly told the Commissioners why. The English did not desire the cultivation of the country, but the monopoly of the Indian trade. In 1748, the Ohio Company was formed, and petitioned the king for a grant of land beyond the Alleghenies. This was granted, and the government of Virginia was ordered to grant to them a half million acres, two hun- dred thousand of which were to be located at once. Upon the 12th of June, 1749, 800,000 acres from the line of Canada north and west was made to the Loyal Company, and on the 29th of October, 1751, 100,000 acres were given to the Greenbriar Company. All this time the French were not idle. They saw that, should the British gain a foothold in the West, especially upon the Ohio, they might not only prevent the French THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 38T settling upon it, but in time would come to the lower posts and so gain possession of the whole country. Upon the 10th of May, 1774, Vaud- reuil, Governor of Canada and the French possessions, well knowing the consequences that must arise from allowing the English to build trading posts in the Northwest, seized some of their frontier posts, and to further secure the claim of the French to the West, he, in 1749, sent Louis Cel- eron with a party of soldiers to plant along the Ohio River, in the mounds and at the mouths of its principal tributaries, plates of lead, on which were inscribed the claims of France. These were heard of in 1752, and within the memory of residents now living along the ‘ Oyo,” as the beautiful river was called by the French. One of these plates was found with the inscription partly defaced. It bears date August 16, 1749, and a copy of the inscription with particular account of the discovery of the plate, was sent by DeWitt Clinton to the American Antiquarian Society, among whose journals it may now be found.* These measures did not, however, deter the English from going on with their explorations, and though neither party resorted to arms, yet the conflict was gathering, and it was only a question of time when the storm would burst upon the frontier settlements. In 1750, Christopher Gist was sent by the Ohio Company to examine its lands. He went to a village of the Twigtwees, on the Miami, about one hundred and fifty miles above its mouth. He afterward spoke of it as very populous. From there he went down the Ohio River nearly to the falls at the present City of Louisville, and in November he commenced a survey of the Company’s lands. Dur- ing the Winter, General Andrew Lewis performed a similar work for the Greenbriar Company. Meanwhile the French were busy in preparing their forts for defense, and in opening roads, and also sent a sinall party of soldiers to keep the Ohio clear. , This party, having heard of the Eng- lish post on the Miami River, early in 1652, assisted by the Ottawas and Chippewas, attacked it, and, after a severe battle, in which fourteen of the natives were killed and others wounded, captured the garrison. (They were probably garrisoned in a block house). The traders were carried away to Canada, and one account says several were burned. This fort or post was called by the English Pickawillany. A memorial of the king’s ministers refers to it as * Pickawillanes, in the center of the terri- tory between the Ohio and the Wabash. The name is probably some variation of Pickaway or Picqua in 1773, written by Rev. David Jones Pickaweke.” +The following is a traaslation of the inscription on the plate: “In the year 1749, reign of Louis XV., King of France, we, Celeron, commandant of a detachment by Monsieur the Marquis of Gallisoniere, com- mander-in-chief of New France, to establish tranquility in certain Indian villages of these cantons, have buried this plate at the confluence of the Toradakoin, this twenty-ninth of July, near the river Ohio, otherwise Beautiful River, as 2 monument of renewal of possession which we have taken of the sad river, and all its tributaries; inasmuch as the preceding Kings of France have enjoyed it and maintained it by their arms and treaties; especially by those of Ryswick, Utrecht, and Aix La Chapelle. 38 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY, This was the first blood shed between the French and English, and occurred near the present City of Piqua, Ohio, or at least at a point about forty-seven miles north of Dayton. Each nation became now more inter- ested in the progress of events in the Northwest. The English deter- mined to purchase from the Indians a title to the lands they wished to occupy, and Messrs. Fry (afterward Commander-in-chief over Washing- ton at the commencement of the French War of 1775-1763), Lomax and Patton were sent in the Spring of 1752 to hold a conference with the natives at Logstown to learn what they objected to in the treaty of Lan- caster already noticed, and to settle all difficulties. On the 9th of June, these Commissioners met the red men at Logstown, a little village on the north bank of the Ohio, about seventeen miles below the site of Pitts- burgh. Here had been a trading point for many years, but it was aban- doned by the Indians in 1750. At first the Indians declined to recognize the treaty of Lancaster, but, the Commissioners taking aside Montour, the interpreter, who was a son of the famous Catharine Montour, and a chief among the six nations, induced him to use his influence in their favor. This he did, and upon the 13th of June they all united in signing a deed, confirming the Lancaster treaty in its full extent, consenting to a settlement of the southeast of the Ohio, and guaranteeing that it should not be disturbed by them. These were the means used to obtain the first treaty with the Indians in the Ohio Valley. Meanwhile the powers beyond the sea were trying to out-manceuvre each other, and were professing to be at peace. The English generally outwitted the Indians, and failed in many instances to fulfill their con- tracts. They thereby gained the ill-will of the red men, and further increased the feeling by failing to provide them with arms and ammuni- tion. Said an old chief, at Easton, in 1758: ‘‘ The Indians on the Ohio left you because of your own fault. When we heard the French were coming, we asked you for help and arms, but we did not get them. The French came, they treated us kindly, and gained our affections. The Governor of Virginia settled on our lands for his own benefit, and, when we wanted help, forsook us.” At the beginning of 1653, the English thought they had secured by title the lands in the West, but the French had quietly gathered cannon and military stores to be in readiness for the expected blow. The Eng- lish made other attempts to ratify these existing treaties, but not until the Summer could the Indians be gathered together to discuss the plans of the French. They had sent messages to the French, warning them away; but they replied that they intended to complete the chain of forts already begun, and would not abandon the field. Soon after this, no satisfaction being obtained from the Ohio regard-~ THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 89 ing the positions and purposes of the French, Governor Dinwiddie of Virginia determined to send to them another messenger and learn from them, if possible, their intentions. For this purpose he selected a young man, a surveyor, who, at the early age of nineteen, had received the rank of major, and who was thoroughly posted regarding frontier life. This personage was no other than the illustrious George Washington, who then held considerable interest in Western lands. He was at this time just twenty-two years of age. Taking Gist as his guide, the two, accompanied by four servitors, set out on their perilous march. They left Will’s Creek on the 10th of November, 1753, and on the 22d reached the Monon- gahela, about ten miles above the fork. From there they went to Logstown, where Washington had a long conference with the chiefs of the Six Nations. From them he learned the condition of the French, and also heard of their determination not to come down the river till the fol- lowing Spring. The Indians were non-committal, as they were afraid to turn either way, and, as far as they could, desired to remain neutral. Washington, finding nothing could be done with them, went on to Venango, an old Indian town at the mouth of French Creek. Here the French had a fort, called Fort Machault. Through the rum and flattery of the French, he nearly lost all his Indian followers. Finding nothing of importance here, he pursued his way amid great privations, and on the 11th of December reached the fort at the head of French Creek. Here’ he delivered Governor Dinwiddie’s letter, received his answer, took his observations, and on the 16th set out upon his return journey with no one but Gist, his guide, and a few Indians who still remained true to him, notwithstanding the endeavors of the French to retain them. Their homeward journey was one of great peril and suffering from the cold, yet they reached home in safety on the 6th of January, 1754. From the letter of St. Pierre, commander of the French fort, sent by Washington to Governor Dinwiddie, it was learned that the French would not give up without a struggle. Active preparations were at once made in all the English colonies for the coming conflict, while the French finished the fort at Venango and strengthened their lines of fortifications, and gathered their forces to be in readiness. The Old Dominion was all alive. Virginia was the center of great activities ; volunteers were called for, and from all the neighboring colonies men rallied to the conflict, and everywhere along the Potomae men were enlisting under the Governor’s proclamation—which promised two hundred thousand acres on the Ohio. Along this river they were gathering as far as Will’s Creek, and far beyond this point, whither Trent had come for assistance for his little band of forty-one men, who were 40 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. working away in hunger and want, to fortify that point at the fork of the Ohio, to which both parties were looking with deep interest. “The first birds of Spring filled the air with their song; the swift river rolled by the Allegheny hillsides, swollen by the melting snows of Spring and the April showers. The leaves were appearing ; a few Indian scouts were seen, but no enemy seemed near at hand; and all was so quiet, that Frazier, an old Indian scout and trader, who had been left by Trent in command, ventured to his home at the mouth of Turtle Creek, ten miles up the Monongahela. But, though all was so quiet in that wilder- ness, keen eyes had seen the low intrenchment rising at the fork, and swift feet had borne the news of it up the river; and upon the morning of the 17th of April, Ensign Ward, who then had charge of it, saw upon the Allegheny a sight that made his heart sink—sixty batteaux and three hundred canoes filled with men, and laden deep with cannon and stores. * * * That evening he supped with his captor, Contrecceur, and the next day he was bowed off by the Frenchman, and with his men and tools, marched up the Monongahela.” The French and Indian war had begun. The treaty of Aix la Chapelle, in 1748, had left the boundaries between the French and English possessions unsettled, and the events already narrated show the French were determined to hold the country watered by the Mississippi and its tributaries; while the English laid claims to the country by virtue of the discoveries of the Cabots, and claimed all the country from New- foundland to Florida, extending from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The first decisive blow had now been struck, and the first attempt of the English, through the Ohio Company, to occupy these lands, had resulted disastrously to them. The French and Indians immediately completed the fortifications begun at the Fork, which they had so easily captured, and when completed gave to the fort the name of DuQuesne. Washing- ton was at Will’s Creek when the news of the capture of the fort arrived. He at once departed to recapture it. On his way he entrenched him- self at a place called the ‘* Meadows,” where he erected a fort called by him Fort Necessity. From there he surprised and captured a force of French and Indians marching against him, but was soon after attacked in his fort by a much superior force, and was obliged to yield on the morning of July 4th. He was allowed to return to Virginia. The English Government immediately planned four campaigns; one against Fort DuQuesne; one against Nova Scotia; one against Fort Niagara, and one against Crown Point. These occurred during 1755-6, and were not successful in driving the French from their possessions. The expedition against Fort DuQuesne was led by the famous General Braddock, who, refusing to listen to the advice of Washington and those THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 41 acquainted with Indian warfare, suffered such an inglorious defeat. This occurred on the morning of July 9th, and is generally known as the battle of Monongahela, or ‘ Braddock’s Defeat.’”” The war continued with various vicissitudes through the years 1756-7; when, at the commence- ment of 1758, in accordance with the plans of William Pitt, then Secre- tary of State, afterwards Lord Chatham, active preparations were made to carry on the war. Three expeditions were planned for this year: one, under General Amherst, against Louisburg ; another, under Abercrombie, against Fort Ticonderoga; and a third, under General Forbes, against Fort DuQuesne. On the 26th of July, Louisburg surrendered after a desperate resistance of more than forty days, and the eastern part of the Canadian possessions fell into the hands of the British. Abercrombie captured Fort Frontenac, and when the expedition against Fort DuQuesne, of which Washington had the active command, arrived there, it was found in flames and deserted. The English at once took possession, rebuilt the fort, and in honor of their illustrious statesman, changed the name to Fort Pitt. The great object of the campaign of 1759, was the reduction of Canada. General Wolfe was to lay siege to Quebec; Amherst was to reduce Ticonderoga and Crown Point, and General Prideaux was to capture Niagara. This latter place was taken in July, but the gallant Prideaux lost his life in the attempt. Amherst captured Ticonderoga and Crown Point without a blow; and Wolfe, after making the memor- able ascent to the Plains of Abraham, on September 13th, defeated Montcalm, and on the 18th, the city capitulated. In this engagement Montcolm and Wolfe both lost their lives. De Levi, Montcalm’s successor, marched to Sillery, three miles above the city, with the purpose of defeating the English, and there, on the 28th of the following April, was fought one of the bloodiest battles of the French and Indian War. It resulted in the defeat of the French, and the fall of the City of Montreal. The Governor signed a capitulation by which the whole of Canada was surrendered to the English. This practically concluded the war, but it was not until 1763 that the treaties of peace between France and England were signed. This was done on the 10th of February of that year, and under its provisions all the country east of the Mississippi and north of the Iberville River, in Louisiana, were ceded to England. At the same time Spain ceded Florida to Great Britain. On the 13th of September, 1760, Major Robert Rogers was sent from Montreal to take charge of Detroit, the only remaining French post in the territory. He arrived there on the 19th of November, and sum- moned the place to surrender. At first the commander of the post, Beletre. refused, but on the 29th, hearing of the continued defeat of the 42 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. French arms, surrendered. Rogers remained there until December 23d under the personal protection of the celebrated chief, Pontiac, to whom, no doubt, he owed his safety. Pontiac had come here to inquire the purposes of the English in taking possession of the country. He was assured that they came simply to trade with the natives, and did not desire their country. This answer conciliated the savages, and did much to insure the safety of Rogers and his party during their stay, and while on their journey home. \ Rogers set out for Fort Pitt on December 23, and was just one month on the way. His route was from Detroit to Maumee, thence across the present State of Ohio directly to the fort. This was the com- mon trail of the Indians in their journeys from Sandusky to the fork of the Ohio. It went from Fort Sandusky, where Sandusky City now is, crossed the Huron river, then called Bald Eagle Creek, to ‘“* Mohickon John’s Town” on Mohickon Creek, the northern branch of White Woman’s River, and thence crossed to Beaver’s Town, a Delaware town on what is now Sandy Creek. At Beaver’s Town were probably one hundred and fifty warriors, and not less than three thousand acres of cleared land. From there the track went up Sandy Creek to and across Big Beaver, and up the Ohio to Logstown, thence on to the fork. The Northwest Territory was now entirely under the English rule. New settlements began to be rapidly made, and the promise of a large trade was speedily manifested. Had the British carried out their promises with the natives none of those savage butcheries would have been perpe- trated, and the country would have been spared their recital. The renowned chief, Pontiac, was one of the leading spirits in these atrocities. We will now pause in our narrative, and notice the leading events in his life. The earliest authentic information regarding this noted Indian chief is learned from an account of an Indian trader named Alexander Henry, who, in the Spring of 1761, penetrated his domains as far as Missillimacnac. Pontiac was then a great friend of the French, but a bitter foe of the English, whom he considered as encroaching on his hunting grounds. Henry was obliged to disguise himself as a Canadian to insure safety, but was discovered by Pontiac, who bitterly reproached him and the English for their attempted subjugation of the West. He declared that no treaty had been made with them; no presents sent them, and that he would resent any possession of the’ West by that nation. He was at the time about fifty years of age, tall and dignified, and was civil and military ruler of the Ottawas, Ojibwas and Pottawatamies. The Indians, from Lake Michigan to the borders of North Carolina, were united in this feeling, and at the time of the treaty of Paris, ratified February 10, 1763, a general conspiracy was formed to fall suddenly THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. PONTIAC, THE OTTAWA CHIEFTAIN. 43 44 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. upon the frontier British posts, and with one blow strike every man dead. Pontiac was the marked leader in all this, and was the commander of the Chippewas, Ottawas, Wyandots, Miamis, Shawanese, Delawares and Mingoes, who had, for the time, laid aside their local quarrels to unite in this enterprise. The blow came, as near as can now be ascertained, on May 7, 1762. Nine British posts fell, and the Indians drank, ‘* scooped up in the hollow of joined hands,” the blood of many a Briton. Pontiac’s immediate field of action was the garrison at Detroit. Here, however, the plans were frustrated by an Indian woman disclosing the plot the evening previous to his arrival. Everything was carried out, however, according to Pontiac’s plans until the moment of action, when Major Gladwyn, the commander of the post, stepping to one of the Indian chiefs, suddenly drew aside his blanket and disclosed the concealed musket. Pontiac, though a brave man, turned pale and trembled. He saw his plan was known, and that the garrison were prepared. He endeavored to exculpate himself from any such intentions; but the guilt was evident, and he and his followers were dismissed with a severe reprimand, and warned never to again enter the walls of the post. Pontiac at once laid siege to the fort, and until the treaty of peace between the British and the Western Indians, concluded in August, 1764, continued to harass and besiege the fortress. He organized a regular commissariat department, issued bills of credit written out on bark, which, to his credit, it may be stated, were punctually redeemed. At the conclusion of the treaty, in which it seems he took no part, he went further south, living many years among the Illinois. He had given up all hope of saving his country and race. After a time he endeavored to unite the Illinois tribe and those about St. Louis in a war with the whites. His efforts were fruitless, and only ended ina quarrel between himself and some Kaskaskia Indians, one of whom soon afterwards killed him. His death was, however, avenged by the northern Indians, who nearly exterminated the Illinois in the wars which followed. Had it not been for the treachery of a few of his followers, his plan for the extermination of the whites, a masterly one, would undoubtedly have been carried out. It was in the Spring of the year following Rogers’ visit that Alex-: ander Henry went to Missillimacnac, and everywhere found the strongest feelings against the English, who had not carried out their promises, and were doing nothing to conciliate the natives. Here he met the chief, Pontiac, who, after conveying to him in a speech the idea that their French father would awake soon and utterly destroy his enemies, said: * Englishman, although you have conquered the French, you have not THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 45 yet conquered us! We are not your slaves! These lakes, these woods, these mountains, were left us by our ancestors. They are our inheritance, and we will part with them to none. Your nation supposes that we, like the white people, can not live without bread and pork and beef. But you ought to know that He, the Great Spirit and Master of Life, has provided food for us upon these broad lakes and in these mountains.” He then spoke of the fact that no treaty had been made with them, no presents sent them, and that he and his people were yet for war. Such were the feelings of the Northwestern Indians immediately after the English took possession of their country. These feelings were no doubt encouraged by the Canadians and French, who hoped that yet the French arms might prevail. The treaty of Paris, however, gave to the English the right to this vast domain, and active preparations were going on to occupy it and enjoy its trade and emoluments. In 1762, France, by a secret treaty, ceded Louisiana to Spain, to pre- vent it falling into the hands of the English, who were becoming masters of the entire West. The next year the treaty of Paris, signed at Fon- tainbleau, gave to the English the domain of the country in question. Twenty years after, by the treaty of peace between the United States and England, that part of Canada lying south and west of the Great Lakes, comprehending a large territory which is the subject of these sketches, was acknowledged to be a portion of the United States; and twenty years still later, in 1803, Louisiana was ceded by Spain back to France, and by France sold to the United States. In the half century, from the building of the Fort of Crevecceur by LaSalle, in 1680, up to the erection of Fort Chartres, many French set- tlements had been made in that quarter. These have already been noticed, being those at St. Vincent (Vincennes), Kohokia or Cahokia, Kaskaskia and Prairie du Rocher, on the American Bottom, a large tract of rich alluvial soil in Illinois, on the Mississippi, opposite the site of St. Louis. By the treaty of Paris, the regions east of the Mississippi, including all these and other towns of the Northwest, were given over to England; but they do not appear to have been taken possession of until 1765, when Captain Stirling, in the name of the Majesty of England, established him- self at Fort Chartres bearing with him the proclamation of General Gage, dated December 30, 1764, which promised religious freedom to all Cath- olics who worshiped here, and a right to leave the country with their effects if they wished, or to remain with the privileges of Englishmen. It was shortly after the occupancy of the West by the British that the war with Pontiac opened. It is already noticed in the sketch of that chieftain. By it many a Briton lost his life, and many a frontier settle- 46 ' THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. ment in its infancy ceased to exist. This was not ended until the year 1764, when, failing to capture Detroit, Niagara and Fort Pitt, his confed- eracy became disheartened, and, receiving no aid from the French, Pon- tiac abandoned the enterprise and departed to the Illinois, among whom he afterward lost his life. As soon as these difficulties were definitely settled, settlers began rapidly to survey the country and prepare for occupation. During the year 1770, a number of persons from Virginia and other British provinces explored and marked out nearly all the valuable lands on the Mononga- hela and along the banks of the Ohio as far as the Little Kanawha. This was followed by another exploring expedition, in which George Washing- ton was a party. The latter, accompanied by Dr. Craik, Capt. Crawford and others, on the 20th of October, 1770, descended the Ohio from Pitts- burgh to the mouth of the Kanawha; ascended that stream about fourteen miles, marked out several large tracts of land, shot several buffalo, which were then abundant in the Ohio Valley, and returned to the fort. Pittsburgh was at this time a trading post, about which was clus- tered a village of some twenty houses, inhabited by Indian traders. This same year, Capt. Pittman visited Kaskaskia and its neighboring villages. He found there about sixty-five resident families, and at Cahokia only ‘forty-fivedwellings. At Fort Chartres was another small settlement, and at Detroit the garrison were quite prosperous and strong. For a year or two settlers continued to locate near some of these posts, generally Fort Pitt or Detroit, owing to the fears of the Indians, who still main- tained some feelings of hatred tothe English. The trade from the posts was quite good, and from those in IJlinois large quantities of pork and flour found their way to the New Orleans market. At this time the policy of the British Government was strongly opposed to the extension of the colonies west. In 1763, the King of England forbade, by royal proclamation, his colonial subjects from making a settlement beyond the sources of the rivers which fall into the Atlantic Ocean. At the instance of the Board of Trade, measures were taken to prevent the settlement without the limits prescribed, and to retain the commerce within easy reach of Great Britain. The commander-in-chief of the king’s forces wrote in 1769: ‘Inthe course of a few years necessity will compel the colonists, should they extend their settlements west, to provide manufactures of some kind for themselves, and when all connection upheld by commerce with the mother country ceases, an independency in their government will soon follow.”’ In accordance with this policy, Gov. Gage issued a proclamation in 1772, commanding the inhabitants of Vincennes to abandon their set- tlements and join some of the Eastern English colonies. To this they 4 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. AT strenuously objected, giving good reasons therefor, and were allowed to remain. The strong opposition to this policy of Great Britain led to its change, and to such a course as to gain the attachment of the French population. In December, 1773, influential citizens of Quebec petitioned the king for an extension of the boundary lines of that province, which was granted, and Parliament passed an act on June 2, 1774, extend- ing the boundary so as to include the territory lying within the present States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Michigan. In consequence of the liberal policy pursued by the British Govern- ment toward the French settlers in the West, they were disposed to favor that nation in the war which soon followed with the colonies; but the early alliance between France and America soon brought them to the side of the war for independence. In 1774, Gov. Dunmore, of Virginia, began to encourage emigration to the Western lands. He appointed magistrates at Fort Pitt under the pretense that the fort was under the government of that commonwealth. One of these justices, John Connelly, who possessed a tract of land in the Ohio Valley, gathered a force of men and garrisoned the fort, calling it Fort Dunmore. This and other parties were formed to select sites for settlements, and often came in conflict with she Indians, who yet claimed portions of the valley, and several battles followed. These ended in the famous battle of Kanawha in July, where the Indians were defeated and driven across the Ohio. ; During the years 1775 and 1776, by the operations of land companies and the perseverance of individuals, several settlements were firmly estab- lished between the Alleghanies and the Ohio River, and western land speculators were busy in IJlinois and on the Wabash. At a council held in Kaskaskia on July 5, 1773, an association of English traders, calling themselves the “ Illinois Land Company,” obtained from ten chiefs of the Kaskaskia, Cahokia and Peoria tribes two large tracts of land lying on the east side of the Mississippi River south of the Hlinois. In 1775, a mer- chant from the Illinois Country, named Viviat, came to Post Vincennes as the agent of the association called the ‘‘ Wabash Land Company.” On the 8th of October he obtained from eleven Piankeshaw chiefs, a deed for 37,497,600 acres of land. This deed was signed by the grantors, attested by a number of the inhabitants of Vincennes, and afterward recorded in the office of a notary public at Kaskaskia. This and other land com- panies had extensive schemes for the colonization of the West; but all were frustrated by the breaking out of the Revolution. On the 20th of April, 1780, the two companies named consolidated under the name of the “ United Illinois and Wabash Land Company.” They afterward made 48 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. strenuous efforts to have these grants sanctioned by Congress, but all signally failed. When the War of the Revolution commenced, Kentucky was an unor- ganized country, though there were several settlements within her borders. In Hutchins’ Topography of Virginia, it is stated that at that time “ Kaskaskia contained 80 houses, and nearly 1,000 white and black in- habitants —the whites being a little the more numerous. Cahokia con- tains 50 houses and 300 white inhabitants, and 80 negroes. There were east of the Mississippi River, about the year 1771 ”—when these observa- tions were made — “300 white men capable of bearing arms, and 230 negroes.” From 1775 until the expedition of Clark, nothing is recorded and nothing known of these settlements, save what is contained in a report made by a committee to Congress in June, 1778. From it the following extract is made: “Near the mouth of the River Kaskaskia, there is a village which appears to have contained nearly eighty families from the beginning of the late revolution. There are twelve families in a small village at la Prairie du Rochers, and near fifty families at the Kahokia Village. There are also four or five families at Fort Chartres and St. Philips, which is five miles further up the river.” St. Louis had been settled in February, 1764, and at this time con- tained, including its neighboring towns, over six hundred whites and one hundred and fifty negroes. It must be remembered that all the country west of the Mississippi was now under French rule, and remained so until ceded again to Spain, its original owner, who afterwards sold it and the country including New Orleans to the United States. At Detroit there were, according to Capt. Carver, who was in the Northwest from 1766 to 1768, more than one hundred houses, and the river was settled for more than twenty miles, although poorly cultivated—the people being engaged in the Indian trade. This old town has a history, which we will here relate. It is the oldest town in the Northwest, having been founded by Antoine de Lamotte Cadillac, in 1701. It was laid out in the form of an oblong square, of two acres in length, and an acre and a half in width. As described by A. D. Frazer, who first visited it and became a permanent resident of the place, in 1778, it comprised within its limits that space between Mr. Palmer’s store (Conant Block) and Capt. Perkins’ house (near the Arsenal building), and extended back as far as the public barn, and was bordered in front by the Detroit River. It was surrounded by oak and cedar pickets, about fifteen {vet long, set in the ground, and had four gates — east, west, north and south. Over the first three of these THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 49 gates were block houses provided with four guns apiece, each a six- pounder. Two six-gun batteries were planted fronting the river and ina parallel direction with the block houses. There were four streets running east and west, the main street being twenty feet wide and the rest fifteen feet, while the four streets crossing these at right angles were from ten to fifteen feet in width. At the date spoken of by Mr. Frazer, there was no fort within the enclosure, but a citadel on the ground corresponding to the present northwest corner of Jefferson Avenue and Wayne Street. The citadel was inclosed by pickets, and within it were erected barracks of wood, two stories high, sufficient to contain ten officers, and also barracks sufficient to contain four hundred men, and a provision store built of brick. The citadel also contained a hospital and guard-house. The old town of Detroit, in 1778, contained about sixty houses, most of them one story, with a few astory and a half in height. They were all of logs, some hewn and some round. There was one building of splendid appearance, called the “King’s Palace,” two stories high, which stood near the east gate. It was built for Governor Hamilton, the first governor commissioned by the British. There were two guard-houses, one near the west gate and the other near the Government House. Each of the guards consisted of twenty-four men and a subaltern, who mounted regularly every morning between nine and ten o’clock, Each furnished four sentinels, who were relieved every two hours. There was also an officer of the day, who per- formed strict duty. Each of the gates was shut regularly at sunset; even wicket gates were shut at nine o'clock, and all the keys were delivered into the hands of the commanding officer. They were opened in the morning at sunrise. No Indian or squaw was permitted to enter town with any weapon, such as a tomahawk ora knife. It was a stand- ing order that the Indians should deliver their arms and instruments of every kind before they were permitted to pass the sentinel, and they were restored to them on their return. No more than twenty-five Indians were allowed to enter the town at any one time, and they were admitted only at the east and west gates. At sundown the drums beat, and all the Indians were required to leave town instantly. There was a council house near the water side for the purpose of holding council with the Indians. The population of the town was about sixty families, in all about two hundred males and one hundred females. This town was destroyed by fire, all except one dwelling, in 1805. After which the present new” town was laid out. On the breaking out of the Revolution, the British held every post of importance in the West. Kentucky was formed as a component part of Virginia, and the sturdy pioneers of the West, alive to their interests, 50 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. and recognizing the great benefits of obtaining the control of the trade in this part of the New World, held steadily to their purposes, and those within the commonwealth of Kentucky proceeded to exercise their civil privileges, by electing John Todd and Richard Gallaway, burgesses to represent them in the Assembly of the parent state. Early in September of that year (1777) the first court was held in Harrodsburg, and Col. Bowman, afterwards major, who had arrived in August, was made the commander of a militia organization which had been commenced the March previous. Thus the tree of loyalty was growing. The chief spirit in this far-out colony, who had represented her the year previous east of the mountains, was now meditating a move unequaled in its boldness. He had been watching the movements of the British throughout the Northwest, and understood their whole plan. He saw it was through their possession of the posts at Detroit, Vincennes, Kaskaskia, and other places, which would give them constant and easy access to the various Indian tribes in the Northwest, that the British intended to penetrate the country from the north and south, ana annihi- late the frontier fortresses. This moving, energetic man was Colonel, afterwards General, George Rogers Clark. He knew the Indians were not unanimously in accord with the English, and he was convinced that, could the British be defeated and expelled from the Northwest, the natives might be easily awed into neutrality; and by spies sent for the purpose, he satisfied himself that the enterprise against the Illinois settlements might easily succeed. Having convinced himself of the certainty of the project, he repaired to the Capital of Wirginia, which place he reached on November 5th. While he was on his way, fortunately, on October 17th, Burgoyne had been defeated, and the spirits of the colonists greatly encouraged thereby. Patrick Henry was Governor of Virginia, and at once entered heartily into Clark’s plans. The same plan had before been agitated in the Colonial Assemblies, but there was no one until Clark came who was sufficiently acquainted with the condition of affairs at the scene of action to be able to guide them. Clark, having satisfied the Virginia leaders of the feasibility of his plan, received, on the 2d of January, two sets of instructions—one secret, the other open—the latter authorized him to proceed to enlist seven companies to go to Kentucky, subject to his orders, and to serve three months from their arrival in the West. The secret order authorized him to arm these troops, to procure his powder and lead of General Hand at Pittsburgh, and to proceed at once to subjugate the country. With these instructions Clark repaired to Pittsbur gh, choosing rather to raise his men west of the mountains, as he well — all were raseded in the colonies in the conflict there. He sent Col. W. B. Smith to Hol- THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 51 ston for the same purpose, but neither succeeded in raising the required number of men. The settlers in these parts were afraid to leave their own firesides exposed to a vigilant foe, and but few could be induced to join the proposed expedition. With three companies and several private volunteers, Clark at length commenced his descent of the Ohio, which he navigated as far as the Falls, where he took possession of and fortified Corn Island, a small island between the present Cities of Louisville, Kentucky, and New Albany, Indiana. Remains of this fortification may yet be found. At this place he appointed Col. Bowman to meet him with such recruits as had reached Kentucky by the southern route, and as many as could be spared from the station. Here he announced to the men their real destination. Having completed his arrangements, and chosen his party, he left a small garrison upon the island, and on the 24th of June, during a total eclipse of the sun, which to them augured no good, and which fixes beyond dispute the date of starting, he with his chosen band, fell down the river. His plan was to go by water as far as Fort Massac or Massacre, and thence march direct to Kaskaskia. Here he intended to surprise the garrison, and after its capture go to Cahokia, then to Vincennes, and lastly to Detroit. Should he fail, he intended to march directly to the Mississippi River and cross it into the Spanish country. Before his start he received two good items of infor- mation: one that the alliance had been formed between France and the United States; and the other that the Indians throughout the Illinois country and the inhabitants, at the various frontier posts, had been led to believe by the British that the ‘“‘ Long Knives” or Virginians, were the most fierce, bloodthirsty and cruel savages that ever scalped a foe. With this impression on their minds, Clark saw that proper management would cause them to submit at once from fear, if surprised, and then from grati- tude would become friendly if treated with unexpected leniency. The march to Kaskaskia was accomplished through a hot July sun, and the town reached on the evening of July 4. He captured the fort near the village, and soon after the village itself by surprise, and without the loss of a single man or by killing any of the enemy. After sufficiently working upon the fears of the natives, Clark told them they were at per- fect liberty to worship as they pleased, and to take whichever side of the great conflict they would, also he would protect them from any barbarity from British or Indian foe. This had the desired effect, and the inhab- itants, so unexpectedly and so gratefully surprised by the unlooked for turn of affairs, at once swore allegiance to the American arms, and when Clark desired to go to Cahokia on the 6th of July, they accom- panied him, and through their influence the inhabitants of the place surrendered, and gladly placed themselves under his protection. Thus 52 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. = the two important posts in Illinois passed from the hands of the English into the possession of Virginia. In the person of the priest at Kaskaskia, M. Gibault, Clark found a powerful ally and generous friend. Clark saw that, to retain possession of the Northwest and treat successfully with the Indians within its boun- daries, he must establish a government for the colonies he had taken. St. Vincent, the next important post to Detroit,remained yet to be taken before the Mississippi Valley was conquered. M. Gibault told him that he would alone, by persuasion, lead Vincennes to throw off its connection with England. Clark gladly accepted his offer, and on the 14th of July, in company with a fellow-townsman, M. Gibault started on his mission of peace, and on the Ist of August returned with the cheerful intelligence that the post on the ‘‘ Oubache” had taken the oath of allegiance to the Old Dominion. During this interval, Clark established his courts, placed garrisons at Kaskaskia and Cahokia, successfully re-enlisted his men, sent word to have a fort, which proved the germ of Louisville, erected at the Falls of the Ohio, and dispatched Mr. Rocheblave, who had been commander at Kaskaskia, as a prisoner of war to Richmond. In October the County of Illinois was established by the Legislature of Virginia, John Todd appointed Lieutenant Colonel and Civil Governor, and in November General Clark and his men received the thanks of the Old Dominion through their Legislature. In a speech a few days afterward, Clark made known fully to the natives his plans, and at its close all came forward and swore alle- giance to the Long Knives. While he was doing this Governor Hamilton, having made his various arrangements, had left Detroit and moved down the Wabash to Vincennes intending to operate from that point in reducing the Illinois posts, and then proceed on down to Kentucky and drive the rebels from the West. Gen. Clark had, on the return of M. Gibault, dispatched Captain Helm, of Fauquier County, Virginia, with an attend- ant named Henry, across the Illinois prairies to command the fort. Hamilton knew nothing of the capitulation of the post, and was greatly surprised on his arrival to be confronted by Capt. Helm, who, standing at the entrance of the fort by a loaded cannon ready to fire upon his assail- auts, demanded upon what terms Hamilton demanded possession of the fort. Being granted the rights of a prisoner of war, he surrendered to the British General, who could scarcely believe his eyes when he saw the force in the garrison. Hamilton, not realizing the character of the men with whom he was contending, gave up his intended campaign for the Winter, sent his four hundred Indian warriors to prevent troops from coming down the Ohio, THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 53 and to annoy the Americans in all ways, and sat quietly down to pass the Winter. Information of all these proceedimgs having reached Clark, he saw that immediate and decisive action was necessary, and that unless he captured Hamilton, Hamilton would capture him. Clark received the news on the 29th of January, 1779, and on February 4th, having suffi- ciently garrisoned Kaskaskia and Cahokia, he sent down the Mississippi a ‘battoe,” as Major Bowman writes it, in order to ascend the Ohio and Wabash, and operate with the land forces gathering for the fray. On the next day, Clark, with his little force of one hundred and twenty men, set out for the post, and after incredible hard marching through much mud, the ground being thawed by the incessant spring rains, on the 22d reached the fort, and being joined by his ‘+ battoe,” at once commenced the attack on the post. The aim of the American back- woodsman was unerring, and on the 24th the garrison surrendered to the intrepid boldness of Clark. The French were treated with great kind- ness, and gladly renewed their allegiance to Virginia. Hamilton was sent as a prisoner to Virginia, where he was kept in close confinement. During his command of the British frontier posts, he had offered prizes to the Indians for all the scalps of Americans they would bring to him, and had earned in consequence thereof the title ‘* Hair-buyer General,”’ by which he was ever afterward known. Detroit was now without doubt within easy reach of the enterprising Virginian, could he but raise the necessary force. Governor Henry being apprised of this, promised him the needed reinforcement, and Clark con- eluded to wait until he could capture and sufficiently garrison the posts. Had Clark failed in this bold undertaking, and Hamilton succeeded in uniting the western Indians for the next Spring’s campaign, the West would indeed have been swept from the Mississippi to the Allegheny Mountains, and the great blow struck, which had been contemplated from the commencement, by the British. ‘But for this small army of dripping, but fearless Virginians, the union of all the tribes from Georgia to Maine against the colonies might have been effected, and the whole current of our history changed.” At this time some fears were entertained by the Colonial Govern- ments that the Indians in the North and Northwest were inclining to the British, and under the instructions of Washington, now Commander-in- Chief of the Colonial army, and so bravely fighting for American inde- pendence, armed forces were sent against the Six Nations, and upon the Ohio frontier, Col. Bowman, acting under the same general’s orders, marched against Indians within the present limits of that State. These expeditions were in the main successful, and the Indians were compelled to sue for peace. 54 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. During this same year (1779) the famous “ Land Laws” of Virginia were passed. ‘The passage of these laws was of more consequence to the pioneers of Kentucky and the Northwest than the gaining of a few Indian conflicts. These laws confirmed in main all grants made, and guaranteed to all actual settlers their rights and privileges. After providing for the settlers, the laws provided for selling the balance of the public lands at forty cents per acre. To carry the Land Laws into effect, the Legislature sent four Virginians westward to attend to the various claims, over many of which great confusion prevailed concerning their validity. These gentlemen opened their court on October 13, 1779, at St. Asaphs, and continued until April 26, 1780, when they adjourned, having decided three thousand claims. They were succeeded by the surveyor, who came in the person of Mr. George May, and assumed his duties on the 10th day of the menth whose name he bore. With the opening of the next year (1780) the troubles concerning the navigation of the Missis- sippi commenced. The Spanish Government exacted such measures in relation to its trade as to cause the overtures made to the United States to be rejected. The American Government considered they had a right to navigate its channel. To enforce their claims, a fort was erected below the mouth of the Ohio on the Kentucky side of the river. The settle- ments in Kentucky were being rapidly filled by emigrants. It was dur- ing this year that the first seminary of learning was established in the West in this young and enterprising Commonwealth. The settlers here did not look upon the building of this fort in a. friendly manner, as it aroused the hostility of the Indians. Spain had been friendly to the Colonies during their struggle for independence,. and though for a while this friendship appeared in danger from the refusal of the free navigation of the river, yet it was finally settled to the satisfaction of both nations. The Winter of 1779-80 was one of the most unusually severe ones. ever experienced in the West. The Indians always referred to it as the “Great Cold.” Numbers of wild animals perished, and not a few pioneers lost their lives. The following Summer a party of Canadians and Indians attacked St. Louis, and attempted to take possession of it in consequence of the friendly disposition of Spain to the revolting colonies. They met with such a determined resistance on the part of the inhabitants, even the women taking part in the battle, that they were compelled to abandon the contest. They also made an attack on the settlements in Kentucky, but, becoming alarmed in some unaccountable manner, they fled the country in great haste. About this time arose the question in the Colonial Congress con- cerning the western lands claimed by Virginia, New York, Massaatinisetts THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 55 and Connecticut. The agitation concerning this subject finally led New York, on the 19th of February, 1780, to pass a law giving to the dele- gates of that State in Congress the power to cede her western lands for the benefit of the United States. This law was laid before Congress during the next month, but no steps were taken concerning it until Sep- tember 6th, when a resolution passed that body calling upon the States claiming western lands to release their claims in favor of the whole body. This basis formed the union, and was the first after all of those legislative measures which resulted in the creation of the States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota. In December of the same year, the plan of conquering Detroit again arose. The conquest might have easily been effected by Clark had the necessary aid been furnished him. Nothing decisive was done, yet the heads of the Government knew that the safety of the Northwest from British invasion lay in the capture and retention of that important post, the only unconquered one in the territory. Before the close of the year, Kentucky was divided into the Coun- ties of Lincoln, Fayette and Jefferson, and the act establishing the Town of Louisville was passed. This same year is also noted in the annals of American history as the year in which occurred Arnold’s treason to the United States. Virginia, in accordance with the resolution of Congress, on the 2é day of January, 1781, agreed to yield her western lands to the United States upon certain conditions, which Congress would not accede to, anc the Act of Cession, on the part of the Old Dominion, failed, nor was anything farther done until 1783. During all that time the Colonies were busily engaged in the struggle with the mother country, and in consequence thereof but little heed was given to the western settlements. Upon the 16th of April, 1781, the first birth north of the Ohio River of American parentage occurred, being that of Mary Heckewelder, daughter of the widely known Moravian missionary, whose band of Christian Indians suffered in after years a horrible massacre by the hands of the frontier settlers, who had been exasperated by the murder of several of their neighbors, and in their rage committed, without regard to humanity, a deed which forever afterwards cast a shade of shame upon their lives. For this and kindred outrages on the part of the whites, the Indians committed many deeds of cruelty which darken the years of 1771 and 1772 in the history of the Northwest. During the year 1782 a number of battles among the Indians and frontiersmen occurred, and between the Moravian Indians and the Wyan- dots. In these, horrible acts of cruelty were practised on the captives, many of such dark deeds transpiring under the leadership of the notorious 56 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. frontier outlaw, Simon Girty, whose name, as well as those of his brothers, was a terror to women and children. These occurred chiefly in the Ohio valleys. Cotemporary with them were several engagements in Kentucky, in which the famous Daniel Boone engaged, and who, often by his skill and knowledge of Indian warfare, saved the outposts from cruel destruc- INDIANS ATTACKING FRONTIERSMEN. tion. By the close of the year victory had perched upon the American banner, and on the 30th of November, provisional articles of peace had been arranged between the Commissioners of England and her uncon- querable colonies. Cornwallis had been defeated on the 19th of October preceding, and the liberty of America was assured. On the 19th of April following, the anniversary of the battle of Lexington, peace was THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 5T proclaimed to the army of the United States, and on the 8d of the next September, the definite treaty which ended our revolutionary struggle was concluded. By the terms of that treaty, the boundaries of the West were as follows: On the north the line was to extend along the center of the Great Lakes; from the western point of Lake Superior to Long Lake ; thence to the Lake of the Woods; thence to the head of the Mississippi River; down its center to the 31st parallel of latitude, then on that line east to the head of the Appalachicola River; down its center to its junc- tion with the Flint ; thence straight to the head of St. Mary’s River, and thence down along its center to the Atlantic Ocean. Following the cessation of hostilities with England, several posts were still occupied by the British in the North and West. Among these was Detroit, still in the hands of the enemy. Numerous engagements with the Indians throughout Ohio and Indiana occurred, upon whose lands adventurous whites would settle ere the title had been acquired by the proper treaty. To remedy this latter evil, Congress appointed commissioners to treat with the natives and purchase their lands, and prohibited the set- tlement of the territory until this could be done. Before the close of the year another attempt was made to capture Detroit, which was, however, not pushed, and Virginia, no longer feeling the interest in the Northwest she had formerly done, withdrew her troops, having on the 20th of December preceding authorized the whole of her possessions to be deeded to the United States. This was done on the Ist of March following, and the Northwest Territory passed from the control of the Old Dominion. To Gen. Clark and his soldiers, however, she gave a tract of one hundred and fifty thousand acres of land, to be situated any where north of the Ohio wherever they chose to locate them. They selected ihe region opposite the falls of the Ohio, where is now the dilapidated village of Clarksville, about midway between the Cities of New Albany and Jeffer- sonville, Indiana. While the frontier remained thus, and Gen. Haldimand at Detroit refused to evacuate alleging that he had no orders from his King to do so, settlers were rapidly gathering about the inland forts. In the Spring of 1784, Pittsburgh was regularly laid out, and from the journal of Arthur Lee, who passed through the town soon after on his way to the Indian council at Fort McIntosh, we suppose it was not very prepossessing in appearance. He says: “Pittsburgh is inhabited almost entirely by Scots and Irish, who live in paltry log houses, and are as dirty as if in the north of Ireland or even Scotland. There is a great deal of trade carried on, the goods being bought at the vast expense of forty-five shillings per pound from Phila- 58 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. delphia and Baltimore. They take in the shops flour, wheat, skins and money. There are in the town four attorneys, two doctors, and not a priest of any persuasion, nor church nor chapel.” Kentucky at this time contained thirty thousand inhabitants, and was beginning to discuss measures for a separation from Virginia. A land office was opened at Louisville, and measures were adopted to take defensive precaution against the Indians who were yet, in some instances, incited to deeds of violence by the British. Before the close of this year, 1784, the military claimants of land began to occupy them, although no entries were recorded until 1787. The Indian title to the Northwest was not yet extinguished. They held large tracts of lands, and in order to prevent bloodshed Congress adopted means for treaties with the original owners and provided for the surveys of the lands gained thereby, as well as for those north of the Ohio, now in its possession. On January 31, 1786, a treaty was made with the Wabash Indians. The treaty of Fort Stanwix had been made in 1784. That at Fort McIntosh in 1785, and through these much land was gained. The Wabash Indians, however, afterward refused to comply with the provisions of the treaty made with them, and in order to compel their adherence to its provisions, force was used. During the year 1786, the free navigation of the Mississippi came up in Congress, and caused various discussions, which resulted in no definite action, only serving to excite speculation in regard to the western lands. Congress had promised bounties of land to the soldiers of the Revolution, but owing to the unsettled condition of affairs along the Mississippi respecting its naviga- tion, and the trade of the Northwest, that body had, in 1783, declared its inability to fulfill these promises until a treaty could be concluded between the two Governments. Before the close of the year 1786, how- ever, it was able, through the treaties with the Indians, to allow some grants and the settlement thereon, and on the 14th of September Con- necticut ceded to the General Government the tract of land known as the “‘ Connecticut Reserve,” and before the close of the following year a large tract of land north of the Ohio was sold to a company, who at once took measures to settle it. By the provisions of this grant, the company were to pay the United States one dollar per acre, subject to a deduction of one-third for bad lands and other contingencies. They received 750,000 acres, bounded on the south by the Ohio, on the east by the seventh range of townships, on the west by the sixteenth range, and on the north by a line so drawn as to make the grant complete without the reservations. In addition to this, Congress afterward granted 100,000 acres to actual settlers, and 214,285 acres as army bounties under the resolutions of 1789 and 1790. THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 59 While Dr. Cutler, one of the agents of the company, was pressing its claims before Congress, that body was bringing into form an ordinance for the political and social organization of this Territory. When the cession was made by Virginia, in 1784, a plan was offered, but rejected. A motion had been made to strike from the proposed plan the prohibition of slavery, which prevailed. The plan was then discussed and altered, and finally passed unanimously, with the exception of South Carolina. By this proposition, the Territory was to have been divided into states A PRAIRIE STORM. by parallels and meridian lines. This, it was thought, would make ten states, which were to have been named as follows — beginning at the northwest corner and going southwardly: Sylvania, Michigania, Cher- sonesus, Assenisipia, Metropotamia, Illenoia, Saratoga, Washington, Poly- potamia and Pelisipia. There was a inore serious objection to this plan than its category of names,—the boundaries. The root of the difficulty was in the resolu- tion of Congress passed in October, 1780, which fixed the boundaries of the ceded lands to be from one bundred to one hundred and fifty miles 60 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. square. These resolutions being presented to the Legislatures of Vir- ginia and Massachusetts, they desired a change, and in July, 1786, the subject was taken up in Congress, and changed to favor a division into not more than five states, and not less than three. This was approved by the State Legislature of Virginia. The subject of the Government was again taken up by Congress in 1786, and discussed throughout that year and until July, 1787, when the famous ‘‘Compact of 1787” was passed, and the foundation of the government of the Northwest laid. This com- pact is fully discussed and explained in the history of Illinois in this book, and to it the reader is referred. The passage of this act and the grant to the New England Company was soon followed by an application to the Government by John Cleves Symmes, of New Jersey, for a grant of the land between the Miamis. This gentleman had visited these lands soon after the treaty of 1786, and, being greatly pleased with them, offered similar terms to those given to the New England Company. The petition was referred to the Treasury Board with power to act, and a contract was concluded the following year. During the Autumn the directors of the New England Company were preparing to occupy their grant the folowing Spring, and upon the 23d of November made arrangements for a party of forty-seven men, under the superintendency of Gen. Rufus Putnam, to set forward. Six boat-builders were to leave at once, and on the first of January the sur- veyors and their assistants, twenty-six in number, were to meet at Hart- ford and proceed on their journey westward; the remainder to follow as soon as possible. Congress, in the meantime, upon the 3d of October, had ordered seven hundred troops for defense of the western settlers, and to prevent unauthorized intrusions ; and two days later appointed Arthur St. Clair Governor of the Territory of the Northwest. AMERICAN SETTLEMENTS. The civil organization of the Northwest Territory was now com. plete, and notwithstanding the uncertainty of Indian affairs, settlers from the East began to come into the country rapidly. The New England Company sent their men during the Winter of 1787-8 pressing on over the Alleghenies by the old Indian path which had been opened into Braddock’s road, and which -has since been made a national turnpike from Cumberland westward. Through the weary winter days they toiled on, and by April were all gathered on the Yohiogany, where boats had been built, and at once started for the Muskingum. Here they arrived on the 7th of that month, and unless the Moravian missionaries be revarded as the pioneers of Ohio, this little band can justly claim that honor, THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 61 Gen. St. Clair, the appointed Governor of the Northwest, not having yet arrived, a set of laws were passed, written out, and published by being nailed to a tree in the embryo town, and Jonathan Meigs appointed to administer them. - Washington in writing of this, the first American settlement in the Northwest, said: ‘No colony in America was ever settled under such favorable auspices as that which has just commenced at Muskingum. Information, property and strength will be its characteristics. I know many of its settlers personally, and there never were men better calcu- lated to promote the welfare of such a community.” A PIONEER DWELLING. On the 2d of July a meeting of the directors and agents was held on the banks of the Muskingum, “for the purpose of naming the new- born city and its squares.” As yet the settlement was known as the “Muskingum,” but that was now changed to the name Marietta, in honor of Marie Antoinette. The square upon which the block - houses stood was called ‘Campus Martius 3 square number 19, ‘‘Capitolium ;” square number 61, “Cecilia ;” and the great road through the covert way, ‘* Sacra Via.” Two days after, an oration was delivered by James M. Varnum, who with S. H. Parsons and John Armstrong had been appointed to the judicial bench of the territory on the 16th of October, 1787. On July 9, Gov. St. Clair arrived, and the colony began to assume form. The act of 1787 provided two district grades of government for the Northwest, 52 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. under the first of which the whole power was invested in the hands of a governor and three district judges. This was immediately formed upon the Governor’s arrival, and the first laws of the colony passed on the 25th of July. These provided for the organization of the militia, and on the next day appeared the Governor’s proclamation, erecting all that country that had been ceded by the Indians east of the Scioto River into the County of Washington. From that time forward, notwithstanding the doubts yet existing as to the Indians, all Marietta prospered, and on the 2d of September the first court of the territory was held with imposing ceremonies. The emigration westward at this time was very great. The com- mander at Fort Harmer, at the mouth of the Muskingum, reported four thousand five hundred persons as having passed that post between Feb- ruary and June, 1788—many of whom would have purchased of the “‘ Associates,” as the New England Company was called, had they been ready to receive them. On the 26th of November, 1787, Symmes issued a pamphlet stating the terms of his contract and the plan of sale he intended to adopt. In January, 1788, Matthias Denman, of New Jersey, took an active interest in Symmes’ purchase, and located among other tracts the sections upon which Cincinnati has been built. Retaining one-third of this locality, he sold the other two-thirds to Robert Patterson and John Filson, and the three, about August, commenced to lay out a town on the spot, which was designated as being opposite Licking River, to the mouth of which they proposed to have a road cut from Lexington. The naming of the town is thus narrated in the ‘“‘Western Annals’ :—‘* Mr. Filson, who had been a schoolmaster, was appointed to name the town, and, in respect to its situation, and as if with a prophetic perception of the mixed race that were to inhabit it in after days, he named it Losantiville, which, being interpreted, means: ville, the town ; anti, against or opposite to ; os, the mouth ; LZ. of Licking.” Meanwhile, in July, Symmes got thirty persons and eight four-horse teams under way for the West. These reached Limestone (now Mays- ville) in September, where were several persons from Redstone. Here Mr. Symmes tried to found a settlement, but the great freshet of 1789 caused the ‘ Point,”’ as it was and is yet called, to be fifteen feet under water, and the settlement to be abandoned. The little band of settlers removed to the mouth of the Miami. Before Symmes and his colony left the ‘ Point,” two settlements had been made on his purchase. The first was by Mr. Stiltes, the original projector of the whole plan, who, with a colony of Redstone people, had located at the mouth of the Miami, whither Symmes went with his Maysville colony. Here a clearing had THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 63 been made by the Indians owing to the great fertility of the soil. Mr. Stiltes with his colony came to this place on the 18th of November, 1788, with twenty-six persons, and, building a block-house, prepared to remain through the Winter. They named the settlement Columbia. Hére they were kindly treated by the Indians, but suffered greatly from the flood of 1789. On the 4th of March, 1789, the Constitution of the United States. went into operation, and on April 30, George Washington was inaug- urated President of the American people, and during the next Summer, an Indian war was commenced by the tribes north of the Ohio. The President at first used pacific means; but these failing, he sent General Harmer against the hostile tribes. He destroyed several villages, but BREAKING PRAIRIE. was defeated in two battles, near the present City of Fort Wayne, Indiana. From this time till the close of 1795, the principal events were the wars with the various Indian tribes. In 1796, General St. Clair was appointed in command, and marched against the Indians; but while he was encamped on a stream, the St. Mary, a branch of the Maumee, he was attacked and defeated with the loss of six hundred men. General Wayne was now sent against the savages. In August, 1794, he met them near the rapids of the Maumee, and gained a complete victory. This success, followed by vigorous measures, compelled the Indians to sue for peace, and on the 30th of July, the following year, the. treaty of Greenville was signed by the principal chiefs, by which a large tract of country was ceded to the United States. Before proceeding in our narrative, we will pause to notice Fort Washington, erected in the early part of this war on the site of Cincinnati. Nearly all of the great cities of the Northwest, and indeed of the o4 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. whole country, have had their nucle? in those rude pioneer structures, known as forts or stockades. Thus Forts Dearborn, Washington, Pon- chartrain, mark the original sites of the now proud Cities of Chicago, Cincinnati and Detroit. So of most of the flourishing cities east and west of the Mississippi. Fort Washington, erected by Doughty in 1790, was a rude but highly interesting structure. It was composed of a number of strongly-built hewed log cabins. Those designed for soldiers’ barracks were a story and a half high, while those composing the officers quarters were more imposing and more conyeniently arranged and furnished. The whole were so placed as to form a hollow square, enclosing about an acre of ground, with a block house at each of the four angles. The logs for the construction of this fort were cut from the ground upon which it was erected. It stood between Third and Fourth Streets of the present city (Cincinnati) extending east of Eastern Row, now Broadway, which was then a narrow alley. and the eastern boundary of of the town as it was originally laid out. On the bank of the river, immediately in front of the fort, was an appendage of the fort, called the Artificer's Yard. It contained about two acres of ground, enclosed by small contiguous buildings, occupied by workshops and quarters of laborers. Within this enclosure there was a large two-story frame house, familiarly called the * Yellow House,” built for the accommodation of the Quartermaster General. For many years this was the best finished and most commodious edifice in the Queen City. Fort Washington was for some time the headquarters of both the civil and military governments of the Northwestern Territory. Following the consummation of the treaty various gigantic land spec- ulations were entered into by different persons. who hoped to obtain from the Indians in Michigan and northern Indiana, large tracts of lands. These were generally discovered in time to prevent the outrageous schemes from being carried out, and from involving the settlers in war. On October 27,1795, the treaty between the United States and Spain was signed, whereby the free navigation of the Mississippi was secured. No sooner had the treaty of 1795 been ratified than settlements began to pour rapidly into the West. The great event of the year 1796 was the occupation of that part of the Northwest including Michigan, which was this year. under the provisions of the treaty, evacuated by the British forces. The United States, owing to certain conditions. did not feel justified in addressing the authorities in Canada in relation to Detroit and other frontier posts. When at last the British authorities were called to give them up, they at once complied, and General W ayne, who had done so much to preserve the frontier settlements. and w ho, before the year’s close, sickened and died near Erie, transferred his head- THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 60 quarters to the neighborhood of the lakes, where a county named after him was formed, which included the northwest of Ohio, all of Michigan, and the northeast of Indiana. During this same year settlements were formed at the present City of Chillicothe, along the Miami from Middle- town to Piqua, while in the more distant West, settlers and speculators began to appear in great numbers. In September, the City of Cleveland was laid out, and during the Summer and Autumn, Samuel Jackson and Jonathan Sharpless erected the first manufactory of paper—the * Red- stone Paper Mill”’—in the West. St. Louis contained some seventy houses. and Detroit over three hundred, and along the river, contiguous to it, were more than three thousand inhabitants. mostly French Canadians, Indians and half-breeds, scarcely any Americans venturing vet into that part of the Northwest. The election of representatives for the territory had taken place, and on the 4th of February, 1799, they convened at Losantiville— now known as Cincinnati, having been named so by Gov. St. Clair, and considered the capital of the Territory—to nominate persons from whom the members of the Legislature were to be chosen in accordance with a previous ordinance. This nomination being made, the Assembly adjourned until the 16th of the following September. From those named the President selected as members of the council, Henry Vandenburg, of Vincennes, Robert Oliver, of Marietta, James Findlay and Jacob Burnett, of Cincinnati. and David Vance, of Vanceville. On the 16th of September the Territorial Legislature met, and on the 24th the two houses were duly organized, Henry Vandenburg being elected President of the Council. The message of Gov. St. Clair was addressed to the Legislature September 20th, and on October 13th that body elected as a delegate to Congress Gen. Wm. Henry Harrison, who received eleven of the votes cast, being a majority of one over his opponent. Arthur St. Clair, son of Gen. St. Clair. The whole number of acts passed at this session, and approved by the Governor, were thirty-seven — eleven others were passed, but received his veto. The most important of those passed related to the militia, to the administration, and to taxation. On the 19th of December this pro- tracted session of the first Legislature in the West was closed, and on the 30th of December the President nominated Charles Willing Bryd to the office of Secretary of the Territory eee Wm. Henry Harrison, elected to Congress. The Senate confirmed his nomination the next day. 66 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. DIVISION OF THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. The increased emigration to the Northwest, the extent of the domain, and the inconvenient modes of travel, made it very difficult to conduct the ordinary operations of government, and rendered the efficient action of courts almost impossible. To remedy this, it was deemed advisable to divide the territory for civil purposes. Congress, in 1800, appointed a committee to examine the question and report some means for its solution. This committee, on the 3d of March, reported that: “In the three western countries there has been but one court having cognizance of crimes, in five years, and the immunity which offenders experience attracts, as to an asylum, the most vile and abandoned crim- inals, and at the same time deters useful citizens from making settlements in such society. The extreme necessity of judiciary attention and assist- ance is experienced in civil as well asin criminal cases. * * * * To minister a remedy to these and other evils, it occurs to this committee that it is expedient that a division of said territory into two distinct and separate governments should be made; and that such division be made by a line beginning at the mouth of the Great Miami River, running directly north until it intersects the boundary between the United States and Canada.” The report was accepted by Congress, and, in accordance with its suggestions, that body passed an Act extinguishing the Northwest Terri- tory, which Act was approved May 7. Among its provisions were these: “That from and after July 4 next, all that part of the Territory of the United States northwest of the Ohio River, which lies to the westward of a line beginning at a point on the Ohio, opposite to the mouth of the Kentucky River, and running thence to Fort Recovery, and thence north until it shall intersect the territorial line between the United States and Canada, shall, for the purpose of temporary government, constitute a separate territory, and be called the Indiana Territory.” After providing for the exercise of the civil and criminal powers of the territories, and other provisions, the Act further provides: “That until it shall otherwise be ordered by the Legislatures of the said Territories, respectively, Chillicothe on the Scioto River shall be the seat of government of the Territory of the United States northwest of the Ohio River; and that St. Vincennes on the Wabash River shall be the seat of government for the Indiana Territory.” Gen. Wm. Henry Harrison was appointed Governor of the Indiana Territory, and entered upon his duties about a year later. Connecticut also about this time released her claims to the reserve, and in March a law THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 67 was passed accepting this cession. Settlements had been made upon thirty-five of the townships in the reserve, mills had been built, and seven hundred miles of road cut in various directions. On the 3d of November the General Assembly met at Chillicothe. Near the close of the year, the first missionary of the Connecticut Reserve came, who found no township containing more than eleven families. It was upon the first of October that the secret treaty had been made between Napoleon and the King of Spain, whereby the latter agreed to cede to France the province of Louisiana. In January, 1802, the Assembly of the Northwestern Territory char- tered the college at Athens. From the earliest dawn of the western colonies, education was promptly provided for, and as early as 1787, newspapers were issued from Pittsburgh and Kentucky, and largely read throughout the frontier settlements. Before the close of this year, the Congress of the United States granted to the citizens of the Northwestern territory the formation of a State government. One of the provisions of the *‘ compact of 1787”’ provided that whenever the number of inhabit- ants within prescribed limits exceeded 45,000, they should be entitled to a separate government. The prescribed limits of Ohio contained, from a census taken to ascertain the legality of the act, more than that number, and on the 30th of April, 1802, Congress passed the act defining its limits, and on the 29th of November the Constitution of the new State of Ohio, so named from the beautiful river forming its southern boundary, came into existence. The exact limits of Lake Michigan were not then known, but the territory now included within the State of Michigan was wholly within the territory of Indiana. Gen. Harrison, while residing at Vincennes, made several treaties with the Indians, thereby gaining large tracts of lands. The next year is memorable in the history of the West for the purchase of Louisiana from France by the United States for $15,000,000. Thus by a peaceful mode, the domain of the United States was extended over a large tract of country west of the Mississippi, and was for a time under the jurisdiction of the Northwest government, and, as has been mentioned in the early part of this narrative, was called the “New Northwest.” The limits of this history will not allow a description of its territory. The same year large grants of land were obtained from the Indians, and the House of Representatives of the new State of Ohio signed a bill respecting the College Township in the district of Cincinnati. Before the close of the year, Gen. Harrison obtained additional grants of lands from the various Indian nations in Indiana and the present limits of Illinois, and on the 18th of August, 1804, completed a treaty at St. Louis, whereby over 51,000,000 acres of lands were obtained from the 68 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. aborigines. Measures were also taken to learn the condition of affairs in and about Detroit. C. Jouett, the Indian agent in Michigan, still a part of Indiana Terri- tory, reported as follows upon the condition of matters at that post: “The Town of Detroit.—The charter, which is for fifteen miles square, was granted in the time of Louis XIV. of France, and is now, from the best information I have been able to get, at Quebec. Of those two hundred and twenty-five acres, only four are occupied by the town and Fort Lenault. The remainder is a common, except twenty-four acres, which were added twenty years ago to a farm belonging to Wm. Macomb. * * * A stockade incloses the town, fort and citadel. The pickets, as well as the public houses, are in a state of gradual decay. The streets are narrow, straight and regular, and intersect each other at right angles. The houses are, for the most part, low and inelegant.”’ During this year, Congress granted a township of land for the sup- port of a college, and began to offer inducements for settlers in these wilds, and the country now comprising the State of Michigan began to fill rapidly with settlers along its southern borders. This same year, also, a law was passed organizing the Southwest Territory, dividing it into two portions, the Territory of New Orleans, which city was made the seat of government, and the District of Louisiana, which was annexed to the domain of Gen. Harrison. On the 11th of January, 1805, the Territory of Michigan was formed, Wm. Hull was appointed governor, with headquarters at Detroit, the change to take effect on June 30. On the 11th of that month, a fire occurred at Detroit, which destroyed almost every building in the place. When the officers of the new territory reached the post, they found it in ruins, and the inhabitants scattered throughout the country. Rebuild- ing, however, soon commenced, and ere long the town contained more houses than before the fire, and many of them much better built. While this was being done, Indiana had passed to the second grade of government, and Pena her General Assembly had obtained large tracts of land from the Thdian tribes. To all this the celebrated Indian, Tecumthe or Tecumseh, vigorously protested, and .it was the main cause of his attempts to unite the various Indian tribes in a conflict with the settlers. To obtain a full account of these attempts, the workings of the British, and the signal failure, culminating in the death of Tecumseh at the battle of the Thames, and the close of the war of 1812 in the Northwest, we will step aside in our story, and relate the principal events of his life, and his connection with this conflict. 69 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY, TECUMSEH, THE SHAWANOE CHIEFTAIN. 70 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. TECUMSEH, AND THE WAR OF 1812. This famous Indian chief was born about the year 1768, not far from the site of the present City of Piqua, Ohio. His father, Puckeshinwa, was a member of the Kisopok tribe of the Swanoese nation, and his mother, Methontaske, was a member of the Turtle tribe of the same people. They removed from Florida about the middle of the last century to the birthplace of Tecumseh. In 1774, his father, who had risen to be chief, was slain at the battle of Point Pleasant, and not long after Tecum- seh, by his bravery, became the leader of his tribe. In 1795 he was declared chief, and then lived at Deer Creek, near the site of the present City of Urbana. He remained here about one year, when he returned to Piqua, and in 1798, he went to White River, Indiana. In 1805, he and his brother, Laulewasikan (Open Door), who had announced himself as a prophet, went to a tract of land on the Wabash River, given them by the Pottawatomies and Kickapoos. From this date the chief comes into prominence. He was now about thirty-seven years of age, was five feet and ten inches in height, was stoutly built, and possessed of enormous powers of endurance. His countenance was naturally pleas- ing, and he was, in general, devoid of those savage attributes possessed by most Indians. It is stated he could read and write, and had a confi- dential secretary and adviser, named Billy Caldwell, a half-breed, who afterward became chief of the Pottawatomies. He occupied the first house built on the site of Chicago. At this time, Tecumseh entered upon the great work of his life. He had long objected to the grants of land made by the Indians to the whites, and determined to unite all the Indian tribes into a league, in order that no treaties or grants of land could be made save by the consent of this confederation. He traveled constantly, going from north to south; from the south to the north, everywhere urging the Indians to this step. He wasa matchless orator, and his burning words had their effect. Gen. Harrison, then Governor of Indiana, by watching the move- ments of the Indians, became convinced that a grand conspiracy was forming, and made preparations to defend the settlements. Tecumseh’s plan was similar to Pontiac’s, elsewhere described, and to the cunning artifice of that chieftain was added his own sagacity. During the year 1809, Tecumseh and the prophet were actively pre- paring for the work. In that year, Gen. Harrison entered into a treaty with the Delawares, Kickapoos, Pottawatomies, Miamis, Eel River Indians. and Weas, in which these tribes ceded to the whites certain lands upon the Wabash, to all of which Tecumseh entered a bitter protest, averring THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 71 as one principal reason that he did not want the Indians to give up any lands north and west of the Ohio River. Tecumseh, in August, 1810, visited the General at Vincennes and held a council relating to the grievances of the Indians. Becoming unduly angry at this conference he was dismissed from the village, and soon after departed to incite the southern Indian tribes to the conflict. Gen. Harrison determined to move upon the chief’s headquarters_at Tippecanoe, and for this purpose went about sixty-five miles up the Wabash, where he built Fort Harrison. From this place he went to the prophet’s town, where he informed the Indians he had no hostile inten- tions, provided they were true to the existing treaties. He encamped near the village early in October, and on the morning of November 7, he was attacked by a large force of the Indians, and the famous battle of Tippecanoe occurred. The Indians were routed and their town broken up. Tecumseh returning not long after, was greatly exasperated at his brother, the prophet, even threatening to kill him for rashly precipitating the war, and foiling his (Tecumseh’s) plans. Tecumseh sent word to Gen. Harrison that he was now returned from the South, and was ready to visit the President as had at one time previously been proposed. Gen. Harrison informed him he could not go as a chief, which method Tecumseh desired, and the visit was never made. In June of the following year, he visited the Indian agent at Fort Wayne. Here he disavowed any intention to make a war against the United States, and reproached Gen. Harrison for marching against his people. The agent replied to this; Tecumseh listened with a cold indif- ference, and after making a few general remarks, with a haughty air drew his blanket about him, left the council house, and departed for Fort Mal- den, in Upper Canada, where he joined the British standard. He remained under this Government, doing effective work for the Crown while engaged in the war of 1812 which now opened. He was, however, always humane in his treatment of the prisoners, never allow- ing his warriors to ruthlessly mutilate the bodies of those slain, or wan- tonly murder the captive. In the Summer of 1813, Perry’s victory on Lake Erie occurred, and shortly after active preparations were made to capture Malden. On the 27th of September, the American army, under Gen. Harrison, set sail for the shores of Canada, and in a few hours stood around the ruins of Mal- den, from which the British army, under Proctor, had retreated to Sand- wich, intending to make its way to the heart of Canada by the Valley of the Thames. On the 29th Gen. Harrison was at Sandwich, and Gen. McArthur took possession of Detroit and the territory of Michigan. 72 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. On the 2d of October, the Americans began their pursuit of Proctor, whom they overtook on the 5th, and the battle of the Thames followed. Early in the engagement, Tecumseh who was at the head of the column of Indians was slain, and they, no longer hearing the voice of their chief- tain, fled. The victory was decisive, and practically closed the war in the Northwest. La —— ADE INDIANS ATTACKING A STOCKADE, Just who killed the great chief has been a matter of much dispute; but the weight of opinion awards the act to Col. Richard M. Johnson, who fired at him with a pistol, the shot proving fatal. In 1805 occurred Burr’s Insurrection. He took possession of a beautiful island in the Ohio, after the killing of Hamilton, and is charged by many with attempting to set up an independent government. His plans were frustrated hy the general government, his property confiscated and he was compelled to flee the country for safety. THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 73 In January, 1807, Governor Hull, of Michigan Territory, made a treaty with the Indians, whereby all that peninsula was ceded to the United States. Before the close of the year, a stockade was built about Detroit. It was also during this year that Indiana and Illinois endeavored to obtain the repeal of that section of the compact of 1787, whereby slavery was excluded from the Northwest Territory. These attempts, however, all signally failed. In 1809 it was deemed advisable to divide the Indiana Territory. This was done, and the Territory of Illinois was formed from the western part, the seat of government being fixed at Kaskaskia. The next year, the intentions of Tecumseh manifested themselves in open hostilities. and then began the events already narrated. While this war was in progress, emigration to the West went on with surprising rapidity. In 1811, under Mr. Roosevelt of New York, the first steamboat trip was made on the Ohio, much to the astonishment of the natives, many of whom fled in terror at the appearance of the ‘*monster.”’ It arrived at Louisville on the 10th day of October. At the close of the first week of January, 1812, it arrived at Natchez, after being nearly overwhelmed in the great earthquake which occurred while on its downward trip. The battle of the Thames was fought on October 6, 1813. It effectually closed hostilities in the Northwest, although peace was not fully restored until July 22, 1814, when a treaty was formed at Green- ville, under the direction of General Harrison, between the United States and the Indian tribes, in which it was stipulated that the Indians should cease hostilities against the Americans if the war were continued. Such, happily, was not the case, and on the 24th of December the treaty of Ghent was signed by the representatives of England and the United States. This treaty was followed the next year by treaties with various Indian tribes throughout the West and Northwest, and quiet was again restored in this part of the new world. On the 18th of March, 1816, Pittsburgh was incorporated as a city. It then had a population of 8,000 people, and was already noted for its manufacturing interests. On April 19, Indiana Territory was allowed to form a state government. At that time there were thirteen counties organized, containing about sixty-three thousand inhabitants. The first election of state officers was held in August, when Jonathan Jennings was chosen Governor. The officers were sworn in on November 7, and on December 11, the State was formally admitted into the Union. For some time the seat of government was at Corydon, but a more central location being desirable, the present capital, Indianapolis (City of Indiana), was laid out January 1, 1825. T4 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. On the 28th of December the Bank of Illinois, at Shawneetown, was chartered, with a capital of $300,000. At this period all banks were under the control of the States, and were allowed to establish branches at different convenient points. Until this time Chillicothe and Cincinnati had in turn enjoyed the privileges of being the capital of Ohio. But the rapid settlement of the northern and eastern portions of the State demanded, as in Indiana, a more central location, and before the close of the year, the site of Col- umbus was selected and surveyed as the future capital of the State. Banking had begun in Ohio as early as 1808, when the first bank was chartered at Marietta, but here as elsewhere it did not bring to the state the hoped-for assistance. It and other banks were subsequently unable to redeem their currency, and were obliged to suspend. In 1818, Illinois was made a state, and all the territory north of her northern limits was erected into a separate territory and joined to Mich- igan for judicial purposes. By the following year, navigation of the lakes was increasing with great rapidity and affording an immense source of revenue to the dwellers in the Northwest, but it was not until 1826 that the trade was extended to Lake Michigan, or that steamships began to navigate the bosom of that inland sea. Until the year 1832, the commencement of the Black Hawk War, but few hostilities were experienced with the Indians. Roads were opened, canals were dug, cities were built, common schools were estab- lished, universities were founded, many of which, especially the Michigan University, have achieved a world wide-reputation. The people were becoming wealthy. The domains of the United States had been extended, and had the sons of the forest been treated with honesty and justice, the record of many years would have been that of peace and continuous pros- perity. BLACK HAWK AND THE BLACK HAWK WAR. This conflict, though confined to Ilinois, is an important epoch in the Northwestern history, being the last war with the Indians in this part of the United States. Ma-ka-tai-me-she-kia-kiah, or Black Hawk, was born.in the principal Sac village, about three miles from the junction of Rock River with the Mississippi, in the year 1767. His father’s name was Py-e-sa or Pahaes; his grandfather’s, Na-na-ma-kee, or the Thunderer. Black Hawk early distinguished himself as a warrior, and at the age of fifteen was permitted to paint and was ranked among the braves. About the year 1783, he went on an expedition against the enemies of his nation, the Osages, one THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. = L) INE BLACK ITAWK, THE SAC CHIEFTAIN. 15 76 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. of whom he killed and scalped, and for this deed of Indian bravery he was permitted to join in the scalp dance. Three or four years after he, at the head of two hundred braves, went on another expedition against the Osages, to avenge the murder of some women and children belonging to his own tribe. Meeting an equal number of Osage warriors, a fierce battle ensued, in which the latter tribe lost one-half their number. The Sacs lost only about nineteen warriors. He next attacked the Cherokees for a similar cause. In a severe battle with them, near the present City of St. Louis, his father was slain, and Black Hawk, taking possession of the *“‘ Medicine Bag,” at once announced himself chief of the Sac nation. He had now conquered the Cherokees, and about the year 1800, at the head of five hundred Sacs and Foxes, and a hundred Iowas, he waged war against the Osage nation and subdued it. For two years he battled successfully with other Indian tribes, all of whom he conquered. Black Hawk does not at any time seem to have been friendly to the Americans. When on a visit to St. Louis to see his ‘‘ Spanish Father,” he declined to see any of the Americans, alleging, as a reason, he did not want two fathers. The treaty at St. Louis was consummated in 1804. The next year the United States Government erected a fort near the head of the Des Moines Rapids, called Fort Edwards. This seemed to enrage Black Hawk, who at once determined to capture Fort Madison, standing on the west side of the Mississippi above the mouth of the Des Moines River. The fort was garrisoned by about fifty men. Here he was defeated. The difficulties with the British Government arose about this time, and the War of 1812 followed. That government, extending aid to the Western Indians, by giving them arms and ammunition, induced them to remain hostile to the Americans. In August, 1812, Black Hawk, at the head of about five hundred braves, started to join the British forces at Detroit, passing on his way the site of Chicago, where the famous Fort Dearborn Massacre hac.a few days before occurred. Of his connection with the British ‘vcvernment but little is known. In 1813 he with his little band descended the Mississippi, and attacking some United States troops at Fort Howard was defeated. In the early part of 1815, the Indian tribes west of the Mississippt were notified that peace had been declared between the United States and England, and nearly all hostilities had ceased. Black Hawk did not sign any treaty, however, until May of the following year. He then recog- nized the validity of the treaty at St. Louis in 1804. From the time of signing this treaty in 1816, until the breaking out of the war in 1832, he and his band passed their time in the common pursuits of Indian life. Ten years before the commencement of this war, the Sac and Fox THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 717 Indians were urged to join the Iowas on the west bank of the Father of Waters. All were agreed, save the band known as the British Band, of which Black Hawk was leader. He strenuously objected to the removal, and was induced to comply only after being threatened with the power of the Government. This and various actions on the part of the white set- tlers provoked Black Hawk and his band to attempt the capture of his native village now occupied by the whites. The war followed. He and his actions were undoubtedly misunderstood, and had his wishes been acquiesced in at the beginning of the struggle, much bloodshed would have been prevented. Black Hawk was chief now of the Sac and Fox nations, anda noted warrior. He and his tribe inhabited a village on Rock River, nearly three miles above its confluence with the Mississippi, where the tribe had lived many generations. When that portion of Illinois was, reserved to them,. they remained in peaceable possession of their reservation, spending their time in the enjoyment of Indian life. The fine situation of their village and the quality of their lands incited the more lawless white settlers, who from time to time began to encroach upon the red men’s domain. From one pretext to another, and from one step to another, the crafty white men gained a foothold, until through whisky and artifice they obtained deeds from many of the Indians for their possessions. The Indians were finally induced to cross over the Father of Waters and locate among the Iowas. Black Hawk was strenuously opposed to all this, but as the authorities of Illinois and the United States thought this the best move, he was forced to comply. Moreover other tribes joined the whites and urged the removal. Black Hawk would not agree to the terms of the treaty made with his nation for their lands, and as soon as the military, called to enforce his removal, had retired, he returned to the Illinois side of the river. A large force was at once raised and marched against him. On the evening of May 14, 1832, the first engagement occurred between a band from this army and Black Hawk’s band, in which the former were defeated. This attack and its result aroused the whites. A large force of men was raised, and Gen. Scott hastened from the seaboard, by way of the lakes, with United States troops and artillery to aid in the subjugation of the Indians. On the 24th of June, Black Hawk, with 200 warriors, was repulsed by Major Demont between Rock River and Galena. The Ameri- can army continued to move up Rock River toward the main body of the Indians, and on the 21st of July came upon Black Hawk and his band, and defeated them near the Blue Mounds. Before this action, Gen. Henry, in command, sent word to the main army by whom he was immediately rejoined, and the whole crossed the 78 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. Wisconsin in pursuit of Black Hawk and his band who were fleeing to the Mississippi. They were overtaken on the 2d of August, and in the battle which followed the power of the Indian chief was completely broken. He fled, but was seized by the Winnebagoes and delivered to the whites. On the 21st of September, 1832, Gen. Scott and Gov. Reynolds con- cluded a treaty with the Winnebagoes, Sacs and Foxes by which they ceded to the United States a vast tract of country, and agreed to remain peaceable with the whites. For the faithful performance of the provi- sions of this treaty on the part of the Indians, it was stipulated that Black Hawk, his two sons, the prophet Wabokieshiek, and six other chiefs of the hostile bands should be retained as hostages during the pleasure of the President. They were confined at Fort Barracks and put in irons. The next Spring, by order of the Secretary of War, they were taken to Washington. From there they were removed to Fortress Monroe, “there to remain until the conduct of their nation was such as to justify their being set at liberty.’ They were retained here until the 4th of June, when the authorities directed them to be taken to the principal cities so that they might see the folly of contending against the white people. Everywhere they were observed by thousands, the name of the old chief being extensively known. By the middle of August they reached Fort Armstrong on Rock Island, where Black Hawk was soon after released to go tohis countrymen. As he passed the site of his birth- place, now the home of the white man, he was deeply moved. His village where he was born, where he had so happily lived, and where he had hoped to die, was now another's dwelling place, and he was a wanderer. On the next day after his release, he went at once to his tribe and his lodge. His wife was yet living, and with her he passed the remainder of his days. To his credit it may be said that Black Hawk always re- mained true to his wife, and served her with a devotion uncommon among the Indians, living with her upward of forty years. Black Hawk now passed his time hunting and fishing. A deep mel- ancholy had settled over him from which he could not be freed. At all times when he visited the whites he was received with marked atten- tion. He was an honored guest at the old settlers’ reunion in Lee County, Hlinois, at some of their meetings, and received many tokens of esteem. In September, 1838, while on his way to Rock Island to receive his annuity from the Government, he contracted a severe cold which resulted in a fatal attack of bilious fever which terminated his life on October 3. His faithful wife, who was devotedly attached to him, mourned deeply during his sickness. After his death he was dressed in the uniform pre- sented to him by the President while in Washington. He was buried in a@ grave six feet in depth, situated upon a beautiful eminence. ‘+ The THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. TS body was placed in the middle of the grave, in a sitting posture, upon a seat constructed for the purpose. On his left side, the cane, given him by Henry Clay, was placed upright, with his right hand resting upon it. Many of the old warrior’s trophies were placed in the grave, and some Indian garments, together with his favorite weapons.” No sooner was the Black Hawk war concluded than settlers began rapidly to pour into the northern parts of Illinois, and into Wisconsin, now free from Indian depredations. Chicago, from a trading post, had grown to a commercial center, and was rapidly coming into prominence. In 1835, the formation of a State Government in Michigan was discussed, but did not take active form until two years later, when the State became a part of the Federal Union. The main attraction to that portion of the Northwest lying west of Lake Michigan, now included in the State of Wisconsin, was its alluvial wealth. Copper ore was found about Lake Superior. For some time this region was attached to Michigan for judiciary purposes, but in 1836 was. made a territory, then including Minnesota and Iowa. The latter State was detached two years later. In 1848, Wisconsin was admitted as a State, Madison being made the capital. We have now traced the various divisions of the Northwest Territory (save a little in Minnesota) from the time it was a unit comprising this vast territory, until circumstances. compelled its present division. OTHER INDIAN TROUBLES. Before leaving this part of the narrative, we will narrate briefly the Indian troubles in Minnesota and elsewhere by the Sioux Indians. In August, 1862, the Sioux Indians living on the western borders of Minnesota fell upon the unsuspecting settlers, and in a few hours mas- sacred ten or twelve hundred persons. A distressful panic was the immediate result, fully thirty thousand persons fleeing from their homes to districts supposed to be better protected. The military authorities. at once took active measures to punish the savages, and a large number were killed and captured. About a year after, Little Crow, the chief, was killed by a Mr. Lampson near Scattered Lake. Of those captured, thirty were hung at Mankato, and the remainder, through fears of mob violence, were removed to Camp McClellan, on the outskirts of the City of Davenport. It was here that Big Eagle came into prominence and secured his release by the following order : THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 89 BIG EAGLE. THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 81 “Special Order, No. 430. * Warn DEPARTMENT, * ADJUTANT GENERAL’S OFFICE, WASHINGTON, Dec. 3, 1864. ‘Big Eagle, an Indian now in confinement at Davenport, Iowa, will, upon the receipt of this order, be immediately released from confine- ment and set at liberty. ‘“« By order of the President of the United States. *¢ Official : “KE. D. TownsEenp, Ass’t Ady’t Gen. ‘“Capr. JAMES VANDERVENTER, Com'y Sub. Vols. “Through Com’g Gen’l, Washington, D. C.” Another Indian who figures more prominently than Big Eagle, and who was more cowardly in his nature, with his band of Modoc Indians, is noted in the annals of the New Northwest: we refer to Captain Jack. This distinguished Indian, noted for his cowardly murder of Gen. Canby, was a chief of a Modoe tribe of Indians inhabiting the border lands between California and Oregon. This region of country comprises what is known as the “‘ Lava Beds.” a tract of land described as utterly impene- trable, save by those savages who had made it their home. The Modoes are known as an exceedingly fierce and treacherous race. They had, according to their own traditions, resided here for many generations, and at one time were exceedingly numerous and powerful. A famine carried off nearly half their numbers, and disease, indolence and the vices of the white man have reduced them to a poor, weak and insignificant tribe. Soon after the settlement of California and Oregon, complaints began to be heard of massacres of emigrant trains passing through the Modoc country. In 1847, an emigrant train, comprising eighteen souls, was en- tirely destroyed at a place since known as ‘“ Bloody Point.” These occur- rences caused the United States Government to appoint a peace commission, who, after repeated attempts, in 1864, made a treaty with the Modocs, Snakes and Klamaths, in which it was agreed on their part to remove to a reservation set apart for them in the southern part of Oregon. With the exception of Captain Jack and a band of his followers, who remained at Clear Lake, about six miles from Klamath, all the Indians complied. The Modocs who went to the reservation were under chief Schonchin. Captain Jack remained at the lake without disturbance until 1869, when he was also induced to remove to the reservation. The Modocs and the Klamaths soon became involved in a quarrel, and Captain Jack and his band returned to the Lava Beds. Several attempts were made by the Indian Commissioners to induce them to return to the reservation, and finally becoming involved in a 82 THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. difficulty with the commissioner and his military escort, a fight ensued, in which the chief and his band were routed. They were greatly enraged, and on their retreat, before the day closed, killed eleven inoffensive whites. The nation was aroused and immediate action demanded. We eS WH ROO’ POH LO RODMOHHOHOS ROO PDO AIWMHWAIWOWOHENIRQNWKKODUIWWSD SAI IH CHOTO AGW Calhoun Carroll... Gass matin ampaig Christian wor Montgomery Morgan.... Moultrie 3 DOI AOD WIS wo DWH eH HHH oSwHHwecww PDK AR BROWOOS EBOIAIAOL PE Grundy . Hamilton.. Hancock Hardin.... Henderson Henry.... LIroquois. Jackson Jasper Jetferso Jersey... Jo Daviess. Johuson .. St. Clair ... Stephenson.. Tazewell... Union... .. i 4 2 3 R ies QB WORM EB COMI HCO ROD PAIDWMNO IMA WOOD IHOOMDOORWHSODUIKCHAD » abash.. Warren. Washingt Wayne White.... Whiteside.. Will wars eo Williamson.. Winnebago... Woodford ... MOC) cic8 As soatinenes 275958|257099|16951/130.157 MIRNA OI HOT RINT OOK MHOC DH HO LOO Be HW WOKPRNOKH AON DODDSOOOWHOWONAWU-RQH OTN Bw np =H oS coor Lawrence. Lee ete : OF Oe Practica, Rutes ror Every Day Use. How to find the gain or loss per cent. when the cost and selling price are given. RuLE.—Find the difference between the cost and selling price, which will be the gain or loss. Annex two ciphers to the gain or loss, and divide it by the cost price ; the result will be the gain or loss per cent. How to change gold into currency. RuLe.—Multiply the given sum of gold by the price of gold. How to change currency into goid. - Divide the amount in currency by the price of gold. How to find each partner's share of the gain or loss in a copartnership business. Ruue.—Divide the whole gain or loss by the entire stock, the quo- tient will be the gain or loss per cent. Multiply each partner’s stock by this per cent., the result will be each one’s share of the gain or loss. How to find gross and net weight and price of hogs. A short and simple method for finding the net weight, or price of hogs, when the gross weight or price is given, and vice versa. NoTE. —It is generally assumed that the gross weight of Hogs diminished by 1-5 or 20 per cent. of itself gives the net weight, and the net weight increased ly 4 or 25 per cent. of itself equals the Zross weight. To find the net weight or gross price. Multiply the given number by .8 (tenths.) To find the gross weight or net price. Divide the given number by .8 (tenths.) How to find the capacity of a granary, bin, or wagon-bed. Ruie.—Multiply (by short method) the number of cubic feet by 6308, and point off oNE decimal place—the result will be the correct answer in bushels and tenths of a bushel. For only an approximate answer, multiply the cubic feet by 8, and point off one decimal place. How to find the contents of a corn-crib. Rute.—Multiply the number of cubic feet by 54, short method, or (207) ’ 208 MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION. by 44 ordinary method, and point off onr decimal place—the result will be the answer in bushels. Nore.—In estimating corn in the ear, the quality and the time it has been cribbed must be taken into consideration, since corn will shrink considerably during the Winter and Spring. This rule generally holds good for corn measured ut the time it is cribbed, provided it is sound and clean. How to find the contents of a cistern or tank. Rvuie.—Multiply the syuare of the mean diameter by the depth (all in feet) and this product by 5681 (short method), and point off onE decimal place—the result will be the contents in barrels of 312 gallons. How to find the contents of a barrel or cask. Ru._e.—Under the square of the mean diameter, write the length (all in inches) in REVERSED order, so that its UNITS will fall under the TENS; multiply by short method, and this product again by 480; point off one decimal place, and the result will be the answer in wine gallons. How to measure boards. RvuLe.—Multiply the length Cn feet) by the width Gn inches) and divide the product by 12—the result will be the contents in square feet. How to measure scantlings, joists, planks, sills, ete. RuLe.—Multiply the width, the thickness, and the length together (the width and thickness in inches, and the length in feet), and divide the product by 12—the result will be square feet. How to find the number of acres in a body of land. RuLe.—Multiply the length by the width (in rods), and divide the product by 160 (carrying the division to 2 decimal places if there isa remainder) ; the result will be the answer in acres and hundredths. When the opposite sides of a piece of land are of unequal length, ‘add them together and take one-half for the mean length or width. How to find the number of square yards in a floor or wail. RouLye.—Multiply the length by the width or height (in feet), and divide the product by 9, the result will be square yards. How to find the number of bricks required in a building. RuLe.—Multiply the number of cubie feet by 224. The number of cubic feet is found by multiplying the length, height and thickness (in feet) together. Bricks are usually made S inches long, + inches wide, and two inches thick ; hence, it requires 27 bricks to make a cubic foot without mortar, but it is generally assumed that the mortar fills 1-6 of the space. How to find the number of shingles required in a roof. RuLe.—Multiply the number of square feet in the roof by 8, if the shingles are exposed 44 inches, or by 7 1-5 if exposed 5 inches. To find the number of syuare feet, multiply the length of the roof by twice the length of the rafters. MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION. 209 To find the length of the rafters, at ONE-FOURTH pitch, multiply the width of the building by .56 (hundredths); at ONE-THIRD pitch, by .6 (tenths) ; at TWO-FIFTHS pitch, by .64 (hundredths); at ONE-HALF pitch, by .71 (hundredths). This gives the length of the rafters from the apex to the end of the wall, and whatever they are to project must be taken into consideration. NOTE.—By \ or }¢ pitch is meant that the apex or comb of the roof is to be ¥ or g the width of the building higher than the walls or base of the rafters. How to reckon the cost of hay. ReLe.—Multiply the number of pounds by half the price per ton, and remove the decimal point three places to the left. How to measure grain. RuLE.—Level the grain; ascertain the space it occupies in cubic feet; multiply the number of cubic feet by 8, and point off one place to the left. NOTE.—Exactness requires the addition to every three hundred bushels of one extra bushel. The foregoing rule may be used for finding the number of gallons, by wultiplying the number of bushels by 8. If the corn in the box is in the ear, divide the answer by 2, to find the number of bushels of shelled corn, because it requires 2 bushels of ear corn to make 1 of shelled corn. Rapid rules for measuring land without instruments. In measuring land, the first thing to ascertain is the contents of any given plot in square yards; then, given the number of yards, find out the number of rods and acres. The most ancient and simplest measure of distance is a step. Now, an ordinary-sized man can train himself to cover one yard at a stride, on the average, with sufficient accuracy for ordinary purposes. To make use of this means of measuring distances, it is essential to walk in a straight line; to do this, fix the eye on two objects in a line straight ahead, one comparatively near, the other remote; and, in walk- ing, keep these objects constantly in line. Farmers and others by adopting the following simple and ingenious con- trivance, may always carry with them the scale to construct a correct yard measure. Take a foot rule, and commencing at the base of the little finger of the left hand, mark the quarters of the foot on the outer borders of the left arm, pricking in the marks with indelible ink. To find how many rods in length will make an acre, the width being given. RuLE.—Divide 160 by the width, and the quotient will be the answer. 210 MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION. How to find the number of acres in any plot of land, the number of rods being given. Rue.—Divide the number of rods by 8, multiply the quotient by 5, and remove the decimal point two places to the left. The diameter being given, to find the circumference. Rvuie.—Multiply the diameter by 3 1-7. How to find the diameter, when the circumference is given. Ru.e.—Divide the circumference by 3 1-7. To find how many solid feet a round stick of timber of the same thick- ness throughout will contain when squared. Ruie.—Square half the diameter in inches, multiply by 2, multiply by the length in feet, and divide the product by 144. General rule for measuring timber, to find the solid contents in feet. Rute.—Multiply the depth in inches by the breadth in inches, and then multiply by the length in feet, and divide by 144. To find the number of feet of timber in trees with the bark on. Rute.—Multiply the square of one-fifth of the circumferénce in inches, by twice the length, in feet, and divide by *44. Deduct 1-10 to 1-15 according to the thickness of the bark. Howard's new rule for computing interest. Ruie.—The reciprocal of the rate is the time for which the interest on any sum of money will be shown by simply removing the decimal point two places to the left; for ten times that time, remove the point one place to the left; for 1-10 of the same time, remove the point three places to the left. Increase or diminish the results to suit the time given. NorTe.—The reciprocal of the rate isfound by inverting the rate; thus 3 per cent. per month, in- verted, becomes ¥ of a month, or 10 days. When the rate is expressed by one figure, always write it thus: 8-1, three ones. Rule for converting English into American currency. Multiply the pounds, with the shillings and pence stated in decimals, by 400 plus the premium in fourths, and divide the product by 90. U. S. GOVERNMENT LAND MEASURE. A township—36 sections each a mile square. A section—640 acres. A quarter section, half a mile square—160 acres. An eighth section, half a mile long, north and south, and a quarter of a mile wide—80 acres. A sixteenth section, a quarter of a mile square—40 acres. MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION. 211 The sections are all numbered 1 to 36, commencing at the north-east corner, The sections are divided into quarters, which are named by the cardinal points. The quarters are divided in the same way. The de- scription of a forty acre lot would read: The south half of the west half of the south-west quarter of section 1 in township 24, north of range 7 west, or as the case might be; and sometimes will fall short and sometimes overrun the number of acres itis supposed to contain. The nautical mile is 795 4-5 feet longer than the common mile. SURVEYORS’ MEASURE. T G23 OOM GSS ieke cate coved eieces aasaeti ewanane Seavaneseeernoe ee eRe aee Eat make 1 link. Sy AT Se ences cys eid erence need a treater Ae neato che Teena “1 rod. EET Séeeses cess coeve Atecec ones eee sora: seat gate saans catne gutoumn eaten eta te adie “© 1 chain. SSG Eat Ss oe C2 e Rr es eee a I, RS BOT ANIA RO meee Oe * J mile. Notre.—A chain is 100 links, equal to 4 rods or 66 feet. Shoemakers formerly used a subdivision of the inch called a barley- corn; three of which made an inch. Horses are measured directly over the fore feet, and the standard of measure is four inches—called a hand. In Biblical and other old measurements, the term span is sometimes used, which is a length of nine inches. The sacred cubit of the Jews was 24.024 inches in length. The common cubit of the Jews was 21.704 inches in length. A pace is equal to a yard or 36 inches. A fathom is equal to 6 feet. A league is three miles, but its length is variable, for it is strictly speaking a nautical term, and should be three geographical miles, equal to 8.45 statute miles, but when used on land, three statute miles are said to be a league. In cloth measure an aune is equal to 14 yards, or 44 inches. An Amsterdam ell is equal to 26.796 inches. A Trieste ell is equal to 25,284 inches. A Brabant ell is equal to 27.116 inches. HOW TO KEEP ACCOUNTS. Every farmer and mechanic, whether he does much or little business, should keep a record of his transactions in a clear and systematic man- ner. For the benefit of those who have not had the opportunity of ac- quiring a primary knowledge of the principles of book-keeping, we here present a simple form of keeping accounts which is easily comprehended, and well adapted to record the business transactions of farmers, mechanics and laborers. 212 MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION. 1875. A. H. JACKSON. Dr. Cr. Jan. 10/To 7 bushels Wheat_____--..2-----2 2 _- at $1.25) $8/75 «“ 17/By shoeing span of Horses__._--....-.-------__-. $250 Feb. 4/To 14 bushels Oats.__..........-----_22_- at $ .45 6/30 ee AVES © ost Butter. 2. 25 onan auw oeceuenc S502 52 at = .25 1)25 March: 8|\By néw Harrow. oo 2.4). sc.c8 2 ok cemiss ee a-ek 18]00 te 8|By sharpening 2 Plows._-......_..----..-----.-- 40 eh 13 By new: Double [Tees Jacl e See toe Je eee ee eee 2)25 ic Fo: Cow and ‘Calf. 2. cx ck ca pe diee tees Soc es eee 48/00 worl. -O\ne: half tonvok Hay Aes ie Sete be po 6)25 os OF Bay Cas Niseko oleae dead eal atl eae eae ot ea | 25/00 May 6|By repairing Corn-Planter.__..-_.--......2.- 2 _- | AIT “ 24/To one Sow with Pigs.__.....---.------2 e+e eee. 17|50) July 4|By Cash, to balance account..-_.....-.....--.---- | 3d}15 $88)05|' $88/05 1875. CASSA MASON. Dr. Cr. March 21)By 3 days’ labor..._...---.--- -.-----__-. at $1.25 $3)05 BC LE Oe NOR 0S an occ ms eee aes Soe ets at 3.00) $6)00 “© 23/To 18 bushels Corn____--..-..2---222_-_- at 45) 810 May 1\By 1 month’s Labor..___._.--..222222222222- 22. 25)00 ITo Cash._.__--.....-- See cla te mee ce cc 10.00 June 19|By 8 days’ Mowing_._-._-_.----.-.-2222.-- at $1.50 12|00 “ 26/To 50 Ibs. Flour.......22..2222222-222-2--_2 2 L. Q\75 July 10/To 27 Ibs. Meat...--2 =. at $ 10) 270 “ 29|By 9 days’ Harvesting____-----._.----.__.. at 2.00 1800 Aug. 12/By 6 days’ Labor._.__.--.....----2.222-_.at 1.50 9100 BOS Ro Cashy seit ao uate Hh ah tes ance em rerererntciete otaneteetiaess 20.00 Sept. 1/To Cash to balance account............._.--_._. 18)20 867/75) S67 75 INTEREST TABLE. A SIMPLE RULE FOR ACCURATELY COMPUTING INTEREST AT ANY GIVEN PER CENT. FOR LENGTH OF TIME, Multiply the principal (amount of money at interest) by the time reduced to duys; then divide thi duct by the quotient obtained by dividing 360 (the number of days in the interest yearly the per nents of interest, and the quotient thus obtained will be the required interest. : . ILLUSTRATION, Solution. Require the interest of $462.50 for one month and eighteen days at 6 percent. An $462.50 -48 ANY interest month is 30 days; one month and eighteen days equal 48 days. $462.50 multi- lied by .48 gives $222 0000; 360 divided by 6 (the per cent, of interest) gives 60, and poems 222.0000 divided by 60 will give you the exact interest, which is $3.70. Ifthe rate of 370000 interest in the above example were 12 per cent. we would divide the $222.0000 by 30 6)360 185000 (because 360 divided by 12 gives 30); if 4 per cent., we would divide by 90; if 8 per ) cent., by 45: and in like manner for any otber per cent. 60 / $222.0000: $3 70 180 “420 420 00 MISCELLANEOUS TABLE, ' 12 units, or things, 1 Dozen. | 196 pounds, 1 Barrel of Flour, | 24 sheets of pape ire. 12 dozen, 1 Gross. 200 pounds, 1 Barrel of Pork. | 20 quires paper fee 20 things, 1 Score. 56 pounds, 1 Firkin of Butter. | 4 ft. wide, 4 ft. high, and 8 ft. long, 1 Cord Wood. MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION. 213 NAMES OF THE STATES OF THE UNION, AND THEIR SIGNIFICATIONS. Virginia.—The oldest of the States, was so called in honor of Queen Elizabeth, the “ Virgin Queen,” in whose reign Sir Walter Raleigh made his first attempt to colonize that region. Florida.—Ponce de Leon landed on the coast of Florida on Easter Sunday, and called the country in commemoration of the day, which was the Pasqua Florida of the Spaniards, or ** Feast of Flowers.” Louisiana was called after Louis the Fourteenth, who at one time owned that section of the country. Alabama was so named by the Indians, and signifies ‘* Here we Rest.” Mississippi is likewise an Indian name, meaning ‘‘ Long River.” arkansas, from Kansas, the Indian word for ‘‘smoky water.” Its prefix was really arc, the French word for ‘* bow.” The Carolinas were originally one tract, and were called ‘‘Carolana,”’ after Charles the Ninth of France. Georgia owes its name to George the Second of England, who first established a colony there in 1732. Tennessee is the Indian name for the “ River of the Bend,” 7. e., the ‘Mississippi which forms its western boundary. Kentucky is the Indian name for ‘‘ at the head of the river.” Ohio means * beautiful ;”’ Jowa, ‘‘ drowsy ones ;”’ Minnesota, ** cloudy ‘water,’ and Wisconsin, ‘‘ wild-rushing channel.” Tllinots ig derived from the Indian word ?llin7, men, and the French suffix ois, together signifying ‘tribe of men.”’ Michigan was called by the name given the lake, fish-weir, which was so styled from its fancied resemblance to a fish trap. Missouri is from the Indian word “muddy,” which more properly applies to the river that flows through it. ' Oregon owes its Indian name also to its principal river. Cortes named California. Massachusetts is the Indian for ** The country around the great hills.” Connecticut, from the Indian Quon-ch-ta-Cut, signifying ‘“ Long River.” Maryland, after Henrietta Maria, Queen of Charles the First, of England. New York was named by the Duke of York. Pennsylvania means ‘ Penn’s woods,’’ and was so called after William Penn, its orignal owner. 214 MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION. Delaware after Lord De La Ware. New Jersey, so called in honor of Sir George Carteret, who was. Governor of the Island of Jersey, in the British Channel. Maine was called after the province of Maine in France, in compli-~ ment of Queen Henrietta of England, who owned that province. Vermont, from the Mountain. New Hampshire, from Hampshire county in England. formerly called Laconia. French word Vert Mont, signifying Green It was. The little State of Rhode Island owes its name to the Island of Rhodes in the Mediterranean, which domain it is said to greatly resemble. Texas is the American word for the Mexican name by which all that section of the country was called before it was ceded to the United States.. POPULATION OF THE UNITED STATES. Total STATES AND TERRITORIES. Population. Alabama 996, 992 Arkansa 484,471 California 560,247 Connecticut 537,454 Delaware... 125,015 Florida... ‘i 18h fae Georgia... 5 % Silinols.. 21539;891 Indiana 1,680,637 1,191,792 364,399 1,321,011 726,915 626,915 780,894 1,457,351 1,184,059 439.706 827,922 1,721,295 122,993 42,491 318.300 New Jersey... 906,096 New York. .. 4,382.759 North Carolina. 1,071,361 Ohlo....... 2,665. 260 Oregon... 90,923 Pennsylvai 3,521,791 Rhode Island 217,353 South Carolina. (05,606 Tennessee. .. 1,258,520 Texas. it serdar FBS oF BSHMAG AHA GIS LIGA GIS Hos ad BRAINS SHAPNHHHHAF HS Ae SSHHSSO GASES RRGEOP SRE ORB OF 29 DMORNOF RR FEB De SDD MOE OEE DENRDAM BOLERO HAM HOOD OOD = ARES ES Spee eRe 18 THAN NOU NOt wo TRE HEOID ROSH SH HII RADA HOM Dee HRN Mr 6OOD ot a BORON TAO DSORN HLA TAD DAC GARMAN NOM MORO MOD WOU a = Ge DONO ot WIDE PSD DOO GH STP DID ADD APO ADO ANOS PRODSSFSORNMDOAMGANGH TIN OAH HA SOH AT OO IO OOAD TON HMSO AIDA SLAF OSS SOON RE OEE SAE BT ST NDIDDID DRAM CHER O ONO TAT OM OE BRIBE FSTACARARATASH OVO GON TMAN POR SHON GABBA ATO D FOES OAT SESE Hom Sate MAACO SOLA NIG HH DOCOMO OTE Te RILSES Fe SL GF HATS ANG MSAK NSH GHGS A GHSNAA SAA HSA AGHA SSN HA TA Hsdal ideas HLH MeSH IA SSH SNS HS aA AMVs Hin sosv ses QOD OID OO BRD ADS SID AIO DO O1DSD 1G D2 a9 4 Be HD DO OA BOOS A ID IDI OI IDV ODO Th COO HD EID HEP HIG DOD re DM a COI 29D FIDO TAG NONDM NOG A TNDFAHSRBARDODOAAMIG FS MGI IOAHID GID IS READE IQEHO HDIONDDOOE ING SOARNAONOMOM MME BOO DEER MIOM OMA TF ISM HESATOS OWT AED ADAM oA aon oO rida A at rn ot aon na on a 0 ob Patna Goisdci aed no a ¥ Gide a of a cid mn TD AE DDO NDO RAI NAD SNAWOS ORM IO T 1D HW LIA LIP PQDT TT Ft MIG DIO TRO DANS A MWMMSOTDReU SD FrOioNWowmwe 989 30 240 871 TAOARRRO oe a TA DO RE IO RS ARNOT DBT A MIND RN AMAA WDD OAGONOM WO MSTOSNARNS NOW DHFS ONDE NAMEDS A HFOSONSMDOSOEOFRMONSOGONME ¢ e LOOT OA RE EET NOOO HE O10 DID DIO INQ AEIOT RO IOOHHUOAA TA AORN MAD ARNNF GINA Io TNE HUD DO MIONDMNENATSIGOWARSOSMO | Ss Cipvied GAUSS rosa GH i Heres sais Sad ides SAG Okada aG ASG A Hse Hak ad HS oF RRA AS riosiwsG Ser gsrioGat wD SS omnis cs] oO St RAN AAA oD red cose : Aaa rARGITR AM 15220 ca BRS BUR GRAD: WIA, Nar: a) nq : m4 a : SDD AAD DSH AWW DIO FHMHS OAM SMDOOWASNS SE DONNS QOHHCe HADNT IN TOD MMH NOWD OOO e SHOR NSA ORO (MDOSN ASS ae THONADNHDIRA TF AMDOIONMARORGSATIONMARONOD OS SESS SE SRDS S BAS Sa a aS Oh SaaS SE SASSER NES BSR eee enE CODIWIIENRGS OAH OTAROAD FONE NSNAS HANNS HHL WIAD GFRNOGRAANADAHO BAGH OMANAL NE D9 MOD Te PATE ONNOGE AS 'CasMsRetonr : ENO SK nw KsatiddcsrsNd Mid codeine cindadidd Stow nie axtdosies BRS SHSAGHSbnSSrSH HSdnisa inaidsdasigx dccig SvS mR ARSSOae Fo no wRoue TRO SNS ARNODSIO H RAESSL ANS AEHOFOR MOTORS BO OTSSO -O EDTS COD = sc 2 OH Ande oF NAM AR R oO Rud R ROR CEH “9 °S on NAR UQ ARR on al ony re a id = SR IMOAMSOSOANMMONM ID: ; x 20 D iowes IDPDINO iN OAWRAD O° CSSGS BaRKS (BR IE ORR FDIDORN wWOSTOOR =: nae 2 my Number. Other un- a rohgudoisiegoocare corte SSBeaIS Hoo Hoodisel raided SRG xi ated Gwe arose orintel odcd a: AR a RAS BN HE CR a OD IATA a a Woodl’nd |improved SRROAO NAH AH AND TOS T NOE NAD SSD THON SHBG S DARD OS 19/929:82 5.00 1.491,331]|10.133.207/19.995,198]2.456.578}129,9 ‘ WWTONGCs * 2 ODT 9909 2D DOO 9D TO eT TO ON TF 1D L$ OD COLD HL WO WOT NPI TI HO Wi~ z TDA DAO TF AAD SOAOADIAIRN A PD PHODMOAMAAQVOM ION DeONRSANONe HeKoeas a 10m u OS MDT DOL DID Ft DIS I I NW MOSH OSOSTMIMNIMONOPMIA AQ UO DF HOHE ONO ONO MII TID DARD ITH MAD NRNDMHEHOKOONGO COONNIOS Dine ee ok ie ga ae ee le a a ae Bi |RERAGAGAHGSHRNSAHGHASKAHAKSrSasissossnwdssisairrrstid Hot nainnrsasguad, ESR RATHONAMAODIAPANFANAMSINT ROR APA ARD ORIG com 4 a 3 ODODE ORG LP PRD PRN PLO NN WWI TORNWBODMNNODOhwietTODOie rete Dons D e RNAFODOD ADO OS Oe BNE INS POM NA PAONAOMEODOASMGD a TOIOTANNDO o=|2 Se ae a aren ees rere rea eter aay ear tate a =a 3g LAG AORDHH FAMGSASE VOT OGONGAONAL AO ANT SPEAK FT MOBIONON SHE SONORAN NAT AT ALAA RON DT NORMS DANE SSE TAL NT? ? 234 s RQ BA DM A TRAAANMN DAA est NW est wD Ae THA ROD TIED OTDM NARS RAH RRR Rn COMIN’ OD Cris eis BS PRODUCTIONS OF AGRICULTURE, STATE OF ILLINOIS, BY COUNTIES.—1870. JOUNTIES. TOCA caso aieasiiay: sabsuabes a: : Bie ee. pig es pois Heo 24 Bile aes tos sa : Hoe at es 3 tO $o sta es see aggid :o Dif io 19k jie tee ties: 6 igs iS id ios4 ig ‘de § $e 22: ioe igi ed 3S 158 be Bag (251) (225 122285 (2 1285 Ba :85 -: : (548 imesesisse SOHMSETO (RS: io kha 5a gaa SHH SER Ih ISOS ee ASH lg BY :gou 223 Bee (8 Be beg goa ses gSor8 op hnhe ota i (28 bes rassegs 58 iy! GbySe22 252225 G2! 829 RS RS SER REVS Bh mt Soe eee SR aba SM Ol os Bae SODA E cme OCR Aa nO ESSE MESS EO aC eS eae sHsssS Beaded SSrs5 SSSSH SSRs aH head assy Bh eQs GaSe gee Sh Saeed adoos BS S555 9880 S82 SBS SSS SaSE8 AOOOODSSSOO AAR RARER ROCORMEEEESS SRS MAA RAR ASS ee BRR AnannADRED>EESESEESeEE wt Ft Llaypteho® [DECEASED,) PARIS HISTORY OF EDGAR COUNTY. 8 we go up the ascent of time, past history shrinks and shrivels up into points, the light specks only making the darkness visible. While this is true of nations, it is especially true of individuals, however great in their day, and however important the results achieved through their instrumentality. In this respect history does not repeat itself. It must be reproduced as far as pos- sible with all its original antecedents and surroundings ; otherwise, much that the world cannot afford to lose will pass silently, but no less surely, into the remorse- less gulf of oblivion. The past, with all its momentous changes, has ever been regarded as important, and richly deserving of record. Long before letters were invented, legendary tales and tradition were employed to perpetuate a knowledge of important events. and transmit the same to succeeding generations. Hieroglyphics were afterward used for the same purpose. But all these forms of memorial have long since given place to the pen and the type among civil- izel nations. The introduction of modern alphabets made writing less difficult, and the invention of the art of printing afforded facilities for publishing books before unknown. The thirst for knowledge produced by the press and the Ref- ormation, and the growing taste for history created by the latter, brought out a host of historians, rendered their works voluminous and scattered them broad- cast over the world. Many of them, read in the blazing sunlight of civilization, have all the fascination of a romance, and but increase in-interest as time rolls on. The papyrus roll of ancient Egypt, containing mysterious records of the Dark Ages, and the ponderous folios of Confucius, that antedate tradition itself, were not more valuable to the sages and philosophers of old, than the printed page of the nineteenth century is to the scholar and enlightened individual of to-day. It is hoped, therefore, that the present effort to select and preserve some gleanings and reminiscences of early days in this section of the State, will not be deemed unimportant, nor wholly destitute of interest. Although Illinois has contributed much to enrich the pages of history, her resources are by no means exhausted, and it requires but the historian’s pen to cull from the chaotic mass important facts, and present them in a tangible form to the reader. And with all her vast wealth of historical lore, no part of the great State possesses more of genuine interest than this section. A period of time which would be considered remote in Northern Illinois, would be regarded A 224 HISTORY OF EDGAR COUNTY. as recent in Edgar County. Pioneers here were beginning to look upon them- selves as ‘old settlers ’ when Chicago consisted of but a fort and trading-point of trappers and Indians. Even before the bright star answering to the name of Illinois appeared in the azure field of the Stars and Stripes, the pale-face had begun to dispute with the red man for these fair lands, the smoke of his cabin to ascend from their forests, and his ‘civilized war-whoops’”’ to awake the echoes of their hills and brakes. BOUNDARY AND TOPOGRAPHY. Edgar County lies in the eastern part of the State, and is bounded on the north by Vermilion County, on the west by Douglas and Coles, on the south by Clark County, and on the east by the State of Indiana. It is nearly a square, being about twenty-three and a half miles wide by about twenty-seven miles long, and thus containing something less than six hundred and forty square miles. The eastern and southern borders of the county, comprising perhaps two-fifths of its area, are occupied by the timbered land adjoining the banks of the streams which run toward the Wabash River. The remainder, with the exception of a few sections about the head of Embarras River, in the western edge of the county, is occupied by the Grand Prairie, some arms of which also run quite deeply into the timber, along the divides between the different creeks. The timber is mainly the same as that of the timbered lands to the northward; but in the southeastern part of the county, beech begins to take a prominent place, and a considerable number of pines find congenial soil above the heavy-bedded soil; but, in some of its eastern extensions into the timber,* this is mostly wanting, and the soft, dark-brown clay of the subsoil comes nearly to the surface. The bottoms of the prairie sloughs generally contain more or less of the light-brown, marly clay, in which may be found fresh-water shells. The State Geologists’ Report, from which we shall make occasional extracts in these pages, says that some years ago the almost per- fect skeleton of a mastodon was obtained from one of these prairie sloughs, which, after having been exhibited through all parts of the United States, was sold to a Philadelphia museum, and that fragments of skeletons of this animal are not rare in this section. The beds of the ‘‘ Drift Period’’ we shall notice more fully under the head of Geology, to which subject a chapter will be devoted further on in this work. SETTLEMENT OF THE COUNTY. We have said that a period remote in the history of Northern Illinois, would be regarded as recent in Edgar County. Look at the dates, 1817— 1879! Sixty-two years are between these milestones, standing along the highway of Time. Sixty-two years! Twice the chances of human life. Thirty years are a generation’s life-time, and thus the allotted span of two gen- * Geological Survey of Illinois. HISTORY OF EDGAR COUNTY. 225 erations has run out since white men first came to the wilds of Edgar County —one year before Illinois was admitted into the Union as a State. The entire State was then a ‘waste, howling wilderness,” peopled by Indians, wolves, panthers, bears and other wild and savage animals. Lo, the change that threescore years have wrought! The Indians, the original owners of the soil, are fading away, as it were, in the distant West; the panthers and wolves are almost forgotten, and ‘‘the wilderness has rejoiced and blossomed as the rose,’ while hundreds of happy and prosperous homes dot its forests and prairies. A large proportion of the citizens of Edgar County are American- born. From the pine forests of Maine to the palmetto groves of South Caro- lina and the cotton-fields of Tennessee, her population has come. Every State lying between these points has contributed more or less to the settling- up of the County. The hardy sons of New England, with their thrift and Yankee ingenuity, the stirring New Yorkers, the Pennsylvania Quakers and Dutch, the far-seeing Buckeyes, the industrious Hoosiers, the dignified Vir- ginians, the warm-hearted Southerners, the courageous Kentuckians, are here grouped together, forming a class of people that for native intelligence, favora- bly compare with those of any section or country; while one of the results of the late war was an importation of Sambo, who has been denominated *‘ God’s shadow on the dial of American Progress.” The first settlement in Edgar County was made along the timbered margin of the “ North Arm”’ of Grand Prairie, which extends deep into the county on its eastern side, and was originally known as 8 y WAYNE PRECINCT. This precinct embraced in its boundaries the present townships of Hunter, Brouillett and Stratton, with the northern tier of sections of Elbridge, and was one of the five original townships or precincts into which the county was divided at the time of its organization. Here, early in the spring of 1817, Remember Blackman, John Stratton, Anthony Sanders, William Whitley and Aloysius Brown located, and are acknowledged as the first white settlers in Edgar County. Stratton, Whitley and Brown were from Kentucky, Blackman was from the Empire State, and Sanders from North Carolina. They arrived in time to prepare land and cultivate small crops of corn. Aloysius Brown finally moved to Wisconsin and died there years ago. Whitley remained in this sce- tion of the county but a few years, then sold out, moved into Paris Township and settled on the place now owned by Elliott. Stratton lived here many years, and finally sold out and moved up near Kankakee, where he died. Black- man died in the township, and Sanders left his wife, went down South, and married another woman. In the township histories more extended notices will be given of all the early settlers. In the fall following the settlement of those above given, Col. Jonathan Mayo came to the county and settled in the immediate neighborhood of them, and, during the winter, Barna B. Reynolds came in. Both were from Kentucky 226 HISTORY OF EDUAR COUNTY. here, but Mayo was originally from the Old Dominion. He and his wife are the only two persons now living in the county who came to it that first year, grown up people. Sateen ee HISTORY OF EDGAR COUNTY. 3825 church society. There was very little difference, however, as to time of the Methodists and Presbyterians in organizing societies. Probably the Methodists were first in the field, but it is pretty generally conceded that the Presbyterians erected the first church edifice. Rev. H. Vreedenburg of the M. E. Church, and Rev. Isaac Reed, of the Presbyterian, were the first preachers of whom we have any account in the village of Paris. These men labored earnestly among the early settlers, receiving the hospitalities of the cabin without money and without price, and reverently asking the blessing of God upon all they did. Their lives were simple and unostentatious, their wants few and easily satisfied, their teachings plain and unvarnished, touched with no eloquence save that of their daily living, which was seen and known of all men. Though of different religious sects, no discords were ever manifested between them, but a united effort was made to show men the way to better things by living a bet- ter life, and thus, finally, to reach the best of all, God and heaven. Their works were not confined alone to preaching the Word. They married the liv- ing and buried the dead; they christened the babe, admonished the young and warned the old; they cheered the despondent, rebuked the willful and hurled the vengeance at the desperately wicked. They have paid the last debt of nature, but the seed sown by them half a century ago has brought forth fruits an hundred-fold. The first house of worship (aside from the settlers’ cabin) in Paris, was the old Court House that stood on the south side of the public square. From this ancient temple of justice resounded the praises of the elect, as well as the more worldly notes of legal eloquence. Within its walls, also, was organized the first Sunday school of Paris. Somewhere between the years 1830 and 1835, Adriel Stout, a good man and consistent Christian, whom many now liv- ing remember, organized a Sunday school to which all children and young peo- ple were invited and welcomed, and, said one, in speaking of his efforts: in this direction, “‘no doubt that many of the men now living, who were boys then, owe to him much of the good in them.”” For many years he was the Superin- tendent, and always punctually at his post. This was the germ from which have sprung a number of flourishing Sunday schools, until at the present day there is, perhaps, not a church in the city but maintains one. The Methodist society was originally organized in Paris in 1823-24, by Rev. H. Vreedenburg, as stated above, and who is termed the founder of Methodism in the county. Among the original members were Smith Shaw and wife, and Mr. Shaw’s house was the place of holding the first meetings. The first church edifice was built in 1837; it was of brick, 30x50 feet, and stood near the northwest corner of the public square. It is now used as a residence. The present magnificent church was built in 1855, and dedicated during the session of Conference held in this city. The sermon on the occasion was preached by Rev. John P. Darbin, who took for his subject the Ark of the Covenant, which he applied to the occasion in a very happy mauner; the dedi- 3826 HISTORY OF EDGAR COUNTY. catory services were performed by Bishop Ames. The edifice cost about $13,000, and has an excellent clock in the steeple. The present Pastor is Rey. Elias G. Wilkins, now in his third year as the spiritual adviser of the congre- gation. The membership is large and flourishing, with an interesting Sunday school which is well attended. Some years after the church was completed, a heavy storm lifted the roof off, which was of tin. It was soon replaced with . Shingles and so remains at present. The Presbyterian Church was organized November 6, 1824, hy Rev. Isaac Reed, who preached the first sermon, and acted as Moderator of the meeting of organization. The following persons were enrolled as the constituent members: John Bovell, William Means, James Eggleton, Adriel Stout, A. Thompson, Samuel Vance, Christiana Bovell, Nancy Thompson, Barbara Alexander, Eliz- abeth Blackburn, Hannah Baird and Mary Vance. Samuel Vance, John Bovell and William Means were chosen Ruling Elders. The session then held a meeting to examine persons for membership, and at a meeting held the next day (November 7), some fourteen or fifteen additional members were admitted to the society. The Church had preaching only occasionally until April, 1825 when Rev. John Young took charge of it, dividing his time between it and New Hope Church, located in Indiana. He died suddenly, in August of this year, and the Church had little preaching until March, 1827, when Rey. E. G. Howe came, and, as did his predecessor, labored with the Church here and at New Hope. Rev. A. R. Curry was the next preacher, but remained only three months, and was succeeded by Rev. Claiborne Young, who remained six months. After him, the following preachers administered to the spiritual wants of the members: Rev. John Bovell, for a few months; Rev. Samuel Baldridge, one year; Rev. Edward Bouton, one year; Rey. John Montgomery, from the fall of 1833 until the spring of 1836; Rev. R. Rutherford, one year ; Rev. J. C. Campbell; Rev. H. I. Venable came in fall of 1839, for a year and a half; Rev. J. A. Steel, for a short time; Rey. Joseph Platt, two years; Rey. Erastus Thayer, about seven years; Rev. R. M. Overstreet, one year. In the spring of 1853, Rev. Samuel Newell was engaged, and, in 1854, was duly installed as the first regular Pastor of the Church. He remained until the spring of 1871, when he resigned, and Rev. R. D. Van Duerson was elected Pastor in July, and, in April, 1872, was installed as such by the Pres- bytery of Mattoon, and still remains in the sacred office. The first church- building of this congregation was erected in 1835, and cost about $2,500. The present building was put up in 1855, and dedicated in January, 1856, by Rev. Samuel Newell. It cost about $9,000. The present membership is 365 —about 150 of them having been added during the past three years. The Sunday school was organized at the same time with the Church, in 1824. Its first Superintendent was \driel Stout; the present one is George Dole, and the school is attended by about 250, with an infant class of 100 members under the care of Mrs. J. Webster and seven assistants. HISTORY OF EDGAR COUNTY. 327 The old-school Baptists—called by some ‘‘ Hardshells,” and by others ‘ Iron- sides ’’ and “ Predestinarians ’’—date back quite as early in this section as any of the other denominations. Rev. Daniel Parker, Pastor of the La Motte Baptist Church, in Crawford County, organized a church of this sect in Paris about 1823-24. After the erection of the first Court House, they held their meetings in it for ten years or more. At those meetings, says a gentleman relating the circumstance, they used to practice what they claimed to be an apostolic usage—that of washing each other's feet. They afterward moved their place of meeting to Minerva Schoolhouse, remained there several years, until they built a church two and a half miles south of Paris, which cost them about $500. In this building they worshiped for twenty-five years, and, in 1872, sold it to the Colored Missionary Baptists for $150. They then built on Mad- ison street, in Paris, at a cost of $1,600, which they have occupied for five years past. This is known by the name of Mount Pleasant Church. The fol- lowing are the different preachers since its organization: Elder Daniel Parker, Elder Thomas Young, Elder John Parker, Elder Thomas Murphy, Elder Richard Newport, Elder Aaron D. Darnall and Elder William Kemper at present in charge. William D. Darnall, Clerk. With no disrespect to this worthy sect of Christians, we will say they are a “peculiar people.” Disre- garding Divine authority, that “the laborer is worthy of his hire,” they pay their preachers nothing, on the principle, perhaps, that it is their duty to work in the Master’s service ‘‘ without the hope of fee or reward.” Elder Daniel Parker, the founder of Mount Pleasant Church, continued to labor with them until about the year 1832, when he paid a visit to Texas, from which he returned so well pleased that he determined to immigrate to that coun- try. Before starting, however, for that locality, he organized a church or colony, comprised of members from Mount Pleasant and La Motte Churches, and with these, journeyed by land to the ‘Lone Star State.” When they pitched their tents in the wilderness, they would unite in singing the songs of Zion, and of praise to God. All arrived safe at their destination, and the colony continued as an organized society under the name of “ Pilgrim Church.”’ The Missionary Baptist Church was organized in August, 1852, by Rev. G. W. Riley. The original members were John W. Riley, Sarah Riley, Elias Hardy and wife, Mary Gordon, Francis C. Riley, Elizabeth Riley and A. J. Riley. Their first church edifice was built in 1853, and cost $1,000. The society continued to worship in this house until 1863, when their present edifice was erected. This building cost $3,000, and was dedicated soon after its com- pletion, by Rev. Alexander Cummins. At present it has a membership of about one hundred and thirty-five, and is in the pastoral care of its first minister, Rev. G. W. Riley. He resigned the charge after serving them a number of years, but a few years ago returned to the charge. The different ministers since its organization are Rev. G. W. Riley, Rev. Mr. Yarnell, Rev. A. J. Bostwick, Rev. Mr. Rhodes, Rev. Mr. McMasters, then Rev. Mr. Riley again. 828 HISTORY OF EDGAR COUNTY. A Sunday school is maintained, with an attendance of about seventy-five, under the superintendence of Charles Geohagan. The Christian Church was organized about 1853. Among the first members were Father Leech, as he was called, Haney Mullins, Milton Powell, Joseph Huls; the two latter were the first Elders of the Church. This was a branch of the church that had been organized sometime before in the Big Creek settle- ment. It was originally formed by Rev. John B. New, of Indiana, the father of Mr. New, ex-Treasurer of the United States. He came over and labored for them a week or two, during which time he organized the Church, and then returned home. Rey. A. D. Fillmore was the first regular Pastor, and took charge in the fall of 1855—a position he held for one year. The next year, the Church employed him half the time, and the Rev. J. L. Rude the other half. The former resigned and Mr. Rude continued some two years longer, and was followed by Rev. Zachary Sweeney for one year. He was succeeded by his brother, Rev. William Sweeney, who remained about one year, and after him ‘Rev. Mr. Peel and then Rev. Mr. Hart. Since then, Rev. Mr. Rude has been the only regular Pastor, with occasional assistance from other ministers. The membership at present is about two hundred and fifty; their church was built in 1868, and cost about $12,000. Their first church was bought from the Pres- byterians about the time the society was formed. The Church is in a flourish- ing condition and maintains a good Sunday school. The Episcopal Church was organized in 1860, and the first Rector was Rev. John B. Pedelupe. Among the original members were Henry Tanner and Dr. S.J. Young. The first church edifice was built in 1867. Since its organiza- tion, the following Rectors have officiated; Rev. John B. Pedelupe, Rev. Thomas W. Mitchell, Rev. Mr. Chase, Rev. Robert Trewantha, Rev. James W. Coe, and Rev. H. H. Vandewsen. ‘The present Rector is Rey. 8S. S. Lewis, with a membership of about one hundred and fifty. St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church was organized about 1849, Rev. G. A. Tiamilton being one of the first Pastors. Toward the close of 1850, he was succeeded by Rey. Thomas Ryan, who administered to the congregation until 1860, without interruption. After him came Rev. James Dempsey, who re- mained until November, 1861, and was succeeded by Rev. John Vahey, under whose administration the present church was built, in 1862. Since October, 1874, Rev. Bernard Hasse has been the Pastor, with a membership in his charge of about eighty families, partly living in the city and partly in the country. Three years ago, the Church became clear of all indebtedness, some- thing uncommon in this age of stupendous church debts. -The society bought about five acres of ground, one mile north of the city, six years ago, which has been converted into a very handsome little cemetery. About two years ago, a parochial school was annexed to the Church, which has an average attendance of about fifty pupils. A total-abstinence and benevolent society has also been organized under the auspices of the Church. PARIS 328 HISTORY OF EDGAR COUNTY. A Sunday school is maintained, with an attendance of about seventy-five, under the superintendence of Charles Geohagan. The Christian Church was organized about 1853. Among the first members ‘were Father Leech, as he was called, Haney Mullins, Milton Powell, Joseph Huls ; the two latter were the first Elders of the Church. This was a branch of the church that had been organized sometime before in the Big Creek settle- ment. It was originally formed by Rev. John B. New, of Indiana, the father of Mr. New, ex-Treasurer of the United States. He came over and labored for them a week or two, during which time he organized the Church, and then returned home. Rev. A. D. Fillmore was the first regular Pastor, and took charge in the fall of 1855—a position he held for one year. The next year, the Church employed him half the time, and the Rev. J. L. Rude the other half. The former resigned and Mr. Rude continued some two years longer, and was followed by Rev. Zachary Sweeney for one year. He was succeeded by his brother, Rey. William Sweeney, who remained about one year, and after him ‘Rey. Mr. Peel and then Rev. Mr. Hart. Since then, Rev. Mr. Rude has been the only regular Pastor, with occasional axysistance from other ministers. The membership at present is about two hundred and fifty ; their church was built in 1863, and cost about $12,000. Their first church was bought from the Pres- byterians about the time the society was formed. The Church is in a flourish- ing condition and maintains a good Sunday school. The Episcopal Church was organized in 1860, and the first Rector was Rey. John B. Pedelupe. Among the original members were Henry Tanner and Dr. S.J. Young. The first church edifice was built in 1867. Since its organiza- tion, the following Rectors have officiated; Rev. John B. Pedelupe, Rev. Thomas W. Mitchell, Rev. Mr. Chase, Rev. Robert Trewantha, Rev. James W. Coe, and Rey. H. H. Vandewsen. ‘The present Rector is Rev. S. S. Lewis, with a membership of about one hundred and fifty. St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church was organized about 1849, Rev. G. A. Hamilton being one of the first Pastors. Toward the close of 1850, he was succeeded by Rey. Thomas Ryan, who administered to the congregation until 1860, without interruption. After him came Rev. James Dempsey, who re- mained until November, 1861, and was succeeded by Rev. John Vahey, under whose administration the present church was built, in 1862. Since October, 1874, Rey. Bernard Hasse has been the Pastor, with a membership in his charge of about eighty families, partly living in the city and partly in the country. Three years ago, the Church became clear of all indebtedness, some- thing uncommon in this age of stupendous church debts. The society bought about five acres of ground, one mile north of the city, six years ago, which has been converted into a very handsome little cemetery. About two years ago. a parochial school was annexed to the Church, which has an average attendance of about fifty pupils. A total-abstinence and benevolent society has also been organized under the auspices of the Church. PARIS HISTORY OF EDGAR COUNTY. 331 The Young Men’s Christian Association of Paris was organized January 29,1877. It resulted from revivals in the Presbyterian and other churches, and the young men of recent conversion, through the Women’s Christian Tem- perance Union, succeeded in procuring rooms in which to hold prayer-meetings. The Ist of May, 1878, the Association was re-organized, purchased the old Town Library, to which they have since added some seven hundred and fifty velumes, forming at present quite a valuable little library. The reading-rooms of the Association, attached to the library, have on file the best of American and English publications. The Association, which numbers about one hundred and fifty members, hold meetings Monday evenings and Sunday afternoons, together with monthly socials. The officers are: George Webster, President ; Adriel McCord, Vice President; W TT. Levings, Recording Secretary; C. E. Schenck, Corresponding Secretary; H. B. Adams, Treasurer, elected semi- annually. The Women’s Christian Temperance Union, of which Mrs. Alex- ander Mann is President, hold their meetings at these rooms. BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS. Benevolent and secret institutions have existed so long that no records tel] of their organization, and they will, probably, last ‘‘ until time shall be no more.” ‘The history of Freemasonry is veiled and clouded by the darkness of almost unwritten centuries; yet, amidst the political fluctuations of the earth, and the downfall of States and Empires, its traditions have been borne to us on the current of time, and been gathered together by the Masonic student for the meditation and instruction of the craft. All who have considered the origin of Freemasonry have been convinced that the germ from which it sprang was coeval with that wonderful command of Jehovah: ‘‘ Let there be light,” and from the coincidences found to exist between it and the ancient mysteries, they were very similar in character. Those exemplified in the caves of Elephanto, in India; those of Isis, in Egypt, and Hleusis, in Greece, all have some points of resemblance to those of Freemasonry; and in the earlier years of their institu- tion, they maintained their sanctity and purity. In speaking of the Eleusinian Mysteries, Aristides said: ‘They are the common temple of the world.”” This is an apt picture of Masonry, and applies well to the great fraternity to-day. Brethren of every clime and nation and kindred and tongue meet in the temples of Masonry, which are scattered everywhere over the earth, and they use one language, worship one God, and elucidate one set of mysteries. We know that the aims of these institutions are good, because the results achieved are so glori- ous and grand. We believe the world is better for their existence, secret though they are, and agree not with those who believe that ‘where works are secret, deeds are evil.”’ Freemasonry is represented’ in Paris by two lodges, one chapter, and one commandery. Prairie Lodge No. 77, was organized in October, 1849. It is officered as follows: J. J. Stevenson, Master; J. L. Quinn, Senior Warden; C. G 332 HISTORY OF EDGAR COUNTY. E. Carpenter, Junior Warden, and D. G. Burr, Secretary. Paris Lodge, No. 268, was organized October 5, 1858. The following are the present officers: D. M. Wieder, Master; T. Bowe, Senior Warden; A. L. Walker, Junior Warden, and R. C. Lane, Secretary. Edgar Chapter No. 32, was organized October 8, 1856; has now the following list of officers: James A. Finlay, High Priest; J. M. Bell, King; J. J. Stevenson, Scribe, and D. M. Wieder, Secre- tary. Palestine Commandery, No. 27, was organized in October, 1867, and at present is officered as follows: Sir Joseph E. Dyas, Eminent Commander; Sir George W. Hughes, Generalissimo; Sir James A. Finlay, Captain General, and Sir D. M. Wieder, Recorder. The fraternity embraces many of the lead- ing citizens of Paris; among them, Sir Robert L. McKinlay, who is at present Grand Commander of Knights Templar for the State. Lydia Chapter, Ne. 7, Order of the Eastern Star, was organized in 1870, and has 100 members at present. ‘The officers are: A. Y. Trogdon, W. P.; Mrs. W. N. Bush, W. M.; Miss Syrena Batterton, R. 8.; Mrs. Abigail Hoyt, A. M. Odd-Fellowship, the twin-sister of Freemasonry in charity and benevolence, but far more modern in its origin, was established in Paris in 1851. Edgar Lodge, No. 91, of this Order, was organized July 15,1851. The charter mem- bers were M. M. Dill, W. T. Jenkins, Samuel Graham, T. M. Parker and K. Hardy. ‘he first officers elected were: John E. Miner, N.G.; W. 'T. Jenkins, V.G.; ©. V. Jaquith, R. S., and M. M. Dill, T. The present elective offi- cers are: N. Bowen, N. G.; J. G. Longmire, V. G.; J. Erin, R. S., and J. Cole, T. The membership is 151, and the Lodge seems to be in good condi- tion financially. The total revenue for 1878 was $1,460. The amount paid for sick and funeral expenses for same time, $785. Cash and notes in hands of the Treasurer at the close of the year, $3,609. Paris Encampment, No. 21, was instituted May 9, 1853, with the following charter members: A. B. Austin, Walter Booth, J. W. McMillan, Daniel Safford, J. W. Connelly, N. Link and A. Vance. The first officers were: A. B. Austin, C. P.; Walter Booth, H. P., and J. W. Connelly, Scribe. The present offers are: John R. Longmire, C. P.; J. H. Matthias, H. P., and H. A. Denton, Scribe. In addition to these bodies, there is Sinai Lodge, No. 36, Daughters of Rebecca. THE SCHOOLS OF PARIS. The ordinance of the General Government of 1787, declared knowledge in connection with religion and morality ‘‘to be necessary to the good government and happiness of mankind,’’ and enjoined that “schools and the means of edu- cation shall be forever encouraged.” Accordingly Congress, in the Enabling Act for this State, April 18, 1818, appropriated 3 per cent of the net proceeds of the sales of the public lands lying within her limits, for the encouragement of learning, one-sixteenth part thereof to be exclusively bestowed on a college or university. Two townships, one then and one sometime prior, were besides donated for founding and maintaining a seminary of learning. The proceeds of HISTORY OF EDGAR COUNTY. 3338 the 3-per-cent fund, and the sales of the seminary lands were blended, in 1835 and borrowed by the State at 6 per cent, the interest to be annually distributed for school purposes. In 1845, the receipts of the proceeds of the 8-per-cent school fund were suspended for a time, owing to the embarrassed condition of the finances. This State, like many others, had stopped paying interest on her public debt, and Congress, by resolution, ordered the 3-per-cent fund to be with- held from them and applied toward the payment of interest on bonds held in trust by the General Government. z = * * The free-school system entered upon in 1855, marks the turning in the history of common-school education in the State. The right of the State to maintain such a system is founded upon the idea that where ignorance predominates, vice and crime are its inseparable accompaniments ; and that by education the masses will be ele- vated, society benefited, offenses lessened and good government promoted. But the main incentive to establishment in Illinois was the great necessity that efficiency be infused into the cause of education; and the awakening of the people from the deep lethargy into which they had sunk to an appreciation of its importance.* Such were some of the initiative steps in Illinois looking to the perma- nent establishment of schools, and which have culminated in a system of edu- cational facilities unsurpassed even by famed New England, the very Athens (supposed to be) of learning of America. In the early period of Paris, almost as goon as the first settlers had built their shanties and staked out their claims, they began to look about for the schoolmaster, and, lo! he was in their midst. In 1824 or thereabouts, Amos Williams was enthroned in Paris, with the hazel-brush as a scepter, to rule over the infantile subjects, and “ teach their young ideas how to shoot.”” He, it is said, built the first schoolhouse erected in Paris, and also taught the first school in it, as well as having taught the first in the town. Another of the early schools of Paris was taught in 1828, by Isaac Alexander. Eli Wiley, Esq., now of Charleston, in a letter of early reminiscences, thus speaks of these schools: ‘ In 1828, a school was kept by. Isaac Alexander, brother of M. K. Alexander, which the boys attended. Col. J. U. §. Alexander and myself took our first lessons in A B C’s there. After him came Milton Vance. ‘This school was kept in an old log cabin, just south and on a lot back of public square. The cabin was for some purpose sur- rounded with a stockade consisting of broad puncheons split out of oak-trees, about ten feet long and one end planted in the ground. At these schools, the Tenery boys attended, and one of them—Tom I think it was—was quite incorrigible, and was often subjected to the severest discipline known then, which was to wear a pair of leather spectacles and sit with the girls. And as it sometimes happened that more boys than one were disorderly, the teacher kept enough of these ornaments to go round.” From this feeble beginning, the schools of Paris have grown and expanded to accommodate the increasing Stuve’s History of Llinois. 334 HISTORY OF EDGAR COUNTY. demands for education. In 1841, Rev. H. I. Venable founded a school for girls, known as Edgar Academy, and afterward, at the solicitation of the citi- zens of Paris, changed it to admit males. A select school or academy was also established, under the auspices of the Methodist Church, but neither it nor the one organized by Mr. Venable, is in existence now. ‘The only school in the city, besides the public schools, is conducted by Prof. Hurty, who, for a num- ber of years was Principal of the Paris schools. Without going into a detailed history of these institutions of learning, or following the public schools through all their course, from the time of organization down to the present, a subject fully written up in the general county history, we will say a few words of the schools as they stand to-day. There are four large and commodious buildings, comfortably furnished and arranged, and well adapted to school purposes. The schools are in charge of Prof. Alfred Harvey, an able and efficient Superin- tendent, and who has, besides himself, eighteen teachers, whose names are as follows, viz.: Miss Sophia Watson, Miss Mary E. Perrott, Mrs. M. L. Nelson, Miss Alice E. Nelson, Miss Kate Stapleton, Miss Kate McCarty, Miss Sally Lang, Miss Nettie Brasher, Miss Emma Cretors, Mrs. N. A. Haines, Miss Hattie Denton, Miss Mame Boyd, Miss Emma Vance, Miss Ada Bradburn, Miss Callie Webster, Miss Sally Hager, Miss Allie Brengle and Miss Nellie Kester. The colored children, of whom there are about twenty, attend the public schools and share the same advantages that the whites do, but occupy a room to themselves. Prof. Harvey, the Superintendent of the schools, is now serving his eighth year in that capacity, and has recently been elected to the Presidency of the State Teachers’ Association. The monthly pay-roll of the teachers is $1,016.25, an aggregate of over $8,000 a year. Prof. Harvey furnishes the following sta- tistical information: Paris Union School District was organized in accordance with an act of the Legislature, April 15, 1869, and is entirely independent of the city government. The charter members were Henry Van Sellar, Obed Foote, H. J. Miller, Levi C. Mann, George C. Levings and Samuel Graham. The territory includes the city of Paris, and in some cases extends beyond the city limits. The charter is liberal, and specially provides for instruction in the branches of a common school education, sciences, higher mathematics and languages. - The high school, which was first organized in 1871, is not intended to be a preparatory school for students who design entering college, but to pro- vide a liberal and practical course of study for such as expect to complete their education at home. ‘The instruction at present includes reading, United States and general history, English analysis, English literature, rhetoric and composition, Latin, arithmetic, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, botany, natural history, physical geography, geology, natural philosophy, chemistry, astronomy, mental science and the Constitution of the United States. Classes have gradu- ated annually since 1875. The graduates have organized themselves into an Alumni Association, which meets annually, and now numbers thirty members. HISTORY OF EDGAR COUNTY. 335 Nine of the graduates are now employed as teachers in the schools of the dis- trict. PUBLIC SCHOOL STATISTICS FOR 1877-78.* Whole number of persons in district under 21 2,007 Number between 6 and 21 (school age) sia 1,845 Whole number of pupils enrolled.......... ain 1,019 Greatest number enrolled in any month...... oupiindsieetisisae vensetiebaienieemyesve 819 Least es #e ss Of “raehanale alee aaenaearaeucmeeRonseaeA 690 aversige monthly enrollment. ..0sotesncsasasssensecswcadse vas deaucentearaesoscentas 778.4 SMVELATS CH y AttEHAANCE. 5. o.ccendcepacasaes 44 coddpearcwdanevetionvheddgebeecwessouies 650.4 Number of teachers employed... is 18 Superintend enbaanccaeceis rises sivess seas 1 Salary of teachers and Superintendent........:.sseccsvesssoecsssnrcsssessere sees $8,265.29 The cost of tuition for the year per pupil, including high school : On the whole number. enrolled wviscesssscsisssesceysaesssass rsisee viavicits aacnn vanaivesinsaysue ss 58 10 On the average. number belongitle wiseceecsacsseesvennesaawneidueaveasearesrsccsssuneer 10 62 On theaverage dally attendancesssaccsusssssncoesvsn ienesvesvoceeonparecesseacsans susan 12 71 The attendance and expenses of the high school are as follows: Whole number of different pupils enrolled,............scccsesecssceeserveessenenneaeaee 82 Greatest number of pupils enrolled in any month......... ...ccceseseseeeeeeeeeeee ees 76 Least number of pupils enrolled im any month...........cceeceesee eee een tense ee eenes 55 Average enrollment: for the: year cosincadssssawavsiensasesscveeaas susien smaseuineaseganens 68.8 AVETAGS Cail y ALENMANCE,,..cccnevseeroceoiserianedd: seavecmssseveesesins Weinsaos ebteeedsyanee 61.8 Tuition, including salaries of teachers and the high school’s proportion of the Superintendent's salary : On the whole number of schedules.........c:eccccesscarenececsessesensseesseu eee sesees $15 62 On the average: number enrolledeniscssecescaccvcnde wns iene sears tes scealsunsdadenns dons 18 76 On the average daily attendance...... ..cscsssceesescersrescetestseeetseceaseeeces eaees 20 90 The present members of the School Board are D. 8. Schenck, President ; H. J. Ball, Clerk; James D. Sutherland, Henry Van Sellar, A. B. Powell and F. M. Lynk. e . THE CITY PRESS. The only imperishable memorial is the printed page. No art save that of printing can reproduce the original emanations of genius in unlimited number, and as long as time shall last. Statues, monuments, paintings, molder and fade, and with them the names of those they were intended to memorialize ; but the volume of to-day may be reprinted ten thousand years hence, if the world shall endure so long, and the last copy will be, for all practical purposes, as available as the first. And in this age of refined civilization, a town of any importance without a newspaper would be considered a dark and hbenighted place indeed. Daniel Webster said: ‘