INI STORY OF TEE PRAIRIES CI3 NOG CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY GIFT OF Miss Martha Hitchcock Cornell University Library PS 1260.C13I6 1906 The mini :a story of the prairies /by 3 1924 022 005 890 The original of tiiis book is in tile Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924022005890 THE ILLINI y ai-f^c^\^ /:^i*^*^ i^^Vtv. THE ILLINI A STORY OF THE PRAIRIES BY CLARK E. CARR WITH TWENTY FULL-PAGE PORTRAITS The word Illinois comes from the Indian lllini, Bignifying a complete, finished, and perfect Man, imbued with the spirit and bravery of the men of every nation that ever lived. Father Hennepin. CHICAGO A. C. McCLURG & CO. 1904 Copyrighted By Clark E. Carr A. D. 1904 Published Dec. i, 1904 ^57f.2 6i> ^ Pi^- Composition by The Dial Press, Chicago, Presstvork by R. R. Donnelley & Sons Co., Chicago. TO THE MEMORY OF HIS LAMENTED SON CLARK MILLS CARR THIS WORK IS AFFECTIONATELY DEDICATED BY THE AUTHOR JUST A WORD '* I ^HE author of the following pages has endeavored, by inter- weaving fact with fiction, to give his conception of the posi- tion and influence of Illinois among the sisterhood of States, as well as his estimate of events, and of those Illinoisans who were conspicuous actors in them, from 1850, when the Fugitive-slave law was enacted, to the opening of the Civil War. In consider- ing this most important period, while he has given especial prom- inence to Illinois and to her sons, he has sought to show that their chief glory is in their relations with and devotion to the whole great Nation. Availing himself of the license usually accorded a writer of fic- tion, the author has created situations in which he makes real characters appear, with the purpose of placing those characters more vividly before the reader than would have been possible had he confined himself, as must the historian, to a narrative of events and incidents as they actually occurred. He hopes, however, that these are so set forth that the reader will have little difficulty in distinguishing between those that are real and those that are created to make his purpose more efifective. In his treatment of historic events and personages, it must be understood that the author does not assume that his views and judgments are infallible. Living in Illinois for a full half-century, and during all that period connected more or less intimately with public affairs and public men, especially those of the Republican party, his studies have been made and his material collected chiefly at first hand. While with sincerity of purpose he has sought to make his treatment and portrayal fair and impartial, he recognizes the influence of personal relations and the fallibility of viii Just a Word human judgments. He will be glad to be corrected whenever he is found in error, and will always welcome just criticism in the hope that other survivors of the times of which he writes may be led to give their recollections and estimates of men and measures, and thus further illumine the grandest epoch in the history of our State and Nation. C. E. C. Galesburg, Illinois, October, igo4. CONTENTS BOOK I.— THE PIONEER CHAPTER I. "Where are you from?" . . II. General Silverton, of Illinois III. A Political Outbreak IV. HoBBS THE Overseer . V. Stephen A. Douglas . . VI. Rose Silverton . VII. Chicago in 1850 VIII. "A CuRis Young Feller" IX. The Prairies . X. The Abolitionist Preacher XI. The Beginnings of Romance XII. An Adventure on the Prairie XIII. "A Runaway Nigger" . . . XIV. The Underground Railway in Illinois XV. The Story of a Fugitive Slave . XVI. A Home in Illinois XVII. "Movers" XVIII. Some Distinguished Visitors . . XIX. Early Times in Illinois . . XX. Galesburg XXI. Work and Play . . ... XXII. Abe Lincoln . . XXIII. The Letter from Canada . . . XXIV. An Apparently Hopeless Struggle XXV. People and Politics in 1852 . . XXVI. A Mississippi Steamboat Trip . XXVII. A Visit to Pike County .... XXVIII. The Grange .... XXIX. " The Little Giant " .... XXX. The Nursery of Great Men . 15 18 21 24 29 33 40 47 51 53 55 58 61 67 70 76 79 81 85 89 91 97 98 lOI 106 109 113 1x6 124 136 Contents CHAPTER XXXI. XXXII. XXXIII. XXXIV. Undesirable Acquaintances .... Figures on the Public Stage .... A Stranger who Liked Fine Horses . The Creole Invasion of New Orleans PAGE 141 144 151 156 BOOK II.— POLITICAL UPHEAVAL I. The Birth of a Great Party .... 161 II. A Discovery and a Disappearance . . . 169 III. The State Fair 171 IV. Old Acquaintances at Springfield . . 178 V. A Memorable Evening 182 VI. Douglas Expounds "Popular Sovereignty" 191 VII. Various Exhibits at the Fair .... 196 VIII. Lincoln Replies to Douglas ..... 201 IX. Fond Farewells 208 X. The General's Story 212 XI. Inside Views of Illinois Politics . . . 219 XII. The Bloomington Convention of 1856, AND Mr. Lincoln's "Lost Speech" . 225 XIII. Paul Percival .......... 232 XIV. Colonel Besan^on 234 XV. Story of a Miniature 239 XVI. Choosing Political Champions .... 250 XVII. The Lincoln-Douglas Debates .... 254 XVIII. Presidential Candidates 265 XIX. Republican National Convention of i860 270 XX. With Old Friends at The Grange . . 285 XXI. The Political Campaign of i860 . . . 299 XXII. The Gathering Storm — Treason in Illinois 308 XXIII. News of the Fugitive ... •317 XXIV. From Illinois to Washington . . . . 319 XXV. The Inauguration of President Lincoln 325 XXVI. A Study in Psychology 337 XXVII. The Shaping of Public Sentiment . . . 345 XXVIII. Dark Days of the Republic 349 Contents XI BOOK III. — IN WAR-TIME CHAPTER PAGE I. The Awakening of the North . . 353 II. The Soldier's Friend ... . . 358 III. Captain Grant of Galena 360 IV. Some Illinois War Heroes .... 363 V. Our Greatest Volunteer Soldier . 370 VI. A Glimpse of the Fugitive . . 376 VII. The Evolution of a Copperhead 379 VIII. A Meal for Taurus . ■ • 383 IX. The Battle of Pea Ridgb .... 385 X. A Letter from the Front . . . 389 XI. The Tennessee and Cumberland Cam- paigns . . . 391 XII. The Battle of Shiloh 393 XIII. Illinois Cares for her Wounded Heroes 399 XIV. Governor Yates at Shiloh . . . 406 XV. The Wounded Orderly . . 410 XVI. Back to the Battlefield . .417 XVII. The Conqueror of Himself . 420 XVIII. Colonel Paul Percival . . 422 XIX. A Surprise and a Revelation . . 426 XX. A Headquarters Dinner Party .... 432 XXI. The Home-Coming . . 435 XXII. Story of the Wanderer . . . 437 XXIII. Welcome to The Grange ... . 442 XXIV. The Lilies of France . ... 451 XXV. An Humble Confession 456 XXVI. Clouds and Darkness 458 XXVII. Dawn 460 LIST OF PORTRAITS Clark E. Carr Stephen A. Douglas John Wentworth Owen Lovejoy . O. H. Browning Abraham Lincoln . John Hay . . . Jonathan Blanchard Lyman Trumbull . David Davis . . Richard J. Oglesby Norman B. Judd . John M. Palmer . Leonard Swett Joseph Medill . . Robert G. Ingersoll Shelby M. Cullom Richard Yates John A. Logan U. S. Grant . . PACE Frontispiece ■ facing 30 44 54 82 102 138 164 176 188 200 220 226 248 276 302 310 358 370 420 THE ILLINI BOOK I. — THE PIONEER CHAPTER I. "WHERE ARE YOU FROM?" 1WAS born in a beautiful valley of Western New York, — more beautiful to me than any other I have ever seen. In my wanderings I have visited the Blue Juinata," the Yosemite, the Vale of Chamouni, and many other valleys of picturesque and sublime beauty; but I have never found another that held so much of charm for me as that in which I was born. Before I was thirteen years of age, I had never passed outside the limits of that beautiful valley. I remember, when I was a boy, looking up from the valley which was my world, at the hills on either side, clothed with the verdure of growing grass and grain, and crowned by lofty pines and hemlocks and oaks and beeches, and wondering what there was beyond. In my wander- ings since these happy days, there has often come over me an inexpressible longing for the old valley. I never hear such songs as "The Old Oaken Bucket," "Ben Bolt," "I wandered to the Village, Tom," "In the Valley I would dwell," and ballads of kindred nature, but they recalled to me the scenes I loved and revelled in as a boy, in that lovely valley. At the time when my story begins, my father, like many of the people of that region, was seized with what is commonly called "the Western Fever," — a fever of ambition and unrest which has caused so many adventurous Americans to leave their homes and seek for better fortunes in the newr lands lying toward the setting sun. He had read with eager interest many accounts of the wonderful regions of the West, and of the possibilities of their development. In his reading, he had become more inter- ested in Illinois than in other States. He was impressed with the 1 6 The mini advantages of her geographical position, extending from the Great Lakes down to the confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers, almost into the centre of the Southern States. Feeling, as he did, an abhorrence of human slavery, he was interested in the history of Illinois, a State dedicated forever to freedom by the Ordinance of 1787; and his interest was heightened by the fact that after she became a sovereign State, when it seemed to be for her interest to annul the sacred provision of that Ordinance, and when there were those who sought to amend her constitution so as to permit the iniquity of human slavery, her conscientious citizens arose and by their votes sustained the Ordinance and re-dedicated the commonwealth to freedom. My father read also many interesting facts about the subse- quent history of Illinois, — how, through a system of internal improvements, the building of canals and railways to develop her resources, the State had gone so far beyond her means as to be- come, as it seemed, hopelessly bankrupt ; and when, in her dire extremity, it was declared that she could not pay her debts, and must repudiate them to avert inevitable ruin, the people arose and declared that " if it takes our lands and our homes, and strips us of everything, we will pay the debt, we will not live in a State that repudiates," and they put a provision into their constitution making it obligatory to pay off the obligation, and thus rees- tablished the credit of the commonwealth, and saved their State from the blight of repudiation, as they had before saved it from the curse of human slavery. The decision to go west" was not made, in my father's family, in a day nor in a year. The question was considered at our fireside long and thoroughly. Other new States in the Mis- sissippi Valley had their attractions and advantages, but when- ever the question was considered my father would always finally declare in favor of Illinois. At last the important matter was settled, and v/e prepared for our departure. I will not linger over the pangs of separation from relatives and friends. They have been the experience of most of the elderly men and women of Illinois, who have broken away from friends and kindred as dear to them as were ours to us. Those of us who have passed middle life still feel the same affec- The Pioneer 17 tion for the regions from which we were separated, — the New England, the Middle, and the Southern States, and even the countries of Europe, — that we felt when we were torn away from them. Men and women who have lived in Illinois for forty years or more still speak of the old places where they were born as "home." "I had a letter from home," "I was back home this summer," " I want to go back home next year," — such are the expressions indicating the old love and interest. And so our own children who have gone on farther west, even to the Pacific coast, still speak of Illinois as " home." This "home" feeling cannot be overestimated in its effect upon the nation. The older States are bound to the new by their interest in their children who have gone so far away, and the new States are bound to the old by their interest in the dear ones who are left behind. Through our great lines of travel, the nation is bound together literally by bands of steel ; but steel is not so strong nor so enduring as the "mystic chords of affection stretching from every hearthstone in this broad land." There were no railways at the time of which I write, and my father decided to make the journey to Chicago by a voyage around the lakes. Accordingly, early in the month of March, 1850, we found ourselves on board the steamboat " Empire State," Captain Hazard, sailing out of the harbor of Buffalo. To make the voyage "around the lakes" was a great journey in those days. I was interested in everything pertaining to what seemed to me a great steamship, and still more in the people whom I saw about me. In leaving for the first time the dear old valley where my life till then had been passed, I was entering upon a great new world of thought and action. The passengers on the steamer were, most of them, like our- selves, emigrating to the West. I remember their greetings. Invariably after the first salutations came the question, "Where are you from ? " In my life on the prairies I have often heard that question asked by those who for the first time greeted each other ; for, as I have said, nearly everybody in Illinois, of advanced age, h from somewhere. On the boat, after the question of "Where are you from?" was answered, came at once another: "Where are you going?" 2 i8 The mini And out of these questions came the consideration of matters that awakened the h'vehest interest in my boyish nature. I had read little, but from the time I could run about I had attended school ; I knew something of geography, and had a very good idea of the location and boundaries and the physical characteristics of most of the States of the Union, and had learned a good deal in regard to them from hearing my father read his newspaper. To meet men and women and children from various places, who had just torn themselves away from their old homes, as we had torn ourselves from ours, was something marvellous to me. And the accounts of the new States to which we were going by those who had really been there, with the speculations as to what we should find there for ourselves, were intensely exciting. I dreamed every night of prairie fires, of wolves, and of the rhase ; and although the feats I then accomplished, in shooting buffalo, deer, antelope, prairie chicken, quail, and wild geese and ducks, were never half realized, yet I afterwards became fairly successful in the pursuit of game. There were on board our steamer a few passengers for Northern Ohio and Indiana, others for Michigan, some for Iowa, a number for Wisconsin, and many who, like ourselves, were making their way to Illinois. There were two families going to California, attracted by the gold discoveries made there only a year before. I remember that my father was almost persuaded to cast his for- tunes with them, and make the long journey across the continent to the new Eldorado, as so many did in those days of forty-nine and fifty ; but he could not quite give up his long-cherished plan of making his home in Illinois. w CHAPTER II. GENERAL SILVERTON, OF ILLINOIS HEN we first seated ourselves at the steamer's dinner-table. with the Captain at its head, my father and my mother and I were placed at his left, and a vacant place was reserved at his right, until the steward had conducted an impressive looking The Pioneer 19 gentleman down from the ladies' cabin and seated him there. The Captain, saluting him, presented him to the other guests, but few of whom he knew, as " General Silverton, of Illinois." The General extended his hand to my father across the table, as he expressed his pleasure at the meeting, in the same breath directing the inevitable inquiry to my father, "Where are you from, sir ? " My father answered him, adding, "Then you, General Sil- verton, are of Illinois ? " "I am, sir," was the reply; "and I assure you I am proud of it. There is no such State in the Union. Illinois is certain to become a great State, sir." "How about Chicago ? " asked my father. " A city, sir," replied the General, " a city already; and such trade ! — teams coming in every day loaded with produce. Why, the very day I left there over a hundred head of cattle were sold in Chicago. You and I, sir, will live to see fifty thousand inhab- itants in Chicago; and that boy of yours," looking at me, "will live to see it have twice that number. It has nearly twenty thousand now." My father askea concerning the State outside of Chicago. The General replied, " Now, sir, you are asking me of what I know something about. You never saw such land ! — rich black soil, six feet deep. Talk about fertilizing land! — it will never be needed in Illinois. We never think of it." My father asked about the timber. ■ "Plenty of timber," answered the General, "for all that come. There are groves in all directions, — plenty of them for people to settle in for a hundred years." " But what about those great prairies ? " asked my father. "Blue sky, sir, only blue sky. Don't make the mistake of trying to make a home away from timber. You must have fire- wood. The prairies can never be anything but cattle ranges." "So you think. General, that Chicago will be the great city of Illinois ? " my father asked. " Not at all, sir; not at all. Chicago will be a great city, but Cairo will be the great city. Look at her position, on the great Father of Waters, at its confluence with the Ohio 1 Think of the 20 The mini trade and commerce that is already coming up the Mirsissippi, from New Orleans and all the ports of the South ! Think of all that comes down the Ohio from Pittsburg, Cincinnati, Louisville, and the other cities, besides what comes from the Tennessee and Cumberland rivers. Think of all that will come down from the upper Mississippi and the Missouri, — and all this to meet at Cairo ! It will be the largest city on this continent ; and the time is sure to come when Cairo will be the largest city in the world." Thereupon the conversation became general, and many opin- ions were expressed ; but no one ventured to differ from General Silverton as to the future of Illinois and of her two great cities. I quickly became much interested in General Silverton. We learned that he was a very prominent man in Illinois, that he had a large property, lived in luxury for those days, and was famed far and wide for his hospitality. He had but a short time before been an officer in the Mormon war, and appeared quite distinguished. He was of medium height, and his figure was neat and trim. His face was full and florid ; he had wavy thick auburn hair, quite long, which surmounted a broad forehead and kindly brown eyes. He always appeared at dinner in evening dress, and, according to the fashion of those days, wore an immaculate ruffled shirt bosom. The favorite place for the gentlemen to assemble was in the smoking-room of the steamer. As I was allowed to go every- where, I frequently found myself in that room. The General was usually seated at a table, with a decanter of whiskey before him, from which he poured out his libations, inviting everybody to join him. I noticed that he really drank sparingly of the liquor ; he would pour out scarcely a spoonful, fill the glass with water, and sip for a long time. My father never indulged in liquor, but was glad to be in the room to hear the conversation and take part in it. One afternoon, when a party was playing a game of cards, which I afterwards learned was poker, at another table, an animated discussion was carried on regarding the so-called " com- promise measures" then before Congress. The General lauded the measures without reserve, as well as the men who favored them, especially Henry Clay, who had the measures in charge. My father had been for many years a supporter of the Great The Pioneer 21 Kentuckian, and was pleased to hear him so enthusiastically commended ; but he was very decidedly opposed to one of the compromise measures, — the fugitive-slave bill. He ventured to show his disapprobation of this measure ; whereupon the General expressed his surprise and regret that any intelligent gentleman should look with disfavor on so wise and just and necessary a measure, and went on at considerable length to tell of how much "property" the Southern people had lost during the last few years ; how, even in Illinois, there were men ready to aid fugitives who had escaped from their masters to run away to Canada, and said that in Illinois there were regular nests of Abolitionists, — one at Galesburg, another at Princeton, another at Farmington, another at Geneseo, another at St. Charles, hundreds of them in Chicago, and at many other places, who made it their business to help negro slaves escape to Canada. He denounced these men and their acts, and declared it was high time they should be put a stop to. CHAPTER III. A POLITICAL OUTBREAK AS General Silverton finished his outburst, my father said: " But, General, the difficulty with this bill is that it makes every one of us a slave-catcher. If a slave is running by my house or yours, the United States Marshal may, under this bill, call upon you and me to help catch him, and we must obey the sum- mons. It 's an outrage ; and I am ready to give them all notice, now and forever, that all the power of the Government can never make me a slave-catcher! My sympathies are, and always have been, with the poor negro slave." As my father made this declaration, everyone in the room looked at him with astonishment. The players at the table laid down their cards, and looked at him, with the rest. Finally one of those players exclaimed, G — d d — n a nigger, and G — d d — n any man who won't d — n a nigger! " My father sprang to his feet, and I expected trouble ; but the 22 The mini General arose and laid his hand on his shoulder and said, "My dear sir, don't mind it. You can't afford to fight Bill Hobbs. He 's my overseer. He 's now taking care of my cattle. He 's not a gentleman. I'll attend to him," and turning to the man, he said, " Hobbs, go below and look after the stock! " And Hobbs obeyed. The General and my father then quietly resumed the discus- sion. The General said, " My dear sir, I know something of your feelings, for this is not the first time I have met men from the North who have had no relations with Southern gentlemen and with negro slaves. I have discussed this subject at many fire- sides in the Northern States, and I may add in other lands. I do not expect to change or even modify your viev/s, by anything I may say; but I do hope to make you feel that I, and those who think as I do, are as sincere and honest in our views as you are in yours. We are patriots, and loyal to our country ; and we feel that such sentiments as you have expressed are disloyal in their tendency. I do not intend to imply that I look upon you as dis- loyal, or that you would not make as great sacrifices as I would for our common country ; but I do say that in my opinion such sentiments as you express will, if they become general throughout the North, in the end disrupt the Union. You saw just now how they affected my man ; and while not alwaj's expressed in that way, a similar feeling prevails throughout Illinois, where I have lived for years, and where you are going. We do not have slavery in Illinois, and we do not want it ; but it is not because of any namby-pamby sentimentality in regard to the negro. We believe that he is far better off in slavery, with an intelligent master to care for him, than he can possibly be if left to shift for himself." I had become deeply interested in this view of the matter, and wondered how my father would answer the argument. He did not reply for a few moments ; finally he said : "General. I do not wish to be ofiensive, but I must say in all candor that, as it looks to me, this talk about the dissolution of the Union is absurd. \'/e look upon it as simply a bluff by the slave-holders to frighten us. They have been openly threatening to dissolve the Union ever since the Constitution was adopted. This has been going on for more than a half a century. When the South wanted The Pioneer 23 more slave territory, or more concessions, these threats were always revived. This was the case in 1820, and again in 1832, when General Jackson so effectually put Mr, Calhoun down ; it is the same now, when the South wants the fugitive slave bill, to make us in the North slave-catchers ; it will be the same always when the South wants a new concession for slavery. It has been going on all these years; and still the South is no nearer secession than when the doctrine was first proclaimed. It has frightened many of our Northern ' doughfaces,' but the South should understand that the North cannot be intimidated in that way. You ask me to say nothing about the iniquity of slavery; but I am an Amer- ican citizen, and have the right of free speech ; and when you say or intimate that I may not fully and freely express my beliefs on this or any other political question, you deprive me of my liberty. Besides, if slavery is right there is more reason why it should be freely and publicly considered. It is the confession of the weak- ness of their cause for the slave-holders to object to having it talked about. Illinois, as you say, is a free State. When I get there, I expect to be free ; and, with due regard for the rights of others, and to such courteous gentlemen as you have shown your- self to be, I intend to express my views as freely as I now express them to you. Illinois has shown her opinion of slavery by declar- ing against it. What first attracted me to that splendid people was the noble position they took on this question. Whatever may be the feehng of individuals, there can certainly be no wide- spread prejudice in such a State against the negro." "You are right as to the sentiment of the people of Illinois regarding slavery," replied the General. "We recognize its evils now, as our earliest settlers recognized them. We are most of us from the South ; yes, ninety per cent of our people are from that section, though the ratio is rapidly changing with the advert of people from the Northern States who are just now coming among us in great numbers. We know what slavery is, and we know what negroes are. You are entirely in error as to our feelings in regard to the negro race. While we don't want slaves, except those who have been in our families from childhood, we do not want and will not have negroes among us at all. The prejudice against negroes in Illinois is a hundred-fold more intense than it is 24 The mini in the slave States. Why, my dear sir, we have only just now, within two years, adopted a new constitution, providing that only white men can become citizens ; and so intense is the feeling that we have put into that constitution a provision forever prohibiting free negroes from coming into the State. We adopted this con- stitution by an immense majority, and to carry it into effect our Legislature has passed laws, called by the Abolitionists the " black laws," providing severe punishment for every free negro who shall set his foot upon the soil of Illinois, and for anyone who brings him there. You will understand how intense this prejudice is, when you yourself become a citizen of Illinois. You will find that the great mass of the people, however they may express them- selves, are no less prejudiced against the negro than is my man Hobbs, who so rudely answered you." CHAPTER IV. HOBBS THE OVERSEER WE had taken with us on the vessel our household goods, furniture, etc., which vv'ere carefully packed for the journey. We had also taken our carriage horses, which were placed care- fully with other stock on the lower deck. I was very much attached to these horses, and as soon as opportunity offered I went below to pat and fondle them. They were ill at ease, but seemed to recognize me and enjoy my being with them. Near the horses were the cattle belonging to General Sil- verton, of which he had spoken to us, — a fine short-horn Durham bull, and a half-dozen cows of the same breed. The bull was in a padded box-stall, securely tied by the horns; as he could not be tied by the ring in his nose, for the lunging of the ship would have torn it out. These animals had been bought at Buffalo of Hon. Lewis F. Allen, a friend of my father, and at that time the most noted importer and breeder of short-horn cattle in the country; and General Silverton was taking them to his Illi- nois farm. Hobbs had these cattle in charge, and looked after The Pioneer 25 them very carefully, with the help of a hired man, who, under Hobbs's direction, was constantly feeding them and watering them, and keeping them blanketed when it was cold. This man had a bunk near the cattle, and was sometimes up all night with them ; while Hobbs, who was a cabin passenger, came down frequently to look after them. The General himself visited them but once a day, usually in the morning, leaving everything to Hobbs. Our horses were cared for by one of the vessel's crew. In my visits to the lower deck, boy as I was, I took great interest in the deck passengers, and made many acquaintances among them. There were many more deck than cabin passen- gers. They had bunks made of plain boards, furnished their own bedding, and cooked and prepared their own meals, having brought with them such provisions as they could not obtain on board. It was curious to me to see this rude housekeeping going on in such striking contrast with the luxury and splendor of the cabin. In fact, it was the first real example of extreme social distinction I had ever seen. There were emigrants from the Scandinavian countries, and a few Germans, none of whom could speak Enghsh; while the others had come mainly from New England and New York. I became especially interested in a family named Earle, a father, mother, and son, from Vermont. The father was, as I afterwards learned, a graduate of Middlebury College, and had been for some years principal of an academy. He had decided that a better field for success was offered in the West, and though his means were limited he was emigrating thither. His wife was a stirring, active, ambitious woman, who evidently had not always been in a con- dition of life that would make it necessary for her to be a deck passenger. She was very much dissatisfied with her surroundings, and did not hesitate to say so. I heard her say to her husband that if he had thought more of his family instead of being so anxious about other people, they would all have been better ofif ; that he had always talked morality, and prated about his conscience, while other people had ^ot the plums. Her favorite maxim was, " Every man for himself , and the Devil take the hindmost." Their son, Dwight Earle, about two years older than myself, I found disposed to agree with his mother in her estimate of his father. 26 The mini He was, like me, interested in the horses and cattle ; and in my visits to the stalls I was very soon upon intimate terms with him. I had never seen anyone like Hobbs. He was about thirty years old, of medium height, squarely built, and as strong as an ox. He said that he had only come in contact with one man who could beat him lifting, and that was Sam Anderson of Knox County, Illinois, who had won ten dollars of him lifting barrels of whiskey in Peoria, and then offered to bet him ten dollars that he could pull the nose out of a blacksmith's anvil and throw it over the court house ; and after what Hobbs had seen he dared not take the bet. Hobbs delighted in baring his legs and arms and showing his great muscles. His face was full, with big cheeks and heavy mouth ; he had coarse brown shaggy hair that grew almost down to his eyebrows, and almost hid his small cunning black eyes. But his most extraordinary feature v/as his round pug nose, which was so small as to be a deformity. He wore corduroy trousers, short black plush coat and vest, colored cotton hickory " shirt, the bosom of which v/as ornamented with what I supposed was a big diamond pin, a red necktie and turn-down collar, and a slouch hat. From under his vest in front dangled a heavy watch fob, to which hung a key and crystal set in what appeared to be gold. There was nothing Hobbs did not know about cattle, and the tenderness with which he cared for the valuable animals in his charge showed that the General's confidence in him was not misplaced. At that time I had never heard anybody talk as Hobbs talked, although similar peculiarities of dialect have been familiar to me since then. "That thar cow is powerful weak!" he exclaimed. "But git me right smart of bran an' a heap of hot water, and I 'U bring her to her milk direkly; " and he did. " Speakin' of milk," said Hobbs, " I reckon nary of you fellers never had the milk-sick ? You '11 git it in Illinois, shoo. You '11 git so skeered when you have it you '11 be afeared you '11 die ; and the day after you '11 be so powerful sick you '11 be afeared you won't die. Talk about snakes in yer boots ! It 's nuthin to the milk-sick." The Pioneer 27 " What causes it ?" we asked. "Don't know nuthin about it; reckon it's suthin the cows git to eat on the perrarie. Don't make no difference how bad it is, everybody alius allows it 's wuss over in the next county." " Did you ever have it?" we asked. " No, I never hev, but I 've beared tell of it all my life. Ef ever I do git it, I '11 lay down my hand direkly." On the afternoon of the third day after leaving Buffalo we landed at Detroit, where there was much freight to put off and some to take on. It was wonderful to me to see how rapidly the men worked, carrying the great bags and boxes over the gang- planks. But what struck me most forcibly was the second mate's profanity to the men. They were all working, it seemed to me, to the best of their ability, staggering under their great burdens as they hastened out upon the gang-planks, then running back for other loads ; but all the while this mate was cursing them and swearing at them, calling them the vilest names and applying to them the most degrading epithets. You lazy, shiftless ■ ! " " What do you mean, there, you ■ • shirking ?" "Why in don't you lift that box onto your back? " " Hell 's full of just such as you ! " " Jump there, you ! " It seemed to me perfectly appalling ; but the passengers gen- erally paid no attention to it. The only comment was made by Hobbs, who remarked : "The man lets on like he was drivin' niggers. Them men must be drefful pore white trash, er they'd cut his heart out." I have since heard, on Mississippi steamboats, similar violent and blasphemous cursings of the crew by the mates of vessels ; but in time I too ceased to be affected by it, as it seemed to be considered a necessary qualification of a mate. I became con- vinced that this boisterous brutality was necessary, and held to that view of the matter until I observed, many years after, that on the great Atlantic liners an order is scarcely ever given in a tone of voice loud enough to be heard by a passenger, yet the discipline is perfect. When we got into Lake Huron, there was a heavy sea. My father said he would go below to look after the horses, and I fol- 28 The mini lowed him. They were frightened, but in their narrow padded stalls they were safe from injury. The great bull had been thrown down, and was bellowing in terror. Two of the cov/s were also down. Hobbs and his man carefully covered the bull's eyes with a blanket, and he soon ceased bellowing, but was all in a tremor with fright ; while the poor cows were being helplessly hurled against each other by the lunges of the vessel. Hobbs ordered the man to punch the bull and make him get up. This he tried to do, but found it could not be accomplished ; whereupon Hobbs climbed over into the stall and by main force lifted the monster to his feet, first lifting the fore and then the hind quarters, and by occasional punchings the man kept him from again falling. My father and I ascended to the cabin, which we found almost deserted, the passengers having found it convenient to return to their state-rooms. Soon Hobbs came up, and I found him pale as a ghost, holding on to the rail with one hand, and with the other pressing his capacious stomach. As I was not at all sick, I joined him at the rail. " What 's the matter, Mr. Hobbs ? " I asked. Milk-sick, by G — d, " he exclaimed. ' Curus a feller can git the milk-sick jes' tendin' stock, an' from a bull, too ! I 've got it powerful bad," he whined, as he leaned over the rail and made his offering to Neptune. I could not help laughing at the grotesque monster; he noticed it, and I think never quite forgave me for it. He never would admit that his was not a case of genuine "milk-sickness." The storm soon abated, and the passengers reappeared. We landed at Mackinaw, and then began our southward course on Lake Michigan. I was seated on the deck enjoying the freshness of the spring morning, when Hobbs, who had quite recovered, joined me. The first thing he said was : " I 've been talkin' to them folks below, and I allow that that feller Dwight's a mighty peart cuss. What he don't know ain't wuth knowin'. He can tell of Webster, an' Calhoun, an' Clay, an' everybody. He knows almos' as much as the General ! " There was a space railed oS aft on the deck, to which the steerage passengers were admitted. We observed that the Earle The Pioneer 29 family had come up there, and we joined them, as the cabin pas- sengers were permitted to go everywhere. The conversation, as usual, was soon directed to our destination — Illinois. Hobbs, who had become interested in us boys, expressed great anxiety lest we should go wrong in politics in entering upon our careers in our new home. He said: "You uns'll find that the Democrat party is the thing for you ! The Democrat party alius wins. You could 'nt nuther of you, ef you was Angel Gabrel hisself, be elected dog-pelter ef ye weren't Democrats. When you land in Chicago, the first thing you do you must swing yer hats and hurrah for Doughs, and you '11 win all yer lives." CHAPTER V. STEPHEN A. DOUGLAS " I "\ID you ever see Senator Douglas ? " asked my father. -'--' " See him ! " exclaimed Hobbs, " see Doughs ? Didn't I carry Hickory precinct for him? He wuz runnin' ag'in Brownin', — he'd been beat afore, jes' lied and swindled out of his ofSs, 'cause the Democrats vi^uz pore in spellin', an' didn't hev his name spelt like them fellers wanted it, though everybody knew that the people was for Doughs. But we fixed it, spelhn' and all, next time." What was he running for?" I asked. Congriss," said Hobbs. " Hickory precinct did it. Brownin' came down thar and told us thet he was one of the people, and he made the oihest and most palaverin' speech you ever heerd. He had on a plug hat an' a biled shirt with kinks in the bosom, like the General wears at dinner, an' he let on about Clay an' Webster, an' tariff, an' arged for two hours, an' then went off to take a drink with the General and the big fellers, all by themselves. Doughs came down nex' day and made the bigges' speech we ever heerd, for free-trade, an' sailors' rights, an' about 'fifty-four-forty or fight,' an' nigger 'quahty, an' 'whole-hog Jackson,' an' ever- thin' you could think of; an' after speakin' he drank whiskey out 30 The mini of a gourd, an' chawed terbacky with the rest of us, but all the time he was the dignifiedest man you ever saw, never cracked a smile, told a story, nor nuthin'. Jes' as solum as when he was a-sittin' on the supreme bench ! At fust sight he looked like a spring chicken. He was no more 'n five feet four, didn't come up to a yearlin' steer; but when you looked at thet head, an' them eyes, an' heerd that deep voice, you seen Dan'l Webster an' Henry Cb.y an' Tom Benton all standin' there in that one little cuss. He did 'nt tell us he was one of the people, but he jist was one of the people. But when he talked about the Gov'ment, an' the Constitootion, an' the nigger, you knew he wuz squar, — a reg'lar constitootional Southron gentleman." "Hobbs," interrupted Mr. Earle, "do you call Stephen A. Douglas a Southern gentleman ? " " Why, yes," said Hobbs, " a reg'lar Southroner' ! You could tell it before he opened his mouth ; you could see he had alius been used to niggers, and bein' waited on, he was so dignified and gentlemanlike, an' when he took a drink of whiskey, or talked about the constitootion an' nigger equality, you was sure of it." Mrs. Earle smiled, and would have broke out laughing; but a wave of her husband's hand restrained her. "What part of the South was Mr. Douglas from?" asked Mr. Earle. "Dunno," answered Hobbs. "I reckon from old Virginny, or Kaintucky, or Tennessee. The great Southroners was alius from one or the other." "Hobbs," said Mr. Earle, "Stephen A. Douglas is a New England Yankee. He came from the same town I am from, Brandon, Vermont. We were both born in that tovi^n. You talk about his being a Southern gentleman, and always used to negroes, and being waited on! Why, he probably never saw a colored man until he was twenty years old ; and as for always being waited on, he was raised as a mechanic. He was a cabinet-maker by trade, and since he has been in the Senate he sometimes tells about his having, when a boy, learned to make cabinets and bu- reaus, — and it looks now as though there is no statesman in the country who is more successful in creating cabinets and bureaus than our Yankee boy from Brandon." The Pioneer 31 "That's the fust time I ever heerd of that," said Hobbs. " But he 's a gentleman, anyway, and the people knows it," "Yes,"' said Mr. Earle, " it looks as though the people liked him." " I don't hke his principles," said my father, "if you call them principles." "Nor I," said Mr. Earle; "but never did a young man in this or any other country have such a career in politics. Being from my own native town, I 've watched him. Listen : When only twenty years old, Stephen A. Douglas arrived in Illinois, without a dollar and without a friend, and without an acquaint- ance within a thousand miles. Since that day he has been State's Attorney, Member of the Legislature, Register of the Land Office at the State Capital, Secretary of State of Illinois, Judge of the Supreme Court of Illinois, Member of Congress from Illinois, and now he has been for three years United States Senator from Illinois, — and a great Senator at that, with three more years to serve on his present term, and with almost a certainty of remain- ing in the Senate so long as he lives, unless he goes higher; and he is now only thirty-seven years old ! " While Mr. Earle was speaking. General Silverton had come through the gate that divided the cabin from the steerage passen- gers and had heard the account given of the career of Senator Douglas since he came to Illinois. " It 's all true," said General Silverton. " It is indeed remark- able how that wonderful man has advanced from place to place, and from position to position ; but you have not spoken of the great poHtical measures with which he has been identified. He is a fine lawyer, and had he not been drawn into politics he would have been a really great lawyer. In our own State, before he went to Congress, he had a conspicuous part in a hundred important matters. I served with him in the Mormon War, in which, as a volunteer staff officer, he rendered some very valuable services. As a debater, he is not surpassed by either Clay, Web- ster, or Calhoun. No man has appeared in Illinois who could cope with him, and none ever will appear. In the House of Representatives at Washington he at once came to the front. His speeches on the Texas Boundary question, showing that after we 32 The mini acquired that country our boundary extended to the Rio Grande, were masterpieces ; especially the speech in which he locked horns with John Quincy Adams, and proved from that gentleman's official papers while Secretary of State the just claims of the United States. All his speeches in vindication of the attitude of our country in the Mexican War are also masterpieces. I believe that but for Douglas in the House, we could never have acquired all that vast new territory of which California is a part. His wis- dom was also shown in the discussions regarding the Northwest boundary, or the ' fifty-four-forty or fight ' question ; and if the administration had had Douglas's energy and determination, we would now have all that Northwestern Territory from latitude forty- nine, the present boundary, to fifty-four-forty, clear up to Alaska, and out of this region could have been carved several States as great as Illinois. It would take hours to tell of all the great measures Douglas prepared and advocated, such as that of extending the Missouri Compromise line of thirty-six thirty to the Pacific Ocean; opposition to the narrow, sectional, abolition Wilmot proviso, and others. Perhaps the greatest thing he did for his own State was to get the appropriation for the Illinois Central Railway, by which we are to have a great railway line from one end of the State to the other, which will foster and encourage other railway enter- prises, and make Illinois the greatest railway State in the Union. And Douglas has but just entered upon his great career, and is but thirty-seven years of age ! " My father took very positive and decided exception to what the General had said, especially as to Douglas's course in regard to the Mexican War, the Wilmot Proviso, and the Compromise measures, including the fugitive slave bill, — declaring that upon all these questions he had been upon the side of human slavery. "He has won by it," said Mrs. Earle, "and the people of Illinois have stayed by him." " Mighty peart woman, you are. Madam ! " exclaimed Hobbs. Dwight clapped his hands, and said he was ' a Douglas boy" from that day forward. "I said, "For shame, Dwight! I'd rather be one of these deck-hands, or a negro slave, than to be for Douglas!" The Pioneer 33 CHAPTER VI. ROSE SILVERTON TT /"HEN our vessel reached Milwaukee, all were anxious to ' ' get papers to learn the news, particularly the proceedings in Congress on the Compromise measures, in which everyone was interested. While my father and General Silverton seated themselves in the ladies' cabin to devour the newspapers, Hobbs and I looked down at the scenes of hurry and confusion on the dock. Suddenly Hobbs exclaimed, "Jeams's Cousin!" and rushed as fast as his sturdy legs would carry him, into the cabin, down the stairway, across the gang-plank and out on the wharf, to a carriage from which a lady had just alighted and was help- ing out a little girl. Hobbs took oE his hat as he left the gang-plank, and rushed to meet the lady, with such bowing and scraping as I had never seen before. The lady smiled recogni- tion as he came up, but did not bow or extend her hand. The little girl ran to Hobbs and screamed with delight. Hobbs, still bowing and scraping, took their hand-baggage, and they came together to the gang-plank, he walking sideways so as constantly to face the lady. The mate ordered the line of roustabouts to stop work for a moment, to let the party pass. I peeped in at the cabin door, and saw them ascending the stairway. The little girl flew down the cabin to where the gentlemen were seated, knocked the paper out of the General's hands, jumped up on his knees, threw her arms about his neck and covered his face with kisses, crying, " Papa ! Papa! Papa!" He drew her to his bosom and held her as he arose to greet the lady, who also threw herself into his arms. He embraced them both tenderly, and then turned to my father and the other passengers and presented them to his wife and daughter. "But how did you get here?" he asked. "I expected to meet you in Chicago." Mrs. Silverton replied that she had been told at the Tremont 34 The mini House in Chicago that there was time for them to come up on the stage-coach to meet the steamer; and when Rose heard it she was so anxious to come that she yielded. Yes, Papa," exclaimed the little girl, I couldn't wait. I wanted to run all the way. I 'd have fly 'd if I could ! I wanted to tell you that Slice had killed two deer, that one of them had a little baby deer and I Ve got it, and Mamma is teaching me to speak French, and old Strong has broke his arm, and Slice has killed five rattlesnakes and I 've got the rattles, and I can ride Jenny all alone, and we ve got lots of cunning little pigs, and there 's prairie fires every night, and Slice shoots prairie-chickens off from the stacks back of the barn every morning, and you can hear the wolves howl all night, and " "But, my child," said Mrs. Silverton, "you cannot tell your father everything in one breath. Wait a while ; you will have plenty of time." "Well, Papa, honey, I was in such a hurry, and the stage- coach was so big and so slow, and it took so long to change horses, and" — she was out of breath, and stopped. The General called me up and said to the little girl, "Rose, this boy has been with us on our journey, and I have made friends with his father and mother. They do n't quite agree with me in everything, but we get on well together." The inevitable Where are you from ?" was asked by Mrs. Silverton, and was courteously answered by my mother; but to the question, "Where are you going?" she was not so definite, simply answering "To Illinois," and the conversation drifted to subjects relating to the journey and the prospects for the future. While this was going on, the boat had cast ofi and we were again out on the great lake on our way to Chicago. In the con- versation we learned that the family had been some time abroad, that Mrs. Silverton and her daughter had preceded the General several months in sailing for New York, that they had visited rela- tives in the South before their return to their Illinois home, and that the General had spent some time in the East after he arrived from Europe, and was now on his way to Chicago, where it had been arranged that his wife and daughter should meet him. I had never before seen so beautiful a lady as Mrs. Silverton. The Pioneer 35 She had an exquisite figure, was graceful and gentle in her move- ments, and when she spoke her face was radiant with smiles, her rosy lips parting over white but not too regular teeth. She had a dimpled chin, rich black wavy hair held by a large tortoise-shell comb, and a soft olive complexion. But her principal grace was in her beaming eyes. She appeared only to see what was good and pure and holy, to think only the best thoughts, and to be moved by only the kindliest emotions; and when she spoke she had such a gentle, trustful, winning way, that she seemed to lead others into that higher realm in which she herself lived. I had seated myself on a low ottoman, listening closely to the conversation, and was gazing, perhaps too intently, at the new- comers, the little girl on her father's knee, and her mother sitting near. Soon the maid came to tell Mrs. Silverton that her state- room was ready. As she arose, the little girl came over to me and laid her hand in mine and said, I never saw an American boy before who looked like you." I was very much taken aback, and could not think of any- thing to say; when she continued, " Every American boy I ever saw before had long trousers coming down to his feet, a long coat when he had any, long hair and httle eyes, and looked all around him instead of opening his eyes wide and looking straight at people as you do." I had not thought before that there was anything peculiar in my make-up, but I did wear a roundabout coat and knickerbock- ers as was the custom with boys in those days, and my hair had been neatly trimmed, and they all said my eyes were large, and I am sure I could not help staring all the while at that interesting group. I was not able to summon up courage to reply, when the little girl added, "And the boys I have seen, talk. Don't you talk?" Before I could answer, she asked, "Can't you take me to see the boat ? I was never on such a boat as this before. The boats are different on the ocean, and on the Mississippi and the Illinois. Mamma, can't I go around and see the boat?" The General looked up from his paper, in which he was becoming again absorbed, and asked, "Where's Hobbs?" 36 The mini That worthy, who had been standing at a respectful distance, came forward and answered, " Hy'er, sir." Go with these children," said the General, "and keep your eyes on them." Mrs. Silverton put a little cloak around the child, who took my hand, and I rather awkwardly led her out upon the deck. We walked up and down for a while, she talking all the time; then we went back into the cabin to look through the plate-glass at the bright polished machinery of the engine in motion, the piston-rods sliding in and out, and above the great arms of the crane going up and down, and a man climbing about, oiling and wiping and polishing every part of the machinery. Then we again went out on deck, and climbed up the stairs to the wheel- house. I wanted to go down to the lower deck, but Hobbs objected. Not being able to think of anything else to say, I asked the little girl how old she was. " Half-past ten," she answered; "and I can read fairy stories, and can write, and can spell to 'baker' and 'lady,' and can read in McGufiey's Second Reader, and can say most all of the multi- plication-table, and can tell all the States and the Presidents, and Mamma has taught me French and drawing, and I can play all the first exercises on the piano, and am learning to embroider, and a lot of other things." "Your Mamma! Can she teach you ? " I asked. Oh, yes," said she; "my Mamma has been to the best schools in the North, and then she went to Paris, away over the ocean, with her brother who was a minister." Did your Uncle preach at Paris ? " I asked. "Oh, no!" she said; "I don't think he was that kind of a minister, for I 've heard him say cuss-words, and that kind of a minister do n't do that. He was a government minister." We were leaning over the rail, and as we looked out upon the broad expanse of placid water she asked if I would like to go in a boat, with just someone I liked, and sail away and away and away forever. I said, "I never thought of that." She asked. Do n't you like to ride out on the prairie ? " I said, "There are no prairies where I came from. I never saw a prairie." The Pioneer 37 She said, "I have rode and rode and rode on my mare that my Uncle sent me from Kentucky. I named her Jenny, and 1 have thought and thought how, if I could have somebody with me I like, I would keep going and going, and never stop; but when I 'm on the water I think it would be better to sail away all alone in a boat with somebody I liked better than anybody else in the world, and never, never stop, and maybe have Papa and Mamma just hovering about, so as to be near me if I wanted them." "Yes," I said; "but nobody lives forever." "I know," said she; "but you see the sky comes down all around us. You can see there, in the east, how it comes down to the water; but we have never gone far enough to get to it. I would keep sailing and sailing, and then, you see, we would finally reach the sky and sail right into heaven, and then Papa and Mamma would come to us, and we would see the dear Saviour, and live there always. Wouldn't it be splendid? But I'd want it to be somebody I liked with me in the boat, some- body I could talk to the whole day and night, and tell just what I thought, just as if I was thinking aloud or talking to myself, and who would listen and talk a little bit too. And I think I 'd rather have you go with me in that boat than anybody I ever saw before." I was so much encouraged by this expression of her confi- dence, that I was able to find words to ask her about the things she had told her father on their first greeting. She explained to me all about the baby deer, and about her speaking French, and about Slice whose real name was Slicer, about the snake-rattles, about her Kentucky mare Jenny, about the little pigs which I learned were Berkshires, and all the rest. Of the baby deer she said it was only two days old when Slice caught it, and they all thought it would die, as Slice had killed its mother, and the poor thing could not eat or drink. She told how Slice put his finger in its mouth and made the little thing suck it, and then would press its head down into the basin of milk as they did with the calves, but it would not take a drop of milk. " And then," she said, " as they were all standing over it, thinking it must die. Aunty came along with her little baby in her arms, and said, 'You' don't know nothin' ! Give the pore little 38 The mini starvin' thing to me,' and she took it up in her arms and sat down on the grass and held it to her breast, and it nursed just like the baby; and she nursed it every day, and it got well, and growed and growed until now it drinks milk out of a basin just like a calf. Aunty nursed me when I was a baby, and I love her very much. I always hugged her and kissed her until lately, but now Mamma won't let me any more." " Is your Aunty your father's sister or your mother's sister ? " I asked, innocently. "My father's sister or my mother's sister!" she exclaimed. "Why, Aunty 's a nigger!" I was very much astonished, as I had never before heard a colored woman called "Aunty" by the white people. As we strolled about the deck, and came by the rail which sep- arated the cabin from the steerage passengers, I saw Dwight Earle intently watching us. He was dressed better than he had been before on the voyage, I supposed on account of our approaching arrival at Chicago, but I was afterwards convinced that it was for the purpose of making a good impression upon my companion. I stopped with her at the rail, and the best introduction I could give was to say to her that this boy was Dwight Earle, and to him that this girl was Rose Silverton. "Glad to see you," said Dwight; "hope to know you better. Where are you from ? ' ' " I 'm from Illinois," answered she. "I've come to meet my Papa, along with my Mamma." " I know your father," said Dwight ; " he 's got some fine cat- tle on board. Everything he s got is fine. I know Mr. Hobbs too, he and I 's good friends. Ain't we, Mr. Hobbs ? " Hobbs answered, ' She' we is, an' from what I 've seen of Master Dwight, he's a corker." "Well, Mr. Dwight," said Rose, "my Mamma says I must be good to Hobbs, for he 's been a good servant for a long time ; but Hobbs's friends are not nice, and they are not the kind of people for me to talk to." Dwight bit his lip, but said nothing. Hobbs came to the rescue, and lifting his hat, said, "Beg pardon. Miss Rose, but Master Dwight is a gentleman. He knows everything, — g'og- The Pioneer 39 raphy, readin', hist'ry, an' politics. He '11 be a great man some day. He's jes' our kind. He's goin' to be a Democrat. I tell you, Miss Rose, Master Dwight is no Abolitionist." " Don't you like the Abolitionists?" I asked her. " I never saw an Abolitionist," she answered. But I 've seen two horse-thieves. They had them tied to the back of a wagon, and they said they were going to drag them down into the brush to be tried before Judge Lynch. I never heard of them any more." Dwight exclaimed, "Miss, you are mistaken. You have seen an Abolitionist. That boy's father is the rankest kind of an Abolitionist! " Rose looked at him, and then at me, and again at him. I was speechless. I could not deny the charge made against my father, and after what she had said I had not the courage to confess that he belonged to a class which she regarded as criminal. She seemed about to spe^k, and I waited in breathless anxiety. With an effort, as it seemed to me, she restrained herself, placed her little hand in the big palm of Hobbs, and without a word led him away. I heard the man muttering something between his teeth, as they disappeared into the cabin. I left Dwight as abruptly as she had left us, and for the first time was glad that he was not a cabin passenger and could not follow me. I went directly to the spot where she and I had been together, and leaning upon the rail looked out upon the water. The great side-wheels were splash- ing, the engine was puffing. I looked up at the black smoke pouring in clouds from the iron stacks. I felt the groaning of the timbers, and the creaking of the planks, and the tremor of the vessel, as the mighty engines propelled her forward ; and I felt that all hope of sailing and sailing and saihng away for ever and ever and ever " upon a placid sea was gone, and that instead my Hfe would be like the onward movement of that vessel, made up of struggles and buffetings and conflicts. 40 The mini CHAPTER VII. CHICAGO IN 1850 THE next morning, all was hurry and bustle. We were approaching Chicago, where we were soon to land. Every- body was packing up, and the freight was being carried out upon the decks to be convenient for unloading. We could see land on our right, and I was told that it was Illinois. The city of Chicago, as it appeared from the vessel, was a great disappointment to me. It was low and flat, the buildings were small, and beyond them there was nothing to relieve the eye but more low flat land. As we entered the narrow river which is the harbor, we could see muddy streets along which were successions of small frame buildings, with a few of brick, no two of them of the same height, with board sidewalks on such differ- ing levels that pedestrians in walking a single block were obhged to ascend and descend stairvi'ays a dozen or more times. The plank street-crossings were covered with mud, and only seemed to keep the foot-passengers from sinking out of sight. The chief business of the city at that time seemed to be re- ceiving emigrants bound for the West, and fitting them out for their journey across the country. There was occasionally a real- estate dealer, who tried to sell city and suburban property. One of them got hold of my father, and I thought at one time that he would induce him to buy a forty-acre tract three-quarters of a mile south of the wharf where we landed. The price was fifty dollars an acre ; and the man urged that the land could be rented as gardens for enough to support our family. But it was low and flat, and my father said that with the two thousand dollars which the forty acres would cost he could go into the country and buy a whole section of land, six hundred and forty acres, and have a splendid farm. Of those we met, very few, besides those who had taken up their residence there, had any faith in Chicago except as a place The Pioneer 41 to get through to more inviting localities. There were then, it was said, twenty-five thousand people in the city; but the popu- lation was uncertain, with so many people coming and going. We were too much occupied in getting our goods and horses ashore to see much of our fellow-passengers as we landed. A carriage was waiting for the Silvertons, which I saw the General and his wife and daughter enter, assisted by Hobbs; they then drove away, leaving the latter worthy to look after the luggage and cattle. The Earles, with a load of household goods, got upon a lumber wagon and also drove away. Rudely as he had treated me, I could not help admiring the tact and address of Dwight. He not only got what he wanted from the men about the wharf, and paid less for it than anybody else, but he succeeded in getting the good-will of everybody. He spoke to me as pleasantly as if nothing had happened between us ; but after he left, I learned that he and Hobbs had given them all to understand that my father and all of our family were dangerous abolitionists, to be shunned by every true patriot, and that he himself was a straight-out " Douglas Democrat." We were several days in Chicago, preparing for our journey into the country. I went with my father to visit several sale- stables, at some of which were hundreds of horses, collected from the country. A pair of horses were finally bought of W. H. Eddy (afterwards distinguished as "Horse Eddy"), and a lumber wagon, which, with the team we had brought round the lakes, made us two full " outfits." One day, as I was sauntering along Lake Street lookmg in at the shop windows, I heard someone call me. I turned around, and there, in an open carriage, alone except for the driver on the box, was Rose Silverton. I ran up to her. She arose and leaned out of the carriage, and putting her two little hands upon my shoulders, exclaimed, " I 'm so glad to find you ! I shall never see you again, — never, never, never; but I wanted to see you once more. I 've cried, and cried, and cried. Papa says your Papa is a gentleman, but Mamma says she 's afraid that he 's just what that horrid Dwight said. You must now go right away, — you must n't let Mamma and Hobbs see you. She has gone into that store, and Hobbs with her." 42 The mini The question that was uppermost in my mind found expres- sion : " Don't you like Dwight ? " I asked. "Like him! that horrid boy !" she exclaimed. "Ihatehim! Now, do go away!" "Do you hate me, Rose?" I asked. I hate anyone that is wicked," she said, I thought you v/ere so good, — and to think you would steal niggers, and want us to mr.rry niggers, and try to get the niggers to murder us in our beds ! Now, go away before Mamma and Hobbs come, or I will hate you too ! " I tried to answer her, but she turned away from me. I started to go. She called me, and as I turned she was still standing up in the carriage. She put her hand on my arm, and looking straight into my eyes said, "If you had not been — what that horrid boy said, — I would have liked you better than anybody I ever saw. There come Mamma and Hobbs ! Please go away ! " I slipped around behind the carriage and mingled with the crowd. When certain I could not be seen, I stopped and saw Mrs. Silverton enter the carriage, followed by Hobbs carrying bundles, and he climbed up on the box with the driver. As they passed by where I was standing, I heard Mrs. Silverton tell Hobbs to have the man drive to the Clinton House. I knew the Earles were staying there, and, big as I was, I sat down on one of those steps in the sidewalk and cried like a baby. The events of the last few days had made a deep impression upon me. Though but a boy, I felt that my lot had been cast among those who were not only politically unpopular, but were looked upon as dangerous fanatics. Even for a strong man, it is an awful thing to feel that in the society in which he lives and moves he is an object of suspicion and dread ; but to a young and ambitious boy, of tender sensibilities, to be rudely awakened to the realization that he must take his place among those who are objects of suspicion and dread, and be derided and scoffed at, shunned and despised, is indeed appalling. I could not under- stand it ; I had done nothing, and said very little. My father had expressed his abhorrence of what seemed to him a great wrong ; he had not proposed to harm anybody, but had simply given utterance to a feeling of sympathy for the oppressed and of hatred The Pioneer 43 of tyranny ; and because of this, not only he but his family were considered unworthy of respect or consideration from those around them. Presently I began to analyze this, — to consider how this prejudice against us had been caused. It was not by General Silverton, — he respected my father highly, and notwithstanding that they differed so widely in opinion, I felt sure that he would have befriended him. The more I thought about the matter, the more I was puzzled. Finally I became convinced that this whole feeling of prejudice against our family was aroused by Hobbs. My first thought was that this could not be. I said to myself, " How can this coarse, ignorant, brutal man influence anybody?" But he it was. Through a word here and a word there, he had done it all. Strange as it seems, such men can fre- quently do more to influence the action of those about them than the most cultured and refined can do. Just such men aroused and led the "Kuklux" of the South to commit their strange barbarities. There was an influence behind Hobbs and such as he, work- ing upon ignorant men, and through their prejudices inflaming their brutal instincts. It is not too much to say that in Illinois the most potent influence in keeping the Democratic party in power in national affairs, during the decade preceding the Civil War, was the constant and persistent picturing of impending cal- amities to come from what was called " nigger equality." To be a Democrat and declare against nigger equality" gave oppor- tunity for place and position, and opened the door to distinction. This same hue and cry of " nigger equality " closed every avenue of success and distinction to those who would not take it up and join in the crusade. To be an Abolitionist meant political ostra- cism, and in many localities those so branded were social outcasts. I became satisfied that the man who had done more than any other to arouse and inflame this prejudice was Stephen A. Doug- las. Of course I did not realize this so fully at that time as I did afterwards ; but I had learned enough of him to detest him. Soon after my adventure at the carriage, I met Dwight Earle. I expected to find him in high feather ; but he too seemed in low spirits. Notwithstanding his rudeness to me, I greeted him as 44 The mini though nothing had happened. He said his family had decided to remain in Chicago; that his father had been offered a position as teacher, with a fair salary ; that he himself could have employ- ment from General Silverton in helping drive his Durham cattle, for which position he had been recommended by Hobbs, but that his father insisted upon his remaining in the city. He said that the Silvertons treated him just as they did Hobbs, — as a servant, — for which he declared he was indebted to me, charging that I had prejudiced them against him. I replied by asking if he had read jEsop's fable wherein the wolf accused the lamb of roiling the water; and said that it was he who had done the harm, and now he was accusing me of it. Notwithstanding he had been thus offered employment, he was very bitter against the Silver- tons, and said, " Some day I will show them they cannot tread on me ! " We walked together to our hotel, in front of which, on the sidewalk, we found my father and Mr. Earle engaged in conver- sation, discussing their plans for the future. Mr. Earle had told my father of his decision to remain in the city, and my father told him that we had already made arrangements to buy an additional team of horses and a wagon, to start out on our journey through the country. People passing and repassing frequently stopped to speak to each other, exchanging the usual greeting of Where are you from?" They were generally strangers to each other, but did not wait for the formality of an introduction. All seemed to recognize the fact that most of those they met were like them- selves, just then from somewhere, and ' going West." Chicago seemed to me only a transition city, a place of meet- ing and separating, of hail and farewell. It was the woodenest city I could ever have imagined, — nearly every house a tinder- box of wood; and I have always wondered that it did not burn dozens of times before it did. As I was looking down Dearborn Street, I saw approaching us in the distance what appeared to be a giant. He walked a few steps upon a level with us on the sidewalk, then descended, his legs, his body, and finally his head disappearing, and then his head and body reappeared, but not his legs, when he descended again, and again rose, revealing his whole great frame, and again de- 'Y^^'^-^-<^<^i:i^p-z; The Pioneer 45 scended until lost to view, and so appeared and disappeared, until finally he came up the steps to where we were. He was simply walking the street towards us, up and down stairs, on a Chicago sidewalk as then constructed. He stopped before us, and looked at us with a smile and then a grimace. He had a way of drawing back the corners of his big mouth, giving him a fierce look, and then relaxing the muscles of his face into a grin. When his mouth opened, I was really alarmed lest he should swallow me, as I was the smallest one in the party. Then, before speaking a word, he gulped great quantities of air into his lungs and belched it forth, constantly looking down at us. Finally he put the usual inter- rogatory, "Where are you from?" My father answered him politely, — to my astonishment calling him by name. When the name was pronounced, Mr. Earle exclaimed, "Are you Mr. Wentworth, — ' Long John ' Wentworth ? Of course I might have known it." "Yes," answered the giant, affably, "I am from New En- gland, as well as yourself." Then he went on to tell us about Chicago and Illinois and the West, and we soon discovered that he was strong in intellect as well as in stature. He urged us to remain in Chicago, declaring, as General Silverton had done, that it would be a great city, and that some of us would live to see it have a hundred thousand inhabitants. "Hello, Judd ! " he suddenly exclaimed, to a passing gentle- man, a little below the medium height, who stopped, and Mr. Wentworth introduced him as Mr. Norman B. Judd, declaring he would agree with him that we had better stay in Chicago. Mr. Judd we soon found to be a very entertaining and able man. Mr. Wentworth informed us that he was a prominent member of the State Senate at Springfield, working in the interest of Chicago. These two gentlemen were then Chicago's most prominent citizens, — Mr. Wentworth being the more prominent of the two, he having served in Congress for several years. In the meantime Mr. Earle had become engaged in conversa- tion with a tall, spare gentleman, whom I afterwards learned was Mr. E. C. Larned. Upon joining our party, Mr. Larned at once launched out in denunciation of the fugitive-slave bill, which he characterized as a "brutal outrage upon the American people." 46 The mini I noticed that while neither Mr. Wentworth nor Mr. Judd had anything to say in approval of Mr. Larned's position, they did not take issue with him. They both were, as I was told. Democrats in politics. Larned," said a dark keen-visaged gentleman who had just come up, you are always talking politics. Let 's drop the nigger, and get these people, so many of whom are passing through here, to stop in Chicago. We 've got enough to do to build up our city. You and Doctor Dyer have too important interests in Chi- cago to be always talking about slavery and abolitionism." Just then. General Silverton came out of the hotel, and with him a gentleman whom he introduced as Mr. James H. Mc- Vicker the actor. I had never seen a real actor in a theatre before, but in after years I gained a very high regard for this gentleman. Both General Silverton and Mr. McVicker agreed with the dark-visaged gentleman, that there were too many things of importance in the development of Chicago and the Northwest for men of sense to be worrying about politics. I was curious to know who the dark-visaged gentleman was, who led ofi in this line of argument ; and learned that he was Mr. Ira Couch, one or the most public-spirited men in the city, who was then completing its greatest public building, so great and imposing and expensive, and apparently so far beyond the city's needs, that it was known as " Couch's folly." It was the Tremont House, which proved to be the finest and most successful hotel west of the Alleghanies, and the wisest investment that could have been made. These gentlemen were nearly all Democrats, and admirers of Senator Douglas ; but I noticed that their admiration of him was not on account of his position upon political questions so much as his advocacy of measures for the development of Chicago and the West. Several other gentlemen joined the party while we were pres- ent : — Mr. W. B. Ogden, the first Mayor of Chicago, a dignified and able man; Mr. J. Y. Scammon, an earnest, public-spirited, prosperous, demonstrative lawyer; and Dr. Charles H. Dyer, a noted anti-slavery man of literary tastes, and withal a great wag whose witticisms were the talk of the town. The Pioneer 47 My interest in these gentlemen deepened as I learned more of them in after years. I had not then, and have never since, seen another figure so imposing as that of Mr. Wentworth. He stood six feet and six inches in his stockings, and wherever he appeared upon the street or in a public assemblage he attracted general attention. All those I have named were men of force and character, whose names are forever identified with the city's history. CHAPTER VIII. "A CURIS YOUNG FELLER" WE remained in Chicago several days. In the meantime, Hobbs and his man had started on with the cattle, driving them across the prairies, and the Silvertons had gone to visit friends in the city. Finally our family, in our emigrant wagons, — prairie schooners " as they were called, — started on our journey westward. Although Illinois had then been a sovereign State for more than thirty years, much of the northern half, now its most opulent and populous portion, was still but sparsely settled. Frequently we travelled several miles without seeing a human habitation. The roads were mere trails across the prairies, leading from town to town. There were few bridges, and we were obliged to ford most of the streams. The greatest difficulty was in crossing what were called "slews," which abounded throughout the journey; they could neither be called brooks nor rivulets, although the water percolated through the low ground which formed them, with usually a narrow ditch in the lowest part. They were min- iature swamps, miry and sticky, and extremely difficult to cross with teams and wagons. When we came to them we were frequently obliged to double our teams and take the wagons through one at a time, each with four horses urged on by the whip as they sank into the mire. It took their united strength to get through. Sometimes the horses were stalled, and we were obliged to wait for an approaching emigrant train with additional 48 The mini teams to help us out. These "slews " are all drained now, with culverts over the ditches to collect and carry off the water ; and the traveller who drives rapidly along the highway scarcely notices that which caused the early settlers so much annoyance and delay. There was an abundance of game, — deer, prairie chickens, and quail, which we frequently saw but had no time for shooting. At night we always heard the sharp barking and whining of hungry prairie wolves. We took a road leading out through Dupage County, until we came to the Illinois River, the valley of which we followed, through Ottawa and LaSalle and Peru ; but I remember very little of this part of the journey. Soon after leaving Peru, near Hennepin, we ascended the bluff to the high prairie, and made our way to Prince- ton, then a thriving and promising town, the county seat of Bureau County. We had left Chicago on a Tuesday, and had been nearly all the week making a journey which is now performed in a little more than two hours. My father would not travel on Sunday, and so we stopped at Princeton for that day. At the hotel in Princeton we fell in with a man who, as we learned by the usual salute, " Where are you from ? " had emigrated from Tennessee, but had lived in Illinois many years. He told us that his name was Green, William G. Green ; and added that " the folks down thar on the San Gammon whar I live call me ' Slicky Bill.' " He was very droll, very queer, and withal entertaining, — the best story-teller I had ever met. When we complimented him on his talent in that line, he said : ' I ain't a primin' to a curis young feller who used to keep a grocery down whar I live, on the San Gammon. He kin make a cat laugh. I've seen the hull neighborhood turn out to hear him tell stories. They ain't all jes' the kind fer women to listen to, but they 's always a pint to 'em. This young feller used to tend sawmill, an' at one time he run a flatboat down to New Orleans; but he was n't satisfied, but must go inter bizness for himself. He was honest, but kind o' happy-go-lucky; an' when he wasn't tellin' stories, he was readin' ; an' whilst he told stories, an' was readin', his pardner was drinkin' up and stealin' the profits, until finally they broke. I backed the concern, and had to pony up ; an' he owes me a thousand dollars now." Ginger Gin Molasses Pepper Brandy Beef Rice Wine Pork Rum Potatoes Tobacco The Pioneer 49 " What sort of business was it ? " we asked. It was a grocery. They had a sign, made out o' a board, an' on it was painted, Coffee Sugar Tea Spice an' a lot more; but the principal thing they sold wasn't on the sign." "What was that ? " we asked. "Whiskey, — that was the principal thing. Ef it hadn't been for that, they'd a broke in thirty days. But you oughter hear him tell a story ! He 's a great big feller, with a big mouth, an' he kinder acts it all out, smilin' and lafBn'." " He must be a clown, isn 't he ? " was asked. I never seed a real clown," said Green, " but he 'd make one. But I 've seen him when he was the solumest man in ten states. He got in love once with a gal down thar, an' she died, an' we thought he 'd lose his mind. He tuk it pow'rful bad. Finally he got amusin' agin ; but it was n't safe for nobody to mention that gal when he was about. Then thar was another thing he got solum about. When he kem back from New Orleans, ef any- body said anythin' about niggers he would git so solum, an' tell about a nigger auction he seed in New Orleans, — how they sold a fambly, the man to one planter an' his wife to another an' pas- seled the childern out among the highes' bidders, an' he thought it was awful ; but it was the most nateral thing in the world, fer who down thar, whar thar is work to do, could think of buying up a whole fambly of niggers ? I 've seen him when talkin' about this here auction," continued Green, "turn pale, and seem to take sick to his stomick, and then begin to cuss and take on ; an' I 've heerd him say he 'd ruther tend sawmill all his Hf e than to sell niggers, an' he 'd ruther do all the work on a plantation his- self than to buy a nigger boy or girl away from its mammy. I never once heerd him swar excep' when talkin' o' that nigger auction." "He must be an Abolitionist," said my father. " Ab'litionist ! Ab'litionist! " exclaimed Green. " You bet he ain't. He is a true loyal man, who loves his country. He so The mini went right inter the Black Hawk War, jes' as soon as it broke out; an' though he didn't see much fitin', he showed his loy'lty all right. No, he 's no Ab'litionist. " I jes' want to tell ye about his goin' inter the Black Hawk War. He was workin' fer a gentleman named Kirkpatrick, an' one day somebody said to Kirkpatrick, ' You oughter git a cant- hook for that young feller to move logs with. It 's too bad to make him roll them 'bout without one.' The young sawmill tender asked what a cant-hook would cost, an' they said a dollar an' a half. The young feller said, 'If you '11 give me the dollar an' a half, I '11 go on tackling the logs as I do now, with a wooden spike thet I make myself.' 'Done,' said the boss, an' he didn't need to buy no cant-hook. But do you know thet the boss was thet mean thet he beat thet poor boy out o' thet money, an' said seven dollars a month and his grub was good pay enough for him ? Thet feller went on tendin' sawmill, an' tellin' stories, an' never let on about the cant-hook. Presently came the Black Hawk War, an' they pitched in and raised a comp'ny, an' Kirkpatrick set all his pins to be Cap'n; but thet young feller hadn't forgot about the cant-hook, an' he jes' become a canderdate fer Cap'n hisself, an' when the comp'ny come to vote he was thet popular thet he beat old Kirkpatrick four to one ! I helped to 'lect him, an' when he got 'lected he turned to me an' said, ' Bill, I 've got even on the cant-hook,' an' I know he felt prouder on it than if he 'd been 'lected Pres'dent. He is the curisest feller I ever seed ! He could ask more questions than a Phila- delphia lawyer could answer. Thar never kem a man inter the neighborhood, but he 'd find out jes' the things he knowed. He 'd make friends with him by tellin' him stories, an' then he'd pump him. I've seen him pump a down-east Yankee 'bout Boston, till he knowed more 'bout Boston, and Plymouth Rock, and Bunker Hill, than the Boston feller hisself. Mentor Graham, the schoolmaster, he never let have any peace arter he found he knew grammar, until he larnt all the grammar he knew; an' when he heerd of a grammar-book he walked six miles to git it, an' when he got through with it he knowed more grammar than the schoolmaster. He found a feller who knowed how to measure off land, an' sure as you hve this feller quizzed him an' quizzed The Pioneer 51 him until he larnt the trade, an' then he got some tools an' went out hisself a settin' section-corners an' makin' lines an' settin' stakes to show people whar to put their fences." What became of this young man ? " we asked. "Wall," said Green, "he went an' larned law, made speeches, run fer the legislatur, set up in Springfield, an' got to Congriss. But he 's only a kind of a Jackleg lawyer, — an' as fer Congriss, he couldn't git 'lected agin, an' now he's kind o' played out." We were about to ask Mr. Green the name of this singular young man, when he broke out with, " He 's as good a feller as ever lived; but he's kinder common, — sorter jes' like everybody, — no better no worse, — jes' a good feller. Thar's another feller in that country who beats him, — Dick Yates of Jacksonville. He 's a feller who can beat anybody as a talker. He is thet eloquent thet he '11 make you fergit yer own name. Talk about the American Eagle an' the Star Spangled Banner ! He can jes' lift you off your feet, an' make you soar an' yell, an' hurrah, an' swing yer hat, an' holler, — think ye 're Patrick Henry, an' George Washington, an' Andrew Jackson, an' Henry Clay, an' Bunker Hill, an' everything. I 've seen him make people hold their breaths, an' wipe their eyes, an' blow their noses, jes' by his talk. He'll be Pres'dent some day!" " But you have not given us the name of this funny young man whom you have told us so much about. What is his name?" "Abe Linkern," replied Green. And thus was first introduced to me the name of Abraham Lincoln, a man whom I afterwards came to know quite well, and who became the first citizen of Illinois and the greatest of American Presidents. CHAPTER IX. THE PRAIRIES BEAUTIFUL as is Illinois to the people of the present gener- ation when they travel through the country upon established highways, among cultivated fields, by meadows and pastures and orchards and gardens surrounding luxuriant homes, they can 52 The mini scarcely realize how resplendent these prairies were fifty years ago. The broad expanse upon which we found ourselves, as we travelled on in that early spring-time, so far as we could see had no beginning and no end except as bounded by the horizon. There were very few houses, and these were usually far away from us ; and in their isolation they seemed to be phantom abodes for disembodied spirits, if occupied at all. Where fires had come and swept away the decayed vegetation of the preceding year, fresh grass of emerald green had sprung up in the midst of vast areas of that which was dead and dry and withered, whose deep brown, surrounding and fringing the green, made luxuriant tapestries of a thousand hues, which, constantly irradiated and illumined and modified by successive sunshine and shadow and humidity and drought, presented more variegated and beautiful tints than any that have been attained by the handi- work of the Orient. The carpets spread out upon the prairies have never been equalled in beauty by the deft fingers or the looms of Turkey and Persia. There was no sound save the rumbling of our own wheels ; and when they ceased to revolve, one realized the sublimity of silence. The vast expanse, extending as far as the eye could reach, was bounded by the horizon, which, rising into the firmament and arching the heavens, formed " a majestical roof fretted with golden fire," a mighty dome canopying all beneath, and constituting what seemed to be a vast pavilion of which the prairies were the floor. This expanse of prairie was relieved here and there by a stream of water, and at intervals by groves of trees, whose cool and refreshing shade seemed always to beckon the wayfarer to approach and enjoy their sweetness and repose. As the season advanced, flowers bloomed more freely, delighting the eye and filling the air with fragrance. Singing birds made melody. The prairie chicken and bobwhite, still unconscious of the wiles of the sportsman, hummed and whistled; while in the distance the graceful doe and the stately buck, unconscious of danger, lifted their heads high in air to gaze with wistful and curious eyes at the passer-by. Overhanging clouds presented a thousand fantastic forms, — temples and obelisks and pyramids, architecture of every conceiv- The Pioneer 53 able kind. We made out the Acropolis surmounted by the Parthenon, the Cathedrals of St. Peter's and St. Paul's and Milan, and the Mosque of St. Sophia, as we had seen them in pictures. There were innumerable animated creations, elephants and camels and rhinoceroses and lions and tigers, and every kind of beast. In the distance, as it seemed on our own level, ap- peared lakes and rivers, interspersed with islands, so realistic that we had to approach them before being fully convinced, as they faded away, that each was only a phantom, an optical illusion known as a mirage. Wonders of evanescent forms and colors, of dissolving views, painted and erased by the mystic power of refraction, can be found nowhere else in such splendor as upon the great prairies. At the setting of the sun there was a brilliant array of constellations, with the Northern lights, the Milky Way, the Pleiades, the Dipper, and all the glories of the starry heavens on every side as well as above us, — for the sky bent down to the level of the prairie. It is the custom to speak with rapture of the grandeur of mountain scenery, of high altitudes and great gorges. lUinoisans who have ascended the Himalayas, climbed Mont Blanc, traversed the defiles of the Grand Canyon of the Colorado and of the Yosemite, still declare that none of the works of the Divine Architect are quite so majestic and sublime as were our prairies in their pristine beauty. CHAPTER X. THE ABOLITIONIST PREACHER AT Princeton, we attended Divine worship in the Congrega- tional Church, and were surprised as well as pleased to find ourselves among as intelligent and cultivated a people as we had ever seen, most of them emigrants from New England and New York. But when the pastor ascended the pulpit, we were even more surprised. Instead of a backwoods preacher, such as we had read accounts of in the West, it was apparent that this pas- tor was a man of both culture and character. He was a little 54 The mini above the medium height, of sturdy but not too stout figure, full face, broad and massive forehead surmounted by heavy brown hair, large kindly beaming eyes, a large cheery mouth, and broad and strong chin. His head was well set upon broad shoulders, and his whole bearing was such as to indicate that while his was a merry and even a jovial nature, he was one of those strong char- acters who can do and dare. I do not remember the text, nor do I remember much that the preacher said, except that he talked of the fugitive-slave law, and described the poor panting fugitive whose only crime was that he was black and fleeing for liberty, and denounced the law that made it the duty of the officers of the United States to pursue him, and that gave them authority to summon and require every citizen to join in the chase, "making slave-catchers of us all," declaring that there was no power upon earth that could make a slave-catcher of him, and that he would never obey the law, quoting text after text from the Bible to sustain him. He made the most thrilling appeal for the poor fugitive, but his denuncia- tion of the slave-catcher was appalling. He characterized the President of the United States as the chief slave-catcher of all. One of his figures was so striking, that I recall it almost as he made it. He was referring to those preachers who had nothing to say in denunciation of slavery, and said, " Suppose a general should march a great army to the field of Waterloo, dispose his forces, plant his cannon, and fire into the bones of the heroes who fell there nearly a half-century ago. How ridiculous would that appear ? But how much more ridiculous does it appear for ministers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to fire their long-toms at that old serpent that disturbed the peace of Eden, and constantly tell of the sins of the Jews who have been dead for thousands of years, while they have no words of censure for men who can make and execute such a brutal enactment as the fugitive-slave law! " As we passed out of the church I came upon our new acquaint- ance, Mr. Green. Before we could say a word, he exclaimed, "They'll kill him, sho', jes' the same as they killed his brother 'Lijah. That 's what they '11 do ! I saw a man this mornin' thet would sooner kill him then he would a dog ! " " Did they kill his brother ? " we inquired. ^^L.^ ^/^ C/y^^'^^