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Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
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 University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/visitortochicagoOObent 
 
A Visitor to Chicago 
 in Indian Days 
 
A Visitor to Chicago 
 in Indian Days 
 
 "JOURNAL TO THE TAR-OFF WEST'" 
 
 By Colbee C. Benton 
 
 Edited by Paul M. A ngle and James R. Getz 
 
 Chicago 
 THE CAXTON CLUB 
 
 1957 
 
Copyright 1957 by The Caxton Club 
 

 3 
 
 A uthor Identified 
 
 Several years ago the Chicago Historical Society acquired a ninety- 
 nine page manuscript entitled ff Journal to the Tar Off West." 'The author 
 had traveled from Vermont to Chicago in the summer of 1833, and had 
 then made an extensive tour of the Indian villages in the vicinity. The 
 ^Journal" was a day-by-day account of his experiences. 
 
 Reports of journeys from New England to what was then called the 
 f 'West" are common, and our traveler's narrative of this part of his trip, 
 while detailed and lively, could hardly be called superior to several that 
 have long been available. But the second part, dealing with the Indians 
 of southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois on the eve of their removal 
 beyond the Mississippi, was and is unique. Impressed by this feature, the 
 Publications Committee of the Caxton Club decided, with the consent of 
 the Trustees of the Chicago Historical Society, to make the "Journal" a 
 Caxton Club publication. 
 
 There was, however, one drawback. The author had failed to sign his 
 manuscript or in any other way reveal his identity. Yet the document con- 
 tained a number of clues of the kind which almost always lead to identi- 
 fication. In Waterford, New York, for example, our traveler had called on 
 a Mr. Amsden, and in Troy he had visited J. H. Howe and a man named 
 Mann, both of whom he described as old friends. A little research would 
 undoubtedly reveal the former residence of all three, and knowing that, 
 we could almost count on turning up the name of our author. But even if 
 these and other clues led nowhere, the rf Journal" had sufficient intrinsic 
 importance to justify its publication. 
 
 The editors set about the business of annotating the text, confident that 
 
 [ vii ] 
 
in the process the name of the author would be disclosed. In due time the 
 annotation was finished, but to our consternation the writer remained 
 completely unknown. The printer was clamoring for copy— politely, to be 
 sure, but nevertheless clamoring— so we had no choice but to admit our 
 failure. We wrote a preface which contained the following passage: 
 
 "Together, we have exhausted our ingenuity in libraries, and one of us 
 has traveled two thousand miles in an effort to identify the persons whom 
 our unknown traveler mentioned as friends or acquaintances. At various 
 times we have held hypotheses, but none has withstood critical scrutiny. 
 Unless some relevant bit of information comes to light unexpectedly, our 
 author must remain without a name. 
 
 "The one productive clue comes at the very end of the journal, where 
 reference is made to 'Doct. Whipple, who was once one of our representa- 
 tives in Congress.'* Thomas Whipple, Jr., a physician of Wentworth, New 
 Hampshire, served in the House of Representatives from 1821 to 1829. 
 Our traveler's mention of Whipple's unsteady habits would indicate 
 proximity of residence. Wentworth is a village in the west central part of 
 the state twelve miles east of the Connecticut River. In all probability, the 
 author lived in this vicinity. . . . 
 
 "Beyond the general locality of our traveler's residence, we can be certain 
 of only two facts. His journal proves that he was well educated for his 
 time, and his willingness to compete with the Indians in foot races is evi- 
 dence that he was young. All else is inference. The absence of compari- 
 sons with other places would seem to indicate that he had not traveled 
 beyond his own corner of New England, and the lack of reference to a 
 wife, coupled with his occasional romantic dreamings, would label him 
 a bachelor." 
 
 But Mr. Getz refused to give up. At his instance we decided to withhold 
 our preface until the printer had set the main body of the book. While 
 that was being done, Mr. Getz made another trip to New England. He 
 hoped that our traveler had written letters home while on his trip, and 
 *See post, p. 116. 
 
 [ via ] 
 
that one or more of them had found their way into the newspapers of the 
 neighborhood in which we were certain he had lived. Accordingly, Mr. 
 Getz examined the newspaper collections of the New Hampshire and Ver- 
 mont state historical societies, and also that of the Baker Library at Dart- 
 mouth College. Once more, he drew a blank. 
 
 Well, not quite a blank. In the Danville, Vermont, North Star for Sep- 
 tember 9, 1833, he found a personal notice: Major James H. Howe of 
 Troy, New York, had recently married Miss Charlotte W. Wright of 
 Montpelier, Vermont. Here, suddenly, one of our clues came to life. We 
 had hunted hard for J. H. Howe, but had been unable to find anything 
 about him until this chance discovery of the marriage notice. A Howe 
 family history disclosed that this same James H. Howe had lived in 
 Lebanon, New Hampshire, before moving to Troy. Lebanon, one could 
 assume, was our traveler's place of residence. 
 
 But this assumption was soon made questionable by a bit of information 
 from a Mann family history, which Mr. Getz located on this same trip. The 
 author of the ^Journal," it will be recalled, had also visited a Mr. Mann in 
 Troy. The Mann genealogy stated that two brothers, Timothy and Russell 
 Mann, had left Orford before 1833 to engage in business at Troy, and the 
 text made clear that Russell was the one whom our author had called on 
 there. Since he and Mann were old friends, Orford seemed to be an even 
 more likely place of residence than Lebanon. 
 
 At the same time that Mr. Getz was running down Howe and Mann, he 
 was pursuing another lead. His investigations had aroused the interest of 
 several local historians. One suggested that the Kendrick family offered 
 possibilities. In the i83o's the Kendricks had kept a store, and had been 
 people of substance and education. Information about the Kendricks 
 could be found in a collection of notebooks which the Rev. Charles A. 
 Downs, author of a history of Lebanon, had donated to the public library. 
 
 From the notebooks Mr. Getz learned that Stephen Kendrick had 
 founded the first store in Lebanon. As the town grew, Kendrick prospered. 
 He raised a large family, and had the satisfaction of seeing his sons achieve 
 
 L - ] 
 
solid, respectable positions. One became the town druggist, one a banker, 
 one headed a railroad company, two were college professors. Interest, 
 however, centered in the oldest son, Stephen, Jr., who, according to the 
 notes, had "gone west and died there." 
 
 Here, certainly, was a strong candidate. In Kendrick's favor was the 
 fact, which the Rev. Mr. Downs' notes yielded, that James H. Howe of 
 Troy was a cousin. Opposing the presumption was Kendrick's age. Born 
 in 1798, he would had been thirty-four or thirty-five in 1833, and that was 
 somewhat older than we had taken our author to be. 
 
 The Downs notes included a series of clippings of articles which a 
 Colbee C. Benton had written for the Granite State Free Press, of Lebanon, 
 in the early 1870's. All were reminiscences of Lebanon in the author's 
 boyhood and youth. One described a dancing school which he had 
 attended. Stephen Kendrick, Jr., had taken lessons in the same group, 
 and Russell Mann had come from Orford to attend. This accounted for 
 the boyhood friendship between our traveler and Mann, and solved the 
 bothersome problem of Mann's residence in Orford. 
 
 Mr. Getz assumed that he had come to the end of his quest. In all 
 probability Stephen Kendrick, Jr., was the author of the "Journal to the 
 Tar Off West."' But the Benton reminiscences were interesting, and my 
 co-editor had plenty of time. He continued to read. In a few minutes he 
 came to an article from the Granite State Free Press for February 21, 1873, 
 which contained this passage: 
 
 "Another school teacher was Manley Amsden, a son of Joseph Amsden, 
 and a brother of Uriah and Joel. He taught in 1811 and proved one of the 
 best teachers. Soon after, he went to Waterford, N. Y., where he made teach- 
 ing a business and became celebrated in that part of the country. He lived 
 a bachelor for some years but after a little figuring he worked out an inter- 
 esting problem in a rich young widow's heart, by the name of Van Alstine, 
 which resulted in the possession of a good wife, her young daughter, and 
 a fine Dutch farm. The writer visited them in 1833. • • •" 
 
 Here, with no advance warning whatever, was the answer. In Water- 
 
 [*] 
 
town our hitherto nameless traveler had called on a Mr. Amsden," and 
 
 had been la\ ored with music and singing by Miss \ an A 1st inc."'' 1 So the 
 author oi the anonymous journal was not Stephen Kendrick, Jr.: he was 
 Colbee ( I. Benton! 
 
 Benton's rerniniscence continued: ". . . in their [the Amsdens] "house at 
 home" whi< h was a great wonder to him. The- rooms were finished wholly 
 in wood, with massive beams overhead, looking much like a prison: but 
 tlu furniture was beautiful, and of the richest old Dutch style." Here was 
 further confirmation, for our traveler, in his journal, had marvelled at the 
 beauty oi the Amsden home and had described it in detail. 
 
 Biographical data in the Lebanon Public Library clinched the identifi- 
 cation. ( )ue source stated that Colbee C. Benton had made a trip to the West 
 in 1 S3 3. and had spent a week among the Indians at that time. The same 
 source asserted that Benton had traveled 800 miles, alone in a dugout, on 
 the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. Whether this was a eon tin nation of the 
 trip to the "Far Off West' 1 we do not know. We wish we could explain the 
 abrupt termination of the "Journal," but we cannot. It is our hope that Ben- 
 ton kept a record of his adventures alter the "Journal" stopped, and that 
 tins publication will be instrumental in bringing the manuscript to light. 
 
 As for Benton the person, we resort to an obituary notice which ap- 
 peared in the Granite Stah Monthly lor January, 1881. 
 
 "( ol. ( lolbee Chamberlain Benton, son of William Benton, was born in 
 1 angdon, N. I I.. Jan. 23. 1 805. At an early age his parents moved to Leba- 
 non, where the greatest part of his long and well-rounded life was passed. 
 At the early age of twenty years (1825) Col. Benton engaged in the mer- 
 cantile business for himself, with a capital ol $147.50, the accumulation 
 of his boyhood. Thrift and foresight were attended by prosperity, and in 
 the prime of manhood he retired from active business with a competency, 
 and devoted the remainder of his life to his favorite studies, congenial 
 pursuits and travel. I le was ne\ ei idle. I le took great interest in the organi- 
 zation of the- Northern Railroad, assisting 111 the preliminary survev. and 
 
 •See post, p. 20 
 
 I w I 
 
urging before the legislature the granting of its charter and right-of-way. 
 He served his town as selectman two terms, and was always an active advo- 
 cate of the principles of his own political party, leaving the offices to his 
 party associates. His leisure was devoted to the study of nature; horticul- 
 ture, botany, mineralogy and geology receiving attention, as shown by the 
 large and valuable collection of botanical and mineral specimens which 
 he has left. Local history and genealogy were also favorite studies with 
 him, and his active pen has left on record many of his researches. He was 
 identified with the militia organizations of the state, receiving his rank, 
 however, from the State of Vermont, during a temporary residence in that 
 commonwealth. Col. Benton was an active, earnest, well-informed, con- 
 scientious and modest man. He affiliated with the Unitarian Church, in 
 which denomination he was deeply interested. In 1841 he married Susan 
 A. Wright, of Norwich, Vt., who survives him. She was his companion on 
 his journeys and coadjutor in his studies. Their children, four in number, 
 are buried in their family lot. Col. C. C. Benton died very suddenly in 
 Boston, February 22, 1880. His memory will long survive." 
 
 Through the publication of the ff Journal," Mr. Benton's memory will 
 doubtless survive longer than his memorialist expected— a prospect which 
 
 both Mr. Getz and I find very gratifying. 
 
 Paul M. Angle. 
 
 * * * 
 
 In preparing the "Journal to the Tar Off West'" for publication we 
 have exercised our editorial prerogatives with restraint. For the benefit of 
 the present-day reader we have made occasional changes in spelling, punc- 
 tuation, and paragraphing, but we have not carried the process far enough 
 to take away any of the flavor of the original. Certain passages which 
 seemed to be of no interest or importance have been deleted, as indicated 
 by elision marks. 
 
 Mr. Angle is responsible for the notes covering Benton's trip to Chi- 
 cago; Mr. Getz for those which relate to the author's tour of the Indian 
 
 COuntT y- P.M.A.andJ.R.G. 
 
 [ xii ] 
 
Journal to the ^Far-off West" 
 
 Friday, July 12 til [1833] rw Today has been delightful— delightful 
 because of the bright sun— the deep blue sky— the pure fresh air and the 
 gentle breeze. Yet, the beauty of so lovely a day has not dispersed the mel- 
 ancholy sensations which have gathered upon my heart. It can not banish 
 the regret of parting from friends and of leaving "home sweet, sweet home." 
 No, it is not the bright sunshine of a day that will lighten the sadness of 
 regret, or make us happy to say farewell to friends— to home— to the de- 
 lightful streams and beautiful meadows— to the sweet and lovely flowers— 
 to the green woods— the rich scenery— the rugged mountains and the 
 bright green hills. We love them all too well to be happy to leave them, or 
 ever to forget them, and we can not say farewell without sad and melan- 
 choly feelings. 
 
 The occurrences of the day have not been very singular. Had a carriage 
 not crowded— a good driver and speedy horses. Passed through Windsor 
 and dined in Charleston at the very fashionable hour of 4 o'clock p.m.* 
 Stopped at Springfield V.T. a very thriving place, and one of considerable 
 business. The hills seem to rise almost perpendicular from the village and 
 
 *One would infer that Windsor, Vermont, was the first place of consequence through 
 which our traveler passed. According to a contemporary, "the village contains about 
 125 dwelling houses. It is rather compactly built, and several of the houses are 
 elegant. The place is much adorned with trees and shrubbery, which, united with 
 the hill prospect around, and a fine view of Ascutney mountain, which lies three 
 miles southwest of it, render it one of the most pleasant villages in this part of the 
 country.'' Zadock Thompson, History of Vermont, Natural, Civil and Statistical 
 (Burlington, 1842), Part III, pp. 195-96. 
 
 "Charleston" was undoubtedly Charlestown, New Hampshire, on the east side of 
 the Connecticut River twelve miles south of Windsor. 
 
 L 13 J 
 
give it quite a romantic appearance— and there are some falls on the little 
 stream that passes through the centre of the village which are quite a curi- 
 osity.* The water has worn out a deep cavity in the rock where it dashes 
 along its narrow channel with great force and a thick spray is raised from 
 which I beheld a beautiful rainbow. 
 
 Arrived at Chester about sunset. Here we had six horses attached to the 
 coach, but unfortunately the leaders were lazy and the driver's whip 
 too short. t However, a remedy was prepared. The footboard was loaded 
 with stones and dealt out as occasion required— and after trying all the 
 virtue there is in stones, with much whipping— we succeeded in reaching 
 Landsgrove about 12 at night. A dish of milk was soon disposed of— and 
 a bed found.? 
 
 oCLiUTuCiy 13til f£2 Was called about three o'clock— not a very agree- 
 able hour for a person of my habits. The morning cold and chilly and 
 very uncomfortable indeed, which, with the rough and hilly road, made 
 it seem almost forever getting down the mountain, to Manchester, where 
 we took breakfast. The breakfast was decent, but the waiter did not know 
 which end he stood on— no more did the Landlord, for he undertook to 
 make some excuses out of pure affectation I presume, and he had so many 
 stops and starts— so many colons and semicolons without ever coming to 
 
 ""The "little stream" was the Black River. Of its falls Thompson wrote: "These falls 
 amount to 110 feet in an eighth of a mile, 50 of which are nearly perpendicular, 
 and they are regarded as one of the greatest curiosities in the state. . . . The village 
 and all the scenery about is highly romantic and interesting." History of Vermont, 
 Pt. Ill, 163-64. 
 
 tChester was an important junction point. "The line of stages from Boston to Mont- 
 real, and from Hanover and Charlestown, to Saratoga and Albany, intersect in this 
 village. The road from Chester to Manchester, is considered the best passage of the 
 Green Mountains in the state, south of Montpelier, and renders this village the great 
 thoroughfare for the travel from Maine and New Hampshire, to the state of New 
 York, and particularly to Saratoga and Ballston springs." Thompson, History of 
 Vermont, Pt. Ill, p. 54. 
 
 f Landgrove, a post town a little more than halfway between Chester and Man- 
 chester. 
 
a period, that I could not understand him. The morning ride had given 
 me a very good appetite and with the greedy assistance of some friends 
 and fellow travellers, the Toast, Beefsteak and eggs was disposed of with 
 surprising celerity— and there stood the poor landlord trembling with 
 wonder and astonishment, and thert he remained, choaked with unintelli- 
 gible apologies until we called for the hill, which immediately brought 
 him to his senses, and we to ours.— Manchester is rather a small old look- 
 ing town, situated down between the hills and does not seem to have much 
 support, unless from a Seminary lately established.* The building is of 
 marble, three stories high, and is very pleasantly situated on an eminence 
 west of the village. It commenced in May last and already has one hun- 
 dred scholars. Ten thousand dollars was given by an inhabitant of the 
 Town, whose name it bears, provided the same amount could be raised 
 bv other donations or subscriptions. It has been done which taken to- 
 gether makes an ample fund.t 
 
 The next Town, Arlington, remembered only for its beautiful Episco- 
 palian meetinghouse. I had an opportunity to go into it, and I think it the 
 prettiest meetinghouse that I ever saw.— It has an elegant organ, which 
 was presented by an individual and cost seven hundred dollars. f Dined at 
 Cambridge. N. York, an old looking village and surrounded by a rich and 
 
 ""Thompson gave Manchester a somewhat more substantial character. "It contains 
 a bank, a jail erected in 1787 in connexion with a court house, an academy, built 
 in 1818. an elegant brick court house built in 1822, a meeting house, the Burr 
 seminary, several stores, taverns, mechanics' shops, &c." History of Vermont, Pt. 
 Ill, 109. 
 
 TThe seminary owed its existence "to the munificence of Joseph Burr, Esq., who 
 resided many years at Manchester, and by patient industry and an upright course 
 of business, accumulated property estimated, at the time of his death, which took 
 place April 14. 1828, to amount to $150,000." The school opened on May 15, 
 1833, and had 146 students in its first term. Of these "a large proportion were pro- 
 fessors of religion, and had in view the preparation for the gospel ministry." 
 Thompson, History of Vermont, Pt. II, 168. 
 
 TSt. James' Church, founded before the Revolution. ff In 1831 a new and elegant 
 stone church was erected at a cost of $10,000."' Thompson. History of Vermont, 
 Pt. III. 4. 
 
 [15] 
 
fertile country. Passed through Union Village which has a very lively and 
 brisk appearance— and is growing very fast.* Soon after, had a view of the 
 Hudson river for the first time and crossed it in a horse boat. Remained a 
 short time at Schylerville, a small village in Saratoga on the Hudson, cele- 
 brated for its being the place where Burgogyne delivered up his army in the 
 time of the Revolution. An old diy tree now marks the ground on which 
 he surrendered and I had a view of the spot where the entrenchments were 
 on the river bank. I purchased two bullets which were lately picked up 
 on the battle-ground. t 
 
 From this to the springs is through a very barren country and thinly 
 inhabited. Arrived about sunset. Stopped at Congress Hall. Was shown 
 into a room— read the rules & it needed but a glance for a decision. Naked 
 walls— a little narrow room— a little narrow bed— and a little too hard by 
 —a great deal. No carpet and a great ways to travel to find so little— and 
 last tho' not least, the very modest price of two dollars per day. I made a 
 proper excuse and had my baggage removed to the Rail Road House, a 
 decent kind of a thing, and then again not so decent. 
 
 SuudCLy, 14 til ch I left my bed at a late hour, somewhat refreshed after 
 having been deprived of sleep for two days. After breakfast went to the 
 different springs and tasted— but the water was not very sweet. However, I 
 succeeded in drinking three tumblers of the Congress Water, and I find 
 my health very much improved. Soon no doubt I shall be able to proceed 
 on my journey to the ff far west." 
 
 Saratoga is rather a pleasant place, but the country immediately about 
 
 *Union Village is the present Greenwich, a small town on the Battenkill River six 
 
 miles east of the Hudson. 
 
 t Saratoga is the township, and Schuylerville, in Benton's time, was the principal 
 
 village. 
 
 After the two battles of Freeman's Farm, September 19 and October 7, 1777, 
 General Burgoyne found himself in a hopeless position and began to retire north- 
 ward. At Schuylerville, with fewer than 3500 men ready for duty, he was sur- 
 rounded by 17,000 American regulars and militia under General Gates. Burgoyne 
 surrendered on October 17. 
 
 [16] 
 
it is barren and sandy. There arc many fine Hotels — Concert Hall is an 
 elegant building and very pleasantly situated near to Congress Springs. 
 United States Hotel is a noble building on the north side of the street and 
 near to the rail road. The Pavillion is also a fine building and delightfully 
 situated. Union Hall opposite Concert Hall is a very fine place. Colum- 
 bian Hall and manv other fine Hotels. And the street at this time is very 
 » 
 
 pleasant and lively. 
 
 The accommodations about the springs are ridiculous, considering the 
 celebrity they have acquired. One would think that Saratoga was a para- 
 dise and that it had even" comfort and convenience, but it will soon be 
 perceived by observation, to be far otherwise. Thev have commenced mak- 
 ing some improvement at Congress Springs and it is possible that the en- 
 terprise of the proprietors may make it decent and perhaps respectable. I 
 think it very strange that thev have neglected it so long: but the truth is 
 they are a lot of shavers and sharpers, destitute of all public spirit &: of 
 shame and pride. Think that a "penny saved is two pence earned" and 
 thus neglect their duty to gratify a mean and niggardly disposition. There 
 are some delightful groves of pine, but thev are improved for 'nine pin 
 allevs'— 'Billiards'— 'Wheels of Fortune.' cards and all sorts of gambli:... : 
 
 *In 1S40 Saratoga Springs boasted six churches. several"literary institutions."' and 
 2.000 inhabitant. Its fame, however, derived from its springs. "These are situated 
 on the margin of a vale, bordering; the village on the east, and are the continuation 
 of a chain of springs discovering themselves about 12 miles to the south, in the 
 town of Ballston. The springs in this vicinity are lS or 20 in number, the principal 
 of which are the Congress, the Iodine or Walton. Putnam's. C _ ss, the Mob 
 the Hamiitun. the Flat Rock, the High Rock, the Columbian, and the Washington. 
 . . . The hotels in this place are numerous, and some of them trulv elegant, built 
 in good taste, with spacious piazzas, and vards ornamented with shrubberv." Ber- 
 ber \: Howe, HisU rical Collections of the State of Neu \\ rk i>4i . 4 < v 
 
 Robert J. Vandewater, writing at the time of Benton's visit, added: "Amusement 
 is always to be found during a sojourn here. Besides that which arises from the 
 contemplation of the various shades of character with which the crowded s< 
 is enlivened, the librarv. the reading-rooms, the billiard-rooms, and dancing, which 
 seems to prevail among the fashionable invalids, afford all the opportunities 
 killing Tune— that arch enemy— which could he desired." 1 ist 1 r I 
 
 Manual ft r Travellers Third Edition. New York. 1S34 . 94. 
 
 [»7] 
 
This afternoon when returning from a walk witnessed a real case of 
 f ' } salt and battery." A negro woman pounding a white woman over the 
 head with an umbrella and with all the power and might she had. The 
 white succeeded in escaping from her and run through a narrow passage 
 between some buildings. The black followed and many gentlemen fol- 
 lowed to prevent further trouble. The black again smote the w r hite, and 
 the gentlemen interfered. The white escaped, running down street with 
 great speed, and such an object I never saw before. Her face covered with 
 blood, her hair flying in the air in all directions, her clothes all ff tattered 
 and torn" and she looked horrible indeed. And the wench, she was a com- 
 plete picture of rage. She looked like a Tiger that had lost his prey. Her 
 eyes rolled round like those of a beast in great agony and rage. Her nostrils 
 swelled like those of a race horse, and she foamed at the mouth like a mad 
 dog— and such a look of defiance, so terrible, frightful and horrible, really 
 I could not but imagine myself in the presence of some infernal spirit of 
 the lower regions of darkness. 
 
 Jrloildfly. July 15t/l &* I arose at an early hour, went down to Con- 
 gress Springs, drank some of the water, took a position where I could view 
 the different visitors as they approached like cattle to water, and it was a 
 singular collection indeed. I was much amused with their appearance. A 
 gouty old West India Planter would step up and drink a great quantity. 
 The dark southerner would drink moderately. The whiskered Spaniard 
 would dip a little, and our Dandys would sip a little, then draw themselves 
 into an attitude and look a little. Some of the Ladys would sip a little. And 
 some of these delicate beings whom no one would suppose could drink 
 more than two or three tumblers of the water, I heard boast of having 
 drank thirteen. They must have been made to inhabit some other part of 
 the Globe, probably the dry and sandy deserts of Africa. I thought from 
 their diminutive proportions that they must be great (or little) natural 
 curiosities. It was all life and motion, coming and going, drinking and 
 looking on. No respect to persons. Gamblers. Pickpockets. Ladies and Gentle- 
 
 [18] 
 
men all came on equal ground and drank from die same cup, in real repub- 
 lican style* 
 
 At one of the springs, if a Fowl were to be held near to the water, it 
 would become lifeless to all appearance, and as it was represented by the 
 boy (who waits upon the visitors and has imbibed no small portion of a 
 speculative disposition) it would die forever and the spectators had here- 
 tofore believed it. The boy said he would get a chicken for eighteen pence 
 and the effect might be seen. The money was paid and the chicken exten- 
 ded near to the water, but it would not die. And the boy said, when off his 
 guard that the chicken had died a number of times that day, and of course 
 it had been sold as many times. (Any way to get money.) Dieing had be- 
 come a kind of second nature to the chicken probably, and it was just as 
 easy to die as live. The difference not perceivable. 
 
 Tuesday Jll lylGtll ttt Left Saratoga for Waterford in the stage. Passed 
 through Ballston and drank water from the springs in that place. Ballston 
 is a more businesslike appearing place than Saratoga. There is a fine Hotel 
 in the place, said to better than any in Saratoga and the springs are more 
 visited than formerly.* The Railroad is carried across a hollow supported 
 
 * ff Ballston Spa is the resort of hundreds of travellers during the summer months. 
 There are a number of springs in the vicinity, the waters of which are not unlike 
 those of Saratoga. . . . Two of the springs are near Mr. Aldridge's Boarding-house; 
 and the U. S. Spring is at the east end of the village, near the Sans Souci Hotel. A 
 large bathing-house is located near this spring, which is furnished with waters (for 
 the purpose of bathing) from all the different springs in the vicinity. There is in 
 the village a Court-House, two Churches, an Academy, and a Female Seminary; 
 also a printing-office and bookstore, to which a reading room is attached." Vande- 
 water, Tourist, 91-92. 
 
 In the light of the claims made by an enthusiastic contemporary, the popularity 
 of the springs is understandable. "The use of the mineral waters here and at Sara- 
 toga is especially beneficial in all those affections termed bilious and dyspeptic, in 
 calculous and nephritic complaints, in chronic rheumatism, gout, in ulcers and 
 cutaneous disorders, scrofula, in mercurial diseases and strumous affections, in re- 
 cent dropsy, paralysis, chlorosis, fcc.' 1 Unidentified quotation in Barber 8c Howe, 
 Historical Collections. 493. 
 
 I 19] 
 
by arches and has quite a splendid appearance. A caravan was exhibiting 
 here, which called a great many people together, and we met a great many 
 Dutch Waggons loaded with men, women and children going to see the 
 great curiosities. Arrived at Waterford at two o'clock p.m. Dined. Put on 
 a clean "Dickey*' and walked up to Mr. Amsdens. Found the family in good 
 health. Passed the afternoon and evening very pleasantly, and was detained 
 till next day on account of a heavy shower. 
 
 Wednesday July 1 7 &l This morning I arose at a proper time. After 
 breakfast was favored with musick and singing from Miss Van Alstine. 
 Walked with Mr. Amsden on to the hill west of his house, where we had 
 a beautiful view of the rich fertile land in front, and of the river beyond. 
 It is a delightful spot on the river. Mr. Amsdens house is quite a curiosity'. 
 Built in the Dutch style and has a very ordinary appearance on the out- 
 side, but when you get inside, you are astonished at the contrast. The par- 
 lour is rich and elegantly furnished and everything is in perfect order and 
 neatness. The huge, uncovered beams have an appearance of peculiar 
 grandeur when compared with a splendid Pianoe, a rich Carpet and ele- 
 gant furniture, and I could not but admire the magnificent contrast— the 
 novelty, too, and the appearance of comfort and happiness— and I had a 
 delightful visit. After dinner Mr. Amsden and family and myself took seats 
 in his carriage and rode to Waterford village. I had the pleasure of Miss Van 
 Alstines company when walking about town, for which, I felt very grateful. 
 Waterford is rather an old looking place, but I should think it rather a 
 pleasant place, were it not for the very filthy practice of letting their hogs 
 run in the street.* I walked to LansinbVirgh, one mile, where I remained till 
 evening. This is a much larger village than I expected to see. The main street 
 
 * r *The village of Waterford. containing a population of about 1,600, is pleasantly 
 situated at the junction of the Mohawk with the Hudson, 10 miles north of Albany. 
 ... It is favorably located for trade, being on the lines of the Champlain canal and 
 Rensselaer and Saratoga railroad. It also derives considerable importance from the 
 navigation of small vessels on the Hudson.'" Barber &: Howe, Historical Collections, 
 505-06. For Mr. Amsden and Miss Van Alstine, see pp. x-xi. 
 
 [20] 
 
is very pleasant and | has | many fine buildings, and it has the appearance of 
 considerable business.'* Left forTroy, which is only three miles, about nine 
 o'clock, eve. Took lodgings at the "Mansion House." Met my friend J. 1 1. 
 
 I [owe, talked over matters and things. Went to bed (and slept soundly). 
 
 Thursday July 18th >? A very pleasant day. After breakfast called 
 upon my friend, who walked about the city with me, and back on to the 
 hill where we had a grand view of Troy, of Albany below, and Waterford 
 above, and of the Hudson river. Visited Mount Ida, about half a mile from 
 the city which is quite a curiosity. The precipice is about seventy feet and 
 almost perpendicular and at the bottom runs a rapid stream which has 
 worn this deep channel in the rock. Visited the burying ground, which is 
 a very splendid one, and it looks as if the dead might be happy there. This 
 afternoon I spent in walking about the city, and I have almost fell in love 
 with it. Many of the streets are delightful— beautiful shade trees and rich 
 magnificent buildings. The store houses on River Street are the most ele- 
 gant 1 have seen. The streets regular, and the whole has an appearance of 
 order and neatness which far surpasses any city I have seen.t 
 
 ""Lansingburg ... is beautifully situated on the Hudson," three miles north of 
 Troy, nine miles north of Albany. "The village is regularly laid out with capacious 
 streets in scjiiares of 400 by 260 feet, and is a place of considerable manufacturing 
 and commercial business. . . .Three of the sprouts of the Mohawk enter the Hud- 
 son opposite the village, and the Cahoos [Cohoes] Falls are often distinctly heard 
 in the stillness of the night."' Barber 8c Howe, Historical Collections, 468. 
 TTrovs history begins with the year 1720, when the land on which the city stands 
 was granted to Derick Van Derheyden. It was not until after the Revolution, how- 
 ever, that emigrants from New England, taken with the location, persuaded the then 
 proprietors to mark out and sell town lots. By 1789 five stores and a dozen build- 
 ing had heen elected. At that time the name was changed from Van Derhevdeifs 
 Ferry to Troy. 
 
 Even the factual description of Barber &: Howe does not completely obscure 
 the small citv's charm. "The city of Troy is regularly laid out, on a plan similar to 
 that of Philadelphia. The principal street is River-street, which extends along the 
 Hudson the whole Length of the city, and is ornamented with many spacious and 
 splendid stores. It is the theatre of" a very extensive business. The remaining por- 
 tion of the place generally exhibits the quiet aspect of the country. . . . Troy is in- 
 
 I 21] 
 
I called upon my old friend Mann, was surprised to hear that he had a 
 wife and three children. It seems but a short time since we were young 
 together, and I can hardly realize it. After tea, called upon a Young Lady 
 at the Female Seminary and had a very agreable visit. Was ushered into 
 a sitting room among strangers, where I remained dumb and motionless as 
 the rest of the company, and I felt a peculiar kind of awkwardness, which 
 was not removed until the young Lady appeared.* 
 
 Friday July 19th m Left Troy this morning. Weather cool, but 
 comfortable. Crossed the Hudson, and passed the United States arsenal 
 which is a splendid lot of fine and neat looking buildings. t Passed the Van 
 Rensallaer House an elegant establishment. A fine House surrounded by 
 a great variety of the most beautiful shade trees and an immense quantity 
 of shrubbery.? Stopped at the Western Hotel near the Rail Road. Im- 
 
 debted in a great measure for its prosperity to its advantageous situation, and the 
 enterprise and industry of her inhabitants. She has extensively availed herself of 
 the facilities afforded by the river and the Erie and Champlain canals. . . . Within 
 the last few years Troy has increased rapidly in wealth and population. In 1820 
 her population was 5,268; in 1830, 11,566; in 1840, 19,373." Historical Collec- 
 tions, 47 2. 
 
 *The Female Seminary was a pioneer in education for women. Founded at Water- 
 ford in 1819, the school was moved to Troy in 1821. Alma Lutz, in the Dictionary 
 of American Biography, offers this appraisal: "In 1821, sixteen years before Mary 
 Lyon founded her seminary at Mount Holyoke, Emma Willard's Troy Female 
 Seminary received its first pupils; and it grew in popularity and in influence so 
 that she was able to accomplish without state aid what a few years before seemed 
 
 impossible. . . . Emma Willard was one of the great educators of her day Her 
 
 Troy Female Seminary was looked upon as a model both in the United States and 
 in Europe." 
 t At Watervliet. 
 
 f ft On the northern bounds of the city [Albany] is the mansion house of the late 
 Stephen Van Rensselaer, Esq., the patroon of the manor of Rensselaerwick. It is 
 almost entirely surrounded by a thick forest of trees, giving it an unusually retired 
 aspect. The name of this gentleman can scarcely be mentioned without a passing 
 tribute to his merit. Blessed with great wealth, which so frequently leads to selfish 
 egotism and exclusiveness, he has through life been distinguished as an active and 
 efficient public man; bestowing his personal services and his fortune, to the encour- 
 
 [22] 
 
proved what little time I had in travelling about the City of Albany. Vis- 
 ited City Hall, a magnificent building of marble. For a shilling was ad- 
 mitted in the Cupola, a spacious room which gave me at once a grand 
 view of the whole city of Albany and Troy, and a delightful view of the 
 beautiful scenery and of the majestic Hudson teeming with numerous ves- 
 sels. The State House is built of a brick colored stone and has a very an- 
 cient and venerable appearance and there are many elegant buildings in 
 the vicinity of City Hall and it is also the most pleasant part of the city. 
 Go down into the lower streets and you seem to have fallen from a brighter 
 world. It looks dark and dirty, yet it is very brisk and lively.* 
 
 Left at ten o'clock and travelled by Rail Road to Schenectady through 
 the most barren country that I ever saw.t When we stopped we could not 
 
 agement of every species of improvement in literature, science, and art. His name, 
 as a benefactor, is associated with most of the charitable and scientific institutions 
 of the state: and he has perhaps done more than any other citizen to foster agricul- 
 ture and internal improvements.'" Barber 8c Howe, Historical Collections, 50, quot- 
 ing Gordon's Gazetteer. 
 
 *Albanv deserves more space than Benton gave it. We amplify his description from 
 the account of Barber and Howe. "The position of Albany necessarily makes it 
 a great thoroughfare. The completion of the canals has given it a great commer- 
 cial importance, making it the entrepot for a great proportion of the products des- 
 tined for the New York market. To accommodate this trade, a basin has been con- 
 structed by the citizens on the river, in which all the northern and western canal 
 boats are received. It consists of a part of the river included between the shore and 
 a pier eighty feet wide, and four thousand three hundred feet long. . . . The basin 
 has an area of thirty-two acres." 
 
 The City Hall was constructed "of white marble, hewed out by the state pris- 
 oners, at Sing Sing, and distinguished above all other edifices in this country by its 
 gilded dome, like the Invalides at Paris. It was completed in December, 1832. In 
 the rotunda of this building there is a statue of Hamilton, a copy of that by Green- 
 ough, in the Merchants' Exchange, destroyed by the great fire in New York, in 1835. 
 There are also two designs in bas-relief, executed by W. Coffee, at the cost of the 
 citizens, commemorative of De Witt Clinton and Sir Walter Scott." 
 
 The State House was "substantially built of stone, at an expense of $120,000, of 
 which the city corporation paid $34,000. The hall of the representatives and the 
 senate chamber, each contain full length portraits of Washington, and of several 
 governors of the state." Historical Collections, 48-49. 
 T The Mohawk & Hudson went into operation in the late summer of 1 83 1 . Thomas 
 
 [23] 
 
see out for boat agents, all talking at once, saving; will you go in the "Tele- 
 graph,*' the ''Senator,*' etc. I remained speechless and when I got ready to 
 go I engaged a passage to Utica and left about five o'clock p. M. In the 
 meantime I walked all about the town and back on the hill near the col- 
 leges, where I had a very grand view of the village and the country around. 
 Schenectady is an old, mean, filthy looking place. It seems to be princi- 
 pally inhabited by a swinish multitude, and the streets bear a near resem- 
 blance to so many cowyards and hogpens.* A person is liable to be 
 crowded from the sidewalk bv a hog or of being carried off on his back, 
 for they are the most independent, if not the greatest gentlemen that walk 
 the streets. The Colleges are fine buildings situated on an eminence, 
 which overlooks the village, and may be remembered as an exception to 
 the rest of the buildings. t 
 
 S. Woodcock, who traveled over the road in the spring of 1836, has left an inter- 
 esting description. "May 25th. Left Albanv at 9 O Clock by the Railway for Sche- 
 nectadv. a distance of 17 Miles, for which 62^ cents is charged. We were drawn by 
 Horses about 2 Miles, being a steep ascent. We then found a Steam Engine waiting 
 for us I built by Stephenson and called the John Bull). The road is then quite level 
 for 14 Miles through the poorest Country I ever saw. The sand banks are so loose 
 that trees have been cut down and laid upon them, to promote vegetation and pre- 
 vent the sand from drifting. The sides of the Road are plentifully strewn with wild 
 flowers, amongst which I perceived the blue lupin in great abundance. We at length 
 stop to have our carriages attached to a stationary Engine which lets us down an 
 inclined plane, from the top of which we have a fine view of Schenectady and a 
 part of the Valley of the Mohawk." New York to Niagara, 1836: The Journal of 
 Thomas S. Woodcock. Deoch Fulton. Editor (New York, 1938), 7-8. 
 ^Barber 8c Howe corroborate our traveler after a fashion by remarking of Schenec- 
 tady: "The city ... in some parts retains much of its ancient appearance,'* while 
 Woodcock dismissed it with a curt description: "It is built chiefly of Bricks and is 
 in a low flat situation, and I think a place of no great importance." Historical Col- 
 lections, 509: New York to Niagara, 8. 
 
 t Union College, Dutch Reformed, was incorporated in 1794. "In 1814, the trustees 
 purchased a site on the rising ground overlooking the Mohawk valley, a little E. of 
 the compact part of the city. Two edifices have been erected at this place, each 200 
 feet long, about 40 wide, 4 stories high, standing in a line 600 feet apart: a colon- 
 nade extending in the rear from each building 156 feet in length, by about 30 feet 
 in width, and 2 stories high. The other college buildings are two boarding halls, 
 farm-house, hospital-house, for a professor [sic], a number of tenements for ser- 
 
 [24] 
 
StttUTudy July 20 rw After leaving Schenectady it rained quite hard, 
 but we continued to travel, it being of no other inconvenience, except to 
 the horses and rider.* When I awoke this morning I found myself in 
 
 vants, &c. The college has 6 professors and 4 assistant professors, and in its sev- 
 eral libraries about 13,000 volumes. . . . There are here about 300 students." Bar- 
 ber &i Howe, Historical Collections, 509-10. 
 
 *A passage from Vandewaters guide book fits into the narrative perfectly at this 
 point. "The traveller now resumes his tour upon the great Western canal, the most 
 stupendous chain of artificial navigation in this or any other country. In passing 
 for hundreds of miles through rich and fertile tracts, and over obstacles which pre- 
 sented almost impassable barriers to the great work of internal improvement, so 
 boldlv planned and perseveringly completed by the foresight, wisdom, and inde- 
 fatigable exertions of Clinton and his compeers, the reflection will inevitably sug- 
 gest itself, that the State of New- York has ample reason to indulge a feeling of pride 
 in contemplating the beneficent results of the triumphant labours of those who 
 planned and completed this monument to her public spirit and enterprize." The 
 Tourist, 46. 
 
 Vandewater included a description of a typical Erie Canal packet. r "The Canal 
 Packet-boat, by which the traveller to the west continues his journey from Schenec- 
 tady, is about 80 feet in length and 14 wide. A cabin in the forward part of the boat 
 is fitted for ladies, with twelve berths, in a similar style to those of the steamboats 
 on the Hudson. The dining-cabin is about 35 feet in length. The gentlemen's 
 berths are not stationary, but are hung up in the dining-cabin at bed-time, by means 
 of hooks fitted for the purpose. Back of the dining-cabin is the kitchen and sleep- 
 ing-cabin for the hands." The Tourist, 50. 
 "The distance between Schenectady and Utica is 80 Miles," Woodcock wrote in 
 1836, "the passage is $3.50 which includes board. There are other Boats called 
 Line Boats that carry at a cheaper rate, being found for 2 A of the price mentioned." 
 New York to Niagara, 8-9. 
 
 Fannv Kemble, the English actress who had come to the United States in 1832, 
 traveled west by canal boat in the summer of 1833 and enjoyed the experience. "I 
 like travelling by the canal boats very much," she wrote. "Our's was not crowded, 
 and the country through which we passed being delightful, the placid moderate 
 gliding through it, at about four miles and a half an hour, seemed to me infinitely 
 preferable to the noise of wheels, the rumble of a coach, and the jerking of bad 
 roads, for the gain of a mile an hour. The only nuisances are the bridges over the 
 canal, which are so very low, that one is obliged to prostrate oneself on the deck of 
 the boat, to avoid being scraped ofl'it: and this humiliation occurs, upon an average, 
 once even- quarter of an hour." Frances Anne Butler, Journal (Philadelphia, 1835 ., 
 Vol.11. 183. 
 
 [25] 
 
Sprakers Bason.* Soon came Canajoharsie where we remained about an 
 hour for some passengers. This is a small village, some respectable build- 
 ings. It is situated on very low land and the streets are a complete mud 
 hole. I think that the inhabitants are a heedless and indolent set of beings, 
 having no regard to comfort or convenience or they would improve the 
 streets, as it would cost but little time and expense. There are some good 
 flouring mills here and it is a place of considerable business.! The mer- 
 chants keep large stocks of goods, much too large to all appearance. 
 
 Opposite this place across the Mohawk river, is a small village.? Fort 
 Plain, the next village, seems to be improving quite fast. Two meeting- 
 houses are now building, one Universalist, the other Presbyterian. Dwell- 
 ings rather ordinary looking, and the streets muddy. || The next village of 
 consequence between this and Utica is Little Falls. It is a very brisk and 
 lively place, all life and a great deal of business doing. While the boat was 
 operating through the Locks, I had an opportunity to view it, and it is a 
 wild looking place. § The village is on the north side of the Mohawk, 
 planted upon a rock and is growing very fast. 
 
 The aqueduct which carries an arm of the canal across the river into 
 the village is a splendid piece of workmanship and a great curiosity, and 
 
 ""Sprackers Basin, a small village a few miles east of Canajoharie. 
 
 TCanajoharie was only four years old when our traveler saw it. In 1840 it was 
 
 credited with 100 dwellings. 
 
 f Palatine Bridge. 
 
 ||Fort Plain took its name from a pre-Revolutionary fort erected for defense against 
 
 the Indians. 
 
 §At Little Falls the Mohawk River breaks through the mountain barrier. Fanny 
 
 Kemble described the scenery in prose characteristic of the time. "The day was 
 
 breaking brightly, and the dewy earth was beginning to smile in the red dawn, 
 
 when we approached Little Falls, a place where the placid gentle character of the 
 
 Mohawk becomes wild and romantic, and beautifully picturesque. The canal is for 
 
 some space cut through the solid rock, and the banks, high and bold, were crowned 
 
 with tangled woods, and gemmed with wild flowers, and the delicate vivid tufts of 
 
 fern. It was exceedingly beautiful; and though I believe I missed some part of the 
 
 scenery immediately surrounding Little Falls, the approach to it, which is of the 
 
 same nature, enchanted me extremely." Journal, II, 185. 
 
 [26] 
 
the canal is a tremendous work, having been cut into the side of a rocky 
 mountain, and in some places on the river side it is forty feet above the 
 bed of the Mohawk, confined by a wall running perpendicular to the top. 
 And on the other side the huge masses of stone overhang the canal and 
 seem ready to tumble down upon the boats and crush them as they pass. 
 The view of such a rough, uncultivated spot is grand and splendid, and 
 the wildness of the scenery is beyond all description. Almost at one view, 
 von can see the pretty little village of unhewn stone growing up among 
 the rocks, the foaming waters of the Mohawk dashing along beneath your 
 feet, the canal winding its course along the dark side of the mountain to 
 the level, lifted by five Locks, the aqueduct, the huge rocks in the river, 
 and the tremendous mountain of stone running high above the canal. A 
 view so wild and terrific, so delightful and grand, so novel and romantic, 
 cannot be imagined and seldom be found.* 
 
 Passed the German Flats, which are beautiful land.t Passed through 
 
 """The falls extend upon the river about three fourths of a mile, descending in that 
 distance 42 feet, and consist of two long rapids, separated by a stretch of deep 
 water, occupying each about the fourth of a mile. . . . This waterfall would be beau- 
 tiful anywhere; but it acquires grandeur here, from the high hills which confine it. 
 . . . The defile is two miles long, with a medial breadth of one hundred rods. On 
 either hank, the hill, on which deciduous and evergreen trees are pleasingly inter- 
 mingled, rises from 360 to 400 feet, and the fall, over which may have once poured 
 the waters of Lake Ontario, may have had a very little inferior altitude. . . . 
 
 "At the foot of the falls the river expands into a basin more than a hundred feet 
 deep, into which the high cataract once poured its floods, and from whose depths 
 rocky spires rise above the surface. 
 
 "A canal, with 5 locks, was constructed here by the Western Inland Navigation 
 Companv, in 1802, which now gives a valuable hydraulic power, and serves as a 
 feeder for the Erie canal, with which it is connected by a noble aqueduct of marble, 
 214 feet long, 16 feet wide 
 
 "The canal descends the pass by 5 locks, 40 feet in the distance of one mile, and 
 the time of the passage permits the traveller in boats to view, leisurely, the natural 
 scenerv and artificial improvements.''' Gordon's Gazetteer, quoted in Barber 8c 
 Howe. Historical Collections, 197-98. 
 
 t Alluvial bottoms of uncommonly rich soil, settled at an early period by German 
 families. "The land ... is held almost exclusively by persons of German extraction 
 who preserve the language and customs of their ancestors. This level region ... is 
 
 L27J 
 
Frankfort and London, small towns. Left Herkimer to the right and arrived 
 at Utica at ten o'clock evening. Stopped at Shepherd's Hotel— Sam G. S. 
 Houstin.* 
 
 Sunday July 2ht at This morning I found myself in the City of 
 Utica, and was much disappointed, for instead of a small place as I ex- 
 pected, I found a large city. It is situated on inclining land, and there are 
 some splendid dwellings on the highest eminence, where you can have a 
 very good view of the city and the rich country around it. The streets are 
 fine, very spacious and perfectly neat, and the store houses are elegant, 
 most of them on Genesse Street which runs through the center of the 
 city at right angles with the canal and is a very pleasant street. Baggs Tav- 
 ern at the lower end of this street is quite a celebrated establishment, and 
 there are many other good Hotels on this street. John Street, Westminis- 
 ter Street, and Broad Street are all beautiful and very pleasant. I visited 
 the Public Garden, which is a very pretty place but quite small. Saw one 
 whole hog temperance house, even the wheelbarrow was marked ^temper- 
 ance^— upon the whole quite a steady placet As to the business, I did 
 
 so famous for its fertility that nothing can induce the Germans to sell. It is valued 
 at $200 per acre, though the uplands can be bought for $40. These Germans are 
 enemies to all improvement, are very industrious, but not very cleanly in their 
 habits." Woodcock, New York to Niagara, 9. 
 
 """The Canal Coffee-House, kept by Mr. Shepard ... is at the packet-boat landing." 
 Vandewater, The Tourist, 55. 
 
 tVandevvater credited Utica with a population of 10,000 in 1833— probably a close 
 guess, since the census gave it 8,323 in 1830 and 12,810 in 1840. Woodcock, who 
 passed through without stopping, said that it appeared to be "large and impor- 
 tant." "We could see five Rows of Brick Stores," he wrote, "and the place had an 
 appearance of prosperity." New York to Niagara, 10. Fanny Kemble came to the 
 same conclusion, but from different evidence. She noted: "The gentlemen, I be- 
 lieve, went out to view the town, which, twenty years ago, was not, and now is a 
 flourishing place, with fine-looking shops, two or three hotels, good broad streets, 
 and a body of lawyers, who had a supper at the house where we were staying, and 
 kept the night awake with champagne, shouting, toasts, and clapping of hands: so 
 much for the strides of civilization through the savage lands of this new world." 
 Journal, II, 186. 
 
 [28] 
 
not have an opportunity to judge, it being Sunday. But the flourishing 
 appearance denotes it a place of great business. And the country around 
 as far as the eye can see is another evidence of a great business. But few 
 hogs in the streets (credit). 
 
 Left Utica in the 10 o'clock stage for Syracuse— very warm indeed. 
 Passed through New Hartford, a small manufacturing town and thro' 
 Manchester, Vernon, Oneida, Lenox, and Fayetville, all small towns. Also 
 through Chetenago, a pretty, lively little place.* Arrived at Syracuse at 
 
 ]\±0}ld(iy July 22 (H Very warm. I arose at an early hour, looked 
 through the village, viewed the salt works and the aqueduct, supported 
 by three arches, which carries the waters of the canal across the river. It 
 is quite a pleasant and lively placet The canal passes through the centre 
 of the village as in most of the towns on the canal. After leaving Syracuse 
 we came in sight of Oneida Lake and of Liverpool and Salina.f Passed 
 
 * Accurately: Manchester, Vernon, Oneida, Lenox, Fayetteville, and Chittenango— 
 a distance of sixty-one miles. The route ran south of the canal. 
 TA cursory 7 dismissal of a thriving town. "Syracuse," Vandewater wrote, "is the 
 most important place between Utica and Rochester, and contains about 600 build- 
 ings; among which are 4 churches, 2 very extensive hotels, one on each side of the 
 canal, which is lined with lofty warehouses, giving it the appearance of New-York 
 in miniature. The importance of this flourishing village is principally owing to the 
 immense quantity of salt produced in the vicinity. Great quantities are manufac- 
 tured from the vast number of springs by which the whole body of the soil is im- 
 pregnated. The salt is manufactured by solar evaporation. The water is brought in 
 logs from the village of Salina, about one mile and a half distant, and emptied into 
 the vats, which occupy nearly 300 acres. The vats are all covered with light roofs, 
 which are moveable at pleasure, to admit the rays of the sun upon the water, or to 
 prevent the rain from mingling with it. The salt is removed from the vats twice or 
 three times in the course of the summer." The Tourist, 56. 
 
 t fr Salina is about l 1 /^ Miles from Syracuse, and as its name indicates, is a Salt es- 
 tablishment. The mode of evaporation here is that of boiling. Liverpool is about 6 
 Miles distant on the edge of the Lake (which is about 6 Miles long and 2 broad). 
 These and other villages are solely employed in the Manufacture of Salt." Wood- 
 cock, New York to Niagara, 11. 
 
 L*9] 
 
through Camillus, Elbridge & Marcellus, and Skaneateles, a delightful vil- 
 lage on a very pretty lake. 
 
 Arrived at Auburn at eleven A. M. and remained there till next day. It 
 is a very handsome place.* I was happy to find Gilbert and Trowbridge 
 with their Theatrical Corps. I visited the Prison which is a great curiosity. 
 It contains between seven and eight hundred convicts who are lotted out 
 into different shops and kept industriously at work. Everything is kept in 
 the most perfect order. Each prisoner has his place at work; at his meals 
 and at night he is turned into his cell like a horse into a pound, and it is 
 quite surprising to go through the different shops and see how so many 
 can be so regularly engaged. Their appearance seemed to me like some 
 mechanical invention or machine which was kept in motion by some well 
 regulated power. The Prisons in which the cells are, are within another 
 and all very large. The inner one is five stories, has five Piazzas running 
 round it and is filled with cells. At an early hour in the evening the Pris- 
 oners are confined. The guard marches forward followed by the Prisoners 
 in single file, leading round through the different Piazzas dropping them 
 off one at a time into their lonely cells, returning, just bears upon an iron 
 which tells him whether all is secure or not. There were some sorry look- 
 ing fellows, but generally they looked very 7 independent and careless. The 
 Prisons are magnificent buildings and the whole is a tremendous work, 
 and is no doubt the best, and kept under the best discipline of any Prison 
 
 Barber 8c Howe offer the following figures on salt production in the Syracuse 
 region for the year 1839: 
 
 Salina 
 
 1,283,204 bushels 
 
 Liverpool 
 
 859,733 
 
 Geddes 
 
 249,245 
 
 Syracuse 
 
 472,558 
 
 2,864,740 
 
 Historical Collections, 396. 
 *"Auburn is one of the most thriving and beautiful villages in the state. Its princi- 
 pal streets are adorned with lofty buildings of brick and limestone." Barber 8c 
 Howe, Historical Collections, 76. From Syracuse to Auburn, a distance of twenty- 
 six miles, Benton proceeded by stage. 
 
 [30] 
 
in the United States, and it is managed so as to be a source of considerable 
 profit to the State. I spent about two hours and did not then see but a 
 small part of it. For anything so extensive, to be kept so neat and clean, 
 was almost astonishing to me.* I became acquainted with some voung 
 men, and enjoyed the stay finely. Attended the Theatre in the evening 
 which reminded me of days past. 
 
 Tuesday Jtlly 23 rw Left Auburn this morning. Passed through Cay- 
 uga, a small town on Cayuga Lake. Crossed the lake on a bridge one mile 
 in length. It is a fine lake, forty miles long and has a steam boat on it. 
 Dined at Waterloo. Passed through Geneva on Seneca Lake, and Canan- 
 dagua on Canandagua Lake, both the most delightful places I have seen. 
 The lakes are fine, the water pure and clear as crystal, the buildings rich 
 and elegant and the spacious streets, lined with beautiful shade trees, are 
 lovely indeed. At Canandagua is a Female Seminary in an admirable spot. 
 It is a noble building, a spacious yard in front with numerous walks and 
 a great quantity of shrubbery.t 
 
 ""The state prison was built in 1816 at a cost of approximately $500,000. Origi- 
 nally it had 550 cells, and was later enlarged. In twelve months during the years 
 1838-39 the prison earned $60,161.46 against expenditures of $51,671,21. Barber 
 &: Howe. Historical Col lections, 77. 
 
 tFannv Kemble recorded her impressions of this identical journey in more ro- 
 mantic fashion than our traveler: "We proceeded on our way, crossed a bridge a 
 mile and some rods long, over the Cayuga Lake; which however, was still so veiled 
 with scowling mist and clouds, that we could discern none of its features. At about 
 three o'clock we reached Geneva, a small town situated on a lake called Seneca 
 
 water. Here we dined After dinner, the weather having become mild and bright, 
 
 we went up to a piazza on the second floor, which overlooked the lake and its 
 banks. The latter are very picturesque, and the town itself, climbing in terraces 
 along the side of a steep acclivity rising from the water, has a very good effect. . . . 
 After resting ourselves for a short time, we again took to our coach, and pursued 
 our route towards Canandaigua. where we were to pass the night. The afternoon 
 was bright and beautiful, the road tolerable, and the country through which we 
 passed, fertile and smiling. As the evening began to come on, we reached Canan- 
 daigua lake, a very- beautiful sheet of water of considerable extent. We coasted for 
 some time close along its very margin: the opposite shore was high, clothed with 
 
 [31] 
 
Wednesday July 24 r?t Arrived at Rochester three o'clock this 
 morning after a tedious and unpleasant ride through the night. Walked 
 through the city. Went into the Arcade (a kind of a long entry) where the 
 Post Office is kept and where the Atheneum can be found. Had a sight of 
 their dirty market. Went into their best flouring mills. Visited Genesse 
 Falls where "Sam Patch jumpt his last" (poor fellow), and they are well 
 worth visiting. The water falls about seventy feet and the banks of the 
 
 wood, from amidst which, here and there, a white house looked peacefully down 
 on the clear mirror below; the dead themselves can hardly inhabit regions more 
 blessedly apart from the evil turmoil of the world, than the inhabitants of these 
 beautiful solitudes. Leaving the water's edge we proceeded about a quarter of a mile, 
 and found ourselves at the door of the inn at Canandaigua; the principal among 
 some houses surrounding an open turfed space, like an English village green, across 
 which ran the high road. My father, Mr. — , and I went up to a sort of observatory 
 at the top of the house, from whence the view was perfectly enchanting. The green 
 below, screened on three sides with remarkably fine poplar trees, and surrounded 
 by neat white houses, reminded me of some retired spot in my own dear country. 
 Opposite us the land rose with a gentle wooded swell, and to the left the lake 
 spread itself to meet the horizon. A fresh breeze blew over the earth, most grateful 
 after the intense heat of the morning, and the sky was all strewed with faint rosy 
 clouds melting away one by one into violet wreaths, among which the early even- 
 ing star glittered cold and clear." Journal, II, 202-05. 
 
 The more prosaic prose of Barber 8c Howe supports Miss Kemble's glowing de- 
 scription. Of Geneva: "The principal street runs parallel with the lake shore; the 
 mansion houses on the eastern side in the southern part of the village have terraced 
 gardens reaching down to the lake. Few, if any places in this country, can be 
 selected, which present more attractions for persons retiring from business, who 
 wish the enjoyments of a country life, combined with the advantages of social inter- 
 course." Historical Collections, 409-10. 
 
 Of Canandaigua: "The residences of the inhabitants, and the tasteful manner in 
 which their grounds are laid out, are, it is believed, not exceeded in beauty in any 
 village in this country. Many of their mansions are large, splendidly furnished, sur- 
 rounded by trees, commodious walks, odoriferous shrubberies, beautiful gardens 
 and orchards adorned with flowers and fruits of various kinds, giving an air of 
 wealth and refinement to this village rarely elsewhere to be found." Historical Col- 
 lections, 404-05. 
 
 Of the Female Seminary: "The Ontario Female Seminary, founded by the sub- 
 scriptions of the inhabitants, and incorporated in 1825, is an institution of high 
 reputation. The number of pupils in 1839 was 174." Historical Collections, 405. 
 
 [32] 
 
river below the falls are much higher, making quite a bold appearance. 
 The canal is carried across the river supported by seven arches. Many of 
 the buildings are of stone, taken from the bed of the river. St. Pauls Church 
 is the most splendid one that I ever saw. built of stone, and a great deal 
 of caned work. The steeple very high and all of stone. I am not well 
 pleased with this place, but I think it is a place of business and may con- 
 tinue to increase for some time, for here is the best water power that can 
 be found in the state.* 
 
 ""Rochester impressed most visitors as a wonder city for reasons that are best set 
 forth by Barber &: Howe. "In the year 1810 there was not a house where Rochester 
 now stands. The first allotments for a village were made in 1812, when Nathaniel 
 Rochester. Charles H. Carroll, and William Fitzhugh, surveyed the hundred-acre 
 tract for a settlement, under the name of "Rochester,' after the senior proprietor. . . . 
 "The last war with Great Britain, which produced much distress in this frontier 
 region, impeded the progress of Rochester to such a degree that the population at 
 the commencement of 1816 amounted to only 331. By the opening of the Erie 
 canal, Rochester became the great thoroughfare between the seaboard and the in- 
 land waters. On the incorporation of the village in 1827, about 750 acres were in- 
 cluded within its limits. The city charter, in 1834, extended the bounds so as to 
 embrace upwards of 4,000 acres. The staple product of the fertile valley of the 
 Genesee is wheat, remarkable for its quantity as well as its quality. Its celebritv is 
 increased by the skill with which it is prepared for market. By the immense water- 
 power formed by the falls of the Genesee, Rochester is the largest as well as the 
 best flour manufactory in the world. . . . The business part of the city is compactly 
 built, and contains many splendid houses and stores four stories high. The east 
 and west portions of the city are connected by several bridges, and by the great 
 aqueduct of the Erie canal, upwards of 800 feet long. . . . Population in 1840 was 
 20.202." Historical Collections, 266-67. 
 
 Rochester was as famous for Sam Patch as for its flour mills. Sam's story may be 
 found in dozens of books. The succinct account of Thomas Hamilton will serve as 
 well as any. "The old proverb de gustibus. crc. receives illustration in every coun- 
 try. An eccentric man, called Sam Patch, having an aversion to honest industry, 
 made it his profession to jump over all the water-falls in the country. Niagara was 
 too much for him, but he sprang from a lofty rock, some distance below the Horse- 
 shoe fall, with impunity. His last jump was at the fall . . . of the Genesee, in the au- 
 tumn of 1829. From a scaffold, elevated twenty-five feet above the table rock, mak- 
 ing a descent, altogether, of a hundred and twenty-five feet, he fearlessly plunged 
 into the boiling caldron beneath. From the moment of his immersion, he was seen 
 no more. His body was not discovered for many months, and was at length found 
 
 [33] 
 
I left Rochester in the Packet at ten o'clock a. m. very much fatigued 
 for the want of rest, and because of a little too much exercise. I was very 
 unwell through the day and when night came on I had a burning fever. 
 Arrived at Lockport about midnight. Concluded to stop here and study 
 medicine for a time. Took lodgings at the Eagle Hotel,* called for a Doc- 
 tor and dealt largely in Calomel and Jallup. 
 
 Thursday July 25 (H I don't feel any better for my new study. Fe- 
 ver all day. Called another Doctor, was bled, and immediately felt relieved. 
 
 Friday July 26 (K Feel very weak today, not able to sit up but a 
 short time. Am obliged to live on Porridge. It is well that I am not hungry. 
 
 Saturday July 27 c<z Not much better. Nothing but Porridge— Por- 
 ridge— yet have been able to walk about some. 
 
 Sunday July 28 &l I have got almost well; have walked about the 
 village and walked down to the Lower Town, as it is called, which is con- 
 siderable of a place. The Locks, which are five in number, raise up to the 
 level sixty feet, and are a great curiosity. And together with the canal 
 which is cut out of a rock forty feet in many places for three miles, it is 
 the most tremendous work on the whole line of the canal and it is truly 
 astonishing to see what a mighty work has been done.t Lockport is rather 
 
 at the mouth of the river, six miles below." Men and Manners in America, quoted 
 in Myrtle M. Handy and Blake McKelvey, "British Travelers in the Genesee Coun- 
 try," The Rochester Historical Society Publications, Vol. XVIII, 56. 
 ""The Eagle Tavern, opened in 1832, stood on the north bank of the canal. Steps, 
 well lighted at night, led down to a landing at water-level. 
 
 t Vandewater corroborates Benton. "This is the most stupendous work on the whole 
 route. In 1821 there were but 2 houses at this place; now there are nearly 400, 
 and more than 2000 inhabitants." The Tourist, 64. 
 
 Barber 8c Howe explain the mechanics of the locks. "The upper part of the vil- 
 lage is about 80 feet above the level of the basin and long level of the canal. In 
 moving up in a boat to the head of the basin to enter the chain of double locks, 
 
 [34] 
 
an old looking place, but it is surrounded by a rich countiy and is grow- 
 ing very fast, and it is now a place of considerable business. 
 
 Monday July 29 r*s Left Lockport for Lewiston in the stage. Passed 
 thro' good land, yet it was not improved but a short distance from the 
 road, and the dwellings were nothing but log huts. Peach trees in abun- 
 dance. Passed through the land belonging to the Tuscarora Indians. Their 
 settlement was nothing but a few scattered huts. They raise some grain, 
 but they do not manage their work like farmers— more like boys. A mis- 
 sionary resides among them, but I should think that he had very little 
 influence over their appetites and inclinations, if I were to judge from the 
 appearance of some at Lewiston, where many of them had collected to 
 see a caravan of animals. I saw not a few staggering through the streets 
 and many at the groceries begging for more. They were the first Indians 
 I had seen and I concluded (not feeling very well) to remain here till next 
 day and gratify a little curiosity. They made it a kind of Holiday and were 
 dressed in all their finery. I went into the caravan, but looked at the Indi- 
 ans most, as they were the greatest curiositys to me. I had been in some 
 time before I saw the Elephant or the Camel or even knew there was any, 
 I was so much interested with the natives. Some were dressed in a citi- 
 zen's dress, some instead of a coat wore a blanket. Some wore hats and 
 some were bareheaded. The Squaws generally wore a blue frock, blue 
 pantaletts, and blanket or shawl, went bareheaded and barefoot. I saw one 
 young Squaw who had a hat on with a blue sash round the crown, a dou- 
 ble set of ear ornaments, and beads around her neck, numerous silver 
 
 which are arranged in the most massive style side by side, in huge chambers. . . , 
 the gates of the lock are closed after the boat is in the chamber, and the roaring and 
 sudden influx of the water from the lock above, in three or four minutes raises the 
 boat to the level of the lock above: and this is repeated five times, the adjoining 
 side lock being, perhaps, employed in letting a boat pass down the lock to the 
 basin and canal. The boat having in this manner risen up 60 feet in five lifts, the 
 passenger finds before him a vista of several miles, bounded on either hand by walls 
 of the solid limestone rock, 25 to 30 feet high, and very appropriately called the 
 f deep rock cutting at Lockport.'" Historical Collections, 352. 
 
 [35] 
 
ornaments about her dress, and some beautifully wrought moccasins. 
 Some of the young Indians had their bows and arrows. Some of the Squaws 
 had their little Papooses strung on their backs like a footman's pack, and 
 they looked funny enough. I saw one little cunning looking fellow lashed 
 to a board, with his little head sticking out, and I thought it a very con- 
 venient way of carrying children; and it is also very convenient if you wish 
 to set them down or have them out of the way. They will stand like a chair 
 at the side of the room, or lay like a log upon the ground, just as it should 
 be necessary. And I think it a great improvement which the mothers in 
 New England ought to know about. 
 
 Among the rest of the curiosities was a very large White Bear, and some 
 very pretty girls. One of the girls at first sight resembled a friend of mine, 
 but after a second look she was not half as handsome. Another had a very 
 sweet and pleasant countenance. She looked so good natured and smiling, 
 and there was such a lively expression in every feature, that I could not 
 help but laugh when she did. (0 } the power of sympathy!) I was not quite 
 ff done up" though. The Indians, the White Bear, and the pretty girls are 
 the greatest curiosities I have lately seen.* 
 
 Lewiston is rather a pleasant place, situated on the bank of Niagara 
 river.t It has a small square on which is a large Academy building, and 
 
 *This long passage is the first evidence of Benton's strong interest in the Indians, 
 an interest which will absorb him completely in the final stages of his journey. 
 
 The Tuscarora reservation was located eight miles below Niagara Falls, three 
 miles from the river. It consisted of eight square miles of very good land. "They 
 [the Indians] consist of about 300 souls; have a Presbyterian church of 50 mem- 
 bers, a resident clergyman, and a school teacher, and a temperance society of more 
 than 100 members. They are under the care of the American Board of Foreign Mis- 
 sions. Their village is delightfully situated on a high bank, commanding an exten- 
 sive prospect of the surrounding countiy and of Lake Ontario. These Indians came 
 from North Carolina about the year 1712, and joined the confederacy of the Five 
 Nations, themselves making the sixth. They formerly held a very valuable interest 
 in land in North Carolina, but have recently sold it and divided the proceeds 
 equally among themselves. Many of them are in very prosperous circumstances; in 
 1834, one man raised and gathered 50 acres of wheat." Barber & Howe, Historical 
 Collections, 348. 
 TSeven miles north of Niagara Falls. In 1840 Lewistown had a population of 2,543. 
 
 [36] 
 
there is only one street and that running from the square directly to the 
 River. The Frontier House is a very good building, the rest very ordinary. 
 Brock's Monument on Queenstown Heights opposite this place, is in 
 plain sight, and I should have gone over and visited it had it not been for 
 the rain. It is a superb structure and said to be one hundred and thirty- 
 five feet high and sixty feet square at the base.* 
 
 Tuesday July 30 &t Very pleasant after the rain. Left Lewiston at 
 ten o'clock a. m. After rising a long hill about two miles, we had a grand 
 view of Lake Ontario, of Fort Niagara, and of Fort Erie on the Canada 
 side, both at the mouth of Niagara River.t About four miles from this we 
 made another stop to gratify curiosity & I soon found myself standing high 
 above the foaming waters of the magnificent Niagara, on that tremendous 
 precipice which o'erhangs the deep and horrid gulf called the ff Devil's 
 Hole." The grand and awful view from this astonishing height occasioned 
 the most terrifying sensations. rr My knees smote together'' 'and I almost fell 
 prostrate upon the earth. 
 
 This place is celebrated for its being the scene of a horrid transaction. 
 A party of American soldiers, with a large amount of military property, 
 were surrounded and surprised by a party of the British and driven, to- 
 gether with the cannon, horses, waggons, etc., on to this fearful rock, and 
 there in one vast body crowded headlong into this terrific ff hole."f 
 
 "The monument commemorated the Battle of Queenstown Heights, October 13, 
 1812, in which the British decisively defeated American forces attempting to cross 
 the Niagara River into Canada. The British commander, Major General Isaac 
 Brock, was killed in the engagement. 
 
 TFort Niagara was erected by the French in 1726. Taken by the British during the 
 French and Indian War, it was not turned over to the United States until 1796. The 
 British recaptured Fort Niagara during the War of 1812, but returned it to the 
 United States at the end of that conflict. 
 
 Fort Erie was built by the British in 1764. Twice rebuilt, it changed hands sev- 
 eral times during the War of 1812. In the summer and fall of 1814 American forces 
 successfully withstood a British siege, and then destroyed the works, 
 f Barber 8c Howe, quoting an unidentified annalist, amplify this incident. "The visi- 
 tor should not fail to visit the whirlpool in the Niagara river, 3 miles below the 
 
 [37] 
 
A short ride brought us to Niagara Falls. Took lodgings at the "Eagle 
 Hotel," where I had the pleasure of seeing the cowardly braggadocio James 
 Watson Webb,* the bristled Pig here, and the whiskered puppy there. Hav- 
 ing such a great natural curiosity before me, induced me to commence 
 my observations mechanically. I, therefore, walked down to the Falls on 
 the American side and there viewed them from the river bank; next fol- 
 lowed up the rapids to the bridge, and crossed on to the first Island, where 
 a man stands with his hand extended for the fee of admittance (twenty five 
 cts). I stepped into his office, which contains quite a collection of min- 
 erals and little curiosities, all for sale at very modest and moderate prices, 
 but I did not feel inclined to gratify his avaricious disposition, therefore 
 did not purchase. 
 
 On this little island is situated a very excellent Paper mill which I 
 peaceably entered and examined without ceremony. The work is princi- 
 pally done by girls, who seemed to be very quietly and industriously en- 
 gaged. The rooms were very pleasant and very neat indeed, which might 
 
 village. f A mile from the whirlpool, the road runs within a few feet of the river's 
 bank, where a deep and gloomy chasm is rent or worn out of the rock. This is 
 called the Devil's Hole, and the small stream which crosses the road and falls into 
 the chasm, is the Bloody Run.' In 1759, during the old French and Indian war, a 
 detachment of 100 British regulars, who were conveying provisions, in wagons, to 
 Fort Schlosser, were here surprised by a party of Indians in ambuscade. f Many of 
 the soldiers were killed at the first discharge, and the others were thrown into 
 hopeless confusion. The Indians fell like tigers upon the drivers, tomahawked 
 them in their seats, and threw them under foot. The wagons were backed off the 
 precipice, and men and cattle fell with their loading in one dismembered and muti- 
 lated mass below. Some threw themselves from the bank, and fell mangled and 
 dying on the rocks; others lodged in the branches of the trees, where they remained, 
 disabled, until the affray was over, when the savages, at their leisure, despatched 
 them.' The brook that courses the bank ran red with the blood of the slain. Only 
 four escaped to relate the horrible fate of their companions. Pieces of wagons and 
 other relics of this bloody affray remained in this vicinity until a few years, but 
 have now mouldered away." Historical Collections, 354. 
 
 *James Watson Webb, editor of the Morning Courier and New-York Enquirer, had 
 already, at the age of thirty-one, achieved notoriety as a duellist. As an army officer 
 he had fought two duels, narrowly missed several others, and, in 1827, h a d been 
 forced to resign his commission. 
 
 [38] 
 
be attributed partly to necessity, but more particularly without doubt, to 
 a very commendable quality posessed by the girls. The water privileges 
 on the rapids this side, are numerous, and the power is immense, and the 
 expense of making the water serviceable can be merely nothing, and I pre- 
 sume ere long it will be quite a manufacturing place. 
 
 From this Island I passed on to Goat Island. Followed the walk to the 
 first corner, where I had a grand view of the Niagara from the brink of this 
 lofty eminence. A path extremely dangerous, so much so that a slip or a 
 stumble would precipitate a person headlong on to the rocky fragments 
 below, descended along the edge of the precipice a short distance to a foot 
 bridge that led on to another little Island which divides the water imme- 
 diately on the Fall. Here I had a good view of the American Falls, where 
 the water breaks over and tumbles down upon the rocks. 
 
 Returned to the large Island, walked to the winding staircase and 
 descended to a level with the roaring basin. I picked my way across the 
 broken rocks near the foot of the precipice to the Falls. There I had an 
 indescribable view of this wonderful and astonishing work of nature. It 
 seemed a fearful spot— a giant Prison in some wild, terrific world. Behind 
 me was an enormous precipice with a huge stone canopy at the top, which 
 projected a number of feet and seemed to threaten my immediate destruc- 
 tion. In front was the troubled waters of the powerful Niagara passing 
 rapidly away; on my right was the surprising falls on the American side, 
 and immediately on my left was the tremendous falls on the Canada side. 
 The mighty waters were pouring into this awful abyss with a deafening 
 roar, a roar which seemed as if the whole Universe was trembling and 
 rolling in one vast thunder storm. I remained here admiring this wonder- 
 ful, powerful, and magnificent display of nature until the thick, damp 
 spray warned me to leave. 
 
 I returned to the everlasting stairs and ascended to the Island, and after 
 a little rest I visited the most interesting spot about the jails. It was on the 
 farthermost end of the foot bridge which runs about one third of the dis- 
 tance across the rapids from the Island and extends about eight feet over 
 
 [39] 
 
this horriffic reservoir. Here was the most splendid view that could be 
 imagined. Above, the rapids which commence about two miles up the river 
 and which fall about as much as the perpendicular fall, have an awful and 
 imposing appearance. They look as if a world of water had escaped from 
 its confinement far above, and was rushing along the rough descent with 
 a maddening rage, roaring and foaming, and gathering swifter and swifter, 
 and deeper and deeper and more rapid till it reaches the lofty height, and 
 then it tumbles over and over, and rolls into the deep basin with a tre- 
 mendous roar. Immediately, far beneath my feet, the waters were white 
 with powerful commotion, and below the proud waters of the noble Ni- 
 agara were moving swiftly towards the lake, strongly confined within its stu- 
 pendous and massy stone walls. The whole above, below, and all around 
 me, was one grand, sublime, and awful view— a view beyond the powers 
 of description.* 
 
 I passed the remainder of the afternoon in wandering about the beau- 
 tiful and delightful scenery of the Island. Gathered some flowers. After 
 tea, walked about the little village, which can hardly be remembered in 
 connexion with so many great natural curiosities. There are two Hotels 
 kept by the same man, not in very good order, and there is one elegant 
 situation surrounded by beautiful trees and rich shrubbery, and in a very 
 delightful spot. And there is one other very pretty, but the rest are rather 
 ordinary. 
 
 At midnight, in company with many others, I went down to the Falls 
 to take a peep at the ^Lunar Rainbow, " which was very clear and perfect. 
 It is a sight which can not be seen except when the moon shines very 
 clear indeed, and I think it can not be seen in any other place in the 
 United States, at least, not in any degree of perfection or magnificence t 
 
 * Fanny Kemble, on her first view of Niagara Falls, wrote one sentence: "I saw Niag- 
 ara—Oh God! who can describe that sight!!!" and with that ended her journal. 
 Most travelers, ours among them, failed to exercise such restraint. 
 TThe elided passage consists of philosophical ruminations of no present-day in- 
 terest. 
 
 [40] 
 
Wednesday July 31 rw Left Niagara Falls and passed through a 
 country of log houses, eleven miles to a small, mean looking village on 
 the Canal called Tonawanta.* Then followed the Canal to Buffalo, pass- 
 ing through Black Rock, an old, threadbare place, not hardly a whole 
 pane of glass in the village.? Saw some Dutch girls raking hay in an old 
 swamp. They could hardly keep out of the mud and mire. Arrived at 
 Buffalo about three o'clock p. M. and took quarters at another Eagle Hotel, 
 which is the greatest shaving establishment in the western part of New 
 York.T The accommodations are rather mean, the table hardly decent, and 
 the attention nothing at all, but the price is beyond all modesty and sober 
 calculation. It is a kind of swindling machine to pick the pockets of stran- 
 gers who happen to get caught in it. However, I presume there are but 
 very few who happen to get caught more than once, and if they are not 
 ruined the first time they can ff live to fight another day." 
 
 Buffalo is situated at the east end of Lake Erie, on land gradually inclin- 
 ing to the lake, and is very pleasant. It is growing very fast. Buildings going 
 up in all parts of the City, and it would be hard to tell which part is grow- 
 ing with the greatest rapidity. A great deal of business doing, and much 
 of it in the wholesale line. The citizens are Tf gaping at gnats and swallow- 
 ing camels. "They think that Buffalo is the centre of gravity for the whole 
 of North America, and they think that its riches will be poured into it 
 like sweet cider into a new rum hogshead. Some bankrupts and villains 
 who have swindled a piece of land, seven by nine, are already grinning at 
 an independence ahead, already rolling in riches and wealth in anticipa- 
 tion of the immense rise of land (poor fools). Yet it will and must be a 
 place of business, but it never will, nor can it be, the head of the market. 
 
 *Tona\vanda. 
 
 TVandewater disagreed. '"Black Rock ... is a place of considerable size, containing 
 700 inhabitants." The Tourist, 64. 
 
 f A "shaver," in the slang of the time, was a money broker who purchased notes at 
 more than legal interest. "Banks, when they resort to any means to obtain a large 
 discount, are also called shavers, or shaving banks." John Russell Bartlett, Diction- 
 ary of Americanisms (Boston, 1859). In modern parlance, a gvp joint. 
 
 [41] 
 
It will be a great forwarding place, and that will make it quite a City in 
 time. The appearance of the inhabitants is rather unfavorable. Too much 
 shave and lather about them to suit mankind in general. 
 
 The city is surrounded by a great swamp and is said to be an unhealthy 
 place, and as long as the Canal is used, it must remain so. The location of 
 the City is very pleasant indeed, and were it not for the country about, it 
 would be remembered as much more pleasant.* 
 
 Thursday Aug. 7 ra A very pleasant day. After breakfast I took a 
 seat in a coach and was carried down to the steamboat "Henry Clay. "T En- 
 
 *At Buffalo, Benton came to the end of the Erie Canal. The city had, of course, a 
 brighter future than he realized. Its history illustrates the impetus which the com- 
 pletion of the canal gave to growth and commerce. 
 
 "Buffalo was originally laid out in 1801, by the Holland Land Company, on a 
 bluff or terrace rising 50 feet above the water, and partly on the low and marshy 
 ground extending from the terrace to the creek and lake. This marsh has been 
 drained, and a large portion of the business part of the city lies upon it. The Erie 
 canal from Tonawanda village is continued along the margin of Niagara river and 
 the shore of the lake to the city. A mole or pier of wood and stone, 1,500 feet long, 
 extends from the south side of the mouth of the creek, forming a partial breakwater, 
 to protect the shipping from the gales which are felt here. For the better accom- 
 modation of trade, a ship canal, 80 feet wide and 13 deep, was completed in 1833, 
 across the harbor near the mouth of the creek, a distance of 700 yards. A lighthouse 
 built of limestone stands on the end of the pier. . . . 
 
 "From the time of the foundation of this place to 1812, it increased slowly. In 
 that year it became a military post, and in December, 1813, every building in it 
 was burnt save two, by the British and Indians. Many of the inhabitants were taken 
 prisoners to Montreal. The place was soon rebuilt, and by 1817, it contained 100 
 houses, some of which were large and elegant. It was incorporated as a village in 
 1822, and, in 1823, had the courthouse and jail, and upwards of 300 buildings. It 
 had then felt in advance the influence of the Erie canal, and much improvement 
 was made in anticipation of the completion of that great work. In 1829, it had 400 
 houses and more than 2,000 inhabitants. It was incorporated as a city in 1832, and 
 contains at this time [1840] about 2,000 houses, and 18,041 inhabitants. . . . The 
 buildings, public and private, are generally good, many of them four stories high, 
 among which are fine specimens of architecture." Barber 8c Howe, Historical Col- 
 lections, 147-48. 
 TThe Henry Clay, built soon after the completion of the Erie Canal in 1825, was a 
 
 [42] 
 
gaged a passage to Detroit and at ten o'clock a.m. left the City of Buffalo. 
 Previous to my leaving, however, I saw a disgraceful sight— that of a female 
 driving a yoke of oxen with a load of wood into the market place, where 
 she stood, resting on her hickory goad, gauping about for a purchaser with 
 all the masculine independence of a backwoodsman. She looked like a 
 great, green, rawny boy, straight from the rugged hills, and I should rec- 
 ommend to her to dress like one for convenience sake if nothing more. 
 But she was a beauty, a tall, rawboned beauty, as a "cedar tall and slen- 
 der." Her complexion deep and strong by constant exposure to the sun, 
 a low forehead, deep sunken eyes, long nose, peaked chin, and upon the 
 whole such a severe countenance that the sweetest expression would make 
 the ferocious Tiger cower with trembling fear. Her dress was somewhat 
 convenient for her business, rather ridiculous though, for her frock looked 
 as if it was made and put on to her at the age of ten years, and had not 
 been removed since (the space of ten or twelve years). Her arms were 
 thrust through the sleeves of the garment some distance and very much 
 exposed to the weather, and her pretty ankles were highly exposed, being 
 destitute of the usual apparel of stockings, but her delicate feet were 
 snugly ensconsed in a beautiful pair of thick cowhide shoes. She seemed 
 to be as much at home as any man and strided round with a perfect mas- 
 culine swash. If I had seen her anywhere else I should have thought her 
 a rawny mountaineer in petticoats, but I was not so much surprised to see 
 this striking representation of refinement in the City of Buffalo, for I had 
 
 well known steamer. Although usually used on the Buffalo-Detroit run, its owners 
 occasionally sent it to more distant points. Thus it was the ship which carried 
 Juliette Kinzie, later to be famous as the author of Wau-Bun, to Green Bay in 1830, 
 and it was one of the several ships which brought Winfield Scott's cholera-stricken 
 regulars to Chicago in 1832, too late, and too ill, to participate in the Black Hawk 
 War. When Mrs. Kinzie boarded the Henry Clay at Buffalo she was "highly de- 
 lighted with the accommodations, which, by comparison, seemed the very climax 
 of comfort and convenience,'* but she soon learned that a lake voyage, even in one 
 of the best ships available, could be a considerable trial. Wan-Bun, The ' "Early Day" 
 in the North-West, Milo M. Quaife, Ed. (Chicago, 1932), 56°. See also Quaife, Lake 
 Michigan (Indianapolis, 1944), passim. 
 
 [43] 
 
watched the dispositions of the mixed multitude and could see that their 
 object was money— money, not having any regard for society. . . . 
 
 After raising the steam and getting all the passengers on board we left 
 Buffalo. Passed out of the harbour alongside of the breakwater or wharf 
 which "Uncle Sam" has been building at a very great expense. When we 
 put into the lake the waves ran high, and as we proceeded the wind in- 
 creased, and in the afternoon the wind was dead ahead and blew almost 
 a hurricane. We succeeded in getting about forty five miles but we could 
 not gain any, and was obliged to turn round and run back, or seek some 
 place of safety. The waves run mountains high and frequently dashed 
 into the bow of the boat, and it seemed to alarm some. I went on to the 
 upper deck and for my own safety took hold of the mast rigging. Very 
 soon the Captain ordered the jib sail to be hoisted, and the rudder cf hard 
 upland we came tumbling round. It was "like going to heaven in a swing." 
 At one time we were diving headforemost into a deep gulf, then again ris- 
 ing on to a high mountain; and when we were turning it seemed like "high 
 and lofty tumbling." Everything that could be moved was overturned. The 
 water ran across the deck, the females screamed sweetly, and all was a sin- 
 gular scene of confusion. There were a great many frightened but nobody 
 hurt. We ran back with great velocity till within sight of Buffalo, and then 
 doubled a little point on the Canada side and anchored till next morning. 
 And there we rocked and rolled through a very long night. Not a few sick 
 ones; but I escaped, except feeling a little squaumish. I never rode so ma- 
 jestically before in my life. It was grand indeed. The wind blew a heavy 
 gale and we plowed a mighty furrow through the roaring and white foam- 
 ing waters of the lake, and with such a degree of rapidity as I presumed 
 never was witnessed before. 
 
 bVlCLQjy AllF. 2 (W Weighed anchor at sunrise and proceeded on our 
 journey, the wind having abated. If the happiness of a day is valuable or 
 worthy to be remembered, which I do not doubt nor can not doubt, I am 
 sure that I do not regret the gale, the danger, and confusion of yesterday, 
 
 [44] 
 
for it proved a good opportunity for introduction. It was a peculiar kind 
 of a scene, which warmed the heart, and without any cold and formal 
 ceremony made us friends at once. I became acquainted with a number, 
 among them a young lady from , and the day was passed very pleas- 
 antly, at least most of it. We arrived at Erie, Penn. about four o'clock p.m., 
 where part of our company left us, and with them the young lady. I was very 
 sorry to say ff goodbye" so soon, but I did, notwithstanding the effort, and 
 the sun, which had been so brilliant thus far, became immediately darkened 
 in a cloud (ominous). We did not go up to the town of Erie on account 
 of the water being too shallow. A small steamboat runs from the wharf 
 to the shore, which is about one mile, to carry passengers and freight.* 
 
 bcitlUClCiy AllP. 3 C*l About midnight passed and stopped at Fair- 
 port, at the mouth of Grand River, and sometime in the night left some 
 passengers at Ashtabula, Ohio. The Town is about two miles from the 
 lake.t A little past sunrise this morning we arrived at Cleaveland, Ohio, 
 where we remained some time. I walked through all the streets, which are 
 very pleasant indeed, very wide and very regular, and from some of the 
 streets I had a beautiful view of the lake and the beach. This town is de- 
 lightfully situated on a high bank from the lake and it is the prettiest 
 place I have seen on the lake. The land is rich and fertile about it, and 
 with its advantages— canal, etc.— I think it bids fair to make a very fine 
 place. f Touched at Huron and left some passengers, and then proceeded 
 directly to Detroit, where we arrived about midnight. . . . 
 
 """Erie ... is situated upon a bluff affording a prospect of Presqu'isle bay, the pen- 
 insula which forms it, and the lake beyond. The borough is regularly laid out with 
 spacious streets; the site is level, the soil dry and porous; the buildings generally 
 are well constructed, the public edifices, except the court house, are splendid, and 
 in short, the town is one of the pleasantest in Pennsylvania." In 1830 Erie's popu- 
 lation was 1451; in 1840,3412. Sherman Day, Historical Collections of the State of 
 Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, 18431,318. 
 
 TAshtabula, forty-five miles southwest of Erie, w r as reached first. Fairport, now 
 Fairport Harbor, is twenty-five miles southwest of Ashtabula. In 1833 both towns 
 were in their infancy. 
 fCleveland. incorporated as a village in 1816, was credited with a population of 
 
 [45J 
 
Sunday A Ug. 4 r*s I have taken up my quarters at the Mansion 
 House, which place I find veiy pleasant and very comfortable. The day 
 has been very warm and muggy and I have felt rather dull and stupid. I 
 dressed myself for church and in company with a friend walked to the 
 Episcopal meetinghouse. A very good seat was assigned us and I enjoyed 
 the curiosity of the ceremony and formalities of the meeting very much. 
 The singing was very good and I was well pleased with the preaching. The 
 congregation were very respectable, appearing more genteel and much 
 more fashionable than I expected to see. A company of United States sol- 
 diers occupied the first slips by the door, which gave the whole quite a 
 martial appearance. I saw a very fine looking young lady in the slip forward 
 of me. She looked at me and I looked at her. It was like the "jay bird 
 setting on a limb— he winked at me and I winked at him." However, I was 
 not smashed. I withstood the shock bravely, only experienced a little trem- 
 bling of the nerves, which soon calmed down to their usual steadiness. . . . 
 This afternoon I remained at the Hotel— did not attend meeting. Since 
 tea I have walked about the City and find it a much more pleasant place 
 than I expected. The main street is very pleasant and many fine buildings 
 on it, and the streets running west from the main streets are also very 
 pleasant, and if there were shade trees and some better buildings they 
 would be beautiful. The Court House is the handsomest building in the 
 
 1,000 in 1830, and 4,300 in 1834. Charles Fenno Hoffman, who visited the town 
 in November, 1833, had this to say: "Cleaveland is very prettily situated upon the 
 lake. The Cayuhoga makes a bend around a high bluff as it passes into the inland 
 sea which receives its waters, and on the level peninsula thus formed is built the 
 town. The harbour, naturally an indifferent one, has been much improved by run- 
 ning out a pier from either side of the river, where it debouches into Lake Erie; and 
 there being now few better ports on this side of the lake, Cleaveland must become 
 one of the most important places on its waters. . . . The town, which can already 
 boast of a public library, a fine church, two capital taverns, and many handsome 
 private dwellings, is laid out with broad streets and a spacious square in the centre. 
 The business part is as yet beneath the bluff, where a single winding street runs 
 along the bank of the river towards the lake; but the main street above is already 
 the scene of much bustle.'" Winter in the West (New York, 1835), 98-99. 
 
 [46] 
 
City and is situated m a very pretty square almost alone. The streets on 
 the river side are muddv & filthy, and the buildings are mean.* 
 
 I went down through the streets and they were rilled with women, bare- 
 headed and barefooted, and it looked odd enough to see women romping 
 along the streets heedless of all appearances. The children thick as flies 
 in a milk pan, boys fishing and in swimming and riding and sailing, guns 
 firing, steamboats coming in and going out, and it was all hurrah! and I 
 was almost amazed and astonished. I saw some very large pear trees which 
 the boys and Indians were abusing with clubs without mercy. This even- 
 ing I attended a meeting at the Congregational Church. The churches are 
 
 *The history of Detroit begins in 1701 with the building there of Fort Pontchar- 
 train du Detroit, which remained in the hands of the French until 1760. In that 
 year it was surrendered to the British, who clipped its name to the single final 
 word. The British held Detroit throughout the Revolution and afterward until the 
 ratification of the Jay Treaty in 1796. 
 
 A census taken in March, 1834, gave Detroit a population of 4,968. "The French 
 and their descendants still compose a large class, and their language is yet spoken 
 to a considerable extent, but they are fast amalgamating with the predominant im- 
 migrant population." 
 
 "Detroit ... is, to even' appearance ... of recent growth. Of the ancient style of 
 the French buildings, scarcely a vestige remains. The city is mostly built of wood, 
 and in a manner to accommodate its emigrant population, which it is supposed 
 composes one-half or two-thirds of the city. Stores and dwellings of this class are 
 often constructed upon leased grounds, and so constructed as to be easily removed: 
 and it is a common occurrence to see one or more buildings removing from one 
 part of the city to another, as the convenience of their owners requires. Although 
 these temporary structures form no inconsiderable portion of the city, there are 
 many permanent dwellings, not disproportionate to the number of resident citizens, 
 built in a respectable style; and a few elegant private mansions. There are several 
 extensive blocks of stores, constructed of brick, in a style and permanence highly 
 creditable to the appearance of the city. Considering the enterprising and fluctuat- 
 ing nature of the great mass of the population, the city has altogether a cheerful 
 and comely appearance .... and it has not a few outward indications of high cul- 
 tivated taste and refinement." 
 
 "Western immigration has been a great resource of support to the city for several 
 years past. Of this. Detroit has been the principal avenue, or rather the portal to 
 the interior. It is the season of open navigation, usually eight months of the year, 
 that activity and business prevail." John T. Blois, Gazetteer of the State of Michigan 
 (Detroit, 1838 >, 279. 272-73, 278. 
 
 1 47 1 
 
not very good buildings. The Roman Catholic Church has seven steeples, 
 not very splendid though rather old. 
 
 AlOTldciy A UP. 5 &i Today has been very pleasant and warm, and it 
 has been rather a tedious day with me. I made up my mind to purchase 
 a horse. I was told that I could purchase cheaper in Canada. I went across 
 the river and walked to Sandwich where the courts are held, called at a 
 French house and looked at the ponies but could not purchase. Was 
 asked to drink whiskey, but refused on account of temperance. Saw a very 
 pretty French girl; she wore a large straw hat and seemed very willing to 
 show herself. 
 
 It happened to be the day of the opening of the Court of Kings Bench 
 and I was present in the Court House and heard the Chief Justice make 
 his speech, which was a very good one. The attorneys wore black silk 
 gowns, which are badges of office. The Chief Justice also wore a black silk 
 gown, and a cocked up hat. The house was crowded— numerous consta- 
 bles with long poles about ten feet, to keep order. I was very much amused, 
 as well as many others, to hear the crier repeat the names of the Jury as 
 the clerk called them. He did not repeat one correctly, and could not on 
 account of an impediment in his speech, and frequently the whole Court 
 House was convulsed with laughter, and the Chief Justice was sensibly 
 affected. He could not maintain his dignity nor gravity. 
 
 This Sandwich is a miserable place.* I succeeded in getting a bowl of 
 bread and milk for dinner and I felt very thankful for so much. Near the 
 bank of the river is an old building which was used for a fort and the en- 
 trenchments are plain to be seen quite round it. I returned to Detroit to 
 tea, without purchasing a pony. 
 
 *Blois gave Sandwich a much better character than our traveler. The town was, he 
 wrote, "very pleasantly situated on the east bank of the Detroit strait, three miles 
 below the city of Detroit. It is the seat of justice for the county, and contains a post 
 office, court house, jail, a catholic and episcopal church, one steam flouring mill, 
 a carding and fulling mill, brewery, 3 taverns, 1 physician, 6 lawyers, and a respect- 
 able school. It is a small village, but beautifully located, has considerable wealth 
 and some trade." Gazetteer of Michigan, 358. 
 
 ' [48] 
 
lUCSdciy A Ug. 6 (H Today I have again visited Sandwich, but with- 
 out any better success in the purchase of a pony. I might have been taken 
 for a Horse Jockey of the keenest kind, for I was ready to buy, and was ready 
 to try their horses. I rode them and drove them, more for the sake of fun 
 than for anything else, for they looked so mean that I would not have 
 one, and then they asked so much that I would not think of purchasing, 
 but I enjoyed my new business wonderfully. When returning I met a man 
 and wife. I hailed him and tried to buy his old mare. They got out of their 
 old horse cart and I got in to see how the horse would travel. After run- 
 ning the horse some distance and back again, I told the man that the horse 
 was too spirited and too speedy. I only wanted one that would travel three 
 miles in three hours, and his would not answer my purpose for he would 
 travel nearly twice as fast. 
 
 I returned again to Detroit after looking about the country a little. The 
 land on the Canada side is very rich and fertile and very level, and it is a 
 very delightful place up and down the river. Settled by Frenchmen, who 
 do not manage their farms with any kind of judgment or economy. There 
 is a store well filled with English goods which does a great deal of busi- 
 ness. The Custom House officers in Detroit have been so strict that the 
 business has increased on that side of the river. Some buildings going up. 
 The conveyance is by steamboats which are constantly passing across. 
 Distance about one mile. 
 
 This evening I have walked down the river on the American side and 
 I find it very pleasant indeed. Some fine situations and beautiful gardens, 
 among them Governor Cass's house, an ancient looking building fronting 
 the river and having a delightful view of the river and the steamboats and 
 vessels which are constantly passing.* I have had a good opportunity to 
 observe the business which is doing at Detroit, and I am satisfied that 
 there are too many goods, and I find that there is a great deal of competi- 
 tion in business. The auction sales frequently lower than in New York City. 
 
 * Lewis Cass, Governor of the Territory of Michigan, 18 13-31. Though Secretary of 
 War in 1833, Cass continued to maintain his Detroit residence. 
 
 [49] 
 
Wednesday A Ug 7 frt After displaying considerable horsemanship 
 in riding all the pacing, racking, and trotting horses on the Canada side, 
 I concluded to leave Detroit. Today has been passed very pleasantly in- 
 deed. I left in a wagon with a young man from Ohio, who was going to 
 Mount Clements, the county seat of Macomb County, where we stayed 
 overnight. We passed the most direct road by mistake, and took the road 
 which carried us up the river and along the beach of Lake St. Clair. We 
 thought that there was r 'no great loss without some small gain," for we 
 had an opportunity to pass through all the French settlements on the river 
 and lake, and it was the most amusing day I have passed since I left home. 
 
 At the first house I enquired if they had a pony to sell, and I continued 
 my enquiries, stopping at almost even' house and going in to take a peep 
 behind the screen. O, it was fun alive to see such a collection. Lots of 
 children, some with nothing but shirts on, and some like old Adam and 
 Eve before they eat of the forbidden fruit— not even a fig leaf to hide their 
 nakedness. There they lay on the floor, kicking and rolling about like 
 French horses fighting flies. 
 
 The French here are almost as black as the Indians, and they appear 
 very indolent and slovenly indeed, and live in miserable log houses. Yet 
 they have good farms, if they were rightly cultivated, and they might live 
 completelv independent if they had any idea of independence. As it regards 
 industry, the women are in a measure an exception to the men, if I were 
 to judge from a few instances which I met with. And those instances might 
 be a good example to some of the young ladies of New England. I will 
 mention them for their express benefit (should they be so fortunate as to see 
 this), and they may practice if they choose. I am sure it would be gratify- 
 ing to their friends and more particularly to their parents, and it would 
 make them appear very interesting indeed. It was nothing more nor less 
 than a full display of patient and persevering industry. The French girls 
 who we occasionally met and passed— they were dressed in short frocks, 
 straw hats with wide rims, and their pretty feet were bare, and as they 
 walked along they were knitting with the utmost diligence, and so intent 
 
 [50] 
 
were these industrious damsels to their work that I could not obtain 
 even a nod. . . . 
 
 I called at one house where there was a large family of children, and 
 they accidentally arranged themselves at the right of their father. They 
 looked so interesting that I was constrained to ask if they were all his. He 
 said yes, and asked me if I did not think it a large number for so young a 
 man. (/ am sure I thought so.) After passing the next house we were fol- 
 lowed by an old woman, screaming and hollowing, wanting to know if we 
 did not want to buy a pony, as near as I could understand. We went back 
 but the pony could not be found. And so we passed the day. Gathered 
 some shells on the beach of the lake, passed over a horrid road and arrived 
 at Mt. Clemens about four o'clock. Dined and supped all under one. Here 
 I tried a number of horses but they did not suit. Walked two miles to see 
 one and I saw the prettiest one that had been offered to me. I offered forty 
 dollars, and I "rather think" that I could have put him into my pocket, 
 but he asked more, and I had no idea of giving him more. 
 
 This place, Mt. Clemens, is situated on Clinton river five miles from 
 the lake, and it is quite pleasant, but it is new and but few buildings. A 
 steamboat has been built here and a schooner is now building. The river 
 is navigable to this place and but little farther. Subject to the f Tever and 
 Ague." The land is very heavily timbered about it and said to be good. 
 The United States road from Detroit to Fort Gratiot passes through this 
 place, and it is a beautiful road. One store and one tavern. Most of the 
 inhabitants from New Hamp.* 
 
 Thursday Aug 8 en Today I left Mt. Clemens, passed through 
 Utica in Oakland County. It is quite a pleasant place with a small water 
 
 *"It [Mt. Clemens] is eligibly situated for ship building, and its facilities for that 
 business, owing to its location and the convenient supply of excellent timber, en- 
 able it to be carried on to a considerable extent at present. ... It stands at the head 
 of navigation for vessels, and when a bar is removed at the mouth of the river, 
 vessels of 80 tons may navigate the river with safety to Mt. Clemens." Gazetteer of 
 Michigan, 329. 
 
 L5i] 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS 
 LIBRARY 
 
power and surrounded by decent land ten miles from Mt. Clemens. Dined 
 at Pontiac, the county seat of Oakland Co., sixteen miles from Utica.* It 
 is considerable of a place and looks quite flourishing. There are two tav- 
 erns, three stores, and some very good dwellings, and a small water power. 
 A pedler tried to ff hook" me in a French horse, but with all his assistants 
 I was too old for him. From this place to Franklin is twelve miles through 
 poor land and over a most miserable road. Stopped at a house to ask 
 some unnecessary questions, and enquired of the children if their Par 
 was at home. They stared and did not know what I meant. Says I, is your 
 Father at home, with an emphasis. The mother at the same time appeared, 
 and we were both so pleased with the ignorance of the children and her 
 sudden and singular appearance that we could not speak and we were 
 obliged to drive along without saying a word. Stayed all night at Frank- 
 lin.t Two log taverns and one dwelling composed the village. Where we 
 stayed the woman was discontented, and [wanted] to go back to the state 
 of Connecticut and wondered why people should come to such a place, 
 and I wondered as much as she did. 
 
 rVldciy Aug 9 r*s This morning I found a pony that suited me and I 
 purchased him. He was a beautiful French pony and a fast trotter. I was 
 obliged to give rather a high price (forty dollars) to get him, but I was de- 
 termined to have him, for he is the only handsome one I have seen. Today 
 
 *"At this time," an early settler wrote, "the country from Pontiac to Utica was quite 
 thickly settled, although much of it was uncultivated. From Utica to Mt. Clemens 
 was mostly a dense wilderness, with the settlers' cabins in the midst; some just be- 
 ginning; others with a few acres cleared, but all struggling with the difficulties of 
 making farms in a heavily timbered countiy. No roads, only as we found our way 
 among the giant trees." Rev. Supply Chase, "A Pioneer Minister," Michigan Pioneer 
 Collections (Lansing, 1884), Vol. V, 53. 
 
 The Northwestern Journal, April 21, 1830, credited Pontiac with three merchants, 
 a sawmill, flourmill, woolen mill, an "ashery," seventy-five buildings, and 250 in- 
 habitants. Quoted in George N. Fuller, Economic and Social Beginnings of Michigan 
 (Lansing, 1916), 221. 
 
 TAs late as 1838, Franklin had only ten or twelve families. Blois, Gazetteer of Michi- 
 gan, 289. 
 
 [52] 
 
have called at almost every house to purchase a saddle, and hailed every 
 man we met for the same purpose, but was not successful. 
 
 Called at one log house where the good fat woman was very sociable 
 and told me how grandly they celebrated the 4th of July. Her eldest son 
 killed a buck, and her next killed a wild turkey that weighed 21 pounds, 
 and her next killed something, and the neighbors all gathered together to 
 partake of the feast, and such a splendid day was never before passed in 
 Michigan. The liberty pole is now standing about fifteen feet high. Passed 
 through very rich land and heavy timbered. Some fine farms in Farming- 
 ton, settled by Yorkers. Arrived at Plymouth Corner, a small village. Two 
 taverns and two bears, one tied to each signpost, and from my knowledge 
 of one and the appearance of the other I thought that they had put out the 
 most appropriate signs. There are three stores and two or three dwellings.* 
 Arrived to Ann Arbour at sunset, the county seat of Washtenaw County, 
 a very pretty place and a place of considerable business. 
 
 Saturday Allg 10th m This morning I purchased a saddle and 
 portmanteau, and took what clothes I thought I should need for a jour- 
 ney to Illinois, and packed the rest in my trunk and sent it to Monroe. I 
 rode about two miles from the village and purchased me a straw hat of a 
 little Dutch girl that made it. I asked her where she was from; she said 
 Pennsylvania, and I was quite amused with her conversation — so very odd. 
 I returned and went down to the lower village, about one mile, where 
 there is a good water power, a large tavern, two or three stores, and some 
 other buildings for mills, etc. The upper town is much the most pleasant, 
 and it is quite a delightful place situated high, and overlooks the countiy 
 around. There are three taverns and five or six stores, and the buildings 
 all look new and very neat, quite like a New England village.! 
 
 ""Plymouth Corners, now Plymouth, had an estimated population of 300 in 1838. 
 Blois, Gazetteer of Michigan, 342. 
 
 TAnn Arbor, originally Ann's Arbor, took its name from the names of the wives of 
 two early settlers, Mrs. Ann Rumsey and Mrs. Ann Allen. J. Q. A. Sessions/ Ann 
 
 [53] 
 
After dinner I left alone to travel horseback through the Territory of 
 Michigan. I have felt rather sad, but I am not of that sort who put their 
 ff hand to the plow and look back." I rode moderately along, and the first 
 tavern that I came to was a log tavern. I called for a tumbler of milk for 
 myself and some oats for my pony, and they had not got either, and for 
 once, if I never did before, I left a tavern sober. After traveling about six 
 miles farther I arrived at another log tavern and put up my pony for the 
 night. I slept with a young Englishman. After we were shown the room 
 we were to occupy, we wondered how we could lay extended, but after 
 getting into bed we found a place to crowd our feet down alongside of the 
 logs, and we found work enough till morning fighting bed bugs. 
 
 buUuCLy AllP 11 (** After breakfast this morning I started on my jour- 
 ney. The way was through oak openings which were very pleasant in- 
 deed,* and the land very good. Arrived at a tavern in eight miles— a real 
 log tavern. The signpost was an oak tree, and the signs (for there was 
 more than one) were about as wide as a shingle and nailed one above the 
 
 Arbor— A History of Its Early Settlement," Michigan Pioneer Collections (Lansing, 
 1 877), Vol. 1,333. Sessions, in a rosy glow of reminiscence, wrote that"most of the 
 early settlers came with their families from the old and cultivated portions of the 
 east and south, and Ann Arbor society comprised several refined, educated, and 
 enterprising gentlemen, and beautiful and accomplished ladies." Ibid., 338. Per- 
 haps he was right: Charles Fenno Hoffman called it "a pretty village" containing 
 700 or 800 inhabitants, many of whom were "very respectable English emigrants." 
 Winter in the West, I, 156-57. 
 
 *Oak openings were a characteristic feature of the Michigan terrain. "The Openings 
 are sometimes distinguished into openings and timbered openings, owing to the dif- 
 ferent density of their timber. The major part of the unsurveyed portion of this 
 peninsula is open land, or openings. These generally consist of table lands, lying 
 between the rivers, and often bordering the streams themselves. They are sometimes 
 deficient in timber, though frequently skirted with ^plains' and woodlands. They 
 are usually but very sparsely interspersed with oak trees, of different varieties, often 
 of a good size, but of a diminutive height. There is no underbrush. ... A thick grass 
 sward covers the soil, and, although it requires no labor to prepare the way for the 
 plough, it requires the strength of three or four yoke of oxen to break it up for the 
 first time. . . ." Blois, Gazetteer of Michigan, 24. 
 
 [54] 
 
other to the tree. On the first was written, not very intelligibly, with tar, 
 "Beer;" on the second, "Entertainment;" third, "Oats;" and such a dirty 
 looking set in the house I never saw before. The very interesting family 
 had surrounded the table and were greedily devouring their breakfast. 
 There were four girls and two boys, sunburnt, smutty, dirty looking chil- 
 dren, and the father and mother were ditto. 
 
 The only room in the house was the barroom, kitchen, dining room, 
 and hogpen, and there was but one bed for the whole family, and that 
 was tumbled about the room and the sheets looked like the grey mixed 
 cloth— so very dirty— and they all looked like a grey mixture. While I was 
 there, some other travellers came up, intending to have some breakfast. I 
 was thankful that I had mine. To have another and more direct view of 
 this filthy establishment, I took a position on the rail fence in front, and 
 there looked until I was satisfied. 
 
 I tried to get some water for my horse but the springs and well were 
 dry; therefore I "pushed along and kept moving." Stopped at the next 
 log house, which was about eight miles, and got some dinner and some 
 oats for my horse, and then proceeded eight miles further to Jacksonapo- 
 lis and remained till next day. Passed through very good land covered 
 with scattering oaks and high grass and flowers, till within a mile of this 
 place, when I came to very heavy timber. Passed an Indian who was lay- 
 ing at the side of the path. We, yelled at me, which gave me a little start at 
 first, but I soon steadied my nerves. I should have gone farther but it was 
 twenty miles to a tavern and I did not care about travelling in the night. 
 Walked out into the groves and gathered some flowers, and took a view 
 of the village. It is the county seat of Jackson County, not pleasantly situ- 
 ated at all, and it is very sickly at this time. Most all sick with "fevers" or 
 with "fever and ague." There are two taverns and three stores and three 
 or four dwellings, and it is a place of some business.* However, I could 
 not judge in regard to that, it being Sunday. I saw a good many Indians 
 who were waiting to trade, most of them squaws. 
 *Jacksonopolis soon became Jacksonburg, and finally, Jackson. 
 
 L 55 ] 
 
Monday Aug 12tk cti I left Jacksonapolis this morning. Previous to 
 my leaving I carried a letter to the office, and the first object that met my 
 eyes after opening the door was the dead body of a child laid out upon 
 the table, and no one in the room. I rapped and the postmaster came in 
 & took the letter. I was very much shocked when I opened the door and 
 I could not get over it for a great while. 
 
 After leaving, the way is through the most beautiful groves of oaks, and 
 the ground is covered with grass and flowers and perfectly free from un- 
 derbrush. The path is called the Washtenaw trail, and strikes the head of 
 the St. Joseph River and follows its course to the lake. The land is a little 
 rolling and in some places there are many acres without a tree, and it 
 looks like land that has been cleared and cultivated for years. I passed 
 some extensive marshes, surrounded by oak openings, which reminded 
 me of the beautiful landscapes I have seen. The view was delightful be- 
 yond description. 
 
 I arrived at a log house twenty three miles from Jacksonapolis. It was 
 the most comfortable log house I have seen or ever saw. It is well fur- 
 nished and the family appeared quite happy and independent. The land 
 about this place is very handsome and it seemed quite pleasant. The 
 owner, Mr. Barna, is building a mill on the stream which passes in sight 
 of the house. I could not get anything but marsh hay for my horse, which 
 I thought, and no doubt the pony thought, rather a hard case. I took a 
 dish of bread and milk, and after resting I started along. 
 
 Passed through heavy timbered land for about four miles and then 
 came into oak groves, and travelled about four miles. Then into timber 
 land again. The timber was large maples, white wood, ash, and basswood 
 and hickory. While riding slowly along through the woods, I was a little 
 surprised to find myself almost in an Indian wigwam. My pony snorted, 
 and it was with difficulty that I could get him past. I enquired of a little 
 squaw the distance to the next house but she could not understand me, 
 and at the same time some of the old Indians started up who had been 
 sleeping, and I said it is no matter and rode along. I did not care about 
 
 [56] 
 
being too familiar with such strangers so far from inhabitants and alone. 
 
 This camp was near the head of the St. Joseph River. I rode but a few 
 miles further and came to a log hut. It rained a little and I went in to take 
 a peep at the inhabitants inside. There was one young man sick with the 
 fever and ague, and his dear wife was homesick. No chimney, split logs for a 
 floor, the fireplace was on the ground and the back of it was the logs which 
 composed the walls of the house. Most of the log houses have chimneys 
 made of split sticks laid up cobhouse fashion and plastered with mud 
 inside and out. 
 
 After it stopped raining I started for McCamilies, which was about ten 
 miles, and most of the way was through timber land.* Night came on 
 sooner than I expected and it was so dark that I could not see the path 
 before I got out of the timber land, and when I came out on to a large plain 
 I could not see any better. I let my pony take his own course and very 
 soon I heard the barking of dogs, which led me to the house. I found a 
 very comfortable place. Had a good supper, and by going up the ladder 
 I found a good bed, and my pony had as many oats as he could eat. The 
 old man told wolf, snake, and raccoon stories, which interested me very 
 much, and I enjoyed myself well. The old woman was discontented and 
 I heard her grumbling at her husband after I went to bed, but he did not 
 seem to care much. I was told that there was a great many wild turkeys 
 about this place, and deer, and rattlesnakes, and the blue racers, a kind 
 of snake. 
 
 Tuesday A Ug 13 m I left McCamilies after breakfast and travelled 
 over some very fine land, part timber and part oak openings. Some was 
 the burr oak openings, which is considered the best land. It was about 
 ten miles to the nearest neighbor and about three to the next house, and 
 again ten miles to the next. My [road] has been so far down the St. Joseph. 
 Here I crossed the St. Joseph and travelled a short distance on the Nota- 
 
 *McCamelus, a now-forgotten settlement just south of the old Chicago road in the 
 center of what is now Jackson County. 
 
 157 | 
 
waseepi Creek and came on to the Notawaseepi Prairie.* It is the first 
 prairie that I ever saw and it is a grand sight. It is about six miles long 
 and three broad. Part of it yet belongs to the Indians, and part of it has 
 been bought and sold by government and is under cultivation. The corn 
 is very stout and high, and the grain has come in well. The part owned 
 by the Indians is level and covered with a wild grass and it looks grand, 
 and withal it is very rich. 
 
 I was troubled to get anything for my horse, but I was well supplied 
 with bread and milk and blackberries. The husband was in the field but 
 the wife was at home, and a very sociable and pleasant woman she was. 
 She did not like the inhabitants and seemed some discontented. She was 
 young and sociable and I thought she had seen very good company. We 
 flattered each other when I left upon the pleasure of each other's com- 
 pany, and we were so agreeable that I was very willing to pay double price 
 for my entertainment, and she was quite unwilling to receive anything. 
 However, I left the money and went along, rather sorry to go. I lost my way 
 soon after I started on the prairie, but very fortunately came across an 
 Indian setting on a log, and he looked as if his friends had all deserted 
 him. I asked him the way to White Pigeon and pointed at the different 
 trails. He understood and pointed out the right one. I proceeded but a 
 little way before I came to another trail that forked off, and I was quite 
 as fortunate again. I saw another Indian, on the most savage looking horse 
 that I ever saw. I went to him and asked him the way and he did not un- 
 derstand me. Says I, ^Pigeon." He exclaimed ff Och!" and pointed. I took 
 the direction and he soon followed me, and I felt quite grand to lead an 
 Indian, but very soon he rode past me and made a motion for me to fol- 
 low him, which I did. He rode across the prairie and saved considerable 
 distance in the travel. 
 
 I had a good opportunity to view this savage. He had a shawl made 
 
 *Nattawasepee Prairie: ff a rich prairie in the northern part of the township of Not- 
 tawa, in St. Joseph county, and partly embraced in the Nottawasepee reservation." 
 Blois, Gazetteer of Michigan, 333-34. 
 
 [58] 
 
into a kind ol turban, with one- comer hanging down very low behind. 
 His hair was long and black, and braids of it under each car. He had a 
 blanket on. red garters, moccasins, and spurrs. He was a noble looking 
 Indian and rode with a great deal of ease and majesty. His head was up, 
 and he neither turned it to the right or the left. His horse was a full 
 blooded Indian, a monstrous mane, which the Indian seemed to be very 
 proud of. He lifted it up and showed me the length of it, and looked as 
 much as to say. r "Did you ever see the like before?" 
 
 From Notaw aseepi Prairie to Centreville is six miles. This is the county 
 seat of St. Joseph County, and it is situated in a most delightful place, 
 surrounded by a beautiful grove of oaks, and the wild grass and the pretty 
 flowers cover the ground. There are but few houses yet, some framed.* I 
 made but a short stop and proceeded on to White Pigeon twelve miles 
 distant, and it is through a delightful grove all the way. Land almost a 
 perfect level and it is very good, indeed. I was obliged to go a little out of 
 my way on account of finding a fording place in a creek two miles from 
 Pigeon. When I came in sight of Pigeon Prairie I w r as astonished. It was 
 the [most] splendid view that I ever beheld. The village was situated on 
 the upper side of the prairie, and it looked beautiful. 
 
 The prairie contains seventy five thousand acres and is immensely rich, 
 and a great part of it is now under cultivation. The corn did not look so 
 well as the corn on the Notawaseepi Prairie, but it is considered quite as 
 rich land. I passed through the centre of [the] prairie as I went into the 
 village, and I had a fine view of the whole. It is considerable of a village 
 and very pleasant. They are building a meeting house and some dwellings, 
 and there are a number of stores and some mechanic shops. The land 
 office is also kept here and there are two taverns, [at] the best looking of 
 which I took up my quarters for the night.t 
 
 *Centerville was platted in 1831 .""A piece of land about one-half a township in area 
 was reserved in 1H21 to the Potawatomi Indians, which was not open to settlement 
 until two years after the Indian treaty of 1833; hut south of the reservation a line of 
 settlements began to form as early as 1828-29: one of these was Centerville.' 1 Fuller, 
 Eft rwmu and Social Beginnings of Michigan, 273. 
 THoffman, following our traveler in late December, 1833. had this to sav: "The 
 
 1 59] 
 
By the way, I was very much amused at the tea table, to see the strain- 
 ing at style. Instead of a waiting maid to turn the tea a little boy was sent 
 in. I am confident I saw him taking care of the horses a short time before. 
 He, nor they, did not know enough to be decent. He was dressed in a 
 check shirt, without any coat, but he had a hat which he kept on his head 
 all the time. After turning the tea he took a seat near to me at the side of 
 the table and looked at me as if he had never seen anybody before. If I 
 had not been hungry I should have kicked the little impudent rascal out 
 of the room, but I kept my temper beyond all calculation. 
 
 Wednesday Aug 14th &z It has rained until after dinner, and in the 
 meantime I have been writing some letters to my friends. I got my pony 
 shod by an ignorant blacksmith. I have been so fortunate as to find a gen- 
 tleman by the name of Churchill from the State of New York, who is trav- 
 elling west and is as much desirous of company as I am. We left White 
 Pigeon soon after dinner and travelled about eight miles to the St. Joseph 
 River. The people are building a bridge, but we were obliged to ford it, 
 and the water was so deep that we were obliged to lay down on our horses 
 to keep from getting wet. From the river we rode about seven miles over 
 very uneven and rather poor land, and put up at a mean log house. The 
 family were most all sick. However, the fare was middling decent. We 
 passed a good many marshes, which are no doubt the cause of the sick- 
 ness in this part of the country. 
 
 Thursday Aug 15 r*x A very pleasant day. Left the log hotel after 
 breakfast and continued our journey through rather ordinary land, thir- 
 
 country now became gradually more populous as I approached the village and 
 prairie of White Pigeon. I had ridden fourteen miles in the morning without seeing 
 the sign of a habitation; and as one meets with neither travelers nor emigrants at 
 this season, there is some company even in the smoke of a chimney, though you do 
 not stop to warm your fingers by the fire beneath it. . . . At White Pigeon, where I 
 found quite a pretty village of four years' growth, I seemed, in getting upon the 
 post-route from Detroit to Chicago, to get back once more to an old country." Win- 
 ter in the West, I, 218-19. 
 
 [60] 
 
teen miles to Beardslee's Prairie, a very fine one and very rich and fertile. 
 
 On the lower side of the prairie there is a beautiful little lake and on the 
 hanks of it there is a town laid out called Edward sburgh. There are a iiiiin- 
 ber of buildings already built. 4 This prairie is not so large as some of the 
 others, hut quite as pleasant. From this prairie to the St. Joseph Riser 
 again is about seven miles, through miserable land. It has the appearance 
 at (irst sight of being the finest of land, but it is nothing except sand. The 
 oaks are small, but the grass grows very rank and is rather deceitful, carry- 
 ing an idea of good land when it is not so. 
 
 We overtook four Indians on horses, and met a number of squaws with 
 hut one old Indian for a guard. We crossed the river four miles above the 
 town of Niles at Bertrand Village, which consists of three or four huts. It 
 was laid out by an old Frenchman who married a squaw and owns the 
 land about it.t We could not ford the river, and after waiting a little time 
 we were ferried over and were landed on the Indian reservation which con- 
 sists of a piece of land ten miles square. About two miles from the river 
 we passed through the Indian settlement containing about thirty wig- 
 wams. The Indians were lying about on the ground with perfect ease and 
 indolence. I saw a number of squaws and some of them were rather pretty; 
 but generally they are very plain, at least those whom I have seen. Near 
 
 "Blois described Edwardsburg as a "pleasantly situated and very flourishing" village 
 and postoffice "on the Chicago turnpike, at the northeast corner of Beardsley's 
 prairie, and on BeardsleyVs lake." Gazetteer of Michigan, 2S3. Beardslev's prairie 
 "lias a dry, rich soil, and produces large crops of grain." Ibid., 252. 
 ; "In some respects the most pretentious village project of the section [the St. Joseph 
 valley] in tins period was that at Bertrand. below Niles. . . .This was a speculative 
 venture on a Large scale, initiated in I <S 3 3 1>\ a joint stock association of persons 
 from New York and Indiana, together with the French trader Joseph Bertrand. The 
 author and chief promoter of the project was a surveyor on the Chicago Road, and 
 it was probably his work which was just Hearing completion in Berrien County that 
 attracted his attention to its possibilities. This village of twelve hundred lots cov- 
 ered a plot nearly a mile square on Portage Prairie, at a point where it Is crossed by 
 
 the St. Joseph n\er. The site was well chosen and the tune was propitious, hut the 
 fatal and common mistake was made of holding the lots at too high a figure, w Inch 
 
 caused settlers to favoi Niks." Fuller, Economic and Social Beginnings of Michigan, 
 
 I 6r I 
 
this settlement is a beautiful prairie belonging to the Indians. They have 
 about eighty acres of corn enclosed in one piece which looks fine. The 
 rest of the prairie is in common and is covered with stout grass and 
 flowers. Saw a great many horses feeding on the prairie. There were a 
 great many tents about the cornfield, where the squaws were picking, boil- 
 ing, and drying the corn. I said Chicago to one of them and she pointed 
 the direction. 
 
 We passed across this reservation and viewed it with admiration. It 
 contains some of the best and most beautiful land in this part of the 
 country.* After leaving the prairie the land was not quite as rich but it 
 was through a beautiful grove of oaks and hickory and over gently rolling 
 land which made it very delightful and pleasant. 
 
 Found a very singular flower, which was very handsome. Gathered 
 some of the bark from the sassafras root. Saw some very large sassafras 
 trees. Heard a rattlesnake and tried to find him, but could not. 
 
 Arrived on to Terracoupa prairiet in Indiana at sunset and put up at a 
 log tavern kept by a man by the name of Egbert. He had been in the town 
 two years and he could not tell me the name of the town. He was an igno- 
 
 *In the fall of 1822 the Rev. Isaac McCoy established a Baptist mission among the 
 Potawatomi, locating it a mile west of the present city of Niles. The establishment 
 resulted from a treaty made at Chicago on August 29, 1821, by which the United 
 States had given the Potawatomi a square mile of land on the St. Joseph River at 
 this site and had agreed to sustain a teacher and blacksmith there for fifteen years. 
 
 In the beginning, the mission prospered. By the spring of 1825 it had seventy 
 Indian pupils, and twelve had been converted to Christianity. Two hundred acres 
 had been fenced, and thirty Indian families were cultivating fields and raising cattle 
 and hogs. But white settlers were moving into the region, and their sales of whiskey 
 to the Indians soon had disastrous results. Fences went unrepaired, and fields grew 
 up with weeds. In 1831 the mission was closed. G. S. Bailey, The Carey Indian Mis- 
 sion at Niles, Michigan (Detroit, n.d.). 
 
 By a treaty made at the Tippecanoe River, October 27, 1832, the Potawatomi 
 ceded all their lands in Michigan south of Grand River except the reservation at 
 Not-a-wa-sepe and one other: these they gave up at Chicago on September 27, 1833. 
 Alpheus Felch,"The Indians of Michigan and the Cession of Their Lands to the 
 United States by Treaties," Michigan Pioneer & Historical Collections,V. 26, 286. 
 TTerre Coupe prairie. 
 
 [62] 
 
rani and bigoted scoundrel and I despised him.'* He said, m speaking of 
 the lands belonging to the Indians and (lit- course taken by the whites to 
 obtain them, thai it was no matter how much the whites tricked them in 
 their purchases if they could only gel their lands and drive them away. 
 Such principles ought to receive a just reward. Government are not en- 
 tirely free from the- imputation <>f dishonor. They have employed unprin- 
 cipled agents, w ho have abused, decen ed, and cheated them out of their 
 property, and if the- guilt) deceivers could he- found, it would [ take | the 
 Indians a great while to deal out justice with a free use of the tomahawk 
 and scalping knife. 
 
 rTtuCLy A US' 10 >j A very pleasant and warm day. Left the very hon- 
 
 • o ' l ■ j 
 
 orable landlord on the Tcraeoupa Prairie. After breakfast followed our 
 course along the border of this prairie for some distance. It is, by the way, 
 a very extensive prairie and very rich indeed, but it is not considered so 
 
 valuable on account of its being very low and some wet and marshy. It is 
 
 surrounded by a heavy growth of timber and along the path we were 
 travelling were an immense quantity of plums and crab apples, but they 
 were not ripe. 
 
 About five miles passed a beautiful little lake, called Distman Lake.! A 
 little village is laid out on the bank ol it. but as vet the lots are not much 
 improved. Two log dwellings are occupied by Indians, and there is one 
 store. From this lake it is about one mile through a piece of heavy timber- 
 kind where we came onto the great rolling prairie. It is a fine prairie but 
 not so rich as some. It is more rolling than any I have seen and we seemed 
 to be a great while crossing it on account of the many hollows. 
 
 W i travelled about six miles on this prairie and then passed through a 
 little grove onto the celebrated door prail /< . the finest and richest and 
 
 ■"The first circuit court was held m tins region in November, 1832. One of the six 
 attorneys admitted to practice was Elisha Egbert! Illustrated Historical Atlas of Indi- 
 ana ( ;liu ago, 1 s 7») . 260. 
 
 t Probably Du Chemin Lake- in Hudson Tow nship, La Porte County. The embry- 
 onic town was probably Hudson. 
 
 [63] 
 
largest prairie in this part of Indiana. It is surrounded by beautiful tim- 
 berland and it extends onto the prairie in many places, leaving a little 
 passageway onto another part of the prairie, and many of the parts resem- 
 ble large fields which have been cultivated in times past. Not a tree or a 
 shrub on them, all ready for the plough.* 
 
 We arrived at Laporte, the county seat of Laporte County. It is laid out 
 into lots and very delightfully situated on the bank of a beautiful little 
 lake. It contains three stores, one log tavern where we dined, and a few 
 dwellings. They have a steam sawmill where they get their lumber for 
 building, and it cuts out the timber fast.t 
 
 From Laporte we went to the mouth of Trail Creek (twelve miles) on 
 Lake Michigan. Passed across small prairies and through some heavy 
 timberland and down some very steep hills and across oak openings and 
 sandy land, and I saw a grove of small pine trees for the first time since I 
 crossed Lake Erie. 
 
 We put up for the night at the mouth of Trail Creek, a miserable place 
 called Michigan City. It is surveyed into lots and it is intended to be the 
 commercial city of Indiana, it being the only place where a harbour can 
 be made on this end of the lake, and the only sloop communication that 
 can be had in the state. The state have laid out a road from LaFayette on 
 the Wabash River to this place, and the road from Detroit to Chicago is 
 expected to pass through the place. The creek is very narrow, not wide 
 
 ""The season made a difference. Hoffman, describing the identical route a few 
 months later, wrote: "Our next stage carried us over a rolling prairie to Laporte. 
 The undulating surface resembled the ground-swell of the sea; and nothing could 
 be more dreary, at this season, when the bright sky of the morning became overcast, 
 than moving mile after mile over this frozen lake— for such it appeared— with noth- 
 ing but its monotonous swell to catch the eye wherever its glances roamed." Winter 
 in the West, I, 225-26. 
 
 T"La Porte ... is situated on the southeastern shore of Harris's lake, in the Door 
 prairie, twelve miles from the mouth of Trail creek. It is surrounded by an extensive 
 body of rich land, beautifully diversified with prairies, lake and groves. This town 
 has been but recently established, and contains at this time about fifty or sixty in- 
 habitants." The Indiana Gazetteer, or Topographical Dictionary (Second Edition, 
 Indianapolis, 1833), 103. 
 
 [64] 
 
enough for a schooner to turn around, and the sand bars extend into the 
 lake a great distance, which would make it very expensive making a har- 
 bour. Notwithstanding the expense and inconvenience the state or inhabi- 
 tants intend to apply to Government for an appropriation of money to 
 build a good harbour. 
 
 The city now is not very entensive, consisting of only three poor log 
 houses and one storehouse lately built. It is surrounded by high sand hills 
 and the country for five or six miles around is sandy and barren. The out- 
 let of the creek is between two very high sand lulls, the highest which I 
 saw on the lake.* 
 
 We staved at a most miserable house. The lady was very polite — a little 
 too much so to be pleasing. Five or six children. No hay for our horses. 
 Husband gone to a razing and but one room in the house, but we were 
 obliged to put up with it and gnu and bear it. for it was fifty miles to the 
 next house. We called for supper and it was such a collection that a well 
 bred hoy; in New England would not nor could not stomach it. I tasted of 
 the meat and I should suppose it had been on hand some weeks, and the 
 butter made me feel very strangely about the stomach, and bread got me 
 deep into the hobbles. As I saw it on the table I said to the woman, "I am 
 glad to see some rye and Indian bread once more." Says she, f? It is wheat 
 bread.' 1 There was no way left for me to creep out. I was deceived, but it 
 was so brown and black that I did not care for the mistake. My friend 
 joked me about the blunder. 
 
 At length the husband came home and got some oats for our horses, 
 and after our delicious supper we walked about the city and down onto 
 the shore of the lake, and we crawled up onto one of the high sand hills 
 which overlooks this great city, and after we got weary of walking we re- 
 turned to the log hotel and went to bed among the whole family. All the 
 
 *In 1833, Michigan City was only a promise/This town was laid out in the fall of 
 1 8 3 2: sc\ era! families ha\ e already settled here; improvements are rapidly progress- 
 ing; and it is believed that the advantages ol the situation, the salubrity of the cli- 
 mate, and the fertility ol the adjacent lands, must insure its rapid improvement." 
 
 Indiana Gazette* /. 1 1 9. 
 
 1 65 1 
 
children, but one screamer, laid about the floor like so many pigs. The 
 man, wife, and child had a bed, and we had another and so near the door 
 that my feet were cooled by the evening breeze, and the logs were such 
 distant neighbours that I could very sensibly feel the cooling air blowing 
 upon me, and I could not sleep for an eternal roaring of the waters of the 
 lake and the roaring of the children. And to cap the climax of my afflic- 
 tions, in came four drunken fellows tumbling and swearing about the 
 room. They were determined to stay and sleep on the floor, and after re- 
 maining about two hours, the brave landlord told them that there were 
 travellers in the bed who wanted to get some rest and they must make 
 less noise, upon which they became sensitive, got mad, and much to our 
 satisfaction left the house. 
 
 tvidoiy AllP 17 r*s This morning after having passed a sleepless night 
 and taken some cold, and after having partaken of a breakfast of some 
 chickens very cooked, we bid adieu to the comfortable and beautiful Michi- 
 gan City, and pursued our course along the sandy beach of Lake Michi- 
 gan. Fortunately for us the wind did not blow hard from the north, which 
 gave us an opportunity to travel on the hard sand which was kept so by 
 the continual washing of the waves. Some of the time our horses would 
 be obliged to travel in the water, but it was better than to travel on the 
 dry sand. 
 
 It has been a beautiful day— a cool, refreshing breeze from the lake has 
 favored us, which we found quite comfortable; and it was well for us, 
 for we could not find anything else to refresh ourselves or horses until we 
 arrived to the mouth of the Calemic River,* a distance of fifty miles. We 
 found great quantities of sand cherries, but we never saw any before and 
 did not dare to eat many. They resemble our black cherries, only a little 
 larger, and grow on low bushes on the dry sand, and are very sweet indeed. 
 
 About noon we saw an Indian but he run and hid from us, and after 
 travelling about halfway across the beach we passed an Indian camp. We 
 
 *The Calumet River. 
 
 [66] 
 
stopped and borrowed a dipper to dip up some water. I proposed stop- 
 ping to dine with them as they had just gol their dinner ready, but my 
 Companion said I could if I would eat out <>1 the same dish, a dish filled 
 with corn and fish without even being scaled, all thrown in whole and 
 jumbled up together into a real chowder. I finally concluded not to dine 
 and we proceeded. We seemed to be travelling all the time in the same 
 spot: we seemed to be following a point of land but did not seem to gain 
 any. It was like going round a hay. there was all the time a point extend- 
 ing out. And finally it was no more nor less than a hay consisting of the 
 south end of Lake Michigan. 
 
 The lake was gently rolling and it looked powerful and magnificent. Its 
 waters were clear and pure and cool and good to drink. The shore of the 
 lake is sandy all the way round the south end of it. and in some places the 
 sand hills and sandy plains extend hack into the country for miles: and 
 in some places there are extensive marshes bordering on the lake, seemed 
 to he parted only by a little winnow of sand. It is more marshy near the 
 mouth of the Calamic River, and we travelled along the shore of some 
 small lakes, only had to cross a little sand bar. The whole country on the 
 south shore of Lake Michigan is cold, marshy land or barren, sandy land 
 for some miles from the lake. We found some coal on the shore, which 
 was an evidence that there is a bed of it somewhere in the vicinity. 
 
 \\ e arrived at Mann's log house at the mouth of the Calemic about five 
 o'clock p. m.. very hungry and very much fatigued after having rode fifty 
 miles without any | thing | to eat; and our horses, too, were weary and hun- 
 gry, hut we could not get anything hut marsh hay. Yet we were determined 
 to remain till next day. Mr. Mann, the proprietor of this splendid establish- 
 ment, married a squaw and we had a squaw supper.* Quite a decent cup 
 
 "John Mann kept a tavern and a ferry at the month of the Calumet. Rufus Blanch- 
 ard. DisCOVi t \ and CoTUflU \l\ of tin ' \<>t tkwest ( lot ago, 1898), I. r )0 - (). Mann appears 
 
 to have been something of a roisterer. A.T. Andreas included in his History of Cook 
 County, Illinois Chicago, 1884) a l° n g account of a Fourth of July celebration at 
 Calumet Cit) in 1836 thai reached a high point of bibulous hilarity. Mann supplied 
 
 the liquor. P. 50'f). In another connection— the building of the first bridge across the 
 
 Calumet— Andreas also referred to Mann's <>\ ei -fondness for wlnskev. P. 570. 
 
 I«7 I 
 
of coffee, tho\ After supper I borrowed a gun and went up the river after 
 game. I saw a great many ducks but they were flying at a distance. I saw 
 some in the river but the marsh about the river was so wide and the grass 
 so high that I could not get a shot at them. 
 
 In the evening Mr. Mann returned from Chicago with some oats and 
 we succeeded in getting a few for our horses — but a few, however, for there 
 were some more travellers arrived in the evening and we were obliged to 
 divide. Some of the travellers had been to Chicago and some had been 
 down into the state of Illinois. After each one told his most marvelous 
 stories we retired to a loo; hut recentlv erected for a lodging room. There 
 were three things called beds, which were occupied by six of us, and two 
 were obliged to sleep on the floor. 
 
 Slllldciy AllPlo r*? Left Calemic River for Chicago which is about 
 
 fourteen miles distant. By the way, I would speak of the Calemic River. 
 
 It is a fine deep river and navigable fifteen miles from its mouth. With a 
 
 little expense a fine harbour could be made, even better than one could be 
 
 made at Chicago.* The river is wider and deeper than the Chicago River 
 
 and can be navigated much farther into the country. The land is cold and 
 
 marshy about the outlet of the river. There is a very good place to build 
 
 a town on the lake and there will be one laid out before a great while, and 
 
 it must be something of a place in time. Mr. Mann claims the best part of 
 
 the land by a preemption right. There is some doubt about his claim, and 
 
 if he does not substantiate it, it will be sold when government bring their 
 
 lands into market, which will probably be in a year or two. 
 
 We arrived at Chicago about noon and took up our quarters at Mr. 
 
 Kinzie's new tavern, kept by Mr. Clark. t After dining I walked down the 
 
 street and was surprised to see the stores shut and no business doing. 
 
 "The twentieth century has borne out this prediction. Since 1905, Calumet Harbor 
 has handled more tonnage than the Chicago River and Harbor. 
 TThe Green Tree Tavern, on the northeast corner of Canal and Lake streets. It was 
 built by James Kinzie in 1833, and opened for business by David Clock. A. T. An- 
 dreas, History of Chicago (Chicago, 1884). I, 633. 
 
 [68] 
 
I low i \ ti . I had not been a great wink- wondering before my friend, who 
 In the way is a member oi the Baptist Church, came to me and informed 
 
 me that it was Sunday. I did not dream ol it before. I Wets very much 
 obliged to him as if probably saved me From exposing myself. We travel- 
 led 'till noon without knowing or thinking of the day of the week, and very 
 likely we should not have found out that it was the Sabbath had we not 
 stopped at Chicago. 1 thought it rather more ol a joke on my friend than 
 on myself, hi being a professor. But I thought none the worse of him fori 
 liked him very much and think him a very sensible and a very good man. 
 This afternoon I went down to the lake, which is about a mile from the 
 tavern, and bathed in Lake Michigan, and I have felt very much better 
 since, (jnite like a new man. 
 
 For some time before we arrived at ( ihicagO we could onlv see the li'jjit- 
 house, but as we approached nearer we could see the Fort* and one or two 
 other buildings, and we could not see anything more until we left the 
 beach of the lake and rose onto the prairie. There we had a grand view of 
 an extensive prairie, and a very fine view of the town. The prairie was alive 
 with cattle and horses and it looked very pleasant, and the principal street. 
 which we passed through, looked lively and businesslike, altho" we after- 
 wards found out that it was the Sabbath. There did not seem to be much 
 attention paid to the Sabbath. I believe, however, that there was a meeting 
 in a log dwelling or school house. I saw men about the streets as the New 
 England people would be on a week day. and I saw some Indians drunk. 
 They had been fighting and were covered with blood. 
 
 I am much disappointed in the appearance of Chicago and the land 
 
 about. Instead of a swampy, marshy, sunken place, as I had expected to 
 
 See from the representations I had received from those that had seen the 
 
 place. I found what I thought a very pleasant placet I shall remain here 
 
 tomorrow and perhaps longer. 
 
 •The second Fort Dearborn, erected in 1816 and located, like the first fort, on the 
 Bouth side of the Chicago River at what is now the junction ofWacker Drive and 
 Michigan Avenue. 
 
 tChicagO w as iik orporated as a town in the summer of l 833. The first election for 
 
Monday Aug 19 (H Today has been very pleasant and I am still in 
 Chicago. Previous to my arriving here I had heard that the Indian Agent 
 at this place was going to send out runners to inform the Indians belong- 
 ing to the Pottawattami tribe that their annual pension or payment would 
 be paid to them the tenth day of September. I immediately made up my 
 mind to go with one of the runners, provided I should not be obliged to 
 wait too long. This morning, or rather about noon, I called upon the 
 Agent and he was absent. I called after dinner again and found him.* I 
 told him what my wishes were. He said I should find it rather a hard jour- 
 ney, but if I wished to go, and was determined to go, he would recommend 
 a young man by the name of Louis Wilmot,t a half Indian, he being the 
 
 town trustees) was held on August 10, just eight days before Benton's arrival. "No 
 record of any enumeration of the inhabitants is extant, and all statements as to the 
 actual population at that time are estimates, based on the whims, impressions, or 
 rumors of the time. It required a population of 150 to form a corporate town organi- 
 zation, and it is not probable that Chicago had more than the required number. 
 Based on the number of voters (twenty-eight) at the first election, and allowing a 
 population of five to each voter, the resident population was 140 in August, 1833." 
 Andreas, History of Chicago, I, 128. 
 
 *The Indian agent was Thomas J. V. Owen. Owen had been elected one of the five 
 town trustees on August 10. Two days later, at the first meeting of the board, he was 
 chosen president. He is sometimes referred to, in disregard of exact terminology, as 
 Chicago's first mayor. 
 
 t Louis Ouilmette, a son of Antoine Ouilmette, for whom the suburban city of Wil- 
 mette is named. Antoine Ouilmette was a French trader who was living on the site 
 of Chicago when the first Fort Dearborn was erected in 1803. After John Kinzie 
 arrived in 1804, Ouilmette entered Kinzie's service. "Ouilmette's house was just 
 north, and within a very short distance of Mr. Kinzie's. At the time of the Fort Dear- 
 born massacre, it became the hiding place of Mrs. Helm, where she was preserved 
 from the furious savages who sought her life by the courage and coolness of Mrs. 
 Bisson, a sister of Mrs. Ouilmette. It was in Ouilmette's garden that William Griffith, 
 the Quartermaster at the fort, hid himself behind the currant bushes, and when dis- 
 covered by the family was disguised as a Canadian voyageur and helped to escape 
 with the Kinzies. 
 
 "After the departure of the boat containing his employer's family, Ouilmette was 
 left the sole white inhabitant of Chicago. ... At the treaty made at Prairie du Chien 
 in 1829 with the tribe of which his wife was a member, Ouilmette was granted, on 
 her account, a reservation at Gros Point, now Wilmette. There he made a farm and 
 
 [70] 
 
most companionable <>l the three whom he had employed, and he said 
 that he might take which route I should prefer. I did not then determine, 
 for I had almost given up the journey, it being two days before we could 
 
 Start. I thanked the Agent, who is a \ei\ pleasant and agreeable man. for 
 his politeness, and we left his house. \\ lule returning I gave up the in- 
 tended )<>urne\ entirely, and concluded to continue in company with my 
 friend, and just as I was passing the postoffice door, who should meet me 
 fa< e to face hut J. k. Palmer. I was \ cia glad to see him and I immediately 
 determined to stay a little longer. I regretted that I could not travel with my 
 friend but I told him I must remain a little while, and I bid him goodbye. 
 
 I thought myself very fortunate in finding my friend Palmer, and we 
 were both very much surprised to see each other, and I am confident we 
 were verj happy to meet so unexpectedly. Palmer has been at Chicago 
 about four months and has become acquainted with many, or with all. the 
 inhabitants, and he introduced me to many of them, which makes me feel 
 very much at home.* 
 
 I have cone luded to wait till Wednesday and take my Indian tramp and 
 have informed the Agent that I should prefer visiting the Indians in the 
 state of Illinois, to which he answered that the young man would be ready 
 on Wednesday. He laughed at me, saving that I should find harder times 
 than I expe< ted, and his pretty wife laughed, no doubt thinking it was a 
 wild goose chase. But I had a great curiosity to see the Indians at home 
 and faraway from the whites, and I was unwilling to let so good an oppor- 
 tunity pass without improving it. T And I longed to tread on ground that 
 
 remained until the Pottawatomies were removed to the- West. He- accompanied 
 
 them with his family, and both himself and wife died at Council Bluffs, Iowa."" 
 Seven children. Louis included, settled on the hanks of the Kansas River with the 
 
 Potawatomi. Andreas, History oj Chicago, I. 92. 
 
 * During the cholera epidemic of 1834 J. K. Palmer represented the South District 
 
 on a committee charged with enforcing a regulation against throwing refuse into 
 the town sewers. In the fall of 1 835 he joined the Pioneer Hook and Ladder Com- 
 pany, Chicago's first company of volunteer fue fighters. Andreas, History oj Chicago, 
 [,222,594. We have been able to find no other record. Presumably, he either died 
 or moved elsevi In re. 
 
 TTlic Indian situation in northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin at the time of 
 
 Benton's visit is best summarized I>\ Andreas: 
 
 1 7. 1 
 
had never been inhabited by civilized mortals. I wanted to be travelling 
 in the wilderness of the west among the savages where I could be an eye 
 witness to their mode of living. And then again, there is something wild, 
 novel, and romantic about it. 
 
 Tuesday Allg 20 a* Another pleasant day, and I have improved it 
 very much to my satisfaction. I have had a good opportunity to view the 
 town and country about, and I find Chicago a very pleasant place, as I 
 have before thought. It is situated on the southwestern shore of Lake 
 
 "The close of the Black Hawk War had resulted in the final extinguishment of the 
 title of the Sac and Fox Indians to all their lands east of the Mississippi. Septem- 
 ber 15, 1832, a treaty was concluded at Fort Armstrong, whereby the Winnebago 
 nation ceded all their lands to the United States f lying south and east of the Wis- 
 consin River and the Fox River of Green Bay.' The Chippewas, Ottawas, and Potta- 
 watomies still held their title to the land of northeastern Illinois and southern Wis- 
 consin, besides large tracts not very definitely defined in Indiana and Michigan. It 
 was necessary, in order to open up to civilization the lands ceded by the other tribes 
 Lying west and northwest, that the Indian title to this vast tract of land lying along 
 the western shore of Lake Michigan should be extinguished. For Chicago, it was a 
 vital necessity, as the town was girt on all sides and for many miles north and west 
 by the lands of the United Nation of Chippewa, Ottawa, and Pottawatomie Indians. 
 
 "In September, 1833, a grand council of the chiefs and head men was called to 
 meet at Chicago to negotiate a treaty whereby lands might be peaceably ceded, and 
 the Indians removed therefrom. . . . The commissioners on the part of the Govern- 
 ment were: G. B. Porter, Thomas J. V. Owen, and William Weatherford; on the part 
 of the Indians all the chiefs and the leading men of the United Nation that could be 
 gathered— a most motley crowd, of whom only one out of seventy-seven signed his 
 name to the treaty without 'his X mark,' and probably not over half a dozen un- 
 derstood the provisions of the treaty, except as explained to them imperfectly by 
 interpreters, few of whom were themselves passable English scholars." History of 
 Chicago, I, 122-24. 
 
 The treaty was signed on September 26, 1833, and ratified by the Senate on May 
 22, 1834. By its terms the Chippewa, Ottawa, and Potawatomi ceded all their lands 
 east of the Mississippi to the United States. In return, they received a grant of 
 5,000,000 acres— approximately the extent of their cession— on the east bank of the 
 Missouri River, to which the Indians living in Illinois were to remove immediately 
 after the ratification of the treaty. Those living in the Territory of Wisconsin were 
 given three years in which to move to their new home. In addition, the tribes were 
 promised payments in money and goods totalling $850,000. Ibid., I, 124-25. 
 
 [>] 
 
Michigan at the mouth of the ( hicago River, and already it has the ap- 
 pearance ol considerable business. It is laid oul into lots on each side of 
 the river, and beta ecu the two branches, which conic together about one 
 
 mile from the lake. On the north side of the riser the lots commence on 
 the shore of the lake and extend up to the branc h (north), but on the south 
 side the United States Fort and the other buildings connected with it are 
 
 on the shore of the lake, and the land belonging to the Government ex- 
 tends about one hundred rods up the river. And then the lots commence 
 and run some distance up the south branch. 
 
 The first street on the south side of the river is eighty feet wide, bor- 
 dering on the river, and nearly every lot on this street is occupied already 
 and it is the place of nearly all the business.* The lots are one hunched 
 and fifty feet deep and eighty feet front. Another street back of this and 
 another, etc.. each and all eights feet wide. The court house is to be lo- 
 cated on this side fronting a little square. On the north side there are lots 
 laid out on the river which will be some more convenient, but will not be 
 so pleasant nor so valuable on account of its not being so natural a place 
 for business. The town is laid out very regular, at least as regular as pos- 
 sible with the situation of the place. 
 
 The lots are mostly owned by the United States government and the 
 state of Illinois. Part of the lands, every other section, was given by the 
 United States to the state of Illinois for the purpose of making a canal from 
 the mouth of the Chicago River to the mouth of the Fox River where it 
 enters into the Illinois. The state made sale of a few lots some time since, 
 and the rest remain as they were and cannot be sold until the legislature 
 meet again, which will not take place until sometime in eighteen hundred 
 and thirty four. The lots being owned as they are is of great disadvantage 
 to the place and to the appearance of it.t It prevents the erection of good 
 
 "South Water Street, now Wacker Drive. 
 
 tin 1827 tnc federal government granted to the State of Illinois alternate sections 
 of land in a belt extending five miles on each side of the proposed Illinois and 
 Mu Kigali ( anal. It was expected that w itli the proceeds from the sale of this land 
 the state would finance the construction of the canal. Part of the land lay in Chica- 
 
 I 73 I 
 
buildings, for no one would be willing to risk a large amount of prop- 
 
 l O"5 *~* ~~ & — ~ **"©' 
 
 erty on public land which must be brought into market and sold under 
 the hammer. 
 
 At present the town presents a singular and very peculiar appearance. 
 The lots, many of them, are improved with temporary buildings, some 
 not more than ten foot square, and they are scattered about like the cattle 
 on the prairie. They are mostly new. I believe there has been one hundred 
 built this year, all without any regard to beauty, and they are set on blocks 
 so that they can move them at the shortest notice. It will depend some on 
 the length of the purse of the occupant whether the building shall be 
 moved at the time the lots come into market. 
 
 The north side of the river is partly owned by individuals, but it is not 
 much settled vet: some few buildings near the lake. The settlements are 
 in the forks of the river (which consists of one new tavern house two stor- 
 ies high, one other old-looking tavern, one large store building, and a 
 number of log dwellings), and on the south side is the most, which con- 
 sists of two large, two-story taverns, three or four large storehouses, and a 
 great number of small dwellings and shops. This street extends to the 
 land occupied for the Fort, and is the principal place of business.* 
 
 The Fort and public buildings are situated on the shore of the river 
 
 go. In 1830 the canal commissioners sold certain lots to defray the cost of the first 
 survey of the town. The next land sale did not take place until October, 1833, when 
 the so-called school section, bounded today by State, Madison. Halsted streets and 
 Roosevelt Road, was sold at auction. The federal government did not put land in 
 the public domain on sale until June 15. 1835. Bessie Louise Pierce, A History of 
 Chicago i New York. 1937)1 IL 46, 56-57- 58. 
 
 ""Compare with the description of John Bates, who settled in Chicago in 1832. "In 
 1833 the settlement of the new town, so far as buildings showed, was mostly on 
 what is now Water Street. There was nothing on Lake Street, except perhaps the 
 Catholic church begun on the northwest corner of Lake and State. Up and down 
 Water Street, between what is now State and Wells streets . . . , all the business 
 houses and stores were built. Also nearly all the cabins for dwellings. You could, 
 from every- store and dwelling, look north across the river, as there were no build- 
 ings on what is now the north side of that street. . . . There was no bridge across the 
 main river, and never had been." In Andreas, History of Chicago, I, 131-32. 
 
 [74] 
 
and lake, and it is much the most pleasant part of the town, rendered 
 more pleasant on account of its being elevated a little higher than the rest 
 of the land about. Fort Dearborn, as it is called, is an old fort and it has 
 that appearance, except that the buildings have lately been whitewashed, 
 which makes it appear a little more respectable. It is surrounded by a post 
 fence which would not be much protection against a few pieces of heavy 
 cannon. It answers, and has answered very well, however, as a good and 
 safe refuge from the revenge and cruelty of the savages. It is occupied at 
 present by two companies of forty-eight men each, but in all probability 
 they will soon be unnecessary residents. If emigration continues at the 
 same rate it has done the past season, the country will very soon be able 
 to defend themselves: when that time comes the soldiers will be removed 
 to some other station and the land will be sold and laid out and made to 
 constitute a part of the town. 
 
 The Government have appropriated thirty thousand dollars for the 
 purpose of making a safe and convenient harbour. The work is going on 
 briskly & will probably be finished the next season. At present the vessels 
 are obliged to anchor outside of the bar and unload by means of small 
 boats or lighters, so called, and these have to be rowed more than a mile 
 around the bar. When the river comes onto the beach of the lake it turns 
 almost directly south and follows the beach, making a channel of about 
 fifty yards between the beach and the sand bar, and it cannot be crossed 
 even by small boats until proceeding about half a mile from the turn and 
 then with difficulty sometimes. When the harbour is finished all this ex- 
 pense, time, and trouble will be saved. The work has been commenced on 
 the south side of the river at the turn, and they are extending a wharf di- 
 rectly into the lake, cutting through the sand bar, and when finished the 
 river will have a straight and direct channel into the lake, so that any ves- 
 sel can come into the river and unload anywhere in town, saving all the 
 distance round the bar with their freight's expense & the danger of anchor- 
 ing in the lake. It will be a safe harbour and the only one in this part of 
 the lake, and the only one that can be except the mouth of the Calemic 
 
 I 75 | 
 
River. Vessels will be able to run up the south branch a mile or two, and 
 up the north branch some farther.* 
 
 The trade of Chicago seems to be with the inhabitants in the vicinity 
 of the Wabash River, at least a considerable share of it. They come with 
 large covered waggons drawn by three or four yoke of oxen, generally 
 loaded with wheat which they exchange for salt. They travel very cheap 
 indeed. Their way is across an extensive prairie nearly the whole distance, 
 which is about one hundred and twenty miles to the Wabash River. They 
 carry their victuals with them, and when night comes they turn their oxen 
 onto the prairie and sleep in their waggons. At Chicago they do the same, 
 and I saw them cooking by their fires, making coffee, kneading bread, and 
 baking it on the coals. A large space is occupied by their teams and there 
 is a number present all the time. They seem to live as comfortable as many 
 of the inhabitants.? There are a number of settlements in the vicinity of 
 Chicago which do part of their trading here, but not all. 
 
 The countiy about Chicago, for the distance of twelve miles from the 
 lake, is mostly a low prairie covered with grass and beautiful flowers. 
 Southwest from the town there is not one tree to be seen; the horizon 
 rests upon the prairie. North, on the lake, is sandy hills and barren. Be- 
 tween there and the north branch is a swampy, marshy place, and there 
 is a marshy place on the south branch. The town stands on the highest 
 part of the prairie, and in the wet part of the season the water is so deep 
 that it is necessary to wade from the town for some miles to gain the dry 
 prairie. Notwithstanding the water standing on the prairie and the low, 
 marshy places, and the dead-looking river, it is considered a healthy place. 
 It has almost a continual lake breeze, which will explain in a measure the 
 
 *At the time this was written the Chicago River made a bend to the south just east 
 of Fort Dearborn and emptied into Lake Michigan at about the present junction of 
 Madison Street and Michigan Avenue. The bar which deflected the river to the 
 south was cut through as early as 1834, but the city was to struggle for the next 
 twenty-five years to maintain a channel deep enough and wide enough for shipping. 
 T Wabash Avenue takes its name from the road the Wabash traders traveled in bring- 
 ing their produce to Chicago. 
 
 [76] 
 
healthiness of the- place And another reason is the cleansing of the river 
 water by the winds driving the pure lake water into and then running 
 out again. 
 
 The inhabitants arc a singular collection of beings. "All nations and 
 
 kindred and people and tongues." Black and white and reel and grey, and 
 they live in all manner of ways. Some men do their own cooking. I saw 
 one little hovel which contained a family, and near it was two stakes and 
 a pole ac n «s it w here they hung on the pot and done all their cooking, ft 
 all of it in the principal street. 
 
 I was surprised to observe the masculine appearance of the women. 
 The) were in the street as much as the men. and seemed to prefer a seat 
 outside of their dwelling places rather than to sit down under their own 
 roof. And finally I have seen a good deal to surprise, interest, anel amuse 
 me for the few days that I have remained here. 
 
 1 1 < dlUsday A Ug 21 r« Today has been very pleasant. I called upon 
 
 the Agent and was introduced to my new companion. Louis Wilmot. He 
 is half French and half Indian: rather short but very strong and active- 
 looking. His complexion is that of an Indian, and his hair is lon<£. straight. 
 and black. He wears a hat. blue calico shirt, moccasins, and pantaloons, 
 anel he also wears a reel belt round his waist in which is fastened his toma- 
 hawk and scalping knife. He has lived with the Indians more or less for 
 six years and understands their tongue very well, and can speak English 
 and French.* 1 I asked him what it would be necessary for us to take for 
 provisions and some bread and dried beef. But we could not obtain anv- 
 thing except some maple sugar, some crackers, and sea bread. And after 
 draining a couple of bottles of beer, we left Chicago in company with an 
 old Indian, for Gross Point about twenty miles north on Lake Michigan. 
 
 'According to one- authority Louis Ouilmette, then a mere boy, brought the- earn- 
 son l( t Fort Dearborn first word that Mackinac had fallen to the British. Ouilmette 
 had the news from other Indians, and passed it on to Captain Eieald several days 
 before the- arrival of General Hull's messenger with the official report. Frank R. 
 Grover, Antrim Ouilmetb (Evanston, 1908), p. 10. 
 
 1 77 1 
 
where we arrived about ten o'clock in the evening.* Stayed with the old 
 Indian whom I liked very much. He could talk some English and seemed 
 quite a philosopher. While passing along the sandy shore of the lake the 
 dogs ran after a deer. It was dark, and he expressed his astonishment at 
 the wonderful power of the dog— his seeing, running, and scenting the 
 track. Says he: "If a man should attempt to run in de dark wood, first he 
 know, he have a stick right in his eye," and says he, "There be a great 
 many strange things in dis world, and I spose all for de best," etc. 
 
 We turned our horses into a little field near the log mansion. Eat some 
 crackers and went to bed in the same room with the old Indian and his 
 squaw. Our bed was on the floor. When I was undressing says the old 
 Indian: "I spose you would not think it very modest to take off your 
 clothes and go to bed before the ladies." However, I did not feel very 
 delicate in the presence of his old squaw. 
 
 Thursday A Ug 22 en I did not rest very well last night on account 
 of having so hard a bed, I presume. We bid the old Indian goodbye and 
 went about one mile to the home of Louis,! where we took breakfast, and 
 I did not see but what the breakfast was as good, and finally a good deal 
 better than some breakfasts I have had among the whites in this country. 
 Although it was cooked by a squaw, his, Louis's mother. 
 
 After furnishing ourselves with some ammunition and a gun, we started. 
 
 *The two travelers undoubtedly followed the Green Bay Road. According to Milo 
 M. Quaife, the trail "started at the north end of the Michigan Boulevard bridge and 
 ran north along the height of land between the lake shore and the North Branch. 
 The route led north on Rush Street as far as Chicago Avenue and from here north- 
 westerly for a mile to the intersection of Clark Street and North Avenue. . . . Con- 
 tinuing northward, the trail kept inland from the lake some distance, coming in 
 sight of it between Chicago and Milwaukee only at Grosse Point." Chicago High- 
 ways Old and New (Chicago, 1923), 106-07. 
 
 Grosse Point is the bulge into the lake at the dividing line between Evanston 
 and Wilmette. 
 
 TThe cabin of Antoine Ouilmette, for whom the village of Wilmette was named, 
 stood a short distance east of the clubhouse of the Wilmette Country Club, and a 
 short distance north of Lake Avenue. 
 
 [78] 
 
Took a northwest direction from the lake and travelled about ten miles 
 through rich land and very heavily timbered, about two miles through 
 marshy land, and some of the way almost impassable on account of the 
 mud and mire.*" ( )n our left was to be seen a large prairie as far as the eve 
 could see. We kept in the woodland near the prairie and travelled about 
 five miles farther (through rather poor land) where we found an Indian 
 village.t In the last distance met an Indian and two squaws, and lost our 
 way, the trail being new and very faint, but we found it by observing the 
 twigs broken. 
 
 I had the pleasure and honor of shaking hands with the old chief, Nic- 
 sa-mah. He enquired of Louis where I was from, and what my business 
 was at home. Louis told him I kept a "big store," which he understood, 
 but he did not know anything about the country that I lived in. A pretty 
 young squaw roasted some corn for us but she did not have courage 
 enough to give it to us. An old one gave it to Louis and he gave it to me. 
 I was completely astonished with their appearance at home — so very dirty, 
 and their wigwams so small, covered with bark, and the little Indians star- 
 ing as if they had never seen anyone before. Fire in front of the wigwam. 
 Two stakes with a pole across and a chain to hang on the kettle. A separ- 
 ate post with prongs on it to hang up the frying pan and pail, etc. Heard 
 the Indians yelling in the woods. After resting a short time we bid Nic-sa- 
 mah "Bosheau," which means "goodbye," and "how do you do," and 
 proceeded on our journey. Passed across a fine rich prairie covered with 
 a great variety of the most beautiful flowers, some on stalks higher than I 
 could reach from my horse, and those resembled the sun flower in New 
 England, only not quite as large. I gave them the name of the "Prairie 
 
 *The Skokie Marsh. 
 
 t Albert F. Scharf. who made a careful study of Indian village sites and trails along 
 the North Shore, located several villages of historic times on both sides of the 
 Skokie Marsh. If Benton was reasonably accurate in placing the distance from 
 Ouilmette's cabin to this village at seventeen miles, the village stood on the site of 
 the Fred Clavey Nursery in Highland Park. Scharf located a village on the high 
 ground south of Clavey Road and east of the Edens Highway. The Scharf maps 
 and data are in the Chicago Historical Society. 
 
 I 79 f 
 
Sunflower," but I don't know how long they will retain the name. It was 
 about four miles across this prairie and it is no doubt a continuation of 
 the one I had before seen, as it extended to the south farther than I was 
 able to see.* 
 
 From this prairie it is about two miles through heavy timbered land to 
 the O'Plain River (or des Plaines).t Here we let our horses feed upon the 
 prairie grass, and fed ourselves upon crackers and maple sugar. After rest- 
 ing, forded the river (which was not very deep), and came out on a low 
 prairie where the grass was higher than my head. Soon rose onto the dry 
 prairie which was a grand one, and very rich indeed. Followed up the 
 river, and while travelling along I perceived at some distance two white 
 flags, which Louis said denoted an Indian graveyard. It was on the bank 
 of the river and in a very pleasant and delightful spot. There were only 
 three graves, one entirely new, not having a flag; the other two had small 
 white flags on long poles at the head of the graves. One had the addition 
 of a small stake about three feet high, painted red around the top, some 
 characters, and the figure of a goat in red. This, Louis said, denoted the 
 grave of a chief. The new grave, we learned from Indians soon after, had 
 just been occasioned by the death of an old Indian called in English 
 ff White Dog." They said that they saw us come onto the prairie just as 
 they were going off. 
 
 It was but a short distance before we came in sight of a wigwam, on the 
 top of which I perceived something of a red cast. As I approached nearer 
 I found them to be some Indian children who had crept up there to have 
 a view of us. They were naked and dirty, and I was struck with astonish- 
 
 *A prairie south and west of the present town of Deerfield. Elijah M. Haines, Lake 
 County's first historian, called it "Grand Prairie." Historical and Statistical Sketches 
 of Lake County (Waukegan, 1852), 81. 
 
 TThe distance given— six miles— from Nic-sa-mah's village to the Des Plaines River 
 agrees perfectly with our present maps. The two travelers followed a trail which led 
 west through Deerfield along the course of the present Deerfield Road, branched 
 off near the Orphans of the Storm dog refuge, and followed Riverwoods Road to 
 the river. Scharf's maps indicate that two important Indian trails crossed at this 
 point, which was doubtless the location of a good ford. 
 
 [80] 
 
ment to see such a filthy looking set of beings. I could not have believed 
 what I saw, had it only been told to me. We rode up to the wigwam and 
 halted. Presently an Indian came up with a gun and we got off from our 
 horses, tied them together and went into the wigwam. There were three 
 squaws standing outside looking like so many fr gauchy" school children 
 gazing at a stranger. They were dressed in a long and [illegible] blue frock 
 or petticoat, blue gaiters, and a dark blue calico short gown fastened in 
 front with a large, round silver ornament. The inside of the wigwam was 
 a very dirty place. On each side of the door space there was a little coun- 
 ter raised about one or two feet from the ground, covered with sticks and 
 flag mats on which the Indians slept. In the center on the ground was a 
 fire which filled the wigwam full of smoke, and almost suffocated me. An 
 old squaw came in and sat down in the dirt and commenced doing some 
 work, and she looked so old and worn out with hard work and old age 
 that it made me feel very unpleasantly, and to think that she must soon 
 die in such a comfortless place, without the comforts and conveniences 
 and necessaries of life (at her age). It affected me very much, and I could 
 hardly restrain tears from falling. On one side lay a young Indian who 
 seemed to be sick, and on the other side was a little papoose wrapt partly 
 in a blanket to keep him on the counter, and such a dirty, funny-looking 
 fellow I never saw before. If he had been seen with a caravan of animals 
 no one would have doubted to what species he belonged. Yet all would 
 have been mistaken. 
 
 From this wigwam it was about half a mile to the village, where we 
 soon arrived. * We rode up to the village, got off from our horses, took off 
 the saddles and bridles, and let our horses loose after hobbling them. The 
 Indians and squaws at the wigwam where we stopped, were sitting about 
 on the ground. The men idle and the squaws were engaged cutting bark, 
 for what purpose I did not learn. One of them brought a flag mat for us 
 
 *The village of Met-tay-wah (or Mettawa) was located near Half Day, presumably 
 south of the present Half Day Road and close to the point where Indian Creek 
 flows into the Des Plaines River. The area abounds in Indian artifacts. 
 
 [81] 
 
to sit down on, which we did, myself rather awkwardly, I am sure. Even 
 to this time there had not been a word said on either side, and I thought 
 it very strange, for I knew that Louis was well acquainted with them and 
 had lived and traded with them when hunting on Spoon River and other 
 places, but he had never been among them in this part of the country be- 
 fore. I found, however, that this singularity and coldness was not strange, 
 for it is a part of the Indian character not to make any parade. They do 
 not have any forms and ceremonies to go through with. Their greetings 
 are all silent as the grave, yet they may be warmer than the warmest ex- 
 pressions of the false-hearted white man. 
 
 Louis soon commenced conversation with them and presently a squaw 
 brought us some supper. In a tin cup was some pork fried, and also some 
 nut cakes fried in the fat of the pork, no doubt, and the cakes were as fat 
 as the pork. In another dish was some corn and beans, with but one ladle 
 of wood, the bowl of it about six inches by four. I thought it a little too 
 large to feed a horse with. The gravy would run down each side of my 
 mouth in torrents, but I soon got used to it, so that I could suck it into 
 my mouth as well as any Indian. I eat but little of the corn and beans, for 
 I could not bear it. Louis told me that the Indians liked to have folks eat 
 a great deal, and the more they eat the better they liked and the braver 
 they thought them, and I eat till I could not eat any more, and it almost 
 killed me to crowd so much down. 
 
 The name of the chief of this village is Met-tay-wah.* He is about sixty 
 
 years of age, and is a very sensible looking person. Louis gave him some 
 
 tobacco, which he distributed to the rest, but not till after all had smoked 
 
 from the whole stock. The young Indians wanted to run with me but I 
 
 declined the honor on account of fatigue, and of feeling some unwell. The 
 
 older ones played Moccasin for my amusement (not much of a game).t 
 
 *Me-tai-way (thus) was one of the signers of the treaty consummated at Chicago on 
 September 26, 1833. Andreas, History of Chicago, I, 125. 
 
 f "There are two parties to the play, several on a side, one playing against the other. 
 There are three moccasins used for the purpose. One man takes the ball or stick 
 between his thumb and forefinger, and slips it from one moccasin to another sev- 
 
 [82] 
 
Tliev played cards most all the time and smoked all the time. I took the 
 gun and went out just before dark and tried to find some pigeons, but 
 was not successful. The Indians told me, through Louis, not to venture a 
 great ways as there was danger of mv getting lost. 
 
 The Indians of this village were painted and looked more savage, and 
 they were very lively and sociable: wanted me to repeat their words after 
 them, which I did, and it would please them very much if I made a mis- 
 take, but I did not care as long as it amused them. One of the Indians 
 made a mistake in playing cards; another said (every English word he 
 could say), "No good Indian," and they seemed to be full of these jokes 
 and sport all the time, and I began to like them very much. We did not 
 go into the wigwams at this place. Our lodging place was on a little plat- 
 form about six feet from the ground, without any covering but our blan- 
 kets. It was a clear, chilly night. The pork and nut cakes were frving in my 
 stomach and I could not sleep. I watched the moon until it disappeared 
 and then counted stars until daylight. 
 
 This village is situated in a little grove of timber on the prairie, and 
 near the Des Plaines River and near a little creek. The land is excellent 
 about it. and they raise good corn. The village is small, consisting of four 
 or five wigwams. 
 
 t rtCuiy A UP 2 J fW We arose about daybreak, caught our horses, and 
 commenced our journey without even thanking the Indians for our enter- 
 tainment or even bidding them goodbye. We seemed to go off as if we 
 were mad. but I did not feel right to do so. Yet I was obliged to be a sul- 
 len Indian. They will resent the offer of money. After having stuffed my- 
 
 eral times, and leaves it in one of them, and then stops. The other side represented 
 by one player then guesses under which moccasin the ball is hidden. If he guesses 
 where the hall is the first time, he loses. Should the ball not he in the moccasin he 
 guesses the first time, he can try again. I le has now two moccasins for a choice, and 
 has to guess tins time w Inch one the hall is in. If he is successful, lie wins: if not, 
 he loses, and so they have only one chance m two of winning." Elijah M. I Iaines, The 
 American Indian .Chicago, 1888), 268-(>(). The Indians' version of the shell game.' 
 
 [83] 
 
self with so much corn, beans, fried pork and cakes, I have considered 
 myself very fortunate in not finding another village until night. 
 
 We passed through a little grove onto a prairie and travelled north 
 about two miles: then northwesterly about seven miles to a beautiful 
 spring on the prairie, where we rested and refreshed ourselves, but I could 
 not eat any breakfast. About one mile from this we came to a little brook 
 on which was some very heavy timber, and near it was a little lake.* After 
 travelling about eight miles farther, across small prairies and through oak 
 openings and the land not so good, we rested again at a beautiful little 
 lake.t The Indians had had an encampment here but they had moved to 
 some other place and we were almost at loss what course to pursue. We 
 took the saddles from our horses and turned them out to feed, and Louis 
 laid down and went to sleep. I employed myself about changing my 
 stockings, which had become wet when riding through the high prairie 
 grass in the morning dew. It was like wading through water, for my panta- 
 loons and feet were completely soaked and I could not contrive any way 
 to prevent it. I had another opportunity to get wet here. The horses being 
 rather dry and the flies plagueing them induced them to wade into the 
 lake and I could not get them out by any persuasion. Therefore I was 
 obliged to go in after them. 
 
 I took the gun and walked round a little point of the lake in quest of 
 game, and when I returned the horses had disappeared. I waked up Louis 
 and after hunting some time we found them about half of a mile from the 
 lake, and we determined not to turn them out again without hobbling 
 them as it is rather dangerous for they might wander away but a short dis- 
 tance and we should never be able to find them again. And then to be in 
 a wilderness so far from home would make us feel and look rather sorry 
 if we had lost our horses. 
 
 I saw a number of loons in the lake but could not get a shot at them. 
 
 ""Either Gray's Lake or Round Lake and its companion, Highland Lake. The fr little 
 brook" was undoubtedly Squaw Creek. 
 
 TCedar Lake. In this eight-mile leg of their journey the travelers had proceeded 
 due north. 
 
 [84] 
 
There is a small island in the lake winch the Indians said was covered 
 w ith small pines, but I was not able to distinguish them, it was so far from 
 the shore. The lake was surrounded by oak openings, had a stony bottom 
 and the water looked very clear indeed/" 
 
 From this lake we tra\ elled about one mile to another and a Larger one.f 
 I [ere was the remains of an Indian encampment recently deserted, and we 
 were as much at a loss which course to pursue as before, and finally more 
 so, on account of the number of trails which forked off to the right and 
 left, but fortunately took the direct one. This lake was connected bv a little 
 stream, through a marsh, with another lake, and it was also connected with 
 some other large marshes and small ponds or lakes which are great places 
 for game.t We saw a large flock of wild geese, but we could not get a shot 
 at them. Also saw some ducks and loons, and when we crossed the little 
 stream between the lakes we saw some monstrous pickerel and other large 
 fish. These lakes are surrounded by groves of oak and it is very pleasant 
 about them. The land is not so good as the large prairies. 
 
 After crossing the little stream, which was somewhat difficult, we had a 
 low marsh of mire and water to go through for about thirty rods.|| Louis 
 went forward and very soon his horse was flouncing and down he went, 
 and Louis was mid-leg deep in the mire. I followed and soon found my- 
 self in a worse predicament. The horse flounced, his forefeet sunk in the 
 mud, the saddle partly turned and ofFI went, w T ith one foot hanging in the 
 stirrup without the power to extricate myself immediately, and my back, 
 and finally my body nearly covered with mud. I then thought ''attitude was 
 everything." I succeeded in getting up and getting my pony onto a little 
 
 ""The "small island," "stony bottom," and clear water make the identification of this 
 hike (Cedar Lake) certain, since no other body of water in the vicinity has these 
 characteristics. 
 
 TFox Lake. 
 
 TThe two men evidently followed the shore of Fox Lake north and west until they 
 
 came to the narrow channel— the "little stream"*— leading to Petite Lake a short 
 
 distance to the north. 
 
 ||The marshy area between Petite Lake and Grass Lake to the west. 
 
 I 85 J 
 
more solid foundation, and not liking the idea of wading through such a 
 deep mire, I got onto my pony again; but I had not proceeded one rod 
 before I was off again. I almost gave up ever getting across, it grew so much 
 worse. Louis kept moving; sometimes his horse would sink into the mud 
 and it was with the greatest exertion that he could extricate himself. After 
 waiting until I saw Louis safe over, I took my pony by the bridle and led 
 the way, and was soon safe and sound on the other side; and such dirty, 
 muddy-looking fellows were never seen before, I presume. I could not 
 have been hired to have gone back for fifty dollars, and I rejoiced to find 
 ourselves safe, but my rejoicing was of short duration, for we found this 
 dry spot but an island surrounded by tremendous marshes. While shoot- 
 ing some pigeons, which were very plenty on this little island, we acci- 
 dentally perceived an Indian wigwam across the marsh from near the place 
 we had just left, but we determined not to go back at any rate. We found 
 that the Indians had had an encampment on this ground and it looked as 
 if they had but just left it. We followed the trail to the opposite side where 
 we had a view of some wigwams on the mainland, but there was an im- 
 penetrable barrier which we could not surmount without assistance from 
 other sources besides our own. 
 
 On our right and left were two extensive marshes or lakes grown up 
 with high grass, and through the centre was a river which I learned from 
 the Indians to be the head of Fox River, which runs into the Illinois. In 
 front was a little neck of water about sixty rods across, which connected 
 the two marshes.* On the further side was high grass and a muddy bottom 
 and the water ten feet deep most of the way and some places more. After 
 shooting a large sand crane Louis climbed a large tree and yelled ff Indian" 
 and was answered very soon, but it was nearly an hour before an Indian 
 appeared with his canoe. He got almost to us before we saw him; the grass 
 was so high, the way so crooked, and he came so still. He was a savage- 
 looking Indian. His face painted black, and almost a naked body. We took 
 off our saddles and put them into the canoe, got in ourselves, and led our 
 
 *The main channel of the Fox River between Grass Lake and Fox Lake. 
 
 L86] 
 
horses al the Bide 01 it. We paddled oul into the stream, and we were 
 obliged then to turn to the left and Follow down some distance before we 
 could strike for the shore on account ol the high grass, and before we 
 reached it Louis's horse crowded onto my pony and he sank: but we held 
 Ins head out ol water to keep him from drowning. He proved a good an- 
 chor for we could not move the canoe at all. and I began to think we should 
 be obliged to let him go and save ourseh es. I towei er, I was disappointed, 
 for very soon he gave a sudden spring and we were soon ashore, 
 
 n I o 
 
 The swimming ol our horses was quite a curiosity to me, although I 
 have seen hot sis swim before; but I never noticed diem so particularly, 
 and their snorting was i ery singular. It sounded so wild and loud & fright- 
 ful. We met two Indians on the shore horseback, who led the way to the 
 village which is situated in the timber land near and in sight of the great 
 marsh. * I [ere we took up our quarters for the night. I lobbied our horses 
 and turned them into the woods. The Indian horses pitched a number of 
 of battles with my pony, but he would drive them all. 
 
 After driving our horses some distance into the woods we returned to 
 the first wigwam. A squaw spread a mat for us which we improved. The 
 Indian men were playing cards and the squaws were husking corn. Pres- 
 ently the chief of this village, whose name is " Warp-sa," in English "White 
 Skin." appeared and shook hands with us. He is a tall, good looking In- 
 dian about forty-five years of age, and is a notable drunkard, whenever he 
 can get whiskey enough — so says Louis, who is well acquainted with him.t 
 
 A very pretty little squaw roasted us some corn which I was obliged to 
 refuse on my part, as I have not entirely recovered from my last night's 
 meal of nut cakes, coin, and pork. Hut I did not go without a supper. We 
 had killed six pigeons and a prairie hen in the course of the day which 
 
 *The village was located on the high ground a short distance west of Grass Lake, 
 "the great marsh. 91 
 
 ' Probabl) Waps6, "White Deerskin,' 1 who is said to have been responsible, in i -S33, 
 for the Bale of the Pot aw a town lands in Illinois and the removal of that tribe to Kan- 
 sas. Alanson Skinner, TJu MascouL ns or Pratrit Potawatomi Indians. Bulletin of the 
 Public Museum of the City of Milwaukee, Vol. VI, No. 3, 408. 
 
 [«7l 
 
were finely cooked by the chief's squaw, and I can say that I never tasted 
 anything of the kind so sweet, so tender, and so nice and so beautifully 
 cooked. She cut a small piece out of each side of the breast, which made 
 it as tender as any other part of the body, and which I thought a great im- 
 provement, and I thought it might be of some advantage to the ignorant 
 whites. The same squaw cooked some corn soup on purpose for me, as 
 Louis said, and out of politeness to her I eat as much of it as I could. It 
 was very good indeed, but I felt very awkward eating it out of such a mon- 
 strous spoon. 
 
 The little squaw who roasted the corn for us I liked very well. She was 
 the prettiest that I had seen, and she appeared different from most of them, 
 and she was very coy, for I could not catch her eye without being very sud- 
 den in my movements. If I turned she would be looking serenely towards 
 the sky, and I could not help thinking that she was some pure and sinless 
 being whose noble spirit held converse with angels in a brighter world, 
 far above the mortal things of earth. Her tawny complexion only made 
 her more interesting, and there in such a wild place among such a rude 
 class of beings; altogether, she seemed quite a Pockahontas. 
 
 After taking off my boots and stockings and hanging them on the 
 wooden crane to dry, and putting on dry stockings and pumps, I felt like 
 taking a little rest. An Indian gave us a mat to spread upon the ground 
 for our bed, and with our saddles and portmanteau for our pillows, we 
 laid ourselves down under a large tree a little distance from the wigwam. 
 The mosquitoes troubled me so much that I was obliged to wear gloves, 
 and tie a handkerchief over my head and face to keep them off, but that 
 did not wholly protect me from their voracious appetite. And what was 
 quite as troublesome and aggravating, it did not affect in the least their 
 eternal singing. 
 
 It was a beautiful evening. The moon was shining bright, and very soon 
 all was ff solemn stillness" 'save the hooting of the owl and the occasional 
 whistling of the raccoon. The Indians had retired into their wigwams leav- 
 ing us masters of the field, and we— or I— laid down to dream of angels 
 
 [88] 
 
and pretty squaws. I had been asleep but a short time before I was awaked 
 In the loud laughing of some squaws who stood so near my head that I 
 Could touch them. I waked up Louis and found that the Indians had been 
 disturbed by the horses getting into the corn. I supposed them to be ours 
 and went down to the held, and after wandering about some time I sav« 
 an Indian but no horses, and when returning I met some more, but I could 
 not learn whether they were our horses or theirs. I went back and told 
 Louis and he went down and found that they were Indian horses. While 
 he was gone I armed myself against the mosquitoes in presenee of the 
 squaws, and laid down again. And they laughed outrageously, which al- 
 most provoked me. I began to think them worse than the mosquitoes. 
 Louis told me when he returned that they were laughing at my appear- 
 ance, and the pains that I had taken toproteet myself from the mosquitoes. 
 They soon left us and we were soon sleeping again. 
 
 Saturday AllP 24 (H I was awaked very early by the squawking of 
 the ducks and other fowl, and could not sleep any more. It is the greatest 
 place for game here that I ever saw. The ducks and wild geese and loons, 
 sand cranes, and other fowls are continually passing this place. It seems 
 to be their only thoroughfare. And these great marshes and the little 
 streams and lakes must contain a great quantity of that cash article, Fur. 
 It must be quite a home for the hunter — such a home as I should like, 
 were it not so remote from friends and the comforts of civilized life. But 
 I begin to think it rather hard work to be an Indian. To be a hunter is the 
 same, and I think I shall give up the idea of being a hunter. 
 
 As soon as daylight I went in pursuit of the horses and found them 
 about one quarter of a mile from the village. They had lived well, having 
 found plenty of the wild bean, which the horses in this country are very 
 fond of, and which will fat them very quick indeed. We rigged our horses 
 and left without seeing anyone but an old Indian and the pretty squaw 
 which I expected to dream about, but unfortunately did not. 
 
 Soon alter leaving the village we came onto a beautiful and very rich 
 
 1 89 1 
 
prairie, covered with grass and flowers, and surrounded by oak openings.* 
 Passed across the prairie which was about five miles and then travelled 
 about seven or eight miles through oak openings of not quite so good land 
 to two lakes, each about two miles square, divided only by a strip of land 
 about four rods wide, and connected by a little stream.t The trail we were 
 following passed across this strip of land between the lakes and it seemed 
 to me like passing through the Red Sea on dry land. On each side was a 
 dam or embankment formed by nature or art, which prevented the water 
 from rushing in upon us, and I thought it quite a curiosity. It is covered 
 with oak, maple, butternut, and basswood; saw a great many of the little 
 frost grapes. We made a stop for dinner; eat some crackers and drinked 
 some sweetened water. Saw some Indians in a canoe crossing the lake. 
 Louis yelled at them and they yelled at him. Found the bones of a large 
 buck; took one of his horns and intended to carry it with me but found it 
 too troublesome and throwed it away. Saw a great quantity of small shells 
 washed ashore, which lay in little windrows like sand. 
 
 In about half a mile we passed a little bay in the lake, where we saw a 
 large flock of ducks, but they were so shy that we could not shoot any of 
 them. Soon came out on a rich and beautiful prairie which was about 
 three miles across. After travelling a short distance in the oak openings, 
 which were very good land, we came to the most splendid lake, and the 
 largest that I have seen since I left Chicago. f It has a smooth, stony bot- 
 tom, clear, pure water, and it is surrounded by high banks covered with 
 
 *This area, in McHenry County, is known as English Prairie. A group of English- 
 men settled there in 1836. 
 
 tThe Twin Lakes, named Mary and Elizabeth, in Randall Township, Kenosha 
 County, Wisconsin. 
 
 f Lake Geneva. The first recorded visit of white men to Lake Geneva was that of 
 Juliette Kinzie and her party on their way from Chicago to Fort Winnebago in the 
 summer of 1831, although it must have been known to hunters, traders, and early 
 settlers long before that date. Mrs. Kinzie, like everyone, was delighted with her 
 first sight of the lake. She wrote: "A shout of delight burst involuntarily from the 
 whole party, as this charming landscape met our view. f It was like the Hudson, 
 only less bold— no, it was like the lake of the Forest Cantons, in the picture of the 
 
 [90] 
 
the heavy prairie grass and the great variety <>f flowers which are every- 
 where to be found in this country. And the tall, scattering oaks w ith their 
 rich, beautiful, and comfortable shades, added the finish to this charming 
 and lovely spot. I became so deeply in lose- with it. and so much interested 
 with its romantic' and delightful appearance, that I felt quite unwilling to 
 lea\ e: and I did not. until I had selected a location for inv wigwam, which 
 was a zentle elevation in the beautiful grove and overlooked the e 
 
 ge 
 
 aim and 
 
 pure waters of the lake. It seemed the sweetest, the most calm, the most 
 peaceful and retired spot that I ever saw . 
 
 Having admired this Klyseum for some time without feeling any more 
 contented with inv situation, I concluded to break the enchantment which 
 chained me to the spot, and proceed on my journey. I succeeded, and soon 
 alter Leaving the lake passed two very extensive marshes on our ri^lit. and 
 in the center of each was a cluster of tamaracks which looked like the 
 spruce swamps in N. England. * They were much more delightful and 
 beautiful on account of their rarity and situation, and I could but think 
 what a view for a painter of landscapes, the marsh extending as far as the 
 c\c could see. covered with the thick high grass, and the little cluster of 
 tall and bright screen tamaracks in the centre, and the marsh surrounded 
 by groves of oak extending on here and there. Altogether the view was 
 most splendid and far beyond the powers of a painter to describe. 
 
 We passed some other small marshes and two small lakes in the course 
 of three or four miles, and then travelled over heavy swells of land cov- 
 ered with the oak timber. Crossed a little stream of water and found the 
 swells much more abrupt.! It looked as if there had been an earthquake 
 
 Chapel of William Tell! What could he imagined more enchanting? Oh! if our 
 friends at the east could hut enjoy it with us!"" Mrs. John II. kin/ie. Wau-Bun 
 Lakeside Press edition, Chicago. 1932), 372-73. 
 *The two travelers had come onto Lake- Geneva at its eastern end. and then pro- 
 led northward. These marshes border the White River north and east of Lake 
 
 ( .ene\ a. 
 
 TThe small c reek u as ( )re ( Ireek. and the mounds are located northwest of the town 
 
 of Springfield, Walworth County. They are Lames, or small lulls of glacial drift. 
 
 I 9' I 
 
which had thrown the earth up into high knolls, one of which I ascended, 
 and from the top of it I beheld the most splendid view of land that can be 
 imagined. In front was a low prairie or valley which extended beyond the 
 power of the eye, and on each side the elevated land was covered with 
 the green grass and the scattered oaks with here and there a little prairie 
 to make out a grand variety. 
 
 The spot seemed to me as if it had once been a vast and extensive lake, 
 and had been destroyed by some natural cause which left only consider- 
 able of a stream that passed through the centre of the valley; which stream 
 I afterwards learned from the Indians to be a branch of the Rock River.* 
 We crossed part of the prairie and forded the stream, and after rising a 
 little hill we had a glimpse of two little Indian boys who we overtook, and 
 who guided us to the Indian village which was but a short distance. It is 
 the largest village I have seen.t Situated on three little hills which centre 
 into one hollow, where their corn fields are. The land is immensely rich 
 and their corn looks well. 
 
 We stopped at the principal part of the village, from which I had a view 
 of the other two parts, situated on two hills about one fourth of a mile dis- 
 tant. I have forgotten the number of wigwams, but all taken together it is 
 the largest village I have seen except the one on the St. Joseph River in 
 Michigan. It seemed quite like a New England village. The little Indian 
 children were at play, and made quite as much noise as the N. England 
 children, which reminded me very strongly of home and times past. I do 
 not observe but that the crying, hollowing and yelling and screaming of 
 the Indian children is the same as the white children, and quite as inter- 
 esting and agreeable to my ears. 
 
 We rode up to the village, took the saddles and bridles from our horses, 
 and let them loose, and took our seats on our saddles. Very soon the Indi- 
 ans gathered around so thick that we could hardly see out. As soon as we 
 
 ""Turtle Creek. The route had been west from the vicinity of the present Elkhorn. 
 TThe topographical features locate this village in Section 21, Richmond Town- 
 ship, Walworth County. 
 
 [92] 
 
were seen from the other wigwams the Indians yelled and very soon we 
 were joined by the whole village— men, women, and children. The Indians 
 all sat down on the ground, and presently an Indian brought us some fresh 
 beef, boiled, which we eat without salt, after the manner of the Indians, as 
 they never use any salt. Louis gave the old chief some tobacco, and after 
 all the Indians had smoked from the whole stock, as before, he divided it 
 as he thought proper. Louis throwed the tobacco upon the ground without 
 any regard to the dirt, and the old chief gathered it from the dust with a 
 smile, without saying a word, and seemed very much pleased, and so did 
 the rest. The chiefs name, if I recollect aright, is Schootay-naw-quam, and 
 he is a very temperate man, never drinks a drop of spirit and uses all his 
 influence to prevent others from using it.* I was very much pleased with 
 the Indians at this place. They looked more warlike and brave, many of 
 them painted more or less, and I liked them because they seemed pleased 
 to see us. 
 
 I had a map of the western states, that is of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and 
 the Territories of Michigan & Northwest. I took it out to learn about where 
 we were. The Indians gathered around and were veiy much interested to 
 see it. They wanted to know, after learning the nature of it, where such 
 and such places were. I pointed them out to Louis and he told them. They 
 would ask what such a river was, the name of it; Louis could tell them in 
 their tongue. They picked out the situation of their village by the situa- 
 tion of the river, and told how long it would take an Indian to go to Galena, 
 which would make it about sixty miles. t And they also said that an Indian 
 could go to the mouth of the Milwaukee and back in a day, and that is the 
 way they reckon distances, knowing nothing about miles. They pointed to 
 
 *We have been unable to identify this chief. 
 
 TOn a straight line Galena, Illinois, is about eighty miles from Richmond Town- 
 ship, and the mouth of the Milwaukee River is about forty-five miles. Solomon 
 Juneau, the early Milwaukee trader, had in his employ an Indian who regularly 
 made the ninety-mile trip between Milwaukee and Chicago between sunrise and 
 sunset, which would indicate that ninety miles in a day was a standard perform- 
 ance for an Indian runner. 
 
 [93] 
 
places on the map and told what kind of land in such and such places; 
 said that there was fine timber on the Milwaukee, and pointed out places 
 west of the Mississippi where it is all prairie. It amused them and inter- 
 ested them very much, and so they interested me. I found by them that 
 we had just crossed a branch of the Rock River, and I found by the dis- 
 tance from different places that we were some distance in the Northwest 
 Territory.* 
 
 The Indians here were playing cards, and even the boys were quite as 
 much engaged in the same business; but the squaws were at work all the 
 time. Here the Indians wanted me to repeat their words and try to learn to 
 converse with them. I did repeat after them, but so incorrectly that they 
 laughed at me. 
 
 After resting a short time we proceeded, although it was nearly sunset. 
 Here we changed our direction and travelled nearly south. Soon came onto 
 a beautiful and rich prairie. It was rather small, in the form of a square, 
 and surrounded by the handsomest oaks that I have yet seen. Also passed 
 through some splendid groves, the trees very tall and slim and without a 
 limb for a great many feet. 
 
 Arrived at a little prairie containing about twenty acres and camped on 
 the border of it, near a little stream of water that ran through it.t Hobbled 
 our horses and turned them out; then made a fire with the limbs from a 
 tree which had been shivered by lightning and prepared for the night. We 
 eat some crackers & drank some sweetened water for our supper. Roasted 
 a prairie hen which we had just killed, for the dog, and were about to lay 
 down for the night when we heard Indians talking. Louis looked a little 
 wild and said that we must catch our horses or perhaps we should never 
 see them again. We both went in pursuit of them and found them across 
 the prairie. I caught my horse and Louis's horse followed, but Louis stayed 
 
 ""Strictly speaking, the present state of Wisconsin was a part of Michigan Territory 
 in 1833. Benton was probably referring to that part of the original Northwest Ter- 
 ritory which had not yet been organized as states. 
 
 TThis camp site appears to have been on Turtle Creek in the northeast corner of 
 Darien Township, Walworth County. 
 
 [94] 
 
back among the trees until I returned with the horses to the fire and tied 
 them. He seemed to crowd one into the danger, if there was any: however, 
 I did not have any great fears. 
 
 After his return we looked about us but could not see or hear anything, 
 and were about to lay down again when we again heard them, and they 
 seemed to be going round us. I took my station beside a large tree to ob- 
 serve any movement that might be made, while Louis laid down near the 
 high grass, rolled snugly in his blanket— so snugly that you could not be- 
 lieve it contained a man. While I was standing by the tree, Louis observed 
 to me that I had better take my hat off if I remained there much longer; it 
 being of straw, he thought it would be a good mark to shoot at. I asked 
 him if he thought that there was much danger. He replied that there were 
 many Indians who did not know anything about our business and they 
 might think us spies and intruders, and would take advantage of our situ- 
 ation; and he said that there were occasionally some of the Sauks and Fox 
 Indians wandering about in this part of the country, and from them we 
 could not expect much mercy.* 
 
 I concluded to lie down and therefore prepared myself against the en- 
 croachments of the troublesome mosquitoes. I placed my saddle for a 
 pillow, wrapped myself in my blanket, and placed the well loaded gun at 
 my side for a companion, and tried to sleep, but could not. The moon had 
 risen in all its glory, and I thought I never witnessed such a clear and 
 beautiful night. I got up and looked about me and I could not but admire 
 the moonlit scenery, so bright and splendid. I could not help thinking of 
 that beautiful night that I visited Niagara Falls to see the lunar rainbow. 
 The same feelings came over me, and it seemed to me that I was standing 
 on enchanted ground. All around me looked wild and terrible, yet lovely 
 and romantic and beautiful, and I really felt happy to think that I was so 
 far from home and in such a place, surrounded by the western savages, 
 and perhaps even then in danger of suffering from the power of their toma- 
 
 *The Black Hawk War of the preceding year was still fresh in Louis Ouilmette's 
 mind. He had reason to be apprehensive of wandering Sacs and Foxes. 
 
 I 95 | 
 
hawks and scalping knives. There was something so novel and romantic 
 about it that it dispelled every fear, and I really believe it would have been 
 dangerous to the Indians if a dozen had attacked us. 
 
 In the forepart of the night we heard a good many strange noises, which 
 Louis said might be Indians, for he said that they made all kinds of noises, 
 and mocked almost every wild animal. However, the noises might have 
 proceeded from some strange birds that we were not acquainted with, and 
 from foxes and raccoons, and I have no doubt but what they did. 
 
 I was up and down very often in the course of the night. I could not 
 sleep for the noise, although it was very still near us, save the stepping of 
 our horses and their eating. But at a distance we could distinctly hear the 
 the lonely howling of the wolves. Sometimes they would seem to be very 
 near, and the owls accompanied them with their hoarse hooting, and so it 
 continued until daylight. By the way, the mosquitoes joined the music of 
 this interesting night with their eternal singing, and I was obliged to keep 
 time for them. I never before have passed a night so interestingly, and so 
 pleasantly. . . . 
 
 o lilldciy AllP 25 a* Soon after daylight we left our very peaceable and 
 comfortable encampment and proceeded on our journey. Travelled south- 
 erly. Passed across small prairies and through beautiful groves of oak tim- 
 ber for about ten miles. We then came in sight of some lakes on our left.* 
 Very soon we descended from the high and rolling prairies down to a level 
 with the lakes. Passed through timber land, timber consisting of maple, 
 basswood, whitewood, and butternut. Land very rich. Crossed two beau- 
 tiful little streams of pure water which run into the lakes, and near the 
 mouth of one of them we saw a cornfield, and with considerable difficulty 
 in crossing a low, wet piece of prairie we reached the cornfield. Here we 
 found two wigwams, and three squaws who were engaged in husking, boil- 
 ing, shelling, and drying corn. One of them looked very well, and would 
 have been very pretty if she had washed herself in the lake close by. I 
 
 *Benton evidently mistook Lake Delavan for two lakes. 
 
 [96] 
 
noticed an improvement in shelling torn among the Indians. It is done 
 with a clam shell which scrapes it off with great rapidity. We stopped here 
 long enough for the squaws to roast us some corn, and then passed ahout 
 two miles from this, through heavy timberland and through some very had 
 mudholes to Bigfoot's Village.* I [ere we made a stop of about two hours, 
 tin ned our horses loose, and took a seat inside of a wigwam on account of 
 the oppressive heat ol the sun. I took the liberty to lay down and go to 
 sleep, and when I awaked, the wigwam was lined with Indians. Among 
 them was one whose dress attracted my attention. He had on a hat with 
 three wide head chains round it. On each arm was two wide silver bands, 
 head chains around his legs, and he was otherwise completely dressed in 
 buckskin throughout, without a stitch in his dress, the seams being con- 
 nected by huckskin strings with the ends all left hanging. He was painted, 
 and had many little silver ornaments in his ears. Had a rifle, powder horn 
 and pouch, and in his belt was a tomahawk and scalping knife. 
 
 The Indians all seemed very pleasant and were very sociable. The old 
 chief :r Bigfoot ,r was absent and I did not see him. The village is situated 
 at the south end of a lake or lakes, which are about six miles long and di- 
 vided only by a little neck of land. The lakes are very handsome and the 
 situation, which is a gradual descent to the lake, is beautiful, and the land 
 
 *Big Foofs village was at the western end of Lake Geneva where Buena Vista Park 
 is now located. Mrs. Kinzie described it as rf a collection of neat wigwams" sur- 
 rounded by gardens. Wan-Bun, 372. A more particular description is that of the 
 Rev. S. A. Dwinnell. who saw it in 1836, when the Indians left it for the West. "It 
 had a council house made of posts set in the ground and covered with mats, near 
 which was planted a signal pole some twenty-five feet in height. Their permanent 
 wigwams were usually ahout ten feet in diameter. Some of them were square, made 
 of posts and poles, fastened together with hark, and covered with slabs made from 
 hollow trees, both on the sides and the roof. Upon each side of the wigwam was a 
 platform some four feet wide, elevated two feet from the level of the earth, which 
 sen ed for a bedstead, while the fronts were used m place of chairs. They could, by 
 this means, enjoy the warmth of the fire, which was made in the middle of the cabin, 
 a hole being left in the center of the roof for the egress of the smoke. Other and 
 more temporary wigwams were circular and oval, the frame-work being made of 
 saplings and covered with mats woven from rushes and flags." History oj Walworth 
 County, Wisconsin (Chicago, 1882;, 312. 
 
 1 97 1 
 
about is very rich. The Indians wanted me to run with them, but I did 
 not feel like racing, and therefore was unwilling to make a trial of my run- 
 ning powers. After eating some boiled corn which was prepared for us, 
 we left and passed a short distance under a little bluff, and then rose onto 
 a large and grand prairie. In a southerly direction there was not a tree to 
 be seen, but on each side the oak openings seemed to be its boundaries, 
 although here and there was a little neck of a prairie which would connect 
 monstrous prairies, and there did not seem to be any end to the prairies. 
 They extended in all directions, and many of them were nearly sur- 
 rounded by the most splendid oak groves. 
 
 We travelled about ten miles on this large prairie. Killed a rattlesnake 
 and a prairie hen. The rattlesnake was five years old and about two feet 
 long, rather clumsy and very ugly looking. We were some time in killing 
 him on account of the high grass, and we were obliged to hunt him very 
 cautiously for the fear of a bite. The only way we could find him was to 
 strike the grass, and if he was near he would rattle, and by that means we 
 tracked him and killed him. 
 
 We made a stop at the remains of an old Indian camp which we found 
 in a little grove. Turned our horses onto the prairie and went in pursuit 
 of some water which we fortunately found. Eat some crackers, and after a 
 little rest went for our horses, and they were not to be seen. We both started 
 in different directions and I ran until I almost killed myself, but could not 
 find them; and after all we found them very near where we left them, but 
 we could not see them for the high grass. I felt thankful enough, for I had 
 given them up for lost and supposed we should be obliged to continue 
 our journey on foot. 
 
 From this place we travelled about six miles through oak openings. The 
 oaks were straight and very handsome. I thought them the most beautiful 
 that I ever saw. Just before entering the grove of timber we had a grand 
 and magnificent view of Grand Prairie.* It was a world of prairie imme- 
 
 *The Grand Prairie includes most of Dunham Township in the northwest corner 
 of McHenry County, Illinois. 
 
 [98] 
 
diately in view. I was struck with wonder and astonishment. It was greater 
 than the Falls of Niagara, and I viewed it with surprise and awe. Imagina- 
 tion could not begin to tell of the splendor and magnificence of the grand 
 and extensive view of such a delightful, such a beautiful and lovel) world, 
 sin rounded h\" the most pleasant groves and covered with the most lovely 
 
 and sweetest flowers. 
 
 While passing through the ^rove we met a young Indian riding horse- 
 hack and his pretty little squaw trudging along on foot. It looked rather 
 singular, hut I did not wonder after what I had learned and seen of the 
 Indians. Soon after passing the young Indians we saw a large buck and 
 doe. but they did not seem to be frightened at our appearance at all. for 
 they moved off at common time only. After leaving the timber land we 
 came onto the finest prairie that I have seen. A beautiful stream of water 
 passed through the centre, which I took to be a branch of the Rock River."* 
 When we came onto this prairie it was sunset and growing dark very fast, 
 and we were obliged to ride as fast as our horses would carry us to get to 
 the Indian village. There were a number of trails, and we were liable to 
 get lost; however, we happened to be fortunate and took the right one. 
 
 As we approached a little grove Louis told me not to speak or make 
 any noise, but to ride as fast as he did. I was cjuite puzzled to know the 
 meaning of it but complied without any questions. Very soon we came in 
 sight of a wigwam. We rode up to it with great speed, but the Indians had 
 seen us and hid themselves. Louis yelled hut all the answer he received 
 was the echo of his own voice. We were obliged to proceed, and Louis 
 took my horse, on account of him being more speedy than his, and we 
 went off into a full run. but we had not proceeded but a short distance 
 before we met a young Indian horseback. Louis enquired of him the 
 course to the village, and we proceeded as before. The young Indian, see- 
 ing us in such haste, was much frightened, and followed us to find out 
 what the matter was. Louis satisfied him and he returned to his wigwam, 
 the one we had just left. 
 
 *The north branch of the Kishwaukee, which Hows into the Rock River. 
 
 [99] 
 
With considerable difficulty we found the village,* and I am sure that 
 I was very happy to find any kind of a resting place. We turned our horses 
 out as usual, but they were a great deal of trouble to us. They had got a 
 taste of the corn husks and we could not keep them away from them, and 
 the husks seemed to be quite a bone of contention between the Indian 
 horses and ours. However, I was willing to risk my pony with any of them, 
 although he was hobbled. I never yet saw anything look so savage as he 
 would; he would rare and jump forward with the greatest fury, mouth 
 wide open regardless of the kicks from the Indian horses. His being well 
 shod was a great advantage to him, for every kick was deeply felt, and he 
 soon made himself master of the field. He was obliged to have a regular 
 siege at every village, and he always came off conquerer. 
 
 Here they were all found home, but five squaws and some little boys 
 and some quite young children. We took a seat in the wigwam, but I could 
 not stand the smoke from the fire which was built in the centre upon the 
 ground. In the course of the day we had killed a prairie hen, some pigeons, 
 and a black squirrel. Louis asked one of the squaws to cook them, but he 
 said she was not very willing to do it. I told Louis that I should like some 
 tea. Says he: ^Perhaps they can make some and I will ask them," and they 
 answered that they could. I was very glad to hear it, for I thought that a 
 cup of tea would do me much good; but what was my astonishment when 
 a two-quart basin of sassafras tea was brought in. I did not know or even 
 dream of anything else but young hyson. 
 
 Our meal was brought in in regular order. First, the prairie hen was 
 brought in. We salted it with some salt which we had with us, and found 
 it very good. Next, the pigeons were brought in, and all this time it was so 
 dark that we only found our supper by the sense of feeling. Next was some 
 bread which had been baked on coals, and which I saw made in my pres- 
 ence by a dirty squaw, altho' I did not know what she was about when 
 she was making it. If I had, I am sure that I should not have eat any of it. 
 
 * Probably the Turtle village of the Winnebago tribe, on the site of present-day Be- 
 loit. Mrs. Kinzie and her party visited it in 1831. Wau-Bun, 377. 
 
 [100] 
 
I thought it was rather tough and gritty, and I did not wonder at all, when 
 I had a view of a piece that was left. Next we had some hroth, but I did 
 not like it. Next the squirrel was brought in, but I had forgotten about it, 
 and supposed it to be part of the hen or pigeons and took what I judged 
 to be a leg and began to gnaw, but I could not get any meat. I told Louis 
 that I never tried to eat anything so tough. He laughed very heartily at my 
 ignorance and said that I was trying to gnaw through a squirrel's hide. I 
 found that it was true, and I give up the rest of my supper, except tasting 
 a little of the sassafras tea. It was sweetened with sugar and was sickish 
 enough to make a horse vomit. Their manner of dressing a squirrel is to 
 singe the hair ofTand cook him with the hide on, and a person must be 
 very hungry to eat one, and he must understand gnawing under a hide or 
 he would certainly starve to death. 
 
 In this wigwam I imagined myself a large ham hung up in a smoke 
 house, for I was surrounded by a dense cloud of smoke; and again I 
 thought that I was weeping myself into a statue, for tears, big tears, rolled 
 from my weeping eyes like dish water from a sink spout. At length the 
 fire went out and we laid down on one of the little counters in the wio;- 
 warn, and presently three squaws with some of the children came in and 
 became occupants with us. Two of them camped on the same counter 
 with us. feet to feet. The children cried some, and disturbed my slumber 
 a little. 
 
 The Indians at this village has lost four horses within a week by the 
 sore tongue, a disorder which is very prevalent among the horses in this 
 country at this time. Louis's horse has got it so bad that he cannot eat 
 anything, and expect my pony will have it soon. Here the squaws were 
 engaged in shelling and preparing their corn for the winter. Thev look 
 dirty, and the little children were completely naked. I saw a little papoose 
 lashed to a board: a hoop was fastened to the board and came round across 
 the breast of the child, with little bells attached to it for the child to play 
 with. The men of this village were all on the Rock River gathering wild 
 rice for the winter. 
 
 [10!] 
 
JMoTldCLy AllP 2u (H A very warm and pleasant day. This morning I 
 practiced shooting with a bow and arrow, but I could not succeed very 
 well in hitting the mark. Louis was very good; he would bring down an 
 arrow lodged in a tree at almost every bend, and at two or three rods dis- 
 tant he would hit the end of a cob every time. The little Indian boys, too, 
 could shoot very well, and I think that I could do very well with a little 
 practice. 
 
 About eight o'clock we left the village after having passed rather a 
 sleepless night in an Indian wigwam, and for the first time in my life. Two 
 of the beautiful squaws accompanied us a few miles to put us on the right 
 trail. Louis rode forward, the squaws next, and I brought up the rear. One 
 of the squaws fell from her horse by the girth of the saddle breaking; she 
 mended it very quick and got on without any trouble and rode along in 
 high glee. They took a trail that forked off to the left, after giving us our 
 direction. When they parted from us I gave the Indian yell, and they rode 
 at full speed laughing very heartily at my imitation. 
 
 We travelled all day on a fine prairie, occasionally passing near a little 
 grove. Saw some poplars mixed in with other timber, which looked very 
 natural. The prairies are larger and less timber, and the prairies are very 
 dry— no water to be found for miles— and I never experienced such a de- 
 gree of thirst in my life. Altho' we hunted in every place where we thought 
 there could be water, still we did not find any until about three o'clock 
 afternoon, and then it was such water as I would not offer a horse in N. 
 England. The warm rays of the sun seem to have increased on the great 
 prairie. The dry and hot south wind felt like so much heated air in a stove 
 oven. Every pore seemed to be dried up, and it was with difficulty that I 
 could breathe. Never before have I suffered so much from heat and thirst. 
 I could not help but think of the pure water of New England and how 
 happy I should be for only one drink of its cool water to quench my 
 parching thirst; but the thought did not seem to have the desired effect, 
 and I felt almost willing to give up the ghost. 
 
 After passing through the point of a little grove we had a view of five 
 
 [102] 
 
Indians going across the prairie. Louis seemed very anxious to over- 
 take them, and not let them escape without having a talk with them. We 
 rode our horses at full speed, and when passing through a little hollow 
 the Indians disappeared and we could not find them, altho' we hunted 
 some time for them. We afterwards learned that they were young Indians 
 and hid in the grass, being afraid of us, seeing us coining with such fury. 
 After we gave up looking we saw six other Indians on horses crossing the 
 prairie in another direction. We took the trail that would be likely to meet 
 them and arrived at their village soon after they did. Here we turned out 
 our horses and concluded to stay all night.* 
 
 The Indians were the most noble looking that I have seen. There were 
 ten large hunters, or warriors, that occupied one wigwam, the same we 
 were permitted to occupy. They were almost naked, wearing nothing but 
 what is called a breach cloth. Their chief, whose name is ff Ontac" (English 
 Crow), is said to be the bravest warrior in their nation. He wears only a 
 little apron in front, and he looked savage, indeed. It looked singular 
 enough to see such great, noble, stout-looking Indians, so nearly naked, 
 and they looked savage indeed, all painted so very singular. 
 
 Ontac makes most of the speeches, and is looked up to for that purpose 
 by the rest of the Indians. He is about fifty-five years of age and has the 
 appearance of great strength. He was a friend to Great Brittain and fought 
 on their side in the last war of 1812. He once killed an American sentinel 
 with his tomahawk, almost within the gate of Fort Clark, and escaped 
 uninjured, and it is said that he has killed many others at different times. 
 Since the last war he has been a warm friend of the Americans, and last 
 summer he would not be persuaded by Black Hawk and his party to take 
 up arms against them; but he fought for the whites and fought bravely, 
 and was wounded at the time Black Hawk was taken by a Sac Indian whom 
 he killed almost instantly with his tomahawk. The wound was in his hand, 
 which very much deformed it, the ball having passed through the centre 
 
 *This village was located in what is now called Ohio Grove, three miles southeast 
 of Sycamore in De Kalb County, Illinois. 
 
 [ 10 3 I 
 
of it. I liked Ontac veiy much,* and I liked all the rest. They seemed to be 
 more sociable than any I had seen. 
 
 Ontac had just returned from a hunt. He had killed two ff wild dogs" as 
 he called them, but properly named prairie wolf. They are about as large 
 as a middling sized dog, I was told, and look very much like the Indian 
 dogs. I intended to have seen them when brought in but I forgot it. Only 
 the day before we were there Ontac killed a large buck and doe. He found 
 them on the middle of the prairie, killed one at the first fire, loaded and 
 
 ""Also spelled Autuckee, Avvnkote, Auntake, etc. Ontac, to use Benton's spelling, 
 was a Potawatomi of considerable importance. He was one of several chiefs who 
 attended a council of Sacs and Foxes, Winnebago, and Potawatomi at Indiantown 
 (now Tiskilwa) in February, 1832, called for the purpose of forming a confederacy 
 to make war on the whites who were then beginning to settle in northern Illinois. 
 Ontac joined Shabbona in vigorously opposing the plan. N. Matson, Memories of 
 Shaubena (Chicago, 1878), 92-94. 
 
 Ontac never wavered in his friendship for the whites. "When the Sacs and Foxes 
 crossed the Mississippi in April, 1832, a son of Black Hawk, and Little Bear, a chief 
 of some note, left the band at the mouth of Rock river, and came east, visiting many 
 Pottawatomie villages for the purpose of inducing the warriors to become their 
 allies. These chiefs came to Indiantown and had a talk with Autuckee, Meommuse, 
 and some of the principal warriors, all of whom refused assistance." Matson, op. 
 cit, 95. 
 
 Matson had a less favorable opinion of Ontac's villagers than our traveler. "In the 
 fall, after gathering and drying their corn, and burying it in their caches, where it 
 would be safe for future use, they [the Potawatomi] would leave their village and 
 scatter all over the country for convenience in hunting, with from two to six 
 lodges in a place; some going to Green river to collect furs, others along the Illinois 
 river and Bureau creek. There was a large camping ground, or kind of head-quar- 
 ters, west of Princeton, at the mouth of Epperson Run. Their principal chief's name 
 was Autuckee. . . . 
 
 "Once in so many moons they would have their religious feasts. On these occa- 
 sions large bodies of them would collect together, kill some of their favorite dogs 
 and roast them whole, and offer up sacrifice to the Great Spirit for their success in 
 hunting; the exercise consisted in dancing and yelling. These feasts were frequently 
 held at the mouth of Epperson Run. These Indians, as a general thing, were low 
 and filthy in their habits, possessing (with rare exceptions) but few of the noble 
 traits which sometimes elevate the savage character, and make Indian history wor- 
 thy of record. However, they were peaceable and quiet, and lived on friendly terms 
 with their white neighbors." N. Matson, Map of Bureau County, Illinois, with Sketches 
 of its Early Settlement (Chicago, 1867), 14-15. 
 
 [104] 
 
overtook the other before lie could get off of the prairie. It was owing to 
 his good horse, however. 
 
 This village is very rich in horses. I counted twenty-five in sight on the 
 prairie and many of them seemed to be very good. They are very fat, kept 
 so by the fresh grass which springs up when the prairie has been burnt 
 over for the purpose. 
 
 Here the Indians were very anxious that I should come to talk with 
 them, and I repeated all the words they wished me to. Whether I was a 
 proficient or not, I was not able to tell; but I was well aware that my pro- 
 nunciation gave them much pleasure. Anything that excited my curiosity 
 pleased them. When we first rode up to the village I expressed some won- 
 der at seeing the older Indians so naked, and after we went into the wigwam, 
 Louis w ished me to go into the next wigwam, which I did, and I there saw 
 no one but the chief Ontac almost naked. As soon as I looked in the In- 
 dians all burst out into a violent fit of laughter, thinking that his appear- 
 ance would surprise me. Louis had told them that I expressed some as- 
 tonishment at their appearance, and they laughed at my ignorance or they 
 laughed because they were pleased to witness my astonishment, or be- 
 cause they were pleased to be thought objects of curiosity. I am sure I 
 don't know which, but I am sure they laughed. 
 
 After resting a short time Ontac brought in some boiled beef (fresh) 
 which we eat without salt, and soon Ins squaw brought some boiled 
 squash. They were about as large as small, thick cucumbers & about the 
 color of them when ripe. I eat some of them but I did not like them at all; 
 they were so soft and squashy. 
 
 Soon after, Louis gave Ontac some tobacco, which he distributed among 
 the rest after they had all smoked from the whole stock. After Louis had 
 talked over matters and things with them we all left the wigwam and the 
 Indians took seats on the ground and went to playing cards, and I amused 
 myself with some pretty little Indian boys, learning them to play ball with 
 a large walnut. I first commenced with one, then placed another, which 
 brought us all into the form of a triangle, and so passed the ball around; 
 
 L105J 
 
then placed a third and formed a square. The play pleased them very much 
 and we were honored by the notice of the squaws, who seemed very much 
 gratified to see us, and they laughed very heartily when we made a mis- 
 take and let the ball fall to the ground, but did not have occasion to laugh 
 very often, for the little fellows were very tractable and learned to catch 
 it very well. 
 
 Louis played cards with the Indians and I found that he understood 
 the game very well. I put up three figs of tobacco for Ontac and Louis 
 put up three for another Indian, and they played to see which would have 
 the whole. Ontac lost it. While playing, some young Indians came in with 
 two large sacks of red plums which were excellent, and I eat as many as I 
 wished. About sunset we all went into the large wigwam and soon the 
 chiefs squaw brought in a large wooden pan nearly full of boiled beef. 
 There were ten large noble looking Indians besides Louis and myself to 
 eat it, and the pan went away empty. Louis told me that I must not throw 
 away the bones of a fowl or of any animal in their presence, for they would 
 not like it. and I must not give them to the dog. either. So after eating I 
 had some bones in my hand and I made a motion to throw them away & 
 at the same time looked toward an Indian who saw me and stepped for- 
 ward and took them. What he done with them I did not know, but Louis 
 told me that they preserved them or burnt them to ashes. 
 
 After supper I was invited to run with some of the young Indians and 
 I accepted the invitation. I run with a number at a time. We would all take 
 hold of hands and run moderatelv to a certain mark, and then let go and 
 run with all our might to the end of the race course. I outrun two, and I 
 tried it again with them and one beat me. I then run with the other sev- 
 eral times but I could not outrun him. The squaws were present and 
 laughed as usual at my awkwardness, and the others seemed quite elated 
 to think that they had beat me running, and they cast many jokes by way 
 of Louis because I allowed myself to be outrun by so many. But I had some 
 excuse; I was dressed and had on boots, and had not practised running, 
 and they were entirely naked excepting the breach cloth, and had been 
 
 [106] 
 
used to running. Let me be in their circumstances as it regards dress and 
 give me but a little practice, and I am confident that I could outrun them. 
 Louis could outrun all ol them, but they were unwilling to give up with- 
 out a number ol trials. However, I was willing they should heat me, it 
 seemed to give them so much pleasure: but I felt rather chagrined to think 
 that I was so decidedly heat by so many, and in presence of the squaws. 
 It was really quite mortifying to my pride. 
 
 Alter the racing I went into the wigwam and seated myself on a little 
 counter, and was quite interested with ten Indians who occupied this w ig- 
 wain. First the Chief Ontac cut up some tobacco and rubbed it until it 
 was perlec tlv dry. Then he commenced and went through with a speech 
 or blessing, all the time the rest were perfectly silent and did not move. 
 Alter the blessing they all approached the Chief and filled their pipes 
 from the tobacco which he had prepared and lighted them by the fire on 
 the ground in the centre of the wigwam. I felt curious to know the mean- 
 ing of it and went out to Louis to enquire. He told me that they were hold- 
 ing a council about something but did not know what. 
 
 I went into another wigwam near, with Louis and some young Indians, 
 and remained there until the council was ended. We then went into the 
 wigwam with the warriors and camped for the night. This wigwam was 
 Larger than any I have seen, and built different. It was in a square form, 
 had perpendicular sides and ends, and a common house roof, door spaces 
 at each end. two counters about two and a half feet from the ground on 
 each side, and the fire in the centre on the ground without any aperture 
 for the smoke to escape except at the door spaces. The counter was wide, 
 and we laid with our heads towards the eaves, but it was not so wide but 
 that our feet would hang over the edge of the counter. My place was next 
 to Ontac, and I am sure I felt grand enough sleeping next to the bravest 
 chief of his tribe, and his noble warriors on all sides: and in such a place, 
 amid tomahawks and scalping knives, which were sticking in the posts 
 that supported the roof, and in the corner stood ten beautiful rifles, tipped 
 with silver according to the Indian taste. Hut imtw ithstanding all this show 
 war s I slept soundly and arose the next morning very much refreshed. 
 
 I '<>7 | 
 
1 UCSday AllP 27 &z This morning, previous to my leaving, the In- 
 dians showed me the skin or velvet that comes off from the horns of a buck 
 at some particular time in the season, and wished me to guess what it was. 
 I could not tell until they pointed to the horn which was hanging over 
 my head, and they laughed, and I suppose it was because they thought 
 they could tell me something that I did not know. 
 
 Louis's horse had not eat anything for two days and he was obliged to 
 leave him and take an Indian horse. The night previous our horses would 
 not stay on the prairie but came about the wigwams and got a taste of the 
 corn, so that we were obliged to tie them and cut up some corn for them 
 to eat. I went with an Indian after some, and passing near the wigwams, 
 the Indian dogs would come at me with all fury, but I had learned to say 
 get out, which in Indian is Ye-ae. The dogs seemed to owe me a great spite 
 and I don't know but I should have been eat up had it not been for the 
 squaw who watched the dogs and kept them from touching me. Their dogs 
 are very fierce, and are the cause of some trouble to them. They will eat 
 corn like a raccoon, which makes it necessary to put a string round their 
 jaws to prevent their doing it. It is only done at night when they cannot 
 watch them. The dog which went with us would eat corn when hungry. 
 It was quite new to me to hear of a dog eating corn, but I am told that it 
 is very common in this country. 
 
 Ontac's village is situated on a little elevation on the prairie. The land 
 is excellent about it. A little stream passes through the prairie near the vil- 
 lage, and there is a little grove near by. We left Ontac's village without a 
 trail and travelled about twenty-five miles across a very rich and beautiful 
 rolling prairie. On a large swell in the prairie I had a view of the prairie on 
 fire, set by the Indians, but it did not make much blaze, more of a smoke. 
 And I also had a view of Pawpaw Grove and Holl [fom] Sho-ma-naw-qua. 
 The DuPage River the timber on it. [torn\*— Shoumly's Grove, where 
 
 ""It is apparent from the text that the travelers took a southwesterly course across 
 what is now De Kalb County, and perhaps even entered Lee County, since they 
 came within sight of Paw Paw Grove. At about this point they must have turned to 
 
 [108] 
 
we soon arrived and found the old man at home* He is a fine looking In- 
 dian, rather dark complexion than most that I have seen. He is a great friend 
 to the whites and warned the whites of the intention of the Sac and Fox 
 Indians last summer, and if he had been adhered [to] the Massacre of In- 
 dian ("reck would never have happened. He has two squaw wives and a 
 great many children. He has a reservation of land from government of two 
 sections of fine rich land. It is a grove of timber situated on a little eleva- 
 tion in the prairie. In front is a large & extensive prairie with a stream 
 of water passing through the centre of it. I was very dry and told Louis to 
 ask for some water. He told me to ask in the Indian tongue, which I did, 
 and the old chief sent a little bov to get some. 
 
 I had got almost tired travelling among the Indians, and I had made up 
 my mind to leave Louis as soon as I thought I could reach a white settle- 
 ment in safety. I enquired the distance to a white settlement. Old Shoumly 
 said that an Indian could travel it in so long a time, which would probably 
 make it about twenty five miles. It was then about two o'clock afternoon, 
 and I was quite undetermined whether to undertake a journey of twenty 
 five miles without a track or trail to the mouth of the Fox River or keep 
 
 the southeast toward Shabbona's Grove. A small piece of the manuscript has been 
 torn out and the remainder of the word beginning "Holl" cannot be supplied. The 
 reference to the Du Page River, many miles to the east at this point, is inexplicable. 
 * Shoumly, more often spelled Shabbona, but also rendered as Shabonee, Shabo- 
 nier, Shaubena, Chambler, and Chambly. Shabbona was born into the Ottawa tribe 
 about the year 1775, but married the daughter of a Potawatomi chief and in time 
 succeeded to the old chief's place. Early in the nineteenth century Shabbona was 
 living in his own village in the southern part of present De Kalb County. In the 
 War of 1812 he sided, reluctantly, with Tecumseh and the British, but thereafter 
 he never wavered in his allegiance to the United States or in his friendship for the 
 white settlers. At the outbreak of the Black Hawk War in 1832 he warned settlers 
 along the Fox River and Bureau and Indian creeks of impending clanger and thus 
 saved many lives. He was rewarded with a tract of land at his own village, but lost 
 possession through a technicality. A small group of settlers, in whom cupidity had 
 not driven out gratitude, bought him a small farm near Morris in Grundy County. 
 fr There in his old age he ate the bitter bread of charity and pondered on the white 
 man's gratitude." He died in July, 1859. Katharine Elizabeth Crane in Dictionary 
 of American Biography, under Shabonee. 
 
 I 10 9 I 
 
round with Louis. The old chief asked me to stay till next morning, but 
 I concluded to bid them all goodbye and start off alone. The old chief 
 marked out the direction which was a smoke that rose above the trees on 
 Indian Creek,* named the objects which I should find if I was right, and 
 after eating some boiled squashes, settling with Louis and giving him 
 some money to purchase some tobacco for the Indians, I bid them all 
 goodbye and departed alone and without a trail. 
 
 The distance across the prairie to [forrc] is about twelve miles. I fol- 
 lowed the direction of the smoke and of two small groves; near the first 
 passed the road from Chicago to Galena. Very soon after passing the 
 groves the smoke disappeared and I was left without a direction and 
 wholly unable to form one, for I could not see back. I however selected a 
 tree across the prairie and trusted to fortune for the correctness of the 
 course. I found it very difficult to follow my object. Sometimes I was 
 going a different direction before I was aware of it, but it was not strange 
 because in passing through a little hollow I could not see anything about 
 me but prairie, and above me the deep blue sky. However, I succeeded in 
 reaching the timber land on the creek about sunset. 
 
 I proceeded directly to the bank of the creek and there found an old 
 Indian trail. Not knowing whether I had struck the creek too high or too 
 low I come to a stand and held a council with myself, and after due delib- 
 eration and consideration I determined to pursue the safe course, and fol- 
 low the trail down the creek. About two miles from the place where I took 
 the trail I passed an old log house, deserted last summer in the time of the 
 Indian war; also passed an old Indian camp and came to the house where 
 was the scene of the horrible massacre of fifteen persons last summer by the 
 Sac and the Fox Indians. The man who owned the house was a Mr. Davis. 
 He was building a mill. Some of the friendly Indians had previously 
 warned him and his family of the danger that they apprehended, and also 
 all the families in the vicinity of danger. Davis, with his family and all the 
 
 ""Indian Creek, a branch of the Fox River, flows in a southeasterly direction and en- 
 ters the main stream ten miles north of its junction with the Illinois River. 
 
 [no] 
 
inhabitants in that part of the country, proceeded to the mouth of the Fox 
 River, a distance of twelve miles, and there arranged themselves in some 
 order for defense, and remained for a few days. Not hearing anything fur- 
 ther about the Indians or their intentions, he with a few others ventured 
 to go back and resume their work. After remaining there about three or 
 four days, thinking all perfectly safe, they sent for others who returned to 
 the number of seventeen in all, men, women, and children. Davis sent for 
 his wife to come but she was unwilling, which offended him. He then 
 wrote a letter to her, requesting her to come immediately or never to come. 
 She obeyed the fatal summons, and the letter was found in her basket after 
 her death, she having arrived just in time to meet a cruel death from the 
 merciless savages. There were fifteen killed: two young girls taken prison- 
 ers, and one young boy escaped.* It was supposed by those who assisted in 
 burying the dead that the Indians did not escape without injury, for Davis's 
 party had four guns, one of which was found nearly broken into pieces, 
 and there was a good many spots of blood where it was supposed Indians 
 fell. The bodies of the dead were dreadfully mangled, and some of them 
 seemed to have fought for life with terrible desperation. The young ladies 
 were taken in the first onset and hurried immediately away, and knew 
 nothing; of the fate of the rest. Thev were treated kindlv bv the Indians 
 and were soon after redeemed by government, who made the Winnebago 
 Indians agents and gave them ten horses for the purpose of redeeming 
 them from the Sac and Foxes. After the exchange was effected and the 
 girls safe in the hands of their friends, the Winnebagoes went secretly and 
 stole the ten horses back again, thus leaving the Sac and Fox Indians with- 
 out any recompence for their savage cruelty. 
 
 After a hasty survey of this place I proceeded to cross the creek, which 
 I easily effected, but found it very difficult and somewhat dangerous gain- 
 
 * Known in Illinois history as the Indian Creek Massacre. Benton's account accords 
 with the known facts. The girls were Sylvia and Rachel Hall, aged seventeen and 
 fifteen. The best account of the Indian Creek Massacre and the captivity of the Hall 
 sisters is to be found in Frank E. Stevens, The Black Hawk War (Chicago, 1903). 
 See also Matson, Map of Bureau County. Illinois. 31-34. 
 
 [in] 
 
ing the prairie on the opposite side, on account of the many deep holes 
 worn in the low ground by the water, which were hid from me by the high 
 and thick weeds. I could not walk very well, and I hardly dared to ride, 
 but by walking and riding I succeeded in getting onto the dry prairie, and 
 was fortunate to find myself at the cornfield which was pointed out to me 
 by old Shoumla. Daylight had disappeared, and I was quite undetermined 
 whether to venture on to the prairie and pursue my course to the mouth 
 of the Fox River, a distance of twelve miles, or to camp down where I was, 
 and for once go to bed or to blanket without a supper. But I was not in a 
 quandary a long time before my good fortune directed me to a trail which 
 passed down the creek. I was not long in making my choice [of] which 
 course, for I knew that the trail would lead on to the mouth of Indian 
 Creek and from there to the mouth of the Fox, altho' a roundabout way; 
 but I did not know where the broad prairie would lead me. I had followed 
 the trail but about three miles before I came to a log house and I am sure 
 I was very happy to find it, and very happy to see a white man again and 
 one that I could talk with. 
 
 I asked if I could stay, the answer was yes, if I could take up with such 
 fare as they had. I did not go into any preliminaries, but took the saddle 
 and bridle from my horse, hobbled him, and turned him out on the prai- 
 rie. I went into the house, which contained one room, and the room con- 
 tained two young men and one young wife & a small quantity of furniture. 
 They gave me a supper, such a supper as I never relished so well before. 
 The meat was badly burnt, yet I loved it, and eat it with great avidity. Had 
 some good slapjacks and a good cup of tea, and I began to feel at home- 
 quite civilized and quite in favor of civilization. They had but one feather 
 bed in the house, which was given to me on the floor, and I undressed for 
 the first time for six days and went to bed. 
 
 Wednesday Aug. 28 c& This morning I arose earlier than I wished 
 to, altho' I had a good night's rest considering the supper and quantity I 
 eat, but the family wanted my bedstead for a breakfast table to stand upon. 
 
 [112] 
 
I did not feel in a hurry for it seemed like a day and time of rest. After 
 breakfast I went with the young men to a saw mill which they had just 
 put into operation on Indian stream. Wandered about the mill two or 
 three hours, and found it surrounded by a good lot of hard timber, some 
 white wood, ash. and bass wood, but upon the whole I thought the mill 
 and privilege rather small fish. The whole fall is only about three feet and 
 a half, and the saw moves as if it was just breathing its last. However, they 
 think they are doing well, and they probably are, for when they get their 
 lumber to the mouth of the Fox River, a distance of twelve miles, it will 
 bring them twelve dollars and fifty cents per thousand. 
 
 The names of these young men were Warren, from Kentucky.* They 
 were driven away last summer by the Indians but did not leave until the 
 night before the massacre at Davis's, three miles above. Soon after the 
 massacre of Davis and party, these two Warrens with two others were 
 scouting about to observe the movements of the Indians, and when two 
 of the party had carelessly got off from their horses to gather some straw- 
 berries, the Indians fired upon them, killed one man, and wounded an- 
 other, and the Warrens escaped unhurt. 
 
 I left about eleven o'clock and passed down the creek a short distance, 
 then struck across to the falls on the Fox, about four miles from where 
 it empties into the Illinois. Prairie all the way and very rich— a great quan- 
 titv of plums which are very good indeed. Saw two ugly looking rattle- 
 snakes; one had five rattles, the other three, which made one eight, the 
 other five years of age, as they do not have any rattles until they are three 
 years old. 
 
 There is a small grist mill at the falls on the Fox River, and one saw- 
 mill. There is also another grain mill building which will be completed 
 next season. There is plenty of water for any purpose. t The river is a little 
 
 *Daniel Warren Jr. and his brother Ezekiel settled on Indian Creek in 1832. They 
 were natives of Madison County, New York. Elmer Baldwin, History of La Salle 
 County, Illinois (Chicago, 1877), 436-37. 
 
 tjohn Mason Peck, the best authority on the topography and prospects of Illinois 
 
 [»s] 
 
larger than White River in Vermont. The bottom of it at the falls is solid, 
 smooth lime stone. The channel having been cut or worn by the water 
 (leaving the bank about six feet above the water) which is quite a curi- 
 osity. There are many holes worn into the bank which make it appear like 
 swallow holes in a sand bank, only they are larger, many of them large 
 enough to admit a man. There are high bluffs each side of the river at the 
 falls, but a little below you have to rise but a few feet to get onto the prai- 
 rie. I followed a little down the river until I reached the low prairie, and 
 then struck across to the mouth of the Fox. 
 
 When I arrived in sight of the Illinois and the mouth of the Fox River, 
 I thought that I had never beheld anything so splendid before. I felt a 
 peculiar sensation when viewing so much magnificence. It seemed to me 
 the whole world centered to this very spot & I was astonished with the 
 richness and splendour of the scene. I stopped my horse upon a little emi- 
 nence on the prairie to admire this beautiful, rich, and extensive view. 
 Immediately in front and about one mile distant, was the laid-out town of 
 Ottawa, with a few scattering log houses situated on each side of the Illi- 
 nois and the Fox. On the south side of the Illinois is a high bluff about 
 fifty feet which extends as far up and down the river as the eye could see. 
 The land this side is a low level prairie about fifteen feet above the water 
 in the river, which extends back more than a mile: then the land gradu- 
 ally rises about twenty feet onto a large, dry prairie which runs to Indian 
 Creek north. This rise is covered with a beautiful grove of oaks and hick- 
 orv, and has a most lovely appearance. The prairies are covered with tall 
 grass and beautiful flowers, and the whole together is beyond description. 
 The prairies from the north seemed to have been growing larger and more 
 beautiful, and had been rolling on, clothed with their rich and beautiful 
 
 in 1833. wrote of this stretch of the Fox River: "At the rapids five miles above its 
 mouth, are most extensive water privileges. Here the river is from eighty to one 
 hundred yards wide, with the bed and banks of coarse-grained sandstone. The rap- 
 ids are sixteen feet descent, and both sides of the river will admit of mills and ma- 
 chinery for three-fourths of a mile, with inexhaustible supplies of water.*' A Gazet- 
 teer of Illinois (Jacksonville, 1834), 240. 
 
garbs to this \ ery spot, here to display all their magnificence and splendour 
 
 at one \ lew: a \ lew rich w nil the beauty and the lo\ eliness of nature, such 
 .i \ k\\ as would l>e beyond the powei of a painter to imitate— or beyond 
 the power of the most distinguished w liter to describe. 
 
 The beautiful Illinois with its high and imposing bluffs on the south 
 side, can be seen lor a great distance, above and below, and on the north 
 side c an be seen the Fox Riser winding its wax along through the prairies 
 to its junction with the Illinois. There is a large bed of coal in the (oiks 
 of the Fox and Illinois. The town of Ottawa is situated, or laid out. on 
 both sides of the Fox c<; Illinois. The few buildings are south of the Fox 
 River, which place is intended to be the principal part of the town. There 
 arc two framed buildings, one a store, the other a dwelling: also a few log 
 houses. On the opposite or south side of the Illinois is a tavern, small 
 store, and some log houses.* The post office is kept in a log cabin about 
 ten feet square. Forded the river at this place. Near where the ferry boat 
 lands is a mineral spring, its powers not known. When I left Ottaw a (which 
 by the way I think will become a place of considerable importance in time) 
 I took a road that wound up the bluff onto the great prairie. Here again 
 the horizon rested upon the prairie, not a tree or shrub to be seen in an 
 easterly direction. All prairie, prairie. 
 
 Thursday Aug 29 (H Today I proceeded down the Illinois. About 
 twelve miles below ( )ttaw a the Big Vermillion enters the Illinois. The in- 
 habitants were building a flour mill. They already have a saw mill. The 
 
 •Ottawa was platted in 1830. Peck wrote of it: "It is laid off on both sides of the 
 
 Illinois river \t the town site, the water of the Illinois is deep, and the landing 
 
 convenient Steam boats reach tins place in the spring, and at other seasons when 
 the water is high. . . . 
 
 tf The country around is pleasant, undulating, and well adapted to farming. The 
 timber is in small quantities, chiefly in groves; the prairie land generally dry. and 
 ric li soil. 
 
 "Lime, and coarse free stone, in great abundance. 
 
 "Ottawa c out j 1 us twenty or thirty families, three or four stores, and is populating 
 
 fast.*" Gazetteer oj Illinois. .-302. 
 
 I "5 I 
 
banks of the Vermillion are filled with coal. This place is about four miles 
 from the Illinois River.* I was told that salt springs had been found in the 
 vicinity. About three miles from this place I stopped at a log house, got 
 some oats for my horse & some bread and milk for myself. I passed about 
 two hours very pleasantly with the old man who owned the habitation. 
 He was a very sociable sort of a man, told me all he knew about the coun- 
 try and more, too, I presume. His wife was sick with a sick headache; she 
 complained much of the climate, said she had been sick ever since she 
 had been in this country. 
 
 Heard of Doct. Whipple, who was once one of our representatives in 
 Congress. He left this place a few days previous to my being here; was 
 travelling with a pack on his back: was steady but had been rather wild. 
 This day I travelled twenty-six miles, nearly all the distance through prai- 
 rie, occasionally passing through a little neck of a grove. It is settled all 
 the way. The settlements are all in the timber land; their cultivated fields 
 are on the prairie. The great object of settlers is to secure as much of the 
 timber land as they can, knowing that ages must pass away before they 
 will want for prairie. Their grain is all harvested and stacked. No barns; 
 log houses. Corn looks fine, from ten to fifteen feet high. Staid at a house 
 situated in a delightful grove. Great quantities of plums . . .t 
 
 ""Benton was now traveling south along the Vermilion River, although the text is 
 by no means clear on this point. 
 
 tWith this incomplete sentence the journal ends. By his reckoning Benton had 
 covered thirty miles since leaving the junction of the Illinois and Vermilion rivers. 
 Since he did not indicate explicitly his direction, we can say no more than that his 
 journal came to an end when he had reached some point on an arc extending from 
 the Illinois River opposite Henry, through Minonk in Woodford County, to Cor- 
 nell in Livingston County. The towns, of course, were not in existence in 1833. 
 
 [116] 
 
Index 
 
 Albany (N.Y.), described, 22-23 
 Amsden, Joel, mentioned, % 
 Amsden, Joseph, mentioned, x 
 Atnsden. Man ley. Benton visits. \-.x/. 
 
 20: mentioned, vii 
 Amsden, Uriah, mentioned, x 
 Ann Arbor Mich. >, described, 53-54 
 Arlington (Vt.), mentioned, 15 
 Ashtabula ().). mentioned, 45 
 Auburn N.Y. I, described, 30-31; 
 
 prison at. 30-31 
 Autuckee Awnkote, Auntoke), see 
 
 Ontac 
 
 Ballston Spa (N.Y.), described, 19-20 
 Baptists, mission of, 62 
 Bates, John, describes ( Ihicago, 74 
 Beardsley's Prairie (Mich.), 
 
 mentioned, 6l 
 Beloit Wis. , Indian village at, 100 
 Benton, ( iolbee ( ihamberlain, 
 
 biography, x/-\ii: 
 
 identified as author. xi-xii 
 Benton. William, mentioned, xi 
 Bertrand, Joseph, town promoter, 6 1 
 Bertrand Mich. }, described, 6 1 
 Big Foot chief , village of, 97-98 
 
 Black Hawk War, effect of, 72, 95; 
 Ontac avoids, 103-04: 
 settlers massacred, 110-11; 
 Shabbona avoids, 109 
 Black River (Vt.), described. 14 
 Black Rock (N.Y.), mentioned, 41 
 Brock, Maj. Gen. Isaac, monument to, 
 
 37 
 
 Buffalo (N. Y.) , described, 4 1 -43 
 Burgoyne, Gen. John, surrender of, 16 
 Burr, Joseph, founds seminary. 15 
 
 ( lalemic River, described. 66-68 
 Calumet River, described, 66-68 
 Cambridge (N.Y.), mentioned. 15 
 Camillus (N.Y. I, mentioned, 30 
 Canajohaiie N.Y. t, mentioned, 26 
 Canandaigua I N.Y. , described, 31-32: 
 
 Female Seminary, 31 
 Carroll, Charles H., founds 
 
 Rochester, ^ 
 Cass. Lewis, home of, 49 
 Caxton ( Hub, publishes "Journal," wt 
 ( .a\ uga (N.Y. . mentioned. 31 
 Cedar Lake | III.), described, 84, 85 
 Centerville Mich. . mentioned. 59 
 Chambler (Chambly),$a Shabbona 
 
 I "7 
 
Charlestown (N.H.), mentioned, 13 
 Chester (Vt.) , described, 14 
 Chicago, described, 68-77; 
 
 harbor of, 75 
 Chicago Historical Society, buys 
 
 "Journal," vii 
 Chicago River, course of, 76 
 Chittenango (N. Y.), mentioned, 29 
 Churchill, — , travels with Benton, 60 
 Cleveland (O.), described, 45, 46 
 Clock, David, tavern keeper, 68 
 
 Davis family, massacred, 110-11 
 Des Plaines River (111.), mentioned, 80 
 Detroit (Mich.), described, 45"49 
 Devil's Hole (Niagara River), 
 
 battle at, 38 
 Distman Lake (Ind.), described, 63-64 
 Door Prairie (Ind.), described, 63-64 
 Downs, Rev. Charles A., 
 
 notebooks of, ix 
 Du Chemin Lake (Ind.), mentioned, 
 
 63 
 Dwinnell, Rev. S. A., describes Big 
 Foot's village, 97 
 
 Edwardsburg (Mich.), mentioned, 61 
 Egbert, Elisha, tavern of, 62-63 
 Elbridge (N.Y.), mentioned, 30 
 English Prairie (111.), mentioned, 90 
 Epperson Run (111.) , Indian 
 
 rendezvous, 104 
 Erie (Pa.), mentioned, 45 
 Erie Canal, locks, 26-27, 34-35; 
 
 travel on, 25 
 
 Fairport (O.), mentioned, 45 
 Fayetteville (N.Y.), mentioned, 29 
 Fitzhugh, William, founds Rochester, 
 
 33 
 Fort Dearborn, mentioned, 69, 74-75 
 Fort Erie, history, 37 
 
 Fort Niagara, history, 37 
 
 Fort Plain (N. Y.), mentioned, 26 
 
 Fort Pontchartrain (Mich.), beginning 
 
 of Detroit, 47 
 Fox Lake (111.), mentioned, 85 
 Fox River (111.), mentioned, 86; 
 
 described, 113-14 
 Frankfort (N. Y.), mentioned, 28 
 Franklin (Mich.), mentioned, 52 
 Freeman's Farm, battles of, 16 
 French settlers, described, 50-51 
 
 Galena (111.), mentioned, 93 
 Genesee Falls (Rochester), described, 
 
 32-33 
 Geneva (N.Y.), described, 31-32 
 German Flats (N. Y.), mentioned, 27 
 Getz, James R., identifies author, 
 
 viii-xi 
 Goat Island (Niagara Falls), 
 
 described, 39 
 Grand Prairie (111.), described, 79-80, 
 
 98-99 
 Grass Lake (111.), mentioned, 85, 87 
 Gray's Lake (111.), mentioned, 84 
 Green Tree Tavern (Chicago) , 
 
 mentioned, 68 
 Greenwich (N.Y.), mentioned, 16 
 Griffith, William, escapes massacre, 70 
 
 Hall, Rachel, captivity of, 1 1 1 
 
 Hall, Sylvia, captivity of, 1 1 1 
 
 Henry Clay (steamship) , Benton sails 
 
 on, 42; history, 43 
 Herkimer (N. Y.), mentioned, 28 
 Highland Lake (111.), mentioned, 84 
 Howe, James H., Benton visits, 21; 
 
 marriage, ix\ mentioned, vii 
 Huron (O.), mentioned, 45 
 
 Illinois and Michigan Canal, 
 land grant, 73"74 
 
 [us] 
 
Illinois River, described, i i i-i r , 
 Indians, Benton \ isi t s. in Illinois. 
 78-90, 103-10; in Michigan, 55-57, 
 58-59, 61-62; in \\ isconsin, 90-98; 
 food of, 82, 87-88, 99-] 02; games 
 of, 82-83, 102, 105-07: in Illinois, 
 status of, 72: Potawatomi reserva- 
 tion, 62; Tuscarora, 35-36; \ illages 
 of, m Illinois. 8 1-8 2, 87-89, LO3-08, 
 
 1 09; villages of, in Wisconsin, 
 92-93>97-98,99-i02 
 
 Indian ( reck. | 111. . Benton follows, 
 
 110-1 2 
 Indian Creek Massacre, 110-11 
 
 Jackson (Mich.), described, 55 
 ••Journal to the Tar Off West'" 
 
 manuscript acquired, vii 
 Juneau. Solomon, mentioned, 93 
 
 Kendrick, Stephen, family of, ix-x 
 kendrick, Stephen Jr., putative 
 
 author, x 
 Kin/ie. James, tavern owner, 68 
 Kinzie. John, employs ( hiilmette, 70 
 Kinzie. Juliette, describes Lake 
 
 Geneva, 90-9 1 ; mentioned, 43 
 Etishwaukee River (Wis.), 
 
 mentioned. 99 
 
 Lake Delevan (Wis.), mentioned, 96 
 Lake Geneva (Wis.), described, 90-91 
 Landgrove (Vt.), mentioned, 14 
 Lansingburg (N.Y.), described, 20-21 
 La Porte 1 End.), described, 64 
 Lenox V Y. I, mentioned, 29 
 Lewiston (N.Y.), described, 36-37 
 Little falls N.Y... described, 26 
 
 Liverpool 1 N. Y. I, mentioned. 29 
 
 Lockporl N.Y.), described, 3 1-35; 
 
 locks at..; i-.r> 
 London (N.Y. , mentioned, 28 
 
 McCamelus (Mich.), mentioned. 57 
 Mc( !oy, Ke\ . Isaac . mission of. 62 
 
 Manchester N.Y.), mentioned, 29 
 Manchester (Vt.), described, 1 1-1 5 
 Mann. John, tavern and ferry, 67-68 
 
 Mann. Russell. Benton \ isits. ix. 22; 
 
 mentioned, viii. x 
 Mann. Timothy, mentioned, ix 
 Marcelhis (N.Y.), mentioned, 30 
 Matson, Nehemiah, describes Ontac's 
 
 village, 104 
 Met-tay-wah (chief), Benton meets, 
 
 82; village of, 81-82 
 Michigan City (Inch), described, 64-66 
 Milwaukee (Wis.), mentioned, 93, 94 
 Mohawk and Hudson Railroad, 
 
 described, 23-24 
 Mohawk River (N.Y.) , 
 
 described, 26-27 
 Mount Clemens (Mich.), 
 
 described, 50-51 
 Mount Ida (N. Y.), described, 21 
 
 New Hartford (N.Y.), mentioned, 29 
 Niagara Falls, described, 37-40 
 Nic-sa-mah (chief), Benton meets, 79 
 Niles (Mich.), mentioned, 61 
 
 Nottawasepee Prairie (Mich.), 
 described, 58 
 
 Oak openings, described, 54 
 
 Ohio Grove (111.), Indian village in, 
 
 103 
 Oneida (N. Y.), mentioned, 29 
 Ontac (chief), described, 103-05; 
 
 village of, 103-08 
 Ontario Female Seminary, described, 
 
 31-32 
 
 Ore Creek (Wis.), mentioned, 91 
 Ottawa (111.), described, 114-15 
 ( )uilmette, Antoine, biography of, 
 
 70-71; cabin. 78 
 
 If) 
 
Ouilmette, Louis, Benton accom- 
 panies, 78-1 10; characterized, 
 77-78; parentage, 70 
 
 Owen, Thomas J. V., Indian agent, 
 70-71,72 
 
 Palatine Bridge (N. Y.), mentioned, 26 
 Palmer, J. K., friend of Benton, 71 
 Patch, Sam, death of, 32-34 
 Paw Paw Grove (111.)? mentioned, 108 
 Peck, John Mason, describes Fox Riv- 
 er, 113-14; describes Ottawa, 115 
 Petite Lake (111.), mentioned, 85 
 Plymouth (Mich.), mentioned, 53 
 Pontiac (Mich.), mentioned, 52 
 Portage Prairie (Mich.), mentioned, 61 
 Porter, G. B., Indian agent, 72 
 Potawatomi reservation (Mich.), 62 
 
 Queenston Heights (Ont.), 
 monument, 37 
 
 Rochester (N. Y.), described, 32-33 
 Rochester, Nathaniel, founds 
 
 Rochester, ^ 
 Round Lake (111.), mentioned, 84 
 
 Sac and Fox Indians, massacre 
 
 whites, 110-11 
 Salina (N.Y.), mentioned, 29 
 Salt, manufacture of, 29 
 Sandwich (Ont.), described, 48-49 
 Saratoga (N.Y.), mentioned, 16 
 Saratoga Springs (N.Y.), described, 
 
 16-19 
 Scharf, Albert F., maps by, 79 
 Schenectady (N.Y.), described, 23-24 
 Schootay-naw-quam (chief), 
 
 village of, 93 
 Schuylerville (N. Y.), mentioned, 16 
 Scott, Gen. Winfield, mentioned, 43 
 Shabbona (chief), described, 109 
 
 Shabbona's Grove (111.), described, 
 
 108-09 
 Shabonee (Shabonier, Shaubena, 
 
 Shoumly) , see Shabbona 
 Skaneateles (N.Y.), mentioned, 30 
 Skokie marsh (111.), mentioned, 79 
 Sprackers Basin (N. Y.), mentioned, 26 
 Springfield (Vt.), described, 13-14 
 Syracuse (N. Y.), described, 29 
 
 Terre Coupe Prairie (Ind.), 62, 63 
 Tonawanda (N.Y.), mentioned, 41 
 Troy (N. Y.), described, 21-22 
 Troy Female Seminary, described, 22 
 Turtle Creek (Wis.), mentioned, 92 
 Twin Lakes (Wis.), mentioned, 90 
 
 United States Arsenal (Watervliet), 
 
 mentioned, 22 
 Union College, described, 24-25 
 Union Village (N. Y.), mentioned, 16 
 Utica (Mich.), mentioned, 52 
 Utica (N.Y.), described, 28-29 
 
 Van Alstine, Miss, Benton visits, aw, 20 
 Van Alstine, Mrs., marries Manley 
 
 Amsden, x 
 Van Derheyden, Derick, founds 
 
 Troy, 2 1 
 Van Rensselaer, Stephen, mansion of, 
 
 22-23 
 Vermilion River (111.) , mentioned, 115 
 Vernon (N.Y.), 29 
 
 Wabash country, traders from, 76 
 Wapse (Warp-sa), village of, 87-89 
 Warren, Daniel Jr., mill of, 1 13 
 Warren, Ezekiel, mill of, 113 
 Washtenaw trail, Benton follows, 
 
 56-57 
 Waterford, (N. Y.), described, 20-21 
 Waterloo (N. Y.) , mentioned, 3 1 
 
 [120] 
 
Waten liet N.Y. . mentioned, 22 \\ illard, Emma, founds Troy Female 
 Weatherford, William. Indian Seminary, 22 
 
 agent, 72 Wilmette [11.), origin of name, 70. 
 Webb, James Watson, S^ also Ouilmette 
 
 mentioned, , x Wilmot, see Ouilmette 
 
 Whipple, Thomas Jr., mentioned, Windsor Vt. , described, 13 
 
 I'iii. 1 1() Wright, Charlotte W., marriage, ix 
 
 White Pigeon Mich. , described, Wright, Susan A. (Mrs. C.C.Benton), 
 
 59-60 xii 
 
 I '21 I 
 
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